Sup #3

Comentarios

• Chris Jones 🤓9:31 · 2025-04-21T18:41:01.785Z

  Very good This was even better than the last :)

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• nate 🤓14:51 · 2025-04-22T01:12:56.730Z

  Another banger! My favourites were 1a, 12a, 3d, 5d, 7d, and 11d. One thing I would point out is the etymological overlap between wordplay and solution in clues like 16a. This is common in UK cryptics but often not allowed by US publications, so it's certainly not a hard rule but worth knowing if you're looking to get published. To me, the more important thing is for clues to be interesting, which I think 16a is. More on this: 1, 2

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• Connor D 15:22 · 2025-04-22T01:58:15.939Z

  This was a great cryptic! I've got very minor things to mention which could stand a little improvement, which I wouldn't have if you hadn't specifically asked for feedback :)

  First: I loved 1d. That was a truly stand-out clue for me. 8a takes second place for me.

  9a: Just a way to make the surface reading more clear, it could be re-punctuated as "North or South-East Scandinavian (5)"

  For me, the "bad" in 12a is unnecessary, since you're providing all the letters which are to be deleted - but I know some purists don't share that opinion and since the letters aren't in order they may say the bad is required, so, you know, grain of salt.

  I love 3d's wordplay, but the surface reading is a little strained.It could maybe do with a little more tweaking to get it to flow a little more.

  13d, Let me know if I've parsed this right: "English rubbish" = TAT, ,underpins GE for "German". If so, I was thrown a long way by "English" being so far from "Rubbish", and was looking for a long time for something with "ge" and "en". This is where I needed a hint to get it.

  Overall, what a wonderful puzzle, very fun to solve, lots of phenomenal "aha!" moments.

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  • Supware constructor · 2025-04-22T21:06:28.018Z

    9a/12a: it's cool that you pointed these out specifically; I was thinking about exactly those things for both clues for quite a while! I'm sure I'll get a feel for these kinds of things eventually... 13d: I think I will include "UK Style" in the note from now on -- "English" there is just being an E (with "German" being just G)

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    • Connor D 15:22 · 2025-04-22T22:35:43.279Z

      13d: That makes sense! I was getting hung up on Germany = GE, but I get it better now - makes perfect sense.

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• Aaron Riccio 🤓14:46 · 2025-04-22T01:54:22.573Z

  Overall, a nice and challenging cryptic, with highlights for me at 7a, 8a, 15a, 3d, 7d, 10d, and 12d. MInor-ish nits for you to consider:

  • 1A: There's an international branch of the FBI in Vienna, Austria, and that one services Croatia, but the fodder [Croatian FBI] feels a bit strained, and leaves me wondering more about the surface meaning than it does about the clue. Many people disagree with me on this; I can only speak to what I'm looking for and appreciating, and I try to spotlight favorite clues weekly on Twitch.
  • 6A: I don't see the parse in [bars off-key]. That's probably my error.
  • 9A: [Southeast] should be one word. Looks conspicuous as two. It's also a bit bland, as a surface.
  • 12A: I assume that this is taking [stunt riding] and removing a [bad] anagrammed [in dirt], but personally, I think it's odd to indicate "anagram a thing so that you can delete it." And if that is the route, I think it should be something like [badly in dirt].
  • 1D: It's a reverse hidden. I don't see how [all unwrapped] is indicating that. Generously, I could read that as "the whole phrase, unwrapped," but that would give me the strong OTHGIFT, because I haven't unwrapped it twice. Am I missing something?
  • 13D: The only issue with Crosshare is I can't tell if a setter is doing US or UK style. TAT for [rubbish] is very much a UK thing, but that's something you only need to concern yourself when you think about submitting to venues, each of which has its own style.

  I hope that was helpful! Tried to dig deep to give you things to consider; please feel free to ignore EVERYTHING :)

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  • Supware constructor · 2025-04-22T13:51:22.573Z

    Wow, thanks so much for such detailed feedback!

    1A: I don't mind using a potentially eyebrow-raising surface concept in an anagram fodder (should I?) 6A: the surface is evoking the idea of a guitarist going a bit off-script, and the clue as a whole is a triple definition 9A: I was wondering if I should render it as south east or South East or south-east or southeast or Southeast -- I suppose if the surface is bland it doesn't really matter though! 12A: that is absolutely the intention yes, and I'm not sure how I might remedy your issue with it without just avoiding this style of clue entirely 1D: this is one of the clues I was hoping someone might bring up in these comment -- yes, "all unwrapped" is trying to tell you to unwrap the whole phrase -- should I have added something else to indicate a "double-unwrapping"? I was thinking about "all fully unwrapped", but I figured, given the simple cryptic grammar and the (5), that what I wrote might be passable (and also that adding something like "fully" might obfuscate the cryptic grammar more than necessary) 13D: I was thinking about including "UK style" as a tag or something for future entries -- seems I probably should!

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• metagloria 🤓7:44 · 2025-04-25T17:05:47.431Z

  The 4D/5D pairing was absolute chef's kiss. Brilliant stuff! A couple of tough clues, but all fair!

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• Nathan Surgenor 21:21 · 2025-05-03T14:14:35.016Z

  The surface reading of 8A is a particular 'chef's kiss'

  1D I had to reveal the answer for as I just couldn't parse it; once I had revealed it and even understood the meaning it left me feeling a bit flat. In my own crosswords if I had a clue like this that feels a bit 'hyper instructional' I'd go back and see if I can edit it down. As hidden clues and returned hidden are very much allowed, I think the awkward instruction about 'all unwrapped' is something that needs to go. After a bit of thought I came up with this as new clue: "Box, with gift inside, returned (5)". To me that reads a bit more naturally and is clearer in its wordplay.

  16A is very clever but I feel the definition of "for table" is a bit weak and needs a question mark after it to show something tricky is going on. I'd probably clue this one as something like "Lay out cover for accountant's table? (11)

  Of course take all that with a pinch of salt as everyone has their own preferences when it comes to cluing and wordplay. Looking forward to trying more of your puzzles!

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