Serpent challenges us today
It’s an odd looking grid with nineteen across clues and sixteen down which usually implies there is something going on in terms of a theme or a nina. Unfortunately I’m not clever enough to spot it, but there’s plenty to comment on elsewhere in the blog.
It’s not often we get five wordplays for one word which is the case for POET at 16 across. This makes me think there may be references to a poem throughout the grid.
CANNY at 30 across also comes with more than one wordplay.
I’m not too sure about the wordplay for KOSHER at 3 down. I’ve suggested something that is vaguely logical but would not be surprised if someone comes up with a far better offering.
I liked the use of Daft Punk in 2 across.
An enjoyable puzzle.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Club in which Daft Punk record initially broke (8) |
BAT (club) containing (in which) (an anagram of (daft) PUNK and R [recipe]) BA (NKRUP*) T |
BANKRUPT (insolvent; broke) |
| 6 | Host related to member? (4) |
ARMY (host) ARMY |
ARMY (related to an arm [limb; member]) double definition |
| 10 | Sculpt solid representations that are highly regarded (5) |
Anagram of (sculpt) SOLID IDOLS* |
IDOLS (images or representations that are revered) |
| 11 | I’m surprised about politician with confident self-assurance (9) |
(COO [expression of surprise] containing [about] MP [Member of Parliament; politician]) + SURE (confident beyond doubt) CO (MP) O SURE |
COMPOSURE (self-assurance) |
| 12 | Author regularly obtaining right support for child (3-4) |
PEN (author) containing between each pair of letters [regularly obtaining] (first, R [right] and then, TEE [support]) P (R) E (TEE) N |
PRE-TEEN ( child who is not yet, especially not quite yet, a teenager) |
| 13 | Turn upside down yet remain vertical essentially (6) |
INVERT (hidden word [essentially] in REMAIN VERTICAL) INVERT |
INVERT (turn upside down) |
| 14 | How one could refer to man spending time in prison (3) |
S SIR |
SIR (word of respect [or disapprobation] used in addressing a man) |
| 16 | He regularly contributes to protect poorest protest opponents’ project (4) |
POET (letters 1, 3, 5 and 7 [regularly contributes to] of each of PROTECT, POOREST, PROTEST, and PROJECT and letters 2, 4, 6 and 8 [regularly contributes to] OPPONENT) POET |
POET (rhymer – note that the clue is a rhyming couplet with PROTECT rhyming with PROJECT) |
| 17 | Name on naked self-portrait with delicate frame (5) |
ELFI N |
ELFIN (small, with delicate frame) |
| 19 | Accepted having central characters destroyed by ring that’s "precious" (7) |
BELIEVED (accepted as true) with the middle two letters [central characters] IE replaced by [having destroyed] O (ring shaped letter) BEL O VED |
BELOVED (very dear; precious) |
| 20 | Behind, not having succeeded in final course (5) |
AFTER AFTER |
AFTER (behind) |
| 21 | After leaving hospital, pursue patient (4) |
C CASE |
CASE (a patient is a medical CASE) |
| 22/7 | Profit by Republican in rebellious mood being guest of Tea Party (8) |
(R [Republican] contained in [in] an anagram of [rebellious] MOOD) + USE (advantage; profit. Bradfords gives ‘use’ as a synonym of ‘profit’) DO (R) MO* USE |
DOR [MOUSE] (one of the characters attending as a guest at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll) |
| 24 | Dancing feet left without skin and exhausted (6) |
Anagram of (dancing) (FEET and EFFETE* |
EFFETE (exhausted) |
| 26 | Run out following dispute with flighty creature? (7) |
SPAR (dispute) + RO (run out in cricket scoring notation) + W (with) SPAR RO W |
SPARROW (bird; flighty creature) |
| 29 | One changing locks in church also turned in grave (9) |
(CH [church] + TOO [also]) all reversed (turned) contained in (in) TOMB (any place serving as a grave) T (OOT HC)< OMB |
TOOTHCOMB (fine TOOTHed COMB for straightening hair [locks]) |
| 30 | Knowing may dishearten Nancy or just upset her (5) |
Two wordplays 1. CAN (may) + NY (letters remaining in N CAN NY 2. An anagram of (upset) NANCY CANNY* |
CANNY (knowing, skilful, shrewd) |
| 31 | Extra money’s not Britain’s responsibility (4) |
ONUS |
ONUS (responsibility) |
| 32 | Faint hum after changing ends at Wimbledon nothing interrupts (4,4) |
LOVE (zero score in tennis [at Wimbledon]) contained in (REEK [smell; hum] with the first and last letters R and K being swapped [after changing ends]) KEE (L OVE) R |
KEEL OVER (stagger or fall over; faint) |
| Down | |||
| 2 | A scribbled note reportedly intended to make amends (9) |
A + an anagram of (scribbled) NOTE + MENT (sounds like [reportedly] MEANT [intended]) A TONE* MENT |
ATONEMENT (reparations; amends) |
| 3 | egitimate knockout finishes off contender before middle of the second round (6) |
KO (knockout) + (H [central letter of {middle of}] THE + S [second]) all reversed (round) + ER (last two letters of [finishes off] CONTENDER) I’m not really convinced by this parsing, but the clue says that SH (middle of the, second, round) comes before ER (the finish of CONTENDER) so there is some logic in what I am suggesting. I’m not sure about two letters for the finish of something. KO (S H)< ER |
KOSHER (legitimate) |
| 4 | Still down after removal of control panel? (10) |
