Kruger is becoming a regular setter in the Inquisitor series.
The preamble was quite long and stated "The unclued entries (10; 8; 6; 6; 5; 4; 3), with one doing double duty form a quintet identified by a jumble of the single extra letters that must be removed from the definitions in ten clues before solving. What they do do has affected six other answers that are clued collectively and by definition only; Stiff person moves rapidly to photograph squeezing Jersey insect. Unchecked and mutually checked letters from shaded entries could make make QATARI CHOOSE A BLEAK HOLE.
For this puzzle, I decided that the best strategy would be to see what clues I could solve and then try and understand what the preamble was telling me. On the first run through I got CIAO (28), UNKENT (31), NURR (32), APERY (35) and TRAYMOBILE (37)in the acrosses. A few down clues fell as well on the first run through, particularly those down the bottom given the location of my early acrosses. This gave me enough letters to deduce GOLDEN as an unclued entry. CURLY also looked like a possibility at this early stage. As neither of these seemed to fit the definition only clues, I guessed that GOLDEN and CURLY would contibute to the quintet. It was LABRADOR that came next in the quintet clues so I just thought dogs at this point with GOLDEN LABRADOR looking good. The first of the definition only clues that I got was POKER after I relaied that there was unlikely to be a word fitting in the normal direction. Eventually the whole picture built up. Identifying CHESAPEAKE and BAY was the defining moment for me, and after a bit of research, I then realised that GOLDEN and LABRADOR were separate types of RETRIEVER.
After POKER, POLO, CRICKET and SNAP became strong possibilities for definition only clues.
There was a little bit of reverse engineering to find all the single extra letters for RETRIEVERS but I got there in the end. The table below shows where the extra letters come form.
The full picture therefore is:
the single extra letters spell RETRIEVERS, and five examples of RETRIEVERS are, CHESAPEAKE BAY, GOLDEN, LABRADOR, FLAT-COATED and CURLY-COATED.
RETRIEVERS are gun-dogs that bring back game [WHAT THEY DO; title of the puzzle]), so the six definition only clues were GAMES which had to be reversed (brought back) before entry in the grid. With their definitions we have:
POKER – stiff person
DARTS – moved rapidly [to]
SNAP – photograph
SQUASH – squeezing
POLO -jersey
CRICKET -insect
The unchecked and mutually checked letters in row/column order are CHSAKAOTHAQOELBRAEIOEL which can be rearranged to for QATARI CHOOSE A BLEAK HOLE.
I had no difficulty parsing the clues once I had identified all the extra letters.
This was an enjoyable and very fair Inquisitor that perhaps looked more daunting intitially than it actually was. Looking through the blog, I note that I haven’t used three or more colours in any clue very often, which usually indicated that the wordplay is not overcomplex.
I’m not sure where setters would be without the game of cricket. We had one entry and at least two clues today using cricket allusions.
The final grid looked like this:
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Across |
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| No | Clue | Letter | Wordplay | Entry |
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8
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Put tons into small container – this will lead to movement (5)
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T (tons) contained in (put into) INRO (a small Japanese container for pills and medicines) IN (T) RO |
INTRO (introduction, possibly of a classical music piece that will lead into a movement)
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10
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Displace recently entertaining wife (6)
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LATE (recently) containing (entertaining) UX (wife) L (UX) ATE |
LUXATE (displace)
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11
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Collapse since first crash in Tel Aviv (6)
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crash — cash R
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AGO (since) + ROT (collapse)
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AGOROT (Israeli monetary unit; cash in Tel Aviv)
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12
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Confidential assistant succeeded leaving privately (4)
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ASIDE (privately) excluding (leaving) S (succeeded)
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AIDE (confidential assistant to a person of senior rank)
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14
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Wear fleece in Manitoba? On the contrary (6)
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wear — war E
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MB (Manitoba) contained in (in) COAT (a fleece, for example) This is the opposite of (on the contrary) ‘fleece in Manitoba’ CO (MB) AT |
COMBAT (military action; war)
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15
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Observed you once breaching England’s borders (4)
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YE (old for of [once] ‘you’) contained in (breaching) ED (first and last letters of [borders of] ENGLAND) E (YE) D |
EYED (observed)
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16
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Curve in spur is pronounced (4)
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curve — cure V
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HEAL (sounds like [is pronounced] HEEL [spur])
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HEAL (cure)
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17
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Tyranny, without appropriate technology, in control (8)
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DOMINATION (tyranny) excluding (without) AT (appropriate technology)
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DOMINION (power or authority; control)
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21
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He illegally takes first time to replace leader of clan (5)
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CHIEF (leader [of clan]) with T (first letter of [first] TIME) replacing (to replace) C [first letter of [leader of] CLAN) To make this clue work, some elements must be doing double duty, especially leader
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THIEF (one who takes objects illegally))
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24
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An ape distributed song of praise (5)
