Times 25637: Second Prelim, Puzzle 2

37 comments on “Times 25637: Second Prelim, Puzzle 2”

1. Very straightforward 22 minutes. Lost a moment or two thinking CHINESE CHECKERS or CHEQUERS? at 18ac before realising it was neither.
2. for some reason I put in ‘drag horse’, I can’t think why. Oh, I know: stupidity. Never heard of Chinese whispers; I assumed it’s what we call ‘telephone’–and just now Googled to confirm that’s the case. I think it took me 10′ to get 16d and 21ac, not helping my effort by thinking ‘The writer’s’=MY. Similarly, I was so wedded to ‘right’=R that I never did figure out what the T was doing. Oh, well.

   Edited at 2013-11-20 05:16 am (UTC)

   1. In NYC my children called it Chinese fire drill, but that’s now regarded as non-PC. 17 minutes – I always take extra time to proof the quickies, having learned the hard way. If the 3rd of the afternoon prelims is anything like the first two, I was in the right place at the wrong time. Wot a swiz.
      1. When I was a youth, ‘Chinese fire drill’ involved everyone getting out of the car at a red light, running frantically around and over the car, and piling in just before the light turned green. Definitely non-PC, and also pretty silly.
3. It’s more than a crossword editor that they should be looking for: according to the announcement, the position “requires … to have an impressive level of organisation”, while the Editor “checks all clues … and to manage relationships with production staff …”
   1. But that’s what a “crossword editor” does. Not just edit the puzzles but lots more besides.
4. 
   Well I zipped through this one, finishing it all unaided in about 22 minutes or so, and thought I’d managed to parse it all as I went along … until I now realise I have ‘chipmonks’ in! Well, it was my LOI, and I suppose I must have been thinking it was an alternative spelling. I clearly hadn’t paid enough attention to the ‘reportedly’ bit of the clue…

   Thought ‘TEN’ at 14dn a bit arbitrary for ‘a certain age’.

5. For once a puzzle used in the competition that is as easy if not easier than the qualifying ones that appear in the paper. A lot of this really is read the clue write in the answer so only a problem if the exam style environment gets to you. 15 minutes to solve a slightly boring offering.
6. 8:47 and by far the easiest of the three 2nd prelim puzzles.
7. This took me 10 minutes, so slightly slower than the first of these three puzzles, but still no problems.
   I couldn’t help an internal “tut tut” when I saw “that” defined as “which”. Even when you know that these grammatical “rules” are just baseless snobbery it can be hard to break the habit.
8. Probably would have been quicker if I did not have to wrestle with my iPad where I use The Times app, but at least I know that I got it right. ‘I heard a rumour that Cadburys are bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa’. Voted the funniest joke of the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe.

   Edited at 2013-11-20 09:59 am (UTC)

9. Just over 15min – could have been PB, but for post coming with package midway, and a couple of minutes working out how to parse 14d, which was LOI.
10. Somewhere between 9 and 10 mins and this felt as easy as last Wednesday’s prelim puzzle.

    I agree with Jimbo that most of the clues were write-ins. The only clues where I decided to be sure of the wordplay before I entered them were those for THREAT and PERSISTENT, my LOI.

11. Well under my half-hour target, so yes, a straightforward puzzle. Thought HINDU had a neat clue.

    The only unhealthy thing about chips, as far as I am concerned, is the raising of my blood pressure caused by government busybodies who presume to tell me what I should eat.

    The theft of saddles goes on regularly in this area, I’m sorry to say, Mc Text. Four years ago, the tack room of our local livery yard was broken into and £22,000 worth of saddles taken, including mine: something else to raise my blood pressure.

12. 7:12 with nothing to complain about (which tends to be the case with competition puzzles which have been checked even more thoroughly than normal) but also nothing much to excite. Not that there’s anything wrong with plain fare once in a while, of course.
13. 22 mins. I was surprised how easy this competition puzzle was. Straightforward, but I didn’t think it was as bland as some have felt. Solid clues with decent surfaces, which is more than we get with some puzzles.
14. No hold ups today. I’ve found the first two B puzzles easier than any of the As.
    FOI Grain, LOI Persistent. Saddleback made me smile.
    Smithy and the LSD reference were the only two I didn’t understand so thanks mctext for explaining those two.
    A quibble with the North Pole definition – nowadays at times it’s ice free.
15. Found this marginally easier than the first one from this prelim. Didn’t get either of the two long across clues until I’d filled in half of the grid and even then I was tempted by Chinese pheasant for 18A (incompatibility with the anagram fodder notwithstanding). I’ve seen the LSD thing a couple of times before but it fooled me in exactly the same way as the previous occasions, leading to CASHIER being my LOI.
16. First time post, long term watcher, emerging from the shrubbery.
    I’m writing this on behalf of the many of us mere mortals who can only just gawp at the mastery (and mistressy) of most who post here.
    For those complaining it’s a ho-hum one today, please remember those of us whooping with the sheer elation of only actually finishing it, but in a sub-60 minute time and without resorting to aids! We do need these more straightforward ones occasionally so we don’t feel totally incompetent and inadequate.
    (By the way, I was absolutely chuffed with my time of 35 minutes in 2 separate sessions)
    1. Welcome and congratulations on your excellent time. I did this one at the Championship, and already I’m getting annoyed with all the “easy-peasy” comments, especially from those who did the “much harder” Prelim A. For what it’s worth, the third one in this set was the hardest, in my opinion, but doubtless we’ll have denizens of A telling us we don’t know when we’re well off.
       Many of our regulars post times similar or longer than yours, so stand not in awe. This is a community of fellow sufferers who just can’t kick the habit for the sake of that whoop of elation, whether it’s taken 10 minutes or 2 hours. Welcome to the Pleasuredome.
       1. For what it’s worth it took me about 35 minutes to do these three puzzles, which is about 10 minutes quicker than it took me to do the three in Prelim A (albeit with errors). Allowing for competition conditions I thought the two sets of puzzles were pretty evenly matched.
          And yes, welcome deezzaa. Please stick around.

