Times Quick Cryptic 1807 by Orpheus

Author   william_j_sPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic
Due to considerable difficulty breaking into the NW corner, and a couple of other spiky clues, I finished in a respectable but above average time. I thought some of the anagrams (and indicators) were lovely. I only had to look up one piece of vocabulary post-solve. Did anyone else go searching for 27dn early on…?

Definitions underlined.

Across
1 Continental fellow in Scotland perhaps, carrying twisted fibre (8)
EUROPEAN – EUAN (fellow in Scotland, perhaps) containg (carrying) ROPE (twisted fibre).
5 Live with copper — 27, possibly (4)
CUBE – BE (live) with CU (copper).
7 Longing to remove initiator of political clean-up (4)
URGE – pURGE (political clean-up) missing its first letter (to remove initiator).
8 Going on for ever about unidentified person outside (8)
EXTERNAL – ETERNAL (going on forever) containing (about) X (unknown person).
9 Sentimental type initially involved with Marconi (8)
ROMANTIC – anagram of (involved) the first letter of (initially) Type and (with) MARCONI.
11 Religious female going backwards and forwards (3)
NUN – palindromic (going backwards and forwards) religious female.
13 Rodney relaxed over there (6)
YONDER – anagram of (relaxed) RODNEY.
16 Get even with archdeacon in maturity (6)
AVENGE – VEN (Venerable, honorific for archdeacon) in AGE (maturity).
18 Greek character returned and dined (3)
ATE – ETA (Greek character) reversed (returned).
19 Sound money getting father something to suck (8)
LOLLIPOP – sounds like (sound) “lolly” (money) then POP (father).
20 A chap crossing Morecambe, maybe, one from the States (8)
AMERICAN – A MAN (a chap) containing (crossing) ERIC (Morecambe, maybe).
22 Knowledgeable about Shintoism? Not entirely (4)
INTO – hidden in (not entirely) shINTOism.
23 Responsibility of bachelor abandoning extra benefit (4)
ONUS – B (bachelor) removed from (abandoning) bONUS (extra benefit).
24 Change too much? About time to retire! (8)
OVEREDIT – OVER (about) and TIDE (time) reversed (to retire).

Down
1 Key question about king’s personal attendant (7)
EQUERRY – E (random musical key) and QUERY (question) containing (about) R (Rex, king). Tricky stuff.
2 I’m in surrogate ruler’s section of army (8)
REGIMENT – I’M inside REGENT (surrogate ruler).
3 English reader, a Liberal, relating to voters (9)
ELECTORAL – E (English), LECTOR (reader), A, and L (liberal). This was my missing vocab; a lector is a church reader or university lecturer.
4 Obsessive person in teachers’ union (3)
NUT – National Union of Teachers (teachers’ union). Solidarity.
5 Vivid red vehicle belonging to this compiler (7)
CARMINE – CAR (vehicle) and MINE (belonging to this compiler). Not your everyday colour but familiar enough, to me at least.
6 Like invigorating air beginning to boost activity at Epsom? (7)
BRACING – first letter of (beginning to) Boost, then RACING (activity at Epsom).
10 Confront Helen, a GLC eccentric (9)
CHALLENGE – anagram of (eccentric) HELEN A GLC.
12 University man receiving old writing implement still in wrapping (8)
UNOPENED – U (university) and NED (man) containing (receiving) O (old) and PEN (writing implement).
14 A Roman senator originally abandoned one on the river (7)
OARSMAN – anagram of (abandoned) A ROMAN and the first letter from (originally) Senator. My first thought was that I needed a Roman senator xOARSMAN missing his first. Thankfully not.
15 Just rewards — puddings. by the sound of it (7)
DESERTS – sounds like (by the sounds of it) “desserts” (puddings).
17 Take advantage of former plan to tour India (7)
EXPLOIT – EX (former) and PLOT (plan) containing (to tour) I (india, phonetic alphabet).
21 Imitate a dove? Goodness me (3)
COO – double definition.

99 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 1807 by Orpheus”

  1. 10 minutes, achieving my target but only just. Yes, I looked in vain for a clue at 27 and I bet I won’t have been alone in trying to fit an anagram of ‘fibre’ into 1ac. A very good puzzle but not an easy one.
  2. Like Jack, I looked for clue 27, and I spent a good deal of time fiddling with ‘fibre’, making EUROPEAN my LOI and dragging me out to 8:10. The definition is just ‘Continental’, so the underline shouldn’t include ‘fellow’.

