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I'm afraid that I again found this a joyless slog. If there wasn't a decent prize on offer I probably wouldn't bother with the current crop of ST cryptics. It seems a daft thing to say about a crossword, but for me they are lacking any personality.

Agreed - except I would say they do have personality - sadistic and psychopathic.

Oh and have physical traits too - they stink.

😃

Dean Mayer. Joyless? One of the best out there.

Good Afternoon, cowbit. I think that my problem is that lately the ST cryptic seems to be straying well away from Ximenean principles. Having said that, so did Araucaria; so what do I know? 😒

According to Ximenean principles, good clues own a precise definition, fair wordplay, and nothing else. Grammar is vital on the surface, and below the line, where the wordplay operates. Things like case and mood and tense must function as pure commands.

I'm surprised that you're doing the puzzles in the hope of winning the prize.
To me it doesn't seem worth the cost of the postage stamps to send them in

There lies the rub! I subscribe , so submission is made on-line. Any prize offsets some of the outlay. I've had a few 20 quids from Mephisto and once grabbed the £100 monthly prize😁 Never won the Saturday or Sunday cryptic. Pity the Listener is stuck in the past, but I understand the reasons why.

I’d been submitting online for years, then (drumroll….) got an unexpected package with a fountain pen in - I’d won ST puzzle 5000! No email notification though. So it can be done. Still submitting most weeks but keek to earn some cash from the Saturday ones….