Having missed a blog due to holidays, I find I am blogging my second Schadenfreude Inquisitor in a row. Not that I’m complaining. We always get something to think about with a Schadenfreude puzzle.
The preamble was fairly long – "Starting and finishing in cell 1, the clockwise perimeter is to contain three titles, with an extra name appearing in each, always interrupting a word. One letter is to be omitted from the answers to fifteen clues before grid entry. In clue order they spell out the 24 across of each title in the corresponding order. Numbers in brackets give the lengths of grid entries. Collins confirms the clue answer at 14."
Clearly there was going to be some sort of jigsaw fitting of the fifteen adjusted entries as we were not given any indication of which part of the word the letter should be omitted from.
My first three cold solves were UNPLIANT (12 across), ARMISTICE (18 across) and NITERY (20 across). All being acrosses, none of these intersected, so I had a quick look at the crossing downs to see if I could isolate the letters to be omitted. SMARTER (6 down) and FACILE (8 down) fell quite quickly. Those two didn’t help much with ARMISTICE, but at least I could put the ERY of NITERY in with confidence.
Fairly soon after that, I made progress in the SE corner and got enough letters to convince myself that DIRECTOR would be the entry at 24 across.
The solve proceeded in fits and start but the penny drop moment came when I was playing about with the many adjustable entries in the North West corner and realised that the name KAZAN was going to appear from the omitted letters. Films and DIRECTORs are not my strong subject but I had heard of a film DIRECTOR named KAZAN. A bit of research revealed that he was responsible for EAST OF EDEN with JAMES DEAN. I also knew enough about films to be aware that JAMES DEAN died young and as a result was an unfulfilled talent. Further research revealed that there were three major films starring DEAN, EAST OF EDEN, GIANT and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.
By this time I had enough letters in the perimeter to see where each film went. That just left one name. As most people have three names, another glance at DEAN‘s life revealed a middle name of BYRON. The two remaining DIRECTORs were quite easy to find, so that gave me an idea where I had to look for the clues with the few remaining letters to be omitted.
From that point the rest of the solve went very smoothly.
The complete set of thematic material is as follows:
| DIRECTOR | FILM |
| Elia KAZAN | EAST OF EDEN |
| George STEVENS | GIANT |
| Nicholas RAY | REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE |
The perimeter reading clockwise from cell 1, by film was:
EAS (JAMES) T OF EDEN
G (BYRON) IANT
REBE (DEAN) L WITHOUT A CAUSE
As ever, when writing the blog the clues seem much easier than when I was solving them. Hindsight is a wonderful thing in the crossword world. Essentially there was quite a bit of cold solving before the watershed was reached and everything fell into place.
Clues where the misdirection worked for quite a long time included 10 across where for some reason I was fixed on Women’s’ Institute for WI and 28 across where I was focused on the current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The filled grid looks like this.