    Edited at 2021-02-10 06:01 am (UTC)

    2. Not only did I look for clue 27 but I went one better and scribbled down XXVII letter by letter then noticed the answer had only 4. Johnny.
  3. At 10:23 this was a good (and early) finish, the down clues dropped in very quickly. Fair amount of biffs of the across clues followed.

    LOI CUBE with 27 providing misdirection. 27 seems a good choice for the canonical cube, imagine how we would have complained if the setter had chosen 8 or 64.

    COD EQUERRY

  5. I too looked for clue 27 and tried to fit an anagram of fibre into 1a. I had a slow start, my FOI was NUN, but once I got going I had few hold ups and finished in 9.12 with LOI OARSMAN.
    Thanks to william
  6. Tricky but fast, all green in 12. LOI was OVEREDIT which went in half-parsed. TIDE for time was tough for me — hopefully stored for the future. Only three on the first pass of acrosses but like Merlin, I found the downs went in better and the checkers helped from there. Enjoyed 27 — had wondered if ‘becu’ might have been a thing on the first pass.
  7. I followed a well-trodden path with trying an anagram of fibre and thinking of names Roman Senators and by having the NW as my last area to fill. I added one more semi slip-up by bunging in ETA at 18ac until nothing else made sense in the SW. All this took my time out to a fraction under 12 minutes – but I enjoyed the exercise. Thanks all.
  8. Fortunately I didn’t linger over twisting fibre at 1A. FOI was 9A and then it flowed from there. It’s a funny grid this with 2 answers that are all checked letters. I don’t remember seeing it for a while. Not that I needed the checkers for either. I liked the hidden INTO and the “time to retire”. Thanks both. 3:59.

    Edited at 2021-02-10 09:00 am (UTC)

  9. The clue really should refer to “former teachers’ union”. In 2017 it merged with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers to form a new union known as the National Education Union.
  10. Seemed fast this sunny day, by my standards
    Liked BRACING, EQUERRY, ONUS, LOLLIPOP
    Could not parse EUROPEAN LOI but guessed.
    FOI CARMINE

    Thanks as ever, William. Yes, I did search for Clue 27! But still don’t understand why cube=27.

    Edited at 2021-02-10 10:32 am (UTC)

  11. An enjoyable solve within my usual 40 minute amble. No issue with LECTOR as one that reads from a Lectern. My LOI was 24A as I mulled whether Time and Tide wait for no man.
    Salmon (in cream, garlic and coriander sauce) for dinner last night so left the Grand Cru unopened and went for NV Bollinger to celebrate winning a sizeable project against strong US competitor. Good to see UK government investing in UK for a change.
  12. … including looking for an anagram of Fibre, a clue 27 and the name of a Roman senator. All of which slowed me to a 14 minute solve by the time I had untangled myself, a time not helped by two instances of random names thrown at us. I never find this sort of clue construction easy, but at least today (and unlike Dieter a few days ago) both Euan in 1A and Ned in 12D were British names.

    Not sure I fully understand what the word person is doing in the clue for 8A External, but at least the answer did not depend on it.

    COD to 24A Overedit, not least because the clue gave me not one but two PDMs, first when I realised that About = Over and second when I connected Time and Tide, as in the pair Eastertime/Eastertide. Both not exactly new to me but neither came quickly so double pleasure when they did.

    Many thanks to William for the blog
    Cedric

    1. The way I understood the “unknown person” in the clue was X. As in Mr X.

      I too spent an age looking for an anagram of fibre to insert into the clue.

  13. A bit of a write-in for me , five minutes and done. Must have been in my “sphere” for once. FOI urge, LOI overedit, COD regiment. Made a nice change after my feeble attempt at yesterday’s 15 x 15 when I managed to solve maybe three of the clues. After the buzz of finishing this so quickly — some biffed, I must say, (so here I am looking at why it is European), I completely messed up the Kakuro. Feet firmly back on the ground. But will try the 15 x 15. I travel in hope. Thanks, William and setter. GW.
  14. My resolution during lockdown is to fully savour the joy of completing the QC each morning without watching the clock. Therefore time is no longer of the essence.
    I enjoyed this one and, like many I suspect, pondered long and hard trying, unnecessarily as it turned out, to unscramble ‘FIBRE’ in 1a. And I still can’t see where the opening ‘E’ in 1d ‘EQUERRY’ comes from. Still I managed to finish with no mistakes so I was happy.
    If anything I was a bit too quick this morning as i had only just finished my porridge and hadn’t even picked up my mug of coffee when I completed.
    I must be careful to take longer tomorrow.

