This Genius puzzle by Puck had a fairly short preamble, as follows:
Eight solutions, lacking further definition, are of a kind (one of them disputedly) Their type can be confirmed by finding the source of a roundabout suggestion in the grid
The first of the undefined entries that I solved was STEPHEN. On its own, that didn’t help me very much. The next two to fall were LEO X and NOVATION. Those two gave me the theme and helped me solve the anagram for CALIXTUS.
The term ’roundabout’ in the preamble was a fairly strongf hint that we would be looking for a phrase running round the perimeter of the grid. These phrases usually start in the top left and run either clockwise or anti clockwise. This puzzle chose the anti-clockwise rote to reveal the phrase CONSULT THE GENIUS OF THE PLACE, taken from Epistle IV, to Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington by Alexander POPE, thereby confirming the theme of POPEs.
I debated for some time whether NOVATIAN was one the eight clues without definition, as there was a sort of definition as ‘anti 17 say’. The only other entry that I thought might be without definition was XINH at 27 down, but I can find no reference to a Pope XINH. I think XINH is just a common Vietnamese name along the line of SMITH here. If I am wrong, I have no doubt there will be people who point out the error of my ways.
As Geniuses go, this wasn’t at the harder end of the spectrum,but it was definitely trickier than a normal dialy particularly as a number of the POPEs names didn’t trip off the tongue.
My favourite clues were those for SO-AND-SO [amusing clue] and THREE [given it’s cricketing link with the previous clue].
My list of POPEs is:
7 across CALIXTUS
13 across NOVATIAN [antipope – the disputed one]
17 across STEPHEN
22 across URBAN V
26 across LEO X
28 across LINUS
5 down PIUS and
16 down LANDO
As I write this blog I am unable to parse URBAN V at 22 across to my satisfaction. I look forward to being told the correct parsing. Thanks to Andrew@comment 1 below for showing the correct parsing as UR (prefix meaning original) + BA (in ancient Egyptian religion, the soul, represented as a bird with a human head) + NV (Nevada; Amercian state)
Thanks also to bridgesong@comment 2 for pointing out that a much better answer for 12 across is SKIT (satirical sketch in dramatic or literary form; act that involves taking off) parsed as S (first letter of [top of] SKIMPY + KIT (outfit)
|
Across |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
|
7
|
A cult’s evolving around 9 (8)
|
Anagram of (evolving) A CULT’S containing (around) IX (Roman numerals for 9)
|
CALIXTUS |
|
9
|
Priest backing pilgrimage for OT character
|
ELI (Old Testament priest) + (HAJ [pilgrimage {to Mecca}] reversed [backing]) ELI JAH< |
ELIJAH (another Old Testament character)
|
|
10
|
Formerly hearing old solvers piercing "Ogre!", intermittently (4)
|
YE (old form of you [solvers]) contained in (piercing) OR (1st and 3rd letters [intermittently] of OGRE) O (YE) R |
OYER (obsolete [formerly] word for a hearing a lawcourt)
|
|
11
|
26, one refusing kiss when drunk? Just a little drunk (tipsy) (5)
|
Anagram of (when drunk) ([LEO X {entry at 26 across} and I {one}] excluding [refusing] X [symbol for a kiss]) + D (first letter of [just a little] DRUNK)
|
OILED (tipsy)
|
|
12
|
Act that involves taking off top of skimpy outfit (4)
|
G-SUIT (a close-fitting suit with cells that inflate to prevent flow of blood away from the head, worn by airmen as a defence against blackout due to high acceleration and resultant great increase in weight; skimpy outfit) excluding (taking off) the first letter (top of) G Thanks to bridgesong@comment 2 for pointing out that a much better answer for 12 across is SKIT (satirical sketch in dramatic or literary form; act that involves taking off) parsed as S (first letter of [top of] SKIMPY + KIT (outfit)
|
SUIT (the process or act of suing)
|
|
13
|
Anti-5? No, a variant (anti-17 say) (8)
|
