A relatively short rubric:
Solvers are to enact a rhyme, leaving the grid with twelve empty cells. The wordplay generated by one clue overlooks five consecutive letters which carry out a supporting role and must be highlighted. Ignoring spaces all grid entries are real words, proper names or phrases.
I started (unusually) with 1 across and proceeded, without too much difficulty, to fill in the top half of the grid. I was sure that 21A was SEA WALL, but didn’t fill it in initially, as I couldn’t understand the wordplay. Only later did I realise that A WALL had no indication in the wordplay and was the source of the five letters carrying out “a supporting role”.
When I got to the bottom half I found that 24D had 8 spaces in the grid, but was clued as (7). This set off a search for other length mismatches, and I located the following clues with similar mismatches of sometimes one, sometimes two letters.
40A, 41A, 43A, 44A, 45A and 20D, 24D, 30D, 32D, 33D, 34D, 37D and 40D
This allowed me to locate some of the twelve blank squares – all at the bottom of the grid – and solving the clues eventually located all twelve blanks unequivocally. Glad to see a couple of old favourites in the wordplay (BRA for “support” and IT for “the other”).
Surely this couldn’t be all? A quick explanation to my wife of the fact that we had to find a rhyme involving a wall elicited the immediate response “Humpty Dumpty” – women are so much better at these associations than men!
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
Looking on A WALL I found the letters HUMPTY DUMPTY (12 letters) in an egg shape, sitting on the wall, and the meaning of the rest of the rubric became clear. The twelve spaces at the top of the grid were made by the fall and the spaces at the bottom are filled by the subsequent scattering of Humpty Dumpty’s letters, leaving all proper words at the top, and new words at the bottom. Fantastic!
Below are a starting grid, a finishing grid (which is the solution to win you the bubbly) and (for my own pleasure) an enactment of the rhyme.
In the explanations below, I have listed the original answers, and added the post-fall words, with the extra/missing letters coloured appropriately
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue (definition) | Answer (plus/minus) | Wordplay |
| 1 | Department receiving report to unscramble (7) | DECRYPT | DEPT round CRY (report) |
| 8 | Sad for master no longer at the front (5) | MESTO | TO (for) with MES (obsolete word for master – i.e. master no longer) at the front. |
| 13 | Australian native anarchist poet’s put in jail (6) | EMURED | EMU + RED [Eure is a river and department in northern France] |
| 14 | Stir, pour out and – consume (7) | UPROUSE | [POUR]* + USE (consume) |
| 15 | German car in due course brought back some typists (6) | AUDIOS | AUDI (car) + SO (in due course) reversed |
| 16 | Women once take time off to sun (4) | HENS | THEN (once) minus T + S(un) |
| 17 | Intermediate section in Scottish lament (5) | MESNE | S(ection) in MENE (Scottish lament) |
| 18 | Paid the price to pasture (4) | FEED | Double definition |
| 19 | Father managed to secure independence for a Greek islander (6) | PARIAN | PA + I(ndependence) in RAN (managed) |
| 21 | Extremely secure coastal flood defence (7, 2 words) | SEA WALL | S(ecure)E – the rest unclued |
| 23 | Roadhouses popular with Poles (4) | INNS | IN + N(orth) + S(outh) (is this the easiest Schadenfreude clue of all time?) |
| 26 | Contemptible sons like anything bent (6) | SCURVY | S(ons) + CURVY |
| 27 | Evil absent in the other Islamic services (6) | IBADAT | BAD + A(bsent) in IT (the other) |
| 29 | A shrub found in the centre of ancient city (4) | HEBE | Found in (T)HEBE(S) |
| 31 | Careful in dress, William’s mother’s eating on time (7) | ELEGANT | EAN is a Shakespearian word for “give birth” or mother, round LEG (on in cricket – don’t mention the Ashes!) + T(ime)) |
