Thanks to Brendan. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
8. Semi-human creature Greek character encountered in youth (8)
MINOTAUR : TAU(nineteenth character in the Greek alphabet) contained in(encountered in) MINOR(a youth/person under the age of full legal responsibility).
9. In front of court, returned fire with maximal accuracy (5)
EXACT : CT(abbrev. for “court”) placed after(In front of …) reversal of(returned) AXE(to fire/dismiss, an employee, say).
10. 12 in place to practice for test (4)
NETS : Double defn: 1st: Scores(answer to 12 across) a goal, say, in a football game; and 2nd: …, a cricket Test match, that is.
11. Grand star risks changing into costume for South Pacific (5,5)
GRASS SKIRT : G(abbrev. for “grand”) + anagram of(… changing) STAR RISKS.
12. See 22
14. With paper around, secures floral decorations (8)
GARLANDS : Reversal of(… around) RAG(a newspaper) plus(With …) LANDS(secures/succeeds in obtaining).
15, 17. 22 12 and regain self-possession? (3,4,3,4)
GET ONE’S OWN BACK : [GET … BACK](to regain/to obtain … after losing it) [ONE’S OWN](what belongs to oneself/one’s self-possession, you might say).
Defn: …/answer to 22 12 across.
17. See 15
20. Cheerful and not daft, consuming a half of stout (8)
SANGUINE : SANE(not daft/sensible) containing(consuming) 1st 4 letters of(a half of) “Guinness”(a kind of strong dark beer/stout).
22, 12. 9 19, or 4 25? (6,6)
SETTLE SCORES : SETTLE(to reach agreement about an action or event/to arrange/answer to 4 down) + SCORES(collectively, music/answer to 4 down 25 across).
Defn: To exact(answer to 9 across) revenge(answer to 19 down).
23. Constant backer interrupting game (10)
CHANGELESS : ANGEL(a financial backer/investor) contained in(interrupting) CHESS(the board game).
24. 22 in liquid, small well’s contents? (4)
SINK : S(abbrev. for “small”) + INK(an inkwell’s contents).
Defn: To settle(answer to 22 across) down to the bottom of a body of liquid.
25. Equipment for performer absorbing us in this? (5)
MUSIC : MIC(informal term for a microphone/sound equipment used by a performer of music, say) containing(absorbing) US.
Defn: …, ie. what we might/? be absorbed in/enthralled by during a performance.
26. Old weapon in framework had ugly appearance (8)
GRIMACED : MACE(an old-fashioned weapon/a heavy club with a spiked metal head) contained in(in) GRID(a framework/a mesh).
Down
1. Know-all I found on ocean in ragtag crew (8)
WISEACRE : [I placed above(found on, in a down clue) SEA(the ocean)] contained in(in) anagram of(ragtag) CREW.
2. 12 leading characters in Last of the Summer Wine, mostly (4)
LOTS : [1st letters, respectively, of(leading characters in) “Last of the Summer Wine“] minus its last letter(mostly).
Defn: Answer to 12 across/many.
3. Crone serving Americans food often accompanied by piped 25 (6)
HAGGIS : HAG(a crone/an ugly old woman) plus(serving) GIS(soldiers in the US Army).
Defn: Scottish dish served at a Burns Night dinner accompanied by bagpipe music(answer to 25 across).
4. Initially, Ronald Reagan represented order (7)
ARRANGE : Anagram of(… represented) [1st letter of(Initially) “Ronald” + REAGAN].
5. Daughter put in first green herbaceous plant (8)
BEDSTRAW : D(abbrev. for “daughter”) contained in(put in) BEST(the first/the top) + RAW(green/inexperienced).
6. Fast American runner or weightlifter, poor sportsman (10)
JACKRABBIT : JACK(a weight lifter/device used for lifting heavy weights) + RABBIT(a poor/ineffective sportsman).
7. Moved to cellar, say, to put in second kind of wine (6)
STORED : TO contained in(put in) [S(abbrev. for “second” in time notation) + RED(a kind of wine)].
13. Change layout of European newspaper in advance (10)
REORGANISE : [E(abbrev. for “European”] + ORGAN(a medium of communication, such as a newspaper, on behalf of an organisation)] contained in(in) RISE(advance/progress, up the ranks of an organisation, say).
16. English team replacing head of business in crisis (8)
EXIGENCY : [E(abbrev. for “English”) + XI(Roman numeral for “eleven”/a sports team of 11 players)] replacing 1st letter of(head of) “agency”(a business providing a service on another’s behalf).
18. Person leaving vessel with one? Something used in kitchen (8)
COLANDER : CO-LANDER(what you might call/? a person who alights from/leaves a vessel together with another).
19. For instance, certainly not turning over what should be cooled before serving? (7)
REVENGE : Reversal of(… turning over, in a down clue) [EG(abbrev. for “exempli gratia”/for instance/for example) + NEVER!(certainly not!/not ever)].
