Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Yes, but I receive the magazine through the post. It is nice puzzle although I needed Google.

I fail to understand the logic by which this forum places posts. As soon as I log in, the order of submissions is reversed. Then, if I am aiming to respond to a particular post, my contribution appears at the head (or tail) of the list and does not refer to the person to whom I am replying. Why cannot you post sub-items as in most fora of this type?

Hi murky, I agree it isn't a great deal of help but it does eliminate the possibility beginning 4???? for those who don't look up tables/lists of primes and want to confirm the solution found using a different combination is unique.

PS I am referring to the crossing 16 across.

Has anyone spotted you can work out the answerto the code under the grid from the preamble alone without any reference to the puzzle itself.
I spotted it very early giving me the answer to 22. Made the end game a bit underwhelming.

smithsax - I think to work out the code from the preamble alone, you would have to make an assumption which might not be correct. Certainly you can get the code long before the puzzle is complete, so I felt finding it was just a little extra rather than an end game as such. No doubt Oyler will explain eventually.

Foinaven - If you read a thread without logging in, the posts are listed newest last. If you are logged in you have the option, if you click (edit),beside your name to reverse the order to newest first and presumably you have done that at some point. Don't think you can do anything about your other point.

A blog will appear on LWO in due course which I hope will answer the questions raised.

Gem94 the only assumption you need is that there will be no ambiguity. We need 2 primes with 2 digits which differ by 24. (Years pending next years siver wedding). Their product is then multiplied by another 2 digit prime to give a 4 figure solution. 23,47 and bigger must give a 5 figure solution. 17,41 and lower will have more than one possible third prime to give the code and so provide more than one possible solution.

Assuming I have the rest correct, given 17dn, 11dn and 14dn, then 16ac looks like xAByC where A, B and C are known and the digits add up to 1ac - 4.

Thus 16ac is one of 1AB3C, 2AB2C, 3AB1C or 4AB0C. But only one of those is prime; hence the constraint about the number of factors of 13dn is not needed.

Is that all correct, or have I made an error somewhere?