Anagram of (variant) (ANTI and V [Roman numeral for 5) and NO A)
|
NOVATIAN (of or relating to the antipope NOVATIANUS (held the title 251 – 258 AD), or his party or sect, who favoured severity against the lapsed. Pope STEPHEN [17 across] who died in 257AD led the Church of Rome in 251AD, so NOVATIAN can indeed be anti 17)
|
|
15
|
Help from whistle-blower getting story accepted (6)
|
REF (referee; whistle blower) containing (getting … accepted) LIE (story) RE (LIE) F |
RELIEF (help)
|
|
17
|
About time nephews exercised losing weight (7)
|
Anagram of (exercised) (NEPHEWS excluding [losing] W [weight]) containing (about) T (time) S (T) EPHEN* |
STEPHEN
|
|
19
|
Accordingly, a name given to "frigging sod" is a mild alternative (2-3-2)
|
SO (accordingly) + A + N (name) + an anagram of (frigging) SOD SO A N DSO* |
SO-AND-SO (terminology used to replace a desc riptive oath; mild alternative to SOD)
|
|
22
|
Original soul state (5,1)
|
URBA (?) + NV (Nevada; American state) alternatively URBAN ( a genre of music that may have grown out of soul music ) + V (International Vehicle Registration for Vatican City; Vatican City is a state/country]) [clutching at straws here] I will be grateful for any ideas on the parsing of this. Thanks to Andrew@comment 1 below for showing the correct parsing as UR (prefix meaning original) + BA (in ancient Egyptian religion, the soul, represented as a bird with a human head) + NV (Nevada; Amercian state) |
URBAN V
|
|
24
|
Uses old sort of pistol (8)
|
EX (old) + an anagram of (sort of) PISTOL EX PLOITS* |
EXPLOITS (uses)
|
|
26)
|
The foreign beast of burden (3,1
|
LE (French [foreign] for ‘the’) + OX (beast of burden)
|
LEO X
|
|
28
|
Piece of coal in USA (5)
|
LINUS (hidden word in [piece of] COAL IN USA)
|
LINUS
|
|
29
|
Some Republicans settled an area bordering the Pacific (4)
|
Anagram of (settled) PERU (the first four letters of [some] REPUBLICANS)
|
PERU (a country [area] ordering the Pacific)
|
|
30
|
One can do this to make part of the UK shop (4,2)
|
TURN the letters IN and you will get NI (Northern Ireland [part of the United Kingdom])
|
TURN IN (hand over voluntarily [to the police], can be used to mean give information about the whereabouts of a wanted person; shop)
|
|
31
|
Funny ideas about animal figure being thematically blessed (5,3)
|
Anagram of (funny) IDEAS containing (about) GNU (animal)
|
AGNUS DEI (of this; a figure of a lamb emblematic of Christ, bearing the banner of the cross; a cake of wax stamped with such a figure, and blessed by the Pope; figure being thematically blessed)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Leaving part of saying in book by Lange or Crighton (4,2)
|
EASY GO (part of the saying EASY COME, EASY GO)
|
EASY GO (title of book [1968] by Michael Crighton under the pseudonym John Lange)
|
|
2
|
OECD’s mimimum interest rate for commerce in the cloud’s reduced by 33.33% (4)
|
CIRR (4 of the 6 letters [66.66%, i.e. the full word is reduced by 33.33] CIRRUS [cloud])
|
CIRR (Commercial Interest Reference Rate for various currencies established by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development [OECD])
|
|
3
|
Poison gas breaching inept RA deployment (8)
|
O (oxygen; gas) contained in (breaching) an anagram of (deployment) INEPTRA
|
ATROPINE (a poisonous alkaloid found in deadly nightshade)
|
|
4
|
Advocate going topless in newspaper article (6)
|
PLEADER (advocate) excluding the first letter (going topless) P
|
LEADER (newspaper editorial column)
|
|
5
|
Religious broadcast (4)
|
PIUS (sounds like [broadcast] PIOUS [religious])
|
PIUS
|
|
6
|
Simplicity shown by Spanish woman entering rough seas (8)
|
INES (Christian name for females in Spanish speaking countries) contained in (entering) an anagram of (rough) SEAS EAS (INES) S* |
EASINESS (simplicity)
|
|
7
|
Support for bone broken around bottom of shin (6)
|
SPLIT (broken) containing (round) N (last letter of [bottom of] SHIN])
|
SPLINT (support for a [broken] bone)
|
|
14
|
A mountain hare? Not again!