    Edited at 2021-02-10 09:35 am (UTC)

    2. I agree. For me, the pleasure is to complete, fully parsing and understanding. Even better if I learn a new word or new bit of crossword-ese
    3. Whenever a lazy compiler has a random letter they need to account for, they just bung the word key into the clue: it works for almost all of them. Stephen
        1. Not forgetting esc, alt and del! Oh and I think I’ve seen enter too. I do still forget about them tho 😕
  15. What a weird one! I got nowhere in the NW, filled the 3-letter answers, and then made slow but steady progress around the grid. I fell into all the traps listed above and only began to get some pleasure out of this one when I neared the end (when there were enough crossers in place for me to make more rapid progress). The ‘more’ is obviously a relative term since I strayed slightly into the SCC. All parsed (except 1ac — Euan defeated me). On reflection, I think there are some clever clues here but I did not really appreciate them in the heat (well, perhaps warmth) of battle. I’ll go over this one again with William’s blog to hand. Thanks to Orpheus for a very different workout today. John M.

    Edited at 2021-02-10 09:41 am (UTC)

  16. As johninterred has observed the NUT has gone. I managed this in about 7 but I think I got lucky. I’m a numbers man so 27 leapt out at me and gave me a good start.
  17. Good time for me and no typos — computer much easier than the phone I normally solve on

    Same as everyone else on FIBRE and 27. EUROPEAN unparsed; ditto OVEREDIT my LOI

    Some neat clues

    Liked the unusual grid

    Thanks all

  18. There were some difficult parsings today which slowed me down quite a bit. FOI was COO and then I went bottom up.
    Last two were EUROPEAN, where I too was looking for tweed or something: and LOI EXTERNAL which took me ages to deconstruct. Did not parse Overedit.
    COD to Equerry. About 13 minutes on paper.
    David
  19. SCC for me too, which is disappointing. Can anyone think of suitable names for the main groups of solvers. The SCC is perfect for those who are habitually over the 20 minute mark. What about the regular sub-ten-minuters like Jackkt, Kevin, Vinyl, Plett et al, and my group who regularly finish (but not always!) between 10 and 20? Thanks both!
  20. Rotter. Without deep thought:
    20+ SCC Slow Crossword Club
    10 — 20 MCC Median (Middle or Middling?) Crossword Club (or, perhaps, ACC Average Crossword Club)
    5 — 10 FCC Fast Crossword Club
    <5 SSCC SuperSonic Crossword Club

    Perhaps we should consider a term for those who no longer care — SCCC Slacker Cracker Crossword Club ( in response to slackercracker’s post above (which crystallises a position taken by many solvers over the years). 😎

    I’m sure that other posters can do much better…. John

    Edited at 2021-02-10 10:41 am (UTC)

    1. It’s not about those who no longer care. I have never cared about my time. I enjoy doing the QC, usually complete, enjoy the parsing (biffing is very unsatisfying), enjoy improving (I hope) my crossword skills – and hope to progress to the big crossword more regularly. The blogs are very helpful, so thanks to all who take the time to do them
      1. Bativy,
        I agree with you and have have often taken the line you take. I have posted over the years, and very recently, to say similar things.
        However, something often draws back me to add something about my time. Perhaps it is an innate sense of competitiveness or maybe a wish to express a similar reaction to (and solidarity with) other solvers (like therotter) with whom I have some affinity and often share ‘ballpark’ times.
        I have no wish to call any solver a slacker. That would be unreasonable and insulting. I simply liked the post above from another poster who styles himself ‘slackercracker’. Hence the use of SC. It is only a bit of fun.
        P.s. Unfortunately, since you have now replied to my post I can no longer alter my wording……..

        Edited at 2021-02-10 11:17 am (UTC)

    2. What would that make me then? I rarely finish these QC, and I am often working on them for well over an hour. As somebody else once suggested of me: NUTS (Not Up To Scratch), or SBH (Shouldn’t Be Here).

