Apologies for this being a rather more terse post than usual, but I’m afraid I’m recovering from an illness at the moment. This was a typically enjoyable crossword from Puck, whose cluing I always enjoy. The rubric for this puzzle read:
Four solutions have definitions suggested by two others
The four solutions turn out to be the four stages of the human sexual response cycle, which are EXCITEMENT, PLATEAU, ORGASM and RESOLUTION. So presumably the “two others” are SEXUAL and STAGE. Thanks to all those (Sil van den Hoek being the first) to point out that the “two others” are JOHNSON and MASTERS, authors of “Human Sexual Response” which suggested these four stages.
Across
1. Evangelist’s working as a lexicographer (7)
JOHNSON
JOHN’S = “Evangelist’s” + ON = “working”
Definition: “lexicographer”
5. Sexy and fat: recipe for power (7)
RAUNCHY
PAUNCHY = “fat” with R = “recipe” for P = “power” – the R is from the Latin “recipe”, as used to be put at the top of prescriptions, something I only know from crosswords
Definition: “Sexy”
10. Hairy man in the sauna (4)
ESAU
Hidden in “thE SAUna”
Definition: “Hairy man” from the book of Genesis: “my brother Esau is a hairy man”
11. 16 1’s passion shown by former setter after drinking it (10)
EXCITEMENT
EX = “former” + CEMENT = “setter” around IT
Definitions: “[STAGE] 1” and “passion”
12. Dodgy 10 out of 10 learner’s able to reproduce by pairing up (6)
SEXUAL
(ESAU)* = “Dodgy [ESAU]” around X = “10” + L = “learner”
Definition: “able to reproduce by pairing up”
13. Suggestion hotel uniform gets done differently (8)
INNUENDO
INN = “hotel” + U = “uniform” + (DONE)* = “done differently”
Definition: “Suggestion”
14. TV programme producer starts to tackle this one particular odour during intercourse (3-3,3)
SET-TOP BOX
TTOP = “starts to T[ackle] T[his] O[ne] P[articular]” + BO = “odour” in SEX = “intercourse”
Definition: “TV programme producer”
16. Put on Men Only revue at last (5)
STAGE
STAG = “Men Only” + [revu]E = “revue at last”
Definition: “Put on”
17. Childless set spread out (5)
SPLAY
SP (“sine prole”) = “Childless” + LAY = “set”
Definition: “spread out”
19. Most orchards (more than half) rent spaces online (4,5)
CHAT ROOMS
(MOST ORCHA)* – “rent” is the anagram indicator
Definition: “spaces online”
23. Intravenously inject drug that has mother-in-law, not a wife, in ecstasy (8)
MAINLINE
MA = “mother” + IN + L[aw] = “law, not a wife” + IN + E = “ecstasy”
Definition: “Intravenously inject drug”
24. 16 3’s earth mover, perhaps, for gas main’s housing (6)
ORGASM
Hidden in “[f]OR GAS M[ain]”
Definitions: “[STAGE] 3” and “earth mover, perhaps”
26. 16 4’s determination to get fifth letter in right answer (10)
RESOLUTION
E = “fifth letter” (of the alphabet) in R = “right” + SOLUTION = “answer”
Definitions: “[STAGE] 4” and “determination”
27. Hen party’s warning sign? (4)
OMEN
There would typically be 0 MEN at a Hen Party
Definition: “warning sign?”
28. Number cruncher’s tip (7)
HUNDRED
C[runcher] = “cruncher’s tip” and C is a hundred in Roman numerals
Definition: “Number”
29. Quality of water nurse added into stew on return (7)
WETNESS
SEN (“state enrolled nurse”) = “nurse” in STEW, all reversed
Definition: “Quality of water”
Down
2. Blue baby’s odd part in oxygen row (7)
OBSCENE
B = “baby’s odd part” (all the odd letters of “baby” are B) in O = “oxygen” + SCENE = “row”
Definition: “Blue”
3. Gold vase turned up outside island republic (5)
NAURU
AU = “Gold” with URN = “vase” reversed around it
Definition: “island republic”
4. Partly cover balls on 16 (7)
OVERLAP
OVER = “balls” + LAP = “[STAGE]” – a lap would be a stage of a race, I suppose?
