Exit has become a well-known name to S&B visitors and his yearly crossword can be found (in PDF form) here: Exit @ Derby 2018.
Like the other two, it is also possible to solve the puzzle interactively: https://crossword.info/S_and_B/Exit_Derby_2018
Don’t look any further yet if you are still interested in tackling this crossword.
I thought, this Exit crossword was quite a lot easier than his previous efforts.
It was still themed though – well, a bit, that is.
Almost forgot to say that this crossword is in a way complementary to a Phi puzzle from last year [https://www.fifteensquared.net/2017/11/03/independent-9691-phi/].
Please find the completed grid at the end of the blog with the three theme words highlighted.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | AGRA | Indian city hiding Martha Graham? On the contrary! (4) |
| Hidden answer [hiding, but then the other way round]: Martha Graham | ||
| 7 | SECT | Second time for religious group (4) |
| SEC (second) + T (time) | ||
| 9 | BRUNSWICK | Bishop controls Scottish town and German city (9) |
| B (bishop) + RUNS (controls) + WICK (Scottish town) | ||
| 10 | MANCHU | Language adopted by Roman Church (6) |
| Hidden answer [adopted by]: Roman Church | ||
| 11 | CREATION | Race into evolution – an alternative theory? (8) |
| Anagram [evolution] of RACE INTO As Exit told me, ‘creation’ is – particularly in the US – taught as a science, an alternative to ‘evolution’. |
||
| 12 | CHASUBLE | Vulgar youth, not very subtle, discards model vestment (8) |
| CHAV (vulgar youth) minus V (very), followed by SUBTLE minus T (model, a type of Ford from the old days) | ||
| 14 | INHALE | Healing not good, struggling to draw breath (6) |
| Anagram [struggling] of HEALING minus G (good) | ||
| 15 | ALEXANDRA | Old queen’s maybe bitter times with artist (9) |
| ALE (bitter, maybe) + X (times) + AND (with) + RA (artist) Alexandra was really a queen, Edward VII’s. |
||
| 21 | STRONG | Vigorous trill in aria (6) |
| TR (trill, abbreviated) inside SONG (aria) | ||
| 23 | ABANDONS | Gangsta band on stage covers Leaves (8) |
| Hidden answer [covers]: Gangsta band on stage While I do not see the full relevance, Exit told me that Leaves is a song by the folk-rock band Ben&Ben. Never heard of them, even though I yearly have a folk festival more or less in my back garden. |
||
| 25 | DESERTER | Rat destroying red trees (8) |
| Anagram [destroying] of RED TREES | ||
| 26 | RECALL | Remember about ring (6) |
| RE (about) + CALL (ring) | ||
| 27 | FLOWERPOT | Plant container broken? Fool! Twerp! (9) |
| Anagram [broken] of: FOOL + TWERP Every time I see the word ‘flowerpot’ I have to think of these post-Ivy League guys who sang Let’s Go To San Francisco. |
||
| 28 | AS IF | Extra sifting could reveal this – a likely story! (2,2) |
| Hidden answer [could reveal this]: Extra sifting | ||
| 29 | ERNE | Els losing one for an eagle (4) |
| ERNIE (Els, the golfer) minus I (one) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | GANACHE | Change a swirled mixture of chocolate and cream (7) |
| Anagram [swirled] of CHANGE A I am not someone known as a ‘sweet’ person, so this a new word to me. |
||
| 3 | ABSCISSA | Co-ordinate muscles when thus set up (8) |
| ABS (muscles) + reversal [set up] of {AS (when) + SIC (thus)} | ||
| 4 | SUBURB | Returning coach skirting Polish part of town (6) |
| BUS (coach) around RUB (polish, lower case), the whole thing reversed [returning] | ||
| 5 | PSYCHE | Afterthought in letter by Young Conservative leads to Henry’s effusive spirit (6) |
| PS (afterthought in letter, post scriptum) + Y (young) + C (Conservative) + H[enry’s] e[ffusive] | ||
| 6 | FIREBIRD | Sack girl in ballet (8) |
| FIRE (sack) + BIRD (girl) The Firebird is of one Igor Stravinsky’s masterpieces, first performed more than 100 (!) years ago – modern music? |
||
| 7 | SKETCH | Outline small boat (6) |
| S (small) + KETCH (boat) | ||
| 8 | COROLLA | Natural consequence – abandoning railway, gets a car (7) |
| COROLLARY (natural consequence) minus RY (railway) | ||
| 13 | LEX | Inflexible law? (3) |
| Hidden answer [in]: flexible Here we are in Guardian territory. One has to split ‘inflexible’ into ‘in’ and ‘flexible’. This is what many call ‘lift & separate’. |
||
| 16 | EDGE TOOL | Leo got Ed’s damaged chisel, say (4,4) |
| Anagram [damaged] of LEO GOT ED | ||
| 17 | NAB | Arrest revolutionary outlaw (3) |
| Reversal [revolutionary] of BAN (outlaw) | ||
| 18 | ABDICATE | Sailor, policeman and girl shirk responsibility? (8) |
| AB (sailor) + DI (policeman, detective inspector) + CATE (girl) | ||
| 19 | ATTESTS | Certifies whereabouts of Barmy Army? (7) |
| AT TESTS, that’s clearly the whereabouts of the Barmy Army [England’s hardcore cricket fans] | ||
| 20 | UNCLEAN | Foul clue Ann solved (7) |
| Anagram [solved] of CLUE ANN | ||
| 22 | ONE-OFF | Won, we hear, away? It won’t happen again! (3-3) |
| Homophone [we hear] of WON, followed by OFF (away) | ||
| 23 | AGREED | Silver clarinet, perhaps, is OK (6) |
| AG (silver, according to chemists) + REED (clarinet, as an example) For those who only know REED as part of ‘Lou Reed’, reed instruments (clarinet, oboe, bassoon etc) form a distinctive part of an orchestra. |
||
| 24 | ABRUPT | Sudden end of investment after rising graduate starts to reveal unethical practices (6) |
| [investmen]T coming after {reversal [rising] of BA (graduate) + R[eveal] U[nethical] P[ractises]} | ||
We stared this on our way home from Derby yesterday and finished it this morning.
All good fun and, we thought, easier than Exit’s previous S &B puzzles. Apart from BRUNSWICK, we missed the theme, but probably should have spent longer thinking about it, but even if had, we don’t think we’d have got it without coming here.
Thanks for the work-out Exit and thanks to Sil for the blog.
Many thanks Exit.
Noticed the three theme words for once. However, I had no idea Braunschweig was called Brunswick in English, so that took me by surprise. I thought this was a very good puzzle. I left my hardcopy with my ticks in Derby, but suffice to say there were plenty of clues i liked.
I did wonder if you could really get away with FIREBIRD instead of THE FIREBIRD. Maybe you can informally.
Thanks Sil. It was very nice having the puzzles ahead of the meeting
22dn: Well, they (Derby) did win away. Just hoping the rest of the clue’s not prophetic!
Thanks to B&J and dutch for your encouraging comments.
Away, did I say? Must have been a senior moment. But they won, anyway.