Spectator 1934

[cruciverbali]

Today's puzzle is Steamed Up by Doc - to found on page 65:

http://thespectator.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

[greyfox]

Good morning cruciverbali. Beat me to it. Thanks.

[crucifernz]

Can someone please post the PDF link. Thanks.

[kayakamina]

Thanks for the link.

This puzzle took me back to three separate periods in my life
and very fond memories.

[Jumbuck]

Is this week's easy? I've only had a go for the past couple of weeks and can't believe I've finished 1934 already...

[kayakamina]

Very easy -only 20 minutes.

Unfortunately Doc's offerings of late have not been up to the
standard of his team.

[Christiana]

Thanks Cruciverbali

[barryjbutler]

Thanks from me too CV.

[mintyman99]

pdf here:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/article_assets/articledir_10764/5382056/crossword.pdf

Doc's puzzles have always been much easier than others. I have e-mailed him about it and I suspect it is intentional on his part. But as the crossword editor he runs a cracking team of compilers.

[crucifernz]

Thanks very much Mintyman. The PDF is easier for me to print.

[zita-green]

Thanks, Mintyman. This is much easier to print.

[robinruth]

Easier, Kayakamina, but nicely set, I thought, and, indeed, Doc's are generally less challenging than those of the rest of the team but I think it is good to have a gentler one every few weeks. It took me more like an hour. I do have a problem with the wordplay of 30ac - the relevance of the first word, and with 2d, where I am sure I have the answer but not sure why.

[cruciverbali]

Thanks once again everyone. I quite agree that there is nothing wrong with having a range of setters to suit different abilities. Even a puzzle like this one does require reference to Chambers - Im no musician, but an accidental is a sharp, flat or natural not in the key signature. 2 down is a double definition, the second of which I wasn't familiar with either. Thanks Doc !

[robinruth]

Thank you, Cruciverbali - I should have looked harder in Chambers.

[kayakamina]

Hi Robinruth.

Why I described the puzzle as easy was that I hadn't even finished entering
solutions to the clued lights, when 18d gave me the author's name, which, with
the crossword title, made the theme obvious.

As others have said, it may be a conscious decision by Doc to set easier puzzles
than the rest of his team, but a few years ago the reverse was the case.

[cruciverbali]

I thought 18 down made it all a bit too obvious as well (although it was actually Jonathan Ross's character which gave me the theme) I wonder whether the author's name would have been better hidden in the grid, perhaps on a diagonal, as is often the case ?

[crucifernz]

Yes, it was easy once the theme was obvious. My young nephews may have come up with the unclued lights faster than me ... choo, choo.

[tenflags]

A request please..if anyone is still looking at this thread.

I've only been doing cryptics for a relatively short while. First only the Sunday Times, then adding the Saturday Times and Jumbo, and the Times club monthly special. I had a go for the first time, and completed, the Listener the other week and was therefore encouraged to do the same last week.

By sheer luck it seems I hit oin the 'easier' ones with the Listener and the early comments on this thread, and an attached PDF (thank you), encouraged me to have a go and complete this one. Which was fun.

So please bear in mind that no harm to have the odd 'easier' one to help encourage simple folk like me 'get into' these type of crosswords. Whilst I have the upmost admiration for you speedy clever folk, and appreciate you require challenges to your undoubted expertise, please give us new folk a chance now and then to get going, especially if you are going to contact the editor as somebody felt inclined to do (above).