The Times Crossword Friday Masterclass: Episode 49

Рет қаралды 15,251

5 ай бұрын

** TODAY'S PUZZLE **
In the 49th edition of our attempts to solve a Friday Times crossword, Simon takes on today's puzzle, which is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT and one of the 10 hardest in the last year!! Good Luck!!
The puzzle is available to play on The Times crossword club website (which is behind their paywall):
www.thetimes.co.uk/puzzleclub...
The ‪@numberphile‬ video mentioned during the introduction is available here:
• A Sudoku Secret to Blo...
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Пікірлер: 105

@roberth9535 5 ай бұрын

I like how Simon swerved actually saying "twatted" in his 25A explanation.

@AlonAltman 5 ай бұрын

Deadheading is an aviation term for crew flying for free to get to their stations, often on other airlines.

@umchoyka 5 ай бұрын

It sure is! I learned that from the movie "Catch me if you can"

@MrCam7 5 ай бұрын

Between this clue and milk run, I think that we can assume Maverick created this cryptic.

@user-wc5re2ml9j 5 ай бұрын

The term predates the aviation industry. For example, it is in John Russell Bartlett's 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘴 (published in 1848---he's not the Bartlett's Quotations guy, by the way), where he says "Persons who drink at a bar, ride in an omnibus, or railroad car, travel in steamboats, or visit the theatre without charge, are called 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴."

@darreljones8645 4 ай бұрын

Here in the USA, a "Deadhead" is also a term for a hardcore fan of the hippie jam-band The Grateful Dead.

@Peter-ih2tn 4 ай бұрын

@@darreljones8645 that band was very fan friendly, to the point of giving away free tickets!

@swclements1 5 ай бұрын

My fav Cracking the Cryptic vid of the week. Please keep it going!

@richardlyons7582 5 ай бұрын

Hey Simon, you really hit the bullseye today! I've been tuning in for months, and thanks to your brilliant explanations, I'm finally unraveling those tricky clues. Guess what? I nailed "on the game" and "secrecy" before you did! Made my day, and I'm officially declaring myself the Clue Champion at my house. Cheers to the joy of cracking the cryptic! 🕵‍♂🎉

@MattSwain1 2 ай бұрын

I’ve watched a few of these videos and they’re definitely helping me. My solve rate of the Telegraph cryptic has gone way up in recent weeks, so please keep these coming 😊

@tylerlacroix6690 5 ай бұрын

After slowly trying to learn Cryptic Crosswords by watching these videos, I solved my first (albeit very easy) crossword this week without using any of the hints the software gives you and that made me feel incredible. The satisfaction of understanding the wordplay once you type in the answer is so awesome!

@jigj119 3 ай бұрын

Simon should really give himself some credit for how quickly he got through such a high-rated crossword.

@annesorensen4004 5 ай бұрын

Am I the only one mesmerised by the symmetry of the grid? ❤ Always love a Friday wind down with Simon’s brilliant mind solving ludacris clues 🎉😊

@bryanroland9402 5 ай бұрын

You're not alone.

@AnthonySylvester-pn9rl 5 ай бұрын

have loved cryptics for 45 years since introduced by my (sorry, Simon) Latin teacher and this weekly session is a delight. Please keep them coming...

@timsullivan4566 5 ай бұрын

Simon - thanks for this week's and PLEASE try to remember to prepare the "Definition only'" puzz for next Friday, if you can. 🙏

@longwaytotipperary 5 ай бұрын

Yes!

@stevewood8 5 ай бұрын

Great crossword, great solve, and entertaining as ever. My homework this week is to write out 100 times, "near can mean mean!". Simon has told us before, but it won't stick in my head...

@Prazzie 5 ай бұрын

I write these types of tips down in a little notebook. I have a cryptic crossword dictionary, but I'm hoping that writing them down will make it stick. So far, I remember about 5 of the dozens of words I've written down... Perhaps writing it down 100 times is the trick.

@reubenmckay 5 ай бұрын

These cryptic crossword masterclasses are the video I look forward to the most every week. Hope you keep them coming.

