Comment from --Turtle.

Exceptional

Hey, Craig,

I read through a bunch of poems today, enjoyed them. I'm excited for you to be so close to accomplishing your challenge, a marathon for sure, and chose a handful. I imagine I'll be catching up for many, many months to come, but wanted to spend a little time today reviewing a few poems before the end of the year. Not my best reviews, but I enjoyed the reading.

My thoughts on this poem:

I'm not a cruciverbalist,
although I've done a few(,)?
(For your consideration: adding in coordinating conjunction comma, maybe. I did this and that. I did this, and later, I did that.)

not so much, an unch.
(ooh, I have a friend at work who does crossword puzzles on a daily basis, I'm kind of excited to ask him if he knows what an unch is... and to ask him if he considers himself a cruciverbalist.) I like the much/ unch inner rhyme.

by solving six across.
A nice job in using the unch theme to the end.

 Comment Written 27-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 28-Dec-2018

Hi Turtle,

You can't imagine my astonishment to wake up this morning to see 14 reviews showing up, when I was expecting none! I didn't post a piece yesterday, which means I have to try and catch up this evening. I'm amazed that you had the time and patience to sit down and go through all those poems, not to mention I'm grateful beyond words. Please don't ever apologise that your reviews are less than brilliant -- your worst review is better than 99% I'll get elsewhere.

I added the comma, as suggested.

I think if your friend gives you a blank look when you throw "cruciverbalist" at him, you should just tell him he's an imposter.

I hope you'll forgive me. This is my first response for today, and I'm not going to repeat how incredibly grateful I am in every single response; but that doesn't mean they are not all valued as much as this one.

Cheers,
Craig

Comment from Gloria ....

Excellent

I rarely do angry word puzzles anymore. I've even written a few too, but "syllables" which invariably one section would degrade to was frowned on by the Cruciverbalist society, so I took up carpentry instead. More productive.

A most fun poem and those rosi cruciverbalists could predict trends they'd know a crossword puzzle should be cryptic poetry.

Gloria

 Comment Written 22-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

Thanks so much Gloria. You know I could never have a crossword for you.

I think my New Year's resolution will be to work on being more inscrutable with my verse. Time I became a serious poet!

Most grateful, as always!

Craig

reply by Gloria .... on 22-Dec-2018

It does take a year at an incredibly fast pace to just get to the beginning, yes? I look forward to reading them. Don't put them in a book next year until the end, because it's too hard to find if a reviewer has missed one.

Comment from Ulla

Excellent

Hi Craig,again you've composed a lovely poem around toady's word, and certainly not a word I would have ever known. Learning all the time. Thanks a lot for your notes. All the best. Ulla:)))

 Comment Written 22-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

Thanks so much, Ulla. I've never heard of unch, either. If I'd had to guess, I'd have said it was what a Cockney called a hunch :) Cheers, Craig

Comment from bichonfrisegirl

Excellent

I love the humor in this write, Craig. You had me smiling from start to finish with this one.

This is a clever and witty poem, that I absolutely love and would give six stars to if I had one left. "I'm sure it must be easier for those with twisted minds" ... what a great line! :)) Thanks for teaching me, not one, but two new words.

Cheers,
Connie

 Comment Written 22-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

Haha. Thanks for the delightful comments, and the virtual six, Connie :) Most grateful, as always. Craig

Comment from Debbie Pope

Excellent

I just found out that I am a cruciverbalist. I am truly am, but never knew it. I used to be a more active cruciverbalist before I started FanStory. Now, there is little time for my crossword hobby. I'd rather read poems about cruciverbalists than be one I guess.

 Comment Written 22-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

I seldom have time for crosswords these days, either. They can be fun, but I wasn't lying when I said cryptics aren't my thing :)

Comment from BeasPeas

Excellent

Good one. I got "cruciverbalist" right away. I do like crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. "Unch" got me. Never heard of that one, but I hate to leave an unch in a 'cruciverbal." Marilyn

 Comment Written 21-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

Me too. Not getting it out is an awful admission of defeat. Thanks, Marilyn. Craig

Comment from country ranch writer

Excellent

We used to love doing these growing up it helped pass the time back then we didn't have the internet with all its do-dads and things to do.

 Comment Written 21-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

Yep, we used to have time for lots of things back then. Thanks for reviewing.

reply by country ranch writer on 22-Dec-2018

Smiles

Comment from Mark D. R.

Excellent

Yo Craig!

Even in the middle of nowhere, you can find these unusual words. Your verse is spot on. Do like your 'unch' word!

I had no problem with six across, but I am still trying to decipher 23 down. It had sometime to do with genetic screening and I could not match it up with my north of the Equator knowledge.(-;

 Comment Written 21-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

LOL thanks for the fun review. One good thing about the word is there's no shortage of things to rhyme it with...

bunch, hunch, lunch, munch, punch...

Cheers,
Craig

reply by Mark D. R. on 22-Dec-2018

Craig,

Run with your rhymes and add 'line'. The we can have a 'bunchline' of carrots, a lunchline of students, a punchline of jokes, etc. My guess: you already have a call-in 'hunchline' for poetic advice and listings of Down Under unusual words ... LOL

Thanks again for your previous reply Mate!
Mark

Comment from lyenochka

Excellent

I know that one! I wrote about it a while back. The roots are recognizable in "crux" and "verb." But like the narrator of the poem, I have no patience for them. Many of the clues are culturally tied and if you don't have the same mindset of the crossword maker, it's impossible.

 Comment Written 21-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

My long-deceased aunt and my very-much-alive partner both excel(led) at the cryptic versions. I maintain that's just a sign of a sick mind. Many thanks, Helen :)

Comment from rama devi

Excellent

Fun words, dear Craig. Humorous tone, fine flow and great rhyming--plus phonics. Good presentaiton as well.

One suggestion:

I'm not a cruciverbalist,
although I've done a few(-- or , or ; or .)
and when I have, I've sometimes struggled
with a tricky clue.

Warm Smiles,
rd

 Comment Written 21-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

[Sigh] I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of that properly, RD. I'm sure if I put the comma back in (yes, I originally had one), someone will pull me up for using punctuation before a conjunction. I also considered using "so", "for" and "but" to begin the following line, but that didn't really change anything. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it thought :) Cheers, Craig

reply by rama devi on 22-Dec-2018

The rule is simple, dear craig:

with a coordinating conjunction, use a comma only if the subsequent clause is independent (has it's own pronoun, for example) and don'y use a comma if it is dependent (shares the first clause's subject).

reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

It is too late here for me to try and digest that tonight, so I'll have a good look at it in the morning.

Thanks for clarifying, I do appreciate it (and hopefully will be able to commit it to memory!)

Cheers,
Craig

reply by rama devi on 22-Dec-2018

It's the one comma mistake most writers make due to not learning it...or being told by someone who did not learn it to always avoid commas with conjunctions. not!

Where are you located? Where I am, it is 8:11 am! (Florida). Sleep well!

reply by the author on 22-Dec-2018

I'm in Australia. 12:36 am here, way past my bed time! Have a fun day while I'm off in la-la-land :)

reply by rama devi on 22-Dec-2018

Ah yes! Sweet dreams!