(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) Tough in a couple of spots, but managed in the end, though there’s one parsing I’m not sure of. Thanks to Crucible. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
9 Crudely satirical opponent of 6 11? (9)
RACIALIST : Anagram of(Crudely) SATIRICAL.
Defn: I presume the “Crudely satirical” and “?” are part of the definition, otherwise it doesn’t make sense, as “race” is quite different from “species”.
10 Organise Ireland’s part in first Japanese issue (5)
NISEI : Hidden in(…’s part) “Organise Ireland“.
Answer: The first generation of children to be born in the US and Canada of Japanese immigrants.
11 Family member that’s wearing glasses (7)
SPECIES : I.E.(abbrev. of “id est”; that is) contained in(wearing) SPECS(short for spectacles; glasses to correct vision).
Answer: In biology, a species is one of a number that make up a genus, a number of which in turn make up a family, in taxonomic classification system.
12 Sea cow’s bottom’s first to come out (7)
EMANATE : “manatee”(the sea cow;the dugong) with its last letter(…’s bottom) going to the front(…’s first;is first).
13 Study English novelist of the Victorian era (5)
READE : READ(to study, as at university, say) + E(abbrev. for “English”).
Answer: Charles, best known for his novel, The Cloister and the Hearth.
14 I wouldn’t bet on these 6 11 (9)
OUTSIDERS : Double defn: 1st: Long shots, eg. in a race, that one might not want to lay a bet on; and 2nd: What the native population might consider (the answers to) 6 down 11 across.
16 Top story gets this clear and the rest get too old (7,8)
BLANKET COVERAGE : BLANK(clear;empty) + ETC(abbrev. for “et cetera”;and the rest of a list of related items) plus(get) [OVER AGE](too old;above the age for whatever it is).
19 What 9s do for soil? (9)
DISCOLOUR : [DIS(slang for “to belittle”) COLOUR(as a racial characteristic) ](what racialists do to other races).
Defn: To dirty;to stain.
21 They rescue 11 and scrap bats (5)
RSPCA : Anagram of(scrap) BATS.
Answer: Abbrev. for the Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, part of whose purpose is to rescue (some) animal species (answer to 11 across).
22 Make balls of hands in lap (5,2)
SCREW UP : CREW(a group of workers;hands) contained in(in) SUP(to lap;to drink).
Defn: To balls up.
23 Its giant 11’s toxic in corner pot (7)
HOGWEED : HOG(to corner;to take more than one’s share of) + WEED(like “pot”, another slang word for marijuana).
Answer: The giant hogweed, a phototoxic plant, is a species (answer to 11 across) of the genus, hogweed.
24 A short distance in, say, round (5)
GIMME : Cryptic defn: In a round of, say, golf, a gimme is a putt of a short distance that is “given” to a player by his/her opponent as it is considered too easy to miss.
25 Slow progress, as indicated by conducting faster? (9)
TEMPORISE : Cryptic defn: The resulting of conducting faster is to raise the tempo.
Answer: To slow down progress in a debate or discussion in order to gain time.
Down
1 Abridged Plain Words copy editor outlawed (10)
PROSCRIBED : “prose”(plain words, as opposed to verse) minus its last letter(Abridged …) + CRIB(to copy as a form of cheating, eg. in tests) + ED(abbrev. for “editor”).
2 After school, swimming team ace models (8)
SCHEMATA : SCH(abbrev. for “school”) placed before(After …) anagram of(swimming) TEAM + A(abbrev. for “ace”, the playing card).
3 Gershwin’s last musical’s about local (6)
NATIVE : The last letter of(…’s last) “Gershwin” + reversal of(…’s about) EVITA(the Rice-Webber musical).
4 Regular doings with spades (4)
DIGS : The 1st, 3rd and 5th letters of(Regular) “doings ” plus(with) S(abbrev. for the playing card suit, spades).
Defn: What are regularly achieved with the use of the implements, spades. A WIWD(wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
5 Badger resorted to exit by road (6,4)
STREET DOOR : Anagram of(Badger) RESORTED TO.
6 Van is out at 4.15, popping up everywhere (8)
INVASIVE : Anagram of(… out) VAN IS plus(at) IV(Roman numeral for 4) + E(I’m guessing here: abbrev. for “east”, the direction to which a clock hand showing the 15 minutes past the hour is pointing).