Defn: What is best served cold, as the saying goes.
21. Party outside hotel, a lot of work? (2-4)
AT-HOME : H(letter represented by “hotel” in the phonetic alphabet) contained in(outside …,…) [A + TOME(a large book/a literary work).
Defn: … in a person’s home.
22. Bird is spotted when inside hide (6)
SISKIN : IS contained in(spotted when inside) SKIN(… of an animal/a hide).
24. Placed around a 22 across, say (4)
SEAT : SET(placed/laid out) containing(around) A.
Defn: An example of which/say, is a “settle”(answer to 22 across).
Thanks Brendan and scchua
This was fun. CHANGELESS was favourite.
Apart from the surface, of course, I don’t see what “wine” contributes to 2d.
[When the school where I taught put on a production of “South Pacific”, the only grass skirt was worn by the character Luther Billis, played, with great panache, by Krishnan Gurumurthy (as he was styled at the time).]
muffin, it’s LOTSW minus its last letter.
2d – minus its last word ?
Lovely little puzzle to start the year. No moans from me today!
Thanks to Brendan and to scchua.
Loved this. Took far too long to see the “chilled” reference to REVENGE but a lovely penny-drop when it happened.
Muffin @1: I took “mostly” to mean that the last bit (wine) was not involved.
Many thanks, Brendan, and scchua for the beautifully illustrated blog.
HNY everyone.
Apologies to all re LOTS – slow typist.
I think in 3d GI’s are ‘serving Americans’ in the wordplay. I did find this a tough start to the year. Thanks for the blog Schua and Brendan for the puzzle.
Thanks maheni and Brendan, for the explanation to EXIGENCY, and for a pleasing crossword.
I didn’t think I was going to get started with this – SEAT was the only one I found on first run through, and that was a little uncertain because of lack of 22a at this stage. I must admit to checking frequently throughout, as I guessed quite a few of the ones containing cross references and needed the confirmation. However 22, 12 I didn’t complete until almost the end.
Enjoyable in the end
Delighted to encounter Brendan on the first day of a new year but was worried by the cross referencing which can sometimes leave the whole puzzle dependent on cracking a particular clue or two. ARRANGE was first in, followed by GRASS SKIRT; two easy anagrams. The latter gave me HAGGIS which tipped me off that 25a had to be MUSIC and then we were away with everything else falling in a highly satisfactory manner. Even remembered a few of the tricks that so often beat me – rabbit for sportsman, WISEACRE which I only see in crosswords, the half of Guinness and even the backer did turn out to be the angel I hoped.
Particular favourites included EXACT, SANGUINE, SINK, LOTS, EXIGENCY, COLANDER (co-lander indeed!) and the beautiful REVENGE. The realist in me doubts that we’ll be able to keep this standard up all year but it’s been a great way to start.
Thanks Brendan and scchua
I used to despair when I saw a puzzle with so many cross-references, but I am beginning to have the virtues of patience forced on to me. I get a vague sense of guilt, when I solve them “the wrong way round” as it were, in this case HAGGIS leading to 25 across and SETTLE SCORES to REVENGE.
Will we get a discussion about the appropriateness of GRASS SKIRT?
Thanks scchua @2. Yes, take the first letters, then lose the last one, rather than lose the last word from Last of the summer wine. I didn’t see that.
Slightly trickier than I was expecting from Brendan but as enjoyable as ever. Thanks to him and scchua
In 10ac would not ‘practise’ have been more appropriate?
(Phew! Getting a moan in after all).
Great puzzle. However I failed on BATS at 10a and filled in SETS as a guess (anagram of TEST). Loved 8a MINOTAUR, 3d HAGGIS and 19d REVENGE (as already praised above). Terrific blog, scchua, and thanks for the puzzle, Brendan.
Anna @12
Yes, “practice” is the noun, not the verb.
Thanks. Your underlining in 25a seems wrong.
Very enjoyable, especially the interlinked clues once I’d got a handle on them. Many thanks to Brendan and scchua, and a Happy New Year to all.
Yep Myrvin,I think the def is just ‘this’.
Unless we are all missing something subtle I think 2d is a poor clue in an otherwise glorious puzzle.
A friend suggested that the wine mostly part of the clue could be a reference to (MER)LOTS and I think that’s better than any other explanation.
Great puzzle. Like Petert @9 I used to quail at puzzles with lots of cross references but when the penny droips they’re wonderful. Great puzzle, Brendan with the surface for 19dn being my particular favourite. I needed sschua’s help parsing 18dn; these clues are only obvious when they’re pointed out to you.
Happy New year to everyone.
My guess is that any objectors to 2 down are unaware of what I believe was the UK’s longest-ever running SitCom Last of the Summer Wine, which explains the use of ‘characters’ inter alia.