      To be honest, I really don’t care what acronym others may want to put me into. I enjoy doing these QC and blogging about it, and no amount of insults or being placed into a group will deter me. If people get off on lording it over others because they were quicker than other solvers, and placing them into groups, then that’s just up to their intellect I suppose. Perhaps they do it to make up for some other deficiency elsewhere.

      Edited at 2021-02-10 11:54 am (UTC)

      1. Hells bells! I only responded in a light-hearted way to rotter’s suggestion and seem to have trodden on an ant’s nest.
        Sorry all. I’ll get my titfer. John.
        1. Whilst there are some really nice and helpful people here (therotter, merlinn_55 to name just two) I have noticed that there are a small number who delight in making those who are no so fast feel incompetent. They want to place other solvers who are not as good as them into groups according to their skill or lack of it. Why must this happen? Why can we not just discuss the crossword and provide helpful hints and tips to those, like me, who are new at all this? State your times and opinion on how easy it was yes, but must we label others as “slow coaches” or “Slow Crossword Solvers”? I find it rather insulting and not at all helpful or encouraging. Some seem to act as if they emerged from the womb solving cryptic crosswords.
          1. I think you are approaching this from a different angle. If you had been with us for longer, you might have seen many earlier emails in which the idea of the SCC was introduced as a means of some of us labelling ourselves as ‘slowcoaches’ in response to the apparently self-satisfied comments from other ‘supersonic’ solvers who made self-deprecating remarks about ‘going over their 5 minute target’ and the like.

            This apparent false modesty used to wind some of us up but we gradually realised that this blog is largely made up of comments from mutually supportive and considerate posters. We developed a sense of perspective and just made the odd friendly comment about ‘neutrinos’ and the like from time to time. I don’t think any bloggers here ‘delight in making slower solvers feel incompetent’ and I think you would find that there would be a backlash from reasonable bloggers if there was any hint that this was happening. We are a friendly lot.
            It is the sort of banter that is common on blogs such as this. It is not to be taken personally.

            If casual remarks, made ‘on the hoof’ without deep prior thought (and/or with humorous intent) are to be outlawed, then the blog will not last long. I hope you will accept that we are a very mixed ability group and try to take posts in the spirit in which they are intended. Ignore those whose posts you feel don’t suit. We are not all new solvers any more and the blog must cover all levels of experience. I would not be here if I thought that there was any intention by some solvers to put down other solvers.

            I trust that your solving skills will continue to improve and that you will continue to get sustenance (and entertainment) from this blog. Good luck with both. It works well for most of us. John.

            Edited at 2021-02-10 01:03 pm (UTC)

          2. I agree with Oldblighter: with almost but not quite no exceptions, there is no malice in the comments here. It is a blog of enthusiasts who are entitled to be enthusiastic, including about speed, if that is their thing. We don’t have to pass a speed test to get in here, so be as leisurely as you like.
            You have had more positive direct replies than anyone since you started blogging so you are perhaps being a bit sensitive amongst a very broad group of fellow solvers of all levels. Not all comments apply equally to everyone.
            I was amused to see a comment in The Other Blog re super fast speeds on the 15×15, saying –
            “I feel like I wouldn’t enjoy the crossword so much if I polished it off in three minutes. I imagine it being like downing a fine wine. Fortunately for me it’s never going to happen.”
            My thoughts exactly, on both aspects! SCC — Savouring Cryptic Clues. Enjoy, and let others enjoy in their own way too.
            1. I should clarify, I saw nothing malicious in any of the comments today. I appreciate that on other days there has been the odd (…) comment but that has been clearly and expressly addressed recently.
          3. Hi P_W. Yours are amongst the 1st comments I look for on the blog as I find your honesty very refreshing and your progress over time seems almost tangible. I’ve commented before that your level of achievement is much greater than I would have expected for the length of time you’ve been doing the QCs.

            Time to complete is almost meaningless for me as I have to dip in and out during the day as it is hard for me to concentrate for long periods due to some cognitive issues. (Occasionally I time the sittings as with today (25 minutes, since you ask) and Monday (50 minutes)). My DNFs are becoming less frequent but still happen.

            I’ve always taken SCC to be a mildly self-deprecating title adopted by the SC club members themselves. I take all the comments on the blog in that spirit and hope that you can, too.

