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Cafca said...

Thanks Wendy. Yes, I do often finish them. To get so exercised over such a comment says more about you than about Araucaria.

You wouldn't like to see me exercise, of that I'm certain!! However, if I could EXORCISE you I'd be first in the queue.

I reckon you're just winding us up and it worked - your "raison d'etre" I suppose.

if you don't understand the meaning of the word exercise as used by Cafco no wonder you struggle with crosswords.

Geena, I don't think that you read Wendy's reply carefully enough. I happen to know her quite well and she can knock off a prize Paul pretty quickly, not world record standards perhaps but still pretty keen for an octogenarian!

I think this criticism of Araucaria is missing the point. I don't think his puzzles are particularly difficult, but I don't think he had any rival for the wit, humour and subtlety that just shines from them.

Quo, quo scelesti ruitis?

He's still in my pantheon. As somebody has already pointed out, don't do them if you don't like them. And because you don't like his product, why resort to ad hominem attacks? It is puerile nonsense for you mere solvers to snipe at a setter just because you are missing the point. These are crosswords which are not strictly Ximenean, but follow more in the tradition of Bunthorne. Presumably you have some preferred setters, and every one of them would, I'm sure, utterly repudiate the piffle you've spouted here.

Back in the day, as a twenty something, when you only had a Collins or OED to refer to, completing your 1st 'monkey puzzle' sitting the tennis box of a particular N London open space, was a major achievement and filled you with a sense of pride and satisfaction.

So have to say I'm a bit bemused by some of these posts!!!

Let's hope he's got a legacy of puzzles to leave us when he departs this mortal coil, as those who care will miss him when he's gone (but not too soon we hope).

LAUGHING BOY

..... I think I love you!!

Hi folks
Don't feed the trolls, eh?
Cheers

jonboy,
are you declaring yourself to be Cafca?
or just presuming yourself to be smarter than everybody else?

even a troll can provoke a decent debate,that does not mean that we all swallow the bait.

Laughing Boy, if you type Guardian Puzzles into Google, then select Cryptic, you will find a list of setters that set for the Guardian, 34 of them I think, including Araucaria. Click on Araucaria and you will find hundreds of his puzzles to download or print.