Perfectly aware of the sitcom Tim. Simply questioning what appears to be superfluous words in the clue
gsolphotog @ 18
I don’t think it can be that because ‘wine’ is singular and your friend’s suggested ‘(mer)lots’ is plural.
Agree, Anna, and besides, 4 out of 7 characters is stretching the intent of ‘mostly’.
I did like the way this fitted together after initial reservations about seeing so many cross references amongst the clues. The SISKIN seems to appear on a frequent basis in crosswords, though haven’t seen one in the back garden for a while…
I can’t see the problem with 2d. We accept “mostly” as an indicator to knock off a letter or two from a word; why not from a set of first letters, especially when they make sense as a group and in the surface of the clue?
gsolphtog @21: I am not seeing any superfluous words in the clue at all. “12 leading characters in Last of the Summer Wine, mostly”: 12 – definition – SCORES = lots. leading characters in Last of the Summer Wine = LOTSW. mostly = drop the W.
Favourites: EXIGENCY, JACKRABBIT, SINK (loi)
Did not parse SANGUINE
New SISKIN, BEDSTRAW
Thanks B+S
Indeed, “12 leading characters in Last of the Summer” doesn’t work at all.
A lovely puzzle this morning with quite a few “doh” moments. COTD was 3d because HAGGIS is virtually impossible to find in America (I tried – Burn’s Night without Haggis is unthinkable and weed is more readily available in NorCal) and one thing I loathe is piped music of the Muzak type (although piped music of the bagpipe type is wonderful).
DNKs for me were WISEACRE (although fuzzy logic seems to recognise it somehwere) and BEDSTRAW.
Thanks Brendan and scchua
[By way of HNY, I give you bagpipes via the fabulous Red Hot Chilli Pipers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIvzPoA-Vq0%5D
And agree, Tomsdad @6, re GIs = ‘serving Americans’. Nice NYD puzzle, with the circular refs not too tortuous. Dnk the bird or the plant, but again no real pain. Thanks both, great pics as per, scchua.
Happy New Year to one and all.
Thanks to Brendan and scchua.
I agree with PostMark @26 about 2D. It has neither superfluous words nor a batty surface.
Penfold @31
“wine” is only needed for the surface, so could be argued to be superfluous to the wordplay.
Surely the surface is (Norah) Batty?
The intertwined clued held out for a while and were solved in the “wrong” order. It’s a device I quite enjoy. LOI was GRIMACED.
Thanks to Brendan for a good start to the year and to scchua for the illustrated elucidations.
Penfold @31: indeed. Rather well compo-sed imho and nothing foggy about it.
Some trivia regarding LOTSW: there were 294 episodes between 1973 and 2010 and Peter Sallis appeared in every one as Clegg (and was the only member of cast to do so). Jane Freeman (Ivy in the cafe) and Kathy Staff (Nora Batty) come second and third with 273 and 246 respectively. Fifteen characters appeared in more than 100 episodes – which would suggest to me that the entire clue is well supported – I had wondered at first if the ’12’ was open to challenge.
Lovely start to the year, I do like Brendan lots. Thanks both and a HNY to all.
Late to the party today, with nothing to add to the praise for a lovely puzzle.
Warm wishes to everyone for a better 2021 and many thanks to Brendan for a great start to the year and scchua for the blog.
Very subtle AlanC @35. I realise the references to Peter Sallis have furnished me with today’s earworm – Corporal Clegg from Pink Floyd’s Saucerful of Secrets all the way back in 1968.
Thanks for the heads up.
I just needed to reveal 20a, I would never have twigged the stout. For a tricky Brendan puzzle, that represents a good effort for me.
Happy New Year all.
PostMark : “Mrs Clegg you must be proud of him? Mrs Clegg, another drop of gin?”, the years roll back!
I dont mind if all the clues are cross referenced if Brendan is in charge.
A class act-lovely start to the year!
Thanks all.
HNY to all..and, as one of my mates texted, here’s to a future in which Corona is just beer and Donald is a duck..
I’m usually not a great fan of cross-references either, but today’s were very good and if anything added to the appeal of the puzzle. I’m afraid I hardly ever saw ‘Last Of The Summer Wine’ so my favourites will have to be the excellent defs for HAGGIS and especially REVENGE.
This was another enjoyable, not too fearsome puzzle to get the New Year off on a good cruciverbal footing.
Thanks and happy New Year to scchua, Brendan and again to the Fifteensquared community
I finished this and found it relatively easy, simple even, for a Brendan, whereas I (almost) finished yesterday’s and also found it (relatively) easy (though unusual) for a Paul. I enjoyed them both.
