I think I have solved all the clues correctly, but I can’t quite explain the parsing/wordplay in all cases. And although I could detect an underlying theme-ette, there were a couple of ‘almost-nina’s that, again, I couldn’t quite justify. So maybe you could say I have failed this particular ‘Rorschach test’ – I hope it won’t be a blot on my copybook!
It didn’t help that, on the first scan through, my eye drifted down to the last clue ’27D Tennis player of questionable gender?’…and I put in ‘ASHE’ – a male tennis player who could cryptially be ‘A SHE’. Fortunately AD-LIB at 26A soon made clear that ASHE was wrong – and there aren’t many 4-letter tennis players beginning with B – so BORG it was.
From a head-down blinkers-on straight solving-and-grid-filling point of view I had the majority of the grid filled in quite quickly – even though there were a few wordplays I couldn’t completely explain, the crossing letters and definitions meant they couldn’t really be anything else.
But on closer inspection there were a few layers upon layers – maybe some only in my head! An underlying Star Trek theme with Kirk, Trekkie, Sci-Fi, Borg (although, given the date of publication – maybe a Star Wars theme might have been more appropriate – ‘May the Fourth be with you, Luke’ …?), and clever use of 8D KIRK to indicate churches, and Scottishness in general, in other clues. There were also some wonderful surface readings – 26A with Germany bailing out, well, everybody!; the use of ‘transported’ as the anagram indicator for Trekkie caused a ‘beam’ of a smile; 13A with ‘Sandy’ enjoying some kinky sex!; 24A with a panda going to visit polar bear cousins in the Arctic Circle…to highlight just a few.
As for those ‘maybe-nina’s? As the top half of down clues went in, I could make out NOAH and ARK – which made me think for a while that 5D should start with S to make NOAH’S ARK. And along the bottom I could see HUBBARD – so maybe a connection to L Ron of that name, and his sci-fi and scientology leanings? But why the G on the end? Maybe the puzzle is a tribute to NOAH MARK HUBBARD – a Star Trek fan acquaintance of Rorschach’s. And maybe they communicate by letters and by Skype?
So all in all some clever clueing and interlinked-ness – e.g. also the two uses of McLarens and fuel to lead in two different ways to two types of ‘fuel’ – but a couple of quibbles as well… I wasn’t sure about the use of ‘comb’ in the clue of 19D, when COMB was part of the answer? 12A doesn’t really work for me – unless I have missed something fiendishly clever and &lit-ish? I wasn’t sure what ‘cracked’ indicated in 24D. Maybe I’m being over-analytical and over-critical – but unfortunately these traits are de rigueur in the nature of a crossword freak and blogger!
Lastly, I couldn’t explain 18D HONOLULU from the clue – apart from it being a place on Oahu. Any enlightenment welcomed.
(Update – thanks to several commenters below – updates below)
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 9A | ENCHILADA | Finally Judi Dench delivered with a first-class line – it’s a wrap! (9) | it’s a wrap (filled tortilla) / anag (i.e. delivered) of I (last letter of Judi) + DENCH + A + AI (first class) + L (line) |
| 10A | SCI-FI | 22 Across literature introduces doubt into heart of fascist (3-2) | 22A (Trekkie) literature / SC I (central letters of faSCIst) around IF (doubt) |
| 11A | SLASH | Guitarist/songwriter? (5) | double defn/punctuational & lit? / ‘Slash’ is the monicker of Saul Hudson, guitarist/songwriter with Guns’n’Roses (a popular beat combo, m’lud), as well as the punctuation symbol ‘/’ between the words ‘singer’ and ‘songwriter’ in the clue |
| 12A | TUMMY TUCK | Fat chance of this! (5,4) | &lit/cryptic definition? / Not sure I get this – either you have a chance of having a tummy-tuck if you are fat (and if you want one?) – or, if you are fat, you might take a chance on becoming thin again, or thinner at least, (if you want to?), by having a tummy tuck? |
| 13A | SPENSER | Notebooks, pens, erasers – essential material for poet … (7) | poet / hidden word in notebookS PENS Erasers |
| 14A | LETTERS | …as, for example, landlords? (7) | double defn /letters’ can be ‘A’s, for example, and also landlords, letting property |
| 17A | OCHRE | Brown mineral found outside 8 (5) | brown /ORE (mineral) around CH (abbreviation, church, 8D being kirk, or church) |
| 19A | CHA | Discarding instant coffee for a different drink (3) | a different drink (from coffee) / (MO)CHA – coffee discarding MO (moment, or instant) |
