The Times Crossword Friday Masterclass: Episode 8

[@swclements1]

Please do keep the crossword Friday - loving them

[@longwaytotipperary]

Ditto!

[@hisnakedness]

Me also - my favourite part of the week.

[@amysteele2488]

Now that's what I call a masterclass! Bravo!

[@davidrattner9]

Lovely from you!!! Totally agree!

[@longwaytotipperary]

Absolutely fantastic!!! I love how Simon says “we” so we can feel smart also!

[@davidrattner9]

His continuous of we usage makes it constantly special for us.

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@davidrattner9 yes! 😊

[@1fosters]

Well that certainly counts as a masterclass

[@wossaaaat]

Hehe, that was Beethoven's 5th, Simon 🤭 Ninth is the one with Ode to Joy in it, I think. Loving the crossword stuff. Not like you don't give us enough content already, but certainly happy to see this one continue. Thank you.

[@benphelan88]

Yes, that’s correct. Came here to say the same thing. You’re forgiven, Simon!

[@CrackingTheCryptic]

Oops :)

[@longwaytotipperary]

Yay!

[@davidrattner9]

@@longwaytotipperary beautiful yay from you !! 😁

[@longwaytotipperary]

@@davidrattner9 thank you! Yay for your response! 😊

[@JamieFox-g7e]

Delightful. The crossword equivalent of a 147. I still have some way to go to reach such heights. Improving gradually. For any beginners out there, stick at it, it gets easier. What seems impossible now will become obvious later. It feels like luck sometimes, but as Gary Player said, "The more I practise, the luckier I get."

[@emilywilliams3237]

I am very glad you have started doing these weekly crossword videos. I definitely feel that I am learning the language of this kind of puzzle, and even have glimmers of possibly at some point maybe being able to do a clue or two by myself! It's kind of like being thrown into the deep end, but there you are, confidently holding out the pool noodle, and I can stay afloat because of your explanations! Thanks, Simon.

[@longwaytotipperary]

❤️ your analogy, Emily!

[@puritan7473]

Yes, you definitely did it in one shot (without going back over any clues) Great job, and thank you for taking the time to share this!

[@skasperl]

What I learn from these is, that EVERYTHING can be an anagram indicator.

[@lizzyvv447]

🤣I think you even included one in your comment, I'm pretty sure 'can be' is possible as an anagram indicator! Don't take my word for it though, I'm by no means an expert, or anything near.

[@zmaj12321]

Every word is an anagram indicator? Yes! (10)

[@lizzyvv447]

@@zmaj12321 I was gonna say I don't get it, and then I think I got it. Dictionary.

[@zmaj12321]

@@lizzyvv447 correct!

[@davidharris8496]

Use of 'without' to mean 'outside' particularly apt today on Good Friday, as in the hymn "There is a green hill far away / without a city wall" - I used to think this just meant that it didn't have one, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that! Really enjoy your crossword videos - they're the main reason I'm subscribed to the channel, so hoping you'll keep them up!

[@MultiNacnud]

This reminds me of a Roger Moore film (North sea Hijack if I remember correctly). Moore's character was described as someone who can finish the Times crossword in ten minutes, to which Moore replied "It's never taken me that long".

[@RobertWilson-hc5db]

I got into your channel because I wanted a heads up on solving cryptic crosswords, so I'm delighted you are doing this every Friday. My wife and I now buy the Friday Times so that we can try and solve it , and then watch your video for any answers we can't get. I thought this weeks was slightly easier than last, we finished it correctly! I've never heard of LEMAN meaning lover, and we got EBRO but I didn't understand the wordplay until you explained it. Thanks and please keep them coming.

[@hoagy_ytfc]

Surely the word play for 27A is outed (exposed) with stay (a support), not out and stayed.

[@SudokuConCarabet]

Indeed. “Stays” are supports as in a corset.

[@hoagy_ytfc]

@@SudokuConCarabet or cable-stayed bridge for example.

