The Gas Man Cometh by Ifor
The Gas Man: “Just checked – I’ll
be there at 1, but must leave at
some point. I know your number.”
The Author: “I’ve got you in the
book, although it’s my third
attempt.”
The Gas Man: “I could see you
at exactly 15 26.28, after you’ve
sorted yourself out. And an
arrangement can be made for
your friend to be present.”
The Author: “According to what
I’ve written earlier, one answer is
just to turn up, and another is to
have an internal review.”
The Gas Man: “I must be
substituted – even an idiot can
see that.”
Well! That’s the weirdest preamble I’ve encountered.
First thoughts (later confirmed): the “gas man” will be found at 1
across.
Second thoughts: there will be a time at 15 16.28 BUT why the dot
between the second and third number?
Third thought: what the H do the third and fourth paragraph mean?
Ah well, on to the solving process. First to fall was 5d ANLACES
then 23d JAWLINE it wasn’t long before I had W_RTH in 28a and spent
far too long wondering what time we could possibly be looking for.
The only thing likely to fit was WORTH so I decided to pin down the
clue and make it work. An anagram of WORTH is THROW and, thankfully,
that fits the clue. Giving the same treatment to 15a and 26a quickly
revealed INGLE/NIGEL and MOSEL/MOLES but what on Earth does INGLE
MOSEL THROW mean? What a dummy, let’s try NIGEL MOLES WORTH – after
sorting themselves out
I’d never heard of NIGEL
MOLESWORTH but it turns out that he’s a character who,
himself, is an author created by Geoffrey
Willans who is famous for his misspellings.
This accounts for 27d LOOKS being entered as SKOOL – one answer is
just to turn up.
36a is PAEONS – arranged to make PEASON (his friend) to be present.
This left me with 24d whose answer is SHOWER to be manipuated to fit
its space. It’s internal review is HOW becomes TOPP. That comes from
How to be Topp: A Guide to Sukcess for Tiny Pupils, Including All
There is to Kno about Space. Which seems to be the second (not
third) book in the series.
What about the gas man? He’s there at 1 across with embedded spaces.
AVOGADRO
was a scientist concered with gasses.
The final instruction indicates that 1a should be replaced with one
of Molesworthy’s quotes – AS ANY FULE KNO leaving all real words in
the affected down answers.
Apologies for the less detailed than normal blog – the screen on my
laptop computer developed a crack and was virtually
impossible to use so I’ve borrowed one but it lacks all my normal
tools and just doesn’t feel the same. New screen is on order so,
hopefully, normal service will resume.
Sow menny thancs to Eyefour four the puzel – gud fun awl rowned.
| Across |
||
| Clue |
Entry |
Wordplay |
| 9 Kings, perhaps, not from former French line (4) |
MAGI | MAGI[not] (former French line) minus NOT MaginotLine |
| 11 Stop and start interminably, without time to turn round (6) |
NASARD | AND + S[t]AR[t]
(minus last letter and minus Time) anag: to turn round |
| 13 Ring fenced with gemstones (6) | OPALED | O (ring)+PALED (fenced) |
| 15 Scott’s friend unusually carrying leader’s compasses (5) |
INGLE NIGEL |
[carry]ING LE[ader] hidden: compasses |
| 17 Wedding venue entertaining accomplished parasite (7) |
CANDIDA | CANA (wedding venue) containing DID (accomplished) The Marriage at Cana |
| 18 Activity in jeopardy after rent climber leaves room at the top (5) |
ATTIC | ACT[i][v]IT[y]
(anag: rent) minus IVY |
| 19 Endlessly lasting synthetic fabric (5) |
SATIN | [l]ASTIN[g] (endlessly; anag: synthetic) |
| 21 Aircraft propeller jams with currents occasionally fluctuating (8) |
SCRAMJET | JAMS + C[u]R[r]E[n]T[s]
(occasionally; anag: fluctuating) |
| 25 Case of AIDS best turned around in paediatric bed (8) |
BASSINET | A[id]S (case of) + BEST + IN (anag: turned around) |
| 26 Wine that’s left, having drunk some earlier (5) |
MOSEL MOLES |
SOME (anag: drunk) + Left |
| 28 Deliberately concede the argument, losing beginning to end (5) |
THROW WORTH |
TH[e] (minus E[nd]) + ROW (argument) |
| 31 Barely mount before stopping steeplechaser, missing the end of race (7) |
STARKLY | STY (mount; obsolete) containing ARKL[e] (steeplechaser; minus last letter) Arkle |
