Radian is occupying this week’s Tuesday slot, and it is a while since I last solved and blogged one of his puzzles.
I generally find that, for me at least, Radian’s puzzles are pitched at exactly the right level for a daily cryptic: a decent workout, but not too difficult and with no excess of obscure vocabulary and cultural references.
This time, however, I needed to do quite a lot of sniffing around in reference books and online to sort out why the answers were what they were (Monk at 19, the battle at 2, etc), since I was pretty sure I had arrived at a correct completed grid. I am still not convinced of my parsing of 15.
For a long time, I did not appreciate the significance of the long entry at 9, although I think I’ve sussed it out now and, indeed, think that Radian has come up with quite an original idea for a theme. Perhaps there are other centenaries alluded to in the completed grid that have passed me by??
My favourite clues today were 16/25, for its smoothest of surfaces; 18, for its clever composite construction; and 23, for its deceptive definition.
(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | PIEBALD | Pinto pony’s head that’s smooth
P<ony> (“head” means first letter only) + I.E. (=that’s, in Latin) + BALD (=smooth) |
| 05 | TREMBLE | Top singer strangles Mozart’s first quaver
M<ozart> (“first” means first letter only) in TREBLE (= “top” singer, in terms of vocal range) |
| 10 | DODO | Did it originally die out twice?
D<ie> O<ut> (“originally” means first letters only) x 2 (=twice); the wording refers to something, here the dodo bird from Mauritius, becoming extinct |
| 11 | UNWAVERING | Resolute peacekeepers fly across state
UN (=peacekeepers, i.e. United Nations) + [AVER (=state, affirm) in WING (=fly, as verb)] |
| 12 | EIGHTH | Thigh ordered by the quarter? Half that
E (=quarter, on compass) + *(THIGH); “ordered” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | NOTATION | Jacques cut midday music in bars
TATI (=Jacques, i.e. French film-maker) in NOON (=midday) |
| 14 | SALAD DAYS | Carefree youth, once a pint-sized star in States
A LADD (=once a pint-sized star, i.e. the diminutive American actor Alan Ladd) in SAYS (=states, utters) |
| 16/25 | MAGNA CARTA | Charter catamaran to be deployed around Gulf
G (=Gulf) in *(CATAMARAN); “deployed” is anagram indicator; the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter”, was signed 800 years ago in 1215 |
| 17 | AMBIT | Move on board, heading off to find compass
<g>AMBIT (=move on board, in chess); “heading off” means first letter dropped; “ambit” is compass, range, scope |
| 19 | TIMPANIST | After short period Monk, say, ignores one drummer
TIM<e> (=period; “short” means last letter dropped) + P<i>ANIST (=Monk, say, i.e. the American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, not the Indy crossword setter; “ignores one (=I)” means letter “i” is dropped); a timpanist is someone who plays the timpani or orchestral kettledrums |
| 23 | TEA CHEST | Leaves box and coaches close to street
TEACHES (=coaches, educates) + <stree>T (“close to” means last letter only); cryptically, a “tea chest” is “a (tea) leaves box” |
| 24 | LYCEUM | Where Lucy danced with me in 70s?
*(LUCY + ME); “danced” is anagram indicator; the reference is to the Lyceum Theatre in London, known as the Lyceum Ballroom in the 1970s, hence “danced” |
| 26 | AT FULL PELT | How tanners work to maximise profit, i.e. hell for leather
Cryptically, a tanner would work at a full, not part, pelt to maximise his profit |
| 27 | REIN | Check rule head of government scrapped
REI<g>N (=rule); “head of government (=G) scrapped” means letter “g” is dropped |
| 28 | RIOT ACT | It quelled unrest in port, thanks to court
RIO (=port, in Brazil) + TA (=thanks) + CT (=court, in addresses); the reference is to the Act adopted by the British Parliament 300 years ago in 1715, designed to prevent riotous assemblies |
| 29 | EXHAUST | Picked up tyre as well as another car part
“(to) exhaust” is “(to) tire”, a homophone of “tyre” |
| Down | ||
| 02 | IWO JIMA | In waters off Japan, island Marines attacked initially
I<n> W<aters> O<ff> J<apan> I<sland> M<arines> A<ttacked>; “initially” means first letters only; Iwo Jima is a Japanese island, the site of a World War II American victory in 1945 |
| 03 | BOOTH | Stand in western cemetery, badly neglected
BOOT H<ill> (=western cemetery, i.e. in the American West); “badly (=ILL) neglected” means the letters “ill” are dropped |
| 04 | LAUGHED | Huge lad cracked up? Yes
*(HUGE LAD); “cracked up” is anagram indicator |
| 06 | RIVETS | Is fascinating teacher coming up to collect doctor?
