Inquisitor 1319: What are you Doing? by Kruger

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Preamble: Each answer must have a letter removed, wherever it occurs, before entry in the grid. Definitions refer to the original answers; wordplay and letter-counts refer to the mutilated forms entered in the grid. In order, these omitted letters give an instruction to solvers.

Hmm… it took me a while to get my head round how this thing worked but gradually a few answers started to fall into place – particularly the long ones down each edge – 1d and 11d. As the grid continued to fill, very slowly, the message formed by the unclued letters started to make some sense and I saw the makings of ANSWER TO TITLE this led to a great PDM.

14a and 26a were the last two I managed to justify and 26 had me kicking myself as I had discarded that answer several day earlier. Yes, several days! Now I don’t know if that’s because this was a particularly tough puzzle or whether it was because I was affected by a particularly nasty chest infection – possibly a bit of both. Thankfully it’s all cleared up now – both puzzle and lurgy!IQ1319

The unclued entries generated the message: FILL CENTRE CELL AND HIGHLIGHT THE ANSWER TO TITLE. Well the title is WHAT ARE YOU DOING? And I’m clearly doing THE INQUISITOR, which can be found in the main diagonal.

Clever stuff from Kruger – thanks very much.

With a tinge of sadness, I dedicate this blog to my friend Ian Ray (1955-2014) who introduced me to The Independent Weekend Crossword (now The Inquisitor) on April 13th 2002.

Across
No. Clue Entry Original Unclued letter Wordplay
4 Assessment of the situation: article by Zoe is changing appeal THESIZEOIT THE SIZE OF IT F
 THE (article)+ZOE (anag: is changing)+IT ([sex] appeal)
12 European island east of Malta once a country RHODESA RHODESIA I
 RHODES (European island)+maltA (east of)
13 Scots reveal jargon INGO LINGO L
 (double definition)
14 Normandy city doctor in charge of list of events CAENDRIC CALENDRIC L
 CAEN (Normandy city)+DR (doctor)+IC (in charge)
15 Women stopping match a second time TWIE TWICE C
 Women inside TIE (match)
16 Period of no growth paid back Australia! DIAPAUS DIAPAUSE E
 PAID (rev: back)+AUStralia
18 Hat essentially made from stems of grass OATE OATEN N
 bOATEr (hat; essentially)
21 Restrained a French female reactionary in port RIENUO RITENUTO T
 RIO (de Janeiro; port) containing UNE (one [feminine]; rev: reactionary)
22 Moorish artwork is base in place of worship MOESQUE MORESQUE R
 E (base) inside MOSQUE (place of worship)
24 Time to back trade in tropical fish TTRA TETRA E
 Time+ART (trade; rev: back)
25 Blackish-green cycle seen beside river ORBEAU CORBEAU C
 ORB (cycle)+EAU (river)
26 Number three, after losing English opener for Essex, is out at last THRIST ETHERIST
(someone who numbs)		 E
 THRee (minus English; minus E(ssex) (opener for)+IS+ouT (at last)
27 Hill with flat top and middle MESA MESAL L
 (double definition)
29 Bias I am suffering: a tendency to use rounded lips ABIAISM LABIALISM L
 BIAS I AM (anag: suffering)
31 Nothing very untoward primarily left commonest of tits with energy to produce eggs OVULTE OVULATE A
 O (nothing)+Very+U[ntoward] (primarily)+Left+T (commonest letter in TiTs)+Energy
33 Old buffoon’s accepted by lunatics ATIC ANTIC N
 lunATICs (hidden: accepted by)
35 Stewing is in no recipe for bird INORNIS DINORNIS D
 IS IN NO Recipe (anag: stewing)
37 Call nameless informant SOUT SHOUT H
 SnOUT minus Name
38 Special skill examined through taste, oddly EXPERTSE EXPERTISE I
 EXamined+PER (through)+TaStE (odd letters)
39 POW camp in Californian city OFLA OFLAG G
 OF (in)+LA (Los Angeles; Californian city)
40 Contemptuously treat (we hear) colt with mainly reddish discoloration of the skin DYSCROA DYSCHROA H
 DYS (sounds like DIS: contemptuously treat)+Colt+ROAn (reddish; mainly)
41 Virus beginning to endanger maid’s eyes – terrible! YMEDISEASE LYME DISEASE L
 E(ndanger; beginning)+MAIDS EYES (anag: terrible)
Down
No. Clue Entry Original Unclued letter Wordplay
1 Curiously tour costly home almost divided into three TRCHOTOMOUSLY TRICHOTOMOUSLY I
 TOUR COSTLY HOME (anag: curiously)
2 Pop group at one time including an animal (that’s a thought) WHANAM WHANGAM G
 WHAM (former pop group) containing AN
3 Having covers on the feet, does exercises SOED SHOED H
 DOES (anag: exercises)
5 Afternoon meeting to take steps in sacking of Ann’s head HEDANSAN THÉ DANSANT T
 ANN‘S HEAD (anag: sacking of)
6 Excessively meet conditions of nursemaid in home counties SAIAE SATIATE T
 AIA (nursemaid) inside SE (South East; home counties)
7 International criticism, in short, overshadows remedy for retaining urine ISCURETIC ISCHURETIC H
 International+STICk (criticism; mostly) containing CURE (remedy)
8 German industrialist is entering zone in front of square ZISS ZEISS
(Carl Zeiss)		 E
 Zone+IS+Square
9 Beg for reduced freedom of access to Thailand ENTRET ENTREAT A
 ENTRÉe (freedom of access; reduced)+A (to)+Thailand (IVR)
10 Ancient Greek dialect starts to influence oldest Illyrian civilization IOIC IONIC N
 I(nfluence)+O(ldest)+I(llyrian)+C(ivilization) (starting letters)
11 Move quickly round male raccoon-like animal with coloured tip to tail – there’s no danger THECOATICLEAR THE COAST IS CLEAR S
 TEAR (move quickly) containing COATI (raccoon-like animal)+Coloured
17 Straighten out crooked unit son partitioned in the middle UNTIST UNTWIST W
 UNIT+Son+partiTioned (middle letter) (anag: crooked)
19 Certainly robust – working out! TOBSUR TO BE SURE E
 ROBUST (anag: working out)
20 Short Algonquin woman with cape including eastern characteristic of headscarf, for example SQUAENESS SQUARENESS R
 SQUAw (Algonquin woman; short)+Eastern+NESS (cape)
23 Dread new arrangement of first of songs she sang GHASNESS GHASTNESS T
 S(ongs; first of)+SHE SANG (anag: new arrangement)
28 When everyone is included, half of allies terminated at the front by lethal dosage ALLTLD ALL TOLD O
 ALL(ies; half of)+T(erminated; initial letter)+LD (lethal dodage)
30 Don’t benefit from Mo forgetting about Rhode Island MISSOU MISS OUT T
 MO (MISSOUri; minus RI (Rhode Island)
32 Dead cow beside Dutch, ultimately inhumane, compound DOXDE DIOXIDE I
 Dead+OX (cow)+Dutch+inhumanE (ultimately)
34 Weaver’s to become suddenly prosperous BOOM BOTTOM
(Shakesperean character)		 T
 (double def)
35 Iron filings perhaps in Japanese porcelain? Not right! IMAI LIMAIL L
 IMArI (Japanes porcelain; minus Right)
36 Loosely scatter dried stalks with no indication of anxiety STRW STREW E
 STRaW (dried stalks; minus A(nxiety) indication of)

