Love the long videos! I also love the moment in every video where Simon says "I haven't got it..." Goes to carry on talking and then "oh I've got it" like his brain has just solved it in the background without him.
McGonagall's memorial in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh reads: William McGonagall Poet and Tragedian "I am your gracious Majesty ever faithful to Thee, William McGonagall, the Poor Poet, That lives in Dundee."
Just wanted to jump in and let you know that I've been able to do some of the Guardian quick cryptics thanks to these videos! Entertaining and educational! Keep up the great work :3
I'd be surprised if Simon isn't a Terry Pratchett fan so he might remember that, in the Tiffany Aiken books, the Nac Mac Feegle clan had a battle poet and piper called William the Gonnagle. Every Pictsie clan has a Gonnagle, who is a feared warrior capable of bursting the enemies' eardrums.
If you and Mark keep making great videos like you have been for the past few years, you don't need to worry about 600K subs. You'll have 1 million subs before long!
Always useful! I’m getting much better at the book of quick cryptics I have, and even showing improvement on the regular puzzles too! For the regular puzzles, I consider it a success when I identify the different elements of the clue, or figure out what I’m supposed to do, even if I don’t get all the way to the answer. These videos have absolutely helped me! Thank you ☺️
I'm not a native english speaker but I watch these videos with great pleasure. I managed to get PAGAN and NUDE on my own, which is amazing for me since I usually do understand the solutions *after* Simon explains them but almost never before. 😊
47:52 The Victorian-era Scot William McGonagall, was - and is - infamous for his terrible poetry. I was astonished when Simon - having almost got it just from the wordplay - then veered off, having spoken the name out loud :D
All hail the Reverend George Gilfillan of Dundee He is the greatest preacher we did ever hear or see. He is a man of genius bright And in him the congregation doth delight First lines of a poem by William McGonagall (and all I can remember offhand), a notoriously bad Scottish poet, who also wrote a poem on The Great Tay Bridge Disaster (in which so many died). He is so bad that there are evenings where his poetry is recited - and more whisky is drunk than even at Burns' Night.
Another great solve Simon. My favourite explanation on this one was where you associated 'locked' with hair !!! I would not have considered that at all. Thank you 👍
Not just me that fell into today's 'bare trap' then, though pagan soon saved me. Above it, I read the final section as cluing the 'tail lap', followed by the e's, to get palliates. Really enjoy watching these each Friday...
At 9:29 I liked that Simon slipped in a bit of Cockney rhyming slang 'boracic' (boracic lint = skint) and then in the next clue gives a rendition of 'any old iron'. Chas & Dave would be proud!
This is the toughest puzzle I ever managed to solve. You really have to trust the cryptics for many of the clues. I did biff national service and sparring partner, but the final few were very tough. Tramlined and palliates were my last ones - and there are actually two possible parsings for palliates.
amazed as usual. I managed to get "genteel" and "not on your life" before you did... that's a couple of highlights as the rest befuddled me completely!
I've taken to pausing when you get to each clue and trying to work it out myself first, so the 73 minutes is considerably longer on my end, and I have no complaints!
23 across "Cove could mean bay..." Me: could be a bloke. "Is an eel a fish? I think so. But then cove..." Me: genteel! I delight in any and all answers I can get first 😂
The poet is William McGonagall, perhaps most famous for his "The Tay Bridge Disaster". Calling him a 'poor' poet is maybe a bit harsh, but his style is certainly unconventional.
The word Maharani was there, in the dictionary. You just needed to take an extra minute to see it, but I appreciate your desire to move things along. These puzzles are always a pleasure to watch you solve!
A ronin is a samurai who does not follow a particular lord, so they tend to wander the land as mercenaries. One fictional example is Ruroni Kenshin, from the hugely popular manga of the same name. In Japan, the word has also come to refer to someone who finished high school but failed the university entrance exams, so they spend a year "masterless" and going to cram school for a second chance.
Natalie Wood actually died in 1981, so quite a while ago. She died (drowned) under mysterious circumstances when spending a weekend on a yacht with her husband Robert Wagner, the yachts captain, and Christopher Walken. Her death has never been explained.