@josephinedykstra3383 5 ай бұрын

I'm watching this with my morning coffee and it's wonderful

@martinopanevino5705 5 ай бұрын

i have been learning how to solve from these videos for a few months now... ive watched them all, cant tell you how grateful i am for all the help! over christmas i was helping my mother (who has been solving for as long as i can remember of my 36 years) and auntie solve the times cryptic jumbos, which was great fun, so thanks again guys 👍

@clivebrenchley5319 5 ай бұрын

Brilliant, as ever. Viewing these videos has become woven into my weekly routine.

@davidjc1234 5 ай бұрын

Most enjoyable. Your solve reflected mine although I got stuck in the NW at the end. And I had ON THE BALL.

@bryanroland9402 5 ай бұрын

Some classy clues in this one.

@arthursharp9903 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for this excellent video.

@timsullivan4566 5 ай бұрын

So this is only ONE of your favorite videos each week? I'll have you know this puzzle it the absolute highlight of my weekly viewing schedule (and for that, I am in your debt... weekly!)

@DaShikuXI 5 ай бұрын

These might just be the most brilliant clues I've seen on this channel so far. The way the answers tie back into the clues is just amazing. I especially like the crab clue.

@vinyl1Earthlink 5 ай бұрын

A milk run was air force slang in WWII, meaning a bombing mission against an undefended target where there was little danger of being shot down by enemy forces.

@rockhopper_penguin 5 ай бұрын

What an insanely difficult but brilliant puzzle. Thank you Simon, as always, for taking us through step by step

@grenvillephillips6998 5 ай бұрын

A very humbling crossword, which made Simon's solve all the more enthralling.

@OskarMarszalek 5 ай бұрын

Always a pleasure to watch Mr Simon solve these, thanks for the upload!

@walterxplinge3867 5 ай бұрын

Deadhead is also a word used to describe fans of the Grateful Dead.

@davidrattner9 5 ай бұрын

Constant enjoyment Simon in bringjng these to us every Friday!!

@cloudbringer104 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for spending time doing the Friday crosswords. It really makes my week. I love to wait to watch this at the weekend lying in bed on a Saturday morning.

@janet-dn2ot 5 ай бұрын

Highlight of the week, fantastic solve! I love all your asides and commentary!

@profregan6937 5 ай бұрын

Glorious entertainment!

@Anne_Mahoney 5 ай бұрын

What a nifty puzzle. I love the Friday crosswords: I look forward to them all week! 😺

@oak3001 5 ай бұрын

I understood weave in reference to orb weaver spiders... hence web? Love these Friday crosswords - thank you

@bobblebardsley 5 ай бұрын

I think a more familiar meaning for 'sprue' is in model-making (e.g. model aircraft or war-gaming miniatures) when you first open the kit, the 'sprues' are those little strands of plastic that hold the parts into the rectangular frames, which you have to carefully clip off before you start putting the parts together.

@Anne_Mahoney 5 ай бұрын

More familiar to you, maybe, but that's new to me -- so, thank you: a new vocabulary word is always a treat! (To me, the primary sense "sprue" is the old-fashioned name for what we now call "celiac disease.")

@bobblebardsley 5 ай бұрын

@@Anne_Mahoney And I didn't know it could be an illness, so thank you! (AND in the process of looking that up, I also just learned 'sprue' can be a thin variety of asparagus... what a versatile word!)

@denhal1 5 ай бұрын

deadhead is a term for the trip pilots relocating from one airport to another but not actually flying the plane take.

@bluerizlagirl 5 ай бұрын

The setter has a mind like the colliery branch line -- one track and filthy!

@clara931 5 ай бұрын

As always. Watching magic

@Liamneedham29 5 ай бұрын

On Weave: We used to use a software by Macromedia (later bought by Adobe) in school, called Dreamweaver, to make Websites. So I wonder if they named the software as a clever pun - if you weave then you are a web designer.

@MatthewGilliard 5 ай бұрын

I wanted it to be internet related, too, but "Web design" is described as weaving in: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"

@nakorbluerider 4 ай бұрын

This commenter's demonstrating their progress on cryptic crosswords (9) IMPROVING (slowly) (but surely)

@jamiedthunder 5 ай бұрын

Loved the video, as usual - highly recommend trying this week's Thursday puzzle as well. A little easier, but so many gorgeous misdirections, an absolute joy.

