From Nimrod’s explanation about IQ tactics, I was expecting something a bit easier this week, but I found the combination of lack of word length and misprints pretty difficult.
The rubric told us:
The grid pattern has mirror symmetry about the central vertical. Upon completion four squares will be blank. Corrections to misprints in definitions in a number of clues spell out a phrase referencing a title implying an action, though the completed grid indicates a different context. Solvers must move four letters vertically from unchecked positions (leaving real words, ignoring gaps) to confirm the new context. Bars and numbers are not required in submitted solutions.
I struggled slowly on, eventually solving the three twelve letter across clues and fitting in most of the top half, despite not having parsed all the clues at that point. I had a few isolated entries in the bottom half, crucially including HERBARTIAN (deduced from wordplay – never heard of him!), and an indication of PIXAR FILM (though not complete) from the misprinted down definitions. I noticed NEMO in four contiguous squares starting with the N of BRITON and thought that the film referenced in the rubric might be Finding Nemo. I then then had a day off.
Meanwhile Ho had solved the remaining clues in the bottom half, and a little jigsaw work led to the grid below with four blanks on the bottom row.
Finding Nemo is one of Pixar’s animated classics concerning a lost fish (hence the fishy part of the title) which I haven’t seen but my grandsons have and talked about it endlessly at the time! So we had to find NEMO and put him in his rightful place at the bottom of the grid. This is in fact below SEA LEVEL – found on the next to the bottom row. So the N was removed from PLAINT leaving PLAIT, the E from STYE leaving STY, the M from CREMATE leaving CREATE and the O from SHARON leaving SHARN, all real words as indicated in the preamble. [Blogger’s note – a pity that SHMO was not clued between RILL and ADEN. SH is in the dictionary, so it would still have been possible to remove MO, still leaving all real words! For what it’s worth the clue could be “Quiet American stooge, not English idiot”]
BUT the full phrase turned out to be NOT THE PIXAR FILM, and the only other Nemo that I know of is the Captain of the submarine Nautilus in the Jules Verne classic science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. And lo and behold, on the bottom row, surrounding the four blanks are the letters NAUT . . . . ILUS. So we have to find Nemo, (but the Jules Verne one, not Pixar’s – Something Fishy about this and it is a “different context” as in the rubric!) and put him in his ship, the Nautilus.
And there we have it. Sounds simple, but it took me an age to get started, and ages more to solve and parse all the clues for this blog, but all worth it for the PDM at the end. Thanks to Phi for a good swim/workout!
The original diagram is shown in full with bars and numbers, then the animation to show the end game.
Across |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue, definition (misprint) | Answer | Wordplay | X |
| 1 | Went crazy about experimental end to prayer in religious text (two words) | NEW TESTAMENT | [WENT]* round TEST (experimental) AMEN (end to prayer) | |
| 10 | Lamen(s)t literary apparatus enthrals one | PLAINT | PLANT (apparatus) round I (one) | N |
| 11 | Articles about cab showing motor problem | ATAXIA | Two As round TAXI (cab) | |
| 12 | Treats ailing with extremes of luxury here? (two words)‘ | HARLEY STREET | Excellent &lit clue: [TREATS L(uxur)Y HERE]* | |
| 16 | New rule, say, one mechanical in scope (two words) | REGIME CHANGE | EG (say) + I (one) + MECH(anical) all in RANGE (scope) | |
| 19 | Po(a)m Ayres initially dodging male singer (not English) | BRITON | Remove A(yres) and E(nglish) from B(A)RITON(E) | O |
| 20 | T(H)old on – recalled sailor produced knots one ignored | RATTED | TAR reversed + T(I)ED (produced knots minus I) | T |
| 22 | Contributor to heavy wat(g)er arranged round tee | DEUTERON | [ROUND TEE]* | T |
| 24 | Flow of water, strident, not quiet | RILL | (SH)RILL (strident minus sh) | |
| 26 | Middle East port: a terminus Germany put first | ADEN | A + END (terminus) with D (Germany) put first | |
| 28 | H(C)oax players to throw final series | TEASER | TEA(m) + SER(ies) | H |
| 30 | One abandons old Ford car around old African country | ANGOLA | (Ford) ANGL(I)A minus I with O(ld) inserted | |
| 32 | Greeting and a speech mostly concerned with opening | HIATAL | HI (greeting) + A + TAL(k) | |
