Inquisitor 1477: Why by Chalicea

by

Chalicea presented the Inquisitor challenge on 11th February

 

 

 

The preamble was nice and short. It stated "The wordplay of every across clue leads to a letter not required in the grid entry.  Read in clue order, these indicate what solvers must highlight in the completed grid.  The phrase at 5 down is not in Chambers, but is checkable online."

The first thing I noticed was that the grid was not symmetric.  That often means that the setter needs to get some specific letters in place and can’t get the ones required in the more common symmetrical grid.

I got a few acrosses and downs on the first pass through, but not nearly enough acrosses to get even a hint of the message.  Indeed it was quite late on before I was able to home in on the message, although it became obvious fairly early on that the last word was going to be LETTERS.

The second word I deduced was PEOPLE followed by THE and HIT,  by which time even I with my limited knowledge of popular music remembered VILLAGE PEOPLE and their song YMCA.

The full message was VILLAGE PEOPLE HIT THE LETTERS

Studying the grid showed that the position of the letters Y, M, C and A were forming a pattern.

There is one clue I can’t parse and that’s the second one (5 across) leading to THESPS.  I’ve stared at it for over a week now and I can’t see where half of the entry, including the extra I comes from.  I obviously can’t see the wood for the trees now.  I can’t get away from the word THE forming the leading three letters (‘the first’) but I’m lost with handling SPS and the missing I.  I expect a Doh! moment when someone explains it to me.

The puzzle as solved looks like this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After highlighting the relevant letters a YMCA pattern emerges as shown below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The title WHY is a homophone for the letter Y which in turn is used by many a one letter reference to the Young Men’s Christian Association [YMCA].

Thanks to Chalicea for a pleasant puzzle that will serve as a good introduction to the Inquisitor for new solvers.

Across
No.

Clue

Wordplay

 Letter

Entry
1 Enlist justice in court taking in exotic vino (6, 2 words)

(J [Justice] + UP [in court]) containing (taking) an anagram of (exotic) VINO

J (OIN*) UP  

For a long time I was fixated on JP being the full ‘Justice in court’ and was scratching my head wondering where the U came from.  Eventually the penny dropped.

V

JOIN UP (enlist)

 
5 Actors in short; probably the first (6)

I can’t see the wordplay here. I’ve got THE for the first three letters [the first] and I’m left with SPS and an I to be involved somewhere so that I can omit it. I can’t relate any of that to ‘probably’.  

 I thought  initially that the definition was ‘Actors in short’ with THESPS short for THESPIANS but Chambers tell me that THESPS itself is a definition for ‘Actors’  

I could get ISP from the leading letters [the first] of each of IN, SHORT and PROBABLY, but I’m then still lacking THE and the final S

Help!

I

 THESPS (actors)
14 Further education college in uproar, the class fool excluded  (4)

Anagram of (in uproar) THE CLASS excluding (excluded) ASS (fool)

TECH*

L

 TECH (further education college, although they all seem to be rebranded as Universities these days)

15

 

Former unit‘s old blackbird returns (3)

 

MERL (archaic term [old] word for a blackbird) reversed (returns)

REM<

L

 

REM (former unit of radiation dosage, replaced, I think, by the sievert)

 

16

 

Iraqi port‘s graceful horse wheeling round margins of sea (5)

 

ARAB (graceful breed of horse) reversed (wheeling) containing (round) SA (first and last letters of [margins of] SEA)

BA (S) RA<

A

 

BASRA (port city of Iraq)

 

17

 

Macaw genus in one-time Mogul capital (3)

 

AGRA (former [one time] capital of the Mogul empire)

ARA

G

 

ARA (a macaw is any of the large, long-tailed, brightly-coloured tropical American parrots of the genus ARA or Anodorhynchus)

 

18

 

Bulge and shrink successively of Neptune say without luminance (4)

 

PLANET (Neptune is an example of a PLANET) excluding (without) L (luminance)

PANT

E

 

PANT ( [of ship’s hulls, etc] to bulge and shrink successively)

 

19

 

Following sport, doctor with charity preserves body’s state (7)

 

PE (physical exercise; sport) + MB (Bachelor of Medicine; doctor) + ALMS (charity)

E MB ALMS

P

 

EMBALMS (preserves a dead body from decay by treatment with chemicals or drugs)

 

20

 

Decrease moral filth (4)

 

SLIME (moral filth)

SLIM

E

 

SLIM (decrease)

 

21

 

Have outward experience of developing some energy (4)

