DA has already stated this week’s features a theme — which usually means something special is in store.
Merry Christmas, and I bet DA will make things especially fun.
Update: A great one:
A joy to behold — and I was only a silly mistake away from a Poolroom moment (I had VENUS for VENUE, which bamboozled me with PROMOTE, and I cheated rather than work through the impasse).
Not quite Noel standard from two years ago for me, but an absolute cracker nonetheless.
Merry Christmas everyone.
I loved this week. Too many to mention individually. This would have to be a Golden week.
This week’s is a cracker full of goodies. DA’s put on a feast. Happy holidays and safe travelling to all Trippers.
Thirded. This was the best for a while, I think.
I realise this isn’t the Times, but I wonder if DA is trying to find out how many living people and trade marks he can get in a puzzle before anyone complains? 8 in this one, by my count.
I’m not whinging! I am a Xmas angel.
I’m a Pom and a Kiwi. I get to whinge enough for both of us ;)
I’m wondering if he put so many people in to defeat the online word matching programs.
Season’s greeting everyone :)
Thanks for a great crossword, DA :D
That should be *greetings*. I’m feeling generous :D
Definitely a puzzle for the pantheon. Beautifully paced, no external aids. Fun all around. Thanks DA.
This DA warmed up a cold and wet Christmas Day. Lots to savour. Thanks. I got 7D fairly quickly, after which the theme fell into place. Admittedly, I did have to dig out an old trivia night quiz to remind me of the names in the ‘set’, which I believe are actually an American 19th century invention, with debate over authorship and over the spelling of a couple of the names.
Sorry, posted this in confusion, probably better here:
Ho, ho, ho, that was a fantastic puzzle. Definitely one for the pantheon with plenty of gold, particularly 2d and 3d. An even better xmas puzzle than the Noel crossword of 2009, which was itself one of the all-time greats.
Turning now to one of the serious issues raised by DA and the commentariate. I sold newspapers in the local shopping centre in the late 80s, including that lost bastion of Australian journalism, The Truth. Samantha Fox’s appearance on p3 of that publication was one of the highlights of my career in the news game. However, I’ve since discovered sophisticated latin girls like AMM, so I’m with Rupert. She’s no longer on the running away list.
I had some great assistance from AMM and HC, and F(N)G popped his DA cherry with 6a. Well done and welcome to the house, F(N)G.
Happy xmas to all and thanks for an entertaining year! Well done DA.
If one gets the crossword out, but did not understand how one did it, is one still entitled to Poolroom Status?
I’d say yes. I once thought I had all the wordplay sorted but when I tried to explain it to someone else, I realised I didn’t understand it.
Poolroom can be for anything you feel good about, so go ahead.
Thanks for re-sharing in 2015! I had not started to learn cryptic crosswords in 2011 so this is new for me.