| 33 | Strong like sulphur paste (6) | STRASS | STR(ong) + AS (like) + S(ulphur) |
| 38 | A loose garment Australian acquired from the east (4) | TOGA | A(ustralian) + GOT (acquired) all reversed |
| 39 | A source of poison from ancient city with polluted air (5) | URARI | UR (ancient city) + [AIR]* |
| 40 | Warm and dry island surrounded by the Land of Opportunity (3) | AIR(Y) | AR (Arkansas – old nickname is “the Land of Opportunity”) round I(sland) |
| 41 | Crest on a large brilliant bird (5) | MONA(U)L | MON (crest) + A + L(arge) |
| 42 | Resistance shown by European ditching active drug for ADD treatment (7) | RITALIN | R(esistance) + ITALIAN minus A(ctive) |
| 43 | A drug addict not working? I’m not sure! (4) | (M)US(T)ER | US (not working) + ER (I’m not sure) [I had understood this as an anagram of SURE until Ho enlightened me] |
| 44 | Obsolete function of another holy man with education (4) | ST(Y)ED | ST (holy man) + ED(ucation) |
| 45 | Something like a gun copper once found in terrace (5) | TA(P)S(T)ER | AS (a Roman copper coin) in TER(race) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Strange fellow goes in to ruin croaker’s relative (8) | DRUMFISH | DISH (ruin) round RUM (odd) + F(ellow) |
| 2 | Ed’s to penetrate space adjoining patch across river (8) | EMPIERCE | EM (space) + PIECE (patch) round R(iver) |
| 3 | Catholic house decay (6) | CARIES | C(atholic) + ARIES (astrological house) |
| 4 | Once again request the supply of Command Paper from part-time judge (7) | REORDER | RECORDER (part-time judge) minus C (Command Paper) |
| 5 | English theologian to practise in Paraguay (5) | PUSEY | USE (practice) in PY (Paraguay) |
| 6 | Rushing stream, not Yellow River (5) | TRENT | TORRENT (rushing stream) minus OR (yellow) |
| 7 | The old amateur with seventy votes (4) | YEAS | YE (the old) + A(mateur) + S (mediaeval symbol for 70) |
| 9 | A shrub or tree having lived longer (5) | ELDER | Double definition |
| 10 | Is institute entering without freehold possession? (6) | SEISIN | IS + I(nstitute) in SEN (without) |
| 11 | Transactions concerning active salty mineral (5) | TRONA | TR(ansactions) + ON (about) + A(ctive) |
| 12 | Ordinary women nurse highland cattle (5) | OWSEN | O(rdinary) + W(omen) + SEN (State Enrolled Nurse) |
| 16 | Something projecting underneath hard swellings (6) | HEAVES | H(ard) + EAVES (something projecting) |
| 20 | Ancient kingdom governor seen by a lecturer (5) | ALBAN(Y) | A + L(ecturer) + BAN (governor) |
| 22 | Husband withdraws from long service (3) | ACE | ACHE minus H(usband) |
| 24 | Crack in large pipe (7) | NARG(H)ILE | [IN LARGE]* |
| 25 | A riddle originally solved by gumshoe? (8) | STRAINER | S(olved) + TRAINER (gumshoe) |
| 28 | Trees misrepresented as in art (7) | ANTIARS | [AS IN ART]* |
| 30 | Support new health food (4) | BRAN(DY) | BRA (support) + N(ew) |
| 32 | Stand-up poet’s material (5) | TOILE(T) | (T.S.) ELIOT reversed |
| 33 | A few pronounced society problems (4) | SUM(P)S | SUM (sounds like some) + S(ociety) |
| 34 | William’s old lady in court wrong to rise (4) | TRO(U)T | TORT (legal wrong) reversed |
| 35 | Warship restricted by aged marine growth (5) | ARAME | AE (aged) round RAM (a warship) |
| 36 | Female to stir supply chief (5) | FIRST | F(emale) + [STIR]* |
| 37 | Adult voice’s uplifting melody (4) | ARI(T)A | A(dult) + AIR (voice) reversed |
| 40 | Gold keeping liberal Murphy in Goa (3) | ALU(M) | Murphy in Goa = Indian potato: AU (gold) round L(iberal) |
I guessed Humpty Dumpty as soon as I had justified 21a. I had a similar empty feeling when I filled the blanks with the appropriate letters and I found myself muttering about how Schadenfreude had let me down for once – Is that it?? My subconscious obviously felt differently so I forced myself to read the preamble again, especially the all-important first sentence which I’d largely ignored!