I deliberately haven’t read any of today’s comments yet and may choose not to do so at all if I get the impression that the rancour of yesterday is likely to become a permanent feature on these boards. [To me it seemed that there was lot of unnecessary harrumphing going on and much of the criticism seemed unfair and uncalled for.
Any road up, I hope we all have a happy and prosperous 2021. We can but hope! 🙂 ]
Very enjoyable. A cracking start to the year. HNY to all.
Thanks both,
I thought ‘cheerful’ was inexact for ‘sanguine ‘ which I would use to mean ‘unruffled’ and the OED gives ‘hopeful’ or ‘confidant’ for. Otherwise a classy puzzle.
A very impressive start to the year (even though it’s left me with the ear-worm of the LotSW’s gentle theme tune) My favourite was REVENGE.
Thanks to Brendan and Scchua
Rather clever start to the year and far better than the one that ended it. Yes, 2021 is obviously going to be fantastic all the way through!
Thank you, Brendan for an entertaining puzzle and scchua for your usual delightfully illustrated blog.
Has anybody bere actually used an inkwell? Even before there were ballpoints there were fountain pens, which carried their own inkwells. Of course, we still know the word.
I still think “wine” is superfluous to the wordplay even if it does bring pleasant memories to some. Why not just say, “Last of the soup”?
Happy New Year to all. My happy new year will start on Jan 20, Inauguration Day.
I think Brendan is my favourite setter, and I love his trademark interweaving and overlapping links. Today I really liked 20a SANGUINE and 19d REVENGE. Also 8a for its surface bringing to mind (for me at any rate) the centaur Chiron and the young Jason.
Many thanks Brendan and scchua.
Valentine @48
In my first year at primary school we had inkwells and dip pens. I think the ink was a mixture of soot and water. We were allowed fountain pens, pencils and (horror!) ballpoints after that.
Like others my heart sank when I saw the cross-references but after a little thought I suddenly got them all in a rush and thought I was well on my way. Sadly the rest took me quite a while and I had to do a couple of reveals. I needed help parsing BEDSTRAW (which I hadn’t heard of) and EXIGENCY, but still I enjoyed the puzzle – it was very satisfying whenever I worked out a clue.
I remember watching the first 3 or 4 series of Last of the Summer Wine – loved it.
Thanks to Brendan and Scchua
Valentine @48. “Why not just say, “Last of the soup”?” Well, because “Last of the Summer Wine“ is a well-known long-running UK TV series, and “last of the soup” is something you’ve just made up!
I used an inkwell at school in the early 1960s. We had pens made of wood with a slot in the end for inserting a nib, which we then dipped in the inkwell that was situated in a hole in the right hand back corner of each desk. My writing was shockingly bad, and didn’t really improve much when I started using fountain pens (aged about 10 or 11, I think). It wasn’t until ball-point and felt-tip pens were available that I was able to write without unsightly splotches.
Guess I’m too thick to have worked out “tau” and “minor”. I had read it as Greek character (Theseus) had encountered the semi-human creature (Minotaur) “in youth” (when he (Theseus) wuz but a young lad). Does that make sense? A double definition? Perhaps not…
sheffield hatter @52 & Valentine @48: as you’ll have gathered, I’m in a mood to defend 2d – and I still believe it reads perfectly well as it stands. Hatter’s point mirrors my own reaction – “12 leading characters in last of the soup” may have no superfluous words but doesn’t the surface seem a teensy bit odd? If folk really want to go down this line, there was a Netflix series ‘Love on the Spectrum’ following a group of individuals in their quest for love. That would give LOTS. I suspect there will be fewer solvers aware of the programme – and I read there were only 11 individuals being followed in the series which makes ’12’ rather hard to justify – but it would cut two words out of the clue…
PostMark @54
Yes, I agree that LOTSW is well known and makes a lot more sense than “last of the soup”. However it remains the case that “wine” is only there for the surface, and plays no part in the wordplay. “mostly” wouldn’t be needed if “wine” wasn’t there.
I thought 21d also had another definition as “a lot of work” has been AT-HOME this year. Thanks scchua and Brendan.
muffin @50 and sheffield Hatter@ 52 The thought of allowing six-year-olds to use real ink in inkwells staggers me. At that age we had to use pencils, period!
muffin@55 makes my LOTS point better than I did;
I meant Junior school, in fact – I would have been seven!
muffin @55 But “wine” is there, so “mostly” is needed. It’s all part of the wordplay. It’s like any subtraction device, it’s removing something that isn’t needed for the answer but is present in the wordplay. The fact that the word is only there to be removed is neither here nor there, in my opinion – that’s part of the misdirection.
MarkN @59. That’s exactly what I wanted to say – but I’m sure more elegantly and succinctly than I would have managed.
MarkN @59
Yes, it’s a fair clue; quite a nice one, in fact. However some posters were insistent that there are no superfluous words – I don’t agree that this is the case. I suppose it comes down to the interpretation of “superfluous”! I have a (slight) preference for clues to be as short as possible, while still working.
