Very enjoyable, with…
…a lot to look over after the grid was filled
RAG is at the centre of the puzzle in more ways than one, meaning either of the themes ‘newspaper’ or ‘paper money’ – and UK banknotes are printed on rag paper [wiki].
The two themes are linked directly in DAILY BREAD and PAPER MONEY; and the definition of 1dn “ready for publication” has both ready=cash and publication=newspaper.
TELEGRAPH, TIMES, INDY and GUARDIAN are newspapers; while DOUGH, LOLLY, RHINO, GUILDERS, RICHES, BRASS, LUCRE, WEALTH, DOSH mean money, and money is referenced in the clue for APIECE.
To stretch a bit [a lot] further…
…there are two references to Venice in RIALTO and Guardi – in the Merchant of Venice, Shylock asks ‘what news on the Rialto?’
…the clue for RHINO could also be a hint towards RHINO/money being half of the ‘big game’ or theme of the puzzle
Anything more?
| Across | ||
| 9 | DOUGH | Sticky stuff for baker or cook that’s disgusting! (5) |
| DO=”cook”, plus UGH=”that’s disgusting” | ||
| 10 | ANIMATION | Vigour shown as Brendan’s getting in a state (9) |
| I’M=”Brendan [is]”, inside A NATION=”a state” | ||
| 11 | TELEGRAPH | Signal that could be great help (9) |
| (great help)* | ||
| 12 | LOLLY | Stick with sweet lines about love and end of hostility (5) |
| three L[ines] around O=”love”, plus [hostilit]Y | ||
| 13 | BLEEPED | Dealt with offensive language from PM once back in base (7) |
| Robert PEEL=”PM once” [wiki], reversed/”back” and inside BED=”base” | ||
| 15 | SUBSOIL | Fuel for warships in part of earth that’s covered (7) |
| SUBS’ OIL=”Fuel for warships” | ||
| 17 | AESOP | Storyteller backed main event in theatre (5) |
| SEA=”main”, reversed/”backed”; plus OP=”event in [operating] theatre” | ||
| 18 | RAG | Publication that raises funds for charity (3) |
| double definition – a newspaper; or a university fundraiser | ||
| 20 | ETHIC | Changed the current key for code (5) |
| (the)*, plus I=symbol for electric “current”, plus C=musical “key” | ||
| 22 | SPARROW | Bird in spring seen by river bank (7) |
| SPA=”spring”, plus R[iver], plus ROW=”bank” | ||
| 25 | ANDANTE | A poet penning new work performed rather slowly (7) |
| A, plus DANTE=”poet”, both around/”penning” N[ew] | ||
| 26 | RHINO | First half of the big game (5) |
| cryptic def – RHINO[ceros] is a big game animal, rather than the first half of a sports event | ||
| 27 | ADDRESSED | Prepared to drive a Ford, finally in gear (9) |
| address=to take a golfing stance=prepare to drive the golf ball. A, plus [For]D, plus DRESSED=”in gear” | ||
| 30 | ORCHESTRA | Her co-star excited a lot of players (9) |
| (Her co-star)* | ||
| 31 | TIMES | They may be in minutes — minutes kept in binders (5) |
| M[inutes] inside TIES=”binders” | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | EDIT | Part of revised item ready for publication (4) |
| “ready” as a verb meaning to prepare. Hidden in [revis]ED IT[em] | ||
| 2 | GUILDERS | Coins mediaeval groups needed, including sovereign (8) |
| =former Dutch currency. GUILDS=”mediaeval groups”, around E[lizabeth] R[egina]=”sovereign” | ||
| 3 | THUG | Jerk grabbing husband is violent criminal (4) |
| TUG=pull=”Jerk”, around H[usband] | ||
| 4 | MARAUDER | Old lady less polite about a roving thief (8) |
| MA=”Old lady”, plus RUDER=”less polite” around A | ||
| 5 | RICHES | Fortune heirs dissipated over century (6) |
| (heirs)* around C[entury] | ||
| 6 | DAILY BREAD | Living in 14 (5,5) |
| DAILY=PAPER and BREAD=MONEY | ||
| 7 | RIALTO | Test’s first relocated over Italian island (6) |
| an island in Venice. TRIAL=”Test”, with its “first” T relocated to the end; plus O[ver] | ||