| 33 Barking mad player ignoring runs (5) |
AYELP | PLAYE[r] (minus Runs; anag: mad) |
| 34 First-class scholars recalled after adult stands in for one (6) |
SLAP-UP | PUP[i]LS (scholars; rev: recalled) Adult replaces I (one) |
| 36 Feet regularly placed close to either side of steps (6) |
PAEONS PEASON |
P[l]A[c]E[d]
(regularly) + ON (close to) + S |
| 37 Dictator’s decreed mastery by repetition (4) |
ROTE | Sounds like WROTE (decreed) |
| 38 Fish right to regroup during watch for seabird (12) |
TANGLE-PICKER | ANGLE (fish) + [regrou]P (rightmost letter)inside TICKER (watch) |
| Down | ||
| 1 All the time that’s passed before rural crowd gets quiet (7) |
AMONGST | A (before) + MONG (crowd) + ST (quiet) (I’m not convinced that the definition is right. AMONG and AMONGST don’t seem to be interchangeable) |
| 2 Legally acceptable housing pressure, with line to quit flat (5) |
VAPID | VA[l]ID (legally acceptable; minus Line)containing Pressure |
| 3 News from Neighbours upsetting all addicts now reading the media (3) |
OIL | [a]L[l] [add]I[cts]
[n]O[w] (median letters; rev: upset) |
| 4 Wander around bar that keeps Scotch in the cooler (3) |
GAD | (double definition) GAD (wander) GAD (the bar across a Scottish condemned cell) Regarding SCOTCH, I see this in Chambers: of or belonging to Scotland or the Scots, a meaning regarded as incorrect by many Scots, who prefer Scottish or Scots Since it’s New Year, I’ll forgive Ifor this minor transgression but us Scots are a finicky lot, ye ken and we may no be so unforgivin’ in the future! (best read in a Private Fraser accent) |
| 5 Daggers, for instance, keeping wound clean (7) |
ANLACES | AS (for instance) containing CLEAN (anag: wound) |
| 6 Curses and rants, not content to relax (5) |
DARNS | AND + R[ant]S (minus contents) anag: to relax |
| 7 Spirit of fakir crushed when abandoned by following (4) |
RAKI | [f]AKIR (minus Following) anag: crushed |
| 8 Good idea, forgetting failure to play the same little concert halls (4) |
ODEA | I can’t remember how this one works |
| 10 Thought left up in the air (4) | FELT | LEFT anag: up in the air I found this one surprisingly tough! |
| 12 Rank idea below scripture in stages of life (6) |
REDIAE | RE (Religious Education: scripture) + IDEA (anag: rank) |
| 14 Greed of syndicate sacking leader, together with a large number variously employed (7) |
EDACITY | [s]Y[n]DICATE – N (any large number) anag: variously deployed |
| 16 Where things stand before the crowd turns up (7) |
ÉTAGÈRE | ERE (before) + GATE (crowd) rev: turns up |
| 18 Radical boundary line prepared before going off (4) |
ARYL | [bound]ARY (minus prepared) + L |
| 20 Short function thanking revolutionary after monarch’s deposed (4) |
TANH | THAN[king] minus KING (monarch) anag: revoultionary |
| 22 Hammond’s office currently staying reluctant to invest (6) |
CLOTHE | CE (Chancellor of the Exchequer) containing LOTH (reluctant) |
| 23 New jail riots feature on The Face (7) |
JAWLINE | NEW JAIL (anag: riots) |
| 24 Demonstrator drops from the sky (6) |
SHOWER STOPPER |
(double def) |
| 27 Seems fine to puncture dead person’s reputation (5) |
LOOKS SKOOL |
OK (fine) inside LOS (reputation; obsolete) |
| 29 Rattle after alerting guards (4) | RALE | [afte]R ALE[rting] hidden: guards |
| 30 Channel in support of stopping after fine (5) |
FLUTE | Fine + LUTE (stopping) |
| 31 Clan divisions no longer active (4) |
SEPT | SEPT[a] (divisions; minus Active) |
| 32 Call to prayer, as broadcast before (4) |
AZAN | AZ sounds like AS + AN[te] (before) |
| 34 Undermine struggling student (3) |
SAP | (double def) |
| 35 Discharge of clear fluid after most of leg’s amputated (3) |
ARC | C[le]AR minus LE[g] (most of) anag: fluid |
Excellent explanations, but I think there’s a bit more to the first sentence of the preamble. The third book in the Molesworth series is called Whizz for Atomms (sic). Avogadro’s constant gives the number of atoms in one mole of a substance, which could be called a mole’s worth.
Despite the off-puttingly unusual preamble this turned out to be great fun, with some deliciously satisfying PDMs. Ifor just keeps on giving, doesn’t he?
