‘And’, so it goes on – if you read last week’s rant from Mister Sting… This week’s preamble tells us to replace ‘parts of’ 14 clue answers – as ‘forms’ of 26A. All very well but, unless I am much mistaken, it was 14 cells/squares, involving 21 CLUES. Which sort of detracts from what was actually, in my opinion, just 28D as an EV puzzle.
I had never heard of the phrase at 26a, describing the theme, but after some fairly intense effort at solving some interesting, challenging, and downright excellent clues, I eventually got there.
Several Down answers turned out to have the letters/word ‘AND’ in them, and several (occasionally clashing) Acrosses had ET (Latin, and also French, for ‘and’) – or ‘&’ – which a little e-Chambers-ing helped to reveal as a ‘Tironian Sign’. The rough outline of these replacements then made an ‘approximate’ shape of an ‘&’ – which is also ‘appropriate’ to the theme. The preamble did say this was ‘optional’, so I’m not sure if we were supposed to put ‘&’s in each cell and/or highlight the whole ‘&’ – so I did both, to be sure, to be sure.
This does trigger a memory of a recent-ish Indy Inquisitior along the same lines, which may have helped in my subconcscious twigging of the theme.
Apologies but, with a busy week and late out tonight (Friday before deadline), I haven’t been able to give this the full blogging treatment, or diagram with flashing lights, a-la kenmac – and there may be the odd typo – but I thought it was an excellent ‘mid-difficulty’ EV with about the ‘right’ level of clueing and thematic interpretation. Thank-you Moordon.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Thematic answer | Entry | Clue (definition in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 1A | ASKED | Sought missing cocaine in barrel (5) / ASKED (sought) = CASKED (in barrel) without C (cocaine) |
|
| 7A | ENWRAP | New supply associated with strike cover (6) / ENW (anag – i.e. supple-ly – of NEW) plus (associated with) RAP (strike) |
|
| 11A | CONSORT | Hang out with Tory type (7) / CON (Tory, Conservative) + SORT (type) |
|
| 13A | BRAVO |
Excellent West Indian cricketer (5) / |
|
| 14A | LAPPET | LAPP& | Sort of moth cherished by chum from the east (6) / LAP (PAL, or chum, turned round – from the East) + PET (cherished, favourite) |
| 15A | ETOILES | &OILES | Grease in summers abroad showing French stars (7) / ETES (summers, abroad – Ete = French for summer) around OIL (grease) |
| 16A | STRUT | Rod runs into expressions of impatience on the way back (5) / STUT (tuts, expressions of impatience, reversed – on the way back) around R (runs, cricketing abbreviation) |
|
| 17A | SEETHE | SE&HE | View article and get angry (6) / SEE (view) + THE (definite article) |
| 19A | AIGRETTE | AIGR&TE | Eat tiger nuts and fatty savoury (8) / anag (i.e. nuts) of EAT TIGER |
| 21A | FRITH | Underwood frequently hit out (5) / FR (frequently) + ITH (anag – i.e. out – of HIT) |
|
| 22A | MINUET | MINU& | Dance a little time, last couple switching places (6) / MINUET (dance) = MINUTE (a little time) with the last couple of letters switched |
| 25A | SOUSES | Pickles showing sign of distress about employment (6) / SOS (international sign of distress) around USE (employment) (Thanks to Querulous for comment below, as I had SOURES – URE being an obsolete form of USE…) |
|
| 27A | FOEHNS | Frozen hands regularly in Alpine winds (6) / alternate letters (regularly_ from FrOzEn HaNdS |
|
| 29A | ETTLES | &TLES | Leader going away decides on aims for Scotland (6) / ETTLES (Scottish intents, or aims) = SETTLES (decides) without leading letter |
| 31A | LANCET | LANC& | Sharp instrument coming from famous Knight? Look out! (6) / LANCET (small, sharp surgical instrument) = LANCEloT (famous knight) without LO (look, interjection) |
| 33A | PRETENCE | PR&TENCE | Show in PE centre abandoned (8) / anag (i.e.abandoned) of PE CENTRE |
| 35A | ANNOY | Loudspeaker system with no end of clout could do this (5) / A proper &lit (?!). TANNOY (loudspeaker system) without T (end of clouT) – could ANNOY one |
|
| 37A | BETCHA | B&TCHA | I wager Macbeth playing with male cast (6) / &lit-ish again – I wager = betcha, and also anag (i.e. playing) of (M)ACBETH – with M (male) cast away |
| 40A | PLACETS | PLAC&S | Royal permits parking on castle ground (7) / P (parking) + anag (i.e. ground) of CASTLE |
| 42A | SHEETY | SHE&Y | Bashful about letter put over as a single page? (6) / SHY (bashful) around EET (tee, phonetic representation of letter T) |
| 44A | ELCHI | Turkish ambassador upset Chile (5) / anag (i.e. upset) of CHILE |
|
| 45A | OCARINA | Love stars getting wind instrument like flute (7) / O (love, score of zero) + CARINA (constellation, or stars) |
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| 46A | SEVERS | SW river changing directions, finally splits (6) / SEVERS (cuts, or splits) = SEVERN (river in the SW, with final letter S for N – changing directions) |
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| 47A | TIDDY | Very small, slightly drunk lecturer dropped (5) / TIDDY (very small) = TIDD(L)Y (slightly drunk) without L – lecturer |
|
| Down | |||
