Enigmatic Variations No. 1319: Vive la Différence by Harribobs

Oh dear…this makes three of the last four EVs that I have failed to complete… Am I losing my touch? Should I be handing in my pencil and heading for the rocking chair, with a Jumbo book of Evening Standard back page crosswords?…

If it is physiologically possible, I think my heart both sank and soared at the same time when I saw that this was a Harribobs…soared because they are usually a great challenge…sank because I was due to blog it, and I am running at about 50% completion on his puzzles so far…

The preamble states that:

“In VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE nine clues have two possible answers, differing by a single letter. Definitions are given for both answers, but the ambiguous letter is not given by wordplay. Solvers must decide between the alternatives so that rows and columns are in keeping with the puzzle’s title. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”

So, only nine cells (out of 144) seem to be affected – a far cry from this setter’s incredible EV 1248 SNOWBALL, which had 66 cells (out of 169) changed…should be a piece of cake!

And so it seemed when, like BoJo and TheMay, I was merrily having my Harrib-exit cake and eating it to start with…after 20 minutes I had about half the grid filled, and had identified 5 definites and one possible out of the nine. First to present itself was CHOTA/CHOTT. Then DREY/DREG and LOTS/LOTH. 15A seemed to be suggesting CYAN/RYAN(?), but I wasn’t familiar with Ryan Reynolds until Go-ogle confirmed the name. PUNIC/TUNIC and UNCOWLS/UNCOILS soon followed.

After a bit of a break, (OK, I fell asleep on the train at this point – tired from a long day’s work/commuting rather than bored of the puzzle!), I picked this up again and pretty much filled the rest of the grid in one more half-hour session, with NIPS/NIPA, BOOK/BONK and LATHER/LATTER being the remaining thematics.

Then the ‘Michel Barnier effect’ set in, and my negotiations with this puzzle ground to a halt – was there going to be a hard or a soft dénouement? The former, I am afraid to say.

Back to the preamble…’…solvers must decide between the alternatives, so that rows and columns are in keeping with the puzzle’s title…’ What can ‘in keeping with’ mean, in terms of ‘vive la différence’? Presumably something French-related, given the phrase, but my brain is not really wired for lateral thinking,when the instructions aren’t more explicit… I scoured the rows and columns in vain for any inspiration in terms of hidden words – French or otherwise – but nothing obvious was jumping out at me.

Given Harribobs’ previous form in meticulous and complex grid construction and manipulation, I went through a number of options:

• could the grid be some sort of alphabetical ‘magic square’, where the numerical totals (A=1, B=2 etc.) of each row/column differed by the same amount? Vive la différence?!
  • nothing obvious here…there are a number of rows/columns that aren’t affected by clashes, so I would have expected some sort of pattern to show from these…
• could the grid be a fantasy Scrabble board, where the rows and column totals all differed by the same amount?
  • again, nothing to get my teeth into…
• maybe it is French Scrabble, as the phrase is French, and French Scrabble has a different letter score distribution?!
  • again, no obvious PDM here…
• maybe the clashes are the outline of a significant shape, as in Harribobs’ famous Bat and Australia outlines?
  • could the outline be France? Well, not really, would have to stretch the imagination, and geography, a bit too far for that!

I’m sure I am missing something obvious, but maybe I can’t see the wood for the trees (c’est l’arbre qui cache la forêt)…

And at this point, I kind of ran out of steam and time…and I didn’t want to lower myself to trawling the nether regions of the cruciverbal internet discussion/spoiler sites, so I decided to man up and, I think for only the second time, publish a blog of an incomplete puzzle.

Thanks, in a masochistic way, to Harribobs for the challenge, and sorry I wasn’t quite able to crack it…

Please check the comments below, as I am sure some kind soul(s) will put me out of my misery, and if I have time I will update the blog and/or the animated grid with the correct solution…

**UPDATE – please see comments below for the final explanation – all rows/columns having 12 different letters – VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE!

 

