I had the pleasure of blogging Maize’s (debut?) Independent 9392 back in November last year, which turned out to be a quadruple pangram! What could be in store for us this time?…
…well, in the end ‘only’ a double pangram…what a let-down (;+>)
I started at the bottom of the clues, as is often my wont, with the almost Cyclops-ean PUB(IS) at 26D and EZRA (POUND) at 24D. PAPARAZZI fell out quite quickly as an anagram with the double ZZ in PIZZA, and I had coincidentally just recently re-watched the (fairly dire, compared to the original TV series) 2005 film of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, so FORTY-TWO went straight in at 23A, with a little LOL!
The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION at 16/18 was pretty gettable as well, and its positioning gave a fair number of crossing letters to help me on my way up through the grid. LOI was ETCHED – had to be from the definition and crossers, but a devious parsing!
As with the quadruple, I only spotted the pangram-iness when I typed this into a grid for the blog and my letter counter pointed it out – although the double ZZ in PAPARAZZI should probably have aroused suspicions…
So all in all, an enjoyable but not too challenging solve, and an impressive achievement to get a double pangram in there…thanks Maize, and here’s to the triple next time, to complete the set?!
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1A | JERUSALEM | Retrograde measure to adopt Latin introduced by Jordan’s capital city (9) | city (not capital of Jordan!) / J (Jordan’s capital) + ERUSA_EM (measure, retrograde) around (adopting) L (Latin) |
|
| 6A | WHACK | Scouser’s mate absorbs first of hits, so getting another (5) | another (hit) / W_ACK (Liverpudlian dialect, or Scouse, for mate, pal) around (absorbing) H (first letter of Hits) |
|
| 9A | NYLON | Look into Empire State Building’s last but one material (5) | material / NY (New York, the ‘Empire’ state) + N (last but one letter of buildiNg), around LO (look) |
|
| 10A | SQUIRRELS | Start to shoot crossbow ammunition I brought in for a rodent population (9) | rodent populaiton / S (starting letter of Shoot) + QU(A)(I)RRELS (crossbow ammunition, quarrels, with I brought in for A) |
|
| 11A | UP IN ARMS | Cross radii to humeri? (2,2,4) | cross / if you went from the radius to the humerus you would be moving ‘up’ the arm, skeletally speaking, so in plural you might be UP IN ARMS |
|
| 12A | FAVOUR | Give preferential treatment to student lacking in quality (6) | give preferential treatment to / F(L)AVOUR (quality, lacking L – learner, student) |
|
| 15A | LOGO | Briefly enter name and means of identification (4) | means of identification / LOG O(N) – enter name, briefly, or missing last letter |
|
| 16/18A | INDUSTRIAL | A way to get rust inlaid which began in 18th century Britain (10,10) | (something) which began in 18th century Britain / INDUSTRIAL is an anagram, or REVOLUTION, of RUST IN:AID |
|
| 18A | REVOLUTION | See 16 (10) | see 16 A / see 16 A |
|
| 19A | JESU | Pie and this? Just eat some up for starters (4) | this? (which, together with Pie, makes ‘Pie Jesu’) / first letters (starters) of ‘Just Eat Some Up’ |
|
| 22A | LYRICS | Lady rabbi condemns empty words (6) | words (of songs) / L(ad)Y + R(abb)I + C(ondemn)S – all ’empty’, with inner letters removed |
|
| 23A | FORTY-TWO | Scores a pair in answer to ultimate question (5-3) | answer to ultimate question (the meaaning of life, the universe and everything) / FORTY (two times twenty, so ‘scores’) + TWO (a pair) |
|
| 25A | PAPARAZZI | Soldier tucking in to variety of pizza for the cameras? (9) | cameras (or, rather, those wielding them?) / PA_ZZI (anag, or variety, of PIZZA) around (tucked in to by) PARA (paratrooper, soldier) |
|
| 27A | HAITI | Small island gatecrashes greeting for part of large island (5) | part of large island (Hispaniola) / H_I (greeting) around (gatecrashed by) AIT (amall island) |
|
| 28A | EMBED | Journalist receives award to spend time with the military (5) | spend time with the military / E_D (editor, journalist) around (receiving) MBE (award or honour) |
|
| 29A | ANECDOTAL | Cane toad hopping towards lake, so the story goes (9) | so the story goes / ANECDOTA (anag, i.e. hopping, of CANETOAD) + L (lake) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | JONQUIL | Jekyll’s top tip on root-pruned bedding plant (7) | plant / J (top/tip of Jekyll) + ON + QUIL(T) (bedding, with last letter, or root, pruned) |
|
| 2D | ROLLING OVER | Troll in government exhibiting pusillanimous behaviour (7,4) | pusillanimous behaviour / hidden word, i.e. exhibiting; in ‘tROLL IN GOVERnment’ |
|
| 3D | SYNTAX | Correct grammar which is wrong – they say it’s a duty (6) | correct grammar / SYN (homophone, i.e. they say, sounds like SIN, wrongdoing) + TAX (duty) |
|
| 4D | LAST MINUTE | Deploy ultimate sanction extremely late in the day (4-6) | late in the day / anag, i.e. deploy, of ULTIMATE + SN (extreme letters of SanctioN) |
