Note to self: READ THE RUBRIC CAREFULLY! I missed the fifth word of the rubric, equal, which would have helped quite a lot. I noticed it when I had almost finished and used it as a final check.
Clues are in three equal groups.
- Group A: the clue is to a shorter word formed from letters of the full entry in order, though not necessarily consecutive – e.g. UNSATISFYING could have a clue to UNIFYING; clued words are at least half the length of full answers.
- Group B: otherwise normal clues contain a redundant word or phrase, each of which de?nes a full-length answer in Group A,
- Group C: each clue needs a letter restored before solving; these letters, in order, describe what Group A solutions are.
Lengths in brackets are to full answers.
I deduced that there must be an equal number of Group A and Group B clues (definitions = answers), but it was not until the re-read of the rubric that the word “equal” showed me that of the 36 clues, there must be 12 in each of the groups A, B and C.
I got 12A GLOWER almost immediately, and thought that 12A expanded version might be GLASSBLOWERS or GILLYFLOWERS. Unfortunately both of these left me with impossible letters for the crossing down clues and no satisfactory definition. It was only some time later that GALLOWS-MAKER defined by SOMEONE BEHIND HANGING from 23A dawned.
I assumed (correctly) that all of the 12 letter answers would be from Group A and soon had SLEEPER for 35A which could be augmented to SALOON KEEPER which was defined by PUBLICAN from 15A.
I waded steadily on through the puzzle and after two lengthy sessions had an almost-filled grid and the following correspondences between Groups A and B:
| GpA Clue | GpA Definition | GpA Answer | GpB Answer | GpB Clue | GpB Definition |
| 12A | look fierce | GLOWER | GALLOWS-MAKER | 23A | someone behind hanging |
| 20A | jump | BRISÉ | BRISTLED | 26A | hairy |
| 24A | crikey | LOSH | LORDSHIP | 21D | authority |
| 31A | loose gown | STOLE | SKATOLE | 9D | faecal compound |
| 35A | spy | SLEEPER | SALOON-KEEPER | 15A | publican |
| 36A | plays | GAMES | GAUMLESS | 1A | vacant |
| 2D | umbelliferous plant | CARAWAY | CABLE RAILWAY | 27D | funicular |
| 5D | citadel | FORT | FORGET | 29A | drop |
| 8D | calamitous events? | MARES | MARRELS | 32D | rustic game |
| 10D | French game | CAILLES | PECCADILLOES | 17D | faults |
| 11D | quartz | PRASE | PRAESEPE | 14A | star cluster |
| 18D | the tongue | GLOSSA | GLOSSINA | 6D | tsetse flies |
There were not only 12 of each type overall, but 6 of each type in the across and 6 in the down clues. Most symmetrical.
The difficulty here was in deciding which clue was of which type and then cross-referencing the extra word(s) to their corresponding group A answers. Otherwise, apart from some unusual words (scofflaw, eruca and Tlingit spring to mind) and one or two doubtful definitions (e.g. race = house and calamitous events rather than calamitous experience), the clueing was relatively straightforward
I was held up for some time by having Lire instead of line for the modified word in 3D and by having concluded that 4D was type B and AVOID was the definition of FORGET. When I had sorted these details out, the extra letters gave DUSTY ANSWERS. I had heard the phrase used by previous generations of my family, but in the absence of any knowledge of its precise meaning, I looked it up in the dictionary, and found that it refers back to the title and the example given. It means UNSATISFYING RESPONSES and the group A answers are similar in that they all contain another word, but I’m far from certain why this phrase describes what Group A solutions are, nor how that was supposed to help, as the example had already been spelled out.
I enjoyed the chase, but found it a bit of a dictionary slog to reach the endgame, and the PDM was not a “lights on” moment, more a gentle fade in.
Thanks Phi. Good, but not one of your greatest. A bit UNSATISFYING I thought.