Thanks, Ifor, for a very satisfying puzzle. Thanks, Kenmac, for a very satisfying blog. I think ‘Amongst’ (1D) works fine – Chambers defines it (with ‘among’) as ‘…all the time, archaic’. I didn’t come up with anything for Odea, 8 D – and I still can’t.
@2 Caran
I see AMONGST mentioned specifically in “preposition” number 1 not as an overall synonym. That’s what put doubt in my mind. But I’m no English scholar.
A truly terrifying preamble, but much enjoyment followed. Lots of thanks to Ifor and Kenmac. The title was a nice red herring pointing to Flanders & Swann, but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be their song since that was the theme of Inquisitor 1391 back in 2015. I confess to looking through Molesworth #3 in hope of finding a gas man or maybe even Avogadro himself in a science lesson, but no luck there: eventually I decided that Molesworth reckons Avogadro to be a Whizz for Atomms, which indeed he was. As any fule kno.
LOOKS becoming SKOOL reading down references the first book in the series, Down with Skool! (I’ll spare you the subtitle).
….and for an exsepshunally gud gridd desine, the mrs joyful prize for rafia work goes to ifor.
I solved THROW at 28 fairly early on and found the clashes with 14 and 29 which could be resolved by rearranging it to WORTH, thereby making 20 and 23 solvable. I then looked for possible rearrangements for 15 and 26. For 15, I had ?I?EL. This stumped me for a bit and then I spotted NIGEL and the bells began to ring – check 26 and YES! It really is my old friend molesworth1.
I first encountered the curse of st custard’s at the age of 10 in The Young Elizabethan, a monthly literary magazine for kids. nigel attended a posher, if somewhat more dubious school than me but in those days a lot of the experiences were similar and some still are. To echo Tim Rice, nigel should be included in anybody’s list of leading 20th century philosophers. I rooted out my old copy of The Compleet Molesworth, which still makes me chuckle and I would recommend it to anyone.
For a while, I was stuck on the original top line down clues at 3, 4 and 6 and could not fit a gasman of 12 letters. I had considered AVOGADRO but it took me far too long to realize that the unchecked cells should be ignored. LOI was 24: I could see that SHOWER made sense but I smugly thought that I had already found all the answers to be adjusted so spent ages trying to justify STEPPER or STOPPER. Eventually, I obeyed the golden rule IF STUCK THEN REREAD THE PREAMBLE, whereupon all became clear. I guess those not familiar with Molesworth would find it harder to solve 1, 24, 27 and 34 without a fair bit of internet research, as I have found with some previous Ifor puzzles.
By the way, I have oft heard “as any fule kno” quoted in my own social circles as well as on the radio. So there are clearly quite a few of us oldies with an affection for Molesworth. Also, to keep me in my place, Mrs DaveW has been known to inform me that I “hav O brane”.
Thanks to Ifor for what could well be my PDM of the year and to Kenmac for the blog.
By the way it has not been mentioned that the justification for 27 is the very first book is called Down With Skool!
This was fun and both reminded me of the song by Flanders and Swann (a red herring as DL@4 points out) and introduced me to the works of Nigel Molesworth who I had inexplicably not encountered before. I’m still not convinced by the preamble though. Why does he “know your number” and what is the significance of the dot between 26 and 28. Is the latter just to make it look like a real time and if so how? Until I came here I had just dismissed it as a typo or a flaw in the paper on which it was printed.
I parsed 8d as “good idea” less (fails) “go” (to play) and “id” (the same).
Thanks to Ifor for the fun and Kenmac for the blog.
Whoops. For 8d I meant “good idea” less (forgetting) “go” (failure to play – it is in Chambers in relation to cribbage) and “id” (the same). I wish the preview option was still available to help avoid slips like this.
The final replacement at 1 was a step too far for me. Enjoyable journey prior to that but I didn’t think it was clear enough what was replacing what.
A good puzzle with a truly scary preamble. 🙂 Needed Google to research the subject matter, and was truly thrown by the blank cells in the top row (though the replacement was pretty clear), but enjoyed the puzzle throughout nevertheless.
I wasn’t familiar with Molesworth, and had no idea the quote at 1a came from there, but I spent an enjoyable time finding out as I gradually solved the puzzle. Google filled in the gaps in my knowledge.
A particularly loud snort here when I realized how the top line worked. The initial theory was some hideous Molesworthian misspelling of AVOGADRO with several extra letters, but surely even the Curse of St Custard’s wouldn’t be that bad? On the umpteenth reread of the preamble, though, it dawned on me that the first two words “Just checked” meant exactly what they said.
