ev 772

[ulysses100]

Possibly the quickest grid that I have ever completed for an EV, but have only one letter to place for the thematic words.....though I must admit that I haven't worked out the reasoning yet. of the preamble.
The word is either grazing or glaring and fits with ?IN

[novalis]

I have "glaring" fitting with "gross" and ?IN as the missing link so to speak. Just going back to it now.

[ulysses100]

Writing out the words as I should have done from the start I agree with you novalis that gross goes with glaring.There aren't that many words that fit with ?IN, but which one ?

[novalis]

Just looked at all the thematic answers. I can find 2 letter
( i.e. letter pairs ) abbreviations/altermatives for 8 of them
( sure there will be for other 3 ) which would suggest of the 15 to choose from TIN ( Sn ) is what's needed. Could be totally wrong though and still can't understand why that should complete the set. I'll give it some further thought.

[Physicsgirl]

Well done Ulysses100 on your personal best!
Not had much time to look today after rather a late night yesterday, but have a grand total of 6 clues so far. Will obviously be able to polish it off in 5 minutes tomorrow.
Oh, look, a flying pig......

[ulysses100]

Slow and steady wins the race physicsgirl.
Have you got yourself a volume of Chambers yet ?

[Physicsgirl]

have ordered the weighty tome online and should be in receipt of a copy shortly, unless something goes wrong.
Slow and sure is good, but full stop is not. Haven't looked today and hoping to get some gardening done, but should manage an hour at some point.

[novalis]

Still musing over the final entry. "Tin" keeps jumping out for the reasons given yesterday but I still can't make it fit with the preamble. Will give it more thought and examine the 14 alternatives to "tin" with the proverbial fine tooth-comb.

[ulysses100]

Thanks novalis.
Of the letter pairs four are elements and tin or Sn is one of them. ....several other pairs are abbreviations but they aren't, or don't seem to be related to one another.
Maybe a flash of inspiration ? It's so frustrating to get so far and yet have only one letter to place.

[novalis]

Still racking my "brain" on this but, unless there's a flash of inspiration I'll go with tin
Other possibilities are ain, bin, din, fin, gin, hin, kin, lin, pin, rin, sin, vin, win and yin.
I can't find any two letter abbreviation for any of them. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[Physicsgirl]

and bringing up the rear is me, with a further 7 clues solved (maybe), and not much clue about what everyone is talking about yet.

Query: my copy has a misprint in clue34a (reads shouid instead of should) - is this a deliberate misprint or one of the 11? It sticks out like a sore thumb and I didn't think they'd be so obvious.

[novalis]

To Physicsgirl --it's a misprint. The deliberate misprints are all in the 11 thematic clues: beadiing, bask etc.

[gen2]

My copy also has shouid.

My interpretation was that the spelling errors are in the non-cryptic clues. In other words, Beading - Bask - Stare etc.

I have spent very little time on this so far so cannot be more specific.

[Physicsgirl]

thanks, I don't have much time this week and anything that saves me chasing my own tail is appreciated, as ever!
I do find it strange that I either get the gist quickly or not at all with these EVs. Perseverence is required on my part, but when the summer hols are over I don't think I'll be able to complete any.

[Christiana]

Congratulations re. finishing the grid so swiftly Ulysses, but am relieved Physicsgirl is making slow progress because I seem totally without inspiration on the 'ordinary' clues.

Thanks for posting, Physicsgirl - it helps to know someone else is struggling. I haven't had as much time this week either, but that's not the whole story - like you say I either get on the wavelength promptly or I'm in the doldrums. I have about the same number of answers as you and will persevere for a while yet.

[Physicsgirl]

Cannot believe how stupid I feel. The penny has dropped, and now have my (6,5) phrase and proper list of 11 definition clues. Maybe I can finish this after all. Thanks Gen2 and Novalis.

[Christiana]

Oh dear, I'm feeling lonely again! I realised about 'beading etc. but still don't have the 6,5 phrase. I thought the second word would be 'PAIRS' but don't seem to be able to work out the first word. Can anyone say yes or no to 'Pairs' please

[novalis]

Pairs is right ---See earlier postings on this thread for first word.

[Christiana]

Thanks Novalis - should have seen it before but only skimmed earlier posts. Perhaps it will give me the jolt I need, but seem to have been slow thinking all weekend. Completed my usual weekend crosswords, but took longer than usual.

[Physicsgirl]

it's good to know that I'm not the only one having a go-slow time. Keep going, Christiana, we'll get there....

[Physicsgirl]

As a last-ditch attempt, can anyone confirm some answers for me:
9d GETS AT
31a YILL
7d AMUSE
6d SIMONY
32d ??OOR

Is the unclued entry next to 4d CONSUMPTION?
(this leaves me with strange ending for 8a)
completely stumped by some others for the time being but will keep trying.
thanks