[@TheKirbyness]

Excellent crossword and excellent solve I liked a lot of these clues

[@OMGitsSleek]

Incredible job!! I know I could never solve these, so watching you do them with ease is great!

[@hoagy_ytfc]

I’m totally here for the regular crossword content, thank you 😊

[@logzmort]

Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

[@skel3110]

Fantastic Simon, I am learning so much from following your Friday Masterclass series so please keep them up! Cheers Steve

[@bobb9518]

I've watched a lot of Simon solving Sudokus on CtC, I came across the channel during the lockdown and I enjoy watching them while I eat. This is the first cryptic crossword I've ever seen him do, and I'm astounded. The sheer logical intellect this man possesses is staggering. If Simon was a dnd character, his int score has to be a 17-18, right? Also, I could assure you sir, IF we were ever to meet at a party, I would absolutely love to have a conversation with you. I think it would probably the most interesting conversation I would ever have with a stranger. =D I am in awe of how your brain works, I'm not sure what you do for a living Sah, but you'd make an amazing programmer/coder!

[@Thabolad]

I think I've just witnessed history

[@GordonjSmith1]

It was cool, and I think discussing it is what parties are for! Bring it on, really enjoying these Friday Cryptics.

[@timotab]

A good way to think of "without" is it being the opposite of "within". There is a hymn that uses this older meaning of the word, which seems apropos for the Easter weekend. There is a green hill far away Without a city wall Where our dear Lord was crucified Who died to save us all

[@hillrp1]

Congratulations on the masterful solve

[@rickk9897]

Thanks for doing these crosswords, Simon. I absolutely love watching you solve them. One suggestion, though: Any chance your team can figure a way to put the clue in bigger type (maybe across the top or bottom of the screen)? I can enjoy your Soduku solves from the comforts of my couch (12 feet away)... but for the crosswords, I have to be about 3-4 feet away. Keep up the great work!

[@stephenmor66]

I am loving this series and I really hope you continue with them. It seems you will as you seem to be enjoying them too. I actually found this one harder than some others you have done, I like to pause the video and try and get the answer before you do. Normally I get a handful but less this time. At some point all of your lessons will kick in, maybe.

[@nickloader3184]

Awesome work. I was with you up to EBRO. My geography is not great. While I was with you for most of them, you certainly left me behind at the end. Yes, to confirm, you solved every single clue first time round 👏 Oh outstayed = outed gathering stay. Impressive surfaces and very fair wordplay in all clues by the setter. A few trickier ones would've been nice though 👌

[@Kradlum]

Simon was on fire with this one!

[@HienNguyenHMN]

Amazing solve!

[@eddeh0772]

Very impressive, well done!

[@onion013]

My favourite series on this channel! :D

[@Raven-Creations]

Very nicely done, even if it was easier than the typical Friday crossword. I loved the dish on our table clue, even though it wasn't particularly cryptic.

[@archivist17]

Nice solve.

[@shovalis]

You should always let us take a look at the fastest solvers times before you go, for reference :)

[@hoagy_ytfc]

3down, re: without - I’ve always loved maps and used to spend ages looking at old OS maps as a kid (still do, actually). I remember the regions outside my home town being labelled Yeovil Without, which is why the meaning in this clue always comes straight to mind.

[@bryanroland9402]

Well I thought it was cool too. Great to have regular crossword videos.

[@d4r4butler74]

YAY Simon!! BTW, those of us who watch CtC would probably be fine listening to you at a party. I know a lot of words... but I seriously doubt that I could do even a beginner's English Cryptic Crossword. American Crosswords just need you to know the words, or be able to do the other direction to get the word that one doesn't know (one should always check to make sure you now know the words in both directions, Across and Down, just in case they come up again (and they will)).

[@SirBradiator]

I saw Dave Gormans current tour on the same day that you last solved one of his crosswords on the channel. So the section on his prowess as a crossword compiler was incredibly funny, especially as I felt I was in on a lot of the joke. If you've seen the show, See 28 across in your Video from 14th October for context.

[@zzzaralol]

very clever 👍

[@kuchcyk]

Da da da daaaa is Beethoven's 5th, Simon LOL

[@dglthrawn1]

Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance.

