The title is “CAVEAT”, which means a notice or a warning! According to the preamble, the wordplay, in thirty clues, generates an extra letter giving a variant of a quotation. There are four examples in the perimeter and the central column forms the original subject. In addition, the last three clues contain an extra word, the first and last letters, of which, form the quotation’s source. To help us complete the perimeter, Hypnos has given us the letters forming the phrase ABOLISH PIOUS PARADE.
The extra letters generate: I FEAR THE GREEKS EVEN WHEN BEARING GIFTS, which is a variation of, the more usual translation: BEWARE OF GREEKS BEARING GIFTS from the original Latin: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes, which apparently means the former rather than the latter. The phrase appears in The Aeneid by Virgil and the first and last letters of the extra words in the last three clues IL, VG and IR can be arranged into VIRGIL. The Aeneid features the TROJAN HORSE, which forms the central unclued answer.
This leaves the perimeter, which fooled me for a while since it doesn’t start in the traditional top left square but instead starts three squares below that (a4 in my grid.) The perimeter is made up of famous Greeks containing (bearing) words meaning gift. PLATO contains DASH, PERICLES contains SOP, ARISTOTLE contains GRANT and THUYCIDIDES contains BOON.
All in all a fairly gentle puzzle after the last few workouts. Most clues fell pretty easily but I had particular trouble with 5d and 22d. I hear a rumour that the latest Chambers doesn’t contain the “some first names” appendix. If this is true, what will happen to clues like 5d?
| Across | ||||
| No. | Entry | Extra letter |
Definition | Wordplay |
| 9 | YARTO | I | Endearment (of Walter (Scott)) |
Y (unknown)+ARI[s]TO (peer) without S(econd) |
| 10 | DOUC | F | Monkey | FU[n] (a lot of) inside DOC (medic) |
| 11 | LAVATORIAL | E | Befitting a throne (toilet) | AIR (broadcast) inside LOT (large number)+A+VEAL (meat) (rev: recalled) |
| 12 | PRAM | A | Small carriage | PARAM[edics] (only half) |
| 13 | BLARE | R | Harsh noise | BL (British Library)+RARE (uncommon) |
| 15 | PREJUDICES | T | Disadvantages | PUDS I REJECT (anag: for cooking) |
| 16 | ERNES | H | Fliers | HER (woman’s)+NES[t] (home (mostly)) |
| 17 | ACOL | E | A type of bidding | A+COLE (jazz pianist: Nat King Cole) |
| 19 | DIAPHANOMETER | G | Instrument for gauging | HID POMEGRANATE (anag: sadly) |
| 23 | BASH | R | Party | BRASH (crude) |
| 24 | MAORI | E | Native person | MAE (West)+OR+I(ndia) |
| 25 | DELUSIONAL | E | Affected by mistaken belief | DENIAL LOUSE (anag: concocted) |
| 26 | NEATH | K | Welsh communty | KEAT[s] (poet) (endlessly) inside NH (New Hampshire: 9th of the original 13 United States) |
| 28 | PRAT | S | Rear (the buttocks) | SPRAT (small swimmer) |
| 30 | DIE-SINKING | E | Engraver’s work | DIES (classic (Latin) day)+EIN (a in German)+KING (ruler) |
| 31 | OLID | V | Characteristic stink | L (50) inside OVID (Roman poet) |
| 32 | SELES | E | Tennis player (Monica Seles) |
SEE (recognise)+LES[s] (minor) (mostly) |
| Down | ||||
| No. | Entry | Extra letter/word |
Definition | Wordplay |
| 1 | ALAR | N | Old spray (Alar ®) | NALA (stream)+R(ight) |
| 2 | SAVANNA | B | Open grassland | V(ery) inside BANANAS (anag: cultivated) |
| 3 | TATARS | E | Asian people (Tatars) | TA (volunteers) inside TEARS (expressions of sorrow) |
| 4 | OROPESAS | A | Floats | OAR (row)+OP(us) (work)+SEAS (anag: choppy) |
| 5 | EOIN | R | Irishman (a male first name of Irish origin) |
[h[EROIN (horse) (dropping head) |
| 6 | RHABDOM | I | Rod | A BID (proposal) inside RHOM[b] (magic wheel) (endlessly) |
| 7 | SOLACE | N | Comfort | SON (young man)+LACE (doctor) |
| 8 | OUTREMERS | G | Distant areas | [h]UGE TREMORS (no H(ospital)) (anag: demolishing) |
| 14 | TRI-WEEKLY | G | Periodical | TRIG (sound)+WEEKLY (feeble) (hom: WEAKLY) |
| 18 | CORNMILL | I | Place that’s grinding | CORIN (Redgrave)+MILL (one of three philosophers, at least according to Wikipedia: Harriet Taylor Mill, James Mill, John Stuart Mill) |
| 20 | HASHISH | F | Drug | HASH (mess)+FISH (angle) |
| 21 | TOURIST | T | One visiting | TOUT (solicitor)+STIR (anag: terrible) |
| 22 | SLAVIC | S | Some in Europe | VIS (power) inside SLAC[k] (boggy place) (a lot of) |
| 24 | MAGNET | ILLEGAL | Source of attraction | MAG (publication)+NET (difficulty) |
| 27 | TEST | VARYING | (double def) | (double def) (River Test) |
| 29 | ANON | INFORMER | Immediately | [c]ANON (minister) (rejecting C(atholic)) |
Yes, this was a good puzzle. Virgil came quite early on and the grid was reasonably easy to fill (by Inquisitor standards). It took me a while to work out what the idea in the perimeter was, with the possibility of Thucydides giving me the breakthrough. It was a very good idea to list the unchecked letters – I don’t think I’d have been able to finish without that. Thanks, Hypnos and Kenmac.
I’m afraid that the perimeter defeated us! The rest was pretty straightforward. Well done kenmac.
p.s. No mention of the philosopher in the wordplay for 18D.
I’m afraid the perimeter defeated me too, but I enjoyed the challenge!
It is “normal” to assume a perimeter message/quote etc starts in the NW corner so perhaps a bit unfair not to specify otherwise.
The Philosopher in 18D is John Stuart MILL:
John Stuart Mill
By a mighty effort of will
Overcame his natural bonhomie
And wrote Principles of Political Economy
– the only Clerihew I can quote without research…
Re #2 and #4 – OOPS! Just a slight oversight, corrected now.
As with nmsindy, VIRGIL was found quite early, and with the help of the long anagrams at 15a, 19a and 25a I found TROJAN HORSE with quite a lot of the grid still to fill. I guessed the gist of the quotation (the exact wording coming later) and spotted ARISTOTLE and THUCYDIDES as possibilities for two of the Greeks. Near the end, the top left perimeter was somewhat barren (I hadn’t got 12a PRAM or 1d ALAR at this stage) and here the spare unchecked letters were very useful.
All in all, Hypnos provided a pretty good workout, but, as kenmac says, not as tough as some of late. Thanks to both.
With regard to Chesley‘s comment 2:
Fifteen of the Inquisitor puzzles (since 2007) have a perimeter quotation/message; nine of these start in the top left corner, and only one of the six that don’t gives a vague hint to the start being elsewhere.
(Yes, I should get out more, but I’m stuck at home with a bad chesty cough.)
That should of course read “Chesley‘s comment 3” – chest cough cleary migrating to head.