VET (=doctor, for animals) in RIS (SIR=teacher; “coming up” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 07 | MARK TWAIN | Writer’s trade, lacking energy, is on the wane, say
MARK<e>T (=trade; “lacking energy (=E)” means letter “e” dropped) + WAIN (homophone – “say” – of “wane”); the reference is to US writer and humourist Mark Twain (1835-1910) |
| 08 | LINCOLN | Limo left officer in pub
L (=left) + [COL (=officer, i.e. colonel) in INN (=pub)]; the reference is to the Lincoln Motor Company, manufacturer of e.g. limos |
| 09 | TWENTY FIFTEEN | A quarter past eight, time to recall some lights here
20:15 is “a quarter past eight” in the evening; the year 2015 is an opportunity to recall the Magna Carta (=entry at 16/25), the Riot Act (=entry at 28), the Battle of Agincourt (=entry at 15) … |
| 15 | AGINCOURT | King competed thus in battle
English King Henry V competed “agin (the) Court” of French King Charles, i.e. an army of noblemen |
| 18 | MAESTRI | Best timekeepers in West Street, Rhode Island
MAE (=West, old actress) + ST (=street) + RI (=Rhode Island); cryptically, maestri are top conductors, hence musical “timekeepers” |
| 20 | POLL TAX | Toll devised during peace as source of revenue
*(TOLL) in PAX (=peace); “devised” is anagram indicator |
| 21 | STUDIOS | Boss lives over old workshops
STUD (=boss, of shield) + [O (=old) in IS (=lives)] |
| 22 | BELLOC | US writer’s wife ousted by college poet
BELLO<w> (=US writer, i.e. Saul Bellow, born in 1915; “wife (=W) ousted” means letter “w” is dropped) + C (=college); the reference is to Anglo-French poet Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) |
Thanks RR. I think you mean Henry V in your explanantion of AGINCOURT, an answer that I confess I biffed. I also biffed TWENTY FIFTEEN because I didn’t notice the centenary mini-theme, which is quite annoying because I like to think that history is one of my stronger areas of interest.
Despite the above I thought it was towards the easier end of Radian’s spectrum, but a very enjoyable solve nonetheless.
Other anniversaries…
BOOTH killed LINCOLN in 1865
AGINCOURT 1415
POLL TAX riots 1990
Clever, inventive and enjoyable puzzle. Tuesday in the Indy is usually ‘theme day’, so I was on the look out for something, but TWENTY FIFTEEN was one of my last ones in, so it was only then that I twigged that it would be centenaries that we were looking for. I think you’ve listed them all, RR, but there could be others that we’ve missed.
I parsed AGINCOURT like you did.
The clue for MAGNA CARTA was very good indeed. Bravo, Radian for the puzzle and thanks to RR for his usual excellent blog.
Thanks, RR.
What a delight! As K’s D says, clever, inventive and enjoyable – and totally absorbing. I was sent hunting for any possible anniversary – Mark Twain? [1835-1910 – not quite]; Hilaire Belloc? [1870-1953]; the first production of one of my favourite musicals, ‘Salad days’? [I thought it might be 1955, but no – 1954] – and, of course, I was on the look-out for Trafalgar, but if there’s any reference to that it’s too subtle for me.
Many thanks to Radian for once again setting me up for the day – I loved it!
Eileen @ 4
Wouldn’t Waterloo have been more likely than Trafalgar?
Missed the theme, even when it was staring me in the face from the clue and answer to 9dn. But it wasn’t necessary to solving the puzzle. And btw the i (and presumably the Indy) reports today that some early stories by 7dn have just been discovered.
Thanks, Radian and RatkojaRiku
duncanshiell @5
Oops! – I went out immediately after posting and realised what I’d done as soon as I got into the car. I knew what I meant!
I managed the puzzle (except for choosing ‘at full belt’ for 26a) but REALLY needed the blog several times over, especially re all those anniversaries! Thanks to both.
Thanks RatkojaRiku
For what it’s worth, my take on 15dn is that [Billie Jean] King competed AGIN [Margaret] COURT.
Gaufrid @9
Yes I thought the same especially as “King” is placed first to hide the capital K.
I am a tennis fan tho.
(duncanshiell @5, don’t take any notice of Eileen, she led us to believe she did not drive.)
Cookie
Even if I drove normally, I’d find it impossible to do so with an arm in plaster! I have good friends who gave me a lift to the supermarket.
(Eileen, that did occur to me, but it is surprising what some people can do, man had up last week for playing a game on his tablet while driving, another for texting, another for watching a film…)
I was nervous about leaving this until the evening, as I’ve sometimes struggled with Radian puzzles, but I managed to zip through this one quite quickly. Having said that, I didn’t get the theme – there’s something about the word lights appearing in a clue that always puts me off. Also tried to sabotage things by putting “go full pelt” for 26 at first. It’s always quite easy to get slightly the wrong expression in multi-word answers like that when you only have a cryptic def to go on.
It’s all been said but we just wanted to say thanks to S&B.
Our last one in was 9d and we guessed that there may be a theme but missed some of the anniversaries and invented a few as well!