7 Progenitor of some 6 11 duck (6)
ESCAPE : Double defn: 1st: In botany, a plant that has “escaped” from its original area of cultivation, and start as an invasive species in another environment; and 2nd: To avoid.
8 Reintroduced bird and fox cub close to home (4)
KITE : KIT(the young of a fox) + the last letter of(close to) “home “.
Answer: The red kite was reintroduced in parts of the UK after being almost hunted to extinction.
14 Beat favourite in effect (10)
OUTCOMPETE : PET(a favourite) contained in(in) OUTCOME(the resulting effect of a cause).
15 Put on light after untidy desk’s cleared out (10)
SKEDADDLED : [ ADD(to put on) + LED(abbrev. for “light-emitting diode”) ] placed below(after, in a down clue) anagram of(untidy) DESK.
17 Granny, for instance, got rid of water in plant (8)
KNOTWEED : KNOT(an example of which;for instance, is the granny) + WEED(got rid of your urine).
18 Order pudding (5,3)
APPLE PIE : Double defn: 1st: Adjective applied to “order” to denote perfect order or tidiness.
20 Model who lost weight’s not much of a catch (6)
SHRIMP : “Shrimpton”(Jean, model icon of the 60s) minus(who lost) “ton”(unit measure of weight in the Imperial system).
21 What Japanese 11 of 17 do, perhaps, right in line (6)
REGROW : [ EG(abbrev. for “exempli gratia”;for example;perhaps) + R(abbrev. for “right”) ] contained in(in) ROW(an arrangement of persons or things in a line).
Answer: The very resilient Japanese knotweed, a species of the knotweed genus, vigorously resprouts from its roots. But what weed does not?
22 Greenhouse gas ultimately built up in plant (4)
SAGE : Reversal of(… built up, in a down clue) the last 4 letters of(… ultimately) “Greenhouse gas “.
23 House doctor’s 6 11 (4)
HOMO : HO(abbrev. for “house”) + MO(abbrev. for “medical officer”, a doctor, especially in the military).
Answer: The genus that includes the various species of homonids, including homo sapiens, the most successful invasive species so far, having spread out from its origins in Africa. There is some debate as to whether it’s invasive or not, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t be considered so.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks, scchua.
I puzzled over the E in 6dn, too and came to the same conclusion as you.
As usual, I enjoyed this puzzle from Crucible and had a weird feeling as the rather unusual theme emerged. Before my paper arrived, while still in bed, I had heard ‘Farming Today’ on the radio. They are running a series on 6,11 this week and today’s focus was on 23ac. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n62js. I found that rather spooky.
[I’m not saying this was the intention but, if we do a bit of ‘lifting and separating’ in ‘greenhouse’ in 22dn, we have a second definition.]
Many thanks, as ever, to Crucible, for an intriguing and enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks scchua
24ac is not simply a cryptic def. It is an &lit with 1MM (a short distance) in a reversal (round) of EG (say).
Not really my cup of tea, though I liked a number of the clues, especially GIMME. I share the general sense of reservation about 15 being clued as E – even in a clock context.
Interesting that there are rare, species of ‘hidden’ clues in both the Times and the Guardian today. Maybe Gladwell will write a book about them.
HOMO would be an invasive genus, surely?
Tricky but fun in places, however the SE corner defeated me.
In 6dn 15=quarter=e for east?
If 10 across ends in “t” & 12 across ends in “e” how do you get KITE for 8 down ?
Yes, I read 4.15 as “a quarter after four.” Thanks, Crucible and scchua. Looking forward to the picture quiz.
Thanks Crucible and scchua
I enjoyed this, seem to have been more on Crucible’s wavelength than is generally the case.
RuaridhR @ 6: 10 ends in I not T
hth
Thanks Crucible and scchua
Enjoyed this, liked EMANATE and INVASIVE. I’m looking forward to the picture quiz.
As regards 1a, the OCED gives race 4 a genus, species, breed or variety of animals, plants or micro-organisms. All the same, think Crucible was right to put the question mark.
Thanks, scchua.
Quite tricky but very rewarding puzzle.
I couldn’t satisfactorily parse the E at the end of INVASIVE: IanSW3@7 suggests 4.15 = ‘a quarter after four’, which is the most satisfying rendition for me.
