Not a good start for this one. Firstly it appeared a day late and then the initial pdf upload had the clue for 35ac missing.
With 40% solved during my first quick pass through the clues, and with the reference to ‘a group of six men’ in the preamble, it was obvious that the changes to be made had to involve the single letter notations for chessmen (K, Q, N, B, R, P).
My thought then was that there could be a possibility for more than one solution, and so it proved. Not desirable for a prize puzzle!
As indicated below, I think there is more than one possible entry for 25dn and I can see two alternatives for 6ac and 8dn in the NE corner. I solved this one on the morning it became available, and am blogging it on the same day, so it will be interesting to see if there is an update or clarification during the next few days (I will delay submitting my entry just in case).
During the solve I thought there were a few loose synonyms but only one (23ac) that I felt was worthy of comment because I cannot find any justification for ‘bribe’ as part of the wordplay. Of necessity, given the method of grid entry, there are some rather obscure words and I would have preferred it if they could all have been verified in one of my usual reference (those given in my comment on 26ac) rather than having to refer to online resources.
Across
1 Guy perhaps in awe, portraying revolutionary (4)
ROBE : ROPE – hidden (in) reversal (revolutionary) in ‘awE PORtraying’
3 Tin boxes about study (4)
SCAR : SCAN – SN (tin) around (boxes) CA (about)
6 Young bird beginning to rehearse for second start of chorus to become cheerful (5)
CHIRP or CHINK : CHIRK – CHIcK with R[ehearse] (beginning to rehearse) replacing the second C[horus] (start of chorus)
10 Nothing vulgar and new is cool (3)
FAR : FAN – FA (nothing vulgar) N (new)
11 Book question or brief answer (5)
KORAN : QORAN – Q (question) OR AN[s] (brief answer)
12 Front runner returning review (5)
RACER : PACER – RECAP (review) reversed (returning)
13 Tells off workers surrounding informer (7)
RERATES : BERATES – BEES (workers) around (surrounding) RAT (informer)
14 Upset, carefully ignoring offensive remark, obviously (7)
CLEANLY : CLEARLY – an anagram (upset) of CARE[fu]LLY (carefully ignoring offensive remark)
15 State of Quebec paramilitaries at the front (4)
IRAN : IRAQ – IRA (paramilitaries) Q (Quebec)
17 Crowd almost drained after return to boozer (6)
BABBLE : RABBLE – BLE[d] (almost drained) after BAR (boozer) reversed (return to)
19 Jumper is poor, not starting to rotate (3)
BOO : ROO – [p]OOR (poor not starting) reversed (to rotate)
22 Hamburg / female? (3)
HER : HEN – single or double def. – take your pick
23 Bribe to hide drug in bandage (4-2)
TAKE UP : TAPE-UP – TAP UP (bribe) around (to hide) E (drug) – Chambers defines ‘tap up’ as “to make a covert approach to a potential employee”, as do several online dictionaries (it’s not in Collins or the ODE), but this does not mean that a bribe or inducement is involved.
24 Man’s accepting about now … (4)
HEBE : HERE – HE (man) RE (about) – but the ‘s accepting actually leads to ‘hree’.
26 … legendary man making a great impression? (7)
PIGFOOT : BIGFOOT – cryptic def. – the entry is not in Chambers Collins or the ODE but it can be found in a couple of online dictionaries (it’s a type of fish).
28 Inspector’s addressed controversy (7)
DISSERT : DISSENT – DI’S (inspector’s) SENT (addressed)
30 Wash faces to beautify appearances — the head and eyes (5)
PATHE : BATHE – initial letters of (faces to) B[eautify] A[ppearances] T[he] H[ead] E[yes]
31 Prize / contract (5)
NURSE : PURSE – double def.
32 Even born after setback (3)
EEK : EEN – NEE (born) reversed (after setback)
33 Cork’s / holes (5)
RORTS : PORTS – double def. – the first an un-indicated definition by example.
34 Threaten removing area in home (4)
RODE : BODE – [a]BODE (removing area in home)
35 Way university’s beginning to ban strike (4)
STUN : STUB – ST (way) U (university) B[an] (beginning to ban)
Down
1 Brighten up, brief rush to redevelop (9)
REFURNISH : REFURBISH – an anagram (to redevelop) of BRIEF RUSH
2 Calorie-free angel cakes are made by him (5)
BARER : BAKER – BA[c]KER (calorie-free angel)
4 Detective breaking vehicle instrument is a cheat (4,5)
CARD SHARK : CARD SHARP – DS (detective) in (breaking) CAR (vehicle) HARP (instrument)
5 Language from ancient city becomes joke, I see (5)
RUNIC : PUNIC – PUN (joke) I C (see)
6 Minded, always imprisoned and belted (8)
CAREENED : CAREERED – CARED (minded) with EER (always) inside (imprisoned)
7 One without hope to suffer a swelling endlessly (9)
INCUNABLE : INCURABLE – INCUR (to suffer) A BLE[b] (swelling endlessly)
8 Late tennis champion’s drink (5)
PERKY or KERRY : PERRY – double def.