            Stephen

            1. Hi stephengm, and thank you for your very encouraging remarks.

              I know on the whole that people here are not deliberately trying to undermine or insult the less experienced people. Yet, it can be very disheartening and discouraging to see people being referred to as being in the “slow clubs” because they are less able to solve these crosswords, or do so in a vastly slower time than others.

              However, I will try to not allow it to get to me. I guess after the incident the other week when I was called out by name as not being worthy to be here, I just feel a little on-guard.

              Thanks again for your very kind words.

              1. Don’t forget that the only person who can put you in a category here is yourself! I do sympathise: when you’re new to this game, it can feel like that some people are either very smug or humblebragging — I certainly felt very inferior when I first discovered the site and lurked for two or three years before being brave enough finally to sign up. In fact, I’d say the tone has changed quite considerably with the arrival of so many new posters, and we all benefit greatly from that. As others have explained, the SCC was a jokey comment coined a while back which other similar-minded people picked up on. No-one is ‘put’ in it — it’s totally self-selecting! But, you know — it is Times for the Times!

                A lot of people quite rightly leapt to your defence the other week — there’s no room here for bullying, loads of room for support, and never forgetting a sense of humour. Good luck with your crossword challenge — each month that goes by will give you more experience and confidence. It took me more than six months to get my first completion without aids! You’ve got bags of time 😊

                Edited at 2021-02-10 05:30 pm (UTC)

            2. Quite right, Stephen. The SCC description was indeed introduced by some of us as a means of labelling ourselves as ‘slowcoaches’ in an entirely self- deprecating way. For some, it was a response to the apparently self-satisfied comments from others. With time on this blog, I now realise that most of the ‘supersonic’ solvers do not mean their times and comments as boasting. They can just do the QC quickly and say so — this is TfT after all.

              Forgive me if I add, for the benefit of others, that SCC is one of many shorthand terms that solvers of similar ability now use to compare each other’s reaction to the difficulty of a particular crossword. There is no implication about the abilities of others and it does avoid posting precise times. One soon discovers solvers that share an approach and a level of expertise. It is always good to find ‘like minds’ and to see how they found a particular QC.
              And this is a very broad church. John

              Edited at 2021-02-10 05:16 pm (UTC)

      2. Poison Wyvern you are doing much better than me! I hardly ever finish the QC but it doesn’t bother me and I enjoy all the blogs and am not in the least put off by quoted times to complete it from the seasoned solvers! I start the QC with breakfast, have another look at lunch and then a final think with dinner. Sometimes there is more satisfaction from getting a late PDM (see, I’m picking up the lingo!) than if I saw the answer early on!
  22. The erstwhile teachers union was my FOI with YONDER a close second. The twisted fibre took a lot longer to develop. after the REGIMENT(al) EQUERRY gave me the (p)URGE. The rest of the puzzle developed steadily with CUBE and CARMINE last 2 in. 9:34. Thanks Orpheus and William.
  23. Oh dear! I spent so so long trying to rearrange the letters of fibre into Ian at 1a before I moved on to 5a and looked for clue 27. My FOI was ROMANTIC and then slowly the grid filled up. I got CUBE before EUROPEAN and then I silently cried unfair at EUAN (which it wasn’t since I had tried to use the random name Ian as an alternative). The NW corner held out to the last with my LOI being URGE. I missed my target but not by much.
  24. I didn’t look for 27dn, but I did think about Roman numerals and the 2nd and 7th letters of the alphabet.

    After 5 minutes I thought I was really going to struggle with this, but after swapping corners things started to fall into place — completing in a satisfying 16mins after correcting my initial spelling of Lollypop.

    I think I’ve seen 5dn “Carmine” recently as I’m sure I had the same dilemma of whether I could biff Crimson. Liked 1dn “Equerry”, 6dn “Bracing” (it certainly is at the moment) and 12dn “Unopened”. Misread 19ac at first thinking it was “something stuck” which caused a few issues, whilst 21dn brought back memories of Reeves and Mortimer.

    FOI — 4dn “Nut”
    LOI — 5dn “Carmine”
    COD — 5ac “Cube”

    Thanks as usual.

