The 225 archive shows that this is only the sixth Quaiteaux Indy puzzle, and that is more than four years since this setter last appeared in the Indy – so long ago, in fact, that Bert thought that this was a new setter. Having said that, this is a very welcome return – a really enjoyable Tuesday challenge.
The first thing we noticed was the rather unusual grid with no less fewer* than 37 clues in total, ranging from fairly straightforward to extremely tricky.
4 ac had us completely stumped until we were offered some last-minute help from a 225 friend – the parsing below is entirely down to him!
We were also puzzled by the parenthesised part of the clue to 6ac, which seems unnecessary to the solution – however, the same friend came up with the explanation, which, whilst it is unnecessary to the solution, is a connection that Bert at least should have made.
*Thank you to Kathryn’s Dad for pointing out Bert’s cardinal sin
| Across | ||
| 1 | Very game, if muddled (4) | |
| MEGA | An anagram of GAME – anagrind is ‘muddled’ | |
| 4 | Big man lost little 11 coming from here (4) | |
| GATH | We were totally lost on this one, but our 225 friend explains it as: G |
|
| 6 | Digression that’s on record (like 31 of any colour you like?) (5) | |
| ASIDE | An A-SIDE is ‘on a record’ – we couldn’t see the relevance of the remainder of the clue, until our 225 friend explained that ‘Money’ was the A-Side of a 1973 record by Pink Floyd (of whom we are big fans), the B-side of which was ‘Any Colour You Like’. Both tracks are on ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, but we didn’t buy singles in those days, so missed the A-side / B-side connection | |
| 9 | Some countries dropping bar for all that remain (6) | |
| RELICS | RE |
|
| 10 | Timeless times: being inside, being outside (8) | |
| EXTERNAL | ETERNAL (timeless) with X (times) inside | |
| 12 | She has some leverage (4) | |
| VERA | Hidden in or ‘some’ of leVERAge | |
| 13 | Bishop’s cry of recognition – one having faith (5) | |
| BAHAI | B (bishop) AHA (cry of recognition) I (one) | |
| 14 | Stay forward (4) | |
| PROP | Double definition – a) support, b) rugby forward | |
| 15 | I never went in for siestas – dreadful standstills! (6) | |
| STASES | An anagram of S |
|
| 17 | Start to wonder at tigers: half were destroyed by floods (6) | |
| WATERS | W (first letter or ‘start’ of ‘wonder’) AT |
|
| 20 | Chairman reported twice on Kenyan activists (3,3) | |
| MAU MAU | A homophone (‘reported’) of MAO (‘Chairman’) repeated | |
| 23 | Mother greeted by sound of cheers in state capital (6) | |
| MUMBAI | MUM (mother) + a homophone (‘sound of’) BYE (cheers) | |
| 26 | Others left books out in restaurant to create atmosphere (4) | |
| AURA | ‘Rest’ (others) and ‘nt’ (books – New Testament) left out of |
|
| 27 | Volunteers within state get something to eat (5) | |
| SATAY | TA (volunteers – Territorial Army) in SAY (state) | |
| 28 | Use deceit to get money out of castle (4) | |
| ROOK | Double definition – a) to fleece, b) castle, in chess | |
| 29 | If nothing needs underlining initially, object to finally providing hint (8) | |
| INNUENDO | Initial letters of ‘If Nothing Needs Underlining’ + END (object) + tO (last or ‘final’ letter) | |
| 30 | Do vessels have changes of direction (1-5) | |
| U-TURNS | UT (do – old name for the first note of the scale) URNS (vessels) | |
| 31 | Second to back Japanese currency – and others (5) | |
| MONEY | MO (second) + YEN (Japanese currency) reversed or ‘back’ | |
| 32 | Main character has to move slowly (4) | |
| INCH | Hidden in ‘maIN CHaracter’ | |
| 33 | My good man, every other character is one with idiosyncratic syntax (4) | |
| YODA | Alternate letters (every other character) of ‘mY gOoD mAn’ – a reference to the ‘Star Wars’ character with ‘idiosyncratic syntax’ | |
| Down | ||
| 2 | Am I providing some examples with 4? (8) | |
| ELEMENTS | Am and I are abbreviations for Americium and Iodine, which along with 4 are ELEMENTS | |
| 3 | I’m pedantic about small creatures (7) | |
| ANIMALS | IM in ANAL (pedantic) + S (small) | |
| 4 | Possibly noble when subordinate to German leader (3) | |
| GAS | AS (when) under or ‘subordinate” to G (first letter, or ‘leader’ of German) | |
| 5 | Now, some thoughts about trouper’s philosophy (3,4,4,2,2) | |
| THE SHOW MUST GO ON | An anagram of NOW SOME THOUGHTS – anagrind is ‘about’ | |
| 7 | Violinist‘s exhortation to abolish the monarchy? (7) | |
| SCRAPER | SCRAP (abolish) ER (the monarchy) | |
| 8 | Empty debate? A swizz, according to clergyman (6) | |
| DEACON | D |
|
| 11 | Dance, pervert! (5) | |
| TWIST | Double definition | |
| 13 | One’s surrounded by lies again (3) | |
| BIS | I (one) surrounded by BS (bullshit – lies) | |
| 16 | Assume donkey’s killed returning bird (3) | |
| EMU | ‘Ass’ (donkey) removed from (‘killed’) ‘ |
|
| 18 | Molecular core kind of 31 (3) | |
| ECU | The ‘core’ of ‘molECUlar’ – a ‘kind’ of money (31ac) | |
| 19 | Roam about, single, deserted, stranded (8) | |
| MAROONED | An anagram of ROAM (anagrind is ‘about’) + ONE (single) D (deserted) | |
| 21 | When are unusual outsiders imprisoned? Generally (2,1,4) | |
| AS A RULE | AS (when) ARE round or ‘imprisoning’ U |
|
| 22 | Graduate’s working for builder (5) | |
| MASON | MA’S (graduate’s) ON (working) | |
| 23 | Can take nothing out of county (3) | |
| MAY | MAY |
|
| 24 | Like Andrew, holding copper or another metal (7) | |
| MERCURY | MERRY (‘like Andrew’ – apparently a ‘merry-andrew’ was a quack’s assistant, a buffoon or a clown) round or ‘holding’ CU (copper) | |
| 25 | Starts to query undertaking as neuroscientists try to set up body (6) | |
| QUANGO | First letters or ‘starts’ of Query Undertaking As Neuroscientists + GO (try) | |
| 30 | It’s revolting taking part in bug hunt (3) | |
| UGH | Hidden or ‘taking part’ in bUG Hunt | |
Thanks B&J and welcome back Quaiteaux (note to Eimi, it has been far too long!).
