The preamble for Y Z by Samuel was not too long. It stated "Six clues contain partial wordplay only; the remainder of the wordplay could be given by a two-word phrase Y Z. In 30 further clues, the wordplay leads to the answer plus an extra letter not to entered into the grid; these give Y Z #1. Y Z #2 makes up the unclued part of the perimeter; its unchecked letters could give PIP LIKES ICECAP. Four entries clued without definition may be combined to give Y Z #3 and must be highlighted.
First observations – (6 + 30 + 4=40) and there are 42 clues. There must therefore be only two standard clues. The grid is not symmetrical, but that doesn’t bother me.
On the first pass through, a few clues fell – OINK, CRU, TEEPEE, KNEEL, EGG, PYAT, COTANGENT, VETO and PIN. All of these generated extra letters in the wordplay, but not enough for me to see what was going on. Plugging away through the clues, I got SHORE as a possible last word from the extra letters. By this time I had also thought that AUTOGENIC and MANGETOUTS were entries without fully understanding the wordplay. It was getting RED and LORRY (the 23 down one) as entries without definition that gave me the breakthrough for TONGUE TWISTER. The six clues where the remainder of the wordplay was given by TONGUE TWISTER all contained anagrams (twister) of TONGUE and the clue gave the wordplay for the remaining letters only.
At this point everything fell into place with PETER PIPER PECKED A PECK OF PICKLED PEPPERS crying out as the phrase in the green shaded cells and SHE SELLS SEA SHELLS ON THE SEASHORE coming from the extra letters. The tentative BELLOW at 21 down was changed to YELLOW and the second LORRY was deduced at 11 across to complete the third TONGUE TWISTER RED LORRY, YELLOW LORRY
The unchecked letters in the green shaded areas PEIICAEKICLPPS can be re-arranged to form PIP LIKES ICECAP
I thought that the clues were very fair given all the thematic material to be packed in. For a few clues I had to reverse engineer some of the wordplay from the definition and the missing letter deduced from the full TONGUE TWISTER in the perimeter. None of the clues were particularly complex but there was a good deal of lateral thought needed in places to determine the definition.
The final grid looked like this
I enjoyed solving this. Samuel is a regular contributor to the Inquisitor series and his puzzles usually have quirky themes that counterbalance the more classical literary and anniversary themes present in other Inquisitor puzzles. I look forward to more of Samuel’s offerings.
| Across |
|
|||
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Letter | Entry |
|
9
|
Mostly seek drink (3)
|
CHASE (seek) excluding the final letter (mostly) E
|
S
|
CHA (tea; drink)
|
|
11
|
Learner’s weak from anxiety (5)
|
L (learner) + WORRY (anxiety) excluding (from) W (weak)
|
|
LORRY (no definition)
|
|
12
|
Half pay topless long-limbed bird (5)
|
HP (half pay) + LEGGY (long-limbed) excluding the first letter (topless) L
|
H
|
PEGGY (small warbler of various kinds; bird)
|
|
14
|
Weep about king in shelter (4)
|
(A [about] + K [king]) contained in (in) LEE (shelter) LE (A K) E – note that the container is incomplete because it is the final letter of LEE that is the extra letter in the wordplay |
E |
LEAK (weep)
|
|
15
|
On demand, finally (3)
|
RE (about; on) + D (last letter of [finally] DEMAND)
|
|
RED (no definition)
|
|
16
|
Gael volunteers vestment (5)
|
SCOT (Gael) + TA (Territorial Army; volunteers)
