I think Ifor can soon be classed as a prolific setter of Inquisitor puzzles that make you think. Please note that this blog is best viewed on a desktop or a laptop. There is so much material in the detail of the blog that the table, even though it’s responsive, overflows Tablet and Mobile screens. Sorry!
The preamble this week told us quite a lot, as follows: "The title of a work explains how part of each normally-clued perimeter answer must be thematically modified before entry. Other across clues and entries are normal. Other down clues, all of which contain one or two extra words, are of two types. In the clues shown asterisked, whole answers intersect with 18 across, single extra words read in clue order form wordplay to the author’s forename. In the remainder, two consecutive extra words conceal a word synonymous with his surname. Solvers must replace 18 across with something smaller and more surprising; the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations may help."
I concentrated on the normal across clues first to help me get a foothold in the grid and this focus generated XNOR, NELL, DEMOB and IGBO. I know a little bit about logic circuits so XNOR was fairly easy. Also, IGBO is a fairly common language in barred crosswords. Early downs were LOVEABLE and OX-EYED although I will admit to having it as OX-EYES for quite a while. This led to ISAIAH and URNFUL which helped deduce other words and so the grid built up.
The first perimeter clue that I solved was 1 across that gave me FALLACIOUS I could see that the ACIOUS bit was probably going to be unchanged in the grid, but I didn’t think about FALL properly at this stage.
At this stage I was beginning to have some success with identifying the pairs of consecutive words to be removed from the down clues, although initially I had lot more success with the two consecutive words than I did with the single ones. I could see that words relating to hurry, go fast etc were being thrown up. Eventually I began to think and realised that BOLT could be a synonym for many of the new words hidden in each pair of consecutive words eliminated from many of the down clues. I am not au fait with many literary topics, but even I could quickly find a MAN FOR ALL SEASONS written by ROBERT BOLT.
By this stage I started to realise that each SEASON was being replaced by [for] a chess piece [MAN]
I had some difficulty deciding which single words to omit from a couple of the clues to entries intersecting 18 across.
There’s a lot going on this puzzle so I have broken down the commentary in a series of topics:
1. Cryptic representation of Author’s first name
After completing the puzzle and determining the parsing of clues I decided that the cryptic representation of ROBERT was provided by AMATEUR BECOMING DRESS WITHIN CUNNING which parsed as follows:
A (AMATEUR) being replaced by (BECOMING) ROBE (DRESS) WITHIN ART (CUNNING) to form ROBE RT
2. Adjustment of SEASON entries
The four perimeter entries were amended as follows:
1 across FALLACIOUS to ROOKACIOUS
30 across WINTERGREEN to QUEENGREEN
8 down BRESSUMMER to BRESBISHOP; and
9 down SPRINGWORT to KNIGHTWORT
3. Handling of down clues with two extra words leading to Author’s surname
The pairs of extra words were:
2: UPROAR ROWDYISM
3 PRESS PRINTING
5 DEVELOP EXTREMELY
7 AS CREWMAN’S
15 PETROL LEFT
18 BAFFLE EUROPHILE
22 LAND ASHORE; and
26 VIRUS HALTING
These hid words synonymous with BOLT as can be seen by a study of Chambers Dictionary and / or Thesaurus. Once or twice there is a roundabout link between the hidden word and BOLT but there is enough information in Chambers to relate all of the hidden words to BOLT.
4. 18 across and its subsequent adjustment
That then leaves 18 across which appears as WORLD when all the clues are solved. A scan of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations yielded a quotation from A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS by ROBERT BOLT that states:
It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole WORLD … But for WALES— ! This is a variation on a biblical quotation from Mark Chapter 8 verse 36 – For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole WORLD, and lose his own soul?
The final act of the puzzle therefore is to replace is to replace the WORLD with a much smaller part of the whole – the Country of WALES.
After replacing WORLD with WALES we still have real words at 18 down [unchanged as WEENIE], 4 down [ANATTA], 13 down [CHALLIE], 19 down [EASING] and 6 down [OX-EYES]
The filled grid and it’s subsequent adjustment looks like this
The title, MORE SURPRISING, is referenced in the preamble.
The amount of thematic material in this puzzle and the variety of methods of generating it is very impressive and Ifor must have worked long and hard to construct the clues. I look forward to more puzzles from Ifor.
