As usual at Christmas, the FT gives us an expanded (23×23) crossword set by Gozo involving some extra puzzle. This year’s extra puzzle, spotting the names of Christmas carols, seemed easier than most on the face of it. However it proved more difficult than I expected because, despite Gozo’s assertion that the carols concerned are “well-known”, I would say that several are not well known at all.
Here are Gozo’s instructions:
Thirteen clues lead to the titles of well-known Christmas carols and two
others to the titles of tunes to carols. All fifteen clues are merely cryptic
and none contain a definition. Three titles are in Latin, three in German
and one in French.
Here is the finished grid:
And here are the carols, first the English ones which include the two tunes for carols. In the grid, they are highlighted in yellow:
- Adam Lay Ybounden (30,44)
- Boar’s Head (55) more usually called Boar’s Head Carol
- Coventry (27dn) more usually called Coventry Carol
- Cranbrook (48,22) is the name of the tune of the carol While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night
- Forest Green (63) is the name of the tune of the carol Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
- I Saw Three Ships (2,32)
- Torches (45dn)
Gozo states that there is one French carol. I find two which I have highlighted in chartreuse:
- Il est ne le Divin Enfant (17,25)
- Patapan (18)
I guess that Gozo is not counting Patapan as a French carol although Wikipedia says it is a Burgundian traditional. The three German carols are highlighted in almond:
- Es ist ein Ros Entsprungen (1,7)
- O Tannenbaum (19) known in English as Oh Christmas Tree
- Stille Nacht (62) known in English as Silent Night
And finally here are the Latin carols which I have highlighted in fuchsia:
- Adeste Fideles (34) known in English as Come All Ye Faithful
- Personent Hodie (14,59)
- Quem Pastores Laudavere (21,24,43)
My primary reference for solving this crossword was a list of carols that I found on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_carols). However even it did not reveal Cranbrook at all and, while it mentions Quem Pastores Laudavere in the section on German carols, this carol does not have an entry of its own.
My favourite clues are 12dn (NO CAN DO), 23ac (HERO), 36ac (CLIMBED), 45ac (THOR) and 52dn (BEFELL).
ACROSS
1, 7 Awfully uninteresting responses (2,3,3,3,11)
ES IST EIN ROS ENTSPRUNGEN – anagram (awfully) of UNINTERESTING RESPONSES
13 Like laciest pants? (7)
ELASTIC – anagram (pants) of LACIEST
14, 59 Individual by hospital department shook driver regularly (9,5)
PERSONENT HODIE – PERSON (individual) + ENT (hospital department) + [s]H[o]O[k] D[r]I[v]E[r]
15 Indifferent to pain, one in bed’s turning over (5)
I (one) in COTS (beds) backwards (turning over)
16 Rude word in the boat-house (4)
OATH – hidden word
17, 25 Modern female in pieces left organised silent event in Mansfield (2,3,2,2,5,6)
IL EST NE LE DIVIN ENFANT – anagram (organized) of SILENT EVENT IN [m]AN[s]FIELD
18 Hit back with a harsh criticism (7)
PATAPAN – TAP (hit) backwards (back) + A (a) + PAN (harsh criticism)
20 Kill miserly Scots, having admitted indications of excess (7)
GAROTTE – OTT (indications of excess) in (having admitted) GARE (miserly Scots).
21 Who, in France, has time to leave? (4)
QUIT – QUI (who in France) + T (time)
22 See 48
23 Obviously the girl’s love! (4)
HERO – HER (the girl’s) + O (love)
26 Around Bergen, single garfish (5-4)
GREEN-BONE – anagram (around) of BERGEN + ONE (single). Garfish are fish that are needle-like and the Green-Bone is one specie.