She's buried in Westwood, CA, in a little cemetery just off Wilshire. If you don't know that it's there, you'll miss it. Also buried there: Marilyn Monroe, Truman Capote, Heather O'rourke, Eva Gabor, Roy Orbison (unmarked), Frank Zappa (unmarked), Jack Lemmon, Rodney Dangerfield, and a few others. 20+ years ago, I had a job that took me there often.
@@andrewgrant6516 No. More like security. It's open to the public, so I had to go look around a couple times a day, and let the management know if I found anything unusual (vandalism, litter, etc.) At a certain hour, I would make sure there were no visitors on the grounds, and lock the gates.
It made me laugh that you immediately said "it can't be the name of a poor poet, because that would be the setter's opinion", because that's exactly what the answer was 😂
From Wikipedia: William McGonagall (March 1825 - 29 September 1902) was a Scottish poet and public performer. He gained notoriety as an extremely bad poet who exhibited no recognition of, or concern for, his peers' opinions of his work. He wrote about 200 poems, including "The Tay Bridge Disaster" and "The Famous Tay Whale", which are widely regarded as some of the worst in English literature. I've never seen Wikipedia be so crass towards someone... caught me off guard!
I would read the clue for PALLIATES as: Final = TAIL, section = LAP, these both go around = PALLIAT, enclosures borders = ES. I think this is a slightly simpler reading than Simon's.
13:20 - The word refers to "a masterless samurai", so effectively a mercenary rather than a soldier in service to a lord, but the word is not uncommonly used to refer to a samurai in general, thanks at least in part to the film 'Seven Samurai' in which a village hires seven ronin. Also fun fact, in modern Japanese, it more often refers to an unemployed person, or a student who is effectively taking a gap year after graduating high school but failing to get into university. Edit: I was not expecting you to get the dictionary out mid-puzzle, oh well. I'll still leave this for the trivia. Oh and for Maharani, "maha" is a sanskrit word meaning "great", so "Maharani" is both a more honorific way of saying "Rani", and also potentially an empress ruling over other states which are ruled by "lesser" raja/rani
"Magoncgall"... Simon, can we borrow you for a second? It's just that Scotland wants to have a word with you. Yes, the whole of Scotland just wants a quick word. All they're saying is it begins with "M" lol.
A pale is a light fence post. When an army struck camp, they would quickly erect paling around the perimeter of the camp. During the night, soldiers would head outside the camp to use the latrine, but were forbidden to go beyond the pale. Horror comics in the 50s distorted the phrase to mean capable of inspiring terror, culminating in the classic song lyric "a face at first just ghostly turned a white shade of pale". Accusing someone of going beyond the pale was nearer a suspicion of treachery or spying, creeping out at night unobserved.
The first clue was a giveaway for me. "Poor poet" instantly suggested William McGonagall to me, and it fit the wordplay perfectly. After what you said about the setter can't express the relative merits, I had to chuckle, because McGonagall is widely regarded as the closest mankind has come (except for Paul Neil Milne Johnstone) to writing poetry as bad as the Vogons. It's so bad that people have suggested he must have been making a satirical jab at poetry, but I'm not convinced. If you're not familiar with his work, you should certainly look it up, it's hilariously bad. I'm glad you walked back your suggestion that Herbert being the first 7 letters of brethren was wrong. It's "Newton, under tree" that catches Herbert - perfectly cromulent. I can't believe you didn't know that Natalie Wood died over 40 years ago. Many believe she was murdered by husband Robert Wagner, thrown overboard their yacht, and Christopher Walken helped him cover it up. You were badly thrown by jumping to bare as the solution for 25A, barge is not a synonym for poke, but nudge is. I can't find any reference for tramlined meaning rigid. I couldn't even find any dictionaries that had it as a word. I can see how it might be used euphemistically, but it was harsh, especially coupled with the wordplay. There was a broad mixture of clues in this. Raita was really obvious, but others like tramlined had really convoluted wordplay. Coincidentally, as I was having a curry before I watched this, I thought up a different clue for raita - woman takes a dip.
Natalie Wood died in 1981... Always love the Crosswords ... but once a week so they are special. Talking us through it is the good part. How would we learn if you did speed runs all the time? But showing us you can do speed runs is fun too!
