I’m not sure I’ve blogged a Rorschach before. Certainly I had very little idea what to expect.
This was jolly good though. I managed to finish unaided, even if it did take a round trip to Essex for a beer festival, a couple of hours in the pub on the Sunday, and a lunch-hour session at work to manage it.
No obvious theme-type activity leapt out, even though there were many references to musical acts, film bods and various other luminaries in the clues. No doubt I’m missing something. It’s a good job you lot are here.
| Across | ||
| 2 | TIME | Berners-Lee – leading figure in electronic age (4) |
| TIM Berners-Lee + E[lectronic]. | ||
| 9 | OVAL OFFICE | Harrison Ford and others worked here? (4,6) |
| I think just a cryptic definition, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison and Gerald Ford all being former US presidents. Harrison Ford himself played the president in Air Force One, the internet tells me. | ||
| 10 | NEUTERED | Balls removed – Tories’ goal in election campaign? (8) |
| NEUTER + ED Miliband. Allusion to Ed “Ed Balls” Balls. | ||
| 11 | DISARM | Condition of Saudi’s armistice? (6) |
| Hidden in [sau]DI‘S ARM[istice] and presumably &lit. | ||
| 12 | ISRAEL | Old PM’s heart in a state (6) |
| Benjamin [d]ISRAEL[i]. Once of my last in, though it seems quite straightforward now. | ||
| 14 | SERAGLIO | How’s your father’s place in ruins of old Algiers? (8) |
| (O + ALGIERS)*. | ||
| 16 | TSARIST | Dire Straits official supporter (7) |
| STRAITS*. | ||
| 18 | DADAISM | First of Douglas Adams’ works featuring one avant-garde section (7) |
| I in (D[ouglas] + ADAMS)*. | ||
| 21 | SOB STORY | Backing Big Society around Britain added to Conservative narrative of decline (3,5) |
| (B in (OS< + S)) + TORY. | ||
| 23 | NONAGE | Early phase shown on a genome sequence (6) |
| Hidden in [show]N ON A GE[nome]. | ||
| 25 | OFFCUT | What’s left of TUC? (6) |
| Reverse anagram sort of thing. CUT* could give you TUC. | ||
| 27 | IN SEASON | Available to be picked for elected term (2,6) |
| IN + SEASON. | ||
| 29 | LEGITIMATE | Board move finally following split on independent permit (10) |
| LEG IT + I + MATE. It was new to me but “legitimate” is fine as a verb, meaning “to make lawful”. | ||
| 30 | EMIT | Send out one from 12, perhaps, not taking sides (4) |
| [s]EMIT[e]. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | AIRERS | Means of ventilation in clapped-out Sierra (6) |
| SIERRA*. | ||
| 2 | LEFT | Article in French newspaper reveals political leaning (4) |
| LE + FT. | ||
| 3 | LOO ROLLS | Look over official records of tube system for paper? (3,5) |
| LO + O + ROLLS. Enjoyed the definition there. | ||
| 4 | TAX DISC HOLDER | Extra cloddish ground that was stuck to front of car (3,4,6) |
| EXTRA CLODDISH*. | ||
| 6 | OFFS | Kills every character at the beginning? Oh for f***’s sake! (4) |
| O[h] F[or] F[***’s] S[ake]. And not “ices” for a change! | ||
| 7 | SCURRIES | Hastens Major’s squeeze in NHS payments finally (8) |
| Edwina CURRIE in ([nh]S + [payment]S). | ||
| 13 | AFROS | Particular lines in Barnet covered in permafrost (5) |
| Hidden in [perm]AFROS[t]. | ||
| 15 | GRAIN | Particle in which iodine’s relatively absorbed? (5) |
| I in GRAN. | ||
| 17 | SCOT-FREE | Avoiding the consequences of Sturgeon’s plan for UK? (4-4) |
| Two definitions, the latter a little cryptic. | ||
| 19 | AGNUS DEI | Bad idea, in retrospect, to have yodelled during this? (5,3) |
| SUNG< in IDEA* &lit. | ||
| 20 | CYNICAL | Disillusioned with Conservative setback, Clegg almost breaks (7) |
| NIC[k] Clegg in (C + LAY<). | ||
| 22 | OXTAIL | SNP’s Capital Gains Tax affected end of stock? (6) |
| TAX* in OIL, and a very nice definition, I thought. | ||
| 24 | GNOSIS | Blur song is result of conceptual process (6) |
| (SONG IS)*. | ||
| 26 | CRIB | Keypad (4) |
| I thought this to be two definitions, with pad as in apartment being one, but if so, I cannot see the other. Maybe it’s just “key pad” as in “main residence”. An odd one. | ||
| 28 | ANEW | Once again, Jane Wyman’s captivating (4) |
| Hidden in [j]ANE W[yman]. | ||
* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; underlined = definition; Hover to expand abbreviations
The perimeter spells out a Blade Runner reference, which starred Harrison Ford…
Thanks Rorschach and Simon
Thanks, Simon.
The other definition of ‘crib’ is in Chambers: ‘a key or baldly literal translation, used as an aid by students, etc.’
It was very good to see Rorschach back after far too long – and on top form. I enjoyed this a lot, apart from the reminders of the May 7th event. Lots of nice clues – my favourites were SERAGLIO and DADAISM.
