Some time ago Anax (Dean Mayer, a UK setter) asked a question on his blog about setter rustiness, that is the effect of having a break from setting (due to a holiday, for example) and then trying to get back into it. I replied, reflecting on how things used to be for me in such circumstances, but recently I’ve come to realise just how important having a fit brain is to not only the art of setting but to the art of good setting. The brain needs exercise like muscles do to stay in shape. When my business was at its peak I was writing about 1000 word puzzles a year, about 400 of them cryptic. It was mentally draining but manageable and over time I discovered little tricks to keep the brain from overloading. For instance, as I’ve mentioned before, I put a lot of energy into the grid filling part of compiling, making the clue construction easier; I intentionally stayed away from difficult words to clue; I didn’t do (many) themes (as someone famously said, “they don’t pay any more for theme crosswords”); I treated setting as a job and worked set hours, giving my brain a rest from words; and I left words I was having trouble with and finished what I could, getting the bulk of the crossword done (therefore relieving pressure).
My son works for a local web development company, Black Nova – he somehow manages to hop out of bed and get to work in about 20 minutes – I couldn’t do that and arrive in the right frame of mind for work. For most of my professional setting days the first thing I did was go for an hour’s walk – I’m convinced this time before work loosened the brain up and put me in the right headspace – the times I just got up and started work were a hard slog.
Leap forward to now and my brain is in a completely different gear. The demands of multiple weekly deadlines have gone and my brain has correspondingly slowed. For some reason much less work takes a disproportionate amount of time and I struggle where I never used to. My brain fitness has deteriorated – no doubt about it. I could put it down to “burn-out”, but mostly it’s the lack of daily stimulation that The Stickler and other puzzles provided me.
| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | TIPTOP | |
| Excellent suggestion about progressive instruction given by writer (6) | TIP outside PTO | |
| 5 | PASTIES | |
| Baked items containing tasty filling? (7) | PIES outside T(AST)Y | |
| 10 | ATTRIBUTE | |
| Character at tutorial holding part of skeleton (9) | (AT + TUTE) outside RIB | |
| 11 | ASSET | |
| It’s well worth having when ready (5) | AS + SET | |
| 12 | WRENCH | |
| Working girl getting hold of right tool (6) | WENCH outside R | |
| 13 | RESOURCE | |
| Means of support Crusoe replaced in the middle of stream (8) | Anagram of CRUSOE inside ST(RE)AM | |
| 15 | GRIP | |
| Purchase trimmed beef (4) | (GRIP)E | |
| 16 | PESTILENCE | |
| Upright member in British capital is a morally harmful influence (10) | STILE inside PENCE | |
| 18 | MISFORTUNE | |
| Accident is from bungled engine adjustment (10) | Anagram of IS FROM + TUNE | |
| 19 | SEGA | |
| Game producer is a long time in retirement (4) | AGES reversed | |
| 22 | APPENDIX | |
| Supplement a couple of pages with revised index (8) | A + (P + P) + anagram of INDEX | |
| 23 | TENORS | |
| Number penned by large group of snappy singers (6) | NO inside (TERS)E | |
| 25 | LLAMA | |
| Pack carrier left with Buddhist priest (5) | L + LAMA | |
| 26 | HARROWING | |
| Nearly all strenuous activity in a regatta is traumatic (9) | (HAR)D + ROWING | |
| 27 | SPEEDOS | |
| Swimmers so far below the surface returned after minutes finally (7) | (SO + DEEP) reversed after MINUTE(S) | |
| 28 | STRAYS | |
| Homeless people’s right claimed by supportive guys (6) | R inside STAYS | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 2 | IN THE FIRST PLACE | |
| Leaf insect, thrips, mostly destroyed to begin with (2,3,5,5) | Anagram of (LEAF INSECT THRIP)S | |
| 3 | TWITCH | |
| Pluck heart out of heartless sorceress? (6) | HEAR(T)LESS + WITCH | |
| 4 | PLUM | |
| Well-rounded, pruned fruit tree (4) | (PLUM)P | |
| 5 | PRESENTING | |
| Promoter initially feeling bitter about putting on a show (10) | (P)ROMOTER + RESENTING | |
| 6 | SEAWORLD | |
| Theme park’s role was redesigned with capital supplied by Disney (8) | Anagram of ROLE WAS + (D)ISNEY | |
| 7 | INSURANCE POLICY | |
| Sort of preclusion limiting an indifferent contract that offers protection (9,6) | (Anagram of PRECLUSION outside AN) + ICY | |
| 8 | SO THERE | |
| Felon bearing the expression of defiance (2,5) | SORE outside THE | |
| 9 | EARWIG | |
| A wire rigged close to gathering to eavesdrop (6) | Anagram of A WIRE + GATHERIN(G) | |
| 14 | BEST WISHES | |
| She is contracted after website truncated and refreshed compliments (4,6) | SHES after anagram of (WEBSIT)E | |
| 17 | DOWNWARD | |
| Declining to have someone held in care after start of dialysis (8) | (OWN + WARD) after (D)IALYSIS | |
| 18 | MEASLES | |
| Disease where spots may be seen in time as lesions? (7) | tiME AS LESions | |
| 20 | AT SIGN | |
| Part of email address and part of messaging is taken the wrong way (2,4) | messagiNG IS TAken reversed | |
| 21 | MEMOIR | |
| Married one in European capital typed up historical account (6) | M + (I inside ROME reversed) | |
| 24 | IRIS | |
| One male teacher put up with pupil’s governor (4) | I + SIR reversed |
You will be missed. Get well. And come back, please.
Steve = : ^ )