This is our first Monday blog. Our first surprise was that the grid seemed to have a lack of crossing letters connecting the 4 corners. As we completed the grid we could see why!
We’ve not blogged Raich before but we have enjoyed the challenging Inquisitor puzzles that he has set as well as his daily offerings in the Indy. We were recently treated to a Bronte theme where we completed the grid but failed to spot some of the ninas. The theme opened up here fairly quickly and we did start looking for places to put in themed answers before working out the parsing. For this reason we thought it was a good puzzle for new solvers. We like themed puzzles though and enjoyed this one with its excellent surface readings!
In the end, all six novels written by Jane Austen featured in the grid – quite an achievement!
| Across | ||
| 7 | INFO | Hidden in or ‘needed for’ (adm)IN FO(rm) = data |
| 9 | NORTHANGER ABBEY | Anagram of BATH RERAN BYGONE (anagrind is ‘playing’) = work by Jane Austen, opening up the theme of the puzzle |
| 10 | MANSFIELD | Anagram of A FILM ENDS (anagrind is ‘in riot’) = Midlands town. For those of us in Nottingham, this is the equivalent of 15d to Londoners, and subject to the same sort of jokes! |
| 11 | PARK | Double definition: (a) Mungo Park, Scottish explorer of West Africa in the 1790s and early 1800s, (b) an area of open land – linked with 10a as another Jane Austen title. |
| 12 | See 4 down | |
| 13 | SENSE | Last letters or ‘bits’ of tediouS discoursE oN dresS codE = hearing is one of the senses |
| 14 | AB INITIO | BIN (receptacle for litter) + I + TI (note) inside (g)AO(l) (centre or middle letters of gaol) = Latin phrase for ‘from the start’. Many thanks to Beginnerr for pointing out our mistake. We have amended the blog so that it is now correct! |
| 16 | SENSIBILITY | S (singular) + an anagram of BY-LINE IS IT (anagrind is ‘designed to show’) = awareness – linked with 13a as another Jane Austen novel |
| 20 | BLUSTERY | LUSTER (one with great desire) in BY = bullying |
| 21 | PRIDE | P (quiet, in music) + RIDE (journey) = group of animals (lions) |
| 23 | EMMA | ME (writer) reversed or ‘sent back’ + MA (mother) = girl’s name and the title of another Jane Austen novel |
| 24 | PREJUDICE | Anagram of JUD(g)E (without the letter ‘g’, or ‘no good’ – anagrind is ‘biased’) inside or ‘brought in’ PRICE (the cost) = intolerance – linked with 21a as another Jane Austen novel |
| 28 | PERSUASION | Anagram of RAISE SON UP (anagrind is ‘could lead to’) = religious faith, and the title of a sixth Jane Austen novel |
| 29 | OPTS | First letters (‘first of all’) of Organisations Promoting Top Standards = chooses |
| Down | ||
| 1 | ENGAGED | ENG (England) + AGED (grew old) = busy |
| 2 | ANTI | ANTI(c) (clown without the last letter, or ‘not finishing off’) = opponent |
| 3 | ORAL | Odd letters or ‘pieces’ of Of ReAlLy = examination |
| 4/12 | THE FIELD | Anagram of I FELT HE’D (anagrind is ‘upset’) = everybody competing – very unusual to have a three letter word with only one cross-checking letter, but probably necessary for the theme and a straightforward clue to overcome the anomaly |
| 5 | ANNALIST | ANNA (girl) + LIST (roll) = someone who makes or keeps records or annals |
| 6 | NECKTIE | KT (knight) in or ‘enthralled by’ an anagram of NIECE (anagrind is ‘foreign’) = clothing accessory from America (or Amercia as Mitt Romney thought we should spell it!!) |
| 8 | OASIS | O (love) + AS IS (unchanging) = fertile spot |
| 14 | See 9ac | |
| 15/27 | ESSEX MAN | Anagram of SEX NAMES (anagrind is ‘naughty’) = uncultured guy from near London |
| 17 | EASTMOST | Cryptic definition – the most easterly place will be the first to see the sun rise or ‘first light’ |
| 18 | ALLEGED | Anagram of LED A GEL (anagrind is ‘astray’) = dubious |
| 19 | EDUCATE | CA (‘about’ or approximately) in or ‘dipping into’ ETUDE (musical work) reversed or ‘uplifted’ = train |
| 22 | RADIO | AD (‘bill’ as in poster) in or ‘drawn into’ RIO (port) = set |
| 25 | RUIN | RUIN(g) (regretting without the last letter, or ‘for the most part’) = loss of position |
| 26 | JANE | N(ic)E (‘extremely’ or first and last letters) after JA (German for ‘yes’, or ‘agreement in Hamburg’) = lady as in ‘Lady Jane’, but also the first name of the theme writer |
| 27 | See 15d | |
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