Morph has clearly flagged up a theme with all the references in italics in the clues.
The theme though is completely irrelevant to all but one of the clues. I suspect though it must have been a good challenge for Morph to get so many Graham Greene novel titles into the clues. 32 clues and 15 titles is a very good ratio.
The majority of the clues today were of the kind that I like with quite intricate wordplay. Inevitably every crossword will have one or two clues that are not favourites of a particular solver. In my case that is the cryptic definition type of clue. Everyone will have their own likes and dislikes.
I had never come across the term TOMMY SHOP before but SHOP came quickly and TOMMY was the only thing that could realistically fit the remaining letters. DISTICHS was another entry I was unfamiliar with.
My first one in was THROBBING and my last one was LAWLESSLY
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Duckface to act, taking on prime part in The Quiet American (8)
|
(PLAY [act] containing [taking on] T [first letter of {prime part in} THE) + P (piano; quiet) + US (American) PLA (T) Y P US |
PLATYPUS (one of the primitive forms of mammals, with broadly webbed feet and duck-like bill; duckface)
|
|
5
|
Advance on The Power and The Glory (6)
|
P (power) + RAISE (advance) P RAISE |
PRAISE (glory)
|
|
10
|
Suggestion of worry returning after time (5)
|
T (time) + GNAW (worry) reversed T WANG< |
TWANG (suggestion)
|
|
11
|
Make Brighton Rock, capturing book that’s pulsating (9)
|
Anagram of (rock) BRIGHTON containing (capturing) B (book) THROB (B) ING* – either B could be the one contained |
THROBBING (pulsating)
|
|
12
|
Perhaps Our Man in Havana‘s title and country and queen (6) |
HE (His / Her Excellency, the form of address when referring to a diplomatic ambassador) + CUBA (Havana is the capital of Cuba) HE CUBA |
HECUBA (Queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War, with whom she had 19 children)
|
|
13
|
Sentiment those at virtual conference might approve? (7)
|
E (electronic) + MOTION (formal proposal put to a meeting for approval; for a virtual conference such a motion would be tabled electronically) E MOTION |
EMOTION (sentiment)
|
|
15
|
Bad sex perverse writer’s included (5)
|
PEN (writer) reversed (perverse) contained in (included) IT (sex) I (NEP<) T |
INEPT (unsuitable; appalling; bad)
|
|
16
|
In 1966, perhaps, England Made Me revised with art (5,4)
|
Anagram of (revised) MADE ME and (with) ART DREAM TEAM* |
DREAM TEAM (The England football team won the World Cup in 1966. In today’s terminology they would be referred to as a DREAM TEAM)
|
|
17
|
Ignoring rules, devious as well, and cunning (9)
|
Anagram of (devious) AS WELL + SLY (cunning) LAWLES* SLY |
LAWLESSLY (ignoring rules)
|
|
20
|
Relating to element from Britain, The Confidential Agent‘s US distributor perhaps rejected, taking on resistance (5)
|
B (Britain) + (CIA [Central Intelligence Agency; confidential agent’s US distributor] reversed [rejected] containing [taking on] R [resistance]) B A (R) IC< |
BARIC (relating to the element barium)
|
|
22
|
Communications pioneer, one after change of heart from French leader (7)
|
MARCON (MACRON [reference new French president Emmanuel MACRON] with the two central letters reversed [change of heart]) + I (Roman numeral for one) MARCON I |
MARCONI (reference Guglielmo MARCONI, 1874 – 1937], Italian inventor and pioneer of long-distance radio transmission)
|
|
23
|
Nice Travels With My Aunt to open at flicks (6)
|
Anagram of (travels) NICE + [with] MA (first letters of [to open]each of MY and AUNT) CINE* MA |
CINEMA (flicks)
|
|
25
|
Former company outlet where you might find A Gun for Sale? (5,4)
|
TOMMY (reference TOMMY gun [machine gun]) + SHOP [place for selling] – taken together, perhaps a shop selling guns. TOMMY SHOP |
TOMMY SHOP (truck SHOP [a SHOP operated by employers in which their workers were obliged to buy goods]; company store [outlet])
|
|
26
|
Weariness in report of how one with nothing to drink but urine survives? (5)
|
ENNUI, according to Chambers dictionary, pronounced ON WEE [urine] which is descriptive of how a person with nothing to drink but urine survives. ENNUI |
ENNUI (a feeling of weariness or languor)
|
|
27
|
Traced back registration number and caught big fish (6)
|
(REG NO [registration number] + C [caught]) all reversed (traced back) (C ON GER)< |
CONGER (large sea fish of the eel family)
|
|
28
|
Exploits woman’s breaking down (8)
|
HER(woman) contained in (breaking) FEATS (exploits) FEAT (HER) S I don’t think it can be FEAT + HER’S [woman’s] as we would only have a singular exploit. |
FEATHERS (down)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Material on colonial head perhaps in The Heart of the Matter? (4)
|
PITH (reference PITH helmet [sun helmet made of sola pith, headgear frequently worn by colonial administrators]) PITH |
PITH (substance, weight, significance; heart of the matter)
|
|
2
|
A Burnt-out Case made hopeless in institutional realm (7)
|
A + (an anagram of [hopeless] MADE contained in [in] CE (letters remaining when you are left in the shell of the word having burnt-out the centre of CASE) A C (ADEM*) E |
ACADEME (world of scholars; institutional realm)
|
|
3
|
Cultured food tent hosting hog roast (7)
|