The title, UNFULFILLED TALENT, accurately describe JAMES DEAN
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Across |
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| No | Clue |
Wordplay |
Answer | Letter | Entry |
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10
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WI music has returned, receiving approval (4)
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HAS reversed (returned) containing (receiving) OK (approval) S (OK) AH< |
SOKAH (a variety of Caribbean [West Indian, WI] calypso music)
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K
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SOAH
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11
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An old master with outstanding bad luck (7)
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A + MES (obsolete [old] shortened form of master) + ACE (outstanding)
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AMES-ACE (bad luck)
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AMESACE
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12
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One local factory keeping independence is inflexible (7)
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UN (dialect [local] form of one] + (PLANT [factory] containing [keeping] I [one]) UN PL (I) ANT |
UNPLIANT (inflexible)
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A
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UNPLINT
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14
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Native American people‘s call to prayer is interrupted by detective (6) |
AZAN (Muslim call to public prayer) containing (is interrupted by) ‘TEC (detective) AZ (TEC) AN |
AZTECAN (of the Mexican Indian people who populated who established an empire; native American people’s)
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Z
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ATECAN
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15
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Defeat Prince Henry in action (8)
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(RAS [Ethiopian prince] + H [henry, unit of inductance]) contained in (in) THING (action) TH (RAS H) ING |
THRASHING (defeat)
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A
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THRSHING
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16
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A lady to consider Romeo’s successor? (7)
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COUNT (consider) + ESS (the letter S. Romeo is the international radio communication codeword for the letter R, so ESS follows R)
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COUNTESS (lady)
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N
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COUTESS
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18
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It changed with Crimea’s ceasefire (8)
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Anagram of (changed) IT and CRIMEA’S ARMISTICE* |
ARMISTICE (suspension of hostilities; ceasefire)
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S
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ARMITICE
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20
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Sexual activity with Elizabeth in New York clip joint? (5)
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(IT [sexual activity] + ER [Elizabeth Regina]) contained in (in) NY (New York) N (IT ER) Y |
NITERY (nightclub; clip joint)
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T |
NIERY |
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21
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Greek goddess gains energy for conscious exercises (5)
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THEMIS (Greek goddess of divine order and law) with E (energy) replacing (for) I (ego; conscious)
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THEMES (exercises)
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E
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THEMS
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24
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See preamble (8)
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|
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DIRECTOR
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28
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Stool pigeon imprisoned by Japanese PM (7)
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PENT (imprisoned) + ITO (reference ITO Hirobumi [1841 – 1909], 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th Prime Minister of Japan)
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PENTITO (in Italy, a Mafia criminal who has become a police informer; stool pigeon)
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PENTITO
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30
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A yellow mineral chaps found in gold mine (8)
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MEN (chaps) contained in (found in) (OR [gold] + PIT [mine]) OR PI (MEN) T |
ORPIMENT (yellow mineral)
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ORPIMENT
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32
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Deceptive tricks stop political alliances (6)
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HO (stop) + AXES (political alliances)
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HOAXES (deceptive tricks)
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HOAXES
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33
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Nuts absent in most jars (7)
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Anagram of (nuts) (A [absent] and IN MOST) STAMNOI* |
STAMNOI (ancient Greek short-necked jars)
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STAMNOI
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34
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Ancient city king is enthralled by this strange language (7)
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(UR [ancient city] + K [king]) contained in (enthralled by) an anagram of (strange) THIS T (UR K) ISH* |
TURKISH (language)
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TURKISH
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35
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Birds returning across the front of lush rainforest (5)
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AVES (birds, as a class of vertebrates) reversed (returning) containing (across) L (first letter of [front of] LUSH) SE (L) VA< |
SELVA (rainforest in the Amazon basin)
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V
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SELA
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| Down |
|
||||
| No | Clue |
Wordplay |
Answer | Letter | Entry |
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2
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Very Scottish product, first to last for ages (4)
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AE (Scots word for very) + (SON [product] with the first letter S moved to the last place [first to last]) AE ONS |
AEONS (vast ages)
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E
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AONS
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3
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In places they fly under singular trees (6)
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S (singular) + A (dialect [in places] word for they) + PIUM (small but very troublesome Brazilian biting fly)
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SAPIUM (the tallow-tree genus of the spurge family)
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SAPIUM
