(no subject)

[dakegra]

Does anyone here do The Listener Crossword?

I had a look at this week's in The Times on saturday (link), and can't make head nor tail of it.

The instructions:

One digit is to be inserted in each cell. Twenty-five letters of the alphabet (excluding N) represent different 2-, 3- or 4-digit positive whole numbers. These, and the 44 grid entries, all have something in common. When the letters are appropriately sorted, a hint will appear which will help solvers to discover the theme.

Solvers are to confirm their solution's status for the puzzle's prize draw by summing the grid entries and writing the thematic version of this sum below the grid. All the grid entries are different and none of them starts with a zero. N! represents "N factorial", eg, 4! = 4x3x2x1 = 24.

If anyone can shed *any* light on this at all, I'd be most grateful.


[edit] oh, wait. say the clue is:
W = 3T = 3O + T

the value for W is the same as that for 3x(whatever T is), which is the same as 3*O +T

which means that 2*T = 3*O

and it's all just one giant bit of (admittedly stupidly hard) algebra?

*lightbulb*

[edited edit]

would TTT therefore be the same as T*T*T?
As T is a 2-digit number, there must be a fairly limited set of T which when mulitplied by itself 3 times would give a 4 digit number? In fact it would have to be between 10 and 21 (inclusive), if my maths is anything to go by...

Comments

[peeeeeeet.livejournal.com]

I hope this is all part of your explanation as to why you didn't have time to do your timesheets

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

It all goes under 'Admin'

[songster.livejournal.com]

Looks like you're on the right track. There's various other stuff you can get at first glance as well - for example, O, E, T, H and R are all two-digit numbers, as each of then is an answer to a single clue (with length of answer given).

Then you have the bit in the description about arranging all the letters in order... presumably numerical order? So the sentence they make could well begin "OTHER..."

Hmmm.

I am *SO* going to do this later :-)


Edit before posting: You can work out O by looking at 16 across and 6 down. O is a two digit number (16 across). 6 down is a sum including O! (O factorial), and is seven digits. 10! = 3628800 (seven digits). 11! = 39916800 (eight digits, which is too long). O must therefore = 10.

You can probably make similar argumentations on answer length for any of the other clues involving factorials, which will narrow down the possible ranges of values very fast for some of the answers.

[songster.livejournal.com]

Another consideration: there's no facility to enter decimal points or minus signs, therefore all the answers are positive whole numbers.

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

I'm doing ok with it now - I've got about seven or eight of the letters, and at least some of the grid filled in.

I also have a handful of back-of-envelope calculations and scribbles all over the newspaper.

[dakegra.livejournal.com]

sadly there was only one other factorial in there...