|
S
|
COTTA (short surplice; vestment)
|
|
17
|
Unattached father dropped throw? (6)
|
FREELANCE (one who works for him/herself without being attached to a company; an unattached politician) excluding (dropped) FR (father)
|
E
|
ELANCE (throw a a lance)
|
|
19
|
Meat initially killed farmyard noise? (4)
|
LOIN (meat from the lower part of an animal’s back) + K (first letter of [initially] KILLED)
|
L
|
OINK (representation of the noise made by a pig; farmyard noise)
|
|
20
|
Strain for some clandestine date, utimately (3)
|
SLY (secretive; clandestine) + E (last letter of [ultimately] DATE)
|
L
|
SYE (strain [dialect {for some}])
|
|
22
|
Scots shoulder pipe (4)
|
SPULE (Scots word for shoulder)
|
S
|
PULE (pipe)
|
|
24
|
Cut out cold Teutonic song (4)
|
SLICED (cut) excluding (out) C (cold)
|
S
|
LIED (German [Teutonic] lyric or song)
|
|
26
|
Prove a better leader than some hardliner alcoholics (10) |
ERAL (hidden word in [some] HARDLINER ALCOHOLICS) OUTGEN* ERAL |
TONGUE*
|
OUTGENERAL
|
|
27
|
Noble saint possibly belongs (8)
|
PEER (noble of the rank of Baron upwards) + an anagram of (possibly) SAINT PER TAINS* |
E
|
PERTAINS (belongs)
|
|
28
|
D-day uncovered open country valley (4)
|
DA (middle letters of [uncovered] D-DAY) + LEA (open country)
|
A
|
DALE (valley)
|
|
29
|
Eager gunners circle (6)
|
RA (Royal Artillery; gunners) + RING (circle) [standard clue] |
|
RARING (eager [for])
|
|
30
|
Cry over American neckwear (3)
|
SOB (cry) reversed (over) + A (American) BO< A |
S
|
BOA (a long, serpent-like coil of fur, feathers or the like worn round the neck by women)
|
|
31
|
Betray soak (3)
|
SHOP (betray)
|
H
|
SOP (habitual drunkard; soak)
|
|
33
|
Savage left out French vintage (3)
|
CRUEL (savage) excluding (out) L (left)
|
E
|
CRU (vintage [of wine])
|
|
34
|
Support shell shelter (6)
|
TEE (support [e.g. for a golf ball]) + PEEL ([strip off the] shell)
|
L
|
TEEPEE (native American tent; shelter)
|
|
36
|
Love reached an end (7)
|
O (love [zero score in tennis]) O UTGONE* |
TONGUE*
|
OUTGONE (came to an end)
|
|
37
|
Consume good spirits without old tax officer (7, 2 words)
|
ELATION (good spirits) excluding (without) O (old) + TO (tax officer)
|
L
|
EAT INTO (consume)
|
|
38
|
Demon pressed Syria (5)
|
SAT (pressed) + SYR (International Vehicle Registration for Syria)
|
S
|
SATYR (a desert demon [Biblical])
|
|
39
|
Mingle more readily having lost adult (11, 2 words)
|
RATHER (more readily) excluding (having lost) A (adult) R UN TOGE* THER |
TONGUE*
|
RUN TOGETHER (mingle)
|
| Down | ||||
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Letter | Entry |
|
1
|
Barge about New Orleans to assume a worshipful position (5)
|
KEEL (barge) containing (about) NO (New Orleans) K (N) EEL |
O
|
KNEEL (assume a worshipful position) |
|
2
|
Bomb negative German (3)
|
NEG (negative) + G (German)
|
N
|
EGG (bomb [slang])
|
|
3
|
Donor insemination exposed mice breeding every six months (10)
|
DI (donor insemination) + IC (middle letters of; without covering letters [exposed] MICE) DI GONEUT* IC |
TONGUE*
|
DIGONEUTIC (breeding twice a year)
|
|
4
|
Leaders of police helping ransacked motel plant tissue (6)
|
PH (first letters of [leaders] POLICE and HELPING) + an anagram of (ransacked) MOTEL PH LOEM* |
T
|
PHLOEM (plant tissue)
|
|
5
|
Hard to pronounce, most of chick lit’s rewritten (6)
|
Anagram of (rewritten) (CHICK excluding the final letter [mostly] K and LIT)
|
H |