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4
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Soldier consuming stale dog food (6)
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ANT (reference ‘soldier ANT‘ [worker]) containing (consuming) LIME (obsolete [stale] word for a lyam-hound [dog]) A (LIME) NT |
ALIMENT (food)
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N
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ALIMET
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5
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Invents for some purposes (5)
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MINTS (invents)
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MINTS (dialect [some] word for purposes) double definition
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MINTS |
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6
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More spruce pines ultimately damage borders of the river (7)
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S (last letter of [ultimately] + MAR (damage) + TE (first and last letters of [borders of] THE) + R (river)
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SMARTER (more spruce)
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SMARTER
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7
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Restore section close to lid (6)
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STET (restore after marking for deletion) + S (section) + ON (close to)
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STETSON (felt hat [lid] with a broad brim and a soft, high crown)
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S
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TETSON
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8
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Fluent account appears in dossier (6)
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AC (account) contained in (appears in) FILE (dossier) F (AC) ILE |
FACILE (fluent, usually applied in a disparaging manner)
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FACILE
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9
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Engineers are unable to withdraw (5)
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RE (Royal Engineers) + CAN’T (cannot; are unable to)
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RECANT (retract; withdraw)
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R
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ECANT
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13
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Hitherto unbeaten team will fancy losing weight (6)
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Anagram of (fancy) TEAM WILL excluding (losing) W (weight) ALL–TIME* |
ALL-TIME (exceeding all-others up to the present time; hitherto unbeaten)
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A
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LLTIME
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17
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One suffering seven months holding court (6)
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(VII [Roman numerals for 7] + M [month]) containing (holding) CT (court) VI (CT) I M |
VICTIM (one suffering)
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VICTIM
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19
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A lie abed exhibits this in poetry (I would without energy) (7)
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I’D (I would) + LESS (without) + E (energy)
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IDLESSE (poetic word for IDLENESS [what a lie-abed exhibits])
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IDLESSE
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22
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Nobleman interrupted by politician to have a discussion (6)
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EARL (nobleman) containing (interrupted by) MP (Member of Parliament; politician) E (MP) ARL |
EMPARL (obsolete variant of IMPARL [hold a consultation; have a discussion])
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EMPARL
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23
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Units of time seem strangely brief in the middle of space (6)
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Anagram of (strangely) SEEM + I (brief form of in) + A (central letter of [middle of] SPACE) SEME* I A |
SEMEIA (in ancient prosody, units of time)
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SEMEIA |
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25
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Nurse and a doctor securing joint continue without a pause (6)
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(EN [enrolled nurse] + A + MB (Bachelor of Medicine; doctor) containing (securing) J (joint of marijuana) EN (J) A MB |
ENJAMB (in verse, the continuation of the sense without a pause beyond the end of the line)
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ENJAMB
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26
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Victor has time for Welsh miner (6)
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WINNER (victor) with T (time) replacing (for) W (Welsh)
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TINNER (miner)
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TINNER
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27
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Victor joins argument about university woman (5)
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V (Victor is the International radio Communication codeword for the letter V) + (ROW [argument] containing [about] U [university]) V RO (U) W |
VROUW (of Afrikaners in S Africa, a woman)
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VROUW
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29
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Perth’s mean colonist has no limits (5)
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SETTLER (colonist) excluding (no) the first and last letters (limits) S and R
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ETTLE (Scot’s [Perth] word for intend; mean)
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ETTLE
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31
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Like a jerk, subaltern is overcome by delight (4)
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LT (lieutenant; subaltern defines a military officer below the rank of captain) contained in (is overcome by) JOY (delight) JO (LT) Y |
JOLTY (jerky; like a jerk)
|
Y
|
JOLT
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Duncan – It sounds as if our solving experience was the same as yours.
We were in the final stages of the solve and partly listening to the radio when James Dean’s name was mentioned so we found out that he died on 30th September 1955.
Thanks Schadenfreude – our faces always light up when we see your name above a puzzle. Thanks also to Duncan.
My experience was slightly different. I had T?F??EN … in the northeast corner, and after a fruitless search for films with “friend” in the title, it suddenly said OF EDEN to me and after seeing K?Z?N and vaguely remembering Elia Kazan’s name, filling the rest of the perimeter became quite simple. This allowed me to finish the grid and reverse-engineer the other directors.
Good puzzle – less taxing than some of Schadenfreude’s, but neat. Thanks to SF and to Duncan.
Thanks Duncan and Schadenfreude. I guessed at DIRECTOR early on and being a bit of a film buff immediately got James Dean and the films etc. Unfortunately having half the grid filled for free still did not enable me to solve all the clues. The Greek goddess, Italian Mafia and Japanese PM were just not on my radar at all.