Wonderful puzzle and beautifully clear parses for everything. REVENGE was particularly sweet, and WISEACRE was very satisfying too; not that the surface is particularly smooth but I appreciate it when a word is concealed in another in a surprising way, as when SEA bridges two syllables here. MINOTAUR is particularly elegant on the surface, too.
SISKIN was last one in and technically I had to reveal it because I was trying SASKIN, with AS for “when.” This is one I’d quibble about the wordplay a bit–“spotted when” doesn’t seem to be doing anything but filling out the surface. I don’t have an issue with LOTSW; it’s true, as muffin says @55, that “mostly” wouldn’t be needed if “wine” weren’t there, but given that “mostly” is in there it seems fair.
Like many I was intimidated by the number of cross-references but there were enough straightforward answers to give me a purchase on these. I think that can be the secret to making a puzzle enjoyable; make sure there are multiple ways into the puzzle so if the solver gets stuck on one or two things that would ordinarily be accessible, there’s another way into it. Similarly with individual clues; sometimes I work out the parsing logically and see how it’s the word, but quite often I’m guessing at the word and working out the parsing, or semi-guessing at the parsing and seeing what words might result, which can be OK if there is one obscure element; but if there are two obscure elements it makes it very hard if one doesn’t know either of them. Like this:
Shelter almost covering everything, sensible concerning duty (13)
I imagine would be hard to get even if I spot you D???T???????L.
[spoiler space]
It’s DEONTOLOGICAL, “concerning duty” in philosophy: DE(n) “shelter almost” ONTO “covering everything” (as a mathematical function, a surjection is sometimes called an “onto” function) LOGICAL “sensible.” But if you’re not a philosopher DEONTOLOGICAL is hard to get, and if you’re not a mathematician ONTO is hard to get, so if you’re neither what are you to do?
And I meant to say, thank you Brendan and scchua!
I took COLANDER to be Co-lander, as the two US astronauts were who left one behind in the orbiting command vehicle.
[When I was first taken to see the Head Teacher of my Primary School, I was so fascinated by his inkwell that I turned it over on his desk to see what was in it.]
I also used inkwells in early school, where other then for lessons we were allowed ballpoints, usually bic.
A common dare was to remove the inktube & point, stick the outer case into the inkwell, and suck.
Blue tongue was the result…
Simon @66
Blue? There’s posh!
Is it relevant that wine is sold in LOTS?
My only problem with this was not having heard of an AT-HOME before. Only just found the party meaning in Collins. Is this a regional term? I never heard it used in the south-east where I grew up.
Classy, as always. Thanks, Brendan and scchua. Love the pics to illustrate the blog.
phitonelly @69. I think an AT-HOME is either very old fashioned or a class thing, probably both. I seem to think I have come across it in Jane Austen (either of the two novels with a Bath setting?), but would be happy to be corrected. Certainly it must have been in something I’ve read, because I’ve never been invited to one…
We have been invited to “at-homes”, but not by friends from this century!
Simon S @66. “…remove the inktube & point, stick the outer case into the inkwell, and suck.” And teachers think they have a hard time of it these days.
In the ’50s here, years 1 and 2 were pencil only, after which pen-nibs were dipped in inkwells, filled every day by a pupil given the job of ‘ink monitor’. Teachers mixed the ink, a powder plus water, and poured it into the dispenser, a ‘dead marine’ (brown 26 fl oz beer bottle) with a rubber spout that fitted over the bottle’s neck and had an air-hole; you tilted the bottle, held the spout over the the inkwell’s mouth, removed your thumb briefly from the airhole and filled the well. Foutain pens, and then ballllpoints (yes, greeted with horror at first), soon took over!
GinF, SH et al
I’ve long suspected that most of us are of similar vintage. I’m still impressed that Simon S had blue ink, not soot and water, though!
What a delight! Enjoyed this IMMENSELY, despite a DNF. Special mention to BEDSTRAW (genus Galium in RUBIACIAE); COTD – CHANGELESS.
Failed SISKIN; sussed early but no crossers yet… inexplicably later entered saskin (when=as “spotted inside” hide=skin)…doh! FYI saskin is sort of a bird ref (google “saskin confused owl”), but SISKIN clearly preferred.
DNK NETS wrt practice… guessed pens (i.e.
scores/writes music), thinking cricket might use baseball’s “bull pen” practice area terminology. Or maybe where you’d keep an animal to practice/prep for an examination or trial. NETS clearly wins.
And DNK AT-HOME as party; guessed ad-homo (party=’a do’ “outside” hotel~hom somehow). Turns out hom is indeed a hotel chain, and Ad’Homo is a two volume French book (labelled “tome” 1 & 2 no less), thus perhaps “a lot of work?”… almost gets there, but AT-HOME is better.