Absolutely brilliant stuff – that Schadenfreude is a real good egg!
Great blog too, Hihoba.
A wonderful puzzle. Beautifully reproduced as well, Hihoba.
I too loved this puzzle and Hihoba’s graphic enactment of the rhyme. Thanks to both setter and blogger
We had a similar experience to Hihoba. Bert was the one who spotted Humpty Dumpty on the wall but it took a moment to realise what we had to do!
What great fun. Many, msny thanks Schadenfreude.
What a splendid blog too Hihoba – thanks for spending time on creating the animation!
I thought the grid was very impressive indeed, real words both before and after moving the letters and an egg shape for humpty too. Quite an achievement!
Thankfully the clues were amenable and I managed to finish completely, the first time I have got nothing wrong at all in an Inquisitor. I only wish it was available online as its not always easy to get an Indy where we live.
Thanks Hihoba, and I love the animated gif!
A beautiful puzzle by Schadenfreude to end 2013, one which sets the standard for the puzzles that you may vote for at the end of 2014.
Just a reminder that today is your last chance to vote for your puzzles of 2013. Go to my Review of 2012-3 posting to do so.
Best wishes to all for 2014!
Nimrod
Well, another case of falling at the final hurdle for me. I think I got all the clues right and all the blanks in the right place, but I’m so used to failing to parse clues completely, I didn’t link 21ac with the instructions and totally failed to notice “Humpty Dumpty” in the grid.
Still, completing all the clues in an Inquisitor is a major achievement as far as I’m concerned.
A thoroughly enjoyable end to 2013 and the first I’ve been able to complete in a while, the holiday period helping.
It all clicked when I realised the significance of 21a. I’d already filled in the letters above the wall so a slight curse when I realised that enactment was needed…
Thanks to Hihoba for a great blog (big fan of your animation) and to Schadenfreude for the brain exercise. Great fun.
Agree with all that’s been said already by other bloggers.
A great, fun puzzle with some neat twists and turns. I thought it should have been called “Scrambled Egg” myself but that would have just given the game away.
Like Hihoba, I started filling in the top half and only noticed the missing-letter clues when I got on to them. Unlike Hihoba though, the gathering of such clues at the bottom and in the corners somehow went towards making me think the rhyme I was looking for was “Little Jack Horner”…”sat in a corner” etc. I really didn’t pay much attention to A WALL, which I left blank, thinking it might also be A GATE, and so not making the connection to Humpty Dumpty until much later when it was patent Jack Horner was nowhere to be seen !
Great, puzzle Schadenfreude and a superb animated blog Hihoba, thanks to both.
This was just great. Nothing specific to add so popped in to volunteer a bit praise! Many thanks.
A playful end to the year’s puzzles from Schadenfreude, not too taxing, and completed whilst being driven to a wet and windy Hay-on-Wye for New Year (and thanks go to him, plus Hihoba for the blog).
I still don’t like “anarchist” = “red” (13a), but the esteemed setter does (along with Chambers). Ah well … as Humpty Dumpty said “When I use a word,it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”
Great puzzle and great blog!
Methinks my wife must be from the same stock as the good lady of Hi, or Ho or Ba. Having completed the grid as clued, I also was at a loss. I toyed with 10 Green Bottles (accidentally falling) but there were 12 blanks to fill. So I ran it past my wife who suggested Humpty Dumpty almost immediately. Mars and Venus, eh?