The Guardian Weekend - UK (2021-02-13)

1 Who was accused

of using SparkNotes

for his Nobel

prize speech?

2 In politics,

what is the

Overton window?

3 Painted by

Bellini, who was

Leonardo Loredan?

4 Côte d’Ivoire

is the world’s

leading producer of

which crop?

5 Which Greek herald

had a proverbially

loud voice?

6 Who is the

only Scottish

footballer to win the

Ballon d’Or?

7 What nocturnal

primate is also

known as the galago?

8 What was

the Mark I that

debuted on 15

September 1916?

What links:

9 Dishwasher;

windscreen wipers;

disposable nappies;

Kevlar?

10 T-W (purple);

D (green);

L-L (yellow);

P (red)?

11 Auden and Britten;

Mary Shepherd;

George III;

Blunt and Burgess?

12 Keer; Kent;

Leven; Lune;

Wyre?

13 Mary Gillick;

Arnold Machin;

Raphael Maklouf;

Ian Rank-Broadley;

Jody Clark?

14 Anlace;

bodkin; stiletto;

misericord; dirk?

15 Mother of God;

1930s child star;

Open champion

1961-62?

ASMR. It sounds like an illness o

government department, I know

in fact, one of the few things that

my brain stop whirring at night. Or

the very least, whir more slowly. Th

abbreviation stands for “ autonomou

sensory meridian response ”. I won’t

go into the science behind it (mostly because I don’t

understand it), but essentially, it’s a pleasurable feeling

one gets from certain noises or sensations.

I wouldn’t have thought that listening to recorded quoti

noises would be something I’d fi nd relaxing. I have written

before about my love of silenc e. I would rather grab

my coat and bag, fold my laptop, and trudge across to

the other side of a cafe than listen to someone absent-

mindedly but repeatedly clicking a pen nearby. And yet,

it turns out that I absolutely cannot get enough of listening

to playlists of people rustling paper; sketching with pencils;

using typewriters.

It may seem odd , but I like to think that listening to someo

mess around with blocks of wood is just the natural evolutio

from 1990s therapists prescribing cassettes of whalesong.

Quiz by Thomas Eaton

Answers on page 47

Across

7/11 Dorothy

Parker’s unfortunate

coincidence for

lovers (3,2,3,2,5)

8 Country bordered

by Yemen and

the UAE (4)

9/20 Count

Vronsky’s lover (4,8)

10/22 Janis Joplin’s

friends drove

Porsches; she

wanted a ........... ......

(8,4)

11 See 7

13 Poem by

Allen Ginsberg

dedicate to Carl

Solomon (4)

15 Simon ...., star

of Ho t Fuzz (4)

17 City south of Los

Angeles, whence

came N W A (7)

20 See 9

21 Swedish

supergoup (4)

23 Björn ....., fi ve-

time Wimbledon

singles winner (4)

24 Prolifi c Chinese

author of Miss

Sophia’s Diary (1927)

(4,4)

Down

1 Biblical fi gure

who, like Dorothy

Parker’s canary,

spilled his seed on

the ground (4)

2 Emma ..........,

Flaubert’s

eponymous hero (6)

3 State represented

in the US Senate by

Liz Cheney (7)

4 Jacqueline .. ...,

cellist who died in

1987 (2,3)

5 Form of

Back Hannah Jane Parkinson

The joy of small things

GETTY (2); ALAMY

I never thought I would admit to liking roleplay , but in the context

of ASMR, I’m putting it out there: whenever I struggle to get to sleep,

which is always, I listen to a YouTube video of a woman pretending

to cut my hair. There’s the gentle crush of the brush bristles;

the snip, snip of the scissors; the soft hiss of spray. None of this

compares to a sleeping pill, but in terms of winding down, this

aural language acts as a kind of tranquilliser. I shouldn’t fi nd it

relaxing to listen to a pretend doctor’s appointment, given

how much time I spend in actual hospitals , but again, the

snap of a latex glove, or the muffl ed closeness

of an imaginary ear exam (probably someone

rubbing a cloth over a microphone, to be

honest), is calming.

I am not the only one who fi nds all this

worthwhile : millions now consume ASMR videos and recordings.

Obviously, this means the practice has been monetised to the hilt –

something I try not to think about, as it drags me back into a busy

world of commerce and internet celebrity. No need to dwell on

all that. But I recommend listening to recorded waves at night

if you don’t live by the sea. If you do live by the sea – well, then,

please invite me to stay. It would be a pleasure to listen to the

real thing 

listen to the

62?

Crossword by Sy

123456

78

910

11 12 13

14

15 16 17 18

19

20 21 22

23 24

music to which

Torvill and Dean

skated to gold in

1984 (6)

6 Where Napoleon

did surrender,

according to 21 (8)

12 The ............,

US crime drama

• and the love
  story of Tony and
  Carmela (8)
  14 A 1978 song by the
  Police – and a 1987
  fi lm starring Daryl
  Hannah (7)
  16 Bakery chain
  favoured by lovers of
  sausage rolls (6)
  18 What of her
  mistress Carol Ann
  Duff y felt against her
  own skin (6)
  19 Singer who
  made her debut
  with Kids In
  America (5)
  22 See 10

or a

w. But it is,

t helps

Or, at

he

us

t

g

tidian

n

I never thoug

of ASMR, I’m pu

which is always,

to cut my hair. Th

the snip, snip oft

compares to a s

aural language

relaxing to li

how much

s

o

r

ho

I a

worthwhile : millions now

Obviously,this

one

on

somet

worl

all t

ify

ple

rea

Obviously

so

at

e

s

d

ng.

Waves breaking, the soft snip of scissors – these soothing sounds calm my brain