Newspapers...

[venta]

Well, today I branched out and bought a newspaper on the way to work. I don't remember the last time I bought a paper. Today's choice was the Daily Telegraph. It has the best crossword, the best cartoonist, and at least I know where its political bias is.

And you get to play The Telegraph Game. I forget who introduced me to this. The idea is that if you look at the first three pages, you will find a large picture of at least one of

• an attractive, preferably scantily clad, woman


• a solider


• a helicopter or tank

Only just squeaked in today, though, if you count Carole Caplin in a low-cut dress..

I'm still sick of hearing about Cherie Blair. Barring two small stories on the front page, it was page 5 before I got a story which wasn't directly related to 'The Foster Affair'..

Comments

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

The Telegraph's crossword is palpably (palpably, I say) inferior, and I don't know who its cartoonist is, but they can't be as good as Steve Bell or even Martin Rowson.

Fie on you, I say.

Incidentally, Guardian Crossword this Saturday - another one we just couldn't get for love nor money:

George's first and second man in a boat in transports (7)

G_A_R_S

I'm going to tell you what the other clues are that give those four letters, as our crack team had so much trouble with this one that we figured we might have got one of the others wrong.

In the outset, a load of French food - escarGot
Like a hellfire sermon given by a candidate - aspirAnt
Forges ahead with old revolutionary to fight for lost cause - flog a dead hoRse
Traitor causing disturbance at Caerleon - iScariot

M'colleagues were especially suspicious of ASPIRANT, even though I quite liked it as an answer.

[jiggery-pokery.livejournal.com]

If you fancy a bit of cheating, there's always http://www.oneacross.com/ . However, it suggests GLAIRES, which is something to do with egg whites, which doesn't seem too plausible to me.

Ah well. You'll find out soon enough...

[ericklendl.livejournal.com]

Hmm. The shameless-cheat-o-matic at Chambers Harrap (http://www.chambers-harrap.com/chambers/wordgames/index.php) suggests two words fitting that pattern. Neither quite works in conjunction with definition lookups at dictionary.com (http://www.dictionary.com), but one pulls up an alternative spelling that looks like it might be the one you're after.

Can't latch on to the way this compiler thinks to be certain whether it fits the clue, but it gives you a lead anyway.

Ah yes.

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

GHARRIS, as an alternative spelling of GHARRIES, a gharry being an Egyptian horse drawn cab.

George's first (G)
and
second man in a boat (HARRIS)
for
transports (GHARRIS).

Fiendish.

Nope, still not with you.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Where does the boat come in ?

Re: Nope, still not with you.

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

Oh ye of little poncey arts-studentiness.

Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men In A Boat" were George, Harris and (er, I think) Montmorency.

To say nothing of the dog...

[addedentry.livejournal.com]

Wasn't Montmorency the dog? That would make the third man the narrator (Jerome, I suppose).

Re: To say nothing of the dog...

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

That's why I suddenly got cold feet... I thought Montmorency was probably the dog, but I couldn't remember the name of the third man.

Anyone who suggests "Harry Lime" gets a slapping.

I hate the Foster Affair myself, but...

[ieyasu.livejournal.com]

...after a few years of Guardian attacks on every bit of Tory sleaze (and sorry, but I never understood what people were so upset about with the Hamilton affair), the Telegraph would have to be saintly to avoid gloating a bit.