@richardfarrer5616 5 ай бұрын

The web it broke and wafted wide The mirror crack'd from side to side The curse has come upon me cried The Lady of Shallot Web, there is the weaving she was doing.

@rehnahvah 5 ай бұрын

Black strap molasses adds sweetness, but it also quite bitter if you taste it "neat"

@arthurcharest9061 5 ай бұрын

So much fun to watch you solve these!

@Batfunk1 5 ай бұрын

Perfect timing for a Friday lunch! I'd better stick the kettle on. Thank you CTC

@Bonehead777 5 ай бұрын

I do love watching these solves. I am still rubbish at doing them myself though. 😊

@MarcMcMillin 5 ай бұрын

thank you Simon and Mark! Looking forward every Friday for this!

@adamhewitt5878 5 ай бұрын

Watching these prompted me to try (and to, very slowly, complete!) the New Statesman crossword last week. Unfortunately this week it's a novelty "anagrams only" cryptic.

@codebyfire_msx 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Simon, always a highlight of the week,

@jodyvanliew2514 5 ай бұрын

Excellent solve Simon . Kudos to you .

@user-xl4tz4dj7v 5 ай бұрын

The best part of my Friday, no doubt about it 😊

@satchury 5 ай бұрын

love the friday crosswords. thanks for the continuous uploads

@Prazzie 5 ай бұрын

A wonderful solve, thank you very much. I enjoyed today's puzzle, having to work harder than usual to make headway, but I did manage. I couldn't parse all of them, though, Watteau was beyond me.

@dizwell 5 ай бұрын

I got "premises" _waaay_ before Simon!! Woo-hoo!!! Oh yeah: that was the *only* clue I got :(

@GordonjSmith1 Ай бұрын

(25d) Oh what a tangled web we weave..... (29a) In the world of theatre a 'deadhead' is a member of the audience who has not paid for their ticket...

@debrabowen4276 5 ай бұрын

Love these videos!

@ranajamal3848 5 ай бұрын

Great solve

@B1GB1RDB4G3L 5 ай бұрын

Always love these videos simon, keep them up! :)

@B1GB1RDB4G3L 5 ай бұрын

YOU WERE ON THE BALL THIS VIDEO

@nfc153 5 ай бұрын

I recognised all the words today! No "ukase" in this one. I'd still be looking at half a day to solve it through though.

@LogiBizzle 5 ай бұрын

Please do a definition only version of Thursday's puzzle as well next week! That would be awesome

@longwaytotipperary 5 ай бұрын

Yay! Simon in the morning! 😊

@davidrattner9 5 ай бұрын

Especially on a Friday is such a delight 😁

@longwaytotipperary 5 ай бұрын

@@davidrattner9 yes! Still a bit under the weather, but getting better. I think warmer weather would help considerably! Watching Simon (and Mark) has helped me get through it! And kind comments from you! 💕💕💕

@davidrattner9 5 ай бұрын

@@longwaytotipperary continue to get better and on the mend. Will shove you warmer weather your way. Always will send you warmth in terms of comments. 💙🩵

@longwaytotipperary 5 ай бұрын

@@davidrattner9 Thank you, David! Much ❤️❤️❤️

@louisesuth8141 5 ай бұрын

Lovely crossword, thanks. . . OED does not mention "big fan of Grateful Dead" for deadhead. . hmmmm

@cqzen217 4 ай бұрын

I knew the word 'deadhead' from the movie Catch Me If You Can!!

@trisha2584 5 ай бұрын

Amazing crossword; I didn't get any today

@ConManAU 5 ай бұрын

By comparison, when I hear "Dead Head" my first thought is a fan of the band The Grateful Dead. Which could also be "One who uses", but that doesn't work with the rest of the clue.

@vinyl1Earthlink 5 ай бұрын

You should click down into the details on the SNITCH - those are all genuine solvers. I did solve this beauty, but my time was absolutely off the charts. If I were a SNITCH reference solver, I would be at 400, pulling the SNITCH even further up into the stratosphere. As it is, it looks like one reference solver did it on paper and typed in the answers, which is not supposed to happen with the reference solvers.

