I’ll admit to something of a double take on seeing Monk’s name appear when opening this week’s puzzle via Crossword Solver. So much so that, it being a rare week where I’d not managed to pick up an actual paper to confirm, I assumed an error was afoot, and that this was by Poins, as has been the case on every Sunday that I’ve blogged over many months.
The fact that I finished this one without too much trouble further convinced me this wasn’t by Monk, and the style didn’t set alarm bells ringing, so I initially blogged this incorrectly as “by Poins”. Thanks to readers, not least Monk himself, for setting me straight.
Anyway, this was a good challenge with some very nice clues, 4 down being a particular favourite. I can’t see any kind of Nina-type activity, despite the grid. Speaking of which, it looks like we have 90° rotational symmetry, which I don’t recall seeing often, and which must add an extra layer of challenge to setting.
Last one in was the unfamiliar 14 across. I didn’t feel particularly confident in writing it in, but phew, there it is in the dictionary.
| Across | ||
| 8 | MIRAGE | Illusion of motorway madness? (6) |
| M1 + RAGE. | ||
| 9 | ENCLOSED | Held tightly when death consumes (8) |
| CLOSE in END. | ||
| 10 | TINNITUS | Book about pub causes a sensational complaint (8) |
| INN in TITUS. | ||
| 11 | MANGLE | Squeeze fish on back of aquarium (6) |
| [aquariu]M + ANGLE. | ||
| 12 | PARSEC | A long way from bobby arresting bum (6) |
| ARSE in PC. | ||
| 13 | NAIL DOWN | Following fix, somehow United ultimately have to make final (4,4) |
| NAIL + [unite]D + OWN. | ||
| 14 | PARALLELEPIPEDS | Match round tube with nameless objects to make solid figures (15) |
| PARALLEL (match) + PIPE< + E[n]DS. | ||
| 18 | EMBRACER | I receive alternate parts of Team GB’s fast car (8) |
| [t]E[a]M [g]B + RACER. | ||
| 21 | INKPOT | Contemptible person, no saint, that may assist writer (6) |
| [st]INKPOT. | ||
| 23 | WALESA | Former labour leader from country area (6) |
| WALES + A. Lech Walesa, of course, for which this computer won’t currently allow me to paste in the correct Polish symbols or even the Wikipedia link. | ||
| 24 | NO LONGER | Number one yearning? Not now (2,6) |
| NO + LONGER (one who longs) | ||
| 25 | GRAND CRU | Fine wine as well as cold game served by a king (5,3) |
| GR + AND + C + RU. | ||
| 26 | SOLDER | Tommy blowing one fuse (6) |
| SOLD[i]ER. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | TITICACA | Note about touring the same lake (8) |
| (TI + CA) in (TI + CA). | ||
| 2 | VAUNTS | Shows off very close relatives (6) |
| V + AUNTS. | ||
| 3 | VERTICAL | Vicar let slip what this answer is? (8) |
| (VICAR LET)*. | ||
| 4 | PERSONAL PRONOUN | Maybe we spur on Napoleon when struggling to cross river (8,7) |
| R in (SPUR ON NAPOLEON)*. | ||
| 5 | SCAMPI | Food is served up with artificial stuffing (6) |
| CAMP in IS<. | ||
| 6 | JOINED-UP | Coherent member must have done it (6-2) |
| Two definitions. | ||
| 7 | MELLOW | Relaxed companion, male not female (6) |
| From FELLOW, with M in place of F. | ||
| 15 | AGREEING | OK with I is into reggae ‘n’ rum (8) |
| I in (REGGAE N)*. | ||
| 16 | PAINLESS | Undemanding dad getting out more? (8) |
| PA + IN LESS. | ||
| 17 | DIOGENES | Philosopher, old and extremely gentle, eats out (8) |
| (O + G[entl]E) in DINES. | ||
| 19 | MEAGRE | Poor setter has for the most part to get on (6) |
| ME + AGRE[e]. | ||
| 20 | CHANCE | Risk transfer, clubs providing substitute for good (6) |
| From CHANGE, with C in place of G. | ||
| 22 | KINDLE | Light reading facilitated by this? (6) |
| Two definitions, and sort of &lit too. | ||
* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; underlined = definition; Hover to expand abbreviations
Yes, Simon, this crossword doesn’t feel like a Monk, does it?
But the Indy site adds that very name to puzzle 1,323.
Moreover, today’s Independent on Sunday has a Poins.
Perhaps, it was the lack of something special (a theme or a nina) that made that the editor put him on a Sunday – who knows?
This is a good puzzle, containing my favourite word: ‘parallelepipeds’.
When teaching Maths in Holland ‘we’ called the thing a ‘parallellepipedum’ (plural: ‘parallellepipeda’).
One L too many for you, Brits – but that’s the same as in ‘parallel(l)ogram’.
Anyway, here it is:
http://www.wisfaq.nl/bestanden/q31383img1.gif
Thanks for the blog, Simon.
And thanks to the setter, Monk or not.
Thanks for very through blog, Simon, and comment, Sil. Mike H decided to use this as my first IoS, so can blog title be changed?! Interesting that you thought it was by Poins despite the printed/online info. And there is indeed a Nina of “crossed words” …
I struggled with this one and had no trouble believing it was by Monk. 14ac was my LOI too, although I misspelt it “parallelopipeds” because I didn’t look at the wordplay properly, and it was only when I didn’t get the congratulatory message that I went to my Chambers, saw how it was spelt, and changed my answer to the correct PARALLELEPIPEDS. Sorry Monk, I can’t see the nina but the puzzle was a good challenge.
Thanks, Monk. Will update the post. As I say, I didn’t have access to printed info, and the online version has been wrong in the past, so I jumped to conclusions. Welcome to Sundays!
Thanks, Simon. I did a bit of a double take when I saw the setter’s name, but I had no doubt it was by him because it took me ages to finish and it had a bit of maths in it. If it had been one of his weekday offerings, I would probably have given up, but I hardly ever let the IoS puzzle defeat me, so I persevered and got there finally.
PARALLELEPIPEDS is pretty much impossible for this solver without e-help; TITICACA is one of those things you either know or don’t (I did); and I especially liked PERSONAL PRONOUN.
I don’t go looking for Ninas on Sundays: it’s against my religion.
Thanks to Monk as well.
Reading along the diagonals of the grid there is INCLINE going one way and RECLINE going the other.
Lovely puzzle, very precisely clued. I found it quite tough going, but the fact that the clues defined the answers so clearly (eventually!) kept me going. Except I too cannot spell parra… paralel…paralleoh you know what I mean 🙂
Thank you very much, Monk, and Simon Harris too.