Knut has produced this week’s Tuesday teaser, which I imagine had many of us reaching for our dictionaries!
This was quite a workout and not just because I didn’t know most of the geological terms that Knut had peppered this puzzle with. In the end, I managed to work out the technical terms at 12, 14, 20, 25, etc from the wordplay and could then find out what they actually meant by looking them up in Chambers and on Google.
However, Knut had the last laugh on me today in that he foxed me with the clues at 2 and 10, both of which had me kicking myself when I gave up and went online to get the correct answers. Neither word was particularly unusual compared to some of the other vocabulary in this puzzle, nor was the wordplay for either particularly convoluted. That said, if you are not a regular solver, perhaps Nina as a hidden message may elude you. In any case, it just goes to show that in themed puzzles, often it is the non-themed clues that catch us out in the end. Incidentally, I hope that I have parsed 22 correctly.
My favourite clues today are 1, 14 and 23, all for surface. 5, with its misleading reference to the BBC sitcom, also raised a smile. Interestingly, in a puzzle full of geological terms around glaciers, 6 and 9 both used such references in clues to words unrelated to the theme.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | INTER | Bury‘s miserable season, not having won
<w>INTER (=miserable season); “not having won (=W, as in football results)” means letter “w” is dropped; the “bury” of the definition is not the football team, but a verb |
| 04 | WASHBOARD | “This instrument used to be difficult to get to grips with” – Diddley
WAS (=used to be) + [BO (=Diddley, i.e. American musician) in HARD (=difficult)] |
| 10 | ANGINA | A hidden message inviting government disorder
A + [G (=government) in NINA (=hidden message, e.g. around perimeter of a crossword puzzle)] |
| 11 | CREATINE | Native American consumes a can of body-builder?
[A + TIN (=can)] in CREE (=Native American)]; creatine is a compound found in the muscle of vertebrates, hence “body-builder”, cryptically |
| 12 | STRIATED | I started out with furrows (naturally)
*(I STARTED); “out” is anagram indicator; striated rocks contain furrows caused by natural processes |
| 13 | ABASH | Bring shame on a party
A + BASH (=party) |
| 14 | DRUMLIN | 500-odd left, batting, a bit of an uneven surface
D (=500, in Roman numerals) + RUM (=odd) + L (=left) + IN (=batting, in cricket); a drumlin is a usually oval ridge formed under the ice sheet of the Glacial Period |
| 16 | LOCKING | Making secure His Majesty, following officer’s revolution
LOC (COL=officer, i.e. colonel; “revolution” indicates reversal) + KING (=His Majesty) |
| 18 | LATERAL | Colorado left security pledge on the side
<col>LATERAL (=security pledge); “Colorado (=COL.) left” means letters “col” are dropped |
| 20 | MORAINE | Rock band somehow using a minor key
*(A MINOR) + E (=key, in music); “somehow” is anagram indicator; a moraine is a ridge-like mass of earth and rock deposited by a glacier |
| 23 | ARETE | Mountain feature occasionally visible in fair weather
<f>A<i>R <w>E<a>T<h>E<r>; “occasionally visible in” means alternate letters only are used; an arête is a rocky edge on a mountain, a sharp ridge |
| 24 | CLINCHER | Decisive moment for Eastwood, dumping model for diva
CLIN<t> (=Eastwood, US actor); “dumping model (=T, i.e. Ford) for diva (=Cher, US singer)” means letter “t” is replaced by “cher” |
| 26 | PRISTINA | Almost unspoilt Australian state capital
PRISTIN<e> (=unspoilt; “almost” means last letter is dropped) + A (=Australian); Pristina is the capital of Kosovo |
| 27 | ALASKA | Chilly state, sadly, of one’s inner spirit
ALAS (=sadly) + KA (=inner spirit, in ancient Egypt) |
| 28 | TRUNCATED | TUC ardent about having been subjected to cuts
*(TUC ARDENT); “about” is anagram indicator |
| 29 | SPURS | Urges on // football team
Double definition: Spurs is a slang way of referring to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. |
| Down | ||
| 02 | NONET | Frequent complaint heard in rural village group
People living in the countryside often complain that there is “no (inter)net” connection! |
| 03 | ELITISM | English literary doctrine favouring the Establishment?
E (=English) + LIT. (=literary, i.e. abbreviation) + ISM (=doctrine) |
| 05 | ARCADY | A right bounder, Jerry’s last appearance on the set of The Good Life?
A + R (=right) + CAD (=bounder) + <jerr>Y (“last appearance” means last letter only); Arcady or Arcadia is the site of an idealised rural life, hence “the set of the good life”, i.e. la dolce vita, not the BBC sitcom! |
| 06 | HAEMATOLOGICAL | Home to a glacial flow of vital fluid
*(HOME TO A GLACIAL); “flow” is anagram indicator |
| 07 | OSTMARK | One-time cash call to Venice patron
Cryptically, one could call out to St Mark (=patron of Venice, as in St Mark’s Square) by saying “o St Mark”!; the Ostmark was the currency of the former East Germany |
| 08 | RANCH | Spread driving the stock market?
“Spread” is a N American word for a ranch on which (live)stock are raised |
| 09 | CAPTAIN AMERICA | He has the power to melt a Martian icecap!
