A multi-layered puzzle from Oxymoron this week – my head was spinning just from reading the instructions!
The preamble states that:
“28 clues contain an additional word which must be removed before solving. The letters given by adding that word’s initial letter to the initial letter of the answer spell an instruction (A 1,27; B = 2, 28 etc). Wordplay in the other clues leads to the answer with one letter missing; these letters spell a TITLE. In the final fully-filled grid five other TITLES will appear, as will the creator of all six; solvers must highlight the 43 cells involved. All final grid entries are real words or phrases.”
OK, so we have to solve the clues, mostly taking out a missing word, then, in those most cases add the first letter of that word to the first letter of the solution…and in the other cases find a missing letter not in the wordplay…I had to re-read it a few times!
And then just dived in, solving where I could, and pencilling things in where I was at least fairly confident.
I pretty much solved this in two halves – one session, or so, where I got most of the grid and most of the extra letters/hidden words/additions…and then a few things intervened, and it was a few days before I picked it up and started to get towards completing it.
The missing letters from wordplay started to spell out ‘THE GLASS BEAD GAME’, which I have to admit I haven’t read, but my general knowledge/pub quizzing brain knows it was written by Herman Hesse.
The additions caused me some headaches, but eventually looked like ‘CHANGE ONE LETTER…COLUMNS’, and a quick e-search of Hesse’s full bibliography suggested a few titles that would fit in the FIVE amended columns, with the blank squares needing his name, H-E-S-S-E, to complete the titles:
All very literary and educational stuff…and some neat (necessarily non-symmetrical) grid construction. Thanks to Oxymoron for a stiff challenge. (And if I didn’t spend so much time solving/blogging these types of puzzles I might have time to actually read some of the material behind them!_)
Pretty challenging solving, with the two types of clues – is it an ‘extra word’ or a ‘missing letter’? – and a few interesting/obscure words – NUNATAK, YAUTIAS, ZONULE and MURIATE. I wasn’t sure what ‘Virginia’s’ was doing in 11A – Chambers doesn’t seem to indicate that DOROTHY BAG is an Americanism, and surely Dorothy was whisked away from Kansas…? Perhaps somebody can enlighten me?…
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Thematic letters | Solution / Entry | Clue (definition underlined, extra words in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 1 | T | TRANSGRESS | Rangers mixed up with German protection department overstep the mark (10) / RANSGRE (anag, i.e. mixed up, of RANGERS) + SS (Schutzstaffel, German protection department) |
| 8 | B + A = C | ACE | Outstanding part of (black) play cut close to finale (3) / AC( |
| 10 | N + T = H | TUI | (Nocturnal) NZ bird for all to see in small tree (3) / T_I (small tree) around U (cinema classification, suitable for all to see) |
| 11 | W + D = A | DOROTHY BAG | (Will) unruly hoody grab tense Virginia’s purse? (10) / anag, i.e. unruly, of HOODY GRAB + T (tense) |
| 12 | I + E = N | EDAM | Dairy product obtained from the East (Indies) (4) / MADE (obtained) from the East (read backwards) = EDAM |
| 14 | C + D = G | DESPOILER | Stripper, pretentious out of uniform, turning round on (cruise) ship (9) / D( |
| 15 | O + P = E | PENNE / PENIE | Short thick tubes kept in an (ordnance) enclosure lacking depth (5) / PENNE( |
| 16 | H | THE IDIOT | Book returned for international conference (8, two words) / TO (for) + I (international) + DIET (conference) – all returned |
| 17 | W + R = O | RECAPS | Westbound astronaut goes over the main (wretched) points again (6) / SPACER (astronaut) read west-bound, i.e. from the east again!) becomes RECAPS |
| 21 | J + D = N | DAUD / DAUR | Local (juveniles) thump old man outside university (4) / DA_D (old man) around U (university) |
| 23 | E | AMENTAL / OMENTAL | Like Hazel perhaps, married, in the embrace of soldier, about fifty (7) / A_NT (soldier) around (embracing) M (married), plus A (about) + L (fifty) |
| 26 | G | AGMAS / AGHAS | A mark like some symbols (5) / A + M (mark) + AS (like) |
| 29 | L | ADULATED | Excessively praised Dutch goddess features in commercial (8) / A_D (advertisement, commercial) around DU (Dutch) + ATE (Greek goddess of mischief) |