YURT (light conical tent of skins etc, supported by posts, used by nomads in Siberia and Mongolia) containing (hosting) an anagram of (roasting) HOG Y (OGH*) URT |
YOGHURT (semi-liquid food made from fermented milk; cultured food where culture refers to bacterial effects))
|
|
4
|
Extremist featuring in Stamboul Train (5)
|
ULTRA (hidden word in [featuring in] STAMBOUL TRAIN) ULTRA |
ULTRA (extremist)
|
|
6
|
In elevated heath, herb’ll regularly flower repeatedly (7) |
EBL (letters 2, 4 and 6 [regularly] of HERB‘LL) contained in (in) MOOR (heath) reversed (elevated; down clue) R (EBL) OOM< |
REBLOOM (flower again; flower repeatedly)
|
|
7
|
To put sheen on hair, I disentangled grips (7)
|
IRIDISE (hidden word in [grips] HAIR I DISENTANGLED) IRIDISE |
IRIDISE (glitter with changing colour; put sheen on)
|
|
8
|
Ignores brief Communist intrigues in The Human Factor? (10)
|
Anagram of (intrigues) IGNORES and COM (abbreviation for [brief] COMMUNIST) ERGONOMICS* |
ERGONOMICS (scientific study of man in relation to his physical working environment; human factor)
|
|
9
|
Leaves like those in books mentioned here? (8)
|
GREENERY (a word that could be used as descriptive of books by the author Graham GREENE, as all the books mentioned in the clues are) GREENERY |
GREENERY (leaves, for example)
|
|
14
|
Mad plot I unravelled I see as like The Honorary Consul (10)
|
Anagram of (unravelled) MAD PLOT I + I + C (see) DIPLOMAT* I C |
DIPLOMATIC (relating to relations between states; a consul is an agent for a foreign government appointed to attend to the interests of its citizens and commerce)
|
|
16
|
Express contempt for little one’s short verses (8)
|
DIS (variant spelling of DISS [treat with disrespect or contempt]) + TICH’S (very small person’s) DIS TICHS |
DISTICHS (two lines or verses, complete in themselves)
|
|
18
|
Grafter got around poor mark (7)
|
WON (got) containing (around) an anagram of (poor) MARK WO (RKMA*) N |
WORKMAN (grafter)
|
|
19
|
Group adapted sports car to suppress carbon monoxide (7)
|
E-TYPE (British sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1975) containing (to suppress) CO (chemical formula for Carbon Monoxide) E (CO) TYPE |
ECOTYPE (group of organisms which have adapted to a particular environment and so have become different from other groups within the species)
|
|
20
|
Extremely underfed, perhaps bites on nuts (7)
|
Anagram of (nuts) BITES ON BONIEST* |
BONIEST (showing least fat; thinnest, perhaps the most underfed)
|
|
21
|
Female losing head finds refuge in Catholic church – The End of The Affair (7)
|
(WOMAN [female] excluding the first letter (losing head) W contained in (finds refuge in) RC (Roman Catholic [Church]) + E (last letter of [the end of] THE) R (OMAN) C E |
ROMANCE (affair)
|
|
23
|
Manage to hide spades in wood (5)
|
S (spades) contained in (to hide in) COPE (manage) COP (S) E |
COPSE (dense thicket of trees and bushes; wood)
|
|
24
|
West Indian society captivating leading character in The Comedians (4)
|
(WI [West Indian] + S [society]) containing (captivating) T (first character of [leading character in] THE) WI (T) S |
WITS (comedians)
|
I soon ‘saw’ the theme but have to admit that the puzzle took me longer to solve than I’d have expected from a Morph.
Thanks to him and Duncan too
This was a bit like the way Tramp does a surface theme. I love Graham Greene and have read most of his books but I didnt let that get in the way of an enjoyable puzzle.I loved 22.
Thanks to Duncansheill and Morph.
No italics on the I-phone app but plenty of capital letters to give the game away, and Greenery confirmed it. Hadn’t come across Tommy Shop or Distichs but gettable (with the ‘show errors’) button. Ennui brought a smile. Thanks to S&B
I thought this was brilliant, tough and engaging. My solving/vocab skills weren’t quite up to the task though, being beaten by three in the end and it would’ve been more had I not pencilled in the initially unparsed 17a which helped me complete the far SW. Honours today have to go to the great theme (I loves a bit of GG) and the implementation of it in the clues – quality stuff. Thanks to Morph for a super puzzle and to DS for the enlightenment.
Great stuff. One of those crosswords where you don’t need to know the theme in order to solve it. Well, almost, in this case, as in 9dn one needed to know the author’s name but, at risk of appearing a know-all, you’d have to be on another planet not to know who wrote Brighton Rock and Our Man in Havana if not the others. I did wonder if the puzzle was in celebration of some significant date related to the author or one of his works, but I couldn’t find anything.
Favourites were PITH and – unrelated to the theme – MARCONI (Morph topical as ever).
Thanks, Morph and Duncan
Thanks Morph!
I think I’ve read most of these but it’s been a while – love Graham Greene. Clever to work in all those titles, I especially love it when half a title is used for wordplay etc.
Missed HECUBA – my ignorance. And somehow I ended up with BORIC, wrong obviously. I liked GREENERY, FEATHERS, and especially ENNUI
Many thanks Duncanshiell
Personally I’m not a great fan of such puzzles with thematic clues but, if we do have to have them occasionally, this is a good example of how to go about it. Maybe Boatman and Tramp of The Guardian could learn something from it.
Thanks to Morph and duncanshiell.
Lovely puzzle. Great use of the theme. Well done Morph.
Neil