*(A MARTIAN ICECAP); “to melt” is anagram indicator; the reference is to a superhero appearing in Marvel comics |
| 15 | RIA | Turn up ventilation inlet
AIR (=ventilation); “turn up” indicates vertical reversal; a ria is a narrow inlet formed by the partial submergence of a river valley |
| 17 | NAN | Older lady // a bit on the side for Indian?
Double definition: a n(a)an bread is a side dish at an Indian meal! |
| 19 | EMERSON | American poet turned up nose about rock band
R.E.M. (=rock band) in NOSE; “turned up” indicates vertical reversal; the reference is to US poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) |
| 21 | ARC-LAMP | It lights up some unspectacular clam pasta
Hidden (“some”) in “unspectaculAR CLAM Pasta” |
| 22 | ICE AGE | Animated movie franchise responsible for the end of Jurassic Park?
Ice Age is a film franchise which has so far seen five Ice Age films made since 2002; an ice age brought the Jurassic period known for its dinosaurs to an end |
| 23 | AIRER | Queen song first to be requested at the Laundromat?
AIR (=song) = E.R. (=queen) |
| 25 | ESKER | Cold ridge where I abandoned English winter sport enthusiast
E (=English) + SK<i>ER (=winter sport enthusiast; “I abandoned” means letter “i” is dropped); an esker is a long ridge of e.g. gravel deposited by meltwater from a retreating glacier |
Had never come across Esker, nor heard of the Ice Age franchise, but gettable from wordplay. Captain America a great anagram spot. Thanks to Knut and to RR, eventually ?
We’ll bet on which blog gets the best response
Again, my smiley came out as a ?
Even previewed it this time. Groan…..
Thought this was a significantly tougher knutt to crack than usual. Once I’d found my larger hammer I was ok. Plenty of his typically witty clues to be found – the washboard was my favourite.
Paul A @1
All bets are off. I closed my post to further comments shortly after this one appeared.
As for emoticons, please see the following for those permitted and how to enter them:
http://www.fifteensquared.net/2009/06/19/emoticons/
Thanks for blogging, RR.
Just about got there; defeated by a couple, including WASHBOARD (although I got the BO bit but couldn’t fit it in) and NONET (too clever for this solver). I liked the theme, though. Took me back to A-level Geography (more years ago than I care to remember or tell you). LATERAL MORAINE, check. TRUNCATED SPURS, check. DRUMLIN, check. ARETE, check.
Well done, Knut.
A tough solve, quite a bit of e-help required, but some cracking clues. Took ages to realise about ‘nina’ in 10ac, and stuck for a long time convinced that 18ac began ‘co…’. But got ESKER from the wordplay, although I think I had heard of it before, having had a nodding acquaintance with geology many years ago in my professional existence.
Thanks, Knut and RatkojaRiku.
This was challenging but well worth the effort and there are some really neat clues in there: my own personal favourites were PRISTINA, OSTMARK and CAPTAIN AMERICA.
Many thanks to Knut and RatkojaRiku.
Many thanks to RR for the blog and to those who have commented.
I had originally thought of combining INTER LOCKING SPURS (O level Geography, Sheffield, 1971) to form some sort of potential 2018 Champions League fixture but I couldn’t get it to work.
Best regards, Rob/Knut
When I went out this afternoon, there was no blog for this puzzle and when I came back I found that we had a BOGOFF offer! Many thanks to both bloggers.
I only did O level Geography, so TRUNCATED SPURS passed me by but I did remember ARETE and MORAINE [not {LATERAL – but it’s an awfully long time ago] and, having lived in Northern Ireland, I knew DRUMLIN, so I sort of recognised a theme, but only later and wasn’t knowledgeable enough to pursue it further [i.e. look for a Nina, which I’m not ever so good at, anyway].
My favourite clues today were WASHBOARD [for memories of waiting at the stage door for Lonnie Donegan in Great Yarmouth while doing a student summer holiday job] and ARCADY for recollection of one of my top favourite, brilliantly-cast sitcoms and NONET – because I’ve been in that situation – and NAN, because, as an older lady, it made me laugh this morning and I had it to accompany my prawn curry just now.
Many thanks, Knut, as always – lots of fun!
Hi Rob/Knut @8
I obviously crossed with you. I’m sorry, I wasn’t familiar with INTER-LOCKING SPURS, either. I admit that I was always better at / more interested in the ‘Human’ half of O Level Geography. I quite enjoyed drawing ox-bow lakes and such and understood how they came about but was pretty much rubbish at recognising formations such as those named above when it came to commenting on the photographs we were presented with in exams.
@Eileen
I got the idea to do this when walking last year. There’s a mountain here, within the city limits of Freiburg believe it or not, almost exactly the same altitude as Ben Nevis, which offers a fantastic view over a classical U-shaped valley. Beeryhiker eat yer heart out.
Hi baerchen @11
Wow!
I love my walking in my spiritual home, the Yorkshire Dales, but, regrettably, I’ve rather lost my head for the heights!
Hope Beery had a good week on Skye!
Tougher than usual for a Knut but no less enjoyable.
Loved the St Mark clue especially.