| 33 | Off the shore(t)s? A drink must involve drop of stout (two words) ‘ | AT SEA | A TEA (drink) includes S(tout) | E |
| 34 | Lord kidnapped by old soldier in part of South Africa | VELDT | LD (lord) in VET (old soldier) | |
Down |
||||
| No. | Clue (definition) | Answer | Wordplay | X |
| 2 | Way in which English will move North – dash? | ELAN | LANE (way) with E(nglish) rising to the top (North) | |
| 3 | Beggar in endless queue for African booze | WARAGI | RAG (beggar) in WAI(t) (endless queue) | |
| 4 | Clay – it may be fired. used in roofing material? | TILLITE | LIT (fired) in TILE (roofing material) | |
| 5 | P(M)en rarely tucking into tasty entrées | STYE | Hidden in taSTY Entrées | P |
| 6 | Source of toi(o)l fixing temperature on grill | TASK | T(emperature) + ASK (grill) | I |
| 7 | Spoil jazz fan over emphatic marking in music | MARCATO | MAR (spoil) + CAT (jazz fan) + O(ver) | |
| 8 | Stage direction – annoyed with version Director cut: bet entry of Portia’s ignored | EXEUNT | (V)EXE(D) (annoyed minus V(ersion) and D(irector)) + (P)UNT (bet minus P(ortia)) | |
| 9 | Box(r)ing local used it in upset with fellow about Spain | NIEF | NI (in upset) + F(ellow) round E (Spain) | X |
| 12 | Augmented reality blocks the brain developing, according to psychologist | HERBARTIAN | AR (Augmented Reality) in [THE BRAIN]* | |
| 13 | They stand gobsmacked about singular poetical work (two words) | THE DYNASTS | [THEY STAND]* + S(ingular) | |
| 14 | African trader getting American drunk about money | SMOUSE | SOUSE (American drunk) round M(oney) | |
| 15 | Former Middle East leader sparkled endlessly when hosting Arab | SHARON | SHON(e) round AR(ab) | |
| 17 | Cause ra(u)pture in the middle of bones cracked with bar I dropped | ENTHRAL | [THE N]* (the + boNes) +RA(I)L (bar minus I) | A |
| 18 | Little space in box? Consign to fir(l)e | CREMATE | EM (little space) in CRATE (box) | R |
| 21 | F(A)estival? Fine, and more than half aestival, remarkably | FIESTA | F(ine) + [AESTI]* | F |
| 23 | Java’s source of ni(a)ff location of programmes due to be cut | TELEDU | TELE (location of programmes) + DU(e) | I |
| 25 | Slow dance movement, one of many produced by early choral composer, apparently | LASSU | LASSU(S) (Orlande/o di Lassus – early choral composer) | |
| 27 | Racecourse hurdle drilled by a factotum | DO-ALL | DOLL (racecourse hurdle) round A | |
| 29 | Local cl(h)ose Hearts in pack | SHET | H(earts) in SET (pack) | L |
| 31 | Section of angle iron? It’s covered by m(r)uddy stuff | GLEI | Hidden in anGLE Iron | M |
Great fun. Reminded me of the one where we had to operate the lock gates to lower the water and let the barge sink to lower level.
There is a blog about the puzzle (quite a long one, with pictures) at:
http://phionline.net.nz/setters-blogs/something-fishy/
Blimey, this one was a step up in difficulty. I got a completed grid, finally, with progress speeding up once I realised exactly how the mirror symmetry thing helped with working out what answers went where. Must admit to failing on the end game, so thanks for the explanation there, and to Phi for an always interesting challenge.
Great puzzle, really enjoyed this one.
A really good challenge, with I think, just the right balance of wordplay that gave you a chance to work out answers without relying on crossing letters, and difficulty, with no indications of how many misprints, where these were placed, where the four empty cells were placed and word lengths.
Like Hi, took me a while to get going but got on a roll after a period of glazed-over eyes once I realised the start of HERBARTIAN was not on the first or sceond rows. I too noticed the NEMO in the middle of the puzzle so presumed those would be the four letters to move. But guessed eventually Phi was talking about the Verne character. And for once, the clue title helped !
Many thanks Phi and to Hihoba, always good to know you guys ‘suffer’ like the rest of us !
I too quailed at a carte blanche with hardish clues and another of these pesky “misprints giving a message” cunctations.
In my opinion, and seemingly in that of others too, the overall IQ standard of difficulty has been unusually high since the beginning of the year. Nimrod has defended this with an assurance that any sequence of puzzles will have a reasonable mix of hard/easier … presumably the gradings are based on the opinion of those who test the puzzles for him. These testers, though, will all be top solvers, and what may seem easy to them might be a Herculean task for us loyal core IQ enthusiasts. A bit like university professors being asked to grade SATS test questions ?
