Turbolegs struggled with this one (as did I) and, due to family commitments, did not have time to finish the puzzle and then write a blog, so you have me instead. I was eventually able to complete the grid and parse the clues, all bar one (14ac).
14ac refers to ‘overall theme’ which I’m struggling to spot. 4dn, 20dn and 22dn are all 1ac-s. 30ac can be preceded by 1dn, 25dn and 27dn. 4, 7/12, 9/14 and 15 is/was/are associated with the music industry. The Lady of 6ac is running in The 14ac this afternoon. There are several trees and a couple of birds in the grid.
In the end I decided that I had better give up trying to find the theme otherwise this post would appear even later than it already has done. If I have a flash of inspiration (unlikely) I will return later.
A very stiff but enjoyable challenge from Io today. I just wish I could have done it justice by determining the theme but I fear it is probably something that is outside my sphere of knowledge (I will no doubt end up kicking myself when someone points out the obvious – and no, it’s not previous winners of The Oaks, I checked Wikipedia, though Toboggan {24dn} won in 1928).
I liked the way that Io got round the problem of using ‘tragic figure’ twice in the clues but what about DOODLE appearing twice in the grid?
Edit: It seems that I was partly getting there in my hunt for the theme (see para 2 above). Io has just sent me the following:
Themes and Variations:
Today THE OAKS is being run at Epsom:
Themes
GABRIEL (Oak), Variations other ARCHANGELs MICHAEL and RAPHAEL;
ROYAL (Oak), Variations words that precede Royal PAIR, PENNY, ASTRONOMER;
HOLLY (Oaks), Variations famous Hollys GOLIGHTLY, BUDDY, WILLOUGHBY.
Across
1 Vacillation from one side to the other after a port (9)
ARCHANGEL – R CHANGE L (vacillation from one side to the other) after A
6 Are you interested in purchasing much talked about Gulf port? (5)
DUBAI – a homophone (much talked about) of ‘do you buy’ (are you interested in purchasing)
9,16 A fat revolutionary harnessing hydrogen power (3,3)
THE USA – A SUET (a fat) reversed (revolutionary) around (harnessing) H (hydrogen)
10 Cross Mr Pitt’s wealth reduced after Hollywood scene (11)
LABRADOODLE – BRAD (Mr Pitt) OODLE[s] (wealth reduced) after LA (Hollywood scene) – a cross between a Labrador and a poodle
11 Folding cheque returned by European ally (7)
ORIGAMI – GIRO (cheque) reversed (returned) AMI (European ally {friend in French})
12 All things considered, getting away with 8 (5)
HOLLY – [w]HOLLY (all things considered, getting away with)
14 Classic overall theme (4)
OAKS – the Oaks is one of the five classic horse races but as for ‘overall theme’…
15 Smear / Britpop band not all the way through description of work (4)
BLUR – double def. plus BLUR[b] (not all the way through description of work)
17 Potato dish – it’s fried or it’s stewed (5)
ROSTI – an anagram (stewed) of OR IT’S
19 An ancestor’s not one of 9 14 (5)
ELDER – double def. – an elder is not an oak
21 Disabled / sport (4)
GAME – double def.
23 One seen heading off by air, often by water, finds alternative ….. (4)
RAIL – a bird that flies (one seen heading off by air) and lives in marshes (often by water) and when travelling the alternatives are air, sea or land (plane, boat or rail)
25 ….. and another sanctimonious hellhole (5)
PIPIT – PI (sanctimonious) PIT (hellhole) – another bird
26 Castle brew put before university brew (7)
CHATEAU – CHA ( brew) TEA (brew) U (university)
28 Staff entitlement, an avenue of a sort that everyone may open (6,5)
ANNUAL LEAVE – ALL (everyone) in (may open) an anagram (of a sort) of AN AVENUE
29 Not one of 9 14 when heading for home (3)
ASH – AS (when) H[ome] (heading for home)
30 Midas perhaps put gold back (5)
ROYAL – LAY (put) OR (gold) reversed (back)
31 Lord presses badly hit government to act with restraint (2,7)
GO LIGHTLY – GOLLY (lord) around (presses) an anagram (badly) of HIT G
Down
1 Doctor rents a room he looks up professionally (10)
ASTRONOMER – an anagram (doctor) of RENTS A ROOM
2 Road blocks given screening free of contamination (9)
CHEMICKED – M1 (road) in (blocks) CHECKED (given screening)
3 Solvent, one acquiring unfurnished residence? (6)
AFLOAT – A (one) plus O in FLAT (unfurnished residence {a flat with nothing in it})
4 English musician feeding local girl something soft and French (7)
GABRIEL – BRIE (something soft and French) in (feeding) GAL (local girl) – Peter Gabriel
5 Tragic figure grips the ball (7)
LEATHER – LEAR (tragic figure) around (grips) THE
6 Funny old ode written on recipe drawer absentmindedly (7)
DOODLER – an anagram (funny) of OLD ODE plus R (recipe)
7 Brother’s about to blossom (5)
BUDDY – double def.
