Last week we discussed which crosswords deserved to be inducted into the DA Pantheon, and, almost as if he knew we would be discussing the topic, a few days later DA delivered a classic which shall be duly inducted undisputed into the highest of ranks.
So as of today, 14th December, 2010, the DA Pantheon features these hallowed members:
- the McCrossword;
- the footnote crossword;
- the marriage crossword;
- the noel crossword;
- the money crossword;
- the Zimmerman crossword (published on the 24th of September, 2004); and
- last week’s loop-de-loop crossword.
Not quite hitting the same heights, in the DA Para-Pantheon sit the following still remarkably good members:
- the AC/DC crossword;
- the Simpsons crossword;
- the George Orwell crossword;
- the bobbing-message-in-a-bottle crossword;
- the Where’s Wally crossword;
- the indigenous crossword;
- the two-letter crossword;
- the portmanteau crossword;
- the product placement crossword (published on the 27th May, 2005);
- the no-animals crossword (published on the 11th March, 2005).
Other DA crosswords have also been spoken of in hushed tones yet remain unrecognised. These include:
- the taboo crossword on the 19th August, 2005, which featured DA breaking all known cryptic conventions and can be found in the motherlode;
- the Muralidaran/nong’s rumba/red-handed crossword, which dates from 2007 or so, and is more than likely somewhere in the motherlode;
- the pool crossword (as in at a pub), which is dated to around 2007 or earlier and should be in the motherlode;
- the everything-is-an-island crossword, which is dated to around 2000/2001;
- the six kings crossword, which goes undated; and
- the do-re-mi crossword, which is also undated.
Thus stands the DA Pantheon; thus stand duly recognised the glories of DA’s bounty.
I finally have a date for you : October 5 2007 – One of the great ones!!!
And I’ve just tried it! I remember doing this one, but don’t know whether I finished it at the time. Yes, it’s a good one. I have a couple of queries though. Is this the place to air those queries?
Yep, just air them after this warning:
SPOILER ALERT for October 5, 2007 crossword — comments below might ruin your fun in doing this crossword.
I managed to answer my own queries apart from this:
3D: Wrap sole poker scar in film? (3,5,2,5)
Answer is “The sound of music”. It took quite a while for the penny to drop. Rap, Soul, Ska are all types of music. But what did DA have in mind with “poker”? The closest I can think of is “polka”. Any ideas, anyone?
I also had a couple of whinges which will only make sense if you have the crossword to hand:
16D: Part of the clue is “cool coterie”, which yields “ins”. I’ve heard of “in” used as an adjective to mean “cool”, but “ins” as a noun? Is that OK?
17D: The answer is “phonics”. The def is 3D (The sound of music). I thought phonics related to speech, not music.