Spectator 2462

[pomona]

1d Extremely skimpy uncovered heap (6) T??R?? toorie?
7d Pound snatched by tight old dark character? (6)

Help please too with the theme...

[fiction-factory]

I may be missing something obvious but I can't see where toorie fits the clue at all.

[dannyk13]

1d.Toorie (small heap) too(extremely) + (b)rie(f) (skimpy)

[sedge47]

1d TOO (extremely) + [b]RIE[f]

[fiction-factory]

Thanks. I thought toorie was a hat though

[pomona]

Thank you dannyk13 and sedge47

[Neveracrossword]

7 Melona, dark character. Mean, O, tight old+ L, pound inside (snatched).

[pomona]

thank you Neveracrossword ...assume you mean melano

[greyfox]

Me(l)an o

Yet to suss the theme myself.

[Neveracrossword]

Sorry, about the typo, the TV news distracted me! Yes, Melano.

[pomona]

i now have the theme or at least i can see what has happened to the defn only clues......

[greyfox]

A subtle, or not so subtle, hint please pomona?

[pomona]

top of column 5

[pomona]

18a answer seems to be themed although it has wordplay??

[ProfessorMaisie]

I thought the theme was depressingly obvious, and there's a mistake with one of the thematic entries - it has wordplay.

[roslyn251254]

Speccie has gone downhill lately .....poor themes ...old setters seem to have been replaced...used to be my fave ..not any more!

[Spoffy]

Interested by the comments here, and not having done a Spectator puzzle for several years, I thought I'd try this one. On the plus side, it didn't take long. Otherwise, it had a tired theme, a lot of non-words to enter, a clue to a thematic entry which (contrary to the instructions) included a partial wordplay, indications of the same word in two wordplays, and a faulty clue. A sad decline indeed, not least in QA standards.

[Emmceeyell]

Agree with all the comments: a lazy puzzle with mistakes and a weak theme. Shall not rush back to Cheesemaker again... hope the Listener better over the coming days...

[barnaclebill58]

I have never knowingly tried to solve a Spectator before. I don't understand "are to be treated to a symmetrically disposed theme which has to be highlighted". I have no idea what that means. If it is possible could someone please explain what that means in plain English without giving the game away.

[ProfessorMaisie]

It means you've got to guess what the theme is, barnaclebill58 - and once you've realised how the answers have been modified to fit in to the grid, you shouldn't have much trouble doing that.
You will find confirmation that your guess is right if you can discover the two parts of the theme hidden in the grid - and it's very helpful to know they're in symmetrical positions (so, for example, if you discover the 1st part starts in the first square of the grid, you'll know that the 2nd part ends in the last square of the grid).
Sorry it's so wordy but I hope it helps.

[barnaclebill58]

Thanks Professor. So are you saying that if e.g the answer to 13a A salt was "nitrate" then it might be that you in fact enter itrat or nitra or trate? Thanks