|
ALP (mountain) + HARE excluding (not) RE- [again]
|
ALPHA (Greek alphabet form of the letter ‘A’)
|
|
16
|
Bag a duck … (5)
|
LAND (bag) + O (zero; duck in cricket)
|
LANDO
|
|
18
|
… there possibly having seven wickets yet to fall? (5,3)
|
THREE OUT (using OUT as an anagram indicator, an anagram of THREE is THERE)
|
THREE OUT (if there are seven wickets yet to fall for a cricket team, then there already THREE players OUT)
|
|
20
|
Against having one’s mate turn informer (8)
|
OPPO (one’s mate) + SING (turn informer)
|
OPPOSING (against)
|
|
21
|
Rupture of Ireland in olden times, but not in the same place (6)
|
HIBERNIA (ancient and poetic name for Ireland) excluding (not) IB (ibidem [Latin: in the same place])
|
HERNIA (rupture)
|
|
23
|
Amino acid in case where one end of nexus replaces the other (6)
|
VALISE (case) where S (last letter of [one end of] NEXUS) replaces N (first letter of [the other end of] NEXUS) VALISE |
VALINE (an amino-acid)
|
|
25
|
Second portion of muesli in wooden dish (6)
|
U (second letter of (second portion of) MUESLI) contained in (in) TREEN (wooden) T (U) REEN |
TUREEN (a large dish for holding soup, vegetables, etc at table.)
|
|
27
|
One Viernamese putting ten in hospital (4) | X (Roman numeral for ten) + IN + H (hospital) | XINH (a Vitetnamese name) |
|
29
|
"Prepare to be shot", a writer’s said (4)
|
POSE (sounds like [said’ POE’S [reference Edgar Allen POE [1809- 1849, American writier])
|
POSE (prepare to be shot [by a camera)
|
Thanks Duncan. Not too hard for a Genius, I thought, with enumerations such as (5,1) being a bit of a giveaway.
22a is UR=original, BA=soul (in ancient Egypt) + (as you say) NV.
Thanks for the blog, Duncan. I think 12 across is SKIT, (Act that involves taking off) with the first letter of skimpy followed by kit.
Thanks to Andrew and Bridgesong for the corrections – I have updated the post.
I can confirm SKIT at 12 across, as that is what I put in, and I’ve just had an email to say that I’ve won the prize for this crossword. I’ve been submitting the Genius for years, but never had a result before.
So don’t give up. Keep sending those entries in!
Hi Tom_I.
I have to congratulate you on winning, but saddened that yet again fate has not smiled kindly on me!
I am glad that URBAN V has been parsed, as I was getting ready to slam Puck, thinking that he had URBAN as a type of Soul music [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_Soul] that was popular in the 1990s. I was then left thinking he had thought that V ? Virginia. As I live here in USA now, I know that mostly two letter codes are used [e.g. NV, CT etc] but also 3 letter codes [FLA etc, think of Lou Reed – Walk on the wild side] and also 4 letter codes [CONN for example] but never one letter codes. Thankfully I was wrong.
I think that we are all missing something with XINH. Either we are overlooking a link, or PUCK mistakenly thought it meant the number one in Vietnamese. I also tried to find a Vietnamese golfer with that name, but to no avail. I do not buy the answer that it is simply a common Vietnamese name. That would be an astonishingly poorly defined clue.
Finally I agree with Duncan that the 13A does seem to have a definition, so I am puzzled at this too.
For what it’s worth, XINH means “pretty” in Vietnamese. Like Gordon @5, I hope Puck intended something other than Xinh being a common Vietnamese name.
Thank you for the blog, Duncan. I always admire your presentation.
Well done, Tom_I @4 … mine’s a Scotch if you’re coming to Sheffield. 🙂
I agree, the puzzle was enjoyable but not much of a challenge.
Is anybody else getting little crosses instead of black squares in this month’s Genius grid (124)? Should I be clearing my chocolate chips and blueberry muffins perhaps?
Not just you Jan. I’ve tried the print version of this month’s puzzle on every internet browser I know. Best performing was Chrome, which put a little icon in each black square. But I’ve still ended up filling them in with a black felt-tip.
Thanks for the blog Duncan. I’d wondered for a while if “Calixtus” was going to be the disputed entry as it doesn’t appear to be the normal spelling (Callixtus).