Preamble: In a sequel to 1 across, X Y performed 50 (twelve words in total). Solvers should highlight the section of the grid in which the relevant callers are located. In six clues, 1 across needs consideration before solving. Two abbreviations and a foreign name are among the answers.
First thing I noticed, it’s a 15×15 grid (or fifteensquared) – I think that’s the first time I’ve seen that in Inquisitor series. Next, it’s asymmetric – I wonder why.
Most clues fell reasonably easy though, of course, I didn’t understand the consideration of 1 across at first. The first clue I solved whose wordplay didn’t seem to fit the grid was 33d looking like BONNET (a hat) needed to be removed. By this stage I had a fair bit of the back end of 1 across filled so I took a chance on it being AT THE DROP OF A HAT, which it turned out to be. As the grid fill continued, I had the makings of MAN COMETH at the end of 50 across. I’ve heard of The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O’Neill so I had a brief try at fitting him into X Y but that turned out to be a no go.
Talking of X Y, I don’t really see why they had to be letters rather than numbers. If the grid had been numbered normally they would have been numbered 34 and 31, respectively (and the rest of the entries renumbered appropriately.) There’s probably some subtle reason but its subtlety is lost on this blogger.
Back to the puzzle, an internet search for “at the drop of a hat cometh” revealed FLANDERS AND SWANN as possible X Y candidates. FLANDERS as X and AND SWANN as Y. Also, THE GASMAN COMETH as a sequel to AT THE DROP OF A HAT. ( A total of twelve words, as per the preamble.)
Six hats had to be removed and they were: 11a (TRILBY), 16a (MITRE), 23a (BEAVER), 27d (TURBAN), 29d (BOWLER), 33d (BONNET.) Aaargh, not TRILBY again! Memories of Soprano by Pointer. And is a turban really a hat?
I vaguely remember F&S from childhood and I guess we’ve all heard The Hippopotamus Song (Mud, mud and all that) but I don’t recall The Gasman Cometh so I searched YouTube and found it (with lyrics): https://youtu.be/iStpI0pa0eA.
How apposite that I should be listening to a song about workmen as our kitchen floor is being retiled and the walls repainted after water damage. Only one power trip during the work and no need for an electrician or a glazier, thank goodness.
The song revolves around the premise that one workman (inadvertently) makes work for the next one (all making work for the working man to do.) In all, five tradesmen are called, the last man making work for the first one again, hence RELAY TEAM. The five workmen occupy a square from e3-n3-n13-e13-e3 and are, in order, GASMAN, CARPENTER, ELECTRICIAN, GLAZIER, PAINTER.
A couple of clues caused me a fair bit of head scratching as I couldn’t fully justify the wordplay and I didn’t fully get them until I came to write this. 49a kept trying to be an anagram of LANCET USA with bits missing and I just got so confused with 47a.
Good, fun puzzle so many thanks to Glow-worm.
| Across |
|||
| No. |
Clue |
Entry |
Wordplay |
| 11 | Mended nostril by attending A&E for ages (5) [TRILBY] |
AEONS | A+E+NOS (anag: mended) |
| 13 | Personify Isaiah in mostly impressive book (9) |
EPITOMISE | EPIc (impressive; mostly)+TOME (book) containing ISaiah |
| 14 | Coming from gold: good as medium (6) |
ORGASM (Oh, I say, très risqué) |
OR (gold)+Good+AS+Medium |
| 16 | Permit recast, resulting in reprimands (7) [MITRE] |
CARPETS | PER+CAST (anag: resulting in) |
| 19 | Some bog laurel’s found where you’d expect – in Scotland (5) |
GLAUR | boG LAURel (hidden: some) This is one of those &lit. clues |
| 21 | Race trouble in South Korea with our departing (7, 2 words) |
THE OAKS | SouTH KOrEA (OUR removed; anag: some trouble) |
| 22 | Tough material one that’s wrong beginning to tickle the French (5) |
IXTLE | I (one)+ X (that’s wrong)+Tickle (first letter)+LE (the in French) |