Very clever clueing here, with a lot of ingenious charades and containers. My favourites were SPECIES (lovely construction and surface), GIMME (great &lit) and STREET DOOR (how beautifully misleading to have ‘resorted’ as part of the anagram fodder rather than the anagrind).
Disappointed not to see any SIGNAL CRAYFISH or WATER HYACINTH…..
I agree. IV + E = a quarter (east) past/after four
It took me so long to understand the parsing of this clue. I was pretty proud of myself when the penny dropped.
I was puzzled by this in that there are some well-written clues, so the setter really knows how to write! But there are some awful ones too. This is odd.
I found the whole ‘invasive species’ thing fanciful at best, and there were things I don’t like, such as THAT’S being used for i.e. which is simply incorrect, and not excused as a Guardianism: I did not see 24 as &lit because it is not specific enough, and ‘with species’ does not define correctly in 4d. Et cetera.
Trying too hard this one, for me.
Thanks Crucible for a tough but entertaining puzzle.
Thanks scchua for the first definition of ESCAPE – my biology is more molecular than botanical. I like Eileen’s suggestion of another definition for SAGE. I don’t think the ‘best known for his novel, The Cloister and the Hearth,’ helped much with Charles READE.
I liked Granny getting rid of water. 😉
@12
I don’t see how you could define gimme more specifically than in 24a – it even acknowledges that it doesn’t have to be in a golf round (which it doesn’t). In fact the definition was obvious enough for the blogger to miss the &lit altogether and parse it as a CD!
4d is an &lit too. The definition is “regular doings with spades”, not “with spades” (I assume that’s what you meant).
Also I think I’ve asked before but could you (or anyone) explain why i.e. (that’s “id est” abbreviated), can’t be translated as “that’s” (i.e. “that is” abbreviated)? Etymology apart, I have used “that’s” and “i.e.” to mean the same thing in the previous sentence (in brackets) and I don’t see anything eccentric in it, the distinction between “that is” and “that’s” in this case being stylistic, as far as I can see.
Thank you, sschua.
Didn’t spot the IV + E gag in INVASIVE; rather neat, I think.
As Gaufrid says, GIMME is an &Lit so I think one can forgive the double duty of “round”.
Fascinated to learn Issei, Nisei, & Sansei – being the original Japanese immigrant couple in a foreign country; and the 1st & 2nd offspring thereof respectively.
Didn’t care for HOMO at first sight but now think it is rather good.
Hedgehoggy @12 educate me, please – what’s wrong with “that’s = ie”?
Many thanks Crucible, well constructed puzzle.
I came up with a rather convoluted parsing for 6dn: I think some people would say “a quarter of five” instead of “a quarter to five” for 4:45, therefore 4:15 might be “three quarters of five”?
The “quarter after IV” suggestion seems more straightforward though!
I found this very hard despite finding 6,11 early on.
Partly because I couldn’t connect very well to the multi-layered theme.
An altogether cleverly constructed puzzle, though.
GIMME and SHRIMP were my last two in (for which I needed some external help).
In some posts above we see a returning issue: id est, i.e., that is, that’s.
And actually, I don’t know what’s right or acceptable here.
There was a time that I was absolutely sure that it should be “that is”. But when I saw Nimrod [who can hardly be faulted] using “that’s” in an Indy puzzle, I began to have doubts again. I am a bit of a yo-yo in this matter.
My alter ego recently wrote a crossword with “i.e.” in it. He first used “that is”, then changed it into “that’s” only because it sounded better within the surface. But he is still not sure.
Crucible, however, could easily have used “that is” which makes clear that for him it doesn’t make too much difference.
Nice crossword that felt more like a Radian than a Crucible.
That said, we’re of course talking about one and the same (excellent) setter.
Nothing wrong with Crucible but I must admit that I am still hoping (in silence) for the day that a Crucible will appear that feels like a Redshank.
[to anyone who doesn’t understand what I mean: just ignore my words]
Thanks scchua.
Because we never SAY ‘that’s’ to mean ID EST, that’s why. The two senses are different, as should be fairly obvious in any case. The really silly thing about it is that correct usage here (and maybe elsewhere?) doesn’t adversely affect the surface reading of the clue!
On the &lits okay, I was mistaken. With QMs appended they would be fine (still not quite convinced that ‘a short distance’ is really a GIMME), so sorry.