[@lievenmarchand]

And an etcher

[@gingermlg]

Ah yes, as anyone would know

[@samuelwoodhouse1796]

Well done

[@kevinmartin7760]

I'm completely unfamiliar with that meaning of "anorak" but apparently it was a term applied to trainspotters because of the type of coat they might have worn to stay warm while standing around watching trains (or the long gaps between).

[@stephenmor66]

I knew it, but I associate it with 1970s Britain. But surely less obscure than ancient Greece, Rome or Egypt with which we are also supposed to be familiar.😂

[@stephenmor66]

Do other countries have trainspotting, or anoraks?

[@kevinmartin7760]

@@stephenmor66 Perhaps less obscure to someone who grew up in 1970's Britain... But do they teach about trainspotting in school?

[@kevinmartin7760]

@@stephenmor66 Not much trainspotting here in Canada.. It is usually too cold or too hot outside to stand around. And I only ever heard the term "anorak" in perhaps the past 5 or 10 years. We always called them "parkas" or more generally "winter coats".

[@chipsounder4633]

😂 googlewhack was legendary too

[@dethbygaming]

“Humming Beethoven’s 9th” Simon: sings Beethoven’s 5th

[@kimh6979]

Amazing 🤩

[@bobblebardsley]

Me: "Suit... 'FIT'? May be thus... 'SO'? Taken off gently... 'ROSE' but shortened to 'RO'? Going on peg... 'PIN'. FITSOROPIN! Sounds probable."

[@cathybryant5119]

I venture to guess that anyone who watches all these videos would love to talk to Simon at a party!

[@swclements1]

That’s a 7 down!

[@tonyroberts3926]

Whenever I do a certain crossword (not the Times - one which is much more at my level) I note down the clues as I solve them and dot those I cannot solve on first reading. When I find I have tried all the clues I call it the "First Pass". Only once have I completed that crossword on the First Pass. I only dot attempts at clues up to a maximum of 3 dots - when I find myself looking at a bunch of remaining triple-dotted clues I know it's time for a break

[@richfield4405]

Ode to Cracking the Rapid Cryptic

[@kevinmartin7760]

In 4 across, isn't the 'The' completely superfluous?

[@bibliopolist]

It's an allusion to the novel "The Go-Between" that features someone named Ted.

[@martinwilson5210]

Was so willing you on

[@mkwilson1394]

It's not within, it's without. That's how I think about it.

[@gnfnrf]

Simon's progression through this puzzle made me wonder something. Do higher level cryptic crosswords have an intended solve path? I mean obviously, you could figure out any clue in any order if your brain just clicks, but does the setter think "that one is really hard, but if they get this one first, they'll have that letter and it'll work out" and build a path through the puzzle, or do they just set all the clues and everyone finds their own way?

[@Biddlebum]

I don't think so. In my goes at cryptic setting (some of the TLS crosswords), and for my GK crosswords for the Sunday Times, I do print out a puzzle I've just finished and see if I can imagine such a path, writing in ones that seem easy first, and then the ones people might get from checkers, but it's obviously based on my assessment of the difficulty of clues for which I already know the answer. I don't think you can predict very accurately which clues solvers are going to find easy.

[@B1GB1RDB4G3L]

Love u Simon

[@DaShikuXI]

Alright here is my first ever attempt at a cryptic crossword clue: "delegate journalists on trip without uniform" (8)

[@williambarnes3868]

Albrecht Durer was a german master painter.

[@jarvisa12345]

A genuinely approachable Times crossword. 24:08 s=ut+½at² v=u+at

[@macmccolgan5952]

Jane 😍 Comedian

[@grenvillephillips6998]

The Snitch rating = 78

[@europaboi]

The first 15 minutes were impressive, I wouldn't get there at all

[@sebastienlecoq3956]

Before watching : 30 minutes video only ? Crossword too easy or solver too good ? Well I'll see it soon.

[@AndrewJens]

Was going to coment First, but thought it was silly.