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Bert writes:
I’ve done another crossword. I was going to wait till a full year had passed since the last one, but with the upcoming summer of cricket I thought it would be appropriate to do it now. So here it is – the 2013 King Cricket Ashes and Priestly Vestments Summer Crossword.
The theme of this year’s crossword is The Ashes and Priestly Vestments. It’s designed for all those who take an interest in Ashes Cricket and Priestly Vestments. I’m sure we’ve all had many a discussion about Priestly Vestments while sat watching the…
Oh all right, I give up. But you try fitting the names of 14 England and Australia test cricketers into a symmetrical crossword grid without leaving a space that can only be filled with a type of Priestly Vestment. It’s not easy, I can tell you. So you’ve got what you’ve got, even if one of the answers seems to be “surplice” to requirements (thank you, you’re all too kind). Believe me, if you’re not au fait with the goings on of minor British celebs over the last couple of decades, it won’t be the most obscure answer you have to find.
Suggested References: Chambers 2012, OED 2009, OK Magazine August 2000, Know Your Priestly Vestments 1387 (2nd Ed.)
For answers and explanations, click here.
Hurray!
Although I was recently told there was no room for this sort of frippery on King Cricket at the moment as there is too much actual cricket to write about.
So on second thoughts, I withdraw my hurray. That’s right.
By the way, that first clue is solid gold genius.
As soon as I saw this post I cancelled my plans for the evening. Now I am done and can return to normal service…Bert remains the Don
Ah, what a pleasant surprise to find this. Some unexpectedly cerebral weekend entertainment.
I haven’t attempted a cryptic crossword since…Bert’s last cryptic crossword.
So I might be gone quite some time.
Many thanks, Bert.
I’d love to do a crossingwords. But why are some boxes black and some white?
Ah, I’m glad you asked. In fact, this particular tradition goes back to Mary Queen of Scots, who is supposed to have said on the eve of her execution, “Och whay, an’ al ta broot whithrew an lach splanter.” On hearing this, her trusted curtain mender and confidante Pierre, Laird o’ the Ferocious Glens an’ Nice Rivers, immediately set off for Sunderland on a brown mare, carrying a yellow rose tied with four pieces of thistle to a small piece of Shetland cheese, whereupon…
That was a good way to spend the weekend Bert ,,, thanks!
I’m sorry, but try as I might I cannot see where to fit the answer “Ian Austin” into that grid.
I thought there were rules around here, such as:
* match reports should not talk about the cricket itself unless it is a scratch-match report e.g. from Tibet using branches and dung instead of bat and ball or some-such, in which case describe the cricket in excruciating detail
and
* crosswords should contain “Ian Austin” in the questions and/or answers at least once, preferably many times.
I have completed much of your crossword, Bert, now I have become convinced that Ian Austin is entirely absent, I no longer see the point, frankly.
…and now, to add insult to injury, KC’s advertisers have stopped offering me Asian Babe dates and Muslim brides, thinking that instead I might want vestments from marycollingscf.co.uk/
How low must I now stoop?
“Not too low, especially if you are wearing those vestments”, I hear you all cry.
Thanks for the comments. I hope you’ve all enjoyed it, and more importantly, learned something about Priestly Vestments in the process. Like Ged, I too now know the ideal online place to but any Priestly Vestments I may need in the future, although with all the reports on the radio this morning I suspect that particular site has been ruthlessly cyber attacked by the Chinese government.
Add an expensive metal to iodine, sulphur and tin – the result is pure gold (3,6)