22 comments on “Guardian 24370/Brendan – placeholder”
It’s a shame Brendan couldn’t work the world’s first female Prime Minister in among all those 9Dn. .. (Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon/Sri Lanka, to save anyone having to look it up.)
How would you clue that, then? There must be a good anagram in there somewhere…
I only ever heard of her as Mrs. Bandaranaike, so offer, for her surname: First of Admirals in Victory follows Hastings artist, first of 9d.
I’ve several queries about this puzzle.19ac [GLOBALISM]23ac [LEGAL AID[ and 28ac [STARTLE} all have the definition as part of the wordplay. Is this usual? [At least 19 and 28 have a question mark.]
I couldn’t quite see why 11 ac was FIELD EVENT and spent far too long after writing in IMITATE for 2dn puzzling why a Christian was a mate, until the pebnny dropped: Fletcher Christian was Master’s Mate on the ‘Bounty’!
Very enjoyable, though!
19ac, 23ac and 28ac are all “&lit” clues, where the definition and wordplay are cleverly the same.
In athletics, a FIELD EVENT (high jump, javelin, etc) is in contrast to a TRACK EVENT (running) – the latter have times (e.g. world record for 100 metres is 9.something seconds) whereas the former usually have a height or distance instead.
Applause for your BANDARANAIKE clue 😉
Eileen – on 11ac, I think it’s that field events, unlike track, are not timed – the def is “in the Olympics, for example”.
I also was a bit put out by the three clues you query.
Thanks, both. I thought the FIELD EVENT must be something like that.
I still don’t see where the definition for 23 ac is!
I think the idea is that LEGAL AID is a form of support for advocates; the definition reading of the clue should be parsed as “Support [that] advocate put in place” with “support” as a noun. Slightly dodgy wording, I think: legal is not exactly “put in place” _by_ an advocate..
Thanks for help with this: I had quite a few of the refs in 9dn but only just now got it!
Who needs bloggers when the 15sq community is there to help? (Only joking, Colin, we await your notes with interest.)
23 ac: LEGAL AID. LEG=support, A=advocate primarily, LAID=put in place. But where is the definition?
Muck, isn’t LEGAL AID a form of support for a member of the public? Another &lit, as Andrew pointed out.
The whole clue is the definition plus elements of wordplay. As Andrew says above this, 19 and 28 are examples of &lit clues. Brendan seems to have a particular talent for these.
Thank you Eileen (post 4) – I would have never have understood why Christian = mate. Nice puzzle and very hard – in terms of quality and difficulty it wouldn’t have been out of place as a Saturday prize puzzle.
If anyone wants to go ahead and write up their own blog then please feel free as it looks like Colin has been delayed by Real Life.
OK, I’ll give it a go… hope Colin’s RL delays are nothing serious.
A double-edged theme here, featuring two types of LEADING LADIES, and a smattering of &lits including one of the thematic clues.
1ac HILL + A-RY (RY = railway = system of track)
5, 10ac LILLIAN GISH – anag of L (pound) + A SHILLING – a film star, initially of the silent era, and the first of the 9dn
11 FIELD EVENT – cryptic defintion: see discussion in previous comments
12ac,22dn LAUREN BACALL – another anagram (A BANAL CLUE + L (learner) & R), another leading lady. Useful pub quiz fodder: her real name was Betty Joan Perske, and she married Humphrey Bogart when she was 20 and he was 45.
13 DO-(R)-I’S DAY – another one.
14 BEGGARING . Def is “Making poor”, but the wordplay took me a while to work out. I think it’s start=BEGIN , “finally good” = G at the end, and so GAR must be a fish: which luckily it is.
17 SMELT – nice double def
19 GLOBALISM – anag of BIG + O + SMALL, and the first of three &lit clues in this puzzle.
23 LEGAL AID – LEG (support) + A (advocate primarily) + LAID (put in place), and another &lit – see previous discussion in comments
27 WORD – “what you are doing” is a CROSSWORD
28 STARTLE – anag of RATTLE+S &lit
29 CLINT-ON – I had to check Chambers to find that CLINT is “one of a series of limestone blocks or ridges divided by fissures or grikes”. So what’s a grike? Glad you asked – it’s “a fissure in limestone rock formed or widened by the dissolvent effect of rain”. And here we get a link to 1ac for another CLINTON.
