Typically Araucarian puzzle with a theme of coloured butterflys. There was a nice bit of deception in the note above the puzzle which said that the four undefined clues “were connected with a comma”. At first I thought this meant that the answers could be paired together in some way form a phrase or phrases but the penny dropped once I’d solved a couple – a “comma” is also a butterfly.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | RINGLETS – a ringlet is also a type of butterfly but it’s not brightly coloured, which is why I think it’s only “less closely connected” with the others. |
| 9 | MOUSETRAP – I guess this is a reference to the long running West End play. |
| 12 | LABOUR LEADER – very good &lit clue. |
| 15 | A,XI’S – team is (e.g.) “first XI”. |
| 16 | (tum lips are)* – the third division of a ruminant’s stomach. You never know when that piece of knowledge might come in handy. |
| 19,2D | RAVE,NOUS – I like “party sense” for RAVE and NOUS but the surface doesn’t really do it for me. How can you be “starving in the party sense”? |
| 21 | (marple’s mento)* – we’re being asked to accept “miss” as an anagram indicator but I’m struggling to see how it could be. |
| 25 | PURR in LAING – I loved “purr” for “satisfaction voiced”. RD Laing was a Scottish psychiatrist, famous for his unorthodox views on the causes and treatment of mental illness. |
| Down | |
| 1,23 | RAM,PAGED |
| 4 | TORTOISESHELL – the first undefined thematic clue. Lots of elements to put together here: TORT (wrong)+O(love)+IS+ES (two compass points)+HELL(DAMNATION) – but again, what’s the surface reading doing? |
| 6 | (seem)* in HORN |
| 7 | RED ADMIRAL – DAD,MIR in REAL |
| 8 | (h)EART RUM PET – hmm. “Funny” is “rum” – fair enough. But that means “one” is meant to be “pet”. I think we’re supposed to assume that “one” refers back to “endearment” so rum pet is a funny endearment. Some people might not like that. |
| 10 | PURPLE EMPEROR – another thematic clue. Purple is associated with kings and emperors. |
| 13,20 | CAMBERWELL BEAUTY – the last thematic clue. SE5 is the postcode for the area in London. |
| 14 | (politic mad)* |
| 22 | CITY – from the capital letters of those cities. Sort of leapt out at you really. |
Got the butterfly theme but had to look up TORTOISESHELL to see if was one. Thanks for the ‘comma’ clue Neil – I missed it completely – never heard of it! A typical Aracauria, full of fun.