i Cryptic Crossword No 353

[souxie]

5 Down, Swiss girl in draught for Russian novel(3,5) T?E ?D???
13 Down, Where you see the Independent thwart magistrates(5-5)
SORRY NO LETTERS

Many Thanks in Advance

[bulliver]

5d The Idiot - 'Heidi' inside 'tot'

[Wharton]

5d The Idiot

[Flyhalf]

Cross bench

[Micky666]

Why not just ask for all answers as soon as you open your paper each day, or better still, wait until the next day when the answers are printed!

[dannyk13]

A bit harsh Mickey!

[cupid04]

If everybody waited for the answers in their papers/magazines there would be
no need for the answerbank. That would be very sad.

[Micky666]

cupid04:
If its a prize crossword with a deadline & someone is struggling (after having had a go) fair enough.
But every day, same crossword,same thing, am then pm, when the answers are printed the next day! I see no point, what is being achieved?

[souxie]

I did not realise that there are limitations on the use of the Answerbank,And in answer to Mickey666,the i is the only paper I get and always try to have a go myself before going to the Answerbank for answers but most days i struggle to get a startso that is why there are few if any letters submitted.
If I have offended anybody I apologise for being a dimmer but I do try my best.
Many Thanks to all

[Baldric]

Souxie, carry on mate, I'm happy to provide answers, no probs.

[cupid04]

Souxie you shouldn't have to apologise, you have as much right to be on here
as anyone else. You certainly don't have to explain yourself to the likes of
Micky. I hope you enjoy keep coming on here. Regards,cupid04.xx

[Mamyalynne]

Souxie, there are indeed no limitations and in my opinion Micky's response was at best unhelpful and at worst rather rude. Each and every poster here has there own situations and we must not judge, by asking you are each day getting a feel for the way the setter operates.
Carry on asking. xxx

[Lie-in King]

Micky666 - perhaps souxie enjoys the interaction with other AB'ers?

The explanations offered can help with solving in the future, increasing the learning experience, such as here -

http://www.theanswerb.../Question1058144.html

souxie - you carry on :-)

[kames]

You're not obliged to provide answers, Micky 666.

[Micky666]

Lie-in King:
Re your example, YES we all hit a brick wall every now & again, but do try first!
How does one learn by just asking for answers & not explanations?
The same could be achieved by waiting for the next day's publication!
I hate having to ask for answers until I am genuinely flummoxed! ;-)

kames:
I won't! Unless someone is genuinely struggling! :-(

[Canary42]

Appropriate Micky that you terminate your name with "the mark of the beast"

[Mamyalynne]

Well perhaps just do that Micky, refrain from answering and also giving unhelpful replies.

[Lie-in King]

Micky - indeed, we all hit a brick wall at times.

I would say the OP had "tried first", as the three letters shown in the pattern for 5d are evidence of three solved Across clues.

The OP has stated above that he has trouble getting started on occasion - an explanation of an answer today might mean he understands and solves a similar clue in the future.

"How does one learn by just asking for answers & not explanations?"

One will learn nothing by not asking questions at all and explanations are, more often than not, proffered here.

Simply reading the answers in tomorrow's paper won't provide the assistance & support that AB can.

[Micky666]

Lie-in King:
Re "tried first" - I assume you missed (today's) 9:45 starter for the given letters.

Re "on occasion - explanation" -an explanation is never asked for, just answers.

WE agree, merely giving answers is of no assistance for future "attempts".

By only reading the answers here to enable a crossword fill is the same as reading them in tomorrow's paper! Pointless!

Sorry, but that's my opinion! :-)

[fishbonealic]

Why is this person so exercised by someone wanting assistance? Is it to demonstrate his superiority? Is it to make someone feel inadequate? Beats me. This is not an exam or a matter of any urgency, it is a puzzle. He is under no obligation to respond. When I started cryptics I could barely do a quarter of them, but AB has helped me enormously to get to grips with the nature of the beast. Now I regularly complete around 90% of the Times cryptic, something I thought impossible a year or two ago. My suggestion is that if you can't say anything pleasant, say nothing

[Lie-in King]

Ah, the brick wall...

Micky - apologies, I subscribed to this thread but I've been quite busy & haven't been able to come back until now.

Granted, I did miss the earlier thread. However, I believe my points stand.

Re - "on occasion - explanation" -an explanation is never asked for, just answers." -

If you re-read my post, you'll see that I said - "One will learn nothing by not asking questions at all and explanations are, more often than not, proffered here."

Answered, no? (Sidebar for Ed - being able to use the the 'bold', 'underline' & italic' features would be quite handy here...)

The OP ended the day having posted 3 threads, asking for a total of 9 answers. I maintain - indeed, hope - that they solved the rest of the puzzle themselves & that any help they may have gleaned from previous answers here was instrumental in that result.

I'm afraid that I simply don't understand your "dog-in-a-manger" attitude.

You're obviously capable of solving cryptic puzzles - an innate talent, or did you have to learn along the way? I wouldn't have thought the solving of them possible had it not been for the influence of my mother & her skill in being able to show & describe the intricacies involved in solving. She & a battered Chambers were my AB...

Your opinion is of course as valid as anyone else's - on this occasion however, I don't think you've grasped what I was trying (perhaps poorly) to put across - that AB can & should be a valuable resource for everyone, regardless of ability.

I know of several AB'ers whose circumstances do not allow them to interact socially in a manner that might - incorrectly, IMO - be considered "normal".

We don't always know why someone asks for an answer - nor do we need to know, but that they do ask should be reason enough to just answer, to the best of our ability.

No more & no less - see a question, proffer an answer. That's AB.

Come on, Micky - join in, don't be one of the boring naysayers that peek in & post simply because they're in a bad mood...

I like AB, I think it's valuable & that there is FAR more good than harm done here.

Ok, that's me done on this thread - hopefully I'll see you around on a few others :-)