Found this quite tricky but fairly enjoyable. Last in was ESCAPE – wasn’t familiar with the second definition so couldn’t parse that. Also struggled a bit with GIMME and SAGE. NISEI was new to me but fairly clued.
The solution above is missing the first T in OUTCOMPETE.
Thanks to Crucible and scchua
Thanks all
enjoyable, I failed to get kite or parse escape.
Favourite 21 across.
I didn’t think 10ac was fairly clued. Nisei isn’t a Japanese word per se, it just means “second generation”. So to get there from “first Japanese issue” took me a while. I found the theme related clues in this particularly difficult, but many others, like 16ac, were very enjoyable.
Thanks Crucible and scchua
Didn’t enjoy this much. First pass – nothing, second pass got INVASIVE (I went straight away for IV E being 4 and a quarter). Eventually gave up on the NISEI/ESCAPE crossers.
I don’t see how HOMO can be described as “species”, invasive or otherwise (I’m reminded of Ambrose Bierce’s definition of “MAN, n.
An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth and Canada.”) The “man” he refers to is of course the species Homo sapiens.
SHRIMP needs solvers to be “of a certain age”, I would think.
I know that we have argued this lots of times before, but I still can’t accept a non-pronounceable acronym such as RSPCA being enumerated as (5).
I did like KITE and KNOTWEED.
Enjoyable but challenging, and I love “a quarter after four” now that it has been explained to me. “hands in lap” and GIMME were lovely too.
“That’s” doesn’t seem a problem, but I accept that it is for some. Everyone’s example usage @14 seemed fair enough to me. And in this crossword anyway it was a write-in because of glasses=specs.
I feel like definding Crucible on a couple of quibbles:
muffin @22 – I’d heard of Jean Shrimpton but she was way before my time. No problems with RSPCA because it was obvious we weren’t looking for a pronounceable anagram once the P was in place.
HKColin @21 – for me NISEI was an obvious thing to check once the N and I were in place, and a hidden answer is one of the easiest ways to clue an obscure word.
As for that’s, I think that is a losing battle and I think IE every time I see it.
In my earlier reply I should have mentioned that I liked EMANATE, and (as someone has aleady pointed out on the Guardian site) Giant Hogweed is familiar to fans of Gabriel-era Genesis. Japanese knotweed is a popular subject in the media, so I didn’t feel any specialist botanical knowledge was necessary.
Thanks Gaufrid (doh! I saw 4 down but not 24 across), rob/Ian SW3 (for 6 down), and beery hiker (typo now corrected).
But, just one more time, ‘that’s’ only means THAT IS in a particular context. You can’t shorten the translation of ID EST down like that because the sense is different. It is WRONG!
Sorry to be so erinaceous!
An early start on a short bus trip yielded almost nothing, though RSPCA was part of it so I knew there was something animal-y going on. Back home, much later, 6 11 soon fell and almost everything slotted into space quickly. Just a few clues held me up; ESCAPE needed checking, not twigging the alternative meaning, and SHRIMP / GIMME – annoying really, as there are few models I can name (indeed I assumed it was some other meaning of ‘model’) and Jean Shrimpton is one of them. GIMME last in.
Quite a clever theme. There is some debate amongst naturalists whether it’s akin to racism to seek to eradicate ‘alien’ invasive species (I think I recall some recent Guardian letters). I wonder if it’s that which sparked Crucible’s puzzle?
22dn? Lift and separate?
Second definition?
Sorry, still don’t get it.
Could someone please elucidate for a mere mortal.
Thanks.
I do understand what you’re saying hedgehoggy, but you are thinking of “that’s” in the clue as standing for “that is”, which then stands for “i.e.”.
What about if you think instead of “that’s” being a direct synonym for “i.e.” (in other words, cut out the “that is” link in the {that’s -> that is -> i.e.} chain?
In Everyone’s example @14
explain why i.e. (that’s “id est” abbreviated),
is synonymous for
explain why i.e. (i.e. “id est” abbreviated),
You wouldn’t argue that the first version isn’t perfectly common usage, and also that both versions are synonymous, therefore it is legitimate in a crossword context to use “that’s” as an indication to replace it with its synonym “IE”.
Bearing in mind of course that none of this really matters. 🙂
jaceris @28
I don’t understand what the “ultimately” is doing – the clue work better without it, I think. It’s just a hidden word backwards (upwards, or “built up”) in greenhousE GAS.