| 23 | Admire – yet be averse to – Berg’s art: tortuous! (15, 4 words) [BEAVER] |
SET GREAT STORE BY | YET SE TO BERG’S ART (anag: tortuous) |
| 25 | Refuse people wine and nibbles initially – including setter (6) |
BINMEN | BIN (wine)+Nibbles (first letter) containing ME (setter) |
| 27 | Sovereign in Washington, President at the outset decrees changes; about time! (9) |
SCEPTERED | President (first letter)+DECREES (anag: changes) containing Time |
| 29 | Take boat back to area that’s aka… (5) |
ALIAS | Area+SAIL (boat; rev: back) |
| 30 | …”Earlham”, eccentrically, in this city (7) |
HAARLEM | EARLHAM (anag:eccentrically) |
| 33 | Butcher from island Institute’s gone missing (4) |
SLAY | iSLAY (island minus Institute) |
| 36 | Turn back a long way to secure first of antipodean fliers (4) |
RAAF | FAR (a long way; rev: turn back) containing Antipodean (first letter) |
| 38 | Austere note to end Danish meal (7) |
DANTEAN | Note at the end of DANish+TEA (meal) |
| 39 | Hands the pirate a Jewish state (6) |
ISRAEL ref Israel Hands (notorious pirate) |
(double definition) |
| 40 | Three points in four letters for slave (4) |
ESNE | East+South+NorthEast (three [compass] points) |
| 42 | Thickener King’s applied to 46 (4) |
AGAR | AGA (from 46 down)+R (king) |
| 44 | Might sailor, say, employ this to stop a leak? (7, 2 words) |
WOOD TAR | WOOD (Sounds like WOULD)+TAR (sailor) |
| 45 | Currency from Zambia? Wrong – no money! (5) |
BAIZA | ZAmBIA (minus Money; anag: wrong) |
| 47 | About a hundred full backs stopped early (5) |
CIRCA | A+C (100)+RICh (full; stopped early) all rev: backs |
| 48 | See if false fruit’s incorporated in statues (8) |
EFFIGIES | SEE IF (anag: false) containing FIG (fruit) |
| 49 | Critically discriminating in Lancet, USA neurologists rebuffed (6) |
NASUTE | lancET USA Neurologists (hidden: in; rev: rebuffed) |
| Down |
|||
| No. |
Clue |
Entry |
Wordplay |
| 1 | On the radio Foster’s commercial chooses… (6) |
ADOPTS Foster’s sounds like fosters. |
AD (commercial)+OPTS (chooses) |
| 2 | …caustic, tasteless stuff about lager’s nadir (4) |
TART | TAT (tasteless stuff) containing lageR (last letter) |
| 3 | Stop interminable deception (3) |
HOA | HOAx (deception; without last letter: interminable)) |
| 4 | Catches footloose spy in Essen on manoeuvres (8) |
ENSNARES | NARk (spy; without last letter: footloose) inside ESSEN (anag: on manoeuvres) |
| 5 | Genuine shilling coins (5) | REALS | REAL (genuine)+Shilling |
| 6 | Chinese heavyweights dousing copper in beer (6) |
PICULS | CU (copper) inside PILS (beer) |
| 7 | Legal officer’s unopened seal (5) |
OTARY | nOTARY (legal officer; minus first letter: unopened) |
| 8 | A politician’s former wife’s a Recorder (5) |
AMPEX | A+MP (politician)+EX (former wife) |
| 9 | Perennial problem with lifeboats of capsizing and sinking (7) |
ASTILBE | LIfEBoATS (minus OF; anag: capsizing) |
| 10 | Hardy girl fixed up with opening in swimming- pool (4) |
TESS [of the d’Urbevilles] |
SET (fixed; rev: up) containing Swimming-pool (first letter: opening) |
| 12 | Flier to rue being topless (5) |
EGRET | rEGRET (rue; minus first letter: topless) |
| 15 | Indian dance obviously captivating United (6) |
NAUTCH | NATCH (obviously) containing United |
| 17 | Record collected by Ellen Terry (5) |
ENTER | ellEN TERry (hidden: collected) |
| 18 | Worker giving warnings: “Run away from swimmer!” (6) |
FOGMAN | FrOGMAN (minus Run) |
| 20 | River Test rising? (6) | RIOTRY | RIO (river)+TRY (test) |
| 24 | Close off meandering lanes enclosing brigade’s base (6) |
ENSEAL | LANES (anag: meandering) containing brigadE (last letter: base) |
| 26 | Only half depict Earth’s mistreatment (6) |
ILL-USE | ILLUStrate (depict; only half)+Earth |
| 27 | Get trams at urban interchange – that’s the plan (9) [TURBAN] |
STRATAGEM | GET TRAMS AT (anag: interchange) |
| 28 | Delusional dad playing ocarina (9) |
PARANOIAC | PA (dad)+OCARINA (anag: playing) |