| 8 | INDY | Start off nervous in this fast-paced kind of racing (4) |
| =a form of motor racing. [W]INDY=”nervous” with its “Start off” | ||
| 13 | BRASS | Runs into singer or section of 30 (5) |
| =section of an orchestra. R[uns] in BASS=”singer” | ||
| 14 | PAPER MONEY | 6 notes (5,5) |
| PAPER=DAILY and MONEY=BREAD | ||
| 16 | LUCRE | Awful clue about Republican’s sordid gain (5) |
| (clue)*, around R[epublican] | ||
| 19 | GUARDIAN | Venetian who painted over an angel? (8) |
| GUARDI is the “Venetian who painted” [wiki], plus AN | ||
| 21 | HANDSOME | Fair and square in natural setting (8) |
| AND plus S[quare] in HOME=”natural setting” | ||
| 23 | APIECE | One coin for each person (6) |
| A PIECE=”One coin” | ||
| 24 | WEALTH | Possible result of breaking the law (6) |
| &lit def. (the law)* | ||
| 26 | ROOK | Cheat that’s cornered by knight, initially (4) |
| In chess, the ROOK is initially placed in the corner, by the knight | ||
| 28 | EATS | Food in repast is oddly deficient (4) |
| [r]E[p]A[s]T [i]S, minus its odd letters | ||
| 29 | DOSH | Needful and correct rules hard to follow (4) |
| “Needful”=cash. DO’S=”correct rules” as in do’s and don’ts; plus H[ard] | ||
Thanks both.
A wonderful crossword. A real tour-de-force. Amazing to have so many clues linked to the double theme.
A lovely Friday treat – Brendan at his best with this splendid themed puzzle
Many thanks to him and Manehi too
Thanks, manehi, for a superb blog of a superb puzzle, which revealed its treasures at a very satisfying rate and proved to be so much more than the sum of its parts. It just kept on giving.
Huge thanks to Brendan, at the very top of his form, as crypticsue says.
19 down – an angel was also a gold coin.
Top Brendan puzzle. Dont forget the third riff-orchestra, brass, andante, rag and maybe Money(Pink Floyd) and even times (as in tempi)
All great stiff. How does he do it?
Fantastic puzzle and blog, thank you Brendan and manehi.
There is also a mini theme – MARAUDER, THUG, ROOK “cheat”,”storyteller”, “sordid gain” …
This was brilliant. So many connections. From RAG(s) to RICHES?
I like your connections JimS of rags to riches. Think you’ve nailed the link to the themes.
Copmus @5, what about the “Rialto Ripples Rag” by Gershwin ?
JimS @7 and paddymelon @8, yes, that seems to cover all the little “themes” as well, and Gershwin certainly went from RAGS to RICHES, arriving at the head of the composer “rich” list after a childhood spent in a New York tenement.
Thanks to Brendan and manehi. Very clever and great fun. I knew RAG as fundraiser from previous puzzles but not RIALTO as an island (and needed help parsing it). Last in was DOSH that eluded me for some time.
All very pleasant as always from Brendan. DOSH was last in.
Thanks to Brendan and manehi
Quite the tour de force! Got all of it last night except the SE corner, got that this morning, LOI “addressed.”
Thanks Brendan and manehi.
Wonderful stuff…and very much on the fair side of hard 🙂
Good puzzle, and thanks very much for the blog. I did the first half of this while half asleep last night (the puzzles drop at 6 pm Chicago time usually); my grogginess and the divided solve meant that the newspaper theme eluded me. (The money theme was kind of hard to miss.)
The Times and the Telegraph went in last night, while the Guardian and the Indy were solved this morning. Maybe I’m more liberal in the morning?
I did not know DOSH—not in common American usage. RIALTO was also a hangup. I also haven’t heard RHINO = money.
An excellent puzzle with interlocking themes. Thanks JimS @7 for the “rags to riches” idea with which I would not have come up.