HAGGIS: I too agree w/Tomsdad re GIS=”serving Americans”.
MUSIC: Have to back scchua re the underlining (we recently debated at length on it). Sans context, “this” lacks meaning, so isn’t a defn (by itself, would practically never get someone to MUSIC). Context/defn must lie elsewhere; here it’s by allusion, not strict plug&play synonymy (i.e. answer is a thing (“this” indicates noun) that’s possibly (thus “?”) “absorbing” and from a “performer”). Personally, might underline all (equipment/mic also alluding to MUSIC), tho some frown on partial cads.
SANGUINE: Chambers online has “cheerful, confident and full of hope”.
LOTS: Thought this fine. One could as well argue all the non-initial letters are just for surface so why not drop “leading” and just have “12 characters in LOTSW mostly”; doubt many would find that a satisfactory surface? Strictly speaking, wplay is never “necessary”, it’s only there to make it a puzzle, and it’s setter’s call as to what the puzzle is (within certain rules of fair play). Here we’ve an apt surface (something many value), and all words are accounted in defn/wplay, so seems kosher to me (tho apparently not to everyone’s taste).
Cheers to Brendan for a wonderful puzzle! And as well to scchua for a fine blog, and our commenters for the thoughtful discussion 🙂
muffin, couldn’t swear but I think our ink was blue too. Not posh though, a state primary school of (then) a thousand-plus. Now, with trendification, it’s a school for the children of inner-city leftie-luvvie parents (like my younger cousins). Hey ho.
As for the ‘at-home’, it was Mrs ginf’s and my favourite way of entertaining: mid-arvo til late as you like; choose a time re the rest of your schedule, no obligation, see how you feel on the day; bring the kids early then take them home to the sitter and come back later to dance; eat or don’t, whatever. We had some rippers over the years.
Thanks scchua for explanations and pictures, everyone for discussions.
[In a remarkable coincidence, having polished this off just before lunch I saw SCORES of SISKIN on our afternoon stroll, flitting among the trees at the local skate park thing. I was then hoping to spot 3 men careering down a hill in a bathtub, but to no avail.]
Agree that the linked clues help as they can sometimes work in mysterious ways, such as today when I got REVENGE after SETTLE SCORES and EXACT, having struggled to get any hold on the wordplay/definition and it immediately became my favourite, so thanks Brendan and a Happy New year to everyone.
PostMark@35: lol as I’m usually as subtle as an air raid. SimonS@66: lol again; a Belfast child of the 60s, I remember blues tongues, shirt cuffs but not much on the page apart from ink blots as the nib always divided on contact.
I think 22a 12a was cleverer than you give credit. The answer is SETTLE SCORES and the cross-referenced clues give EXACT REVENGE and ARRANGE MUSIC, both of which can be looked at as meaning SETTLE SCORES
Somewhat puzzled by the kerfuffle about 2dn, but I’ll admit that I tend to superficiality in clues. I don’t get exercised about avoiding superfluous words (for example, i will often add words to make definitions more precise).
Petert @9: Yes, I thought carefully about “grass skirt” which is culturally incorrect, to put it politely. I decided that it was OK in the context of “South Pacific”, much of which bears the same stamp.
I loved all the discussion about inkwells, taking me back to Tramore National School in the 40s, where I would copy worthy sentiments such as “The devil makes mischief for idle hands”.
re grass skirts, see mine @1 – hardly sexist!
Another ink well user here.
Lovely puzzle
Thanks to Brendan and Scchua
Best wishes to all.
Thanks Brendan for an entertaining hour or so, and scchua for the explanations. A great way to start the year.
Out here we used Stephens commercial ink in our inkwells at school and had to use a Perry 105 nib. The fact I remember it means the whole writing idea filled me with horror. It was amazing how far a nib of ink spread. Competitions were held.
I must admit that a cross referenced puzzle does not fill me with the same dread as one that repeats the word “champions” I Find I am appreciating Brendan more and more.
One of the quicker solves in recent times, although I had to admit defeat to EXIGENCY – don’t ask me why I could simply not get this!
Favorite was ARRANGE; kept obsessing about RR before it struck me!
It’s late and has all been said so just time to wish all a HNY and to join in the chorus of self-congratulation (appropriate in this case) for helping to keep each other sane. Thanks Gaufrid.
Thanks for popping in, Brian, and sharing some of your thought process. Much appreciated.
Having read more re grass skirts, have greater appreciation re the tightrope you tried to walk, though in retrospect wonder if that fully succeeded. “South Pacific” is a general term for the region (as well as musical title); in that context costume=”grass skirt” might be seen as perpetuating a stereotype rather than avoiding one? “Risks” does imply negativity of such costumery, though that’s tenuous enough many may miss it. Yes, definitely a tightrope. Cryptic clues are so short, it’s hard to cover the bases.