I feel the compiler and I must share some interests since this is my third comment! The prologue to Henry V talks of "this wooden O" to denote a theatre stage (in the round), particularly the Globe
Where did you get that hat Where did you get that tile Isn't it a nobby one And just the proper style I should like to get one Just the same as that Wherever I go They'd say "Hello! Where did you get that hat"
This is the song I was trying to recall - there is a reference to TILE! "Any old iron? Any old iron? Any, any, any old iron? You look neat! Talk about a treat! You look a dapper from your napper to your feet Dressed in style wi' a brand new tile And your father's old green tie on I wouldn't give you tuppence for your old watch-chain Old iron, old iron!"
Comment number four! The elder brethren of Trinity House are the members of Trinity House (which supports sailors in the UK) who have been voted into one of the senior spots - not sure how many - who run the organisation. I have several ancestors, including one William Ward Farrer, who were in the East India Company and were at least younger brethren of Trinity House.
Bit late to my usual party, having been off grid for a while. So, a belated thanks. But Simon seems to have been slipping up on some Harry Potter lore: Elder Wand! And also Mcgonagall spelling, though I had not heard of the poor poet. I hope we get to 600K soon.
"At least not absolutely dreadful", he says, completing the quick cryptic in almost exactly one sixth of my time 😄 Thank you Simon, I always look forward to these videos!
Yes I'm a month late, but it's so rare to get answers. It's not (42:20) remove once more from island, but vice versa. Again, minus I is agan. P for ssssh, Pagan. Infidel. I'm pleased with myself for no good reason.
Maharanis is mentioned in the dictionary as the feminine of Maharaja - where raja refers to king or prince.. So princess fits for the purpose of the puzzle. But in India Raja or Maharaja is the King and Rani or Maharani is the Queen (either as a Consort or a ruler in her own right). The corresponding words for Prince and Princess (as offspring of the royals) are "Rajkumar" and "Rajkumari"
Lol I always have a No Simon you almost had it moment! Its not "island abandoning a word for once more", its "once more abandoning an abbr for island!" AGAIN -I = AGAN, after P (quietly). which then led to No Simon not BARE its NUDE!
Yeah, that corner was frustrating. PAGAN was pretty obvious to me, so I was surprised it wasn't equally obvious to the far more experienced Simon. I suppose that's the crossword equivalent of marking a 23 pair in a cell when there's already a 2 in its box, another one in its row, and a third one in its column. 😸
I had to look this up. My understanding is that it is someone who solves the puzzle off line and then types their answers into the grid inline all at once to give the impression of solving it very quickly
I think the rule about mentioning no living persons, except the monarch, is a Times rule, rather than a general cryptic crossword rule. The Private Eye crossword, for one, couldn't exist with that rule! And I think the Guardian doesn't follow it either.
William McGonagall was born in 1825, and is one of the worst poets whose works did ever survive. His verse was so bad that he did achieve a kind of fame, so that many even today still can revere his name. Bad verses under his name still appear often in Private Eye, often commemorating a famous person when they do die
I really urge you to read about McGonagall - his poems are just so outstandingly bad. Here is a classic though there are many others with the same unique (and apparently 100% serious) quality Welcome! thrice welcome! to the year 1893, For it is the year I intend to leave Dundee, Owing to the treatment I receive, Which does my heart sadly grieve. Every morning when I go out The ignorant rabble they do shout 'There goes Mad McGonagall' In derisive shouts as loud as they can bawl, And lifts stones and snowballs, throws them at me; And such actions are shameful to be heard in the city of Dundee. And I'm ashamed, kind Christians, to confess That from the Magistrates I can get no redress. Therefore I have made up my mind in the year of 1893 To leave the ancient City of Dundee, Because the citizens and me cannot agree. The reason why? -- because they disrespect me, Which makes me feel rather discontent. Therefore to leave them I am bent; And I will make my arrangements without delay, And leave Dundee some early day.
Disagreeing with someone, Wlliam McGonagall was a truly abysmal poet rather than a poor one. If you read mire than a few of his poems, you’ll see hopelessly bad scanning and desperate rhymes as well as worn out stock phrases like “will be remembered for a very long time”. Florence Foster Jenkins as a singer is comparable.
I finished this this morning in two hours. MY FIRST EVER! Life goal achieved. Thank you CtC!!!
Love the long videos!
