Chalmie is this morning's FT setter.
This was possibly the best Chalmie puzzle I have solved, with a range of very good clues.
In order to make sense of some of it, the solver really needs to get the three word phrase in the middle row, from which a host of other clues can then be solved. I'm not 100% sure I have parsed TWIST AND SHOUT correctly, but that is definitely the answer to the clue. The excellent clue for THOUSAND would be impossible without solving TWIST AND SHOUT first, but there are a few other TWISTS and SHOUTS scattered across the grid.
I do have a couple of very minor quibbles – I think "order" may be having to do double duty in BUY A ROUND (29ac) and OVERHAUL at 20dn means more than simply "maintain" in my opinion. I could maintain my car's engine, but I would not be able to "overhaul" it.
Thanks Chalmie.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | PERPETUAL |
A cat for one oddly unable to be immortal (9)
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PER ("a") + PET ("cat for one") + [oddly] U(n)A(b)L(e) |
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| 10 | OVERT |
No-good cabinet minister starts to regret trampolining in public (5)
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(Michael) (g)OVE ("cabinet minister" with no G(good)) + [starts to] R(egret) T(rampolining) |
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| 11 | RANTERS |
“Bishop keeps the first bet on Sunday,” they 19 (7)
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RR (Right Reverend, so "bishop") keeps ANTE ("the first bet") on S(Sunday) |
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| 12 | CURLING |
Sport making a 17 across (7)
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Double defintion |
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| 13 | LEI |
Flower arrangement originally invented by the French (3)
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[originally] I(nvented) by LE ("the" in "French") |
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| 14 | ROTOR BLADES |
Fancy red bar stool has parts which 17 across (5,6)
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*(red bar stool) [anag:fancy] |
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| 17, 18, 19 | TWIST AND SHOUT |
Number Two is getting cut off projects involving horse (5,3,5)
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TWI(n) ("two" getting cut off) + STANDS OUT ("projects") involving H (horse) Number = song Not entirely sure of my parsing here, as "twin" and "two" as synonyms may be pushing it a bit (I was thinking of things like "Twin Towers")? |
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| 21 | OXFORD SHOES |
Farm animal crosses gaps without large footwear (6,5)
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OX ("farm animal") + FORDS ("crosses") + HO(l)ES ("gaps" without L (large)) |
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| 23 | EAT |
Consume energy after the primaries (3)
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E(nergy) A(fter) T(he) [primaries] |
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| 25 | SPOILER |
Airfoil which reveals plot (7)
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Double definition |
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| 27 | WHETHER |
Sharpen woman’s presentation of at least one alternative (7)
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WHET ("sharpen") + HER ("woman's") |
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| 28 | NEPAL |
1 friend missing the old country (5)
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(o)NE PAL ("friend") missing O (old) |
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| 29 | BUY A ROUND |
Posh brand you order when it’s your 19? (3,1,5)
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*(u brand you) [anag:order] where U is "posh" I think the "order" in the clue should be part of the definition, but then it would be doing double duty as it is necessary to indicate the anagram. |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SPIRAL |
17 across edges up to protect artists’ group (6)
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<=LIPS ("edges", up) to protect RA (Royal Academy, so "artists' group") |
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| 2 | BRINDISI |
Foreign bird is in Italian port (8)
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*(bird is in) [anag:foreign] |
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| 3 | CELEBRATOR |
Notable traitor or one likely to 19 (10)
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CELEB ("notable") + RAT ("traitor") + OR |
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| 4 | AUKS |
Like collecting country’s birds (4)
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AS ("like") collecting UK ("country") |
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| 5 | CLOCK RADIO |
Security device stopping credit by commercial satellite alarm (5,5)
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LOCK ("security device") stopping CR (credit) by AD ("commercial") + IO ("satellite" of Jupiter), so C(LOCK)R-AD-IO |
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| 6 | ROAR |
19 ends in disaster to a Republican (4)
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[ends in] (disaste)R (t)O + A + R(Republican) |
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| 7 | PERIOD |
Drink one for New Year? (6)
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PER(n>I)OD ("drink" with I(one) for (i.e.instead of) N(new)) |
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| 8 | STAGE-SET |
Men-only art and French scenery (5,3)
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STAG ("men only") + (ES + ET) ("French" for "are" or "art" (as in "thou art") and "and") |
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| 15 | TRANSCRIBE |
Copy articles about king being guarded by Cherokee? (10)
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ANS ("articles") + c. (circa, so "about") + R (Rex, so "king") being guarded by TRIBE ("Cherokee?") |
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| 16 | LOSES HEART |
Is discouraged as meerkat gets to meat (5,5)
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If "me(erk)"at" LOSES its HEART, it becomes "meat" |
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| 17 | THOUSAND |
Number 17, 18, 19 (8)
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*(and shout) ("18,19") [anag:twist ("17")] |
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| 20 | OVERHAUL |
Drag too much to maintain (8)
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OVER-HAUL ("drag too much"). Not convinced that maintain and overhaul are synonymous – the former implies something more than pure maintenance. |
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| 22 | FLOPPY |
Work with copper to stop 6-footer’s limp (6)
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OP ("work") with P (penny, so "copper) to stop FLY (insect, so "6-footer") |
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| 24 | TIRADE |
Deal with one in series of 19s (6)
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TRADE ("deal") with I (one) in |
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| 26 | LULU |
19 singer mentioned two places to go (4)
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Homophone [mentioned] of LOO + LOO ("two places to go") Lulu had a hit with the song, "Shout". |
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| 27 | WAYS |
Reportedly considers routes (4)
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Homophone [reportedly] of WEIGHS ("considers") |
I rather enjoyed this, having to chip away round the edges to wheedle out the gateway clue.