@stupidas9466 5 ай бұрын

I've always loved puzzles of every kind, almost! I always hated simple "word search" puzzles as they had no thinking, just work! The other type i've disliked is cryptic crosswords. They always seemed to me to require one to study hundreds of "tricks" in order to solve. General knowledge, logic, reasoning, etc would never be enough, one had to "be in the know", a "member of the club", have "insider information", etc. As an example (even if it isn't actually true!) any clue about higher learning would mean you had to use a syllable from Eton as part of the answer! It all seemed so arbitrary and never seemed worth my while. BUT i'm willing to change and challenge my biases so i've decided to give this a watch. Wish me luck! Edit… Well i lasted fifteen minutes, and i sadly (to me) haven't changed my mind. Just find myself getting angry! Oh well, to each their own!

@Prazzie 5 ай бұрын

Molasses is certainly bittersweet, at least when compared to golden syrup or honey.

@kevinmartin7760 5 ай бұрын

Strange, around here a "milk run" has nothing to do with being routine, but that it has many stops along the way, as in "You'll arrive earlier on the 10AM bus because the 9:30 is a milk run"

@ranajamal3848 5 ай бұрын

Deadhead. Reference - catch me if you can.

@finlayrivers9839 5 ай бұрын

the only place I know it from too!

@timsullivan4566 5 ай бұрын

Actually, the expression applied to trains and busses BEFORE airlines, although that is the usage the public is most familiar with (possibly because a "deadheader" on a plane is often more prominant and likely to have multiple, interactions with fellow employees on flights than is the case on trains and busses.)

@markmcknight9601 5 ай бұрын

Simon's education not only seems to have missed the classics, but also Biology. A Stingray is a cartilaginous fish related to sharks and skates with hypertrophied pectoral fins and reduced tail fins. Commonly with a spine over the tail, thus Sting-ray.

@TheFrogfather1 5 ай бұрын

Yay I got 22ac before Simon... Didn't get any of the others of course but small victories etc.

@afanofosc 5 ай бұрын

"Deadheading is the practice of carrying, free of charge, a transport company's own staff on a normal passenger trip so that they can be in the right place to begin their duties"

@andrewdipplecomedy 4 ай бұрын

What did Simon mean at 2:00 that "these people are today's typists"?

@alanpatton8134 5 ай бұрын

I believe that molasses and treacle are pretty much the same thing.

@eclectichoosier5474 5 ай бұрын

Why is it no surprise that you can quote the fights historical?

@mikechappell5849 5 ай бұрын

not convinced by the 'crabby' explanation for 2dn. I think it's simply 'not laidback, but this', i.e. something the opposite of laidback

@bobblebardsley 5 ай бұрын

Is there a reason for the 'once' on the end of 18 across? Seems like it would solve the same without that word in the clue.

@Prazzie 5 ай бұрын

I believe it is indicating that this is an archaic definition, so a word meaning "local official once", once upon a time, some time ago.

@bobblebardsley 5 ай бұрын

@@Prazzie That makes sense!

@ashawthingart 5 ай бұрын

Did you not do Airfix models as a kid? The pieces came on a sprue

@AlanBell 5 ай бұрын

It is bluth (Dave Gorman)

@phbarnes 5 ай бұрын

Agree. Or someone giving a very good imitation of his work.

@AlanBell 5 ай бұрын

then again, I might be completely wrong, bluth set the Guardian crossword today, probably not the Times too.

@thescrewfly 5 ай бұрын

I was expecting at least a few comments about the Grateful Dead! (28 across)

@vinyl1Earthlink 5 ай бұрын

Deadhead can also mean a truck or train on a return journey without cargo.

@funky_pepe 5 ай бұрын

The ai thumbnail ... Sorry but I can't support a creator that won't respect another creator's work like that. Been a good run o7

@timsullivan4566 5 ай бұрын

What are you referring to? More than ANY other internet content that I regularly view, THIS site goes to great lengths to identify, praise and encourage the originators of the puzzles they solve. So what exactly are you on about?