6 across was obviously going to be ‘aside’ but, as is my wont, I didn’t enter it because I couldn’t parse it.
Your explanation tells me why I would never get it. I have only the vaguest idea of what you are on about. 🙂 Some would probably say it is my loss, but I am afraid I am not among them.
Thanks for the explanation of GATH.
I think there might be two themes. See eg 17 and 24.
Well done Muffyword.
On closer inspection we have found a surprising number of thematic clues. We spent so long looking at 4ac and 6ac that we didn’t even think of looking for a theme (or in this case themes).
Very good puzzle, thanks to setter and B&J.
There’s more thematic stuff than first meets the eye. I count 6 and 5 obvious ones respectively, but also note last half of 3ac and first half of 4ac.
Well we have Mercury, May and Deacon. The Show Must go On from the album Innuendo. Any other Queen related answers? Relics, Money, Waters and Mason from the aforementioned Pink Floyd. What larks!
Doofs …also Marooned and Animals for Floyd. And GaGa for Queen.
I also notice ELP in rhs unches. Surely coincidence …
I take it from the INNUENDOS above that this has something to do with Queen and Pink Floyd. If someone could come out of the closet and just explain that in one comment, then it would probs help other folk like me who have no real idea what’s going on. Teasing out a theme by committee is not my favourite activity (except of course when the theme interests me).
GATH and ASIDE are always going to be beyond the ken of this solver, I’m afraid, so I gave up with a few to go.
And since I’m in an arsey mood, how do I know which ‘4’ it is when I’m trying to solve ELEMENTS? Is it 4dn or 4ac? And while I’m still in an arsey mood, there are no fewer than 37 clues in total, rather than no less than 37 clues in total. But I’ve been ANAL/PEDANTIC since I emerged from my mother’s front bottom.
Thanks all three.
K’s D
References to Queen album (innuendo), song (The Show Must …) and members Freddie Mercury, John Deacon and Brian May. Also song Radio GAGA hinted at in 3ac/4ac.
Pink Floyd albums (Animals, Relics), songs (Money, Marooned), and members (Roger Waters, Nick Mason).
There may be more for all I know..
G.
I initially took the reference to 4 in the clue to 2dn to mean 4dn, thinking of the noble gases, but not all gases are elements. It can be either 4ac or 4dn. GATH can give Ga and Th; GAS can give Ga and S. As chemical symbols Ga is gallium, Th is thorium and S is sulphur. (Don’t get me going on the Americanised ‘sulfur’ which seems to have been adopted recently!)
And talking of 4ac, it may no longer be PC to mimic of speech difficulties but there is an old rhyme which begins:
Goliath of Gath
with hith helmet of brath
wath theated one day
upon the green grath…
Thanks Quaiteaux and B&J.
Welcome back, Quaiteaux. I’m afraid the theme(s) passed me by but I esp liked THE SHOW MUST GO ON and SCRAPER.
PS Thanks also to B&J for the blog of course.
Oh come on m’colleague, couldn’t you have found a spot for m’other colleague Roger Meddows-Taylor? No? Pshaw.
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned yet that ‘The show must go on’ is also a track on Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’. Was that the starting point of the double theme?
Indeed it was. There’s another track from the same album, of almost exactly the same length, lurking as well.
Many thanks to B&J for the blog and everyone who commented.
Fun solve.
Missed the theme – or minor allusion to something – as ever.
At least MONEY was included without mentioning Martin stupid Amis (OK – I admit – I read it at the time) – who seems to pop up rather too often for my liking – despite his dad who towered.
Likewise Pink stupid Floyd. How about giving The Dave Clark Five (or similar) a run once in a while – someone must have bought their records.
Anyway – rant over – feel a lot better now. Brilliant puzzle otherwise.
Thanks to S&B – latter esp for explaining 4a and 6a.
Oops – “towered” should go on “towered over him”.
To keep K’sD happy (on a rather grumpier than usual day!), we’ve corrected the ‘less’ to ‘fewer’ – with appropriate acknowledgement.
We’ve also searched the grid for the other Floyd track alluded to by Quaiteaux, to no avail – can you put us out of our misery please? It surely can’t be ‘Empty Spaces’ – there are considerably more blocks than the fifteen letters in ‘The Show Must Go On’!! Or is it EXTERNAL – ‘Outside the Wall’?
The other track from ‘The Wall’ is ‘Vera’. The length referred to is the duration of the track, not the length of the entry.
Many thanks hounddog. We’d spotted Vera already and thought that others had identified it too. We’re in Wales at the moment and have been rather distracted by walking in the pouring rain!