An excellent puzzle from Paul – thanks perhaps to getting the theme pretty early, I didn’t find this too hard, but it still look a few tries over the week to complete it
There’s a theme in the clues, where the letter “I” sometimes means a Scottish island. The islands mentioned are IONA, UNST, HOY, YELL, ISLAY, CONOLSAY, EIGG, WESTRAY and MUCK. I’ve marked these special uses of the letter I in the clues below with †
My way into the theme was guessing EIGG early on, which helped a lot.
Thanks to Paul for a very entertaining crossword!
Across
8. Minus I, lake is imaginary (8)
NOTIONAL
NOT = “Minus” + IONA = I† + L = “lake”
Definition: “imaginary”
9. I’m going mad, ie unhinged to some extent (5)
ADIEU
Hidden in “[m]AD IE U[nhinged]”
Definition: “I’m going”
10. Flag’s back alongside issue number (4)
SONG
SON = “issue” + [fla]G = “Flag’s back”
Definition: “number”
11. Record first put on tape a non-starter for visionary (10)
IDEOLOGIST
LOG = “Record” + IST = “first” after [v]IDEO = “tape a non-starter”
Definition: “visionary”
12. Very contrary, kill bird (6)
OSPREY
SO = “Very” reversed (“contrary”) + PREY = “kill” (as nouns, I think)
Definition: “bird”
14. Rocky I, fit (8)
UNSTABLE
UNST = I† + ABLE = “fit”
Definition: “Rocky”
15. Tiny gap unknown in fractures close to ankle (7)
SYNAPSE
Y = “unknown” in SNAPS = “fractures” + [ankl]E = “close to ankle”
Definition: “Tiny gap” – this took me a disappointingly long time to get given that I’ve spent a very long time annotating where there are synapses in electron microscope imagery!
17. I must secure home, in truth (7)
HONESTY
HOY = I† around NEST = “home”
Definition: “truth”
20. Nothing to achieve on reflection in message — that’s the whole thing (8)
CABOODLE
O = “Nothing” + DO = “to achieve” reversed in CABLE = “message”
Definition: “the whole thing”
22. I am in debt, endlessly, as spineless (6)
YELLOW
YELL = I† + OW[e] = “am in debt endlessly”
Definition: “spineless”
23. Main barrier takes a little time to split weaker bar that’s damaged (10)
BREAKWATER
T = “a little time” in (WEAKER BAR)*
Definition: “Main barrier” (“main” in the sense of “sea”)
24. Intend to be cruel (4)
MEAN
Double Definition: “intend” and “cruel”
25. I, I kill (5)
ISLAY
I + SLAY = “kill”
Definition: I†
26. A very old revolutionary in America confesses (8)
AVOUCHES
A + V = “very” + O = “old” followed by CHE = “revolutionary” in US = “America”
Definition: “confesses”
Down
1. I: speak (8)
COLONSAY
COLON = “:” + SAY = “speak”
Definition: I†
2. I, first of ideas yet to be hatched? (4)
EIGG
I[deas] = “first of ideas” is in an EGG, hence “yet to be hatched?”
Definition: I†
3. Being hospitable finally, US city welcoming bird (6)
ENTITY
[hospitabl]E = “hospitable finally” followed by NY = “US city” around TIT = “bird”
Definition: “Being”
4. Shrewd to fix duel in competition (5,2)
CLUED-UP
CUP = “competition”
Definition: “Shrewd”
5. Cry is directed at a nymph (8)
CALLISTO
“Cry” = CALL + “is to” = “is directed at”
Definition: “a nymph”
6. Bar selling rum seems familiar (5,1,4)
RINGS A BELL
(BAR SELLING)*
Definition: “seems familiar”
7. Seafood with not as much hesitation thrown up (6)
MUSSEL
LESS = “not as much” + UM = “hesitation” all reversed (“thrown up”)
Definition: “Seafood”
13. New Orleans, and a case of blue sound (10)
REASONABLE
(ORLEANS A BE) – in the anagram fodder, B[lu]E = “case of blue”
Definition: “sound”
16. Across middle, regular parts lost among rocks (8)
SIDEWAYS
[m]I[d]D[l]E = “middle, regular parts lost” in SWAYS = “rocks”
Definition: “Across”
18. Body parts from the wielder of a hammer and hatchets (8)
THORAXES
THOR = “the wielder of a hammer” + AXES = “hatchets”
Definition: “Body parts”
19. I, U and I deviate (7)
WESTRAY
WE = “U and I” + STRAY = “deviate”
Definition: I†
21. Skilful commercial industry initially in decay (6)
ADROIT
AD = “commercial” followed by I[ndustry] = “industry initially” in ROT = “decay”
Definition: “Skilful”
22. Haul up fish on line in river (6)
YARROW
RAY reversed = “Haul up fish” + ROW = “line”
Definition: “river”
24. I refuse (4)
MUCK
Double Definition: I† and “refuse” (as a noun)
I liked this. COLONSAY gave me the theme and the other islands followed pretty quickly. I liked O SORRY and CABOODLE. AVOUCHES was new to me and I had to look it up but it had to be right.