Definition: “Partly cover”
6. On 16, suffering with persistent pain — time for hospital (6)
ACTING
ACHING = “suffering with persistent pain” but with T = “time” instead of H = “hospital”
Definition: “On [STAGE]”
7. Deputy feeling less well also, we hear (6,3)
NUMBER TWO
NUMBER (as in “more numb”) + TWO = “also, we hear” – sounds like “too”
Definition: “Deputy”
8. Suspend setter? Guilty, by the look of it (7)
HANGDOG
HANG = “Suspend” + DOG = “setter?”
Definition: “Guilty, by the look of it”
9. Unstable condition of zip, with her chinos badly affected, originally (13)
SCHIZOPHRENIA
(ZIP HER CHINOS)* followed by A[ffected] = “affected, originally”
Definition: “Unstable condition”
15. Undefined number carried by rail, coming in to a scheduled terminus? (9)
TRAINLOAD
(A nice &lit!) N = “Undefined number” in RAIL, in TO A, followed by [schedule]D = “scheduled terminus”
Definition: the whole clue
18. 16 2’s high-level flat Paul cooked meal in (7)
PLATEAU
(PAUL)* around TEA = “meal”
Definitions: “[STAGE] 2” and “high-level flat”
20. Severely punish counter-revolutionary (7)
TROUNCE
(COUNTER)*
Definition: “Severely punish”
21. Gets to grips with maiden’s top and bloomers (7)
MASTERS
M[aiden] = “maiden’s top” + ASTERS = “bloomers”
Definition: “Gets to grips with”
22. Doctor is sued for neglect (6)
DISUSE
(IS SUED)*
Definition: “neglect”
25. Outcry as organ explodes (5)
GROAN
(ORGAN)*
Definition: “Outcry”
Thanks, mhl.
Now take a good look at your Wikipedia article.
And it will be clear that “the other two” are Johnson & Masters (i.e. 1ac and 21d).
Yes on Johnson and Masters. Another possible twosome would be 12 and 13 Across – but that’d be way more than four :-).
Thank you for the blog mhl and get well soon.
The authors, as usual the man comes first, Masters and Johnson are the subjects of a television series currently on Channel 4 which may have been the inspiration for this very good puzzle.
Thanks for 17a – not knowing SP, I wasted lots of time trying to convince myself that it was CHILDSPLAY minus CHILD, and not getting a satisfactory result.
Many thanks mhl.
I was sorry to learn that you have been ill but it clearly hasn’t affected your usual excellent blog.
I didn’t have any idea about those Special Instructions which I now see were simply a waste of space.
Thought some of the clues were great especially 28a where I had the answer but couldn’t see the reason why until the next morning.
I went down the Sexual Innuendo route with “Johnson” but began to struggle after that. Thought the instructions were too vague.
Enjoyed the rest though.
Thanks for the blog, particularly for explaining RAUNCHY, which eluded me. I was defeated by TRAINLOAD, which isn’t in Chambers, but the wordplay is clear enough.
Get well soon.
Puck is always entertaining, and this was no exception, and hope it won’t fall foul of too many of the easily offended. Agree with Sil @1 that Masters and Johnson were the “two others” – had Masters quite early, looked for and found Johnson after that, and the rest fell into place nicely, though I couldn’t have named the four steps in the cycle, the clues to those weren’t too obscure.
Thanks to Puck and mhl
I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. I didn’t know the MASTERS and JOHNSON connection to the four themed answers, and there were quite a few other sexual references. I seem to remember that SPLAY was my LOI after PLATEAU.
Thanks to everyone for pointing out that I didn’t make the link to JOHNSON and MASTERS – I’ve edited the post to make that right.