| 29 | On the cards is a fab owl ‘Erbert trained, encapsulating “Independence” (8, 3 words) [BOWLER] |
A FAIR BET | A FA BERT (anag: trained) containing Independence |
| 31 | Well-fed cat regularly preferred (5) |
ELECT | wElL fEd CaT (regularly) |
| 32 | Unusual contract’s no good – framed by terribly sharp Head of Year (8) |
SYNGRAPH | SHARP (anag: terribly) + containing Year (first letter: head of) and NG (no good) |
| 33 | I’m sat, Dubonnet at the ready, in the arena (7) [BONNET] |
STADIUM | I‘M SAT DU (anag: at the ready) |
| 34 | Obsolete evidence I found among pieces of primitive roofing employing iron (6) |
PREIFE | I inside Primitive Roofing Employing (first letters: pieces of)+FE (iron) |
| 35 | Here in Poland German’s caught frolicking with a cold? (6) |
DANZIG [German name for GDA?SK] |
DANCING (caught frolicking) as said nasally (with a cold) |
| 37 | Plants a bit of rhubarb in the marshes (5) |
FERNS | FENS (marshes) containing Rhubarb (first letter: bit of) |
| 41 | Having escaped from tatty tea chest, she is silent (5) |
TACET | TEA ChesT (minus SHE) anag: tatty |
| 43 | A selection of English rodents (4) |
GLIS [under GLIRES in Chambers] |
enGLISh (section of) |
| 46 | Commander’s chronicle has section missing (3) |
AGA | sAGA (chronicle; minus Section) |
| 47 | Order son to enter firm (3) |
CSO | COmpany (firm) including Son |
Lovely blog kenmac, and thanks for parsing quite a few obscure answers.
The sequel referred to in the preamble is ‘At the drop of another hat’.
Like you, I wanted to put THE ICEMAN etc at 50 thinking this might be some obscure twist.
I remember the song from way back in childhood, but thought it was called ‘It all makes work for the working man to do’.
Just by the way, didn’t we have a Flanders & Swann theme not all that long ago. About the Beeching railway cuts? I know Chorlton-cum-Hardy very well.
That you Glow-worm for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Was Trilby (as the first one out of the hat, so to speak)just to twist the knife?
This must be a first for me. I not only solved all the clues but I worked out the theme and was able to highlight the required words and finish this before midnight on Saturday.
I got 1ac fairly quickly, saw X and Y and knew the song. Had to google the lyrics to get the correct order the tradesmen arrived but soon spotted them in the grid.
Yes, a nice puzzle, not too taxing, although for some reason I suffered for a long time from ‘hat blindness’ with the(my) sixth hat, MITRE, because I just assumed in 16A that P stood for PERMIT and the anagram was of P RECAST. Serves me right for not checking parsing thoroughly. I kicked myself when I saw it on a third or fourth search for the elusive last hat !
I think the XY is used merely to denote that the answers are people although I guess you could deduce that from the preamble ?
Thanks Glow-worm and kenmac.
Thanks kenmac and Glow-worm. I got the hats and filled the grid but was unable to do spot the highlights. I have been trying to solve these puzzles without using Wikipedia etc and I gave up not knowing the contents of the Flanders and Swann songs – though I did recognise the titles. Looking back I think I should have persevered as the tradesmen were symmetrically placed and very guessable without knowing the words of the song. Great puzzle.
My experience was much the same as kenmac’s. I had enough of the end of 1 across to fill that in when BONNET revealed itself and the rest pretty much just fell into place. A bit gentler than some recent puzzles but still lots of fun.
Many thanks to glow-worm and kenmac.
It’s purely a personal thing, but being (under) a certain age, any mention of Flanders and Swann (and there seems to be a lot in crosswordland) has me running for the hills.
It was a pleasant enough puzzle but once I had F and S in I kind of lost interest.
Sorry Glow-worm. I guess you had to be there.
