Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Without doubt one of the greatest puzzles I've ever done, simply perfect and my POTY (thus far).

Well done Ifor, you've created a masterpiece:-)

One last side note on this puzzle ...

The first 5 letters I managed to work out from the 9 four letter words were actually the last 5 in the theme word. This led me to check Chambers for all 9 letter words ending with those 5 letters - of which, there are precisely 8.

Of that 8, there were 3 that, for some reason, I thought were more likely than others - the correct one, the one directly above it (beginning e) and the one directly below it (beginning p).

So, in true methodical fashion, I set about putting each word, in the order in which they appear in Chambers, into Google alongside the title of the puzzle.

Imagine my surprise (and delight on a personal level - I'll explain later) when on my very first attempt I got back "Wallace Collection ........ ????????? Practice" - this must be it, I thought and, by way of confirmation, there is indeed a collection for other ????? instruments - not only that, but a picture of all those in the "collection"

See below - warning, possible Spoiler Alert

https://thewallacecollection.world/

I could have stopped there but, given there were only 2 more possibilities I tried the next word and, of course, that was the correct one.

I only mention this because it is such a bizarre coincidence (I assume, or is Ifor aware of it?) that in such a very short list of possibilities, 2 consecutive words both, in one way or another, are part of a Wallace Collection!

Oh, and the delight I mentioned earlier - years ago I used to play the sax but when I moved into a flat I decided it was unfair on the neighbours so played it less and less and eventually got rid of it ( I did switch to the clarinet for a while but it just wasn't the same) - if only I'd known about the Wallace Collection back then:-)

I'm curious (hmm... 'peculiar' is the word we'd use Bren)

We've just done a puzzle that, we were told, would lead us to a 9 letter word that, in turn, would be part of a "Wallace Collection".

In doing so, I find out that, in a list in Chambers of 9 letter words that end in the exact same 5 letters, the word directly above the theme word is also part of a "Wallace Collection".

By way of proof I provided a link to a whimsical photo of said collection which showed all the gentlemen with their brass instruments in need of their muting devices so, of course, it's unrelated to the theme of the crossword but, to me, that's unimportant - I pointed it out because it is, by definition, a Wallace Collection.

To me, this is quite an astounding coincidence - the odds of that happening by chance must be astronomical - or, at least, I think so.

But maybe it isn't, maybe my maths are way off - or maybe it's slightly amusing but... well, nothing more!

I ask because I'm at truly at a loss to understand how such a freakish coincidence hasn't elicited a single response from anyone who completed this puzzle.

Please enlighten me - what are you seeing that put's this in the realm of the ordinary than I'm not? I'm genuinely interested.

PS. This post is meant with all humility and sincerity - I give you my word.

I genuinely do just want to understand our differing responses to the same incident.

I had to dig the paper out of the recycle to remind myself of the 9 letter word. 😄

I do wonder if Ifor was aware of that collection.

For myself I browsed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Collection

to see if they had one.

Brendan, as you may know I generally respond in "another place" when the solution to one of my puzzles is blogged and so is no longer active. I'll address your point then. And thank you (and others) for your kind remarks.

Brendan,my very muted reaction is because I don’t really see much of a coincidence, to be honest. That “euphonium” directly precedes “harmonium” in your list is simply the operation of alphabetical order. (If you’d had only the last 4 letters, “geranium” might have pipped it.) And given that Ifor and Sir John were dealing with the name “Wallace”, it’s not very surprising that both should pick on a punning reference to the famous Collection.

During his time at the RCS, JW invited me (as a consequence of a post I held at the time, not personal virtue!) to be in the audience for an informal concert given by Vladimir Ashkenazy when he was retiring from performance due to arthritis. We met the great man afterwards at a small reception and what a warm and outgoing person he was with apparently no sense at all of his stature. It was a significant contrast to an experience of Alfred Brendel at a Queen’s Hall concert (Beethoven Sonatas, of course). There was some small noise in the audience and, without any interruption to his pianistic flow, the heavy spectacles swung round to frown at the source of the noise. I swear it looked like the turret of a warship coming to bear on a target…

“Geranium” should have been “Germanium”. Butterfingers!