8 I Claudius might have passed this one of 9 14 (4)
ILEX – I plus LEX (Claudius might have passed this {law in Latin})
13 US Major General is going to hug boy excitedly (10)
WILLOUGHBY – WILL (is going to) plus an anagram (excitedly) of HUG BOY – Charles A. Willoughby
18 Component papers arranged by school subject (5,4)
SPARE PART – an anagram (arranged) of PAPERS plus ART (school subject)
20 Painter, the same tragic figure, turning up outside a pub (7)
RAPHAEL – LEAR (the same tragic figure {as in 5dn}) reversed (turning up) around (outside) A PH (a pub)
21 Extensible table useful in writing a telegram (7)
GATELEG – hidden in (useful in) ‘writinG A TELEGram’
22 Amplifier will quickly put his name across (7)
MICHAEL – a homophone of mic’ll – ‘mic {or mike} (amplifier) will’ when said quickly
24 Villain tobogganed carelessly onto leaves (3,3)
BAD EGG – an anagram (carelessly) of [to]B[o]GGA[n]ED (tobogganed … onto leaves)
25 A bit / reminiscent of a Quaker? (5)
PENNY – double def., the second cryptic – a reference to William Penn
27 A state of equality divided by one or two (4)
PAIR – PAR (a state of equality) around (divided by I (one)
I had mail for 23
14a, “Mossy Oaks” makes overalls, “mossy” is US slang for old-fashioned, but I don’t think this will be any help.
It does not indicate a Byzantine Theme as far as I can see.
I have the same links as Gaufrid but thought I’d add that Holly goes with ILEX, Buddy, Golightly and Willoughby
Still not sure about the theme but I’ll keep thinking.
A splendid challenge thank you to IO – I do like it when a crossword keeps me from my work – and to Gaufrid too.
Ouch! Needed a lot of electronic help to finish this…
Seem to be lots of potential themes – as well as BUDDY HOLLY there is HOLLYOAKS, HOLLY GOLIGHTLY and at a stretch HOLLY WILLOUGHBY (ITV presenter!)
But nothing to pull them all together?
And of course quercus ilex, the holm oak (of which I have a magnificent example) unites holly and oaks.
Lovely puzzle.
Hi crypticsue
You got further with the Holly connections than I did as I have only heard of Buddy. I have now been told that it is a theme and variations – please see the edited preamble.
14a then is just a cryptic definition?
What about LEATHER OAK (Quercus durata), Io seems to have overlooked that…I might cook LEATHER ROSTI, or for that matter GAME or RAIL.
Thanks Io, Turbolegs and Gaufrid.
Have just finished parsing with the help of the blog.
So many good clues, RAIL, PIPIT, GATELEG, BAD EGG, THE USA and many others.
Excellent tussle. Got the broad drift but didn’t identify all the themesters.
LOI was 3d COTD 10a
Many thanks S&B.
Sorry to be a dissenting voice but I didn’t think much of this at all. Another case of trying too hard to be too clever by half. As a result we get an obscure American soldier and aide to a dictator and an obscure word for a process in textile production that is so vaguely defined as to risk misleading. It all seemed very laboured, and joyless. A total contrast to yesterday’s Paul puzzle, which raised several smiles. I wasn’t going to let myself be defeated by it but I do wish I hadn’t bothered.
Thanks Io and Gaufrid. I was surprised at the appearance of both 6d and 10a but otherwise thought this well up to Io’s usual standard. Mind, I did enter RAIL for 23a without total conviction – the link with 25a, PIPIT, was persuasive but the wordplay seemed a bit inconclusive. I think for me it’s “chapeau” with a couple of nibbles out of the brim.
And isn’t the wordplay in 26 out of sequence? As it appears in the clue it would give CHA U TEA
Hi David
My original draft for this post included a similar comment which I later deleted because the clue can be read as brew + brew ‘put before’ university.
So “Qualify” won the Oaks, as a 50-1 outsider, and “Lady of DUBAI” came third.
@7 I was being sarcastic, but on checking I find there are many recipes for potato, fruit, meat etc. LEATHERS, no joke.
Thanks Gaufrid and Io.
Tough but do-able. And I think that I ‘get’ the theme and variations – but not really cohesive.
Huge respect for the Setter but shame it was not more fun.
Thanks Io and Gaufrid
A solid workout as per usual from this setter – but not as dastardly as he can be – if you don’t take into account the theme which was ultra-clever but way beyond my ken to pick it.
Particularly liked the use of the ellipses at 23A and 25A.
Only had parsing difficulties with BLUR[B] and I LEX which I needed confirmed from here, so thanks for that. There was a mix of clues where I guessed the word and then worked out the word play (e.g. GO LIGHTLY, ORIGAMI, CHATEAU and HOLLY) and others where I derived the word from the wordplay and then had to double check the word (e.g. WILLOUGHBY, BAD EGG and ROSTI).
CHEMICKED could only be found via a word finder !!! It was the last one to go in after getting GABRIEL and BLUR.