Cheers Glow-worm, and kenmac for the blog, particularly the nifty graphic 🙂
I’d been tipped off by my dad that the theme related to an act well before my time and I’d got much of the grid completed before I spotted ‘COMETH’. Like others I was aware of ‘ice man cometh’ so tried that too but it didn’t look likely. I then noticed that ‘SWANN’ might be emerging, was vaguely aware of the F&S partnership but knew nothing much of them. So googled something along the lines of ‘Flanders and Swann the ice man cometh’ and the correct title and hats link emerged from there. The only clue I couldn’t solve was PREIFE but luckily the only blank cells I had were for the P and E that contributed to glaziEr and Painter.
First one I have finished for years-have had an open top bus parade to celebrate
An enjoyable puzzle which wasn’t too tricky though much like Rob@3 it took me ages to track down the last of the hats, mitre being my last to reveal itself too. Love the animation, reminds me of that old arcade game called snake (or something similar)
Thanks for the fun
Lots of fun. Like others I spent a while pondering THE ICEMAN COMETH and took forever to spot the MITRE. And, not being well up on F&S, furtively Googled “at the drop of a hat” plus “cometh”. As one does. All plain sailing from there.
An early Dubonnet gave the game away for A DROP OF A HAT; of course THE ICEMAN COMETH was toyed with; and I remember seeing F&S on the old B&W set as a child (New Year, Marx Brothers films as well). I found ISRAEL tricky, and DANZIG weak.
BTW Stephanie Flanders, the (rather fine, in my opinion) BBC economics editor up until 2013, is MF’s daughter.
PS And, of course, thanks to the kenmac (game-keeper recently turned poacher?) for the blog. How many gifs is that to animate? I believe the answer is 42.
I’m amused by all this talk of The Iceman Cometh. The F&S song got a lot of airplay when I was young and I remember my father commenting on the similarity of the name to the O’Neill. So I knew the song first.
An enjoyable solve despite realising that it included the ‘drop of a hat’ very early on.
Checking our paper copy we had a ring around 1d which means we needed to check the blog. Whilst we get the parsing we were not sure about the inclusion of ‘on the radio’ unless this is just to indicate the removal of the apostrophe. We notice that the wordplay for that clue is missing in your fantastic blog, kenmac. What were we missing?
Thanks Glow-worm for an amazing grid construction – all the tradesmen AND in the correct order.
Kenmac – love the animation as always – thanks.
Forgot to thank the setter – how rude. Thanks, Glow-worm, for the impressive relay team.
B&J: yes, “on the radio” is just dropping the apostrophe (& making the F lowercase, maybe).
B&J @14 – oops. I had trouble with 1d and managed to overlook it. Thanks for the
nudenudge, it is there now.H___G____ @12 actually 39, the T, E and R of PAINTER are never used as starting letters. It doesn’t really take that long especially if you ditch the mouse and use keyboard shortcuts.
Absolutely loved this puzzle! My parents had Flanders and Swann records, so I was familiar with the song. Completed the grid in time to send it off (something that happens only once in a blue moon). Think an open top bus parade sounds like a great idea, Gordon Fisher!!
kenmac@16: Er why did B&J give you a nude?
Being of a certain age (old enough to be Kippax’s parents),u Mrs Terrier and I filled the grid quickly once we got 1a and 14a (which would not have been out of place in Viz’s puzzle). As it was going so well we never considered the application of 1a until we’d finished. We then realised that hats had to be dropped from clues and clue by clue checking showed that we had done so correctly although unwittingly. Thanks to the setter for their contribution to a great series of puzzles this year.
I assume that Gordon’s parade will take place on a London Transport diesel-engined 97-horsepower omnibus 🙂
Terrier,your comment about Gordon’s probable mode of transport is brilliant. I shall turn out to witness the magnificent observer of the highway code.
Dormouse @18 Oops!
Corrected now.
Very late to the comments party I’m afraid, I’ve been sailing for a week.
Great puzzle and blog. I am of a certain age and remember the song from the LP, which my uncle (now long gone) had.
I didn’t notice any mention of the “sequel” reference, except in kenmac’s fifth paragraph. I think it refers to the fact that the “Gasman” song was in “At the drop of ANOTHER Hat, rather than in the original show.