There are two implications … first, we core boys and girls are happy to spend maybe up to four hours or so on a puzzle, but if it goes far beyond that we get increasingly bitter flak from our spouses … and secondly, if entry numbers are seen to be declining, any host publication might possibly query a puzzle’s column-inch cost- effectiveness. Of course it’s a difficult course for an editor to steer, and I guess that, if pushed, we might all prefer a harder average than an easier average ? I’ll get me coat now, as the guy in The Fast Show said.
In this particular case, I only started getting any meaningful knitting going when I realised that it was 180 degree, rather than 360 degree symmetry … and then, that HERBARTIAN and THEDYNASTS had to go in outside columns. I had never seen either of the films, but spotting the NAUT ILUS below SEALEVEL enabled a relieved completion.
Another of those puzzles where finishing it confers the accolade “brilliant”, rather than the “rotten” of a failed attempt. Phi, along with Nutmeg, has always been a favourite for decades.
Wonderful animated blog, as always, Hihoba.
I had a feeling a tough one was on its way, and so it proved. Needed to solve a surprising number of clues before I could see how to enter them; when I realised ‘at sea’ and ‘veldt’ had to be on the eleventh rather than bottom row, all began to fall into place. But very, very tricky design; fortunately the clueing wasn’t too tough, and it became a really enjoyable solve. Thanks to Phi and to Hihoha for clearing up the remaining questions. I had forgotten about the Ford Anglia…
Well….. we managed to finish this despite getting two answers incorrect. We couldn’t parse SEA LEVEL or NAUTILUS but now we’ve checked the blog we can see why! We had worked out that NEMO moved to the bottom row but were very confused by the NOT the Pixar film.
The whole puzzle took us quite a while to solve – as we always solve puzzles together we have none of the worries that Murray Glover mentions!
As bars and numbers were not required for entry we may have stood a chance of winning but then we have rarely sent off our completed entries – it’s the challenge of the solve that we enjoy. In this respect Murray, we do worry occassionally about not sending entries in.
Thanks Phi and Hihoba.
Oh dear, sorry to hear that this was yet another of Phi’s “dead cat” puzzles.
Like B&J I had found NAUTILUS and, having established PIXAR, just automatically stuck (captain) NEMO in the middle of it. The spent a few days wondering where on Earth he could move to – d’oh!
As usual, I ran away from it but daughter (elmac) brought me back to the straight and narrow – NEW TESTAMENT certainly helped.
Great work with the animation, as jonsurdy (@1) says, reminiscent of the fabulous Operation by Kruger
Many thanks to Phi and HiHoBa
I got away to a racing start with NEW TESTAMENT and much of the top half quickly slotted in place … then ground to a halt. Put it away for a day or two and then made a bit of a breakthrough on the lower half, finishing all but the bottom right corner before coming to a halt again. By this time the theme was kicking in though and proved helpful (as was the need for the letters of NEMO being unchecked, which highlighted where I’d miscounted the number of clues) and so after another day’s break I finally finished it. Not quite the hardest of recent months, but certainly a good, serious challenge.
I didn’t particularly like the clue for LASSU, but other than that a top-notch puzzle showing many of the best features of the Inquisitor: a blank grid; the interplay of theme and clues, with the theme helping out just when most needed; and some subtle cluing.
I did wonder if the AT and DT at each end of the sea level were relevant, but I think that might be an ask too far.
The payback/effort ratio was a bit low for me, I’m afraid. (Maybe I wasn’t in the mood.) I had quite a few answers, but not enough to start filling in the grid until NEW TESTAMENT appeared at last.
And before I had all the letters for the hidden phrase, I thought it was going to emerge as NOT THE PYTHON FILM, so started looking for WANDA to disappear. But I got there in the end (after somewhat more than 4 hours mentioned by Murray Glover @5). It was only a day or so later, as I was adding this puzzle to the stack in my shoe box, that I noticed that NEMO was below SEA LEVEL – and that did nudge the ‘payback’ up a notch.
So thanks to blogger & setter. In John H’s short piece on IQ tactics, it says “Today’s clues are gimmick-free.” Patently false. It goes on to say “They’re in normal order.” What a relief that was, because it doesn’t say so in the preamble. (Phi’s IQ 1364 had a carte blanche grid, so no bars and no numbers; and the clues had neither numbers nor length indications, nor were they in normal order or in alphabetical order of answers!)
