I love Brendan’s themed puzzles and so was very pleased to see that I had this one to blog. The solutions went in fairly easily, except the crucial 15ac, which was actually my last entry – ironical, because I did the puzzle immediately after making a comment about Xanthippe the shrew on the blog of the previous week’s Prize. I’m not sure that I knew it as a verb, though.
This, then, was the penny-dropping moment. I had seen pretty early on that the 22s were anagrams of each other and so were 12ac / 21dn and 24ac / 2dn. Brendan has done this kind of thing before, so I thought, having also got REVISED VERSION, all I had to do was find more anagrammed pairs – which, of course, quickly proved impossible. I should have known better.
Having [finally] cracked HEBREWS from 15ac, I then had great fun hunting down the other REVISED VERSIONS – books from the REVISED VERSION [and other versions] of the Bible, determined not to look them up. One of the great things about Brendan puzzles is how they go on giving – it’s well worth going back to admire the surfaces, too!
Really clever stuff, as ever, from Brendan. Very many thanks to him for the entertainment and enjoyment.
Across
8 Banter about a couple of things wanted on course (8)
REPARTEE
RE [about] + PAR TEE [a couple of things wanted on [golf] course]
9 Create stink with article that’s proverbially erroneous (5)
HUMAN
HUM [stink] + AN [article] – reference to the quotation from Alexander Pope’s ‘An Essay on Criticism’: ‘to err is human; to forgive, divine.’ – anagram of NAHUM
10 You are reportedly in hospital with temperature, injured (4)
HURT
UR – reportedly ‘you are’ – in H [hospital] with T [temperature] – anagram of RUTH
11 Reached conclusion about numbers of Romans being malicious (4-6)
EVIL-MINDED
ENDED [reached conclusion] about V I L M – all Roman numerals
12 Good behaviour, we hear, in areas around stations (6)
MANORS
Sounds like [we hear] manners – good behaviour – anagram of ROMANS
14 I have put back piece of furniture that’s possible to avoid (8)
EVITABLE
Reversal [put back] of I’VE [I have] + TABLE [piece of furniture]
I can’t remember ever seeing this word, except in its negative form, and can’t really think why that should be: I have only O Level French but I remember ‘éviter’.
15 Curse that’s part of Bible, in 4 19, as are ten other answers (7)
BESHREW
Anagram [revised version – 4,19] of HEBREWS [Epistle to] [part of Bible]
17 In a practical sense, team that’s not careless (7)
ANXIOUS
XI [football / hockey team] in A + NOUS [practical sense] – I liked this definition
20 Temporarily halt start of play after second side’s changed (8)
PROROGUE
PRO[l]OGUE [start of play] with the L [second side] changed to R
22 Wrongfully nailed, producing no confession (6)
DENIAL
Anagram [wrongfully] of NAILED – and DANIEL
23 Section of island a man searched in part of Indian Ocean (7,3)
ANDAMAN SEA
Hidden in islAND A MAN SEArched
24 Leave droppings of carnivore, small one (4)
SCAT
Double definition: S [small] CAT [carnivore] – and anagram of ACTS [of the Apostles]
25 Like part of a certain tree — a king hid in one, desperately (5)
OAKEN
A K [a king] in anagram [desperately] of ONE
Super clue – &littish, at least – referring to the future Charles II hiding in an oak tree from the Roundhead army after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. At the Restoration of the monarchy, in 1660, “Parliament had ordered the 29th of May, the King’s birthday, to be forever kept as a day of thanksgiving for our redemption from tyranny and the King’s return to his Government, he returning to London that day.” [Pepys’ Diary]. I remember learning about Oak Apple Day in primary school.
This also explains the popularity of Royal Oak as a name for a pub.
26 Facility for addicts initially is unveiled by doctor in public (5,3)
OPIUM DEN
IU [initially Is Unveiled] + MD [doctor] in OPEN [public]
Down
1 Greek character with pistol held up police (8)
REGULATE
Reversal [held up] of ETA [Greek character] + LUGER [pistol]
2 Players attempt to make a catch (4)
CAST
Double definition and another anagram of ACTS
3 Organic compounds forming chains, perhaps, apart from first time (6)
ETHERS
[t]ETHERS [chains] minus first T – anagram of ESTHER
I smiled at the thought that ‘Numbers’, another book of the Bible, is now a rather regular crossword definition of ‘ethers’!
4 Final book, having been abridged, is edited and altered (7)
REVISED
REV [REVelation – final book of the Bible, abridged] + IS + ED[ited]
5 Excellent husband cutting flower (8)
CHAMPION
H [husband] in CAMPION [flower]
6 Doctor mentioned a change for the better (10)
EMENDATION
Anagram [doctor] of MENTIONED A
7 Multinational organisation we will cut is in poor shape (6)
UNWELL
UN [United Nations – multinational organisation] + WE’LL [‘we will’, cut]
13 Soldiers love appreciation, when blunder’s covered up (5,5)
OTHER RANKS
O [love] + THANKS [appreciation] round [covered up] ERR [blunder]
16 Firmly establishes earnings must be adjusted (8)
ENGRAINS
Anagram [adjusted] of EARNINGS
18 University academic leader upset about club that’s still going strong (8)
UNABATED
U [university] reversal [upset] of DEAN [academic leader] round BAT [club]
19 I must replace last piece of poem on account of one person (7)
VERSION
I replaces ‘e’ – last piece of VERS[e] [poem] + ON
21 Took flight, thus, with miles to redeem (6)
RANSOM
RAN [took flight] + SO [thus] + M [miles] – and another anagram of ROMANS
22 Lie and improperly admit to one kind of school (4,2)
DEAL IN
Anagram [improperly] of LIE AND – reference to a card-playing school – and another anagram of DANIEL
24 Body a medic’s turned over (4)
SOMA
Reversal [turned over] of A MO’S [a doctor’s] and anagram of AMOS
Thanks to Brendan for the puzzle and Eileen for the blog. Could not complete the important 15ac.
