Some light(?) entertainment from Nutmeg in EPIDEMIC…although some ‘thinking outside the box’ may be required!
The preamble states:
“In EPIDEMIC, four unclued entries are of a kind and must be entered thematically, one bearing in mind the presence of 1dn, and the others of the 12, both of which are clued by wordplay only. The thirteen non-thematic down clues each contain a misprint in the definition part that must be corrected before solving; the correct letters indicate the source of the theme. Numbers in brackets refer to grid entries, and Chambers Dictionary (2014) is recommended.”
So several ‘standard’ EV devices – corrected misprints in clues giving some information; unclued and thematically entered entries; and two other undefined thematic entries. Misprints are in down, non-thematic, clues only, so all acrosses must be ‘normal’, and that was my first line of attack.
After some initial solving, there were enough crossing letters to help with 1D and 12D – GRANDFATHER and FARMER’S WIFE respectively, and also a high proportion of crossing letters in the unclued entries to deduce that there were three mice (MINNIE, JERRY and MORTIMER) with their tails cut off, having upset the farmer’s wife (12D), leaving a fourth, MICKEY, ‘running up’ the grandfather clock (1D).
Corrected misprints spelled out NURSERY RHYMES as the source of the theme – specifically ‘THREE BLIND MICE…’ and ‘HICKORY DICKORY DOCK…’.
And the title? I guess a reference to an infestation of mice, and a thematic representation of those mic(e) with their tails cut off?
As fortune would have it, I got onto the wavelength of this fairly quickly, and it turned out to be that rarest of beasts (as far as your correspondent is concerned!) – an EV solved in a single, if rather extended, and very enjoyable, sitting! I suspect a few other grizzled/old-hand EV regulars might have had similar solving experiences, but I would also hope that there will have been some people dipping their toes in the EV pond and finding this a pleasant and entertaining challenge, tempting them to come back for more…?
Many thanks to Nutmeg…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined) / Logic/Parsing |
||
| 1 | GYMS | Training venues Capt Kirk’s informed of (4) / Homophone – GYMS (training venues) sounds like JIM’S (Captain James T Kirk, of Star Trek renown) |
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| 5 | SOLUBLE | Son talking a lot, not very likely to work out… (7) / S (son) + (V)OLUBLE (talking a lot, minus V – very) |
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| 10 | REHEEL | …he has to totter round to renovate part of Oxford, perhaps (6) / RE_EL (totter) around HE |
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| 11 | ALOOF | Haughty scrubber’s last to move to the front (5) / (A)LOOF(A) – loofa, scrubber, with last letter moved to the front |
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| 13 | AKELA | Youth leader bringing back old-fashioned festival spirit (5) / ALE (archaic for festival) + KA (spirit) – all ‘brought back’ |
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| 14 | ASSYRIA | Old country oaf careless when turning over (7) / ASS (oaf) + YRIA (AIRY, careless, turned over) |
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| 15 | CLERICS | Calls regularly, ringing fine folk in ministry (7) / CL_S (regular letters of CaLlS) around (ringing) ERIC (fine) |
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| 17 | DISC | Detect scratching over record (4) / DISC(OVER) – detect, minus (scratching) OVER |
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| 18 | PROEM | Preliminary section English placed in front (5) / PRO_M (front) around E (English) |
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| 20 | HEN HOUSE | Accommodation for sultan, or his harem? (8, two words) / Cryptic Definition(?) – a Sultan being a type of chicken |
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| 22 | ANOINTED | Blessed criminal ain’t done (8) / anag, i.e. criminal, of AINT DONE |
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| 25 | TAROT | Proceed at leisurely pace circling a deck (5) / T_ROT (proceed at a leisurely pace) around (circling) A |
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| 28 | ORCS | Men taking on extremely callous killers at sea (4) / OR (Other Ranks, men) + CS (extreme letters of CallouS) |
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| 29 | JANE DOE | She’s not identified Spooner’s north European fellow (7, two words) / Dr Spooner might say ‘Dane Joe’, North European fellow |
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| 30 | EVIDENT | Plain papers put into case (7) / EV_ENT (case) around ID (identification papers) |
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| 31 | MINNI(E) | Thematic (5) / Mouse with tail chopped off! |
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| 32 | RIMER | Frost, R, once? (5) / &lit-ish/Cryptic Definition(?): RIME (frost) + R giving RIMER, or poet, and R(obert) Frost was an American poet |
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| 33 | RELIEF | Judge has to remain inside for fresh supply of provisions (6) / RE_F (judge) around LIE (remain) |