Thanks for the blog. I thought that the special instructions were redundant here, since the four solutions were adequately defined without the Stage markers. As it was I picked out the wrong two others anyway, and it didn’t stop me solving the puzzle.
Thanks Puck for the excellent puzzle and mhl for helpful blog (do hope you are better soon).
Nothing offensive here that I can see. Really enjoyed the puzzle, loved MASTERS!
I enjoyed this although I didn’t know/remember the four stages so I puzzled over why 18dn was PLATEAU,which it clearly was. I did get MASTERS and JOHNSON early on so I got the general idea. I loved OMEN and struggled over the equally admirable HUNDRED.
Thanks Puck and get well soon Mel.
Thanks mhl. A very entertaining puzzle from Puck with lots of clever clues. I got Masters and Johnson quite quickly
but didn’t know about the four stages. No-one yet has admitted to putting SPRAY instead of SPLAY but I’m sure many did.
Being mainly sine Latin, I didn’t know sine prole so guessed SPRAY. How common is the phrase sine prole ?. Sounds like
it might be a legal term. Many thanks to Puck.
Thanks mhl and Puck, a good puzzle.
I don’t think there was any need for the special instructions as they were neither helpful nor necessary, they just got in the way of an otherwise excellent puzzle. Without them this would have been a great example of how to make a theme unobtrusive to the puzzle: it is there if you want it; the puzzle works just as well without it.
Thanks to mhl (get well soon) for the blog, and to others for your comments.
Re the special instructions: I submitted the puzzle without any, as I didn’t think any were needed, but some were added at the editing stage. I wasn’t happy with the initial suggestions, which referred to either “the works of 21 and 1” or “the works of two eminent sexologists”. I thought these potentially signposted the theme much too obviously, so came up with the published version with the idea that it might help some solvers either to complete the puzzle or to spot the source of the theme on completion. From the comments so far, it would seem it might have been better if I had argued to go with my original feeling to have no special instructions at all and, as PeeDee @ 15 suggests, to allow the theme to unfold unannounced. Any further comments one way or the other would be welcomed.
I wasn’t offended, but I wish setters would avoid sexual and scatological themes for the benefit of those of us for whom solving is a family activity. Anyway, too many write-ins in this one for a prize puzzle.
I’ve been out all day, so nothing to add, except thanks to mhl [get well soon] and to Puck, especially for dropping in with the clarification of the special instructions, which hadn’t seemed to me very Puck-like
I agree entirely with PeeDee: I think you definitely should have stuck to your guns – this is the second example of iappropriate / unnecessary editing this week. [See Tramp’s comment on his puzzle on Wednesday.]
Puck @16 – thanks for dropping in – I agree that the puzzle would have worked fine without the special instruction – that would probably not have made it any more difficult.
Thanks all
Yes, no instructions needed. I did not get too aroused by this but found it mildly enjoyable.
Was the mention of sex just toomuch for the editor who lost his head and collapsed in a shivering mass,and just had to write something as a cold douche?
What a wonderful puzzle which I really enjoyed. I’m with the editor on this. I earnt that extra level of enjoyment (and feeling of satisfaction!) on completing the puzzle that I might have overlooked without the rubric. I haven’t watched the TV series but knew who Masters and Johnson were (a friend at Uni reading Psychology had to ‘do’ them in her first year). But didn’t know the Stages were theirs.
Great crossword all ways round.
Davy@14. One often finds “ob. sp.” on family trees meaning the person died without issue.
mihi – what a beautiful blog!
Get well soon. As my mother would have observed – it will set you up for the winter!
Thanks Puck and mhl
Great crossword this!
As I often do, I started this forgetting about the instructions … taking note of them about half way through. Must have been having dull moments, because, even though I saw the sexual references throughout the grid, I still didn’t see their context until after I’d finished and reviewed the puzzle! The four solutions all had ‘self contained’ clues to me.
Took an age to see why 28a, my last in, was HUNDRED. Found that SET TOP BOX, MAINLINE and TRAINLOAD were also challenging to parse.
Great blog mhl and all the best for your hopefully quick recovery.