Nick: A nice puzzle from Azed this week, although many of us had a bit of a 16 (the competition word) to get it.
As these type of puzzles require a ‘jigsaw like’ locking of the letters from answers in a circular arrangement, Azed seems to get the level of difficulty of the clues just about right.
The only obvious way in is to get cold solving, hopefully solving some adjacent clue ‘cells’ so you can start to fill the grid. My way in here was clue sets {3, 8, 9} and {27, 28, 33}, which then gives the solver something to work on.
First, the rules to ‘Eightsome Reels’:
Each numbered square in the diagram is surrounded by eight blank squares. All clues lead to answers of eight letters, and these are to be entered around their appropriate numbers, clockwise or anticlockwise, beginning anywhere. Solvers must determine where each begins and the direction in which it is to go. The twelve unchecked letters at the corners of the completed diagram could form U MAYDAY VALET. Competitors should submit with their entries a clue to replace the asterisked definition at 16.
Here is the completed grid (produced using Qxw, inkscape and gimp):
Each number cell has a line to the start of it’s circular word:
Read ‘clockwise’ for green, ‘anti-clockwise’ for red.
| 1. | Fish company once netting fish – little left | ||
| GRAYLING | (RAY+L) in GING | ||
| 2. | Good newspaper includes favourable slant on news item, being avaricious | ||
| GRASPING | (G+RAG) around SPIN | ||
| 3. | Early instrument bungled test with wood splitting | ||
| SPINETTE | PINE splitting (TEST*) | ||
| 4. | Occupant like young cuckoo, fluttering? | ||
| SQUATTER | cdd | ||
| 5. | As rag’s beginning, rest disrupted in lodgings | ||
| QUARTERS | QUA+R+(REST*) | ||
| 6. | Pass certificate? Master put out when page is missing | ||
| TESTAMUR | (MASTER (p)UT)* | ||
| 7. | A metal mined in mountain for slating | ||
| BERATING | A+TIN in BERG | ||
| 8. | Form of giant web or aerial flap | ||
| WINGBEAT | (GIANT WEB)* | ||
| 9. | Type of pear coated in salt? It may come with the menu (2 words) | ||
| WINELIST | NELIS in WIT | ||
| 10. | Creepers cut short round part of fence? | ||
| TRAILERS | TERS(e) around RAIL | ||
| 11. | Investment funds? It’s mad replacing first with tons | ||
| TRACKERS | T for C in CRACKERS | ||
| 12. | First to admit poverty’s extremely dismal | ||
| BLACKEST | BEST around LACK | ||
| 13. | Follower of reforming churchman, one featured in window | ||
| LUTHERAN | A in LUTHERN | ||
| 14. | RC brother making point about passion | ||
| THEATINE | TINE around HEAT | ||
| 15. | One pop superstar appearing in Lesotho entertainment guide | ||
| LISTINGS | (I+STING[singer in the Police]) in LS | ||
| *16. | Unobtainable quest | ||
| SANGRAIL | the competition word to clue | ||
| 17. | Church in danger reorganized, full of divine influence | ||
| ENGRACED | CE in (DANGER*) | ||
| 18. | Cord intertwined or substituted | ||
| REPLACED | REP+LACED | ||
| 19. | Like a cook’s implement, at university left in box | ||
| SPATULAR | (AT+U+L) in SPAR | ||
| 20. | Measure to draw from river turning east | ||
| TAPELINE | TAP+(NILE<)+E | ||
| 21. | Char, one engaged by one’s brother perhaps | ||
| SAIBLING | A in SIBLING | ||
| 22. | Faith in WI tea rain’s ruined | ||
| SANTERIA | (TEA RAIN’S)* | ||
| 23. | Study order, electronic, for lacework | ||
| DENTELLE | DEN+TELL+E | ||
| 24. | Shrank from treatment for E. coli, embarrassed about it? | ||
| RECOILED | RED around (E.COLI*) | ||
| 25. | Limits tax paid by a parson etc on going doolally | ||
| RATECAPS | (A PARS(on) ETC)* | ||
| 26. | Minimum of efficacy found in pills? Vets may have to lance these | ||
| CAPELETS | E in CAPLETS | ||
| 27. | Stretch best line out | ||
| TENSIBLE | (BEST LINE)* | ||
| 28. | Marine mammal: one caught by RN in sea, swimming | ||
| SIRENIAN | I in (RN IN SEA*) | ||
| 29. | Greek lines aloft in sculpted niche | ||
| HELLENIC | ELL in (NICHE*) | ||
| 30. | Basking excessively, is she crazily holding unguent back? | ||
| HELIOSIS | (OIL<) in (IS SHE*) | ||
| 31. | Rope carefully examined, similarly trimmed in naval escort | ||
| CORVETTE | COR(d)+VETTE(d) | ||
| 32. | Bits of old armour permitted in form of cross | ||
| CORSLETS | LET in (CROSS*) | ||
| 33. | Horn sometimes seen halved in unruly cattle | ||
| TENTACLE | (se)EN in (CATTLE*) | ||
| 34. | Cheers managed about one of Turkic group | ||
| TATARIAN | TA-TA+(RAN around I) | ||
| 35. | Close friend of Virginia, well off | ||
| TOVARICH | TO+VI+RICH | ||
| 36. | Obsequious claptrap about day roaming Italy | ||
| TOADYISH | TOSH around ((DAY*)+I) | ||
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Thanks Nick. I rather like these puzzles, goodness knows how Azed goes about constructing them.
A superb blog, Nick. Glad it was your turn, not mine.
I agree with Sidey that these puzzles must be really tricky to construct, which explains why Azed doesn’t offer them very often. Of course, once you get started they are perhaps easier than normal because there are no unches except in the corners and Azed even gives you those!
I started this when on holiday, but only managed to complete it after I got home. It took over a week altogether, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Impeccably clued, as always with Azed.
Hello Nick, excellent explanations but I think 7 should be A TIN in BERG (mountain) and not TIN in BERAG.
John
John, #4.
Dead right – no such word as ‘berag’ – I dunno what I was doing there as my notes do have ‘a tin’ in berg.
Too many beers I guess 😉
Nick