Times Cryptic 28982

90 comments on “Times Cryptic 28982”

1. Very well done, Jack, and congratualtions. I only started reading TfTT in about 2010, so I figure I’ve missed about 60 of the 1000 blogs. Since I’ve enjoyed pretty much each and every one of those 940 I’m considering going back to read the ones I missed.

   In German “Nie”, which letters are in the answer right side up, means “certainly not” more than “nein” does, so I needed the blog to sort out my up/down confusion and account for what I thought was an extra “n”. And I still don’t quite see how ‘all but ended’ gives ‘gon’ – ‘all but’ doesn’t get me to gone.

   1. It’s the other way round. “All but” is “very nearly”. “Ended” is “gone”.

      1. Oh. Of course. Thanks chabuduo. (though I do think it’s a little bit of a stretch to have to de-crypt the instructions for the wordplay).

2. 26.32 ESPADRILLE, COMP, TAOISEACH and the NHO TEG were the last few. Moderately quick for me and I’m pleased to finish as ever. These blogs have played no small part in that. Thanks Jack and congratulations on the thousand!

3. Also doing this late in the day but really wanted to say many conratuations and very many thanks, jack, for the blogs – 1000! Wow – and your helpful and clearly explained posts through these blogs in general. Mr SR just said “He’s a voice of sanity”. High praise.
   We enjoyed both blog and puzzle (thank you, setter) though I shared the doubts about how Welsh Euan is and the MER re STICK/stuck in 1a but very minor quibbles.
   I’d heard of COMP from Anthony Bourdain books. He always advised people to tip the the staff very generously when comped a meal and if I ever am, I will.
   I knew AFTER-PARTY from reading about the one Elton John throws after the Oscars, as it gets mentioned in Hello magazine which I read at the hairdresser. I take my knowledge where I can get it 😁

4. 1000 of anything seems a lot but 1000 blogs of these puzzles is just amazing. Well done and thanks ( i have only been around for the last ten or so)

5. Got to this late in the day, and was completing it while watching the Olympics, so times are rather irrelevant today as I was constantly distracted. If I had to estimate a time, I think it would have been around target at 45 minutes. I took quite a while on my final two which were 9ac and 2dn. Eventually I put COMP in with a shrug, although in retrospect I should have thought of the abbreviation. As for TAOISEACH, it was carefully constructed from the clue, but I fully expected it to be wrong. Happily I was proved wrong (or is that right!).
   I add my congratulations to you Jack on your milestone, very impressive indeed. Your access to statistical information from past crosswords never ceases to amaze me!

6. A bit late to the party, but woohoo! I echo what vinyl1 said – jackkt does a lot behind the scenes here as well as fine blogging of a variety of puzzles. We started the same week but I am about 150 behind and fading fast.

   7:48 for the puzzle, with about a minute convincing myself that the EUROPEAN/LENIENT/PIANIST crossing was legitimate. I liked the clue for FOMENT.

7. Congratulations, Jack! I always enjoy your blogs (and the fact that our times are often similar). Not so sure I enjoyed today’s puzzle, which was mostly easy until I got to LENIENT and EUROPEAN and ESPADRILLE, which took some sorting out but yielded in the end, just under an hour for the whole thing.

8. Nice one, Jack – that’s quite extraordinary. And much appreciated by all, as all the comments confirm. Wowsers!

9. A late thanks again to all who sent congratulations and expressed appreciation of my blogs past and present. You’re very kind.

   1. Can I add my thanks? Perhaps the only time I will ever dare to post on the ‘biggie’, but what an achievement! 👏👏

10. 39:27. very nice puzzle, with some tricky ones holding me up at the end (particularly COMP). I think we’ve had TAOISESACH before, but much easier to remember how to spell it thanks to this clue. Now how to pronounce it – something like Tee-shock I think. Thanks to J and Setter

11. Very late sitting down to this after a high octane day! But had to add my thanks and congratulations to all the others for your efforts on our behalf, Jack, not only in solving and parsing the puzzle, but in following and responding to the comments, questions and discussions that the solutions give rise to. Your replies are always courteous and measured and much appreciated by all of us.
    As for the crossword, I found it quite straightforward. FOI was TEG, LOI the confusing ‘not EVAN’. I never thought of Euan, but luckily EUROPEAN jumped out at me. Also not keen on stick/stuck. I will never have trouble spelling TAOISEACH again.

12. 22.47. Thank you very much Jack for all your efforts over the years, and best wishes.

13. Late entry as was off grid for a week but in case you read this I’d like to add my huge thanks and congratulations to Jackkt. Although Vinyl in particular amongst others are in the “without whom, nothing” category, for me and I suspect many others you ARE TftT. Your calm regular (honest!) presence I am sure is a big reason why folks stick here when they first arrive

    1. Many thanks, Dvynys, your praise is indeed generous and very much appreciated.

       Thanks also to all others for their kind comments.

14. Another very grateful acolyte here: since starting these puzzles maybe a decade ago, I have long admired (and often shared) Jackkt’s views on things, so, I am in awe of his achievement. The puzzle posed only a few more difficulties than yesterday’s breeze, but TEG and COMP were out of my reach.
    I too struggled with EVAN ( the Welshman) and not EUAN (the Scot), so that was a ‘look-up’ for me. Otherwise an enjoyable romp. COD IN IT (“ Ya gotta be in it to win it”!)

    1. Thanks, Jacaroo, and to all others I have not responded to individually.

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