Very enjoyable despite sending myself down the garden stream without a paddle, chasing wild geese.
I found REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE containing DEAN quite early on. This set me thinking that we were looking for three people whose careers had been cut short. Couldn’t find [Heath] LEDGER anywhere. Whilst on this magical mystery tour I spotted the possibility of GIANT but dismissed it since none of JD’s co-stars (Liz and Rock) were cut down in their prime, I dismissed it – d’oh!
Still, I got there in the end. Many thanks to Schadenfreude – how does he do it? – and to Duncan for an excellent blog.
This was one of those where the theme rescued me at just the right moment. I’d been making good progress but had almost completely ground to a halt and couldn’t see anything useful in the omitted letters. I’d worked out DIRECTOR at 24A and was looking for films in the perimeter, but although WITHOUT seemed likely I somehow hadn’t thought of the obvious until I started writing out the perimeter in a line, at which point REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE jumped out as PDMly as ever a PDM can be.
A great puzzle.
A mix of others’ solving experiences. All I had was a DIRECTOR with third letter Z. KAZAN came from nowhere, and then EAST OF EDEN starting in the top row, with JAMES [DEAN] embedded. So the perimeter came all of a rush. Still a lot to do, and I found the puzzle quite hard to finish.
Thanks, Schadenfreude and Duncan as ever.
I failed to finish, despite a promising start and even a suspicion (ok, lucky guess) that it might be a James Dean theme as I knew that he’d only starred in 3 films. Unfortunately I didn’t get enough letters around the perimeter to make a go of it. Looking at the answers above, I was on the right lines with several clues but couldn’t quite finish them off and failed to get any crossing letters that would have allowed me to enter some of ARMISTICE and RECANT.
Thanks to blogger and setter.
Happy realization of WITHOUT in the perimeter led straight to REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE with something interpolated, and although I’m not big on film DEAN emerged straight away from the recesses of memory. I had to look up his middle name though. For a long time I had various alternative letters pencilled in for e.g ARMISTICE. Having been defeated by Schadenfreude’s last one (or was it the last two), I was immoderately cheered to finish this one on the Sunday rather than late in the week as more usual for this setter! Some tough clues nevertheless …
Another really enjoyable puzzle from Schadenfreude that left me guessing and manipulating letters right to the the death even once I had sussed the theme. My way in was with getting 24A DIRECTOR and then realising the Z from 14A had to be one of the omitted letters.
I’m not a film buff either but fortunately I recognised the name KAZAN because of all the furore a few years ago when there were protests at the award of his honorary Oscar on account of his testimony to the “UnAmerican Activities” commission. I havd always wondered what a parliamentray commission on “UnBritish activities” would have come up with and who would have been charged?
Anyway, the pieces fell into place gradually after that, so many thanks Schadenfreude and Duncan for another excellent blog.
Rob H, have you not been following the Conservative party conference? I think we are finding out what it would look like.
Terrific puzzle, which was, for several sessions, next to impossible… and then, when the rebel disclosed himself, easy. Though like Peedee @3, not every clue fell.
How wonderful to discover that Dean’s full name, and the three films he is in, fit the perimeter of a crossword.
Thanks to Schadenfreude and Duncan.
My experience was exactly the same as OPatrick@5 and my sentiments also so nothing to add.
A lovely puzzle.
As always, many thanks to setter and blogger.
Another gem from Schadenfreude, but it must have been one of his easier ones as I almost completed it in one session, which would have been a first for me. I was on my own with a lot of time on my hands on the day this was published, so as I got off to a steady start I just kept plodding on. When I had spotted the theme and completed the perimeter, I filled in what was left of the centre relatively quickly until I ground to a halt on 13d. Not one of the toughest clues, but I had some kind of mental block which stopped me from seeing that it was an anagram, and after staring at it for half an hour I gave up. So no nine-dart finish for me, but inevitably when I picked up the puzzle again the next day I got the last answer straight away.
Keep them coming Schadenfreude!