Very entertaining.
Thanks Paul.
Oops. Not sure how OSPREY became O SORRY!
Thanks to Paul and mhl. I got ISLAY and UNST early on (familiar from previous puzzles), but took longer getting MUCK, EIGG, and others. In the blog for 4d, the “fixed duel” part of the clue is omitted. Very enjoyable.
Thanks mhl. For me MUCK came early and then I needed help only to vet 1D – which suggested itself – and EIGG at the end. Luckily these short-named islands crop up here often enough (Puck in February, Crucible in December), and IONA is evergreen.
Thanks Paul and mhl
Really enjoyable puzzle from Paul again which took a couple of sittings to get out. My entry into the theme came with YELL and MUCK but quite late (about a third of the way) into the solve.
Finished in the SW corner with SYNAPSE which had to be built up from the wordplay and then checked off, CABOODLE and WESTRAY (the last island) and clue.
Took me ages and ages to work this out, I did not know any Scottish Islands, so i worked out the clues and then checked Google. and I attempted a blog on it. Would be happy if the cognoscenti here read and give me some feedback.
https://cryptathon.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/guardian-prize-26908-11-june-2016-paul/
An enjoyable puzzle, quite straightforward to those of us who know our Scottish Is – my entry to the theme was ISLAY
Thanks to Paul and mhl
Normally I have to give Saturday crosswords a miss, but I found time to start this one on the day, and I’m really glad I did. I enjoyed the way the theme of islands came to light and then had fun discovering how it was used to form the other answers and part-answers. At some point I realised the islands are all Scottish. Admirable.
I only knew 5 of the 9 islands. It’s nice to learn of the other 4, and that UNST is the “northernmost of the inhabited British Isles” (Wiki).
15A (SYNAPSE), 20A (CABOODLE), 1D (COLONSAY), 4D (CLUED UP), 24D (MUCK) were my favourite clues. 3D (ENTITY) would have been one too if it had said ‘welcomes’ instead of ‘welcoming’ (for a better surface).
Many thanks to Paul for an entertaining crossword and to mhl for the blog.
Thank you Paul and mhl.
Great fun, even though it took me two days to “finish”.
After I had got the theme, but not completely understanding how it worked, I went a bit mad at 9a thinking the Ile de DIEU was called for – the name given by Mary of Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots, to Inchkeith.
I also went wrong entering THEOLOGIST at 11a and KNOTTY at 3d, the KNOT bird with the Georgia city of TY finally.
Thanks to Paul and mhl. You never know with Paul whether the I will perform a different function in various clues, but I didn’t have to Mull over it too long before twigging that all of them were Scottish. Despite having travelled a lot in Scotland, I have only been to three of them – Iona, Yell and Unst.
I enjoyed this one a lot, even though I made a slow start. I failed to parse IDEOLOGIST, starting with “record first” as “LOG I” and not seeing the real significance of “first” even when looking for the source of the ST.
Thanks, Paul and mhl.
Marienkaefer @10
I too wondered at first whether the ‘I’ would “perform a different function in various clues”, and I was relieved that Paul used his good judgement to decide on a good theme and stick to it. Even to use ‘I’ to mean any island in the world (never mind any of ‘Italy’, ‘one’ and whatever else it might stand for) would have made the puzzle more scrappy and less fun. In my opinion, the theme of Scottish islands was a bonus, adding to what was in other ways a very good puzzle.
My reaction at the time: “What’s he doing with all the I’s? Hmm. Oh, there’s Islay again. I means ‘island’ this time. Any old island? No, probably just the Scottish ones. Let’s Google “list of Scottish islands” to make this a little bit fairer, since I don’t know Scotland very well. Incidentally, don’t half these islands sound like they were named by drunk people?”
mrpenney @13, try saying “The Leith police dismisseth us”, a test for drunkenness in Scotland…
Thanks mhl and Paul.
A pleasant voyage around the inner Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney.
I twigged the theme with COLONSAY my first in and no real problems from them.
I thought YARROW at 22dn was a bit obscure. The answer was plain enough but I found only smallish rivers – in South Carolina, Kwazulu Natal and Lancashire ( the latter being a tributary to a tributary to the Ribble).
All in all another enjoyable puzzle from Paul so thanks again.
mrpenney @13 – I know your comment about drunk people was a facetious throwaway, but many of these names sound strange to English ears because their origins are Norse or Gaelic
Thank you for this blog! And thanks to Paul for the puzzle. I got the theme fairly early on, but got totally stuck on the bottom left-hand corner. It had been driving me mad. I now find I’d scuppered myself by writing in WATERBREAK for 23a. The other clues filled themselves in when I corrected that after checking the blog. Also didn’t know YARROW as a river, only as a plant. Some excellent cluing, and a cleverly worked theme.