This must be the smallest 15×15 crossword ever published in a national daily, having only 20 clues. The Times Quick Cryptic, which is 13×13, seldom has so few clues, but really this is one of the few 13×13 cryptics of 20 clues, with some answers lengthened. Four long acrosses and four long downs are the reason for the brevity. Phi has managed to make it all look sensible enough, though, and it must have been quite difficult to fit those long answers in.
As usual all very pleasant, as we have come to expect from Phi.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
Perhaps this is all. A very unusual grid. But no doubt there’s more.
| Across | ||
| 3 | REORIENTATION | Adjustment one time accommodated in redesign of one interior (13) |
| (a t) in (one interior)* — since I do the Times, where one is always i, it never quickly comes to mind that one = a — if indeed it is | ||
| 8 | SCRIMP | Cut back on investing millions in share certificates (6) |
| scri(m)p — wasn’t really sure whether or not scrip = share certificates but I thought it probably was, since I’ve heard of a scrip issue — this seems to confirm it | ||
| 9 | ORBITERS | Military men, those penetrating satellites (8) |
| OR [= military men] biters [= those penetrating] | ||
| 10 | NON-RESISTANCE | Bit of sound fed into various innocent ears making no objection (3-10) |
| s{ound} in (innocent ears)* | ||
| 11 | GENIUS | One’s enveloped by kind spirit (6) |
| gen(1)us | ||
| 13 | ATTIRE | Dressing right to be used amongst peeled potatoes (6) |
| {t}atti(r)e{s} | ||
| 15 | RATIONALISTIC | Republican, intensely patriotic, expelling number on sound grounds? (13) |
| R {n}ationalistic | ||
| 17 | PTOMAINE | Revolutionary writer advancing power as poisonous stuff? (8) |
| Tom Paine with the P moved to the front | ||
| 18 | EMETIC | Quote my words after returning purgative (6) |
| (cite me)rev. | ||
| 19 | DECOMPRESSING | Sad about committee arranging experience for divers (13) |
| de(com.)pressing — but I can’t quite explain ‘arranging’: there is no anagram; is it just a link-word? If so then … | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | NOTION | Unacceptable to hold one idea (6) |
| not (1) on | ||
| 2 | DISTINCT | Clear Navy’s invading region ignoring Queen (8) |
| dist{r}i(n)ct | ||
| 3 | RECONSECRATED | Rectors and Dean excited about church turning up ready for use again? (13) |
| (Rectors Dean)* round (CE)rev. — with a slight &littish character: although ‘church’ is part of the wordplay it enhances the definition | ||
| 4 | IMPRESSIONISM | I’m to continue retaining one – then I’m adopting second artistic style (13) |
| (I’m press (1) on) I'(s)m | ||
| 5 | NOOKIE | No indication of agreement? That is it (6) |
| no OK i.e. | ||
| 6 | ARBITRARINESS | Lack of system in barristers sadly restricting opening of action (13) |
| (in barristers)* round a{ction} | ||
| 7 | NERVE-WRACKING | Hesitation over volume accommodated by modern storage system is stressful (5-8) |
| n(er v)ew racking — racking = storage system? Collins doesn’t have it, but Google has lots of advertisements for racking systems, so I expect it’s somewhere | ||
| 12 | INTIMACY | Carnal knowledge in it upset American shop-owner (8) |
| in (it)rev. Macy — Macy’s | ||
| 14 | CAREER | Energy required in one nursing job (6) |
| care(e)r | ||
| 16 | THESIS | Proposition is following article on sun (6) |
| the s is | ||
*anagram
I’m not fond of long-clue puzzles, which Phi seems to prefer of late. The parsing of long Latinate words is a pain.
But Tom Paine … ptomaine is a clue of genius.
Thanks to Phi & John
As an exercise in grid filling this was truly remarkable – 20 clues must surely be the record for a 15 x 15, and Phi is to be congratulated on another brilliant achievement. The Indy pushing the boundaries yet again!
Oh, plus the usual excellent clues as well, of course 🙂
This was just an attempt to get as few words into a grid as possible, with the consequent result that several of them were long. Which has its own knock-on effect of trying to ensure not all of them are anagrams.
There is another variation on this to come (for a rather specific reason) but after that I seem to have got it out of my system for a while, at least!
I saw the grid and immediately thought “there’s something going on here in the way of a theme or nina” – but no, just an exercise in brevity. Still a bit tricky in places, though, and to paraphrase Grant@1, 17ac is a stroke of 11ac.
Thanks, Phi and John.
Thanks Phi and John
I’m not making any suggestion of plagiarism or anything like that – setters operate in different physical and temporal spaces, and I’ve no idea if they necessarily see each others’ work – but there have been at least two previous instances in recent years of PTOMAINE being clued by referring to Tom Paine or using his name directly. Morphic resonance, perhaps? Or simply that when a good idea knows its time has come it makes sure it emerges.
Call me easily excitable, but I got a bit of a thrill when I saw the grid – a cute construction, I thought. Enjoyable solve and agree with Mr C that it was tricky in places (those places being everywhere left after I got the easy ones). No particualr fave today so my honours go to the grid itself. My thanks to Lord Phi of the Puzzle and Sir John of the Blog.
Plagiarised or no, I feel the PTOMAINE clue is unfair, as it is a very obscure word, clued using a writer whose name you absolutely need to know in order to get to the answer. Okay for Times TLS but not here.
Not quite the smallest – the last Enigmatist prize in the Guardian only had 219 clues…
19! I hate typing on the phone…
beery hiker @8: Then maybe we should distinguish between clues and grid entries. Phi’s puzzle here contains 20 separate answers; Enigmatist’s actually had room for 24 but he filled four of those with an incorrect long phrase, then combined two four-letter words to get to the 19 you speak of.
Were Phi to use a similar strategy in a repeat of today’s grid, maybe he could get down to, say, 16 clues.