This EV uses alphabetically listed clued that have to be slotted in to the grid. That normally means quite a bit of cold solving. The danger is that one can feel one isn’t getting anywhere. That said, I do have a soft spot for Samuel’s EVs, so I have confidence that this will be enjoyable.
My confidence was well advised; I loved this one.
I solved TOMATO and VODKA. Now, I’m no lush, but it wasn’t a stretch to figure out how those should be ‘mixed’, particularly given that BLOODY MARY fit in nicely.
Given that I knew I was looking for cocktails, I found it surprisingly hard to solve some of the other thematic clues. In particular, a SAZERAC is indeed given as WHISKY and PERNOD in Chamber’s, but on Wikipedia it states that the ingredients are cognac (or whiskey) and absinthe!
I’d like to have lubricated my mind with some theme-in-a-glass, but that wasn’t possible at the time. Nevertheless, I worked away and figured out which tipples were indicated.
I made an early guess as to the unclued entry, but I still needed to see how it came about. The first letters from the extra words in the cocktail clues spell FAWLTY. This is ‘a surname associated with problems with a further MIX’, namely a SCREWDRIVER, which is the unclued entry. Basil’s problems occur in the ‘Waldorf Salad’ episode of Fawlty Towers, which you can read about here.
Lovely.
Two small issues:
(a) I don’t see how ‘away’ can be clued as ‘stop’ (in ALLEYWAY)
(b) CACHAÇA is wrongly listed as having 6 letters (in CAIPIRINHA)
Notation
(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
fighting = extra word
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| ABORNE | Elderly behaved A (about) [bottomless] < ENROB |
|
| ALLEYWAY | AWAY (Stop) [bottling] < YELL (scream) [up] in passage | |
| ATOKES | [Heartless] A |
|
| F | PEACH, PROSECCO: BELLINI |
[Almost] PEAC |
| A | VODKA, TOMATO: BLOODY MARY | [Lacking] adolescent’s E (energy), < DOVE (peacemaker) [ascends] with KA (spirit) TO MAT (dull) O (love) (5,6) |
| BY-TIME | I’M [entering] BYTE (storage unit) when people used to relax | |
| W | CACHAÇA, LIME: CAIPIRINHA |
[Mostly] wackos CACH |
| CARYATID | CARY (Grant, perhaps), AT (administrative trainee) ID (identity) for supportive female | |
| DEVADASI | Dancer <{IS A DAVE (TV channel) DREAM, [initially]}, [when making a comeback] | |
| DSOS | SOS (Help) [after] D (daughter) crosses | |
| ESTIVAL | [Topless] FESTIVAL (celebration) of summer in LA | |
| GEMARA | RAMPAGE* [destroyed] [missing] P (page) in religious writing | |
| HARISSA | H (Hot) AIR’S* [naughty] SA (sex appeal) – it’s hot stuff | |
| JOVIAL | Godlike JO (Glaswegian loved one) with VIAL (bottle) | |
| LEAFLIKE | [Wandering] FLEA* with LIKE (preference) for resembling foliage | |
| LEAP | Jump [lead used on] ESCORT [during] LAP (trip around circuit) | |
| LEIPOA | OAP (Pensioner) [cycles] [after] LEI (Romanian capital)’s flier | |
| LEONIDS | [Infirm] OLDIES*, [ultimately] UNCLEAN – you might see them in a shower? | |
| LET’S DO IT | [Awfully] {STILTED O (old)}* Cole Porter number (three words) | |
| MIRAGE | Plane? It’s an illusion | |
| MOLECH | LECH (Lust) [after] MO (medical man), a God | |
| MULETA | MULE (Stubborn person) TA (volunteers) piece of bullfighting equipment | |
| NERNST | RN (Royal Navy) [invades] NEST (home) of German physicist | |
| OATER | Unforgiven, perhaps, B (bachelor) [leaves] |
|
| ORCHAT | OR (Men) CHAT (talk) in place where old-timers went scrumping? | |
| L | PINEAPPLE, COCONUT, RUM: PINA COLADA |
PINE (Long), APP (apparently) [empty], LIFE, leaves COCO (clown) with NUT (tough) R (take) on |
| PROO | Scots call horse to stop R (run) [in] POO (number two) | |
| RANCHED | {CAN HERD}* [be worked] so? | |
| REGISSEURS | French managers [abandoned] SURGERIES* on s (Sabbath) | |
| RUN FOR IT | Flee [blazing] {RUINED FORT}* after ED (journalist) [escapes] (three words) | |
| T | WHISKY, PERNOD: SAZERAC |
WHISK (Beat) Y (unknown) PER (for) truly NOD (careless mistake) (6,6) |
| SEE RED | SEER (Prophet) [every now and then] |
|
| Y | GIN, SODA, LEMON: TOM COLLINS |
GIN |
| TRACTATORS | Writers {A (are) TRAPPED [at first]} [in] TRACTORS (bars that offer relief) | |
| USER | US (American) ER (Queen)’s an addict | |
| YEARS | YES (Agreement) [to keep captive] A (absent) R (king) for a long time |
Many tks, Mister Sting, for blog. Re the “small issues” – stop is shown as definition (adv) under AWAY in the latest Chambers so shd be OK.
Isn’t it ‘Without hesitation, stop or delay’? In other words, isn’t it without stop?
Yes, Mister Sting, fair point, when I look at it more closely. I’d not spotted that. I think you are right, tks.
I only recently started doing the EV (since October last year) being an Inquisitor chap in the main. Very much enjoying them but this was my favourite so far. Tom Collins was my way in, and then things started to drop nicely with Bloody Mary following not soon after. I avoided the temptation to reward myself with each cocktail as they were entered. I had never heard of a Sazerac which was my last cocktail in.
A lovely puzzle from Samuel and many thanks for the blog Mister Sting.
You’re welcome, Phil R!
As I say, Samuel’s EVs are always very solid efforts – as you’d expect from the EV editor (I think that’s still the case?).
Thank you Mr Sting for the blog, and for the kind comments. The puzzle was a bit of a challenge to set as, although there are many cocktails, there seem to be many variants of each. I realise this was probably a challenge for solvers as well. However I figured that when the puzzle appeared (inbetween Christmas and New Year), solvers may be imhibing some thematic mixes around that time, so may have some recipes fresh in their mind.
Apologies for the incorrect letter count. I did justify “away” = “stop” when setting the puzzle (in the sense of an item being removed (as in “to take away” something = “to stop something”), so will check on Chambers when I’m back in front of a dictionary. It may be a case of “editor edit thyself”, which is always a challenge. And Phil R., I’m pleased you are enjoying the puzzles. I think there are some good’uns coming up!