6 months comes around quickly, and it’s my turn on the Genius slot once more.
I thought this was a great puzzle. The device was fairly straightforward, but the standard of clueing, misdirection, surface reading etc was top-notch throughout. A couple of places where I have outstanding queries, but I’m sure they will soon be cleared-up.
The preamble said: “Ten across and six down clues contain a word superfluous to the definition or wordplay involved. In each case, this word provides a cryptic instruction as to how that solution is to be modified before insertion in the grid. All the required entries are real words.”
The usual formatting idiosyncrasies of the Genius puzzle mean that what follows may not be very clear. I’ve tried to use a template from a previous Everyman post. Definitions are underlined. Superfluous words that give a cryptic instruction are in italics. Unamended entries are in brackets, where applicable.
| Across | ||
| 1 | COMMINATION (Termination) | End torment in one suffering without a comforter (11) |
| As is often the case, a themed clue first up. Anag (suffering) of TORMENTIN and I (one), around (without) A. Entered with the adaptation of COM for TER. Commination (the act of threatening divine vengeance) was a new word for me, and is one that I am going to try to use in my daily business. | ||
| 7 | WOK | Something useful in the kitchen, women agreed (3) |
| W (women) OK (agreed). | ||
| 9 | TRAIN
(trams) |
Informs knights of the road: no power for electric vehicles (5) |
| TRAMpS (knights of the road, apparently), with no P (power). Entered with the adaptation of IN for MS. | ||
| 10 | INTERPRET | Make sense of playwright losing his head at play’s premiere? About time! (9 |
| pINTER (playwright losing its head) P (play’s premiere) RE (about) T (time) | ||
| 11 | HAILS (wails) | Laments woefully as wash inexplicably loses socks, for starters (5) |
| Not quite sure how to parse this one. Any helpers? | ||
| 12 | SLAT (seat) |
Great home life round a TV |
| SET (TV) round A. Modified by L if E. Stared at this one for ages, before the Great Home definition clicked. | ||
| 13 | LIFE | Sentence primarily found in fiction (4) |
| F (found, primarily) in LIE (fiction) | ||
| 15 | EAGER (eater) | Kind of apple tree, a fantastic gift (5) |
| Anag (fantastic) of TREEA. Entered with adaptation of G if T | ||
| 17 | JET LAG | Effect of long journey in Spooner’s leased car (3,3) |
| Spoonerism of LET JAG | ||
| 20 | KIPPER (kisser) |
Stop mouth of former Secretary of State cancelling gin
supply (6)
|
| KISSingER (former secretary of state, without an anagram (supply) of gin). Amended by S to P | ||
| 21 | GIMME |
Easy shot never played in golf: a short distance to back of
hole (5)
|
| G (golf) IMM (1 millimetre; a short distance) E (back of hole). Nice bit of misdirection with the possibility of E as Y – foxed me for a bit at least. Hints of &lit. | ||
| 25 | TRAP (leap) |
Bound to have drink, eating last of the trifle (4) |
| LAP (drink) around (eating) E (last of thE). Amended via TR if LE | ||
| 26 | RUDE (rues) |
Denotes regrets from using hearing device (4) |
| RUES (regrets) sounds like RUSE (device). Amended by DE not ES. Confused for a while about which was the definition. | ||
| 27 | SHREW (screw) |
Pay cash for sex |
| Double def. (screw is an old term for salary, apparently). Modified via C as H. Another good surface | ||
| 29 | TAKE A HIKE |
Go for a long walk? Get lost! (4,1,4) |
| Double def. | ||
| 30 | IGLOO | House blocked from having one good toilet (5) |
| I (one) G (good) LOO (toilet). Nice definition and surface. | ||
| 31 | SIR | Miss Ireland’s title? Yes and no! (3) |
| Hidden answer, within misSIReland. Another nice bit of misdirection. | ||
| 32 | CONTENTIONS (conventions) |
