The Tent of Shahraman, 2010 Mark Halpin Labor Day
As with many of the other puzzles, I was forced to break this puzzle up into two sessions. Unlike the other puzzles, I don’t think I ever got stuck and stopped, I just got called to go to dinner in Vegas.
My total recorded time is 2.5 hours, which may or may not be less time than it actually took. This was a big one.
The puzzle is here: http://www.markhalpin.com/puzzles/wisht/wtpuzzles/tent.pdf and Mark’s answer checker (remember, two answers!) is here: http://www.markhalpin.com/puzzles/wisht/wtanswers/answerpage.html
My long log follows:
- 0:00:00
- Looks like a cryptic crossword. I can do these. Slowly.
- 0:00:51
- 5d ATMS
- 0:01:05
- 11a nice DETOURS clue
- 0:01:19
- 7d GUM [I think I got this backwards, never did finish this top corner as a result. Good to start with an error one minute in.]
- 0:01:48
- 4d IDOL
- 0:02:28
- retried 1a, got it MARGINAL
- 0:03:55
- 3d GIFTWARE
- 0:04:20
- 10a ALAI (guess)
- 0:04:53
- 1d MAULER
- 0:05:09
- 12a nice clue UNIFORM
- 0:05:26
- 2d tricky RAIN clue
- 0:08:55
- 14d RASPED (that wasn’t all solving time, got distracted)
- 0:09:16
- 19a SWISS
- 0:13:04
- 8d ERECTER (more distracted)
- 0:15:11
- 40a UNFAZED
- 0:18:01
- 33d SIZE
- 0:19:54
- 34d TODD (hey, Sondheim)
- 0:21:08
- 43a DEADMEAT
- 0:21:38
- 21d SPECULUM
- 0:21:49
- 41a UKES
- 0:22:42
- 29d UNREST
- 0:23:03
- 35a USSR (somehow)
- 0:23:19
- 36d SAKE (somehow)
- 0:24:40
- 39a ISOLATE I think
- 0:25:33
- 16d CHOICEST
- 0:26:20
- 24a NAPE
- 0:26:55
- 28a APERCU
- 0:28:33
- 38d UFO
- 0:28:56
- 42a OTTO
- 0:30:39
- 17a is LENT?
- 0:31:16
- 22a REVAMP
- 0:31:39
- 23d VARIANT
- 0:31:56
- 37a AHA
- 0:33:08
- 25d REBATO (had to look that up)
- 0:33:22
- 30a EIRE
- 0:33:56
- 13d NEMEHIAH (googled to verify)
- 0:34:14
- 26a ARTE
- 0:34:30
- 27d TETRAD hidden word! I never get those! Missed this earlier
- 0:34:54
- 32a AINT
- 0:36:56
- with much googling 6d falls, LORICA
- 0:37:12
- 18a ITCH
- 0:37:27
- 15a ECO
- 0:37:41
- 21a STOP (duh, should have gotten this earlier)
- 0:38:08
- 9d TROUPE
- 0:39:18
- ok, stopping with 7a 31a 20d missing. trying 2nd page
- 0:41:19
- elephant is MOUSEPORT
- 0:45:29
- ok, was using the wrong squares. STILL can’t find it. I may need food
- 0:47:05
- oh, the letter it jumps to doesn’t have to be in the same spot, I guess.
- 0:48:24
- Ok, found a place to put it in, in white squares
- 0:49:10
- trying last 3 cryptic clues again
- 0:49:40
- 20d SNAILS
- 0:50:09
- 31a DITCH (sneaky with the 18 across!)
- 0:52:14
- missing the one letter in 7a. moving on
- 0:52:45
- vizier: SKOAL…
- 0:55:52
- can’t get part 2
- 0:56:50
- sultan: WHIMSICAL
- 1:01:01
- page: DUST
- 1:02:32
- knight: NEE
- 1:03:02
- knight: SLAPS
- 1:03:13
- knight: SENT. whew. a whole one. let’s place it…
- 1:04:07
- yuck, too many options. i’ll come back
- 1:05:12
- wizard: AUREA
- 1:06:33
- sultan: EMAIL
- 1:08:37
- I guess it’s NEHEMIAH. I think google returned the other.
- 1:11:24
- I think MAILWHIMSICAL is forced, The E is still up in the air
- 1:16:45
- scout: UNDERCUT
- 1:21:02
- placed DRAMA UNDERCUT.
- 1:23:50
- REAPERS for page. now leaving [ I don’t know when this was or where I went, but I guess this was broken up into 3 sessions]
- 1:23:50
- back, trying to fit in REAPERSDUST
- 1:26:11
- fit it in unambiguously, in the bottom rightish part of the grid
- 1:26:59
- it would really help to get peon
- 1:35:05
- nothing new so far. grr. [These 10 minute gaps with no progress are no fun. They feel like an hour at least.]
- 1:38:13
- ICESUP for wizard, RUI for TOWER
- 1:46:27
- got THIRDS for first peon
- 1:48:34
- and got NICER from the possible peon moves
- 1:53:09
- taking off for dinner. timer paused again
- 1:53:09
- Back at it, drunk 2am. whee. vegas. [Drunk in Vegas, time for some real progress to happen]
- 1:53:16
- looks like the P in SLAPS can only be in the 21 square. (knight)
- 1:57:50
- Maybe placed NEE-SLAPS-SENT correctly?
- 2:06:03
- stuck on 2nd half of vizier
- 2:14:30
- undid MAI part of EMAIL. top left works too for now
- 2:19:20
- Kind of feel like i’m stuck and will never get out. [So time to give up? Or wait one minute…?]
- 2:20:15
- picking out leftover missing letters… VICTOR AT THE BATTLE OF
- 2:22:45
- wordlink, for battle of ???? gives ZAMA.. [I don’t know what wordlink is. Hmmm. Maybe I meant this search at onelook? http://onelook.com/?w=battle_of_*&scwo=1&sswo=0 ]
- 2:24:58
- AFRICANUS is one of the answers.
- 2:26:16
- I don’t know what the first part is. checking first squares for each piece
- 2:29:10
- Trying the squares each piece starts in. got ?REENHO??
- 2:29:58
- GREENHORN is correct. Done!
