An ‘interesting’ theme for Knut’s Valentine’s day puzzle.
Is he a fan of ’50 Shades of Grey’? Or is he just trying to punish us?
There are several references to corporal punishment in both clues and solutions – starting with the first three across entries, which began to give away the theme and helped with some of the later solutions. There are some really well composed thematic clues – we particularly enjoyed (mentally, not physically!) 20d, but the theme appears in 1/3/6ac, 27ac, 2d, 9d, 17d, 20d and ingeniously in 15/26d.
We were however completely stumped by 22ac, but we’re not going to beat ourselves up over it – any thoughts out there?
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | Censor 17 (4) | |
| CATO | CAT (‘whip’ – in 17d) O (‘round’ in 17d) – a reference to the Roman censor | |
| 3 | Cardinal regularly taking some Indian tea (4) | |
| NINE | Alternate or ‘regular’ letters in INdIaN tEa | |
| 6 | Reverse tracks (5) | |
| TAILS | Double definition – ‘reverse’ being the other side of a coin from ‘heads’ | |
| 10 | A2? That could be trouble! (3) | |
| ADO | A DO (‘thrash’ – 2d) | |
| 11 | Drug cop is South American plant (9) | |
| NARCISSUS | NARC (drug cop) IS S (south) US (American) | |
| 12 | Material contribution to company longevity (5) | |
| NYLON | Hidden in or ‘contributing to’ compaNY LONgevity | |
| 13 | Notes Greek character printed (as originally written) (5) | |
| MUSIC | MU (Greek letter) SIC (printed as originally written) | |
| 14 | It’s run up at sea – set rudder! (3,6) | |
| RED DUSTER | An anagram of SET RUDDER –anagrind is ‘at sea’ – an informal term for the Red Ensign flag flown on British merchant ships | |
| 16 | Critiques the first couple of “Readers’ Naughty Wives” (7) | |
| REVIEWS | RE (‘first couple’ of letters of ‘readers’) + an anagram of WIVES – anagrind is ‘naughty’ | |
| 18 | Map book doesn’t include Thailand, unfortunately (4) | |
| ALAS | A |
|
| 22 | Almost half the afternoon spent in the Tube (4) | |
| PIPE | ‘Tube’ appears to be the definition, but we’re completely stumped by the wordplay – any thoughts welcome!! | |
| 23 | Famous hairdresser synonymous with Tom Jones (7) | |
| DELILAH | Cryptic definition – a reference to Sampson’s ‘hairdresser’ in the bible and to Tom Jones’ 1968 hit song | |
| 27 | Crop with which to chastise peer, having a spurs fetish? (4,5) | |
| CANE SUGAR | CANE (chastise) SUGAR (peer ‘having a spurs fetish’ – Lord Alan Sugar, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur FC) | |
| 29 | Severe resistance encountered in Scottish idiot (5) | |
| HARSH | R (resistance) in HASH (Scottish word for ‘idiot’) | |
| 30 | Pinch–hit? (5) | |
| SWIPE | Double definition | |
| 31 | Report loo used in error (4,5) | |
| LOUD NOISE | An anagram of LOO USED IN – anagrind is ‘error’ | |
| 32 | 35’s way to express regret (3) | |
| RUE | Lens (35ac) is a town in France, where a ‘way’ or street would be a RUE | |
| 33 | Vehicle ready in Seoul to transport silver (5) | |
| WAGON | WON (currency or ‘ready’ in South Korea) round or ‘transporting’ AG (silver) | |
| 34 | Hint to kick out government, stripped of all decency (4) | |
| NUDE | NUD |
|
| 35 | McCluskey’s feature in the “Eye”? (4) | |
| LENS | LEN’S (Len McCluskey – General Secretary of Unite) | |
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | US agents detain mounted soldiers in theatre “for screening” (6) | |
| CINEMA | CIA (US agents) round or ‘detaining’ MEN (soldiers) reversed or ‘mounted’ | |
| 2 | Party in rubbish hotel (6) | |
| THRASH | H (hotel) in TRASH (rubbish) | |
| 4 | One without fault engaged by the household (2,7) | |
| IN SERVICE | In tennis, a SERVICE ‘without fault’ would be IN | |
| 5 | Every now and then, Evan’s head relaxed (5) | |
| EASED | Alternate letters (‘every now and then’) of EvAn’S hEaD | |
| 6/21 | Ticking off 28, shouting wildly (6,7) | |
| TONGUE LASHING | An anagram of GALEN (28d) SHOUTING – anagrind is ‘wildly’ | |
| 7 | Python’s lecture a load of pointless chit-chat (4,4) | |
| IDLE TALK | A lecture by Eric Idle (one of the Monty Python team) could be an IDLE TALK | |
| 8 | “Daily Star” (or some other tabloid) (3) | |
| SUN | The SUN is a ‘daily’ tabloid, and a star | |
| 9 | Got Twiggy with Cher dancing, having tender embrace (7) | |
| BIRCHED | An anagram of CHER (anagrind is ‘dancing’) ‘embraced by’ BID (tender) | |
| 15/26 | Healthy appearance created at the flick of a switch? (4,6) | |
| ROSY CHEEKS | The result of being caned or having a ‘switch flicked’ on the bottom would be ROSY CHEEKS | |
| 17 | Take a bullet for Kitty (4-5) | |
| WHIP-ROUND | WHIP (take, as in steal) ROUND (bullet) | |
| 19 | Unlimited Russian money for cartel (4) | |
| OPEC | ||
| 20 | Is it administered by 9″ ruler? (8) | |
| SPANKING | A very crafty cryptic definition, given the theme of the puzzle – SPAN (9 inches) KING (ruler) | |
| 21 | See 6 | |
| 24 | I left revolting retsina behind (6) | |
| ASTERN | An anagram of RETS |
|
| 25 | Live coverage of sport is a sore point (6) | |
| BRUISE | BE (live) round or ‘covering’ RU (Rugby Union – sport) IS | |
| 26 | See 15 | |
| 28 | Scots valley home to a Greek physician (5) | |
| GALEN | GLEN (Scots valley) round or ‘home to’ A – we had to check this person as we’d never heard of him! | |
| 30 | Like what “The Observer” did– it’s got teeth (3) | |
| SAW | Double definition | |
22a An informal term for PM is Pip Emma so in PIPE you have almost half of PIP Emma
An ‘interesting’ theme, thank you Knut.