More problematic may be the photo scchua included, purporting to show a native Hawaii girl, but in a skirt now widely viewed (and often frowned on) as decidedly not traditional and instead a product of western influences (Hawaiian foliage skirts, if worn, apparently would’ve been fresh ti leaves not dry grass, the latter more associated w/vaudevillian portrayals of Hawaiian culture). Might want to consider removing… or perhaps adding comments on cultural context/issues so others can learn from it.
FYI, while researching this, found the following cogent post (and related discussion) re why some feel this sort of thing matters: https://www.quora.com/When-does-wearing-clothing-from-another-culture-e-g-lederhosen-hula-skirts-sombreros-kimonos-cross-from-being-just-fun-to-being-cultural-appropriation
I love the little pictures you post of people/animals/flowers/things some of us might not have heard of. A very nice touch.
A slow but ultimately satisfying solve on a cold, rainy New Year’s Day — SANGUINE, MUSIC, and BEDSTRAW were favourites. Thanks Manehi for the blog as there were a number I couldn’t fully parse. Thanks Brendan.
Brian@81
The point is, that if you focus specifially on the wordplay, you have introduced an extra word – “wine” and a futher extra word – “mostly” – in order to delete it. It’s forgiveable, as the resultant surface is very nice.
Wow! 90 comments so far, and only one grumble – and that was someone grumbling about too many grumbles in yesterday’s blog. No grumbles about today’s crossword.
It’s not often that a crossword gets universal praise (subject only to the tiniest of quiblets), but it’s not surprising that it’s a Brendan puzzle that gets that reaction.
Too many ticks to mention, but my COD is 19d REVENGE, for both the construction and the surface.
I may have missed it, but I saw no mention so far of the mini-theme (perhaps too mini to mention): EXACT REVENGE, SETTLE SCORES, and GET ONE’S OWN BACK. Have I missed any?
[ I remember inkwells at school in the ’50s. Being left-handed was a big and messy handicap, as you can imagine.]
As many have said, what a great way to start the new year. All the best to everyone, and thanks to Brendan for the fun and for joining us afterwards.
Lovely puzzle, much enjoyed. Thank you to Brendan and Scchua, and Happy New Year, All!
(Another inkwell user)
21d. The U pronunciation is (or maybe I should say was) “at ‘ome”. If using this “outside hotel” could have been left out and we could have had another boring discussion about homophones.
I was an inkwell user in the Junior Boys school inthe 1940s too – so long ago that I can’t remember the colour or ingredients of the ink or how it got into the inkwell. I do remember that there were 50+ in the class.
Thanks to Brendan for a fun start to the year and to scchua.
Definitely the best Guardian crossword so far this year. Challenging enough, not too challenging, and great fun.
An interesting and happy place to be on an ominous day. Thanks to glittering Brendan and everyone here – long last the bonhomie. A hug in awe and gratitude to Gaufrid & Co.
Long life.
OddOtter, please note that I deliberately chose not to show a photo of a non-Polynesian nor of a fancy-dress/vaudeville costume.
May I ask on what basis do you say “purportedly”? Not a Polynesian dancer or not a Polynesian skirt? Please note that “grass” skirts, in addition to being made of fresh leaves can also be made from various dried vegetable fibre.
That the Westerners have turned it into a negative stereotype is neither here nor there, is not the Polynesians’ (or my) fault, and does not detract from it being part of their culture.
There is nothing in that photo that speaks of stereotyping or cross-cultural appropriation. I think it’s the frame of the viewer’s mind that causes one to extrapolate and see negativity where there is no cause for it at all.
A Happy New Year to all.
Scchua, thx for following up. Please note that wrt the photo, I ref’d Hawaiian culture in particular (as specifically mentioned in the photo caption), not Polynesian cultures in general as you suggest. Per Wikipedia’s “grass skirt” pg, Hawaii foliage skirts would’ve been fresh leaves from ti plants (which are much broader), and stereotypical grass skirts entered/spread via western influences (incl vaudeville). Other island cultures did use other materials/styles, tho it’s unclear if any would’ve been like that in the photo and attributed to Hawaii. One could certainly question validity of Wikipedia… but the info is attributed to DeSoto Brown of Honolulu’s Bishop Museum; he/they appear to have solid credentials (and have also been covered in USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2012/10/14/hawaii-tourism-grass-skirts-tiki-bars/1624825/). A more personal take (which also asserts the stereotypical grass skirt was not Hawaiian tradition) may be found here: https://granitebaytoday.org/hawaiian-culture-should-not-be-a-costume/). Finally, would point out our setter himself specifically expressed concern about “grass skirt” describing it as ‘culturally incorrect, to put it politely’, and only deeming it ok to include in the intended context of “South Pacific”, the musical, not as a general cultural ref. I think to purport any issue here is all in “the viewer’s mind” is a bit dismissive of the history and valid questions mentioned by more than just me. I could just as well ask re the provenance of that photo, and why it should be considered culturally accurate rather than a reflection of western influence.