I feel a bit of a fool, however for putting GIGLIO in 7 without too much thought. It must have stuck in my mind after the Costa Concordia running aground and it took precedence over RIALTO, despite being impossible to parse while the correct answer is a little obvious.
Thanks also to Manehi for “rhino” meaning money. I’ll remember that for the future.
Didn’t spot the multi-themes until we read the blog. Great stuff from a great setter. Thanks to everyone.
All went well until DOSH which I had to guess and was LOI. But the rest
was lovely. Nice theme/s and very well clued. What else is there to say except
-Thanks Brendan.
I’ll join the chorus of cheers for this excellent puzzle. I did spot the themes (which for me is doing well!) but not all the theme-words, so it was a pleasure to come here and read all about it. Well done Brendan for weaving the themes in such an unforced way into such an enjoyable crossword.
There were some fine clues, especially 13a BLEEPED, 17a AESOP, 22a SPARROW, 25a ANDANTE, 19d GUARDIAN and 26d ROOK.
Cross-referring clues are normally a no-no in my book, but the way 6d and 14d are cryptically equivalent, and part of the paper and money themes, excuses this instance. The symmetrical placing of these two answers was very neat.
Thanks to Brendan and manehi.
Thanks to Brendan and manehi.
Excellent
Just wanted to reiterate how brilliant and clever I thought this was. The interlocking themes were a marvel.
The mirrored DAILY BREAD and PAPER MONEY each have one main theme as their first half and the other as their second. The word “notes” in the latter’s clue additionally points to one sub-theme, music, which we also get to via RAG (and TIMES). The other sub-theme suggests one way of getting from RAG(s) to RICHES at 24d: “breaking the law” bringing WEALTH; hence ROOK, MARAUDER et al. Perhaps if you are “needful” and the “correct rules” are “hard to follow” (29d) this is the way to go!
I started wondering if there were other less obvious links. Several of AESOP’s fables concern avarice. And we all know that where there’s muck (SUBSOIL?) there’s BRASS.
Maybe that’s trying to stretch things too far! But this was so good. If there’s a crossword hall of fame it belongs there.
Jim S @21. Totally agree with your last sentence.
This was, as others have said, a great puzzle – toughish, fun and fair. But I still don’t see 26a even though it hits one of the themes so I got it. Where’s the answer part of the clue?
Brendan is just my favourite setter – so clever, and so many layers to be mined in each puzzle. Day off work today, and I can’t think of a better way of spending it. Thank you!
Steve @21
I think the definition is “big game” (as in large beast that is hunted).
“First half” just means the first half of the word “rhinoceros” i.e. the first 5 letters out of 10.
It’s simple when you see it like that but of course it’s easy to be misdirected into seeing the clue as something to do with sport.
As someone’s mentioned 15a there may well be a hidden repository of 5d in 30a, possibly hidden by a 4d. Or perhaps I shouldn’t’ve done the Indy.
Thanks Brendan and manehi
It took me considerably longer to spot (not) all the theme words than to finish the grid. Very clever crossword.
‘The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the sestiere of San Polo. It is and has been for many centuries the financial and commercial heart of the city’ (wiki)
Another connection with money –
Duh! I didn’t even notice the theme. If I had, it’s likely the xword would have taken me about half the time — I really struggled with this one. *smites forehead*
Have just finished – nice crossword – Suzee and I are curious about “needful” = “dosh” – Chambers lists “needful” = “necessary” (as does the Urban dictionary) and Chambers also lists “necessary” = “money” (e.g. “do you have the necessary” I guess) – but two words having a common definition doesn’t mean they can be used as definitions for each other surely (don’t call me Shirley I hear you chorus 🙂 – e.g. “excellent” = “sick” (Chambers and it’s what “young” people say!) and “ill” = “sick” but one couldn’t use “ill” as a definition for “excellent”…
DP @ 30
Hold the mayo…
Sorry to disagree but I really didn’t like the 6d/14d linkage. To me that was just “compileritis” – or “too clever by half” as my mother would have said. I liked the rest of the puzzle but not those clues.
Couldn’t get most of the NW for love or money!!!!