Thank you to B&J too
Thanks crypticsue – will correct the blog later today when we have a bit more time.
Oddly though, PIPE is more than half of PIP EMMA…
I think it means almost half of PIP EMMA is missing, so more than half remains.
Thanks for a great blog, B and J [and thanks to crypticsue – I was stuck on that one, too.]
And what a great puzzle! What absolutely made it for me was the 1ac / 17dn combination. ‘Censor (4)’ couldn’t be anything but CATO and quickly looking down [I boringly tackle the clues in order] at 17, I saw ‘Kitty’ – which confirmed it [didn’t it?] so I confidently entered CATO and left the parsing until I’d properly come to 17. By that time, of course, I had enough crossers to realise that there was no feline involved and I really did laugh out loud. I didn’t suss the nina until quite late on.
Other highlights were the famous hairdresser and McCluskey’s feature and I particularly liked the revolting retsina – quite the most disgusting drink I’ve ever tasted [I’ve seen it clued before as an anagram of NASTIER] but there simply wasn’t one dud clue here.
I always admire setters who can make answers run on in the grid, as at 6/21 and 15/26.
So many smiles and sighs of satisfaction in this solve – huge thanks to Knut.
Great fun, though that may not be the most appropriate word! I really loved the ‘in sequence’ themed clues, especially 1a/3a/6a after I’d finally solved CATO, and ROSY CHEEKS. I agree with Eileen about ‘retsina’ – tastes like paint thinner to me. Missed 19d and 22a, but that didn’t spoil the overall enjoyment.
A big thanks to Knut and to B&J.
Hard to beat for entertainment! Thanks Knut & B&J
As others have said, an ‘interesting’ theme for Valentine’s Day, so probably the MUSIC referred to in 13ac is this. And ought the setter’s name to have an ‘o’ in the middle?
Some great clues, though; favourite was DELILAH. Memories of Flanders & Swann: Said Samson, “Delilah? – She’s my hairstyler!”
Thanks, Knut and B&J
Fun puzzle that kept me coming back for more even though it eventually spanked me by a couple of clues. Lots of good stuff with my picks of the bunch being 23a & 30d so many thanks to Knut for the entertainment and B&J for the enlightenment.
Just to be picky (who, me?), Delilah didn’t cut Samson’s hair herself. According to Judges 16:19 – ‘And she made him [Samson] sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.’
ha! Many thanks Knut.
Saw the theme early on and really laughed, I think it extends to a few more clues than have been mentioned so far (swipe, nude, bruise, harsh, loud noise, nylon, lashing, etc… or maybe I’m just fantasising ) – very clever grid fill
I’ll see what Mrs Dutch thinks about this on this special day ( actually she hates being called Mrs Dutch, that’s going to be all the torture I can get away with – if that)
Great stuff and loads of fun
Thanks very much B&J – esp for 15/26d which I sadly missed (brilliant clue) – I was fixated on ROSE.
And thanks CS for the parsing of 22a – I didn’t know that.
I like retsina
I also like retsina. I’ve never tasted paint thinner, so I can’t say if it is similar.
Great puzzle.
A couple of days late, but I have been doing this one in odd moments for the last couple of days. Finally gave up trying to parse PIPE, and I would never have seen it. As always plenty of ingenuity and entertainment (and a lot of lights in the grid – how often do we see a clue numbered 35 on an unbarred 15×15 grid?)
Thanks to Knut, B&J
Many thanks to B&J for the blog, and to those who have commented.
@beery hiker
This is very much a DIY grid, designed to fit the top row Nina and various other bits of5 thematic material (the Indy is fantastic for this; there’s no “grid library” per se). When I’d finished it, I was unhappy with the “four corner” nature of the puzzle, so I chucked in a few tiddlers to introduce better linkage, which explains why there is a 35 across!
Best wishes to all,
Rob/Knut
(ps Frau Bärchen was mortified by the theme and is worried what people might think- she needn’t worry, I hope)