A tougher puzzle than usual from Gozo today but one I enjoyed very much. Thank you Gozo.
Hats off to anyone who completed all this without using aids. The theme is actors in TV and Film but a much wider general knowledge required to solve and explain everything.
| Across | ||
| 1 | MARLON BRANDO | Sprawled out in moorland barn and in On The Waterfront (6,6) |
| anagram (sprawled out in) of MOORLAND BARN | ||
| 10 | ED ASNER | Lou Grant endears cast (2,5) |
| anagram (cast) of ENDEARS – Ed Asner played Lou Grant in the TV series of the same name | ||
| 11 | DAVISON | Dr Who cars into the river (7) |
| AVIS (cars, car rental firm ?) into DON (the river) – actor Peter Davison, the fifth Doctor | ||
| 12 | NOLTE | Reputation embraces leading light of Hulk (5) |
| NOTE (reputation) contains (embraces) Light (leading petter of) – Nick Nolte plays the Hulk’s biological father in the 2003 film | ||
| 13 | CHANDLER | Perry in Friends as thriller writer (8) |
| double definition – actor Mathew Perry plays Chandler Bing in the sitcom Friends and Raymond Chandler thriller writer | ||
| 15 | ROD STEIGER | Poles starting trek to mountain in the heat of the night! (3,7) |
| RODS (poles) then Trek (starting letter of) with EIGER (mountain) – star of 1967 film In the Heat of the Night | ||
| 16 | STUD | Unfinished detailed examination of breeding establishment (4) |
| STUDy (detailed examination, unfinished) | ||
| 18 | HUSH | Keep quiet – it’s semi- confidential (4) |
| half (semi) of HUSH-HUSH (confidential) | ||
| 20 | ROGER MOORE | Understood Heath E. was saintly (5,5) |
| ROGER (understood) MOOR (heath) then E – actor who played The Saint in TV series | ||
| 22 | PFEIFFER | A Witch of Eastwick or one from St Andrews, say (8) |
| sounds like (say) “Fifer” (one from Fife, St Andrews perhaps) – Michelle Pfeiffer, a beautiful lady but not an easy one to spell | ||
| 24 | RUING | Contrite, I step outside (5) |
| I inside (with…outside) RUNG (step) | ||
| 26 | OF A TYPE | All resembling Gothic maybe (2,1,4) |
| I’m not sure how to explain this. I will go with an extended definition: all that resembles…the type face Gothic maybe | ||
| 27 | WICHITA | Whence a lineman involved with CIA (7) |
| anagram (involved) of WITH CIA – from the song by Glen Campbell | ||
| 28 | DONALD SINDEN | Dennis old and dissolute, starred in Two’s Company and Never the Twain (6,6) |
| anagram (dissolute) of DENNIS OLD AND | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | AVAILED | Took advantage of a leading veteran who was ill (7) |
| A then Veteran (leading letter of) AILED (who was ill) | ||
| 3 | LINKED TO | Having connections to Kindle novel (6,2) |
| anagram (novel) of TO KINDLE | ||
| 4 | NORN | Fate’s no choice of letters (4) |
| N OR N (no choice of letters) – any of the three Fates in Norse mythology | ||
| 5 | RED-CHEEKED | Blushing left-winger was impertinent (3-7) |
| RED (left-winger) CHEEKED (was impertinent) | ||
| 6 | NIVEN | Genuine vindication somewhat upset Pink Panther star (5) |
| found inside (somewhat) genuiNE VINdication reversed (upset) – actor David Niven | ||
| 7 | OSSELET | Growth of very large steel nuts (7) |
| OS (out-size, very large) then anagram (nuts) of STEEL | ||
| 8 | BERNARD HEPTON | Brother panned, playing in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (7,6) |
| anagram (playing) of BROTHER PANNED – played Toby Esterhase | ||
| 9 | INGRID BERGMAN | Reminding Garbo, losing nothing, involved as Anastasia (6,7) |
| anagram (involved) of REMINDING GARBo missing O (nothing) – star of the 1956 film Anastasia | ||
| 14 | SIMONE WEIL | Emile is now recast as French philosopher and mystic (6,4) |
| anagram (recast) of EMILE IS NOW | ||
| 17 | AMERICAN | Could be Hank or Chuck – a chap embracing another (8) |
| A MAN (chap) contains (embracing) ERIC (another man) – Hank (Williams) or Chuck (Berry), archetypical American names | ||
| 19 | SHEPARD | Pastor, say, who pictured Piglet and Sam (7) |
| sounds like (say) “shepherd” (pastor) – E.H.Shepard, illustrator of AA Milne books (who pictured Piglet) and Sam Shepard (actor) | ||
| 21 | ORIFICE | Opening gold reserve, holding one key (7) |
| OR (gold) ICE (reserve) contains I (one) F (key, F Major) | ||
| 23 | FLYNN | Robin Hood, fashionable outside of Northampton (5) |
| FLY (fashionable) then NorthamptoN (outside letters of) – Errol Flynn, actor who played Robin Hood | ||
| 25 | OWNS | Has snow melted? (4) |
| anagram (melted) of SNOW | ||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.
