Here is The Question, the Ultimate Question

[JD Stottlemire]

Here is the question, the ultimate question to the question of life
the universe and everything to which the answer is 42. Long Live
Douglas Adams!

http://hongkonghonky.blogspot.com/2012/04/answer-to-ultimate-question-of-life.html

[Lloyd Gilbert]

That's actually quite cute. Heh.


Reminds me of the one cryptic crossword clue (and answer) that I can
remember:

Snake eyes? Sounds like heaven. (8)

Lloyd
--
"In fact, everything between 'herring' and 'marmalade'
appears to be missing" -- Svlad Cjelli

[Kåre Fiedler Christiansen]

On Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:16:11 +0100, Lloyd Gilbert wrote:

> On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:17:44 -0700 (PDT), JD Stottlemire
> <persian...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>Here is the question, the ultimate question to the question of life the
>>universe and everything to which the answer is 42. Long Live Douglas
>>Adams!

I like it. It's a welcome change from base 13 :-)

>>http://hongkonghonky.blogspot.com/2012/04/answer-to-ultimate-question-

of-life.html
>
> That's actually quite cute. Heh.
>
>
> Reminds me of the one cryptic crossword clue (and answer) that I can
> remember:
>
> Snake eyes? Sounds like heaven. (8)

If I didn't have a British coworker who does cryptic crosswords, I would
have no idea what you were talking about.

I still can't figure out whether he's a lot more clever than me, or
whether it's mainly because English isn't a native language, but
basically I look at the cryptic crosswords, read the clues, blink a bit,
and give up. I think I have only ever figured out one or two hints,
though he usually brings one for every lunch and I've often glanced at
them. Sometimes I have no idea how the answers he writes in has any
realtion to the clues. He tells me that his old mother does them, and
while she looks like a woman that should be well into senility, but he
looks at her in awe as she devours the cryptic crosswords in minutes.

If anyone else hasn't heard about cryptic crosswords, look here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/series/cryptic

Best,
Kåre

[Tian]

Lloyd Gilbert wrote:
> On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:17:44 -0700 (PDT), JD Stottlemire
> <persian...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Here is the question, the ultimate question to the question of life
>> the universe and everything to which the answer is 42. Long Live
>> Douglas Adams!
>>
>> http://hongkonghonky.blogspot.com/2012/04/answer-to-ultimate-question-of-life.html
>
> That's actually quite cute. Heh.
>
>
> Reminds me of the one cryptic crossword clue (and answer) that I can
> remember:
>
> Snake eyes? Sounds like heaven. (8)
>

Reminds me of the time I was riding my bike along side a guy with a pair
of fuzzy dice hanging on his handlebars. At the time I had a green peace
sign on the right buttock of my coat. I found my self pondering the
significance of pair-a-dice before him and green peace behind me.
--
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: I rode around the south bay with bike party.
The small leaded glass pyramid is on a Colorado quarter.

[Lloyd Gilbert]

On Sat, 21 Apr 2012 09:26:55 +0000 (UTC), Kåre Fiedler Christiansen
<ne...@kaarefc.dk> wrote:

>On Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:16:11 +0100, Lloyd Gilbert wrote:

<snip>

>> Reminds me of the one cryptic crossword clue (and answer) that I can
>> remember:
>>
>> Snake eyes? Sounds like heaven. (8)
>
>If I didn't have a British coworker who does cryptic crosswords, I would
>have no idea what you were talking about.
>
>I still can't figure out whether he's a lot more clever than me, or
>whether it's mainly because English isn't a native language, but
>basically I look at the cryptic crosswords, read the clues, blink a bit,
>and give up.

I'm a native English speaker, and that's pretty much my response to
cryptic crosswords too.

>I think I have only ever figured out one or two hints,
>though he usually brings one for every lunch and I've often glanced at
>them. Sometimes I have no idea how the answers he writes in has any
>realtion to the clues. He tells me that his old mother does them, and
>while she looks like a woman that should be well into senility, but he
>looks at her in awe as she devours the cryptic crosswords in minutes.

For a while, my father had an interest in entering the crossword
competition in his monthly golfing magazine. He said that it took a
few months of trying before beginning to understand the mind of the
person setting the clues.

Which suggests that practice and repeated exposure helps to train the
brain in pattern recognition if nothing else.

[Charles Bishop]

In article <jmtugv$1c2$1...@dont-email.me>, =?iso-8859-1?b?S+VyZQ==?= Fiedler

I have the same thoughts you do, though the answers make sense when I've
seen them. I expect it mostly practice and some sense of English culture
or background. I wonder if there are "easy" ones for beginners.

Some of the clues and answers in the Los Angeles Times crossword depend on
puns or a switch in meaning that isn't obvious until you have the answer.
--
charles

[Nemo Maelstrom Thorx]

On 02 Sep (a Sunday in 2012) around 2216 hours, Charles Bishop did utter:

> >I still can't figure out whether he's a lot more clever than me, or
> >whether it's mainly because English isn't a native language, but
> >basically I look at the cryptic crosswords, read the clues, blink a bit,
> >and give up. I think I have only ever figured out one or two hints,
> >though he usually brings one for every lunch and I've often glanced at
> >them. Sometimes I have no idea how the answers he writes in has any
> >realtion to the clues. He tells me that his old mother does them, and
> >while she looks like a woman that should be well into senility, but he
> >looks at her in awe as she devours the cryptic crosswords in minutes.
> >
> >If anyone else hasn't heard about cryptic crosswords, look here:
> >http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/series/cryptic
>
> I have the same thoughts you do, though the answers make sense when I've
> seen them. I expect it mostly practice and some sense of English culture
> or background. I wonder if there are "easy" ones for beginners.
>
> Some of the clues and answers in the Los Angeles Times crossword depend on
> puns or a switch in meaning that isn't obvious until you have the answer.

Interestingly, a friend of mine has just published 'Cryptic Crosswords
for Dummies' (yes, I know how crazy that sounds :)

Apparently it's largely about science - to quote an article recently:


""
Never fear, however. Ms Sutherland assures us that cryptics really are
a matter of method, and most codes can be cracked by working through
a set of established rules.

"There's about nine different sorts of word play that are used in
cryptic clues", she told us.
""
-- from: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/08/31/3580338.htm

.../Nemo

--
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earth native