27 Tea for Two at the dance (3-3)
CHACHA- CHA (tea…) + CHA (…for two)
28 Some fantasies taken during afternoon rest(6)
SIESTA – hidden word
31 City girl entertaining star (3,5)
LAS VEGAS – VEGA (star) in (entertaining) LASS (girl)
33 Movable image in film (6)
AVATAR – double definition, the first being cryptic
34 Song about region out east in the US (7)
ARIZONA – ZON[e] (region out east) in (about) ARIA (song)
36 Mounted, like a centipede? (7)
CLIMBED – C-LIMBED (like a centipede?)
37 Flatterers removing their last bit of chaff in farm machines (6)
AWNERS – [f]AWNERS (flatteres removing their last bit of chaff). An ‘awn’ is the bristly bit that appears at the top of certain grains and ‘awners’ are machines that remove the awns.
38 Support for parking at Leeds ground (8)
PEDESTAL – P (parking) + anagram (ground) of AT LEEDS
40 Insincere fellow to ask questions about sport (6)
POSEUR – POSE (to ask questions) + RU (sport) backwards (about)
41 Feels hurt, seeing pictures figuring in text message (6)
SMARTS – ART (pictures) in (figuring in) SMS (text message)
42 Whence a scene that’s dead (3,2,4)
OUT OF PLAY – double definition
45 God’s sign of the end of winter, reportedly (4)
THOR – homophone (reportedly) of “thaw” (the end of winter)
47 Blackwood, bridge player, rather gaunt (5)
EBONY – E (bridge player) + BONY (rather gaunt)
48, 22 Caught with bird around dilapidated barn (9)
CRANBROOK – C (caught) + anagram (dilapidated) of BARN + ROOK (bird). The discrete word formed by the first four letters in the grid, CRAN, is a very obscure one meaning a capacity unit used for measuring fresh herring.
50 Keen on every other pieces of purees and cheesy dips! (7)
FONDUES – FOND (keen) + [p]U[r]E[e]S
54 Rake accepting large gold coin cylinder (7)
ROULEAU – L (large) in (accepting) ROUE (rake) + AU (gold)
55 Frost’s resting place, as Spooner would say (5,4)
BOARS HEAD – Spoonerism of “hoar’s bed” (frost’s resting place)
57, 58 Cassette recording at arena slowly diminishing (8)
TAPERING – TAPE (cassette recording) + RING (arena)
59 See 14
60 Tedious experience at the side of tug (4,5)
DRAG ALONG – DRAG (tedious experience) + ALONG (at the side of)
61 Labour leader joins Tories after reshuffle — acts suspiciously (7)
LOITERS – L[abour] in (joins) anagram (after reshuffle) of TORIES
62 Starts of late-night athletics arranged (6,5)
STILLE NACHT – anagram (arranged) of L[ate] N[ight] ATHLETICS
63 Trees in leaf, apparently (6,5)
FOREST GREEN – FOREST (trees) + GREEN (in leaf). Forest Green is a colour (RGB 22 8B 22) that, obviously, resembles that of a forest.
DOWN
1 Car from 1967 touring half the capital soon (7)
ERELONG – LON[don] in (touring) E REG (car from 1967). If you do not understand how ‘car from 1967’ clues E REG, please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom#1963_to_1982
2, 32 Was hit badly – perishes in agony (1,3,5,5)
I SAW THREE SHIPS – anagram (badly) of WAS HIT + anagram (in agony) of PERISHES
3 Expressing gratitude with note to gallery (4)
TATE – TA (expressing gratitude) + TE (note)
4 Revised detail in crown and bow (7,6)
INCLINE TOWARD – anagram (revised) of DETAIL IN CROWN. Surely the definition here is not sufficient: I think it should be “bow before” or “bow to”.