What a lovely puzzle and such a fine way to bring the year to an end – it’s already on my list for JH’s ‘Review of 2018-19’. As others have said, PDM after PDM. By Sunday I had everything except SHOWER -> STOPPER and surprised my fellow walkers on New Year’s Eve by suddenly exclaiming “Got it!” shortly after setting out on Offa’s Dyke Path.
I parsed 8d (go)OD (id)EA the same way as Howard L @7/8 – clues like that show just how inventive Ifor is.
I think most of the preamble has been covered one way or another, but may I offer a further snippet? The preamble starts “Just checked”, indicating that the Gas Man appears only from the checked letters in row 1 – yet another neat touch to work that phrase in.
Many thanks ken for the blog, and even more to Ifor for the puzzle.
As others have said, a lovely puzzle, very ingenious and quite a tangle to sort out.
We had some letters in the top row and were getting very stuck when Joyce decided to google scientists connected to gases. Up came the ‘Gas Man’ and we realised that it fitted in the checked spaces. So far so good.
Bert suddenly had a PDM when we had LOOKS which didn’t fit and he saw the possiblity of SKOOL.
Thanks to cruciverbophile@1 for the mole link. That does explain the title which we couldn’t connect to the puzzle although we knew there had to be more to it.
Thanks kenmac for the blog. Ifor – please keep the IQs coming. We love them!
Towards the end we were still struggling and decided that another detailed look at the preamble was called for. As we checked off each segment we realised how SHOWER changed and MOLES fell into place.
We
I liked the novelty of the preamble, though I wasn’t convinced it worked 100%. The poetic licence left a little too much room for uncertainty. Perhaps because I’d worked out 15A and 26A by guessing the name, and then working back to solve the clue, it didn’t feel that there was sorting to be done. But that’s certainly only a minor quibble if that. Loads to enjoy, including expanding my only very vague knowledge of Molesworth. I was assuming the title was a red herring, but even so I was distracted by a potential anagram of Flanders in the second row, though even without 4D I already had too many As. I’d failed to work out 24D, though the TOPP obviously came from the title of the second book, but I had a mental blank as to how. Again, ‘review’ had a certain ambiguity and I thought it was implying a rearrangement of the central letters, not a replacement. I’d put it aside and meant to come back to it with fresh eyes, but somehow never did.
As always, my thanks to everyone. I think all aspects of the preamble (in which I sought to make every phrase relevant, if not always conventionally phrased) have been dealt with. Because my background is in chemistry, the Avogadro number and the mole concept are second nature to me; but I can understand that they may be unfamiliar to some, although Chambers has enough about them for those so inclined. And of course one of the attractions of themed puzzles, for me as a solver at any rate, is to have one’s interest piqued by something new.
In reply to Bertandjoyce particularly – if solving my puzzles provides anything like the enjoyment I get from constructing them then I’m very happy. There are others awaiting editorial judgement, so I do hope to return at some point.
Ifor
Didn’t do the puzzle but browsing, I think the parsing for 18a is: anagram (in jeopardy) of activity with ivy (climber), rent (split in two: IV/Y) leaving.
Also, 25a, anagram (turned) of A<id>S+ BEST, all “around” IN.
In 1d, I don’t understand why ST = quiet, and don’t quite get the definition, whether or not ‘among’ and ‘amongst’ are the same thing.
In 3d, why is OIL “News from Neighbours”?
In 32d, how is the ‘te’ lost from ‘ante’?
Tony @17
ST as an abbreviation for ‘quiet’ is given in Chambers.
Under ‘oil’ in Chambers there is “7. News, information, esp in the good oil (Aust informal)”.
Chambers gives ‘an’ as an abbreviation for ‘ante’.
Thanks, Gaufrid. I must have been tired as, looking in my old Chambers today, I found them all. ST is there in the main listings, in fact, as “‘st, st”, not the abbreviations.
I loved this! I found the instructions intriguing rather than intimidating. I had absolutely no idea what too do at the start but I have trust in the editor so it must be solvable. I just dived in and started trying to solve some clues to see if anything appeared: pretty much the same as most “normal” Inquisitors in fact. I thought the clues were had and had quite a few incomplete parsings at the end but the blog and comments have explained those.
I spent far too long trying to fit Flanders and Swann into the grid before it dawned on me that Molesworth was who I should be after. Even then I spent far too long trying to fit Ronald Searle and Geoffry Willans into the grid. The PDM when I saw Avogadro was teh best for a long time.
Brilliant! Thanks to all.
Howard L @7 – I have got your number refers to Avagadro’s Number which is a standard measure in chemistry: the number of atoms in a Mole of a substance approximately 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 a very large number indeed!
Nigel the author is a “moles-worth” he so he has his number.