 

7 comments on “Inquisitor 1319: What are you Doing? by Kruger”

  1. Thank you Kenmac for the very clearly expressed solution/explanation.
    I thought the puzzle itself was enjoyable but not particularly challenging. Some of the clues, yes. But not the theme. Just a little bit obvious from the title. And the answer was easy to find in the grid.
    And, I am so glad, because the last few puzzles have been very taxing. Which is not good for those of us expecting the dreaded brown envelope.

  2. We also thought it was easier than recent puzzles but enjoyable nevertheless.

    Not much else to add except the admiration we have for each Inquisitor setter.

    Many thanks kenmac for the excellent blog – glad that you are feeling better. Thanks Kruger for the challenge.

  3. I also found it difficult and had that doh! moment when Ho explained 26A to me. I never thought of pronouncing number that way!

    It makes it more difficult when the grid entries are not words, but it was all fair, and a great PDM.

    Thanks Kruger and kenmac

  4. This was one of the few Inquisitors where I managed to parse all the entries rather than rely on the definition and cross-checkers for some. Not that it was easy – just a well-constructed and well-clued crossword. Thanks Kruger and thanks too to kenmac although I didn’t need his services to fully understand the crossword this time.

  5. The device used to generate extra letters made this quite tricky, since one could never be certain how many letters were missing. 34D had me scratching my head for a long time…I thought ‘loom’ from ‘bloom’. Only worked it out when I realised that ‘TIBLE’ didn’t make sense.

    Great fun. Thanks to Kruger and Kenmac

  6. My thanks to kenmac for his usual excellent blog and to those who have taken the trouble to comment here.

    This was, I think, only the second completely letters latent thematic puzzle I’ve set and was both a challenge and great fun to do. I developed it in conjunction with my “Identification” EV puzzle of last year – both similar in theme though taking a different approach.

    I hope most solvers enjoyed it.

  7. I was not wildly happy with ‘virus’ as the definition for Lyme Disease, which is caused by a spirochaete bacterium.

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