The Times Crossword Friday Masterclass: Episode 31

** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
In the 31st edition of our attempt to solve a Friday Times crossword, Mark takes on today's puzzle, which contains a lot of British slang.
The puzzle is available to play on The Times crossword club website (which is behind their paywall):
www.thetimes.c...
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[@davidrattner9]

Thank you Mark for filling in today for Simon and keeping this amazing Friday tradition going!! Cherish your exquisite cryptic knowledge.

[@longwaytotipperary]

Ditto! 😁

[@clara931]

When you watch this you can truly understand just how come Mark has won competitions and become top of the world in this field

[@CilantroGamer]

"I will go slower than I usually do." 28 minute video. Mark, you're an absolute legend.

[@PotmosHetoimos]

My son’s name is Desmond and we call him Des! He turns 8 on Monday 😊

[@Alex_Meadows]

An early happy birthday to Des!

[@d4r4butler74]

YAY!! A Mark Crossword Video!!! Always a pleasure to watch a crossword video.

[@philipbrooks402]

Fascinating to observe the very different styles of Mark and Simon and how they each tackle the clues. Definitely now part of my Friday programme and my own skill as a cruciverbalist is improving. Thanks to you both.

[@Antagony1960]

Yes, Mark's ability to conjure up answers so quickly is amazing to watch, but I really enjoy Simon's enthusiasm after his 'penny-drop' moments, too. I also reckon he would have been highly amused by the UED definition for SICKLY, whereas Mark just drily pointed out that it could catch out speed solvers.

[@annastevenson27]

My favourite Friday video. Thank you!

[@turtledruid464]

For those curious, "I got rhythm" originally appeared in George Gershwin's musical "Girl Crazy" but was so popular with jazz musicians at the time that the chord progression became a standard form known as "rhythm changes" and has been used since in a staggering number of other jazz standards (as well as arrangements of the original tune itself).

[@emilywilliams3237]

I love these Friday Masterclasses, and it is wonderful to have you on tap today, Mark. Very enjoyable, interesting, impressive, as always. Did I know any of these this time? No. Not a one. (Best wishes for the Times championship next month, as well!)

[@tsoram]

IIRC Henry I died from “a surfeit of lampreys”

[@clivebrenchley5319]

Always a pleasure to watch the master solving a cryptic crossword! Keep them coming. I really enjoyed a couple of Mark's earlier entries in the series where he solved the Friday crossword slowly and then speed-solved another crossword from that week. A repeat of that format would be a real treat. Thx both, as always.

[@mitrisharaiha8916]

Marks knowledge is so immense it’s scary

[@azrobbins01]

I think it is a really good thing to see both Mark and Simon complete these to so that we can see each person's technique and perspective for solving.

[@Enkil01]

Marks knowledge of these is amazing. Wish you had done a second one as a fast solve, like some previous vids, watching them is just mind boggling.

[@iang4662]

As much as I enjoy watching Simon do these, Mark is just on another level.

[@theskyisteal8346]

I'm sure I'm not the only one commenting this but Mark is correct: the loon does feature on a Canadian coin. The coin in question is our one-dollar coin (~0.5 £) colloquially, and fittingly, known as the loonie

[@nickr3115]

Wow, you totally crushed that crossword. I am in awe. I could see that you were trying to solve at a slow enough pace for more feeble minds, such as my own, to follow. Bravo!

[@chrisgasson877]

The cows stomach you are thinking of is Omasum, (the others being Reticulum, Rumen and Abomasum) Omentum is still abominal, being the fibrous sheet that the intestines hang from, and are supported by.

[@wossaaaat]

It's what I imagine watching a Heisenberg lecture on quantum theory would be like. Not really sure what's going on or how it works, but you know something genius is happening. Magical. Thanks Mark.

[@stevewood8]

I was a victim of that 'Sickle Trap' today, so Mark's comment eased my pain a little. Love these Friday videos...

[@Math.Bandit]

SICKLE/SICKLY with no checking letter on the last one seems particularly dastardly to me.

[@henrymarkson3758]

Mark's cryptic cracking skill is next level.

[@missioncardiac7599]

It's nice to pit one's wits against the GOAT occasionally, so when I got BACK and subsequently MUSIC HALL before Mark I felt as if I took a point off Federer's serve. Then I sat back and enjoyed the ride for the rest of the crossword. Henry I is supposed to have died from "A surfeit of lampreys" (currently disputed) so I presume it must have been a favourite food of his

[@archivist17]

Awesome! I like the way this setter thinks. 😄

[@louisesuth8141]

An absolute joy, thanks

[@dglthrawn1]

I first came across lampreys in "1066 And All That" by Sellars and Yeatman. Great book. Henry I died from a 'sufeit of lampreys'. He liked them so much he ate them till they killed him. Taste like beef, apparently.

[@thejeqff]

Wonderful solve. Always love these masterclasses. =) And for I've Got Rhythm: George Gershwin

[@heatherallan9767]

thanks for our friday treat ✏

[@craftsmanwoodturner]

Any chance of a special, perhaps earlier in the week, where Mark solves the Times Cryptic at his usual speed without commentary? I think that would be fascinating! Definitely something to aspire to. I work on the Telegraph Cryptic when I visit my dad who is 95 next month, but we seldom finish it. I reckon watching these videos is improving my skills, though.