| 31 | V + I = E | IRON AGE | (Vital) development of mostly organic earth epoch (7, two words) / IRON AG (anag, i.e. developed, of most of ORGANI( |
| 32 | S + S = L | SARTRE | Existentialist author (suffers) wrongful arrest (6) / anag, i.e. wrongful, of ARREST |
| 34 | A | GINA | Female trap (4) / GIN (trap) |
| 35 | M + R = E | RAT TRAP | Some sailor reversed an unpleasant (marine) situation (7, two words) / PART (some) + TAR (sailor), all reversed = RAT TRAP |
| 37 | S | YAUTIAS | Edible tubers unknown by active posh Spanish aunt (7) / Y (unknown, e.g. in mathematics) + A (active) + U (posh, not non-U!) + TIA (Spanish, aunt) |
| 38 | L + H = T | HIVE | Husband and four English (ladies) take shelter together (4) / H (husband) + IV (four, Roman numerals) + E (English) |
| 39 | S | AT LAST | Finally a pony crosses lake (6, two words) / A + T_AT (pony) around (crossing) L (lake) |
| 40 | Y + U = T | UNEATEN | We hear you tidy (yacht) (not corroded) (7) / U (homophone, i.e. we hear, of YOU) + NEATEN (tidy up) |
| 41 | B | BEEKEEPERS | Jimmy’s back amongst leaderless searchers: they tend 38s (10) / ( |
| Down | |||
| Clue No | Thematic letters | Solution / Entry | Clue (definition underlined, extra words in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 2 | E | RUED | Game daughter contemplated backing out (4) / RU (Rugby Union, game) + D (daughter) |
| 3 | A | AIDANCE | I take the floor – help! (7) / I + DANCE (take the floor) |
| 4 | D | SONDE | Meteorological instrument sound unit (5) / SONE (unit of sound) |
| 5 | G | GREETS | Climbing guide sheds tears (6) / STEER (guide) backwards (climbing, in a Down clue) = REETS |
| 6 | A | ETAPE | Township in the borders of Eure is a place to stop (5) / E_E (bordering letters of EurE) around TP (township) |
| 7 | L + S = E | SHOOING | Race fixing at Belmont revealing nothing for (lucky) women (7) / SHO( |
| 8 | Q + A = R | ABULIA | Loss of willpower shown by (quirky) maid hugging male lacking finish (6) / A_IA (maid) around (hugging) BUL( |
| 9 | F + C = I | CASEOUS | Eccentric East London men like (following) Derby perhaps (7) / CASE (eccentric, odd or humorous character) + OUS (ou = man in South Africa, i.e. East London) |
| 13 | A + M = N | MNA / MIA | An (active) member raised a sum of money in Athens (3) / AN + M (member) – all raised |
| 15 | P + P = F | PRAD / PROD | Local horse covering King (Philip’s) mare perhaps (4) / P_AD (dialect, i.e. local, for horse) around (covering ) R (Rex, king) |
| 18 | S + P = I | PTYALISE | To stimulate excessive slavering personal trainer easily (supplements) exercises (8) / PT (personal trainer) + YALISE (anag, i.e. exercises, of EASILY) |
| 19 | Q + E = V | ELDERS / ALDERS | Trees, having lived a longer time start to sway (quietly) (6) / ELDER (having lived a longer time) + S (starting letter of Sway) |
| 20 | S + L = E | LAUSANNE | See me (swimming) with princess in this lakeside resort (8) / LA (see, lo!, behold!) + US (me, informally, or royally speaking) + ANNE (Princess Anne) |
| 22 | Y + D = C | DUDE / RUDE | Without (youthful) energy this stylish chap would be ineffective (4) / DUDE without E (energy) would be DUD (ineffective) |
| 24 | M | MURIATE | Nitrogen extracted from stale old chloride (7) / URI( |
| 25 | A + N = O | NUNATAK | Projecting peak of rock (annoying) pigeon in Alaska (7) / NUN (pigeon) + AT (in) + AK (Alaska) |
| 27 | K + A = L | ATTRITE | (Killers) knock off lawyer prior to religious ceremony (7) / ATT (Attorney, lawyer) + RITE (religious ceremony) |
| 28 | U + Z = U | ZONULE | Cross over and (undo) rubber band (6) / ZO (cross, hybrid cattle) + N (contraction of ‘and’) + ULE (rubber) |
| 29 | E | AGNATE | A German born relation on the father’s side (6) / A + G (German) + NAT (natus, Latin, born) |
| 30 | A + L = M | LATTER | Modern (Austrian) milliner’s left for Hungary (6) / ( |
| 33 | V + R = N | RAVEN | Shiny black preying (vulture) (5) / double defn. RAVEN can be shiny/black, as in raven-haired, or to roam about hungrily/preying |
| 36 | C + P = S | PENT | Confined space inside port (cabin) (4) / P_T (port) around EN (space, printing) |
As ever, an Oxymoron puzzle was a tough but interesting challenge.
I nearly tripped over 20D where I managed to parse MERESIDE on a first pass [anagram (swimming) of SEE ME and DI (princess) plus a missing ‘R’].
And I found ZONULE, but I hadn’t managed to parse it.
I definitely completed the crossword feeling that I should be better read.
Many thanks to mc and to Oxymoron