| 20A | BOSSY | Head of business at BSkyB regularly entertained big authoritarian (5) | authoritarian / B (first letter of business) + SY (regular letters of bSkYb), around OS (big, outsize) |
| 21A | MIND-SET | Watch some games of 27, perhaps – that’s the attitude! (4-3) | attitude / MIND (watch out, watch over) + SET (some games of tennis, played by 27D, Bjorn Borg!) |
| 22A | TREKKIE | In the end, Capt. 8 transported with ease, said one of his lovers? (7) | one of his (Captain Kirk’s) lovers (fans) / anag (i.e. transported) of T (last letter of Capt) + KIRK (8D) + EE (ease, or ‘e’s, said) |
| 24A | POLICE CAR | Panda possibly caught chill before visiting Arctic Circle? (6,3) | Panda (car) / POLAR (visiting Arctic Circle) around ICE (chill) before C (caught) |
| 26A | AD-LIB | Impromptu bail out over Germany (2-3) | impromptu / anag (i.e. out) of BAIL, around D (Deutschland, Germany) |
| 28A | TILER | Workman stripping out large ship’s guidance system (5) | workman / TIL(L)ER – ship’s guidance system, without L (large) |
| 29A | MUSKETEER | Think about Kilmarnock’s first division airing of Norman Hunter? (9) | Norman (as in French) hunter (soldier) / MUSE (think) around K (first letter of Kilmarnock), plus TEER (homophone, i.e. airing, of TIER, or division) |
| Down | |||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 1D | NEWS | Original Simpsons‘ opening that’s aired at six o’clock (4) | (something) that is aired at six o’clock / NEW (original) + S (opening letter of Simpsons) |
| 2D | OCTANE | Fuel component in McLaren vehicle combusted at once (6) | Fuel component in McLaren vehicle (racing car) / anag (i.e. combusted) of AT ONCE |
| 3D | AIR HOSTESS | In flight, she is a sort of attendant (3,7) | &lit-ish/attendant / anag (i.e. in flight) of SHE IS A SORT |
| 4D | HATTER | Over time, cynic becomes Tea Party member (6) | Tea party ‘member’ (in Through the Looking Glass) / HATER (cynic) around T (time) |
| 5D | MAMMALIA | Biology class in which everybody is present? (8) | &lit-ish/biology class / &lit – ‘we’ all belong to the mammalia class |
| 6D | ASHY | Grey like the outskirts of Hinckley (4) | Grey / AS (like) + HY (outlying letters of HinckleY) |
| 7D | RIVULETS | University student holds bottles of Becks (8) | Becks (geographical features, not the beer, or the footballer) / RIVETS (holds, the attention of) around (bottling) U (university) + L (learner, student) |
| 8D | KIRK | The Church of Scotland is a constant source of annoyance (4) | the church of Scotland (or rather, a church in Scotland) / K (Boltzmann constant, physics ; velocity constant, chemistry) + IRK (source of annoyance) |
| 13D | STORM | Sandy, perhaps, reaching peak during kinky sex? (5) | Sandy, perhaps (2012 hurricane) / SM (S&M, kinky sex) around TOR (peak) |
| 15D | TABLE WATER | Redraft a better law for basic restaurant service (5,5) | basic restaurant service / anag (i.e. redraft) of A BETTER LAW |
| 16D | SKYPE | Training base for space program (5) | (computer/communications) program. / SKY (space) ‘based’ on PE (training) |
| 18D | HONOLULU | Short break in endless celebration that takes place on Oahu (8) | place on Oahu / ???! (Update: HONOU(R) (celebration – without end letter) around LUL(L) – short break) |
| 19D | CATACOMB | It’s a grave situation to sport comb over at American college (8) | a grave / COMB ‘sporting’ around AT + A (American) + C (college) |
| 22D | TERESA | Saint Thomas Aquinas initially skirted point over issue of Latin translation (6) | Saint / T A (first letters of Thomas Aquinas) around E (East, compass point) + RES (Latin, the thing, point at issue) |
| 23D | KILTED | Assassinated Kennedy then led away as one at 8 might be (6) | as one at 8 (Scottish church) might be (wearing a kilt) / if you assassinated Kennedy, you might have KIL(LED) TED – then remove LED |
| 24D | PITH | Hotpoint cracked revolutionary Orange product (4) | Orange product / H (hot) + TIP (point) – revolutionary, turned around (not sure where ‘cracked’ comes in?)(Update: ‘cracked’ could be taken to indicate that you need to split ‘Hotpoint’ into ‘hot’ and ‘point’…) |
| 25D | CARB | Fuel from McLaren’s second vehicle, perhaps (4) | Fuel (nutritional, cabohydrate) / If McLaren’s first vehicle is ‘Car A’, then their second would be…CAR B |
| 27D | BORG | Tennis player of questionable gender? (4) | Tennis player (Bjorn) / B (boy) OR G (girl) |
18d – I read as LUL[l] in HOROU[r]
19d – didn’t mind the giveaway; the cross-checking clues are on the trickier side so it was generous of Rorschach to throw a bone here.