|
| 5D | MAUI | Pacific Island group of rugby players: 50 to 1 (4) | Pacific island / MAU(L)(I) (MAUL, group of rugby players, with L – 50 – changed to I – one) |
|
| 6D | WARRANTY | Why hotel should go for complete protection certificate (8) | protection certificate / W(H)Y, with H – hotel – changed to ARRANT – complete |
|
| 7D | AGE | 16/18? Just a number (3) | &lit-ish double defn? / the 16/18 (Industrial Revolution) was an ‘AGE’, or period of history; and as we all know, AGE is ‘just a number’ |
|
| 8D | KESTREL | Bird’s wet bottom bearing half of strain (7) | bird / KE_EL (bottom part of a boat, so usually wet) around STR(AIN) (half of strain) |
|
| 13D | OLIVER TWIST | Lover I found by taking this novel literally? (6,5) | &lit-ish/CD? / If one takes the title of OLIVER TWIST as a cryptic indication and ‘twists’ Oliver, one could get ‘Lover I’ |
|
| 14D | AUTOMOBILE | Move me about with oil? (10) | CD / anag, i.e. move, of ME ABOUT + OIL |
|
| 17D | BLACK ROD | House door banged on by him and bad-tempered staff (5,3) | him (one who bangs on the door of the House of Commons) / BLACK (bad-tempered) + ROD (sraff) |
|
| 18D | RELAPSE | Climbing trained fruit-tree I abandoned shows return of disease (7) | return of disease / RELAPSE = ESPAL(I)ER – fruit tree ‘trained’ to grow up stakes, climbing, or reversed, without, or abandoning, I |
|
| 20D | UXORIAL | A place of refuge – neat, posh, all that’s upstanding and wifely (7) | wifely / LAIR (place of refuge) + OX (neat, cow) + U (posh, not non-U!) – all upstanding, or reversed |
|
| 21D | ETCHED | Very bad skin of warrior is cut and deeply lined (6) | deeply lined / (WR)ETCHED (very bad, with WR – outside letters, or skin, or WarrioR – cut off) |
|
| 24D | EZRA | Pound found in old book (4) | double defn / EZRA is a book of the Old Testament; and also EZRA Pound was a 20th century American poet |
|
| 26D | PUB | Local bone is removed (3) | local (hostelry) / PUB(IS) – bone, with IS removed |
|
Some wonderful clues I thought. Finished but failed to parse JONQUIL where, cunningly, bedding is not part of the definition. Caught me out. Also failed to parse JESU as I was unaware of ‘pie jesu’ (pious Jesus). Many favourites including 1a, 4d and 21d. Unusually for me, I spotted the double pangram. Thanks to Maize and mc_rapper67.
Forgot to say 6d is another favourite.
My word, you’ve come a long way since the days of ‘Rookie Corner’ – so nice to watch your progress, Maize.
As ever, I learned a few new things from this one – another rugby term for a start!
So many good clues but 22a gets my vote for the laugh it evoked when I finally worked out the construction.
Thank you, Maize and thanks to mc_rapper for the blog.
Quite a challenge, though we got there unaided in the end.
But unless there’s some subtlety that we’ve missed, the clue to 19ac lacks a definition. Where is there any reference to what Pie Jesu means or where it comes from? (It’s part of the Dies Irae from the Requiem, well-known in settings by numerous composers, as exemplified here.)
That apart, this was a great puzzle. Some super clues; SQUIRRELS, LYRICS and BLACK ROD were our favourites.
Thanks, Maize and mc_rapper67.
another top puzzle from Maize.
Many thanks to S&B
Had the same thought as Allan@4 regarding the apparently missing definition at 19a – too cowardly to admit it! Perhaps Maize will pop in later to explain?
Excellent blog again mc_rapper67 – many thanks.
Re 19A, the definition definitely needs that QM, as it is pretty whimsical.
I hope it reads as being synonymous with ‘Something to go with Pie?’.
Gaufrid also questioned it during the editing process, so you’re in good company Allan & Jane, but the surface reading just seemed like a nice bit of fun – even if it is somewhat less than reverent.
Very entertaining. My favourites were 1 down where the reference to Gertrude Jekyll adds to the aptness of the clue, and 1 across which was a clever spot very well worked. Thanks Maize and rapper
Well, as Christianity is essentially cannibalism (all that blood and flesh consumption business), I see no reason not to have Jesus Pie.
Thanks for all the comments and feedback – especially to Maize for explaining the background to 19A… Sorry for late response but I have been in the middle of a Hampshire field at ‘CarFest South’ all day…
I’ve amended my parsing of 19A – I had inadvertently typo’d it as ‘Lie Jesu’, which was not meant to be a theological comment on the truthfulness or otherwise of religion! And I have included the QM in my ‘definition’ section, as it is obviously needed to add that element of whimsicality to the clue…
Very enjoyable as always by this setter, and pretty tough in parts too. Cheated to get 1d … grr. So frustrating when you can’t quite finish!
Can’t possibly pick a favourite out of that lot.
I didn’t have a problem with the JESU whimsy (it made me smile), but laughed at featherstonehaugh’s comment @9.
Thanks to Maize and mc_rapper.