2dn IMITATE – IT in I MATE. As mentioned in a previous comment, Fletcher Christian was a Master’s MATE on the Bounty, of Mutiny fame.
3dn LEHAR – hidden
4dn RE-FINE-R
6dn,24ac – INDIRA GANDHI: R in INDIA + anag of HEADING less E. Another “leading lady”, though a different sort this time; and also another &lit
9dn LEADING LADIES – the theme phrase for the puzzle. Note the “maybe” after “1 29”, indicating the Hillary Clinton is only a potential LL.
15dn GOLDA MEIR – GO + anag of A MILDER. Another political LL – PM of Israel 1969-1974.
18 MAE WEST – back to film stars, and also the name of a wartime lifejacket, named after its supposed resemblance to her curvaceous figure.
20 BIG DEAL – B + G in IDEAL
21 SCHERZO – Z (unknown) in anag of ORCHES(tras).
Failed to get 8D and 16A – help please.
Also I have a gripe with 4D. What is the purpose of the words “in a way” in the clue? I was trying to put ST or RD around bits for ages. Not needed for the clue to flow.So??
Thanks
16A BE[A]ST
8D ANNU[A]LS
Hi All,
Sorry about the lack of a blog. Great puzzle, solved early but I ran out time to actually blog the thing. Thanks in particular to Andrew for taking the time to produce a blog. At least this demonstrates the effectiveness of the Neil’s placeholder idea.
Thanks Eileen, I should have got those.
But anyone, please, what is the answer to my query on 4D?
“Also I have a gripe with 4D. What is the purpose of the words “in a way” in the clue? I was trying to put ST or RD around bits for ages. Not needed for the clue to flow.So??”
I think “in a way” is not technically incorrect – fining someone is a “way” of punishing them. As you say, it could be omitted without affecting the wordplay: maybe it’s deliberate misdirection.
Thanks Andrew.
I haven’t really come across/thought about the idea of “deliberate misdirection” before but take your point. I think a well crafted and ingenious clue should be hard enough; dare I suggest that deliberate misdirection is the last refuge of a lazy setter?!
It’s a shame Brendan couldn’t work the world’s first female Prime Minister in among all those 9Dn. .. (Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon/Sri Lanka, to save anyone having to look it up.)
How would you clue that, then? There must be a good anagram in there somewhere…
I only ever heard of her as Mrs. Bandaranaike, so offer, for her surname: First of Admirals in Victory follows Hastings artist, first of 9d.
I’ve several queries about this puzzle.19ac [GLOBALISM]23ac [LEGAL AID[ and 28ac [STARTLE} all have the definition as part of the wordplay. Is this usual? [At least 19 and 28 have a question mark.]
I couldn’t quite see why 11 ac was FIELD EVENT and spent far too long after writing in IMITATE for 2dn puzzling why a Christian was a mate, until the pebnny dropped: Fletcher Christian was Master’s Mate on the ‘Bounty’!
Very enjoyable, though!
19ac, 23ac and 28ac are all “&lit” clues, where the definition and wordplay are cleverly the same.
In athletics, a FIELD EVENT (high jump, javelin, etc) is in contrast to a TRACK EVENT (running) – the latter have times (e.g. world record for 100 metres is 9.something seconds) whereas the former usually have a height or distance instead.
Applause for your BANDARANAIKE clue 😉
Eileen – on 11ac, I think it’s that field events, unlike track, are not timed – the def is “in the Olympics, for example”.
I also was a bit put out by the three clues you query.
Thanks, both. I thought the FIELD EVENT must be something like that.
I still don’t see where the definition for 23 ac is!
I think the idea is that LEGAL AID is a form of support for advocates; the definition reading of the clue should be parsed as “Support [that] advocate put in place” with “support” as a noun. Slightly dodgy wording, I think: legal is not exactly “put in place” _by_ an advocate..
Thanks for help with this: I had quite a few of the refs in 9dn but only just now got it!
Who needs bloggers when the 15sq community is there to help? (Only joking, Colin, we await your notes with interest.)
23 ac: LEGAL AID. LEG=support, A=advocate primarily, LAID=put in place. But where is the definition?