[@Math.Bandit]

I want to say that a month or so ago on one of these Friday ones, Mark did the Friday one as normal (for us) and then also did one from earlier in the week normally (for him) with commentary afterwards in post or something?

[@dm3591]

He did, 23rd and 9th June I think.

[@craftsmanwoodturner]

@@dm3591Excellent! I must have missed that, so I'll take a look.

[@caljcam]

The patreon has mark doing plenty of speed solves.

[@keithlewis7205]

Gershwin wrote “I Gof Rhythm “

[@grenvillephillips6998]

I am definitely improving, and so huge thanks to Simon and Mark!

[@ranajamal3848]

Great solve

[@richardfarrer5616]

Henry died of a surfeit of lampreys, as described in "1066 and All that".

[@1fosters]

I love your monthly club special solve for the reliance on wordplay, but will happily accept any Mark solve video.

[@sebastienlecoq3956]

Simon spoiled us so much last week I was F5ing youtube for almost 2 hours waiting for this video (not a complain, quite the opposite, please continue thoses videos).

[@daconor91]

I can’t believe I got 2 down before the king of Times crossword himself! So what if I couldn’t get any other of the clues 😂

[@johnmerriam8661]

Blimey you are clever! Apart from when you said those at the back often come last! They *always* come last!!

[@bibliopolist]

I got that theatre immediately, but everything else... no chance.

[@longwaytotipperary]

So excited for this!!

[@davidrattner9]

🫠 Always excited.

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@davidrattner9 😁

[@azrobbins01]

Love these! Please keep them coming!

[@iamtheblarneystonekissmyass]

We love crosswords. Nuff said

[@Astervista]

I would really like to see mark solving the Friday cryptic at his fast pace for a change. Maybe it can be an insert after Simon’s explained solve? I cannot believe how he would solve a cryptic that fast

[@mace9770]

Look at his last video. He does a fast solve at the end and it’s around 5 mins I think. It’s crazy to watch.

[@richardlyons7582]

"I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin

[@Kradlum]

Henry I allegedly died after eating "a surfeit of lampreys"

[@andrewgrant6516]

I got rhythm is by George and Ira Gershwin, from the musical Girl Crazy (1930).

[@Raven-Creations]

Woohoo! I got one (music hall) quicker than the master. All of these clues were fair, and I would have got them, but the speed with which you did it is most impressive. By the time I've said "Aargh! What's that word I'm thinking of?", you've not only answered it, but explained it too.

[@Moolers]

Hope to see Mark solving more of these.

[@TheMajorr86]

Obviously you guys know many of the solvers in the community looking at their times and whatnot. Do they watch these videos? Do any of them reach out after seeing the time listed asking things like "Looks like you got video making duties this week"?

[@Anne_Mahoney]

Simon's told us that the SNITCH rating looks at known, recognized solvers. Somebody who solves on paper and just types it in to check the result gets called a neutrino, since the apparent time doesn't reflect the actual length of the solve. When the famous Magoo solves a puzzle and it takes him *twenty-eight minutes* instead of the usual four, does he become an anti-neutrino? 😺 I just love watching these, and it's also neat to see how Simon and Mark approach them differently -- both how they solve the clues (Mark's more intuitive, it seems) and how they explain the results. I'm starting to look forward to Friday evenings for these!

[@vinyl1Earthlink]

Surprisingly, I saw some of the answers instantly that you couldn't see - and vice versa. Music hall and back were write-ins for me, but I struggled with Franglais, looking for a technical word from linguistics, like a creole or a patois. The key to speed in harder puzzles is discarding wrong ideas, and I tend to stick with them.

[@thelobsterperson]

Henry I famously died after eating too many lampreys! I learned that from Stupid Deaths

[@amandalindsay8920]

I believe the historical ‘myth’ is that Henry I died of a surfeit of lampreys.

[@williambarnes3868]

Died from a surfeit of Lampreys.

[@gposchman]

I got rhythm George Gershwin

[@altreusplays]

No Q! Alas!

[@bigsimmo]

Interestingly, 'Jake' is also slang for police officer

[@SnugglesPlays]

Can you or Simon help me with the following clue? I got the answer, but can't quite understand it: Exploitative jerk arrived after work then left Oxford and Cambridge, perhaps. Thanks! 🙂❤

[@SomeRandomGuyOnYouTube]

Got to be OPPORTUNISTIC jerk = tic, an involuntary movement or spasm work = op. (short for "opus", a musical work) left = port, in the nautical sense Oxford and Cambridge, perhaps = unis (short for "universities") "Arrived" is not doing much, it's just there to make the clue read better.

[@SnugglesPlays]

@@SomeRandomGuyOnKZbin Ahhh, thanks, it was indeed opportunistic and I got the tic part and the unis for Oxford and Cambridge but just couldn't fathom the work or left parts, so thanks for clarifying that for me! 🙂

[@yusoshi]

@@SomeRandomGuyOnKZbin ‘arrived after’ means tic is at the end?

[@SomeRandomGuyOnYouTube]

@@yusoshi Yes, but "after" by itself would be enough. It's valid wordplay but it's clear that "arrived" has been included just so that the sentence makes sense.