Have researched that photo a bit myself. Apparently produced by Keystone View Company (large/popular purveyor of stereoscope imagery), ca 1919… so some 40-50yrs after supposed introduction of grass skirts to Hawaii, late in vaudeville era, and some 20yrs after grass skirts were widely in use by Hawaiian dance entertainers in US & Hawaii. Photo also appears staged; background is indistinct and appears a drawing, plus lighting of subject is clearly fr/left, while tree shadows and lighting on structures indicate lighting fr/right. In confirmation here’s another photo, ca 1922, w/same background, clearly artifial (see far left edge): https://www.loc.gov/resource/stereo.1s12103/. Would definitely question the original historic/cultural accuracy of either of these.
The order of progress in my school was pencils (one per pupil, and you had to return the stub to be allowed a new one), then dip pens with ink (Stephens’ blue-black, in a quart bottle from which inkwells were filled). Fountain pens were a mark of graduation to senior school at 11, and such modern abominations as Biros were not used. The discussion brings back the distinctive smell of ink – I was another who excelled at the smear, the dribble and the blot.
Thanks sccchua for sorting out EXIGENCY – having to remove and replace the first letter of an unknown word was a step too far for me.
OddOtter, I’m not denying nor dismissing the history of a culture (any culture) being stereotyped under Western influence. I’m asking why a photo which admittedly was (intentionally or not – who knows) wrongly captioned, but otherwise on the face of it illustrates a culture (okay, not Hawaiian, but Polynesian/South Pacific), should elicit such issues/questions. I would have deleted the caption if I could. If I did, would that still have been “problematic”, ie. would any picture of a grass skirt be unacceptable?
PS… which reminds me:
Psychologist (showing some ink-blot pictures): I’m going to show you some pictures and you tell me what comes to mind.
Person: I see a couple copulating.
Psychologist: OK. How about this one.
Person: I see a threesome fornicating.
Psychologist: OK. This one.
Person: Same thing.
This goes on in the same vein until finally:
Psychologist: I think I know what’s the problem. You’re obsessed with sex.
Person: Me? Obsessed with sex? Who’s the one showing the dirty pictures?
Scchua, to me it’s about accuracy, verifiability, and respect for the particular cultures. A photo of dubious provenance, portraying attire arguably comparable (and perhaps identical) to that associated with cultural appropriation as well as cultural misrepresentation, and from an era when those issues were in full swing, seems problematic (esp w/out mention of those issues). Deleting the caption, so further obscuring provenance, would only make it worse. Alternately, a photo w/solid support as historically accurate/acceptable (including fr/culture it portrays) would be just fine with me.
I’d also hesitate to wave away distinctions btw island cultures and presume the photo is accurate enough for at least some. Have traveled in Fiji and Tonga and one thing abundantly clear was that each fiercely defended their cultural uniqueness relative to other island cultures (much as native American tribes do)… confusing one w/another was bad enough, confusing one with a caricature of another was worse.
As for your PS, seems pretty irrelevant, and honestly a bit offensive, the rather pointed (and florid) implication again seeming to be this is all in *my* head, despite the setter himself acknowledging it’s a sensitive area, and various online refs backing that up. Show me a photo with stronger credentials and I’ll gladly consider it, but with this one I think skepticism is well warranted.
Amazing the lengths some odd people will go to turn innocent stuff into a self obsession about political correctness.
Please can we keep these unnecessary intrusions out of 225
Gosh, you’re RIGHT… see it now… how SILLY of me, thinking we might be respectful of other cultures… certainly wouldn’t want to be one of THOSE “odd” sorts! So will pack my little soapbox and go… anyone with real interest can read for themselves… perhaps adding these to above links:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/how-americas-obsession-with-hula-girls-almost-wrecked-hawaii/
https://www.adolescent.net/a/why-you-dont-know-about-real-hula
Pedro @102 – hopefully not. The Guardian crossword is officially that of the politically correct.
We know the Guardian is the organ of political correctness VW, which should make it unnecessary to dig and dig in order to try to find something that in some context might be construed as not.
How far should one go? Perhaps 3d (HAGGIS) should be banned because it is stereotypical?
Pedro @105: ‘A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.’ Could we say the same of the Guardian readership/settership/bloggership? 😉
The setter @81 acknowledged that ‘grass skirt’ is ‘culturally incorrect, to put it politely’ – which at least makes it a legitimate subject for discussion, I would have thought.
Mention maybe, but not a protracted sermon :).
My point anyway, was that if someone is determined to find offence where none was intended, it makes sites like this more difficult to read and to run than need be.