This was the first time I’d ever made it through to the end of an Inquisitor with an initially unmarked grid, so of course I’m happy; but it took a fair old time. Thanks to Phi — I persevered partly because I trust Phi to be do-able — and to Hihoba. Love those animated explications!
Holy Ghost @10 … just to make matters clear … this was definitely one occasion when I spent far more than the four hours that I consider a reasonable stint for an IQ ! I didn’t finally bring the four letters down, to complete the puzzle, until the following Wednesday afternoon.
“The other puzzle” that week was far less demanding.
I finished this one, though it took a few days to get right to the end. I saw that Nemo was in the Nautilus but didn’t notice that he was below sea level. Very clever!
I thought this was a great puzzle. Lots of effort required but it was do-able with perseverance and patience. The ending was good too.
Murray @9 – isn’t being difficult the raison d’etre for the Inquisitor? Just because several people say that the Inquisitor has been getting harder does not mean that they do not like it that way. It could just as equally indicate there is a general feeling that things are getting better as getting worse.
Thanks Hihoba and Phi.
Thought this was the best of the year, and like others the realisations that HERBARTIAN didn’t start on the second row and that AT SEA didn’t start on the bottom were the key. Had Angola and Hiatal on the same row for too long. A satisfying slog…
… Made all the more impressive for the in Nautilus thing! I had relocated Nemo but gave up on the message with something like “not the war film” ;a lot correct!) in place and thought nothing more of it! Many Thanks.
PD @13 Yes, you are right, and I sort of acknowledged that in 5. The point I am really making is that different puzzles, over the thirty years I have been doing them, develop their own characters. The Listener was usually quoted as being the most difficult ultra-cryptic, but in recent years has oscillated wildly between fiendish and insultingly simple. EV and Inquisitor on the other hand were anticipated with pleasure, because one knew that they would always present a reasonable, if sometimes stern, challenge. Waiting in the wings, of course, for those (not me) who have the time and inclination to scale new cruciverbal mountains, is Magpie.
You clearly welcome this harder IQ régime, if it is indeed one. But spare a thought for lesser mortals who might now find themselves frustrated rather than rewarded… as I’ve said before, they represent the “core” on whose continuing enthusiasm the value of any particular puzzle series will be assessed by its publisher ?
A quite different topic is the hidden message syndrome, now seemingly taken as a “must” by all setters. Can anyone identify who set the first such puzzle, and when ? To me it is the equivalent of Dutch Elm Disease, or, if you’re Australian, cane toads.
We found this one tough, but hugely enjoyable and not as hard as anticipated, because we got NEW TESTAMENT across the top early and the two other 12-letter answers in the top half made the downs in that area a lot easier. One of the best of the year so far and it’s gone up even further in my estimation now I’ve been told NEMO finishes below SEA LEVEL! How did we fail to spot that when dropping him into the NAUTILUS?
Note to the editor: New puzzlers joining us since the move must be wondering how clues with misprinted definitions (no indication of how many in the intro) can possibly be described as “gimmick-free”!
Yes, I really could not be doing with “gimmick-free”. But maybe our steady progress up the Mohs Scale of Hardness now means that a mere unstated number of misprinted definitions no longer counts as a gimmick
It seems from today’s i that I am a winner! Obviously this one is EVEN BETTER THAN I SUSPECTED.
I do like a carte blanche grid so thoroughly enjoyed this one. Unusually, I had a free Saturday afternoon so this was a very rare (for me) one-sitting completion. Some cracking clues along the way here from Phi – hats off for both ‘Harley Street’ and ‘Briton’, the latter particularly impressive. A fun end-game completed a lovely puzzle. Many thanks to Phi for yet more ingenuity, Hihoba for the blog and finally congrats to David for winning the prosecco (the last IQ with a fizzy prize?)
Phil R: Thanks! The bubbly arrived on Tuesday and it would be churlish to mention that whoever did the covering note can’t spell Congratulations …
Hi Murray, re your reply @15:
I’m not really for or against any level of difficulty. I only point out that in the absence of any proper market research no-one can speak on behalf of the “core readership”. One does not know what they think, and assuming they agree with one’s own views is a bit presumptuous. Silent majorities are just that: silent.
Not finishing isn’t always a bad thing. Some people move on to puzzles like the Inquisitor when being ably to finish the dailies with 100% success becomes unsatisfying. Failure gives something to work for again.