I haven’t said much about the clues but they are covered in detail in the table below. The allusions within each clue were excellent as were the surfaces of the clues. As ever, hindsight is a wonderful thing and the clues look much easier now the puzzle is solved, but they were a real challenge before the penny dropping moment speeded things up. I am not really sure of the parsing of the clue to CHARLIE at 13 down and will be interested to hear of others have a better parsing than my attempt.
| Across | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Extra word(s) | Amended Clue | Wordplay | Solution and Entry [if different] |
|
1
|
Wrong answer? Call us if nothing works
|
|
|
Anagram of (works) (A [answer] and CALL US IF and O [zero; nothing]) FALLACIOUS* |
S: FALLACIOUS (wrong) E: ROOKACIOUS
|
| 10 | Keep shaking head put on row the wrong way round (6) |
|
|
DIN (row) reversed (the wrong way round) + NOD (head) NID< NOD |
NID–NOD (keep nodding; keep shaking) |
| 11 | Circuit of cross finishes in procession to altar (4) |
|
|
X (cross) + NOR (last letters of [finishes in] each of PROCESSION, TO and ALTAR) | XNOR (logic circuit) |
|
12
|
Shop girl who passed on nearly new lines (4)
|
|
|
NEW excluding the last letter (nearly) W + LL (lines)
|
NELL (reference Little NELL a character in Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop. NELL died before the story ended; shop girl who passed on)
|
|
13
|
Unite crack (6)
|
|
|
CLEAVE (unite)
|
CLEAVE (crack) double definition
|
|
14
|
Man returning to hospital for US native spending nights on the wing (6, 2 words)
|
|
|
IOM ([Isle of] Man) + (TO reversed [returning]) + H (hospital) IO M OT< H |
IO MOTH (large North American moth [insect that prefers to fly at night] ; US native spending nights on the wing)
|
|
16
|
Government overthrown without interest of common folk (4)
|
|
|
G (government) + (BAR [except; without] reversed [overthrown]) G RAB< |
GRAB (slang [in the boondocks] for impress or interest)
|
|
17
|
Protest bishop’s removal from service (5)
|
|
|
DEMO (demonstration; protest) + B (bishop)
|
DEMOB (DEMOBilise; discharge from the army; remove from service)
|
|
21
|
Wrote out a couple of articles (5)
|
|
|
Anagram of (out) WROTE TWOER* |
TWOER (anything that counts as or for two; a couple of articles)
|
|
23
|
Travel costs less following measures taken on the ground (4)
|
|
|
FARES (travel costs) excluding (less) F (following)
|
ARES (measures of land areas [100 square metres]; measures taken on the ground)
|
|
25
|
Lady who waits to be enthralled by his new book (6)
|
|
|
AIA (variant spelling of AYAH [in India and other former British territories, a waiting-maid or nursemaid]) contained in (enthralled by) an anagram of (new) HIS IS (AIA) H* |
ISAIAH (book of the Old Testament)
|
|
26
|
Nothing limits what pigs can be taken from and eaten (6)
|
|
|
O (zero; nothing) + RANGE (limits)
|
ORANGE (PIGS is a term for segments of an ORANGE)
|
|
27
|
No getting away from booing bad language (4)
|
|
|
Anagram of (bad) BOOING excluding [getting away from] the letters NO IGBO* |
IGBO (language used in Eastern and Southern Nigeria)
|
|
28
|
Spirit that’s fitting for a king (4)
|
|
|
RAKI (hidden word in [fitting] FOR A KING)
|
RAKI (aniseed-flavoured spirit of Turkey and the E Mediterranean)
|
| 29 | What tops up jug for any usual drunk, ignoring regulars (6) |
Anagram of (drunk) FRNUUL (letters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 [regulars] of FOR ANY USUAL) URNFUL* |
URNFUL (as much as an URN will hold; enough to top up a jug as an URN is bigger than a jug) | ||
| 30 | Plant engineer occasionally wasted water supply |
Anagram of (supply, from supple) ENGINEER and WTR (letters remaining after excluding [wasted] letters 2 and 4 [occasionally] of WATER WINTERGREEN* |
S: WINTERGREEN (another name for the American evergreen plant mountain tea) E: QUEENGREEN |
||
| Down | |||||
| No. | Extra word(s) | Amended Clue | Wordplay | Solution and Entry [if different] | |
|
2
|
A few more hours’ uproar; rowdyism every now and again won’t hurt (8, 3 words)
|
uproar rowdyism arrow (BOLT) |
A few more hours’ every now and again won’t hurt (8, 3 words)
|
Anagram of (hurt) OEOR (letters 2, 4, 6 and 8 [every now and again] MORE HOURS) and WON’T ONE OR TWO* |
ONE OR TWO ( a few)
|
|
3
|
He might operate well on press printing mail shot (6)
|
press printing sprint (BOLT) |
He might operate well on mail shot (6)
|
Anagram of (shot) MAIL ON OILMAN* |