          Edited at 2013-11-20 12:46 pm (UTC)

    2. Yes, Welcome aboard deezzaa. The crossword has changed massively in the 45 years that I have been doing it daily but it still remains a whoop moment when it is done, however long it takes.
17. It’s all been said. A straightforward puzzle. SADDLEBACK was neat.
18. I thought all ’59 Chevvies were pink.
19. 25 minutes with no real hold-ups on the way though it did take me a while to crack the two long across clues. Conclusion – I could never finish three puzzles in an hour so will continue to resist the lure of easy qualifying puzzles.
20. I don’t understand where all this “2nd prelim” business comes from. I use times online, which (that?) provides daily puzzles and membership of the crossword club for a very reasonable price. Is there information in the hard copy that (which?) doesn’t find its way to cyberspace?
    1. When you attempt the puzzle, you’ll see some blurb along the lines of “This puzzle, used in the Preliminary B round of the 2013 Times National Crossword Championship, was solved correctly within the time limit by 79% of the competitors.”
    2. These are the puzzles that were used in the preliminary “heats” for the Times Crossword Championship. Those who competed have done them before. The last one will be in the paper (and the crossword club) next Wednesday.

       Your whiches and thats are “correct”. 😉

21. 23m here with all correct for once. I was so slow sorting out 23a, thinking I had IS for island and RT for right but baffled by the ELL. How to make life unnecessarily difficult. Also took half of the puzzle to get the two long ones as well.
22. Initially thought I had been quicker, but after my gaffe earlier this week I took the time to check the grid and – yep – found I had not filled in 16d, so rapidly rectified.
    deessaa, I can only echo what bigtone53 has written. After many years it is still a frisson for me to get a quality cryptic puzzle all correct and, as you can see, I am still error prone.
    I see the times posted here as means to enjoy friendly rivalry: I enjoy looking to see how I have fared alongside other contributors who are normally quicker (usually) or a little slower than me. And, by the way, in response to a comment posted by yorkshire_grey recently, although I undoubtedly have more miles on the clock than you have, my solving speed has improved in recent times, stimulated, I think, by the friendly rivalry mentioned above.
23. 17.45, no serious hold-ups, yet only a very few were “read it, write it in”. Liked back out in the middle for the Ashes tingle – it’s where a fair old number will be in spirit tonight.
24. Ripped through it in less than 10 minutes, though I didn’t get the wordplay of TRELLIS or the definitions of CASHIERS, though either was obvious from checking letters.
25. Quick for me, but long for this group of speedy(sters). Like Kevin, was only partly familiar with Chinese Whispers – I grew up calling it “Telephone”. So stuck Chinese Checkers in until crosses made the error clear.

    Meantime, I only wish that Chipmunks WERE exotic. I think they are the biggest nuisance for homeowners in the North East US. (The dog disagrees: finding, inspecting, and digging up the hundreds of chipmunk burrows around the yard make going outdoors a pleasure for her.

26. Under half an hour, but interrupted by telephone calls so can’t be precise. A pleasant, steady, top to bottom solve, almost a Monday-ish feel to it, with nothing too frustrating – you start expecting a SAGA and finish with a PHUT! Nice surfaces on the SHOE and the EVACUEE, and it’s good to see that old warhorse the adit getting an outing, although I’ve never seen one so clearly signposted before ….
27. 24 minutes, with which I was quite chuffed. [deezzaa], I’m with you mate – I always have a little internal whoop whenever I get through one. It’s a bit like sending a patient out of A&E with as many limbs as they started with – I’m pleasantly surprised when it happens. Even more so if they’re attached.

    Held up a little by putting “Desiccate” in for 27ac, but then went back and checked the wordplay. Didn’t know “ide” was a fish, but the wordplay gave it away. At least it explains Brutus et al found it so easy to surprise Caesar – who would have expected a fish in the back?

    It says it was a competition puzzle, but doesn’t say what the time limit was – anyone know?

    Slow day here, hence the earlier-than-usual post. I blame the weather – a little drizzle makes the roads interesting, but too much rain and coldth keeps the cyclists and bikers at home – very bad for business. Still, wintry weather’s on the way so my spirits are high.

    1. The “solved within” time is a bit misleading – it’s the number of people who solved the puzzle correctly (in the second heat) on Finals Day i.e. as one of three puzzles, with a cut-off point of one hour for all three. It gives you a feel for the comparative difficulty of a puzzle, but there’s no way of knowing how long people spent on each of the puzzles, whether the incorrect solvers made one mistake or several, or just ran out of time because another puzzle was a stinker etc etc.
       1. Well, then I’m a little less chuffed than I was, since this was probably one of the easier puzzles in the trio but still took me longer than 20min. Ah well.

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