9 Quarrel before European succession (5)
SKATE : SPATE – SPAT (quarrel) E (European)
16 One making annulment getting back schedule by bloody short meeting with graduate (9)
ARROGATOR : ABROGATOR – a reversal (getting back) of ROTA (schedule) GOR[y] (bloody short) BA (graduate)
18 Ransacked place below top newsman (9)
BLUNDERED : PLUNDERED – PL (place) UNDER (below) ED (top newsman)
20 One moving in the fast lane? (9)
OVERTAKEN : OVERTAKER – cryptic def.
21 Those who cringe from some advertisements — too personal (8)
STOOKERS : STOOPERS – contained in (from some) ‘advertisementS TOO PERSonal’
25 Tree surgeon’s top exercises adopted by one (5)
ASBEN or ASPER : ASPEN – S[urgeon] (surgeon’s top) PE (exercises) in (adopted by) AN (one)
26 More mature killer ignoring one of probationary characters (5)
PIPER : RIPER – RIP[p]ER (killer ignoring one of probationary characters)
27 A number working to cut piece of wood (5)
TENOR : TENON – TEN (a number) ON (working)
29 Turn out in English green (5)
EVENT : EVERT – E (English) VERT (green)
Hi Gaufrid
I agree with you about almost all of what you say. I think you have 35A incorrect though. The wordplay gives STUB not STAB. So the solution is presumably STUN and not STAN, a word with which I am unfamiliar anyhow!
I think KITE did a tour-de-force producing a grid using the mechanism selected, but invariably it produced some clashes as you suggest. I put in my entry with 3A being CHIRP and I input ASPER for 25D not knowing the other word.
I thought the clue for 33A was absolutely awful and could have been so much better. I struggled with thinking that the holes could be PORES for a long time and trying to think how corks [or corks removed] could be involved with pouring.
A slight niggle in the surface of 15A is that Quebec is NOT a state as any Canadian will tell you. It is a Province.
Thanks to KITE and Gaufrid
Gordon
I originally thought the answer to 12a was RECAP and so thought that the entries at 12a and 8d were RECAN and PENRY. I eventually realised that PACER would also work and thought it was better despite the ambiguity in the entries for 6a and 8d.
@Gordon: I thought that in the surface reading of 15a ‘State’ means condition.
Gordon @1
Thanks for the heads-up. I have corrected the double typo in 35ac. How they crept in I’ve no idea because the correct parsing is there.
Many thanks to Gaufrid for a thorough blog and to the posters.
This was a somewhat difficult and time-consuming grid fill and I missed the possible ambiguity at the NE corner of CHINK/KERRY. I didn’t know ASBEN.
I’m not sure what happened at 15A as this was not the clue that was supposed to have been printed, viz: ‘Quebec paramilitaries found at first in Republic’
33A was not a good clue. It should have had a QM or a ‘maybe’ added at the front. The clue for 23A did originally have ‘covert approach’ as the definition.
Anyway, I hope most solvers found this entertaining – it was fun also to compile.
The ambiguity of the reversal in 12 led me, like Matthew above, to believe the answer was RECAP (PACER returning), which I converted to RECAN. Having got the answers to 6ac and 8dn as CHIRK and PERRY, I decided the instructions (“one of a group of six men must be exchanged with another of the same group”) allowed PERRY to become PENNY since it was one man, R, being changed to another, N (twice, something not specifically excluded by the instructions).
33 was a pain and like Gordon I wondered for a long time about PORES (and BORES).
Never heard of ASBEN (and unable to find out what it means now) so np there.
Overall, I rather enjoyed this even though I seem to have got it wrong.
Tony @5
According to Collins, Asben is an alternative name for Aïr – “A mountainous region of N central Niger, in the Sahara, rising to 1500 m (5000 ft): a former native kingdom. Area: about 77,700 sq km (30,000 sq miles) Also called Azbine, Asben”.
For completeness, again according to Collins, asper is “a former Turkish monetary unit, a silver coin, worth 1/120 of a piastre”.
Gaufrid: I’m just glad it wasn’t my turn to blog the Genius this month, because 26 across baffled me for the reasons you give. Interesting to read the compiler’s comments.
Quite good fun but a few clues that frustrated. I got the chess trick very quickly and completed most clues, but a few others left me stumped for most of the month 🙂
For 19A I entered BIO, having initally solved it as PIN (a pin is something like a jumper in electronic circuitry I believe? – and it’s also SPIN (rotate) not starting). Admittedly I didn’t know what the ‘poor’ bit was for. I wish I’d thought of ROO as jumper!
I found 24A difficult for the same reason Gaufrid gives: I wanted the RE to be in the middle of the word due to ‘accepting’. Eventually I guessed it must be HERE/HEBE.
The answers to 7D and 21D were new words to me.
I enjoyed experimenting with the substitutions – enjoyable, thank you Kite.
This was a fun puzzle with some very nice clues, and big plaudits to Kite for constructing such a grid in the first place. As others have said it’s a shame that there were a couple of ambiguous instances. Hopefully Kite will fly again in the Genius slot…
Does anybody know if the Genius winners are published anywhere?
Thanks to Kite and Gaufrid
Charlie M @9
The Genius winner, along with those for other prize puzzles, can be found on the Guardian’s crossword home page (scroll down to the bottom).
@Gaufrid 10: Ah I see now. Thanks.
Gaufrid, thanks for explaining ‘asben’. I got as far as “another name for Aïr” in Collins, but when I clicked the link for Aïr, it led to the entry for ‘air’, wherepon I decided I didn’t care enough to persevere. I found ‘asper’ ok while solving though.