OILMAN (someone who might operate an [OIL] well)
|
|
4
|
*A fake amateur tan with the result of orange dye (6)
|
amateur |
A fake tan with the result of orange dye (6)
|
A + an anagram of [fake] TAN + TO (with the result of) A NAT* TO |
ANATTO (bright orange colouring matter)
|
|
5
|
Develop extremely infectious diseases liable to leave innards sluggish (4)
|
Develop extremely lope (BOLT) |
Infectious diseases liable to leave innards sluggish (4)
|
ID (infectious diseases) + (LIABLE excluding [to leave] the central letters (innards] IABL)
|
IDLE (sluggish)
|
|
6
|
*Do sexy shimmies with becoming base beginning to show off with prominent viewers (6)
|
becoming
|
Do sexy shimmies with base beginning to show off with prominent viewers (6)
|
Anagram of (shimmies) (DO SEXY excluding [off] S [first letter of {beginning to} SHOW]) and E (base of natural logarithms) OX-EYED |
OX-EYED (having large OX like eyes; with prominent viewers)
|
|
7
|
Remove protection gear as crewman’s inside lunar module (5)
|
as crewman’s screw (BOLT) |
Remove protection gear inside lunar module (5)
|
UNARM (hidden word in [inside] LUNAR MODULE)
|
UNARM (take off armour; remove protection gear)
|
|
8
|
Strong supporter over opening disappointment casually hiding stress without call for attention
|
|
|
BUMMER (informal [casual] word for disappointment) containing (hiding) STRESS excluding (without) ‘ST (call for attention) B (RESS) UMMER |
S: BRESSUMMER (beam supporting the whole, or a great part, of the front of a building in the manner of a lintel; strong supporter over opening) E: BRESBISHOP
|
|
9
|
Magical root could give wrong hit in bum trips
|
Anagram of (hit) WRONG contained in (in) an anagram of (bum) TRIPS SPRI (NGWOR*) T* |
S: SPRINGWORT (a root thought to be magical) E: KNIGHTWORT
|
||
|
13
|
*Fool caught dress briefly on radio (7)
|
dress
|
Fool caught briefly on radio (7)
|
The best I can come up with her is: C [caught, in cricket scoring notation] + HARLIE (sounds like [on radio] HARDLY [scarcely, just; briefly]) but I’m not too happy about either the homonym relationship or the idea that HARDLY and BRIEFLY are synonyms. I think there must be something I am missing. |
CHARLIE (fool)
|
|
15
|
Oven liable to explode, spilling petrol left in foolishly capable of inflaming (8)
|
petrol left troll (BOLT) |
Oven liable to explode, spilling in foolishly capable of inflaming (8)
|
Anagram of (to explode) OVEN LIABLE excluding (spilling) the letters IN LOVEABLE* |
LOVEABLE (capable of inflaming passion)
|
|
18
|
*Noises on and off within after number one sausage in the boondocks (6)
|
within
|
Noises on and off after number one sausage in the boondocks (6)
|
WEE (urination; number one) + NIE (letters 1, 3 and 5 [on and off] of NOISES)
|
WEENIE (American slang [in the boondocks] for a WEINER sausage)
|
|
19
|
*Cunning crook left against naked lighting to stimulate response (6)
|
Cunning
|
Crook left against naked lighting to stimulate response (6) |
Anagram of (crook) (L and GAINS (the letters remaining in AGAINST after the outside letters A and T ‘clothing’ the word have been removed [naked]) LASING* |
LASING (The acronym LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation giving it some link to the wording of the clue, but I am not entirely sure where ‘response’ fits in) |
|
20
|
Swindle’s left in Tory scheme to baffle Europhile French (6)
|
baffle Europhile flee (BOLT) |
Swindle’s left in Tory scheme to French (6)
|
RIG (swindle) replacing (‘s; is) L (left) in BLUE (the colour of the Tory party) to generate BRIGUE
|
BRIGUE (French for scheme; Chambers defines BRIGUE as intrigue from French origins)
|
|
22
|
Oriental geeks backing this country advanced to land ashore (5)
|
land ashore dash (BOLT) |
Oriental geeks backing this country advanced to (5
|
(UK [United Kingdom {this country}] + A [advanced] + TO) all reversed (backing) (OT A KU)< |
OTAKU (in Japan, socially inept young people with an obsessive interest in computer technology; oriental geeks)
|
|
24
|
Place away from epidemic virus, halting shivering (4)
|
virus halting rush (BOLT) |
Place away from epidemic shivering (4)
|
PLAGUE (epidemic) excluding (away from) PL (place)
|
AGUE (shivering)
|
I did enjoy this, though there was a certain amount of hunting through the dictionary for likely words required for solving it, in my case at least. I did spend a while looking through the works of Andrew Motion (and trying to work out how the additional clue gave Andrew) before the penny dropped.