5 Coin rhyming with 11 (5)
RUPEE – rhyme of “groupie” (11)
6 Parts of a fugue – one finally started by trios from Stravinsky and completed similarly by Tippett (7)
STRETTI – STR[avinsky] + [tipp]ETT + I (one)
7 In rising river, perch slowly disappeared (6)
ERODED – ROD (perch) in (in) DEE (river) backwards
8 More than just this single resident of Ambridge in group (3,9)
THE SEARCHERS – THESE (more than just ‘this’) + ARCHERS (more than just resident of Ambridge)
9 Dishonest scheme demanding an erection (3-2,3)
PUT-UP JOB – double definition
10 Hassles with top dentures? (6)
UPSETS – UP SETS (top dentures)
11 Young female follower’s unending sorrow about the press (7)
GROUPIE – OUP (the press) in (about) GRIE[f] (unending sorrow)
12 Bottle party? (2,3,2)
NO CAN DO – cryptic definition!
19 Poor Beaumont embraces girl (1,10)
O TANNENBAUM – ANN (girl) in (embraces) anagram (poor) of BEAUMONT
21, 24, 43 That French member (Lady Nancy) could become suave leader (4,8,9)
QUEM PASTORES LAUDAVERE – QUE (that French) + MP (member) + ASTOR (Lady Nancy) + anagram (could become) of SUAVE LEADER
25 See 17
26 First prize to “Copper” and “Penny” at Cheltenham horse race (4,3)
GOLD CUP – GOLD (first prize) + CU (copper) + P (penny)
27 Company opening next to railway (8)
COVENTRY – CO (company) + VENT (opening) + RY (railway)
29 Oxygen provided during close call (5)
SHOUT – O (oxygen) in (during) SHUT (close)
30, 44 Crude bum annoyed a lady (4,3,8)
ADAM LAY YBOUNDEN – anagram (crude) of BUM ANNOYED A LADY
32 See 2
34 Fermented ales feed diets (6,7)
ADESTE FIDELES – anagram (fermented!) of ALES FEED DIETS
35 Chef cooked corn and lamb around start of year (7,5)
RAYMOND BLANC – Y[ear] in anagram (cooked) of CORN AND LAMB
39 Eccles, say, will talk at length (4)
GOON – GO ON (talk at length)
43 See 21
44 See 30
45 Goblin-like creature in the south (7)
TORCHES – ORC (goblin-like creature) in (in) THE (the) + S (south)
46 Religious group irregularly poised to seize university (4,3)
OPUS DEI – U (university) in (t0 seize) anagram (irregularly) of POISED
49 Leave hastily having to cursorily dismiss absent bishop (4,3)
RUSH OFF – [b]RUSH OFF (cursorily dismiss absent bishop)
51 Treads that are relative (7)
STEP SON – STEPS ON (treads)
52 Happened to live on upland tract (6)
BEFELL – BE (to live) + FELL (upland tract)
53 Sailor upset another on the Rock? (6)
BASALT – AB (sailor) backwards (upset) + SALT (another [sailor])
56 Seeing bears regularly on mountain (5)
EIGER – [s]E[e]I[n]G [b]E[a]R[s]
58 See 57
Thanks for the blog. I must say I found this a lot more straightforward than I was expecting.
Pete I don’t know how you do it. I agree the carols were quite obscure, not all well-known. I fear it took the pleasure of ou this for me, ( and I didn’t do very well)
Malcolm, I know well that you are not the only one.
Thanks, Gozo and Pete! Challenging puzzle for holiday. I’m a musician with church experience so I knew many of the carols; Oxford Book of Carols was a good reference for the Latin ones. However, I didn’t know CRANBROOK and had to guess from crossers, then looked it up online. It’s not a familiar tune at all, at least in the US. That was really obscure. We sing that hymn to other tunes. I agree the choice of carols was not simple.
Thanks for explaining E REG in 1d.
Hi Jeff, Thanks for commenting. I was a bit sorry that Gozo missed my favourite carol, The Holly and the Ivy. It is one that, I believe, is not so well known in the US.
Pete @5: It is known here tho maybe not the most popular. Agree it’s a favorite.