  25. I did lots more biffing today than usual , which meant I finished this neat puzzle in just under 14 minutes, a time with which I am pleased. I normally solve and parse as I go along but today I depended on rounding up to make sure I recognised enough of the clue/solution interface to be fairly certain I was right.

    This meant that I didn’t see those 3 chaps, Euan, Eric and Ned, until William pointed them out. It also saved me from too much twisting of fibre in 1 across, from finding the king in EQUERRY, his surrogate in REGIMENT, and the abandoned Roman in OARSMAN. This was just as well with the latter clue because I would have been bamboozled by the anagrind, abandoned, being separated from the anagrist by the word senator.

    Thanks William, for casting light on all the dark corners. And thanks too to orpheus

  26. FOI: 11a NUN
    LOI: 23a ONUS
    Setter: Orpheus

    Clues Answered Correctly without aids: 20

    Clues Answered with Aids (3 lives): 1 (1a)

    Clues Unanswered: 5 (5a, 16a, 1d, 6d, 14d)

    Wrong Answers: Nil

    Total Correctly Answered (incl. aids): 21/26

    Aids Used: Chambers, Bradfords

    I did not get to finish this one, but I am finding that I am able to get further now without using aids, which gives me a confidence boost.

    15d – JUST DESERTS. I got confused here for a while as I always thought the spelling was JUST DESSERTS, but it didn’t fit. Initially I wondered if the setter had made a mistake and had spelled desserts incorrectly. But I realised that the setters do not often make mistakes and therefore it must be on my part. I entered JUST DESERTS and then Googled the phrase. I read there that the phrase is commonly misspelled with SS.

    5a CUBE. I quickly got the two letters C U (periodic copper), but it was the 27 that threw me. Though somebody else in the comments above mentioned they were confused with cube, and another gave the answer of 3x3x3, I am still none the wiser. Was 27 used because it was a specific cubed number, or was it used by the setter as one of many cubed numbers he could have used? I initially thought of Roman Numerals when I saw the 27, but XXVII makes no sense, and has too many letters anyway.

    5d CARMINE – When the setter said “vehicle belonging to this compiler”, I noted his name to be Orpheus, and all I kept thinking of was RED PILL. But, obviously, that would not fit the answer.

    Over the past two days I have been having a bash of the Daily Telegraph cryptic, and have not been doing too bad. I answered 20 of 28 (some aids used) on Monday, and 24 of 30 (again, some aids used) yesterday. I like BIg Dave’s blog on the DT cryptic as he gives you a further clue to each clue on his blog, with a button you have to click to reveal the answer. Most helpful. One day I will be able to tackle and blog the Times 15×15.

    1. I always check the name of the setter as well. But it never seems to appear: always some First Person pronoun fits. Shame, setters are missing a trick here.

    2. Your second suggestion is correct. i.e. the setter picked 27 as one of any number (infinite presumably) of cube(d number)s he could have used. The word “possibly” is important here, signifying a definition by example, i.e. 27 isn’t the only “thing” that the answer could be.

      I’m guessing the setter was trying to be a little helpful. Had he/she used 8, doubtless there would have been a lot of head-scratching about what C*B* word could equate to EXTERNAL, the answer to 8a. There being no 27, across or down, tells the solver to think in other ways. 27 is the lowest cube after 8. A higher number (e.g. 24389 being 29*29*29) is less likely to have been recognised as a cube.

  27. 33m 59s a PB. FOI equerry LOI overedit (unparsed). COD cube. I too looked for a 27th clue but in the acrosses, as I thought a high number ac more likely than a dn. I think that is so if there is at least one ac on the 15th row. Thanks Orpheus and William from this member of the SCC who occasionally feels he is STT (swimming through treacle).
    1. Ditto! I often feel as though I’m “swimming through treacle”, so I will look out for you next time I’m there.
  28. I put down my pencil after 34 minutes really unsure about my LOI (24: OVEREDIT), as I just could not see the parsing. I was somewhat reassured, however, as Mrs Random, who seems to be able to guess correctly just about all of the time, had the same solution and also did not know how the clue worked. I almost decided not to check the solution and to spend the rest of today in blissful ignorance.

    N.B. Mrs R smashed it in 14 minutes (almost her best ever time).

    Many thanks to william_j_s for his blog, and to Orpheus (whom I often refer to as Awfulus, given my poor track record with his puzzles) for a challenging and enjoyable QC.

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