Muck, isn’t LEGAL AID a form of support for a member of the public? Another &lit, as Andrew pointed out.
The whole clue is the definition plus elements of wordplay. As Andrew says above this, 19 and 28 are examples of &lit clues. Brendan seems to have a particular talent for these.
Thank you Eileen (post 4) – I would have never have understood why Christian = mate. Nice puzzle and very hard – in terms of quality and difficulty it wouldn’t have been out of place as a Saturday prize puzzle.
If anyone wants to go ahead and write up their own blog then please feel free as it looks like Colin has been delayed by Real Life.
OK, I’ll give it a go… hope Colin’s RL delays are nothing serious.
A double-edged theme here, featuring two types of LEADING LADIES, and a smattering of &lits including one of the thematic clues.
1ac HILL + A-RY (RY = railway = system of track)
5, 10ac LILLIAN GISH – anag of L (pound) + A SHILLING – a film star, initially of the silent era, and the first of the 9dn
11 FIELD EVENT – cryptic defintion: see discussion in previous comments
12ac,22dn LAUREN BACALL – another anagram (A BANAL CLUE + L (learner) & R), another leading lady. Useful pub quiz fodder: her real name was Betty Joan Perske, and she married Humphrey Bogart when she was 20 and he was 45.
13 DO-(R)-I’S DAY – another one.
14 BEGGARING . Def is “Making poor”, but the wordplay took me a while to work out. I think it’s start=BEGIN , “finally good” = G at the end, and so GAR must be a fish: which luckily it is.
17 SMELT – nice double def
19 GLOBALISM – anag of BIG + O + SMALL, and the first of three &lit clues in this puzzle.
23 LEGAL AID – LEG (support) + A (advocate primarily) + LAID (put in place), and another &lit – see previous discussion in comments
27 WORD – “what you are doing” is a CROSSWORD
28 STARTLE – anag of RATTLE+S &lit
29 CLINT-ON – I had to check Chambers to find that CLINT is “one of a series of limestone blocks or ridges divided by fissures or grikes”. So what’s a grike? Glad you asked – it’s “a fissure in limestone rock formed or widened by the dissolvent effect of rain”. And here we get a link to 1ac for another CLINTON.
2dn IMITATE – IT in I MATE. As mentioned in a previous comment, Fletcher Christian was a Master’s MATE on the Bounty, of Mutiny fame.
3dn LEHAR – hidden
4dn RE-FINE-R
6dn,24ac – INDIRA GANDHI: R in INDIA + anag of HEADING less E. Another “leading lady”, though a different sort this time; and also another &lit
9dn LEADING LADIES – the theme phrase for the puzzle. Note the “maybe” after “1 29”, indicating the Hillary Clinton is only a potential LL.
15dn GOLDA MEIR – GO + anag of A MILDER. Another political LL – PM of Israel 1969-1974.
18 MAE WEST – back to film stars, and also the name of a wartime lifejacket, named after its supposed resemblance to her curvaceous figure.
20 BIG DEAL – B + G in IDEAL
21 SCHERZO – Z (unknown) in anag of ORCHES(tras).
Failed to get 8D and 16A – help please.
Also I have a gripe with 4D. What is the purpose of the words “in a way” in the clue? I was trying to put ST or RD around bits for ages. Not needed for the clue to flow.So??
Thanks
16A BE[A]ST
8D ANNU[A]LS
Hi All,
Sorry about the lack of a blog. Great puzzle, solved early but I ran out time to actually blog the thing. Thanks in particular to Andrew for taking the time to produce a blog. At least this demonstrates the effectiveness of the Neil’s placeholder idea.
Thanks Eileen, I should have got those.
But anyone, please, what is the answer to my query on 4D?
“Also I have a gripe with 4D. What is the purpose of the words “in a way” in the clue? I was trying to put ST or RD around bits for ages. Not needed for the clue to flow.So??”
I think “in a way” is not technically incorrect – fining someone is a “way” of punishing them. As you say, it could be omitted without affecting the wordplay: maybe it’s deliberate misdirection.
Thanks Andrew.
I haven’t really come across/thought about the idea of “deliberate misdirection” before but take your point. I think a well crafted and ingenious clue should be hard enough; dare I suggest that deliberate misdirection is the last refuge of a lazy setter?!