I also love the moment in every video where Simon says "I haven't got it..." Goes to carry on talking and then "oh I've got it" like his brain has just solved it in the background without him.
McGonagall's memorial in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh reads:
William McGonagall
Poet and Tragedian
"I am your gracious Majesty
ever faithful to Thee,
William McGonagall, the Poor Poet,
That lives in Dundee."
The story of William McGonagall is just outstanding.
Just wanted to jump in and let you know that I've been able to do some of the Guardian quick cryptics thanks to these videos! Entertaining and educational! Keep up the great work :3
I do love a longer video on Fridays, it's a lovely way to end the week and I learn a lot from you every time. Thank you, Simon!
I hugely enjoy my Friday viewing of your cryptic solve ❤❤
I'd be surprised if Simon isn't a Terry Pratchett fan so he might remember that, in the Tiffany Aiken books, the Nac Mac Feegle clan had a battle poet and piper called William the Gonnagle. Every Pictsie clan has a Gonnagle, who is a feared warrior capable of bursting the enemies' eardrums.
If you and Mark keep making great videos like you have been for the past few years, you don't need to worry about 600K subs. You'll have 1 million subs before long!
Always useful! I’m getting much better at the book of quick cryptics I have, and even showing improvement on the regular puzzles too! For the regular puzzles, I consider it a success when I identify the different elements of the clue, or figure out what I’m supposed to do, even if I don’t get all the way to the answer. These videos have absolutely helped me! Thank you ☺️
I'm not a native english speaker but I watch these videos with great pleasure.
I managed to get PAGAN and NUDE on my own, which is amazing for me since I usually do understand the solutions *after* Simon explains them but almost never before. 😊
Thanks Simon! This was very interesting today and the length was just perfect! 🙂
I do like the mix of both types of cryptic on Fridays :)
47:52 The Victorian-era Scot William McGonagall, was - and is - infamous for his terrible poetry. I was astonished when Simon - having almost got it just from the wordplay - then veered off, having spoken the name out loud :D
All hail the Reverend George Gilfillan of Dundee
He is the greatest preacher we did ever hear or see.
He is a man of genius bright
And in him the congregation doth delight
First lines of a poem by William McGonagall (and all I can remember offhand), a notoriously bad Scottish poet, who also wrote a poem on The Great Tay Bridge Disaster (in which so many died).
He is so bad that there are evenings where his poetry is recited - and more whisky is drunk than even at Burns' Night.
Another great solve Simon. My favourite explanation on this one was where you associated 'locked' with hair !!! I would not have considered that at all. Thank you 👍
Not just me that fell into today's 'bare trap' then, though pagan soon saved me. Above it, I read the final section as cluing the 'tail lap', followed by the e's, to get palliates. Really enjoy watching these each Friday...
Great solve! I really enjoy watching you solve these every Friday, Simon. Thanks!
At 9:29 I liked that Simon slipped in a bit of Cockney rhyming slang 'boracic' (boracic lint = skint) and then in the next clue gives a rendition of 'any old iron'. Chas & Dave would be proud!
Didn't know the origin. People normally say 'brassic', and I think I've seen that written too
❤ these!! Great way to start the weekend!!
Always a pleasure for us!! 🤎💜
@@davidrattner9 yes! 💜🧡💛
This is the toughest puzzle I ever managed to solve. You really have to trust the cryptics for many of the clues. I did biff national service and sparring partner, but the final few were very tough. Tramlined and palliates were my last ones - and there are actually two possible parsings for palliates.
Friday is save with the master class. Thank you CtC
amazed as usual. I managed to get "genteel" and "not on your life" before you did... that's a couple of highlights as the rest befuddled me completely!
N (Newton) and Elder (tree, which produces the elderberry) are together catching Herbert, gone off.
Continous thank you Simon for letting us delve into your brain for these!!
I've taken to pausing when you get to each clue and trying to work it out myself first, so the 73 minutes is considerably longer on my end, and I have no complaints!
Friday crew let's goooo!
favorite part of my fridays! (or the few days after when i have time)
23 across "Cove could mean bay..."
Me: could be a bloke.
"Is an eel a fish? I think so. But then cove..."
Me: genteel!
I delight in any and all answers I can get first 😂
I credit the excellent YA novelist Tamora Pierce for knowing "cove" is an old (maybe kind of crass?) word for a man.
