A Saturday tussle with Anax – should be fun.
As Anax puzzles go it was fairly standard fare – which is fun by the way. Some obvious answers occasionally but some lovely obscure word play. A good brain pummelling is then required to work out why the answer is correct and my brain wasn’t quite up to it this week.
5 down was my favourite of the puzzle – I’m not entirely sure I agree with the statement though.
12 down made me chuckle if only because of my proximity to the answer and the view a certain art historian has aired in the past about the north east of England’s art exhibitions about where I grew up in particular – yes we are all Neanderthals up here.
As to whether there is a theme or not – I somehow think there is but can’t put my finger on it – is there a connection between the geographical clues – Sunderland (Raich has associations there) and Macclesfield (an Anax association?) perhaps or am I looking too deeply at the whole thing.
Thanks Anax for a fun puzzle and a victory as I admit to failing to parse a couple of clues (2dn, 6dn and 15dn) and also I had to google Postman Pat to check his real name.
Key
Rev. reverse; * anagram; Underline definition
ACROSS
1. Well this has turned into a problem (5)
Rev. so (well) in per (a) = POSER
4. Formula 1 parts troubled erratic mechanic (9)
(fi (Formula 1 parts) + erratic)* = ARTIFICER
9 Bird songs we disguised to bewilder ducks (4, 5)
(songs we)* around oo (ducks) = SNOW GOOSE
10 Host entertains us with one form of entertainment (5)
MC (Host) around us + I (one) = MUSIC
11 MCFC idea – sell off Cheshire location (13)
(mcfc idea sell)* = MACCLESFIELD
14 Polite refusal to realise repetition annoys me (3, 5)
No ta (Polite refusal) + gain (realise) = NOT AGAIN
16 Concrete and Clay they used alternative lyrics originally (6)
Initial letters from and to lyrics = ACTUAL
18 Beer bottles hold one type of flower (6)
ale (beer) around pin (hold) = ALPINE
19 Pole placed in road bed, still very small (8)
rod (pole) in Mi (road) + cot (bed) = MICRODOT
21 Model, stupid one, chucked out her shoes (7-5)
Clot (stupid one) + (her shoes)* = CLOTHES HORSE
25 Elite group worried by a key figure in 26 (1-4)
ate (worried) + a + M (key figure in 26 – as in James Bond) = A-TEAM
26 Page one is about intelligence (9)
(Page one is)* = ESPIONAGE
27 John entertains a fishy bandleader (9)
Elton (John) around ling (fish) = ELLINGTON as in Duke
28 Sport’s car brief inspection (5)
audi (sport’s car) + T (as in T-shirt – brief?) = AUDIT
DOWN
1 Mr Clifton has a crack at negotiating 20 rock pillar (7, 3)
pop (crack) + at around st (20 down is Street) and man (rock pillar) = POSTMAN PAT (The Children’s TV character)
2 It sticks something primarily to accept cracked 21 (6, 4)
s (something primarily) + (to accept)* = SCOTCH TAPE Not sure how the h comes into play via 21 horse and H for heroin?
3 Like King George occupying 16 (5)
Real (16 – Actual) around G (George) = REGAL
4 About to turn on fire, one that’s cold unplugged (8)
Rev. ca (about) + oust (fire) + I (one) + c (cold) = ACOUSTIC (Definition as in not electric – Bob Dylan)
5 The Sun is a paper (6)
The + s (sun) + is (is) = THESIS
6 Typical wheels, nothing exciting; luxury wheels almost revolutionary (6, 3)
FAMILY CAR lost me completely
7 Business strategy extremely informal (4)
Co (business) + sy (strategy extremely) = COSY
8 Scrap vehicle missing same part as 28 (4)
Truck vehicle missing t (Audi in audit) = RUCK
12 City south of lake bordered by desert (10)
sand (desert) around under (south of) + l (lake) = SUNDERLAND
13 Take care – lethal wild animal. There’s no answer to that (3, 3, 4)
(lethal)* + beast – a (answer) = ALL THE BEST
15 Given info. try showing up a new guy (9)
Gen (info.) + Rev. melt (try??) + a + n(new) = GENTLEMAN
17 Given psychic powers absorbed by PC network course (8)
if (given) + esp (psychic pwers) in lan (PC network) = LIFESPAN
20 Restore houses on thoroughfare (6)
stet (restore) around re. (on) = STREET
22 Bend a pipe (5)
Hook (bend) + a = HOOKA
23 A female’s opening this French eaterie (4)
a + f(female) in ce (This in French) = CAFE
24 A lady from Llanelli (4)
Hidden lla NELL i = NELL
I am not really into cars, so I am not sure about 28ac.
It is probably referring to an Audi Type T.
The accompanying 8d (RUCK) was the only one I didn’t get and I am still unsure why the T is left out here.
Thanks for the blog twenceslas (and Anax for the puzzle which wasn’t that fiendish on your scale).
In 2d “21” is “clothes horse”, therefore going around “horse” ie H.
Thanks twencelas
In 28ac the sports car is the Audi TT which when ‘brief’ loses the second T.
6dn is FA (nothing {Fanny Adams}) + RACY (exciting) LIM[o] (luxury wheels almost) reversed (revolutionary).
15dn From Collins under ‘try’: “to melt (fat, lard, etc) in order to separate out impurities”.
Finished, but some with good guessing from definitions rather than working out word play. Some of them are very convoluted. This one was more of a chore to be conquered than a pleasure.
I didn’t work out the word play in1ac, 1d, 2d, 6d and 15d and why does s=sun?
Looking at it again now I’ve finished, I can see its merits!
Morning all.
Great blog as usual twenceslas – many thanks.
There is a secret theme as this puzzle was a gift to NELL, who owns the COSY and delightful ALPINE-themed SNOWGOOSE CAFE on SUNDERLAND STREET in MACCLESFIELD. As well as an ACOUSTIC MUSIC venue it’s one where my band plays regularly and we love the place.
The grid artworks were turned into an A3 canvas and presented to Nell on the night before publication (we were playing that night).
Have a great weekend, friends.
almw3 – s=sun is a standard abbreviation and is used a fair bit by setters, but if you see “sun” in a clue in future be aware that it sometimes refers to “Ra”. I parsed 28ac the same as Gaufrid.
Although this wasn’t the most obscure of Anax’s puzzles it still contained some clues where it was easier to get the answer from the definition and checkers rather than untangle the wordplay (the same five that almw3 pointed out), and that never makes for a wholly satisfactory solve IMHO. The MICRODOT/LIFESPAN crossers, both parsed, were my last ones in.
Last Saturday didn’t start too well for me, since there were no Guardians at Grantham station when I was passing through in the early morning, but having decided that the Indy was the next best thing, I was very pleased to get the chance to try an Anax unaided. It must have been one of the easier ones since I had a completed grid (albeit with a couple of semi-parsed guesses) by the time I reached York. Particularly liked POSTMAN PAT – didn’t recognise the surname but it jumped out from the first few crossers.
Thanks to twenceslas and to Anax.
Now all I need is a better answer to six + ? = 13 than 7!