24d – ‘cracked’ felt like a nice touch to indicate that ‘hot’ and ‘point’ should (ideally) be separated.
A hugely enjoyable puzzle for me as I tried to get my brain functioning in time for the Manchester S&B!
@1 Or even HONOUR
Another cracker from Rorschach — I loved this. I think 3d is brilliant.
Well, setters like Anax and Tramp have enjoyed it, but this average solver didn’t much. I’ll preface my comments by admitting that I seldom do the Indy Saturday Prize, but since it was the Manchester bash and the setter had told me he was on the oche that day, I did buy the paper.
Prize puzzle – fair enough, so Rorschach can sharpen all his pencils and put his foot on the cryptic gas. But I just found there was some imprecision in the clueing. CARB for ‘fuel’? CARBS maybe. I’m a cynic sometimes, but I wouldn’t say I was a hater; sceptical perhaps. And musketeer for ‘hunter’? (Yes, I know the surface is irresistible …) And other setters would have had stick for COMB in the clue and the answer in 19dn.
I too confidently slapped in ASHE, which made life tricky in the SE till I sorted that out. And while I do appreciate the contemporary references in this setter’s puzzles, I had no chance with SLASH.
On the other hand, I thought TUMMY TUCK was fine and AIR HOSTESS was indeed an excellent clue (now that our blogger has kindly explained it).
Rorschach is a fine young setter and I’ve enjoyed all his previous puzzles in the Indy. This one didn’t hit the spot for me, though.
Thank you for blogging, mc_rapper.
So, by mid-week I had all but 16dn and never got round to looking at this again. I wonder if I would have got it if I was doing it on-line with the Skype symbol showing on my taskbar. Probably not.
And I note that a large number of answers I’d entered in very faint pencil, which I do when I’m not sure I’ve got the right answer and might have to rub them out later.
Whoah! Tricky stuff. I thought 5d had to begin with S to make Noah’s Ark along the top. Some great complicated clues here – Kilted was my last; I’d been through several Kennedys before I landed on Ted. I wonder if 3d started life as a full &lit “In flight, she is a sort” – although “sort” in that sense only really works in old-school (and non-pc?) cockney… These seems to be one that gets better, and more precise, the more you look at it (“Hunter” does still seem a little perverse though – would it help to know more history? – and I can’t quite get “Tummy Tuck” into focus either – or rather I can, but it keeps on slipping out; that sometimes happens with CDs). Thanks to Rorschach and mc_r.
Thanks, mc_rapper67.
Thomas @6, maybe it’s because you only can have the TUMMY TUCK after you’ve lost the weight, to get rid of the redundant skin. If you’re fat, you’ve no chance of having the op.
Hi Neil and Thomas.
I just stuck some punctuation in 12ac and took TUMMY TUCK to be ‘Fat? Chance of this.’ In other words, if you’re overweight, then you’ve a chance of having to have a bit of cosmetic surgery. And the surface reading is fine (at least where I come from): ‘Wigan to avoid relegation from the Premier League? Fat chance.’
I hope, anyway.
Well, K’s Dad, since R was commenting on the Guardian blog earlier, perhaps we might get the definitive answer here from the source…
Thanks to commenters above for feedback – and assistance! This one seems to have divided opinion a bit – maybe one for the purists?
I have to admit I blithely solved and submitted Tramp’s Saturday Grauniad from the same day, only vaguely registering the thread of Star Wars references woven into the clues and answers – and completely missed the ninas there as well…May the Fourth, indeed!
As a softie-Southerner based in Hampshire – despite my genetic Yorkshire roots – I was unable to make last weeks’s S&B in Manchester, and I’m gutted to find I can’t make the London one on 23 May either, as I will be off for a long weekend playing golf, in the land of chocolate, beer and Tintin. I’ll get along to one of these one day…
Forgot to add: on the subject of 3D, which several commenters have admired…
I just entered this from crossing letters and the ‘attendant’ as definition, thinking to myself ‘that isn’t very cryptic, it is just a statement of fact, isn’t it?’. It was only when I came to write this up that I spotted the anagram…ingenious…
First things first – thanks mc_rapper for what is a fantastic post and review.
The issues that came up: TUMMY TUCK is as K’sD had it… Just a cryptic-type definition. Wanted to do Tommy Tucker without er and o to u but proved too intricate. COMB in CATACOMB was originally combover which was a little more cryptic but with no divider we decided to split it which, in hindsight, isn’t ideal.
As for Noah Mark, he’s my six-month old nephew!
Sorry not to be up to everyone’s taste but glad some of the clues stood out. Thanks all. Comments duly noted and processed.