All in perspective and exposure. I found this easier than last year’s Xmas puzzle which was about the Carry On series, of which I had never seen any at the time. Learning lots about U.K. culture from cryptics. Someday I’ll figure out cricket…
With a chorister background I had an advantage, knowing all the carols. So I could concentrate on the remainder, which were all entertaining. It was a great Christmas cracker — thanks, Gozo and Pete.
Bless me, a typically indigestible Chrismas cracker from the reliably misguided Drunkirk, my favorite Irish setter, and dog my cats if the theme ain’t right up my scratching post, those lovable felines from “Cats” (seen Broadway production 1,462 times, missed a matinee once). As such had an easy job punching in the familars; SNOTWHISKERS, MISSTERRI EARMITES. TIM-TAM-FISTULA and the rest.
It was after moving to the non-themes that bafflement set in. Never had much luck with those tiny English towns no one visits, still I couldn’t find NORTHUMBLYBRONCESTERSHIRE on a map nor its alleged Co. Fish. ZUFWPWEEDI was unknown to me; possibly an editor should have caught this. And I’m sure “Porridge Mop” is not a proper anagram for LEON SPINKS; perhaps a new type of cluing I hadn’t encountered before – no matter, I got it in and there’s nothing wrong with this puzzle that a razor blade and a glue stick or two can’t put right. As always, a pointless and misshapen outing – thank you, Drunkirk – now run like hell.
(Hope I posted this in the right forum, can’t bother to check, but Happy New Year to all.)
Thanks to setter & solver – I certainly agree concerning the carols, but I suppose it wouldn’t have been much of a Christmas challenge if they were all “Good King Wenceslas” and the like… (I was a bit disappointed when none of the counts were 4,4,9 but at least 1,10 made it in). I did have to resort to the wikipedia list to find the QUEM one.
Just to prove that I read the whole bog – in 19d the girl is just ANN right?
NO CAN DO was very cute
custard, Thank you for your observation about 19dn. I had it wrong and have now corrected my explanation.
Thanks Pete. Always a pleasure to read your blogs. I realised before Christmas that this puzzle would be beyond me, so if you made only one trivial error I conclude that you must be Gozo!
Thanks Gozo and Pete (and a belated Happy New Year)
This took up five different sittings between the 29th and 4th to complete and to be truthful started to become more of a grind than a pleasure at times – however it accomplished its purpose to soak up some leisure time in a part of AUS that fortunately wasn’t on fire at the time ! Was unfamiliar with most of the carols / tunes which meant that the Wiki page of carols was open throughout to the extent that I couldn’t be bothered parsing one of them – 17A, 25A.
Having said that, there were some excellent other clues sprinkled throughout the puzzle, including STRETTI (a new word for me) and THE SEARCHERS (once I understood what ‘Ambridge’ had to do with it). Not sure how many folk in the UK would’ve picked up on the E REG at 1d and even less, we foreigners.
With regard to a couple that you had queries on: 63A – thought it was FOREST (trees) + GREEN (in leaf, apparently), 4D – would have thought by definition a bow would be to INCLINE TOWARD rather than in any other direction, no ? and in 8D was thinking that the clue hinted at THESE ARCHERS (plural) rather than just THIS ARCHER. (single).
Finally finished in the central bottom with CRANBROOK and RUSH OFF.
Wouldn’t have envied you the task of doing the blog … and think that you nailed it !
Bruce, Happy New Year to you. You prompted me to rethink the FOREST GREEN clue and modify my commentary on it. Thanks.
psmith, Thanks for commenting. I am fairly sure I am not Gozo 😉
Pete, thanks for finally resolving some problems I had with this one and for persevering when so many of us clearly fell by the wayside. I also benefitted from the carols listing on the internet, and from being in a choir but that didn’t mean I managed to finish it. I was also unfamiliar with ‘stretti’ and with ‘gare’ despite the fact I lived in Scotland for ten years. And ‘no can do’ was sweet, in the modern sense of ‘an intensive used to express satisfaction, acceptance, pleasure, excellence, exaltation, approval, awe, or reverence’.