 

Anagram of (developing) SOME and E (energy)

SEEM*

O

 

SEEM (appear to be; have outward experience of)

 

23

 

Sanction pilfering from time to time accepted with touch of tolerance (4)

 

PFI (letters 1, 4 and 7 [from time to time] of PILFERING) + A (accepted) + T (first letter of [bit of] TOLERANCE)

FI A T

P

 

FIAT (sanction)

 

24

 

Lager company drink (5)

 

PILS (lager) + CO (company)

PIS CO

L

 

PISCO ( alcoholic spirit distilled from grape wine)

 

25

 

Fixed charge covering fragment of ancient unusually nice earthenware (7)

 

FEE (fixed charge) containing (covering) (A [first letter of {fragment of} ANCIENT] + an anagram of [unusual] NICE)

F (A IENC*) E

E

 

FAIENCE (glazed coloured earthenware)

 

29

 

Keep moving no longer functional professional fly half, off and on (5)

 

PRO (professional) + LHL (letters 2, 4 and 6 [off and on] of FLY-HALF)

PRO LL

H

 

PROLL (obsolete [no longer] form of PROWL [keep moving about])

 

31

 

Beginnings of university research into atrophied half of child’s ligaments (6)

 

URIA (first letters of [beginnings of] each of UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INTO and ATROPHIED) + CHI (3 of the 6 [half] letters in CHILD’S)

URA CHI

I

 

URACHI (ligaments connecting the bladder with the umbilicus)

 

32

 

Breaking down some of royalty’s isolationism (5)

 

LYTSIS (hidden word in [some of] ROYALTY’S ISOLATIONISM)

LYSIS

T

 

LYSIS (breaking down, eg of a cell)

 

33

 

Ostentation of Dutch unshaved facial hair (4)

 

D (Dutch) + TASH (moustache; unshaved facial hair))

D ASH

T

 

DASH (ostentation)

 

35

 

Salt the sea rat disconcerted (8)

 

Anagram of (disconcerted) THE SEA RAT

STEARATE*

H

 

STEARATE (salt of STEARic acid)

 

38

 

Give strength and confidence to sad wee moper

 

Anagram of (sad) WEE MOPER

EMPOWER*

E

 

EMPOWER (give strength and confidence to)

 

40

 

Records slid round with hollow clunks (5)

 

SLID reversed (round) + CS (letters remaining in CLUNKS when the central letters LUNK are removed [hollow])

DIS< CS

L

 

DISCS (records)

 

42

 

Working, I earn bit of African money (5)

 

Anagram of (working) I EARN and A (first letter of [bit of] AFRICAN)

NAIRA*

E

 

NAIRA (currency of Nigeria)  African could do double duty and be part of the definition as well.

 

43

 

Cooked muscat berries used as Middle-Eastern spice (5)

 

Anagram of (cooked) MUSCAT

SUMAC*

T

 

SUMAC (dried ground berries used a Middle Eastern spice, but readily available for sale in many countries these days)

 

44

 

Has skill in hypocritical talk (3)

 

CANT (hypocritical talk)

CAN

T

 

CAN (has the ability to; has skill in)

 

45

 

Alarmingly secretive about curtailed dental decay (7)

 

SLY (secretive) containing (about) (CARIES [dental decay] excluding the final letter (curtailed) S)

S (CARI) LY

E

 

SCARILY (alarmingly)

 

46

 

Oarsman circling front of mooring place that’s disused (5)

 

ROWER (oarsman) containing (circling) M (first letter of [front of] MOORING)

ROW (M) E

R

 

ROWME (Spenserian [old] word for room, place or station)

 

47

 

Elite corps peel lenses off with hollow success leading to trouble resting (13)

 

SS (Nazi elite corps) + (anagram of (off )PEEL and LENSES) + SS (letters remaining when the central letters UCCES of SUCCESS are removed [hollow])

S LEEPLESSNE* SS

S

 

SLEEPLESSNESS (inability to rest or SLEEP)

 
Down
No.