Hedghoggy (passim), what are these senses of that’s and i.e. that are so obviously different? They both mean “that is.” Even if they may be used in different contexts (though you cite no examples), they can be used interchangeably in at least one context (as ably demonstrated by Everyone), which is sufficient. Can you explain to those of us to whom it isn’t obvious what it is you’re on about?
jaceris @28
What Eileen meant was
SAGE is also the colour green
So if you split off “green” you get
Green = house gas ultimately built up = plant
But she was just playing with it.
Re 23d – Homo is the human genus, not species.
Quite right, Limeni – I was just playing. 😉
Eileen @34 et al
Interesting though – “greenhouse gas” is needed for the surface, but do you think the “sage green” is happy accident or deliberate?
………though I still don’t see why the clue needs “ultimately”.
I didn’t finish this and I didn’t enjoy it much. I didn’t get SAGE,GIMME or HOMO. I didn’t put ESCAPE in because I thought it rather weak. Indeed a lot of it was sloppy despite the occasional cleverness.
Worst puzzle for quite some time.
muffin @36:
Strictly speaking you are right.
But.
As just a hidden it is not fully inside ‘greenhouse gas’.
Yes, it’s in there but not really inside, having something around it, if you see what I mean.
I think that’s why Crucible decided to reverse the final part of the clue rather than seeing this as a hidden.
Personally, I am with Crucible here.
It’s perhaps a matter of taste.
A couple of days ago, we had “Carry into temptation” in the Otterden puzzle. To make it work one has indeed to split into into in/to (phew!). Very inelegant, in my opinion, as into could have been a hidden indicator too. And also because the solution (TOTE) is ‘carried’ by ‘into temptation’. Anyway, if you make that split you’ll get: in TO TEMPTATION. Yes, it’s in there but just like in today’s puzzle it is on the edge of it (which I personally do not like very much).
Sil @ 38
I see what you mean – it would be “inside” the (meaningless) “greenhouse gash”.
Do you think the “sage green” is co-incidence?
22down,ultimately because solution is reverse of last 4 letters of greenhouse gas
LBT @ 40
Yes. but superfluous as the “upwards hidden” indicator is already given, isn’t it? O think Sil’s point about it not being entirely contained is more apposite.
………….and wouldn’t “herb” have been more precise than “plant”?
15 is written as E in hexadecimal notation. Better than 4.15 is twisted to be east.
muffin @42
‘herb’ would be easier…but don’t forget, the surface is meant to read that the offending gas has built up within an industrial facility, or ‘plant’ .
Late to the party, but right up my street, this one.
Thx both
poppicker @ 43
No it isn’t, it’s F
Ooooooh, sexy hexy!
15 is indeed “F”
As in “4700 000F”
21 across is just WRONG. The RSPCA DO NOT rescue species. They rescue individual animals. The WWF might try and rescue species. The RSPCA do not. Wrong wrong wrong and it annoyed me. No-one else seems to have picked up on this here or in the Guardian comments.
Thanks Crucible and scchua.
I only just got around to this late last night. I also couldn’t fathom the E in INVASIVE and I’m still not entirely satisfied with any of the explanations here. I mean, if it’s meant to be a quarter after four that’s a time, so shouldn’t the notation be “4:15″rather than “4.15”?
Oh well, let’s see what today’s puzzle has in store…
Elizabeth Parsons @48, think it was such a batty clue that no one took it seriously; for a start, bats are protected.
I thought 23d might have been ‘HEMP’ (House + Emergency Medical Practitioner).
Thanks Crucible and scchua
Found this in my backlog pile and only got to it yesterday. Found it pretty tough with an interesting theme and lots of variety on how one got the answer.
Had left the E in INVASIVE unparsed … and very clever with ‘quarter after four’ as the way … with a number of other innovative attempts listed here. Didn’t see the alternate letter DIGS at 4d – had assume that it was just a cd. Also didn’t see the slick E-1mm-G at 24a.
Made an error with ‘dishonour’ instead of DISCOLOUR at 19a – was looking at the 10- ace cards being the honours in cards (so the 9 may be a dishonour 🙁 ) … and a RACIALIST may ‘dishonour the soil’ of his victims. Not great … and as it turns out not right!
A complex challenge which was most enjoyable.