Final section around enclosures borders - Tail lap reversed then es (enclosures borders).
The poet is William McGonagall, perhaps most famous for his "The Tay Bridge Disaster". Calling him a 'poor' poet is maybe a bit harsh, but his style is certainly unconventional.
Love the crossword videos
The word Maharani was there, in the dictionary. You just needed to take an extra minute to see it, but I appreciate your desire to move things along. These puzzles are always a pleasure to watch you solve!
Yoga poses are called asanas. :) Would you like to see a hippo in Virabhadrasana? It is not a pretty sight but it is a magnificent one.
Love these videos!!!
A ronin is a samurai who does not follow a particular lord, so they tend to wander the land as mercenaries. One fictional example is Ruroni Kenshin, from the hugely popular manga of the same name.
In Japan, the word has also come to refer to someone who finished high school but failed the university entrance exams, so they spend a year "masterless" and going to cram school for a second chance.
My intense and shocked pride at knowing something Simon didn’t when he was working out McGonagall.
Yes I’d be very disappointed if these were only 20 minutes long! I do enjoy the quick cryptic at the end also. Thanks as always.
Natalie Wood actually died in 1981, so quite a while ago. She died (drowned) under mysterious circumstances when spending a weekend on a yacht with her husband Robert Wagner, the yachts captain, and Christopher Walken. Her death has never been explained.
She's buried in Westwood, CA, in a little cemetery just off Wilshire. If you don't know that it's there, you'll miss it.
Also buried there: Marilyn Monroe, Truman Capote, Heather O'rourke, Eva Gabor, Roy Orbison (unmarked), Frank Zappa (unmarked), Jack Lemmon, Rodney Dangerfield, and a few others.
20+ years ago, I had a job that took me there often.
Were you the gravedigger?
@@andrewgrant6516 No. More like security. It's open to the public, so I had to go look around a couple times a day, and let the management know if I found anything unusual (vandalism, litter, etc.) At a certain hour, I would make sure there were no visitors on the grounds, and lock the gates.
It made me laugh that you immediately said "it can't be the name of a poor poet, because that would be the setter's opinion", because that's exactly what the answer was 😂
From Wikipedia:
William McGonagall (March 1825 - 29 September 1902) was a Scottish poet and public performer. He gained notoriety as an extremely bad poet who exhibited no recognition of, or concern for, his peers' opinions of his work. He wrote about 200 poems, including "The Tay Bridge Disaster" and "The Famous Tay Whale", which are widely regarded as some of the worst in English literature.
I've never seen Wikipedia be so crass towards someone... caught me off guard!
I would read the clue for PALLIATES as:
Final = TAIL, section = LAP, these both go around = PALLIAT, enclosures borders = ES.
I think this is a slightly simpler reading than Simon's.
Very happy to have found some answers before Simon there
"And your father smelled of elderberries!" Which I'm sure Simon knows.
So Elder is very much a tree
Today's Guardian cryptic was very good and might be worth checking out!
13:20 - The word refers to "a masterless samurai", so effectively a mercenary rather than a soldier in service to a lord, but the word is not uncommonly used to refer to a samurai in general, thanks at least in part to the film 'Seven Samurai' in which a village hires seven ronin.
Also fun fact, in modern Japanese, it more often refers to an unemployed person, or a student who is effectively taking a gap year after graduating high school but failing to get into university.
Edit: I was not expecting you to get the dictionary out mid-puzzle, oh well. I'll still leave this for the trivia.
Oh and for Maharani, "maha" is a sanskrit word meaning "great", so "Maharani" is both a more honorific way of saying "Rani", and also potentially an empress ruling over other states which are ruled by "lesser" raja/rani
Maha- is cognate with Greek mega-. My professor of Greek also taught Sanskrit, and he was always pointing out the relationships between IE languages.
Natalie Wood did play Maria in West Side Story (1961). She drowned in 1981 (under what appear to be suspicious circumstances).
"Magoncgall"... Simon, can we borrow you for a second? It's just that Scotland wants to have a word with you. Yes, the whole of Scotland just wants a quick word. All they're saying is it begins with "M" lol.