| Clue No | Thematic answer | Entry | Clue (definition in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 1D | ACES | Archers oddly winning points (4) / Odd letters of ArChErS |
|
| 2D | SOLTI | Two notes for knighted conductor (5) / &lit-ish – SOL & TI are two notes in the Sol-Fa notation, and Sir George Solti is a noted, and knighted, conductor |
|
| 3D | KNAR | Knot in place seen from below (4) / KNAR (knot, in wood) = RANK (place, or status) upwards, or from below |
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| 4D | DOP | Durban tot in party beginning in playpen (3) / DO (party) + P (beginning of Playpen) – DOP being South African (Durban) for a tot (of drink) |
|
| 5D | BRAND | BR& | Mark and Jo take in group (5) / R (Latin recipe – take) in BAND (group), plus a double defn: to mark, or brand something; and comedienne Jo Brand |
| 6D | STANDEES | ST&EES | Democrat in Senates abused those without a seat (8) / anag (i.e. abused) of SENATES, around D (Democrat) |
| 7D | ELAND | EL& | Dash to back of beyond for antelope (5) / ELAN (dash) + D (‘back’ letter of beyonD) |
| 8D | WRIER | Rather twisted wire needing further twist? Right (5) / WRIE – anag (i.e. needing further twist) of WIRE – plus R (right) |
|
| 9D | AVERTS | Wards off birds around borders of Rabat (6) / AVES (Latin, birds) around RT (bordering letters of RabaT) |
|
| 10D | POSTHASTE | Express, Mail and Sun engulfed in animosity (9) / POST (mail) + HATE (animosity) around S (sun) |
|
| 12D | SPURN | Reject note supporting premier league side? Not entirely (5) / SPUR (not entirely Spurs – football team) supported by N (note) |
|
| 13D | BOH | The two tons dropped bring startling expression (3) / BOH = BO(T)H – the two – dropping T – tons. BOH being an interjection, maybe used by Bomer Bimpson (;+>) |
|
| 17D | STANDING | ST&ING | Sort of committee unsettled after leading trio sacked (8) / STANDING (committee) = (OUT)STANDING (usettled) without first trio of letters |
| 18D | LIEGE | Subject for a Belgian city (5) / double defn. liege meaning subject, of a lord, or king; and Liège being a city in Belgium |
|
| 19D | ANTELOPES | Animals to be destroyed? Please not! (9) / anag (i.e. destroyed) of PLEASE NOT |
|
| 20D | MONANDRY | MON&RY | Custom of only having one partner stunned Normandy (8) / anag (i.e. stunned) og NORMANDY |
| 21D | FUST | Touring America, feet smell mouldy (4) / FT (feet) around (touring) US (America) |
|
| 23D | IRONY | Hard leg in Iran ending in calamity (5) / IR (Iran) + ON (leg side in cricket) + Y (end letter of calamitY) – IRON-Y used here as the adjectival form of IRON |
|
| 24D | UNHAND | UNH& | Peacekeepers with influence let go (6) / UN (United Nations, peacekeepers) + HAND (influence, control) |
| 27D | FAILLE | Nice girl pins a soft silk (6) / FILLE (French for girl,i.e. in Nice) around (pinning) A |
|
| 28D | SPOT ON | Exactly how page 3 models have to turn up? (6, 2 words) / &lit-ish – SPOT ON (exactly) = NO TOPS ‘turned up’, which is how Page 3 girls ‘dress’ for work. |
|
| 30D | LEANDER | LE&ER | Legendary Greek name in editorial (7) / LEADER (editorial article) around N (name) |
| 32D | CACHE | Store of money reported (5) / homophone – CACHE (store) and CASH (money) sound the same when spoken, or reported |
|
| 34D | CHYND | Having caught his deer losing tail, poet’s cut up (5) / C (caught, in cricket) + HYND(E) – poetic deer, hynde, or hind, losing its tail – combine to hive another poetic/obsolete word for sliced, or cut up. |
|
| 36D | NANDI | Cutting head, Indian slaughtered bear (5) / anag (i.e. slaughtered) of (I)NDIAN – cutting first letter off – NANDI BEAR being a giant spotted hyena. |
|
| 38D | CANDID | C&ID | Frank’s container’s carried out (6) / CAN (container) + DID (carried out) |
| 39D | AWAY | Advanced on track without hesitation (4) / A (advanced) + WAY (track) – without hesitation as in ‘right away’ |
|
| 41D | SANDS | S&S | Desert tract remains timeless (5) / S(T)ANDS – remains, without T – time |
| 42D | SCAND | SC& | Made out once in devious candidature (5) / hidden word in ‘deviouS CANDidature’ – SCAND being an obsolere contraction of SCANNED, or made out |
| 43D | HAT | Balmoral perhaps one loathes? Not the Queen! (3) / HAT (Scottish bonnet, balmoral) = HAT(ER) – one who loathes – withour ER (Elizabeth Regina, the Queen) |
|
Thanks, mc. As it’s Tironian, I assume it’s the fact that “et” is Latin for “and” that the compiler was thing of.
Et tu, Antonius?!
Yes – that probably makes more sense – and as the proud holder of an ‘A’ grade in O Level Latin, albeit XXX-odd years ago, I should have spotted that.
As I said, a busy week, most of which had been spent on the phone with some French colleagues, which is why my tired brain made that connection first…
I hate to quibble, mc, but I think it should be “Et tu, Antoni” – vocative case!
Sorry, centurion…‘Romanes eunt domus’ (;+>)
Bit late to this one, but thanks to Moordon and mc.
25A is SOUSES, I think.
Thanks, Querulous – and yes, SOUSES makes much more sense – not sure where SOURES came from, as it isn’t in my eChambers or eCollins…maybe I was a bit SOUSED when I polished off the blog…