Matches occur in 6 rows with all clues containing 2 definitions – the ones with clashes only giving the wordplay to the common letters and not the ones that need to be added and shown in the central columns. Sounds confusing but relatively straight forward once you get the hang of it.
There are 2 different types of clues to solve:
- Rows A, C, D, F, G and I – each with 2 definitions to words that differ by one letter. The common letters being indicated by the cryptic wordplay. First definition goes in the left hand side – these clues thus define the correct solution as otherwise it could be reversed.
- The other rows/ down clues are simply two clues rolled into one and entered where the clues above allow them to be.
Once you get that, it is just a simple crossword with a hidden reveal to come.
The letters omitted yield
BR
YA
NT
AN
DM
AY
or ‘Bryant and May’ – the famous British match manufacturer (hence the title).
A lovely puzzle – thanks Kcit
Key – underline definition; * anagram; Rev. reversed; DD Double definition
Italic words are wordplay
Across
A Superior accommodation in home you once requested (6)
pad (home) around ye (you once) = PAYED – pay bed (Superior accommodation) – prayed (requested)
B Judge one area over being ready for Chinese/ seaweed and Australian fish (4)
J (judge)+ i (one) + a (area) + o (over) = JIAO
a (australian) + gar (fish) = AGAR
C Harbour given lifeline initially, with corporation opening (6)
port (harbour) + l (lifeline initially) = PORTL – portly (with corporation) – portal (opening)
D Readily sniffing things out, taking time in a former court, perceptive (6)
a + sue (former court) around t (time) = ASUTE – nasute(readily sniffing things out) + astute(perceptive)
E See you ignoring good lawgiver to take metal, we hear (5)
So long (see you) – g (good) = SOLON
Homonym of Steal (take) = STEEL
F Zoological cases from that time originally explored carefully in article (6)
ec (originally explored carefully) in The (article) = THECE Thecae (Zoological cases) – Thence(from that time)
G Cleaner not entirely rigorous following University assembly (6)
stern (rigorous) – n after u (university) = duster (cleaner) muster (assembly)
H Slanting cut I put in root all but starts to afford cherry excellent fruit (4)
starts to afford cherry + ai (excellen) = ACAI
base(root) – e (all but) around I = BIAS
I Suffering tremor, getting old, inquire about hospital getting Eastern tree’s product (6)
ask (inquire) around h (hospital) + e (eastern) = ASHKE ashake (suffering tremor) ashkey (tree’s product)
/ (Break in clues)
Down
1 Stop benefit sustaining cloudy/ Pacific area, heading for uproar in Pacific, initially? (5)
dole (benefit) around c (cloudy) = DOLCE
Papa (Pacific initially) around u (heading for uproar) = PAPUA
2 No longer easy filling time at his/ age, mostly taking in game eagerly (4)
Hidden timE AT His = EATH
ag (age mostly) around go (game) = AGOG
3 Yard upset local beat/ bobby, finally, with a heartless rule (manageable for some) (4)
Y (yard) + irk (upset) = YIRK
y (bobby finally) + a + re (heartless rule) = YARE
4 US parents attempt action/ to provide last of school fellows a table (6)
pop (attempt) + pas (action) = POPPAS
do (to provide) + l (last of school) + men (fellows) = DOLMEN
5 European in priesthood/ to start to choke after arrival of a skunk (4)
Hidden priESTHood = ESTH
to + c (start to choke) after a (arrival) = ATOC
6 Course taken, Scots lease/ market for IT in due course with moderation (4)
DD TACK
so (in due course) + ho (moderation) = SOHO
7 Source of Northern lights left weird/ variable star constraining trace of unusual mass swelling (6)
l (left) + eerie (weird) = LEERIE
(star)* around um (trace of unusual mass) = STRUMA
8 End of foray into lake: high point/ – turning up a broken ornamental plate (5)
y (end of foray) in Erie (Lake) = EYRIE
Rev. a = bust (broken) = TSUBA
9 US location as of old, a hot/ slope not initially long (4)
ut (as of old) + a + h(hot) = UTAH
pitch (slope) – p (not initially) = ITCH
10 Maximum audible anger /happens to recur in stretch of river (4)
Homonym of pique (anger) = PEAK
is (happen) x 2 = ISIS
There is a setter’s blog for the puzzle at: http://phionline.net.nz/matches/
I found this quite hard to get into and quite hard to finish (just like the previous EV!). I eventually got started with row G (DUSTER/MUSTER), and the Down clues and answers in that region then helped me with rows F to I.
Seeing ‘and May’ in the middle columns and ‘Matches’ in the title prompted me to enter ‘Bryant’ to complete the name and indeed the theme. Those letters helped with rows C and D, and after some more head-scratching rows A and B were finally filled.
This is a smaller-than-usual puzzle, made even smaller, in effect, by the repeated groups of letters in alternate rows, but it was enjoyable throughout, and I appreciated its original design.
Thanks to Kcit for the puzzle and the link and to twencelas for the blog.
Kcit, thanks for the puzzle and setter’s blog. It was interesting that some thought it easy and some hard. I was both. Once I finished I thought the puzzle was on the easier end because the two sides were identical in places, but I thought it was on the harder end as far as getting started. My first row in was the bottom, and I mostly worked upward. Thanks to twenclas as well. I was unaware of the match company of the same name as the detectives.
Ub – Difficulty is always hard to define. I certainly agree, the initial process to work out how to start the puzzle is probably the hard bit and possibly where many give up, but the clues themselves I would not regard as being difficult – with multiple pointers to the symmetrical grid rows leading to a pretty quick conclusion once a start has been made.
We totally agree with what has already been said. The initial grid seemed to be daunting but once we had started, the solve was relatively easy and finding Bryant and May down the centre was a lovely final touch. Many thanks to Kcit and twencelas.
Good fun to solve and a novel construction. It must have taken some effort to make work in finding pairs of words with the right uncommon letters to form the message. Convinced myself that the central columns were producing Bryan during the solve so had a few moments of wondering who Bryan Tandmay was before the penny dropped. Should have realised this setter would have fully utilised the possibilities of the title. Thanks Kcit for an enjoyable puzzle and the setter’s blog, and to twencelas for the review.
On the day before this appeared I read that the Bryan twins (multiple doubles winners) were to retire from playing tennis MATCHES. How percipient, I thought, to produce a puzzle celebrating their achievements. But how wrong.
As has been noted, once the construction had been understood solving was not too demanding, but elegance of construction far outweighs intrinsic difficulty in my book. A most enjoyable puzzle.
A classic case of where the theme’s cleverly hidden in plain sight (the title). Great fun, on the easier end of the difficulty range. This must have taken a lot of time and skill to construct. Bravo!
I always enjoy reading the setter’s blog, thanks Kcit.