A pale is a light fence post. When an army struck camp, they would quickly erect paling around the perimeter of the camp. During the night, soldiers would head outside the camp to use the latrine, but were forbidden to go beyond the pale.
Horror comics in the 50s distorted the phrase to mean capable of inspiring terror, culminating in the classic song lyric "a face at first just ghostly turned a white shade of pale".
Accusing someone of going beyond the pale was nearer a suspicion of treachery or spying, creeping out at night unobserved.
The first clue was a giveaway for me. "Poor poet" instantly suggested William McGonagall to me, and it fit the wordplay perfectly. After what you said about the setter can't express the relative merits, I had to chuckle, because McGonagall is widely regarded as the closest mankind has come (except for Paul Neil Milne Johnstone) to writing poetry as bad as the Vogons. It's so bad that people have suggested he must have been making a satirical jab at poetry, but I'm not convinced. If you're not familiar with his work, you should certainly look it up, it's hilariously bad.
I'm glad you walked back your suggestion that Herbert being the first 7 letters of brethren was wrong. It's "Newton, under tree" that catches Herbert - perfectly cromulent.
I can't believe you didn't know that Natalie Wood died over 40 years ago. Many believe she was murdered by husband Robert Wagner, thrown overboard their yacht, and Christopher Walken helped him cover it up.
You were badly thrown by jumping to bare as the solution for 25A, barge is not a synonym for poke, but nudge is.
I can't find any reference for tramlined meaning rigid. I couldn't even find any dictionaries that had it as a word. I can see how it might be used euphemistically, but it was harsh, especially coupled with the wordplay.
There was a broad mixture of clues in this. Raita was really obvious, but others like tramlined had really convoluted wordplay.
Coincidentally, as I was having a curry before I watched this, I thought up a different clue for raita - woman takes a dip.
You are a magician
Natalie Wood died in 1981...
Always love the Crosswords ... but once a week so they are special. Talking us through it is the good part. How would we learn if you did speed runs all the time? But showing us you can do speed runs is fun too!
I feel the compiler and I must share some interests since this is my third comment!
The prologue to Henry V talks of "this wooden O" to denote a theatre stage (in the round), particularly the Globe
Where did you get that hat
Where did you get that tile
Isn't it a nobby one
And just the proper style
I should like to get one
Just the same as that
Wherever I go
They'd say "Hello!
Where did you get that hat"
I enjoyed how Simon said 'isn't there a song about that?' and then started singing a completely unrelated song
This is the song I was trying to recall - there is a reference to TILE!
"Any old iron? Any old iron?
Any, any, any old iron?
You look neat! Talk about a treat!
You look a dapper from your napper to your feet
Dressed in style wi' a brand new tile
And your father's old green tie on
I wouldn't give you tuppence for your old watch-chain
Old iron, old iron!"
@@CrackingTheCryptic okay fair enough!
I always thought it was “tie” rather than “tile”. Learn something new every day!
Comment number four!
The elder brethren of Trinity House are the members of Trinity House (which supports sailors in the UK) who have been voted into one of the senior spots - not sure how many - who run the organisation.
I have several ancestors, including one William Ward Farrer, who were in the East India Company and were at least younger brethren of Trinity House.
One Master, 31 Elder Bretheren, and around 300 younger.
Bit late to my usual party, having been off grid for a while. So, a belated thanks.
But Simon seems to have been slipping up on some Harry Potter lore: Elder Wand! And also Mcgonagall spelling, though I had not heard of the poor poet.
I hope we get to 600K soon.
That’s an episcopal matter!!
Brutal puzzle
Where did you get that hat? Where did you get that tile?
"At least not absolutely dreadful", he says, completing the quick cryptic in almost exactly one sixth of my time 😄 Thank you Simon, I always look forward to these videos!
Yes I'm a month late, but it's so rare to get answers. It's not (42:20) remove once more from island, but vice versa. Again, minus I is agan. P for ssssh, Pagan. Infidel. I'm pleased with myself for no good reason.