Across |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue (definition) [Group B phrase or Group C extra letter] | Type letter | Answer | Wordplay |
| 1 | Swallow up most of [vacant] grass? Regulators won’t stop me (8) | B | SCOFFLAW | SCOFF (swallow up) + LAW(n) (most of grass) |
| 12 | Look fierce and good at a more basic level? (12) | A | GLOWER | G(ood) + LOWER (at a more basic level) |
| 13 | Comply with die[d] you once rolled (4) | C D | OBEY | OB (obit – died) + YE reversed |
| 14 | Rocket a solution to get round [star cluster] (5) | B | ERUCA | A + CURE (solution) all reversed |
| 15 | [Publican], contemptible sort, keeping fish for American People (7) | B | TLINGIT | TIT (contemptible sort) round LING (fish) |
| 16 | Finally uncoiling ho[u]se, perhaps, in elegant movement (5) | C U | GRACE | (uncoilin)G + RACE (house, perhaps – both race and house can mean kindred or lineage) |
| 19 | I[s] no longer will embrace woman, once considering that . . . (6) | C S | WHENAS | WAS (is no longer) round HEN (woman) |
| 20 | . . . she’s initially tucked into cheese – that’s enough to make you jump (8) | A | BRISÉ | S(he initially) in BRIE (cheese |
| 22 | Burden young male star[t] of epic (4) | C T | LADE | LAD (young male) + E(pic) |
| 23 | [Someone behind hanging] occupying curtains again – it’s a long story (4) | B | SAGA | Hidden in curainS AGAin |
| 24 | Behold entries of some Highlander – crikey (says another) (8) | A | LOSH (Scottish crikey) | LO (behold) + S(ome) + H(ighlander) |
| 26 | Introduction of chopper, I expect, trimmed [hairy] tree (6) | B | CITRUS | C(hopper) + I + TRUS(t) (expect, trimmed) |
| 29 | I mostly drain away [drop], treating intestinal obstruction (5) | B | ILEAC (from ileus, not ileum) | I + LEAC(h) (drain away) [not sure about treating] |
| 31 | Made hole in loose gown (7) | A | STOLE | Double definition: made hole is a golfing reference, and Chambers has “loosely, a gown” which is not quite the same as loose gown! |
| 33 | Section B[y] immediately? Not now (5) | C Y | SWITH | S(ection) + WITH (by) |
| 34 | Sp[a]in rotated you – losing head, I will produce drunken cry (4) | C A | EUOI | E (Spain) + (y)ou reversed + I |
| 35 | Spy series involving the return of Emma from The Avengers (12) | A | SLEEPER | SER(ies) round (Emma) PEEL reversed |
| 36 | Plays something delightful, enthralling the writer (8) | A | GAMES | GAS (something delightful) round ME (the writer) |
Down |
||||
| No. | Clue (definition) [Group B phrase or Group C extra letter] | Type | Answer | Wordplay |
| 2 | Island is home to a green umbelliferous plant (12, 2 words) | A | CARAWAY | CAY (island) round (is home to) A + RAW (green) |
| 3 | Li[n]e that is taken up in company upset about oil (5) | C N | OLEIC | L(ine) + IE reversed in CO reversed |
| 4 | Handsome Australian [s]tar to avoid navy repeatedly (5) | C S | FLYNN (Errol Flynn) | FLY (avoid) + N(avy) twice |
| 5 | Citadel supporting Troy (6) | A | FORT | FOR (supporting) + T(roy weight) |
| 6 | With [tsetse flies] invading floral arrangement, Africans ready (4) | B | LWEI (Angolan currency) | W(ith) in LEI (floral arrangement) |
| 7 | Esoteric [w]rites adopted by a Glaswegian, so to speak (8, 3 words) | C W | AS IT WERE | [WRITES]* in AE (Scottish one = a Glaswegian) |
| 8 | Calamitous events? War is behind millions (7) | A | MARES (Ch. gives calamitous experience) | ARES (war god) after M(illions) |
| 9 | Bird’s picked up [faecal compound] in source of guano (4) | B | SKUA (sea bird) | AUK’S (bird’s) reversed |
| 10 | Main course initially dished up incorporating wrong French game (12) | A | CAILLES (quail) | SEA (main) + C(ourse) reversed round ILL (wrong) |
| 11 | Form of spar, English quartz (8) | A | PRASE | [SPAR]* + E(nglish) |
| 17 | [Faults] co-ordinate provided by sailor swilling cassis (8) | B | ABSCISSA | AB (sailor) + [CASSIS]* |
| 18 | Good large mouth – it reveals the tongue (8) | A | GLOSSA | G(ood) + L(arge) + OSSA (mouth) |
| 21 | A vast or sprawling Russian city [authority] (7) | B | SARATOV | [A VAST OR]* |
| 25 | I’d mad[e], crazy item of jewellery (6) | C E | DIADEM | [I’D MADE]* |
| 27 | Metal support cut back on [funicular] railway (5) | B | STEEL | STE(p) (support cut back) + EL(evated railway) |
| 28 | St[r]oke fire at last to produce dessert (5) | C R | COUPE | COUP (stroke) + (fir)E |
| 30 | Picked up misinformation over daughter not producing offspring for [S]cot (4) | C S | EILD | LIE (misinformation) reversed + D(aughter) |
| 32 | European country repeatedly held up [rustic game] for one flying from New Zealand (4) | B | KUKU | UK twice reversed (held up) |
This is my first Inquisitor – it reminded me very much of the sort of barred-grid special crosswords that I used to do from time to time in The Listener when it was a separate magazine and in The Observer before Azed became the resident setter.
Rather than come up with a strategy for this puzzle I went for the simple tactic of trying clues that were accessible enough for me to make some cryptic sense of them and at the same time guess or work out what sort of clues they were: A, B or C. Fortunately I understood from the beginning that all three groups were equal.
SAGA and ABSCISSA came out first, both of them B-type clues, leaving me the tantalising hints ‘someone behind hanging’ and ‘faults’ for A-type clues yet to come. Much of the SW corner then yielded, albeit without the long word at 35a and with only RAILWAY of 2d. The SE, NE and NW corners followed.