Thanks Rorschach and mc_rapper67.
Slow start for me on this one but once I got into the swing of it I did rather enjoy it. I only usually do the Saturday Indy and not the weekdays which tends to give me little practise in the days beforehand but I did enjoy this one.
Hi Rorschach – thanks for the puzzle. This took a bit of sorting out but we never did manage to parse 18d so thanks to Anax for helping out!
We do hope when your nephew grows up he likes crosswords!
Thanks mc_rapper for the blog.
Rather fine from the young chap, missed out on mammalia as was convinced by Noah’s ark and the cryptic def was a bit of a stretch in my opinion, no complaints and helped spend a few hours on the way to the manc s&b. Thanks Spot man
Before one starts reading this post, I would like to make clear that in my opinion Rorschach is a very good setter.
Any criticism below is meant to be positive.
Just like Kathryn’s Dad I found this crossword a curate’s egg.
There were really some terrific clues: the ellipsis (13,14ac), RIVULETS (7d), STORM (13d), SKYPE (16d) and everyone’s favourite 3d (AIR HOSTESS) [which made me go back to the mid-70s when the much missed Clifford T Ward wrote a song in which he ” …. fell in love with an air hostess”].
On the other hand, I find 9ac (ENCHILADA) a bit of a messy clue. Too many short things in the fodder (A, [Jud]I, A (not A1, for first-class) and L (line)). It is also a pity that [d]ENCH is part of the clue and that A LINE is backwards in it.
I liked the idea of SLASH, but to make it really work (for me) this should be a triple definition. I think Slash is fine guitarist, but is he really a songwriter?
In 8d I am happy with K for constant. Quite original, and very nicely embedded in the clue.
In 19d COMB is not just going ‘over’ AT/A/C, it is also there as it is. This should have been avoided.
Many thanks to mc_rapper 67 for the fine blog but in 24ac ‘visiting’ must really be seen as the container indicator. Which leaves us with ‘polar’ for Arctic circle. Unfortunately, the dictionaries I have all give ‘polar’ as an adjective, not a noun.
“Biology class in which everybody is present?” for MAMMALIA.
Not sure, depends on what you mean by everybody. I wondered whether Rorschach had thought about MAMMA MIA with a little change.
In this puzzle there were two Mc Larens. I think in both cases his name was superfluous. Unless, of course, I don’t get it.
Finally, I liked the device in BORG (27d). However, none of my dictionaries tell me that G = girl. Perhaps, I should buy a better one?
Rorschach is, in my opinion, a very good setter but this puzzle wasn’t his best.
More than enough to enjoy though.
Liked the thoughfulness of 22ac (TREKKIE) for example, or the fine anagram of TABLE WATER (15d).
Keep them coming, Jon!
Phew! You do keep me on my toes, Sil.
I quite like ENCHILADA – if I say so myself – the surface reads well enough no? yeah I suppose ENCH is in there but I’m not sure it’s that much of a giveaway.
RE. Slash – first line of this – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(musician)
My comments on COMB are above.
With polar circle the idea was that both visiting and circle are indicators so ICEC is going into a POLAR circle i.e. enclosing it.
MAMMALIA – everybody is clearly a reference to every human person – perhaps a tricky cryptic definition but we love cryptics right? 😉
With McLaren – it is not superfluous in the second clue – McLaren’s second vehicle, perhaps = CAR B – I then wrote the other clue and thought it would be “cute” to reference the McLaren in the other “fuel” clue.
BORG has a question mark to signify the punning element – I suppose we setters use it to cover over a multitude of sins… I don’t think the clue is unfair despite G =/= girl.
Glad you found something to enjoy though! Thanks for the comments and careful analysis!
Don’t get me wrong, I did like the puzzle (and as I said, I think you are a very good setter) but in a way it felt like a kind of unfinished one to me.
While I am still not a big fan of 9ac (despite the, indeed, OK surface) and 24ac, I do see where you came from in the McLaren clues, Slash and Borg (which I liked!).
Just one more thing, if I may. Some setters do not like using the past tense for container indicators. They would therefore raise their eyebrows when seeing ‘entertained’ in 20ac. My personal view is that it is OK when the surface needs it. In this case I would perhaps have gone for ‘entertaining’. But I am not an/the editor.
And, Jon, apparently I found your puzzle worth analysing the way I did. See this as a positive thing. There is something exciting about your style that did provoke my thoughts.
While you were ‘glad’ that I ‘found something to enjoy’, I can tell you that terrific clues like 3d, 16d and the fantastic 7d are not written every day.
And of course, the Nina is a nice touch too.
It was an interesting crossword, certainly not as we say in Holland ‘thirteen in a dozen’.