Clue

Wordplay

 

 Entry

1

 

Judge possibly unsurprised, grasping tenor of people skilled in law (13)

 

J (judge) + (anagram of [possibly] UNSURPRISED containing [grasping] T [tenor])

J URISPRUDEN (T) S*

 

JURISPRUDENTS (people knowledgeable in law)

 

2

 

Mongrel collie’s ringed colour spots (6)

Anagram of (mongrel) COLLIE

OCELLI*

 

OCELLI (ringed spots of colour)

 
3 Locally handle person of importance (3)

NIB (dialect [locally] word for a handle on a scythe’s shaft)

NIB

 

NIB (a person of importance or appearance of importance)  double definition

4

 

Frees from micro-organisms narrow passages enclosing damaged uteri (11)

PASSES (narrow passages, especially through mountains) containing (enclosing) an anagram of [damaged] UTERI

PAS (TEURI*) SES

 

PASTEURISES (frees from micro-organisms)

 
5 Yard rod for measuring pitching distance (13, 3 words)

THREE FOOT (yard) + RULE (measuring rod)

THREE FOOT RULE

 

 

THREE FOOT RULE (a term used in marketing [pitching] to mean that whenever you’re within THREE FEET of someone, you should talk to them about your business and the services you provide)

 

6

 

Important date half removed from memory (3)

 

ERASED (removed from [computer] memory) excluding the final 3 of 6 [half] letters SED

ERA

 

 

ERA (important date)

 

7

 

Ultimately calamitous note involving air force attack (6)

 

S last letter of [ultimately] CALAMITOUS])+ TE [note of the tonic sol-fa]) containing (involving) RAF ([Royal] Air Force)

S T (RAF) E

 

 

STRAFE (attack)

 

8

 

Well-organised alpine group resounding sonorously (7)

 

Anagram of (well-organised) ALPINE + G (group)

PEALIN* G

 

 

 PEALING (resounding sonorously)

9

 

Fraudulent scheme upsetting types of personal computer (4)

 

MACS (personal computers marketed by Apple) reversed (upsetting; down clue)

SCAM<

 

 

SCAM (fraudulent scheme)

 

10

 

Hint of breathless silence to witness returning water-carriers (8)

 

B (first letter of [hint of] BREATHLESS) + HIST (command to be silent; silence!) + (SEE [witness] reversed [returning])

B HIST EES<

 

 

BHISTEES (Indian water carriers)

 

11

 

Naughtily playful – ineffectual, not weak (6)

 

WIMPISH (ineffectual) excluding (not) W (weak)

IMPISH

 

 

IMPISH (teasingly mischievous; naughtily playful)

 

12

 

Constructed pay-phones not primarily exploiting universal knowledge (8)

 

Anagram of (constructed) PAYPHONES excluding (not) E (first letter of [primarily] E)

PANSOPHY*

 

 

PANSOPHY (universal knowledge)

 

13

 

Mother leopards, gutless warm-blooded creatures (7)

 

MAMMA (mother) + LS (the outside letters of LEOPARDS remaining after the central letters EOPARD are removed [gutless])

MAMMA LS

 

 

MAMMALS (warm blooded creatures)

 

22

 

Garrison commanders discard leaderless radar section (9)

 

KILL (discard) + (RADAR excluding the first letter [leaderless] R) + S (sections)

KILL ADAR S

 

 

KILLADARS (commandant of a fort or garrison.  Indian reference)

 

26

 

Shoot local child (4)

 

CHIT (dialect [local] word for shoot)

CHIT

 

CHIT (child) double definition

 

27

 

Turbulent episodes of afternoon engaged in whisky tipples (6)

 

A (afternoon) contained in (engaged in) DRAMS (small drinks of alcohol, eg whisky)

DRAM (A) S

 

DRAMAS (absorbing, exciting, tense or tragic events; turbulent episodes)

 

28

 

Exceptionally rich oxygen that’s supposedly flowing in deities’ veins (5)

 

Anagram of (exceptionally) RICH and O (chemical symbol for Oxygen)

ICHOR*

 

 

ICHOR (myth suggests that ICHOR is the ethereal juice in the veins of the gods)

 

30

 

Song on wind instrument with synthesizer (7)

 

LYRIC (song) + ON

LYRIC ON

 

 

LYRICON ( electronic wind instrument like a large flute [but played like a clarinet], used with a synthesizer)

 

34

 

Zest of outlandish epics (5)

 

Anagram of (outlandish) EPICS

SPICE*

 

 

SPICE (zest)

 

36

 

Trophies revolutionary beauty of form eliminating effort (5)

 

SYMMETRY (beauty of form) excluding (eliminating) TRY (effort) reversed (revolutionary)

EMMYS<

 

EMMYS (awards for television corresponding to the Oscars for films)

 

37

 

 Reactionary understanding slaves once (5)

SENSE (understanding) reversed (reactionary)

ESNES<

 

 

ESNES (domestic slaves in Anglo-Saxon times.)