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Anagram of (distributed) AN APE
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PAEAN (song of praise)
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26
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Scots clothe an old Gaul (4)
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clothe — cloth E
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KELT (Scottish word for a coarse cloth usually made of black and white wool mixed and not dyed)
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KELT (historically, a Gaul) double definition
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27
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Treat acne at any time for Hamish (4)
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Anagram of (treat) ACNE
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ANCE (Scottish [Hamish is a Scottish name] form of once [at any time])
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| 28 |
Greeting from Brescia, originally (4)
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CIAO (hidden word in [from]) BRESCIA ORIGINALLY
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CIAO (an informal greeting used on meeting or parting, from Italian. Brescia is an Italian city)
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30
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More than one heard about concealing anonymous grave (6)
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heard — head R
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CA (circa; about) containing (concealing) (A + PIT [grave]) C (A PIT) A |
CAPITA (heads, plural of CAPUT)
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31
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In our country, new field of medicine is not known (6)
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N (new) contained in (in) (UK [United Kingdom; our country]) + ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat, field of medicine) U (N) K ENT |
UNKENT (unknown)
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32
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Overthrow run to bowler’s last hard ball (4)
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RUN reversed (overthrow) + R (final letter of [last] BOWLER) NUR< R |
NURR (hard ball or know of wood)
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34
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Executed Romany woman in Indian city (6)
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RAN (executed [e.g.a computer program]) + CHI (variant of CHAI [Romany female person])
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RANCHI (city in India)
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35
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Mimicry of doctor absent from hangings (5)
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DRAPERY (hangings) excluding (absent) DR (doctor)
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APERY (mimicry)
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36
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Mock animal in seat (3)
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seat — sea T
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COD (mock)
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COD (food-fish; animal in the sea) double definition
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| 37 | Omit barely prepared tea trolley at MCG (10) | Anagram of (prepared) OMIT BARELY | TRAYMOBILE (Australian word for a household trolley. MCG refers to the Melbourne Cricket Ground) | |
| Down | ||||
| No | Clue | Letter |
Wordplay |
Entry |
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1
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See no nuts in food analyser (5)
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Anagram of (nuts) SEE NO
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E-NOSE (short for electronic-nose; an electronic device that detects the presence of specified compunds, used in the food, defence and health industries; food analyser)
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2
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Position not second best (3)
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best — bet S |
POST (position) excluding (not) S (second)
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POT (large stake or bet)
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3
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Scrape out earth after spades are returned (5)
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(E [earth] + S [spades] + ARE) all reversed (returned) (ERA S E)< |
ERASE (scrape out)
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4
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Former boxer is able to start off tasting wine (7)
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ALI (reference Muhammad ALI, former boxer) + CAN (is able to) + T (first letter of [start off] TASTING)
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ALICANT (wine made near Alicante in Spain.)
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5
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Type unfinished anecdotes (7)
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EXEMPLAR (type) excluding the final letter (unfinished) R
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EXEMPLA (anecdotes illustrating a moral)
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6
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Poor duke, without introductions to best available tonsors, is bearded (8)
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(BARE [poor] + D [duke]) containing (without) BAT (first letters of [introductions to] each of BEST, AVAILABLE and TONSORS) BAR (BAT) E D |
BARBATED (bearded)
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7
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Old Russian’s shout nearly isn’t bubbly (7)
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YELL excluding the last letter (nearly) L + an anagram of (bubbly) ISN’T YEL TSIN* |
YELTSIN (reference Boris YELTSIN [1931-2007], first leader of the Russian Federation; old Russian)
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9
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Rake bottom of garden in French city (5)
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ROUÉ (profligate; rake) + N (final letter of [bottom of] GARDEN)
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ROUEN (city in France)
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13
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Shrub native to Samoa on a mountain to the west (6)
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MANOAO (hidden word [native to] reversed [to the west] in SAMOA ON A MOUNTAIN)
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MANOAO (a shrub of the heath group.)