BESHREW – don’t think I have seen that word before. Even if I had, doubt that I would have solved the theme of the Revised Editions. Kudos to you and all others who have done so.
Cheers…
Thanks for the blog Eileen. I had exactly the same experience as you, getting the key to the puzzle at ther very end, and then having the joy of unlocking it all. Brilliant, Brendan.
I recognised DENIAL as an anagram or 4/19 of “Daniel, then I worked out 15a BESHREW as a 4/19 of “Hebrew”. This puzzle was quite hard work for me as I don’t know the Bible well, but Wikipeida came to the rescue with list of books etc.
I failed 24a as I put in DRAM, and I did not solve 24d, 3d, 12a.
I particularly liked 11a, 14a, 20a, 21d, 18d, 1d.
New words for me were PROROGUE, BESHREW.
Thanks Brendan and Eileen. I enjoyed your parsing of 25a which I now realise had been lost on me!
Thanks to Eileen for the blog.
I’m like grandpuzzler @1: I failed on 15a (though I have seen the word before) and equally failed to spot the idea of anagrams of books in 4,19 🙁
We cheated on the last one in – MANORS – but then kicked ourselves for not solving it. A perfectly reasonable clue!
We managed to find most of the books but hadn’t come across NAHUM.
It was easier to come here rather than search elsewhere!
Thanks Eileen for the great blog – didn’t know about Royal Oak!
Thanks Brendan for an enjoyable solve. We were both tired but needed something to stay awake! This hit the spot nicely.
Thanks for the blog. I was disturbed when I saw that there seemed to be “special instructions” squirrelled away in one of the clues. But, as you found, the hint was not required to solve the puzzle.
Like others, I let you do the work of finding the bible grams … So thanks again Eileen.
Like Eileen and others, the penny didn’t drop til very nearly the end and BESHREW was one of the last to go in. I spent some time on on-line anagram solvers trying to find a ‘pair’ for other answers and being baffled when there were none!
BESHREW wasn’t completely unfamiliar though – possibly from Restoration comedies ?
Not being able to recall all biblical books, I had to resort to Bradford to find some of the ‘other 10’ after the grid was complete
Thanks Eileen and Brendan
An enjoyably teasing puzzle which I mainly solved on Tuesday (after being away a few days) but which kept me worrying about 15a till I got it just before opening the blog this morning.
I got all the other biblical books (with Wiki confirmation in a couple of cases) except for Esther in 3d. I had put in ‘STREPS’ which Chambers and Collins gloss as acceptably short for stretococci – bacteria that form chains. Not surprisingly I could not parse this though it seemed too good to be wrong! I was thus forced reluctantly to accept Rev in 4d as book 10.
I particularly liked 9a and 20a in the course of solving.
I needed aids to get BESHREW as an oath because I failed to see the theme. With a word like EVITABLE in the answers I thought the theme may have related to words that appear in the RV but I didn’t follow the idea through to any kind of conclusion. All a bit over my head I’m afraid, but at least I finished the puzzle.
Thanks Eileen and Brendan.
I got all the books references, except MANORS, 10a. What is it that I am missing that everyone else sees? The definition is “areas around stations”, and a MANOR is the estate around a manor house, but is a manor house also known as a station? I see there is a Manor station in Newcastle, but the clue is not referring to this.
Hi Dave
It’s a police station – I first came across it decades ago in ‘Dixon of Dock Green’!
Chambers:’an area or base of operation, esp a police district [slang]’.
Dave, I think “manor” refers to the area covered by a Police station, as heard in The Sweeney, Minder etc. I see Chambers gives “an area or base of operation, esp a police district (slang)”.
Thanks, both.
Forgot to say I enjoyed Brendan as always
Mr Beaver @7
From Blackadder II, the episode entitled “Beer”: Percy: Beshrew me, Blackadder! You’re in good fooling this morning!”
Blackadder: “Don’t say ‘Beshrew me’, Percy. Only stupid actors say ‘Beshrew me’.
I knew BESHREW only from the foregoing, but that bloke Shakespeare used it a couple of times as well.
Excellent puzzle, thoroughly enjoyed. Failed only to spot Nahum as the 11th “revised version”, because I misapprehended the instruction and thought that there were ten such answers.
Thoroughly enjoyed and admired this one.
Realised the theme about half way through when I solved BESHREW, saw the anagram which then yielded REVISED VERSION, from which the rest then flowed.
As Eileen says, Brendan’s tussles keep on giving.
A big thank you to both Brendan and Eileen.
Only just looked at this crossword, as have been very busy but what a joy.
BESHREW was last in but the word is familiar from Shakespeare as is PROROGUE from Parliamentary procedures.
Amongst some great clues, I liked OAKEN very much.
[ Like the sound of your fig dish, Eileen – a favourite fruit picked hot from the tree.]
Giovanna xx
What an interesting puzzle! I missed the theme, having never solved the “key” to it. Embarrassed that I didn’t get REPARTEE, which might have confirmed my erasing “esters” and considering “ETHERS”. But which still wouldn’t have helped with the critical 15A.
Amusingly, of course, I got everything else! I did take it personally that the name of my business (HUMAN Speakers) was used in such a slanderous fashion 😉
Fantastic Prize puzzle, Brendan, and wonderful blog Eileen.