UN CONSOLED (having taken the CONSOLE [control panel] away) UN CONSOLED |
UNCONSOLED (still not comforted; still downhearted)) |
| 5 | Two notes forming a perfect fourth interval (4) |
TI (one of the notes of the tonic sol-fa) + ME [(another note of the tonic sol-fa) TI ME |
TIME (a perfect fourth interval is simply a period of time [interval] between sounds whose vibration frequencies are as 3 to 4.) Alternatively, TIME is often considered to be the fourth dimension |
| 6 | Accountant wanting almost everything increased and added up (8) |
A A MOUNTED |
AMOUNTED (totalled; added up) |
| 7 | See 22 Across |
See word play at 22 across MOUSE |
[DOR] MOUSE |
| 8 | Floppy disc saves into memory when initialised (4) |
LP (long playing record; vinyl disc) containing (saves) IM (first letters [when initialised] of each of INTO and MEMORY) L (I M) P |
LIMP (flaccid; floppy) |
| 9 | Judgement of one lacking in feeling (8) |
SENT SENTENCE |
SENTENCE (judgement) |
| 15 | Irregular verb relies on recall being identical? (10) |
Anagram of (irregular) VERB RELIES REVERSIBLE* |
REVERSIBLE (able to be restored to a previous state; on recall being identical) |
| 16 | Position leads to new technological advances in embryonic life-support system (8) |
PLACE (position) + NTA (first letters of [leads to] each of NEW, TECHNOLOGICAL and ADVANCES) PLACE N T A |
PLACENTA (in mammals, the flattened structure formed by the intimate union of the allantois and chorion with the uterine wall of the mother, serving for the respiration and nutrition of the growing young embryos; embryonic life-support system) |
| 18 | Cologne newspaper divides country (9) |
RAG (derogatory term for a newspaper) contained in (divides) FRANCE F (RAG) RANCE |
FRAGRANCE (perfume; cologne) |
| 19 | Balkan woman upset about long trousers (8) |
SERB (Balkan [woman]) reversed (upset; down clue) containing (about) ITCH (yearn; desire; long) BR (ITCH) ES< |
BRITCHES (variant spelling of breeches; trousers) |
| 23 | Cowboy is clumsy, scratching bottom with end of lasso (6) |
GAUCH GAUCH O |
GAUCHO (cowboy of the pampas) |
| 25 | Lower frequency note shields noise (5) |
(F [frequency] + N [note]) containing (shields) ROW (noise) F (ROW) N |
FROWN (look gloomy; lower) |
| 27 | Some of the reasons reporter’s learned? (4) |
WHYS (sounds like [reporter’s] WISE [learned]) WHYS |
WHYS (reasons) |
| 28 | Accept not having right order in advance (4) |
B BOOK |
BOOK (reserve in advance) |
I parsed 3d as KO + last letters of contendeR beforE + tHe + Second (all reversed). I think “of” fits better than “off” for the cryptic reading but still works.
For a short while, I thought 19d was going to be BREECHES misspelt as BREACHES (ache not itch) but thankfully I was wrong.
Thanks to Serpent and Duncan. Must now look for any hidden extras.
Looks like a central book and a peripheral author/alias to me.
eXternal @ 2
Thanks – I see it now, but not a book, an author or an alias that I know. I’ve looked it all up now and learnt about the book and the author.
I’d done a bit of research on an anagram of the first row of unches and got Tomilson / Tomlison, but I couldn’t find an author or pet with that name. I’d also looked at BELOVED SIRDOR thinking there might be some fairy connection with ELFIN, a bit like Lord of the Rings, but unsurprisingly got nowhere,
Hard going and I still haven’t spotted the theme or Nina. I couldn’t work out the parsing of KOSHER either and didn’t know the significance of ‘a perfect fourth interval’.
I liked the double wordplay for CANNY (not the French city for once) and the even more original construction of POET.
Thanks to Serpent and Duncan.
Thanks Serpent, Duncan
For KOSHER, I had KO + ER (finishes of contender) with, coming before, tHe S reversed
but I didn’t like it and agree with Hovis.
For TIME the perfect fourth is part of the wordplay. Ti to me (eg in C major, B to E) is a perfect fourth. Def just interval.
I enjoyed the solve – didn’t spot the Nina but then that’s nothing new. I particularly liked 16a and 30a, and I always smile at variations on 6a
Thanks to Serpent for the brain stretching and to Duncan for the blog
Didn’t know the book (or film) or author.
Thanks James@5. That was how I parsed 5d but my lack of knowledge in music terminology meant that I was too unsure to possibly comment.
I parsed 5d the same way — in fact solved by going through the possible fourths until the penny dropped.
I could not think of a standalone meaning of DOR, but I see now there are many possibilities.
Thanks, Serpent and Duncan
Total defeat for me. Only a handful of answers all day.
Many thanks to Duncan for the excellent blog and to everyone who has taken the time to solve and comment on the puzzle. The puzzle was written to mark the death this year of Toni Morrison (born Chloe Wofford, Nobel laureate, and author of Beloved and several other highly regarded books).
Hovis @1 has the intended parsing of KOSHER. I (obviously!) think “finishes off” is a legitimate way of indicating last letters; I think “off” in the sense of “from” seems reasonable and no worse than, say, “starts to” to indicate first letters.
James @5 has the intended parsing of TIME.