I loved this, though couldn’t parse a few including OF A TYPE (I think you’re right about the typeface) and I ended up failing on the unheard of SHEPARD for which I put ‘steward’. I didn’t remember the 4d ‘Fate’ but the clever wordplay was very helpful. The popular culture references were great fun, with the ‘was saintly’ ROGER MOORE, ‘Whence a lineman’ and the reminder of ‘Lou Grant’ (excellent show by the way) being my favourites.
A real treat, hopefully for everyone, but especially for someone of my vintage.
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee
I think you do have to be ‘of a certain vintage’ to be able to solve this one. The clues were very helpful although I did do a check post-solve to make sure I’d got a couple of the correct people
My particular favourites were 18a and 27a (although I could do without the ear worm!)
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee. I got many of the actors but needed reassurance for some (e.g., BERNARD HEPTON, NOLTE). With my LOI, SHEPARD, I missed the Milne illustrator but discovered that Sam Shepard was the pig-narrator of the movie Charlotte’s Web
Thanks PeeDee. Another masterclass from Gozo. I thought it would prove too tough, but got there in the end.
BTW Bernard Hepton was Toby in the Alec Guinness TV ‘Tinker Tailor’, but also, rather splendidly, Smiley in the radio version.
acd @3 – I see now that I have overlooked Sam in my explanation for 19dn. Does anyone know of a Sam that EH Shepard illustrated?
If it refers to Sam Shepard then as a narrator he would he have voiced a piglet rather than pictured one? Perhaps pictured is a cryptic indication to narrating in a motion picture?
Conrad @4 – I didn’t know that! I can’t imagine Hepton as anyone other than Esterhase, he completely inhabits the character in the TV series. And I can’t imagine Smiley being anyone other than Alec Guinness. I will have to see if I can find the radio series somewhere and have a listen.
19d is in 3 parts:
pastor, say
who pictured piglet
sam
I didn’t know a few of these guys but got them all and found it very enjoyable and impressive. I particularly liked the ones that weren’t signposted by capitals or italics – Roger Moore, Rod Steiger
thanks gozo, PeeDee
Oh, and Matthew Perry might play Bing, Chandler but not Bing Chandler
Thanks James. My knowledge of Friends is quite extensive, but acquired entirely second-hand through my daughter who used to talk to be about it a lot.
Thematic puzzles may be fun for some but mean a day without a crossword for those without subject matter knowledge.
Tony – what’s so bad about learning new things?
PeeDee — good point, but I wanted a mental workout, not an education. And if I had wanted an education I would not have chosen film stars as a subject. I guess I did learn, by reading the answers here. I got about 2/3rds of it but it was miserable, and I came here for the rest. Not sure I retained much.
btw, I am 74; a younger person would be completely lost. And we need younger solvers if cryptic crosswords are to survive.
Hi Tony – what you say makes sense, I suppose different people look at a puzzle from different angles depending on their circumstances.
Personally I feel eternally grateful for everything I have learned over the years from solving cryptics. Having had a purely science and mathematical education and there are whole areas of knowledge, Greek mythology for example, that I would know nothing about if I hadn’t had to look up countless classical references in the encyclopaedia. Nowadays Google and Wikipedia make it all so much easier.
I think looking everything up in Wikipedia is a habit that is now completely baked-in from blogging so many puzzles (650 or so by now, that’s about 20,000 clues to explain). Sometimes the new knowlegde is actually useful: in my comment @6 I am now able to refer to Bernard Hepton by name rather than the rather feeble “that bloke who played Esterhase”. I also added Anastasia to my films to watch list as it looks interesting. I can thank Gozo for those too.
PS – it s true that the solvers (and setters) are skewed towards the older end of the spectrum, but I think this has always been the case. I would not worry what will happen to cryptics when the current generation of old people pass on: there is no shortage of younger people waiting to get old in their turn and take our places. It will be the same as it ever was.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
Completely agree witb your comment @13. Sounds like we went down a similar study path. I started solving cryptics in my early 20’s, probably as an extension of the logical thinking of the degree. Dont know how many books I’ve bought or places I have visited based on this pastime.
Anyway, still happily learning new stuff!
Today’s one was certainly not in my sweet spot but was able to work out enough from the word play to check them off in Wiki.
Finished with the clever FLYNN and the humorous NORN.