 

39

 

Distort power supporting contest (4)

 

WAR (contest) + P (power)  As this is a down entry the letter P is supporting the letters WAR

WAR P

 

WARP (distort)

 
41 In Holyrood, pencils retrospective account on manuscript (4)

AC (account) reversed (retrospective) + MS (manuscript)

CA< MS

 

 CAMS (Scottish [Holyrood] word for slate pencils)

 

15 comments on “Inquisitor 1477: Why by Chalicea”

  1. I think 2 was just a double definition – THESPIS is thought to have been the first stage actor.

    Nice gentle puzzle after a run of quite a few brain-crunchers!

  4. I was initially dismayed by the now all-too-common “extra letters to elucidate endgame” requirement, but clues were amenable enough to reveal, fairly quickly, what seemed to be required. Unfortunately I didn’t bother to parse the obvious entry for 29a and thought the message was VILLAGE PEOPLE … FIT LETTERS, and thus spent ages looking for contiguous sequences of the group’s surnames. Then I looked at the title and remembered young friends who had often stayed at a “Y” on their travels, and pennY dropped.

    As many will know, Chalicea is fixated on finding alcohol-related bits of clues or answers in her own blogs on puzzles. All I could find, in this puzzle of hers, were “whisky tipples” and “Iraqi port” (ugh !)

    Thanks to setter and blogger … I didn’t bother to parse THESPS either as it was clearly right and the I it yielded had to be right too. Then again, I thought TRILBY was right, a few months ago !

  6. A very enjoyable and gentle workout from Chalicea. I too couldn’t parse THESPS. If the parsing is as cruciverbophile says then I think it’s a pretty duff clue tbh. Thanks notwithstanding to setter and blogger

  7. Thanks Chalicea, this was good fun and probably a PB for me in finishing it before the end of the weekend. I’m always a fan of the ‘highlight letters to reveal an image’ type puzzles. After spotting Village People in the message I initially wondered if we might have to look for the individual members (Red Indian, Cop etc.) in the grid but quickly saw what was required. Once completed I tried to teach the dance moves to our 5 and 3 year olds.

    I’m another who had no idea why THESPS was right.

    Thanks to Duncan for the blog.

  8. Thanks to cruciverbophile @ 1 and Holy Ghost @ 2

    I the time honoured fashion of the elderly and hopeless actor that I am, I have clasped my hand to my forehead and gone Doh!

  9. I was yet another with a question mark by 5A, so thanks for the explanations.

    I ripped through this one in just over an hour, one of my fastest ever – it usually takes me several sessions over a couple of days – sometimes longer, but Village People and YMCA became obvious very quickly. The endgame was very nicely constructed, so the speed did not detract from the enjoyment, though it did leave me without my usual Sunday employment!!

  10. I’m surprised there hasn’t been more effusive praise for the grid construction, which gave a lovely PDM for me as it all came rapidly together at the end. But there were a couple of clues I hadn’t parsed – 5A won’t be a surprise to anyone by now, but I couldn’t see 6D either – and these, with a couple of others, just took the edge off the pleasure.

  11. A rare one-session solve for us, although writing the answers into the original grid for submission I fortunately realised that by “biffing” NOB for 3d we’d got it wrong. It’s an important person, not a dialect word for handle although it sounds like “knob”, which probably was the reason we initially accepted it without question.

    Thanks to Chalicea for a gentle, but very cleverly constructed, puzzle to follow the previous week’s conundrum which defeated us.

  12. I’m really enjoying all your generous comments and, as always, appreciate duncanshiell’s blog. So sorry about that poor clue for THESPS, at the time I thought it was a gift of a way to produce the extra I but I’m nursing my smacked hand and will try to do better.

  14. I don’t often get to the end and submit an entry but did with this one (just the right balance)- however managed to get nob not nib. Eldest daughter staggered that anyone could think up such an involved puzzle!

  15. I enjoyed this, many thanks to Chalicea and Duncan. Add me to the failed to explain THESPS contingent.

    I guessed that YMCA was going to show up in the grid but I’m afraid to say that I didn’t go as far as finding the exact letters to shade. I feel a bit guilty about this as Chalicea has obviously gone to a lot of trouble to fit them in, but having solved all of the clues and filled the grid the colouring-in exercise lost its appeal. I like cryptic puzzles, but word-searches are not my thing.

    I enjoyed the penny-drop moment when Village People popped up in the hidden message. That put a big grin on my face.

Comments are closed.