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18
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Oscar heard rarely said expression (6, 2 words)
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said — sad I
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O (international radio communications code word or the letter O) + an anagram of (rarely [?]) HEARD O H DEAR* |
OH DEAR (sad expression)
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19
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Parliamentarian’ sick inside – just after day in Atlantic Ocean (8)
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(ILL [sick] contained in [inside] MP [Member of Parliament; parliamentarian]) + ON (just after) + D (day) M (ILL) P ON D |
MILLPOND (a facetious description of The Atlantic Ocean)
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20
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African chief died on 1st of August (3)
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OB (obiit, died) + A (first letter of [1st of] August)
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OBA (African chief)
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22
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Dread examination time at court (7)
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dread — dead R |
EX (examination) + T (time) + IN (at) + CT (court)
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EXTINCT (dead)
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23
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Bones from ruin alas almost unrecognisable (7)
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Anagram of (unrecognisable) RUIN ALAS excluding the final letter (almost) S
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ULNARIA (bones of the carpus oppositie the ulna)
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25
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Handle cat after onset of rabies (6)
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R (first letter of [onset of] RABIES) + OUNCE (snow leopard; cat)
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ROUNCE (in a hand printing-press, the apparatus, or its handle, for moving the carriage)
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28
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Shortly choose to lift front of blindfold and stare (5)
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stare — star E
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(ELECT [choose] excluding the final letter [shortly] T) reversed (to lift; down clue) + B (first letter of [front of] BLINDFOLD) CELE< B |
CELEB (celebrity; star)
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29
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Back off riding wild animal (5)
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Anagram of (wild) RIDING excluding the final letter [back off] G
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INDRI (short tailed lemur; animal)
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33
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Reduced sport in school (3)
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GAME (sport) excluding the final letter [reduced] E
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GAM (collective noun for whales, a school)
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“I’m not sure where setters would be without the game of cricket.” They might just about manage – but when the setter is a qualified cricket umpire, as I believe Kruger is, one should not be too surprised…
Thanks for the blog Duncan. I agree that this was a very fair & enjoyable puzzle. By no means a doddle but I completed it without a single query over parsing (there’s nearly always 1 or 2 which I can’t fully parse) – I thought it was very tightly constructed by Kruger.
Surely retrievers look cuddly and lick faces? Or is that just me? Still, given last week’s puzzle it was nice to have a ‘single sitting’ Inq. Though that then leaves the rest of Saturday to fill. Ho hum.
Grateful that this was on the gentle side, as I was tackling it in the evenings after daytime walks along the Camino de Santiago – no internet, but I did have the recently-acquired Chambers app on an iPod.
So pleased to finish the grid that I never got round to thinking about a connection between the ‘retrievals’ – how foolish!
Thanks to setter & blogger (and the editor for a summertime puzzle that didn’t require the use of Google).
We also enjoyed this puzzle which like Ross@3 was finished in a single sitting. After some really tricky puzzles recently this was a pleasant change! We weren’t very familiar with the various retrievers so needed to verify these on the internet just to make sure.
When we worked out why the games were entered in reverse it brought a smile to our faces!
Thanks to setter and blogger
I love Inquisitors and am always especially pleased to see a Kruger puzzle, which (for me at least) are do-able without recourse to the internet, which I didn’t have this particular Saturday.
An excellent blog Duncan. I think cricket lovers have an easy time in general as far as crosswords go. I don’t mind as long as the clues can be worked out using the normal ‘rules’.
Thanks Kruger, look forward to the next one.
I am really enjoying the Editor’s little vignettes in the paper and I am very pleased to see some new commenters on this site.
So grateful to have such a solvable Inquisitor after last week’s monster.
I also didn’t twig the game connection between the backward words…which is why I love this blog.
My thanks to Duncan for his excellent (as always) blog and I’m pleased the “enjoyment factor” seems to have been OK.
I have received some gentle ribbing from a fellow setter that I didn’t manage to include the Nova Scotia Duck Toller retriever. However, with a name like that I think it deserves a puzzle all to itself ….. Watch this space!