Vast assemblies where party votes in new processes? (11) |
| CON (party), anag (processes) of VOTESIN N(new). Modified by V as T. | ||
|
|
||
And then some normal text
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CATCHIER | More easily remembered song? That’s right (8) |
| CATCH (song, as in going for a…?) IE (that’s) R (right) | ||
| 2 | MEANING | Import first of goods after roughly 9am (7) |
| MEANIN (anag. (roughly) of NINEAM) then G (first of Goods) | ||
| 3 | INNES | Author shown up by Ibsen, nightly (5) |
| Hidden answer, reversed (shown up by) in ibSENNIghtly, for Hammond INNES | ||
| 4 | AMIDST |
Surrounded by mad idiots on vacation, cavorting at either side of tent (6)
|
| Anag. (cavorting) of MAD IdiotS (on vacation), then T (either side of TenT) | ||
| 5 | INTRANET |
Managed with ten IT changes outside in-company system (8)
|
| RAN (managed) with anag. (changes) of TENIT outside. | ||
| 6 | NERD | Anorak essential for dinner date |
| Hidden answer (essential for) in dinNERDate | ||
| 7 | WARRING (earring) |
Wife going topless, trying to include right jewellery
(7)
|
| hEARING (trying, going topless) around R (right). Modified by W if E | ||
| 8 | KITTEN (mitten) |
Catch boy being upset? Mask what covers boxer’s
paw (6)
|
| NET (catch) TIM (boy) reversed (upset). Modified by M as K. | ||
| 14 | SLOG (blog) | Writing online, bass needs baritone’s first record (4) |
| B (baritone’s first) LOG (record). Modified by B as S | ||
| 16 | RAPS | Knocks box over (4) |
| Reversal (over) of SPAR (box) | ||
| 18 | DELUSION | Nude plastered with oils? Fancy! (8) |
| Anag. (plastered) of NUDE and OILS | ||
| 19 | REDWOODS | Big trees embarrassed golfer (8) |
| RED (embarrassed) WOODS (golfer) | ||
| 20 | KNACKER (snacker) |
One having bite to eat with royalty after vessel’s
gone back 1,000 knots (7)
|
| ER (royalty) after CAN (vessel) K (1000) reversed (gone back). Modified by K not S. | ||
| 22 | MORELLO | Cherry that’s extra large, left over (7) |
| MORE (extra) L (large) L (left) O (over) | ||
| 23 | STATES (slates) | Criticises doctor less, at last (6) |
| Anag. (doctor) of LESSAT. Modified by L as T | ||
| 24 | RED EYE |
Blushing, check out organ wrongly exposed by
flasher? (3-3)
|
| RED (blushing) EYE (check out). | ||
| 27 | SHIRT (shire) | After his rude retort, the Queen mounted horse (5) |
| Anag (rude) of HIS, then ER (queen) reversed (mounted). Modified by RE to RT | ||
| 28 | MARC | Brandy butter served up cold (4) |
| RAM (butter, always love that one) reversed (served up) then C (cold). | ||
Thanks for the blog.
11. Definition: Laments. Initial letters (for starters) of woefully as inexplicably loses socks.
Of course, thanks Norman
We enjoyed this one, finishing in about 2 days, which is good going for a Genius (quicker than some daily puzzles in fact!)
My first was 28d and my thought was that ‘up’ was the extra word, so I should enter CRAM, but then the clue didn’t work… Fortunately I fairly soon got CONVENTIONS for 32a, then the penny dropped about the V-as-T trick. Great fun – and thanks for parsing 4d, which has eluded us
Thanks Matt for the blog, and Puck for a very enjoyable puzzle.
My only two minor niggles with this are:
In 20A we change SS to PP, which is not exactly indicated by the direction to change S to P.
Secondly, there was what appears to be a superfluous word in 7A. Does ‘useful’ really need to be there? The clue is fine without it I feel.
These are very minor quibbles in an excellent crossword.
We’ve just returned frim holiday and have been ctching up on puzzles. We really enjoyed this. Good clueing and misdirection as has already been mentioned. Even when we realised the ‘device’ it still took some head scratching. 27ac was our COM (clue of the month!).
Thanks Puck and Matt.