I think the clue for 13D is just CHARLIE = the radio call sign for C (caught briefly). Also the ‘More’ in the title is presumably thematically significant.
Thanks to Ifor and to Duncan, for what must be a contender for the most thorough blog of an Inquisitor yet.
We parsed 13D in the same way as OPatrick and our solving experience in terms of searching for likely words was similar too. Thankfully we now use the Chambers app on the ipad which makes searching a great deal easier.
It was very fitting that Wales featured as they were riding high at the time in Euro 2016.
Thanks to Ifor for another puzzling puzzle and to Duncan for the brilliant blog.
Good coverage of a good puzzle: thanks. I saw BOLT and A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS and the link with MORE in the title in one sudden rush, but then spent a while trying to replace seasons with male characters from the play (er, no, MOREACIOUS doesn’t work but it’s a nice word – these cheese and onion crisps are definitely moreacious).
OPatrick @ 1 and BertandJoyce @ 2
Thanks for pointing out the simple parsing of C = Charlie in the International Radio Communication alphabet. That makes a lot more sense than my tortuous attempt. It’s often the easy ones that I miss while looking for something much more complex.
I found a few of the synonyms (SPRINT, FLEE, DASH) and assumed Jonathan SWIFT which sent me on a wild goose chase (or was it a wild Gulliver chase?) Then when I realized that mistake, I then spent ages looking for more Roberts. I happen to work near two Roberts – one called Robert KNIGHT and one called Robert QUEEN which almost certainly clouded my judgment much more than it should have.
Still, all came good in the end many thanks to Ifor and Duncan.
Enjoyable puzzle with loads going on but nothing too tortuous.
I similarly had no idea about the parsing for CHARLIE. Unlike others, however, my own view is that it’s a poor clue but that’s a slight niggle
Can’t believe I didn’t spot the final step with Wales.
I don’t think I found this as easy as other solvers seem to, quite hard in fact, but v.neat, especially with the coincidental (?) long run of Wales in the football.
Spent quite a while trying to justify SPRING GREEN in the bottom row – rather foolish as the veg has GREENS (plural). And in 15d I had the embedded word as ROLL (rather than TROLL) since Chambers has “a roll of a definite measure (of cloth, etc)” under the headword “bolt“.
Thanks go to Ifor for the puzzle & to Duncan for the blog.
As always, my grateful thanks to Duncan for the typically thorough blog, and to all those moved to comment. A couple of very minor glitches: as has been pointed out, 15 was intended as ROLL, and in 5 ELOPE is rather more convincing as a synonym than LOPE.
One other point. Duncan’s blog of my last IQ concluded by saying “More from Ifor, please”. Well, Duncan, More is exactly what you got – I hope you liked it.
Ifor
I very much liked the level of difficulty on this one, though even post-endgame there were clues I couldn’t parse.
It’s the first Inquisitor I’ve solved while cycling home; the gazillion synonyms and first-name clue were no help, but I knew ‘fall’ (the only perimeter answer I had) was being sacrificed for a chess piece, and mulling various falls led me to ‘season’ – and then home.
Thanks to Ifor and Duncan.
We got a couple of the original perimeter answers early, so quickly guessed what was going on. That meant the author was obvious and we could then look for synonyms for Bolt in the unasterisked down clues. We never got anywhere near finding the cryptic clue for Robert, but there was no real need to do so in order to identify the extra words. After that flying start it took a long time to finish, as we found the hardest clues to be some of those crossing 18a. Like Duncan we initially had OX-EYES at 6d and were unsure about CHARLIE so were reluctant to put it in, but as Ifor kindly advised ODQ did help. A good puzzle, but it seems a little incongruous to ensure that real words are left after the alterations to 18a when all the amended perimeter words are not (and probably could never be) real words.
Got everything except BRESSUMMER and GRAB. I failed to parse CHARLIE too.
Thanks to both Duncan and Ifor.
Duncan – I think you meant [of common folk] rather than [in the boondocks] for 16 across.
Finally, can someone please explain the title to me? I understand that A Man for All Seasons is about Thomas More, but why is that surprising?