11 down is why we need pemdas/bodmas for cryptic clues ; )
Maharanis is mentioned in the dictionary as the feminine of Maharaja - where raja refers to king or prince.. So princess fits for the purpose of the puzzle. But in India Raja or Maharaja is the King and Rani or Maharani is the Queen (either as a Consort or a ruler in her own right). The corresponding words for Prince and Princess (as offspring of the royals) are "Rajkumar" and "Rajkumari"
Lol I always have a No Simon you almost had it moment! Its not "island abandoning a word for once more", its "once more abandoning an abbr for island!" AGAIN -I = AGAN, after P (quietly). which then led to No Simon not BARE its NUDE!
Yeah, that corner was frustrating. PAGAN was pretty obvious to me, so I was surprised it wasn't equally obvious to the far more experienced Simon. I suppose that's the crossword equivalent of marking a 23 pair in a cell when there's already a 2 in its box, another one in its row, and a third one in its column. 😸
The longer the better!
William McGonagall (1825-1902) was a famously terrible Scottish poet. Learned that from Terry Pratchett (GNU Sir Terry)
We should sing the song Mcgonagall to the tune of Mahna Mahna 🤪
Ronin in Japanese also means someone who failed to get a job after high school or college, and is taking an extra year of classes.
McGonagall is famous for his poem The Tay Bridge Disaster.
There are 2 books of Samuel in the Old Testament
It can only be "supported" by the dictionary if it's a down clue...
William McGonagall was a poor poet,
and at first Simon didn't know it.
I put reptilian instead of amphibian meaning 6 across became bras, i.e. the plural of the undergarment. Truly, I am beyond hope.
Saw Simon’s mistake in the SW early on, but that’s only because of Simon’s tutelage over the past several months!
What is a "typist" referred to here on the leaderboard? Some kind of hacker ?
I had to look this up. My understanding is that it is someone who solves the puzzle off line and then types their answers into the grid inline all at once to give the impression of solving it very quickly
Suprised that Simon struggled in the bottom left corner.
I think the rule about mentioning no living persons, except the monarch, is a Times rule, rather than a general cryptic crossword rule.
The Private Eye crossword, for one, couldn't exist with that rule! And I think the Guardian doesn't follow it either.
Confirm that the Guardian mentions living people all the time. I need to ask my girlfriend if it is a footballer.
Got any Os? ... Garden 'ose?... no, "O"s! Letter Os!
I love the fact RUclips is offering to translate this to English.
Do the grid have to be symmetrical? 🤔
Or is it just always a coincidence? 🤓
Yes, it's generally symmetrical.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Natalie Wood died in 1981.
🌱yay :) ✏✨
know what i mean, nudge nudge, say no more ?
Natalie Wood "fell overboard" on a yacht trip with her husband. Police could never prove guilt, but tongues still talk to this day.
William McGonagall was born in 1825,
and is one of the worst poets whose works did ever survive.
His verse was so bad that he did achieve a kind of fame,
so that many even today still can revere his name.
Bad verses under his name still appear often in Private Eye,
often commemorating a famous person when they do die
simon deleting magonagall not realising it’s spelled mcgonagall is painful to see
I really urge you to read about McGonagall - his poems are just so outstandingly bad. Here is a classic though there are many others with the same unique (and apparently 100% serious) quality
Welcome! thrice welcome! to the year 1893,
For it is the year I intend to leave Dundee,
Owing to the treatment I receive,
Which does my heart sadly grieve.
Every morning when I go out
The ignorant rabble they do shout
'There goes Mad McGonagall'
In derisive shouts as loud as they can bawl,
And lifts stones and snowballs, throws them at me;
And such actions are shameful to be heard in the city of Dundee.
And I'm ashamed, kind Christians, to confess
That from the Magistrates I can get no redress.
Therefore I have made up my mind in the year of 1893
To leave the ancient City of Dundee,
Because the citizens and me cannot agree.
The reason why? -- because they disrespect me,
Which makes me feel rather discontent.
Therefore to leave them I am bent;
And I will make my arrangements without delay,
And leave Dundee some early day.
this vid has 562 likes, how many now?
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Natalie Wood is famously dead.
Geek, Simon doesn’t fit, my thought that’s a mean thing to say about me ha ha
Disagreeing with someone, Wlliam McGonagall was a truly abysmal poet rather than a poor one. If you read mire than a few of his poems, you’ll see hopelessly bad scanning and desperate rhymes as well as worn out stock phrases like “will be remembered for a very long time”. Florence Foster Jenkins as a singer is comparable.