CLITIC ([of a word] not capable of being pronounced with full word-stress, but dependent on, and pronounced as though part of, the preceding or following word)
|
|
6
|
Local tangle on the French border (4)
|
ORE (dialect [local] word for tangle) + LE (French for ‘the’)
|
E
|
ORLE (term in heraldry referring to a border within a shield at a short distance from the edge)
|
|
7
|
Plant releases miasma regularly (7)
|
FREES (releases) + ISA (2nd, 4th and 6th letters of [regularly] MIASMA)
|
S
|
FREESIA (plant)
|
|
8
|
Parley’s limits worried Scottish flier (4)
|
PY (first and last letters of [limits] PARLEY) + ATE (worried)
|
E
|
PYAT (Scottish word for a magpie; Scottish flier)
|
|
10
|
Independent raise spies (9)
|
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) reversed (raises; down clue) A UTOGEN* IC< |
TONGUE*
|
AUTOGENIC (self-generated; independent)
|
|
13
|
Frost at first spoiled vegetables (10)
|
MAT (to frost glass) + S (first letter of [at first] SPOILED) MA NGETOU* T S |
TONGUE*
|
MANGETOUTS (tvariety of peas; vegetables)
|
|
18
|
Company spike neat rum function (9)
|
CO (company) + TANG (sting; spike) + an anagram of (rum) NEAT CO TANG ENT * |
A
|
COTANGENT (trigonometrical function)
|
|
21
|
Shout shout of pain (6)
|
YELL (shout) + OW (shout of pan)
|
|
YELLOW (no definition)
|
|
23
|
Take in exotic bird (5)
|
R (take, a common abbreviation in barred crosswords) contained in (in) LORY (parrot native to the southern hemisphere especially New Guinea and Australasia; exotic bird) LO (R) RY |
|
LORRY (no definition)
|
|
25
|
Seal areas contaminated with beryllium (7, 2 words) |
Anagram of (contaminated) AREAS and BE (beryllium) [standard clue] |
|
SEA BEAR (fur seal)
|
|
28
|
Drag out burnt remains for burial place (6)
|
Anagram of (out) DRAG + ASH (burnt remains)
|
S |
DARGAH ([a structure over] a place where a holy person was cremated or buried)
|
|
30
|
Spotlight Royal Highness in Scottish island (5)
|
RH (Royal Highness) contained in (in) BUTE (an island in the Firth of Clyde, west of Glasgow; Scottish island) B (R) UTE |
H
|
BRUTE (large high-intensity spotlight)
|
|
31
|
Odd-jobman on ecstasy struck (5)
|
SMOOT (a compositor who does odd jobs in various printing houses) + E (ecstasy)
|
O |
SMOTE (struck)
|
|
32
|
Ban mad voter (4)
|
Anagram of (mad) VOTER
|
R
|
VETO (ban)
|
|
35
|
Long nail (3)
|
PINE (long)
|
E
|
PIN (nail)
|
Has a few entries, but was struggling as I’m not the best at spotting extra letters/misprints. Fortunately I managed the bottom left corner and so could guess at the PETER P and hence the quote. Whereupon the quote was a write in. Mangetouts was also my in to the other part. Good stuff all round. Had never come across the RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY twister.
Thanks.
This was great fun to solve. When we spotted the link it brought a smile to our faces! A fairly quick solve once we knew what to look for but no less enjoyable.
Thanks Duncan and Samuel.
Late coming to this thread.
My first answer on the second pass was the definition-less LORRY at 11a, and the game was up rather early – the rest just tumbled out. Only a little later, with DIGONEUTIC, did I get the twisted TONGUE aspect.
So, an easy solve, but an admirably large amount of thematic material embedded, thanks to Samuel. And also to Duncan for the blog.
Knowing a little about Samuel’s musical tastes I wonder if the Red Lorry Yellow Lorry tongue twister is a nod to the Leeds post-punk band of that name?
Colin