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| 34 | CLEARLY | Doubtless Liberal peer’s in country on vacation (7) / C_Y (country, vacated of middle letters) around L (Liberal) + EARL (peer) |
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| 35 | ELSE | Other net losses regularly written off (4) / regular letters removed from (written off from) ‘nEtLoSsEs’ |
||
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Corrected misprint | Solution | Clue (definition underlined, misprinted word in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
|
| 1 | GRANDFATHER | Get together to trap African rhino (female) (11) / (undefined) G_ATHER (get together) around (trapping) RAND (South African money, or rhino) + F (female) |
||
| 2 | YEKCIM | Thematic (6) / Mouse running up the (grandfather) clock! |
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| 3 | Nag | SELECTION | Couple opposed at table reading tipster’s favourite rag (9) / S and E (South and East, opponents in cards at a bridge table) + LECTION (reading) |
|
| 4 | hUnt | SEARCH | Prices heartlessly raised before tea, dropping a hint (6) / SE(T)AR (rates, or prices, raised, and without middle letter, or heart) + CH(A) (tea, droppiing A) |
|
| 5 | waR | SLAIN | Late, usually because of way city’s cutting crime (5) / S_IN (crime_ around (cut by) LA (city, Los Angeles) |
|
| 6 | naSty | OBSCENE | Natty old boy considered speaking (7) / OB (Old Boy) + SCENE (homophone of SEEN, considered) |
|
| 7 | wEnch | LASS | Shortened rope in winch (4) / LASS(O) – shortened rope |
|
| 8 | Right | BORE OUT | Men with energy interrupting contest proved to be tight (7, two words) / B_OUT (contest) interrupted by OR (men, again) + E (energy) |
|
| 9 | baY | LOIRE | Myths surrounding one French banker going out into bar (5) / LO_RE (myths) around (surrounding) I (one) |
|
| 12 | FARMER’S WIFE | They’ll keep you snug, head to foot, in Scottish region (11, two words) / (undefined) F_IFE (Scottish region) around (W)ARMERS(W) (warmers, which will keep you snug, first letter , or head, going to the end, or foot) |
||
| 16 | tickeR | CROCODILE | School kids in line to get panto ticket (Peter Pan)? (9) / double defn.: a CROCODILE of school kids on a supervised walk; and the CROCODILE swallowed Captain Hook’s watch – and hand! – in Peter Pan, becoming a ‘panto ticker’ |
|
| 19 | MORTIME(R) | Thematic (7) / Mouse with tail chopped off! |
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| 21 | Hock | ETHANOL | Powerful constituent in dock rising only to secure floppy hat (7) / E_NOL (lone, only, rising) around THA (anag, i.e. floppy, of HAT) |
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| 23 | waY | DEEMED | Contract limiting this person’s thought in critical war (6) / DEE_D (contract) around ME (this person, the setter) |
|
| 24 | Moody | SCENES | What’s apt to be made by the woody part of 6,4? (6) / hidden word, i.e. part of, in ‘obSCENE Search’, the answers to 6 and 4 |
|
| 26 | Ear | ANVIL | Having lost capital, quibble about new little component in car (5) / (C)A_VIL (quibble, losing first letter, or capital) around N (new) |
|
| 27 | Set | ENTRY | What’s let down plastic tyre punctured by head of nail (5) / E_TRY (anag, i.e. plastic, of TYRE) ‘punctured’ by N (first letter, or head, of Nail) |
|
| 29 | JERR(Y) | Thematic (4) / Mouse with tail chopped off! |
||
I really enjoyed this from Nutmeg. Proof that a puzzle doesn’t have to be immensely difficult to be fun and well-set. As the blogger says, it would have been a good puzzle for EV newbies. Perhaps the Telegraph should publish a difficulty rating alongside each puzzle, on the basis that it might tempt new solvers in if rated as “easy”. The same ratings could be used as are used for Su Doku puzzles.
Thanks for the comment Brian W – I quite agree on the enjoyability of this puzzle and, as a blogger generally, there is always a sigh of relief if I can actually complete the puzzle in reasonable time.
There has been discussion before about difficulty ratings – but I’m not too sure about publishing them explicitly. I tend to get a feel of the difficulty either from first reading of the preamble/viewing of the grid, and/or after 5 minutes of trying…and on occasion, if it isn’t my turn to blog, I have been known to quietly put it down and walk away if I am not getting anywhere! If there was a rating next to the puzzle, it might deter some people from even starting, when who knows – they might have a moment of clarity and crack something which keeps them going onwards and upwards… I used to run a mile from jigsaw-type unnumbered grids, but having had to blog several recently I have overcome that initial dread and now ‘usually’ cope with most jigsaws…
I think there have also been some explanations on various forums (fora?) from the editor, along the lines that he tries to fit a variety of difficulty puzzles into a ‘cycle’, so maybe one or two ‘easier’ puzzles, a couple of mediums, and a couple of hard ones at any time within every 5 weeks or so – dependent, obviously, on supply, and also on any date-driven themes which need to be published on specific dates.