The rest was fun but I think I enjoyed the blog and the forum as much as the puzzle. I saw the three themes of rags, riches and music but even of the clues I solved, I didn’t see the link in unfamiliar theme words eg 26a RHINO.
The more I read of the comments the more layers were revealed eg 3d THUG, 4d MARAUDER and 26d (c)ROOK.
Kicking myself that I didn’t think of 6d DAILY BREAD which would have unlocked the NW I am sure. As others have said, this was really neat.
Thanks for the interesting blog, manehi, to the online community for enriching the discussion, and most of all to Brendan. I think a setter needs to be “too clever by half” and Brendan certainly is – to me that’s a very positive thing.
engineerire @32
I sympathise with your view of the cross-referenced pair of clues at 6d/14d. In my earlier comment (@19) I said:
“Cross-referring clues are normally a no-no in my book, but the way 6d and 14d are cryptically equivalent, and part of the paper and money themes, excuses this instance.”
I said ‘excuses’ rather than ‘justifies’, because the well-understood rule that two clues should not simply refer to each other is a very sensible one. I maintain that the presence of the dual theme of ‘paper’ and ‘money’ (as embodied in 14d) was a good enough excuse to break this rule. (And of course minimal hints were given next to the referenced clue numbers.)
The Guardian stands out as a paper whose crosswords are allowed to test the boundaries sometimes. I had a rest from the Guardian in July while I was abroad and tackled a few Times crosswords instead – themes are not even allowed in them!
Excellent crossword. Brendan also one of my favourites. This one made all the more enjoyable by Manehi’s blog, and the comments. I had completely missed the double theme. Brilliant.
Tough, but (except for one reservation) brilliant! I got the RICHES theme but too late to be of much help, and I missed the RAGS completely.
I’m with engineerire @32 on the cross-referencing, though. Unlike Alan Browne @34, I don’t think it can really be excused, even though I understand why the cleverness of it would have been hard for Brendan to resist. Seeing those intertwined clues nearly led to me giving up on the puzzle before I had really started, and they were a constant source of frustration until both were solved.
However, overall I still have to thank Brendan for a memorable puzzle, and of course manehi for the blog.
jennyk @36, with its hint of
Thanks for joining the mini-debate – I enjoy reading your views.
I don’t have a strong argument for my stance on this instance of rule-breaking, and at first I was put off by it. I relented when I saw the first theme (the daily papers) and then got 14d, with the help also of ‘notes’. The only thing I didn’t like in the end was the filler word ‘in’ in the clue for 6d, which in that sort of clue didn’t help.
jennyk (me @37)
Ignore the stupid words on the top line of my comment above. I even used Preview, but I didn’t see them.
Thanks all
A particularly fine puzzle.
I could claim dosh as last in but I never did enter it since I could not recognise needful as the definition.
Has there been a recent increase in the use of grids containing three letter lights?
Has there been a recent increase in the use of grids containing three letter lights.
I can see that this must have been fun to create, and I can appreciate some of the clever aspects, but I found the 6 / 14 linkage quite unfair. We’re essentially short one subsidiary indication: each clue has a definition (“living” and “notes”), but the two combined have only one subsidiary indication. It would have been much fairer to clue one in the usual way, and then have the other link to it.
I can’t see 26a as fair either. The whole thing seems to be the subsidiary indication, in which case there’s no definition.
Thanks manehi and Brendan.
Terrific puzzle on so many levels. Themed but not founded on specialist knowledge.
Fun but not laugh-out-loud.
Just to raise a smile: I misread 6d. as “Living in 15”, and thought ‘Earth bound’ was quite a good answer. But of course that scuppered any chance I had of solving the NE corner! Sad.
Thanks Brendan and manehi
So long after publication and still a joy to have done. Found it at a good difficulty level with the only one that I didn’t parse being AESOP.
Knew DOSH (common in older times here) and ‘needful’ (I think used by some Brit friends over here, so got that one quite early on. Did wonder about the other definition of RHINO for a short while, but think that the misdirection of the surface keeps it as a pretty good clue.
Just good quality clueing and a brilliant feat to have intertwined the two themes so neatly – unfortunately I was able to spot the newspaper half but didn’t see all of the money (so typical in many ways … ).