I got a lot of enjoyment out of this puzzle. It was at times a fascinating tussle trying to match the extra bits in the B clues with the full answers to the A clues, and it was fun finding some of the devilishly concealed ‘missing letters’ in the C clues. Like Hihoba, though, I marked down race = house as doubtful.
The phrase ‘dusty answers’ was new to me, but it had to be that. And it gave me the ‘A’ missing from 34a.
One thing I’d like to highlight about this puzzle is the clarity and precision of the clues – with at most a couple of exceptions – which is something I value highly. What I also found, of course, was that I had to make rather heavy use of the Big Red Book and some online sources to check various answers and part-answers – something that is no doubt taken for granted and not normally commented on. I’m thinking that before I dare tackle my next Inquisitor I would have to be prepared to learn more obscure words, obsolete words, Scottish words and foreign names! On this matter, I appreciated the fair indications given, such as ‘once’, ‘Scot’ and ‘Russian’.
The gridfill of this puzzle was something to admire: every 12-letter answer had just two unchecked letters, and the 4-way symmetry was impressive.
Thanks to Hihoba for a comprehensive and well laid-out blog and to Phi for an excellent puzzle.
I meant to add that although the title is connected by definition to the themed answer from the C clues, I too found ‘unsatisfying’ somewhat unsatisfying on the basis that it wasn’t much use as a pointer to anything. Perhaps this is being a bit too critical.
I have to admit that I couldn’t decide if this was an unsatisfyingly unsatisfying puzzle or an ingenious one by living up so assiduously to its theme. I really enjoyed solving it, with a friend in a pub, though, so I can’t exactly complain. Thanks Phi!
There’s a blog about the puzzle (complete with an appropriate video, which is a first for me) at:
http://phionline.net.nz/2018/03/inquisitor-1534-unsatisfying/
I found this to be on the easier side of the Inquisitor difficulty level. Completely missed the word “equal”, though obviously groups A and B had to have the same number of clues. The result of Group C was new to me, and a nice touch I thought.
Well this was a puzzle. In the end, with a couple of exceptions, my top third was still empty, and yet I finished the rest. I think it was because so many obscure words (scofflaw, eruca, lwei, praesept, marrels) were based there. I also dismissed race for house, and I can’t find ‘mare’ for calamity in my Chambers (perhaps I need an update?).
Apart from that, I found it a very intriguing – and plenty difficult enough – challenge, and I was quite keen to meet it (not always the case). So many thanks to Phi, and to Hihoba for the blog.
I found this daunting at first … and then it continued to be daunting for most of the solve. Agree with Hi about the amount of dictionary work involved (who would have guessed that EUOI was a word? Well, probably someone who does a lot of crosswords, I suppose), but that didn’t feel like a problem as there was plenty of other interest. A thumbs up from me. The title was my only question mark and I thought it was likely going to be the shortened form of some other relevant word – something like INDUSTRY – but I can certainly forgive Phi his indulgence in this case.
EUOI is not that uncommon in IQ crosswords. Try using the ‘Site Search’ just below the calendar in the right-hand menu bar (desktop version).
I am surprised about ERUCA being thought obscure – I know it simply as synonymous with the now widespread salad leaf rocket.
As for ‘race’ and ‘house’: as in the blog, for the former Chambers gives “the descendants of a common ancestor” and for the latter “a family in line of descent” … seems pretty close to me.
And Chambers forwards us from ‘mare’ to ‘nightmare’, and hence a “difficult experience”; and “experience” & “event” are close enough for me.
Anyway, did I finish the puzzle? Yes. Was it worth it? Not really.
Thanks for the blog, and, notwithstanding my remark above, for the puzzle. To echo Hihoba, not of one the best.
Enjoyed. The hints above that this would have been improved by more of an endgame challenge made me imagine — after reading Phi’s blog post — an alternate version with one more line added to the preamble: Solvers must deduce the name of Phi’s late cat (5) and write it beneath the grid.
I really enjoyed this for the most part, but totally messed up up the NE corner. Had never heard of “dusty answer” and am slightly baffled by the theme.
I enjoyed this but like many others never really got the theme. I found it hard and after many hours of effort was expecting some big revelation, but in the end it just sort of stopped when the last clue was solved. I ended up with DUSTY ANSWERS but I am still waiting for the penny to drop.
I liked the obscure words, always a bonus as far as I am concerned.
So: and unsatisfying finish but the tough and educational battle with the clues more then made up for it. Thanks Phi and Hihoba.
Add me to those who found the title very appropriate. I ploughed on with it to prove to myself that I could do it (ie “because it was there”) and in the hope of a dazzling late PDM, which never came. I take little pleasure from puzzles that can be completed without having any idea what they are about and, sadly, in this case it turned out to be about nothing very much at all. I guess this a dusty comment.
Apologies for the omission of “is” in the last sentence above.