Many thanks, Rorschach – come back soon!
Gaufrid – I couldn’t find this blog in spite of several attempts last night and this morning. I usually enter puzzle number in Google – but blog came there none. Nor to be found in current puzzles list in fifteensquared.
I even wondered if it was a deliberate ploy given the Nina, and was lost in time.
So I visited the home page to find the best place to comment. And that’s how I discovered the numbering slip! It’s 8931 not 8391!!
So it truly is, if not a moment, then a puzzle lost in time!
Since I’m sure many will try, unsuccessfully, to access the blog as I have, might it be wise to correct the number….?
The nina is ALL THOSE MOMENTS WILL BE LOST IN TIME so you have to read 8ac as part of it. Very clever, and an enjoyable puzzle. We don’t see enough of Rorsach, IMHO. The cunning AFROS was my LOI after I finally saw CRIB.
I thought this was a top class puzzle, with some super clueing. I particularly liked OVAL OFFICE, SERAGLIO, LOO ROLLS and SCURRIES. I enjoyed the way the Nina ran into the LH corner TIME and how that word was reflected in the lower RH corner’s EMIT with rotational symmetry. This made me wonder if I’d missed more (noticing also that the letters of 14ac contain 12ac and so on…)
Overall, this was jolly good fun. I shall be keeping an eye out for more ink blots!
Huge thanks to Rorschach and Simon
@3 – Partial correction. It is in current puzzle list (I must have tried that route last night after midnight but not this morning) Perhaps I’m in a minority as I invariably access blogs from my phone using Google, which shows no 8931, so was being unnecessarily altruistic, but if it helps one other lost searcher such as I…..? When I found blog, and only two comments, genuinely thought I was being helpful. In any case, Simon’s blog surely deserves maximum exposure!
[almost wish I’d not bothered – I think it took me longer to ‘thumb’ in comments on my old ‘smart’ ‘phone than I spent solving crossword!]
Thanks William F P, numbering corrected.
Didn’t spot the nina, not that it would have meant much to me. Some very inventive clues, e.g. for SCURRIES, SERAGLIO and OXTAIL, and some that Punk might have been proud of. 26dn threw me for a while; I thought it might be ‘Home’ (a key on a computer, and some folk might refer to their home as their pad).
Thanks, Rorschach and Simon.
Thanks to William for spotting my sloppy numbering, and to Gaufrid for correcting it.
Also sloppy, I did notice the Nina but it meant nothing to me, and I managed to forget all about it before blogging.
A full refund for the price of admission will of course be available to all readers.
This seems to have met with much approval so I’d better not kick too hard against this. However, I felt some of this was a bit loose, quite possibly my own incompetence, but ‘official supporter’ for tsarist (16ac) seemed a bit odd; and to call Dadaism an avant-garde section (18ac) also seemed a bit odd; as did ‘term’ for ‘season’ (27ac). I couldn’t really understand keypad = crib (26dn), nor how lay = with (20dn).
Great to see you back Rorschach – hope there are more in the pipe-line.
Thanks for the blog Simon.
My pleasure B&J, thanks.
WR@11
Setback is “lay” reversed in the solution.
@Wil Ransome
Given that your queries seem to have got past everyone else including the inestimable Indy crossword editor we shall have to assume that it has more to do with your quote/unquote ‘incompetence’.
@everyone else
Many thanks for the positive comments! I’m glad you enjoyed!
@Simon
Great blog. Spot on! Thanks
I wasn’t going to say anything but given Rorschach@15’s rude comment to Wil Ransome, I’ll agree with Wil that at least “CRIB” for keypad was poor. We realised it must be the answer but my conscience wouldn’t let us write it in! Just because a word (key) appears in a definition in one dictionary doesn’t make it a synonym, and I can’t think of any situation where “key” would be used in place of “crib” and still have the same meaning. But then again I am probably also “incompetent”, never having succumbed to buying Chambers, despite realising that all the setters rely on some of its unique definitions! (Yes, we enjoyed the rest).
Thanks Eric!
I’m sorry if I came across rude – I hasten to add that the suggestion of incompetence was not mine but the responders. I was merely surmising based on the options he offered. I write puzzles to entertain and, based on the other comments including yours, this one seems to have done that. As such, unsubstantiated accusations of ‘oddness’ say more about the commentator than the puzzle and are no less rude than my response.
It’s hard to know how to respond to the claim that definition doesn’t follow dictionary. Fwiw it’s also in OED and I’m sure others but I’m not going to root around looking. Given the nina and the crossers you were left with C_IB. But you seem to be claiming that the only valid definitions are the ones that you know… But if you want chapter and verse: For example, when I am lecturing, I sometimes give the students a ‘crib’ for the exam which is synonymous with ‘key’ I feel.
I’m glad you enjoyed the rest!
Thanks Rorschach. Now you really have hit my weak spot: I’ve never got a Nina in my life, and certainly wouldn’t have got that one! So, guilty as charged.
Okay then, Rorschach, I won’t mince my words and try to be polite: I thought that ‘avant-garde section’ for ‘dadaism’ was just plain bad. Who ever used the term ‘avant-garde section’? Instead of simply saying that I was incompetent here, would it not have been rather better to have tried to justify the clue? And while you’re about it, why does ‘term’ = season’?