Across
Clue No	Choices	Solution	Clue (definition underlined) / Logic/Parsing
1		PACHYDERMOUS	Insensitive psycho, a murder suspect, runs away (12) / anag, i.e. suspect, of PSYCHO A MURDE(R) (less R – runs)
8		ASHLER	Real hard facing of stone used in construction (6) / anag, i.e. used, of REAL + H (hard) + S (first letter, or facing, or Stone) – ‘stone’ doing double duty here?
9	BOOK/BONK	BO?K	Antelope hit Luke, perhaps (4) / Defn.s: BONK – hit; BOOK – Luke; Wordplay (also just a definition?!): BOK – antelope
11		YODLER	Holding celebration, depend on backing singer (6) / REL_Y (depend on) around (holding) DO (party, celebration) – all backing
12		SWAZI	One settling beside Zulu, east of Namibia (5) / &lit-ish? SWA (South West Africa, aka Namibia) + Z (Zulu, phonetic alphabet) + I (one)
13	LOTS/LOTH	LOT?	Many, unwilling, return to London’s West End (4) / Defn.s: LOTS – many; LOTH – unwilling; Wordplay: TOL – TO + L (leftmost letter, or western end, of London – all returned
15	RYAN/CYAN	?YAN	Reynolds casually mixed any greenish blue (4) / Defn.s: RYAN – Ryan Reynolds – actor?; CYAN – greenish blue; Wordplay: YAN – anag, i.e. mixed, of ANY
17	PUNIC/TUNIC	?UNIC	Carthaginian soldier’s jacket – short one with a touch of class (5) / Defn.s: PUNIC – Carthaginian; TUNIC – soldier’s jacket; Wordplay: UNIC – UNI(T) (one, short of a ketter) + C (first letter of, or a touch of, Class)
20		SEQUIN	Old Venetian coin stamped on the front with clipped horse (6) / S (front letter of Stamped) + EQUIN(E) (horse-related, clipped by a letter)
21		OLDY	Geriatric woman loses a ring first thing (4) / O (ring) before L(A)DY (woman, losing A)
22		KNUR	Protuberance in tree trunks stripped back (4) / KNUR = (T)RUNK(S), stripped of outer letters and turned back
24		AMIDOL	Developer’s daughter with heart of gold meeting friend in Quebec (6) / AMI (French, i.e. in Quebec, for friend) + D (daughter) + OL (middle letters, or heart, of gOLd)
27		F-HOLE	Aperture in instrument that lays most of cable around house (5) / F_LE(X) (most of cable) around HO (House)
29	NIPA/NIPS	NIP?	In UK territory, quietly pinches alcoholic drink (4) / Defn.s: NIPS – pinches; NIPA – alcoholic drink); Wordplay: NIP – NI (Northern Ireland, ‘territory’ of the UK) + P (piano, music, quietly)
32		ERST	Formerly detained in upper storey (4) / hidden word, i.e. detained, in ‘uppER STorey’
33		DRIBS	Perhaps Foster is cladding side of building in small amounts (5) / DR (doctor, perhaps Dr Foster – of ancient rhyme or recent BBC TV series?) + I_S around (cladding) B (first letter, or side, of Building)
34		LOUPEN	How Lorna and Angus have danced! But lecturer at Open University cut in (6) / L (lecturer) + O_PEN around U (university, abbreviated, or cut)
35		RYAS	Run by state in recession, in Sweden they’re downtrodden (4) / R (run) + YAS (say, state, in recession, or backwards)
36		UNLIKE	It’s different being US author – it’s not permitted to take role of police department (6) / (John) U(PD)IKE (US author) with NL (non licet, it’s not permitted) replacing PD (police department) = UNLIKE
37		FLYING SAUCER	One’s unfamiliar with this craft – prone to cut working surface (12, two words) / F_SAUCER (anag, i.e. working, of SURFACE, around (cut by) LYING (prone)
Down
Clue No	Choices	Solution	Clue (definition underlined) / Logic/Parsing
1		PAGLES	Local wildflowers left pressed between leaves of book (6) / PAG_ES (leaves of a book) around (pressing) L (left)
2	CHOTA/CHOTT	CHOT?	In Cuba, steaming little lake that dries up at times (5) / Defn.s: CHOTA – little, small, Angl-Indian); CHOTT – or shott, lake or watercourse that dries up occasionally; Wordplay: C (Cuba) + HOT (steaming)
3		YELD	Unproductive in Scotland Yard when approaching old age (4) / Y (yard) + ELD (archaic, i.e. old, for age, but can also just mean old age, or seility)
4	DREY/DREK	DRE?	Ramshackle red squirrel’s home is rubbish (4) / Defn.s: DREY – squirrel’s home; DREK – rubbish, leftovers; Wordplay: DRE – anag, i.e. ramchackle, of RED
5		ROSBIF	France’s term for bumbling Boris? (6) / &lit-ish again? ROSBI (anag, i.e. bumbling, of BORIS) + F (France)
6		OKAYS	Gives the nod to workman? Yes, occasionally (5) / regular, or occasional, letters of ‘wOrKmAn YeS’
7		SWINGY	Write poetry, about women unknown, with a strong rhythm (6) / S_ING (write poetry) around W (women), plus Y (unknown, e.g. in maths)
9		BRINJAL	Brother imprisoned, having swiped one aubergine (7) / BR (brother) + IN JA(I)L (imprisoned, missing, or having swiped, I – one)
10		CZARDOMS	Republican party in America, supporting Czech Republic, finally sanctions Russian territories (8) / CZ (Czech Republic) + A_M (American) around R (Republican) + DO (party), followed by S (final letter of sanctionS)
14		OVENBIRD	American flier, awful inverted snob, unhappily sent away (8) / partial/subtractive anagram, i.e. awful, of INVER(TE)D (SN)OB, with the mixed up , or unhappy, letters of SENT taken away)
16		TURF	Losing first of investments, crop up in the racing world (4) / TURF = FRU(I)T (crop, losing I – first letter of investments) up
18	UNCOWLS/UNCOILS	UNCO?LS	Harassed consul removes hood and relaxes (7) / Defn.s: UNCOWLS (removes hood); UNCOILS (relaxes); Wordplay: UNCOLS – anag, i.e. harassed, of CONSUL
19		COIT	Victoria’s behind leading IT company (4) / CO (company) leading, or ahead of, IT
22		KIND OF	Rather generous old fellow (6, two words) / KIND (generous) + O (old) + F (fellow)
23		XHOSAN	Times article about religious book of South Africans (6) / X (times, in maths) + HOS (Hosea, book of Old Testment) + AN (indefinite article)
25	LATHER/LATTER	LAT?ER	Local studentry regularly causing recent agitation (6) / Defn.s: LATHER – agitation; LATTER – recent; Wordplay: LATER – regular letters of ‘LocAl sTudEntRy’
26		SPIRY	The setter enters, agile, tall and slender (5) / SP_RY (agile) around I (personal pronoun, the setter)
28		UREIC	Containing nitrogenous substance, produced by united Germany endlessly (5) / U (united) + REIC(H) (the German state, endlessly)
30		FOUS	Measures once taken by Scotland and Faroe Islands supported by America (4) / FO (Faroe Islands) + US (America)
31		KUNA	Group promoting peace in the soul and change in the Balkans (4) / K_A (Egyptian, the spirit or soul inside a person) around UN (United Nations, group promoting peace)