Then it fell into place
Thanks Chalmie and loonapick
Brilliant! I had TW(o) I(s) for start of 17a.
I was held up by having TREATS for 24; TREAT = ‘deal with’ (‘he treated/dealt with the situation thus…’’) + 1st of Series, definition being ‘it’s my treat/shout’ in plural.
I still think that works. The crossers proved otherwise.
That apart, an excellent and enjoyably quirky puzzle.
Thanks to both
Thanks Chalmie and loonapick. I had 17ac the same way as Hovis @2.
Wonderful! A slow-burn initially having to go all the way to 26d to unlock 17/18/19 and with them the full grid. THOUSAND was brilliant. LOSES HEART, SPOILER and OXFORD SHOES were also very clever.
Thanks to Chalmie And Loonapick from whose blog I gleaned much!
Thanks Chalmie. That was excellent — it was frustrating at 1st until I stumbled into TWIST AND SHOUT which helped of course. THOUSAND was brilliant as was LOSES HEART; I also liked BRINDISI, OXFORD SHOES, NEPAL, and AUKS. Thanks loonapick for parsing — there was some untangling that I didn’t fully see.
Nice one.. We had the Beatles’ Twist and Shout EP when I was young; I found out recently that they weren’t the first to record the song, though they were the first to have a big success with it.
Thanks for the generous praise, loonapick and all.
I share your qualm about BUY A ROUND. I managed to convince myself that the string of words I had written had a bit of an &lit-ish quality if you looked at it in a mirror in uncertain lighting conditions, and you’re only hum-ing and ha-ing about it rather than saying it doesn’t work at all, so perhaps we can agree that it’s not a very good clue and leave it at that.
I agree with Pelham Barton and Hovis about 17/18/19.
Thanks to Chalmie for clearing that up – even though I was fairly ok with the BUY A ROUND clue. The question mark at the end covers the semi &lit nature of the clue, or the double duty being done by ‘order’.
Although I can see that TW(o) I(s) works better than Loonapick’s parsing, as it gives a function to the word ‘is’ in the clue, shouldn’t there be something to indicate that both words lose their final letter? Perhaps I’m being too picky this time!
Thanks too to Loonapick for the parsing of the ‘meerkat’ clue, which I missed. And I had to cheat on CELEBRATOR, having evidently failed to add CELEB to my vocabulary. (Horrible word.)
It took me much longer than I’m prepared to admit to solve the central clue, which was one of the first pop songs I can remember enjoying as a young boy. (Andrew: I think the Isley Brothers version did pretty well in 1962, but only in the States. I would guess that it was their version that the Beatles knew and rearranged.)
Thanks again to Chalmie for the entertainment.
Absolute torture.
May I express my sympathy for, and solidarity with, all of the decent, hardworking, solvers who were unaware of the existence of a fifty-eight year old song entitled ‘Twist and Shout’, and as a result were unable to complete this crossword.
Very much with Gerald@10 n Grumpy@11.. I feel the recent CINEPHILE puzzle highlights how delightful a themed crossword can be.. ah well
Thanks Chalmie n loonapick
If it was absolute torture (Gerald@10), then I’m a masochist. It was/is a super puzzle – probably the best I’ve ever (almost) solved.
I got the Twist and Shout / Lulu etc. answers, possibly because I was 19 years old 58 years ago (Grumpy@11). I had to cheat to get 14 and, to my shame, I failed to get 6 and 7.
Splendid crossword.
I’ve waited to see whether someone would mention 7d (PERIOD) as a favourite.
I don’t think anyone did and so I will do it.
For some reason, this is a really wonderful clue in my book of crosswords.
Many thanks to loonapick & Chalmie.
Nice puzzle, but I take great exception to “airfoil” which is a word I have never encountered before and turns out to be the American version of the familar “aerofoil”. Like the abomination “airplane” I fear it might become commonplace unless action is taken!
Quite a challenge. We eventually teased out 17/18/19 from references in other clues such as 1, 6 and 29, after which we were able to finish, with PERIOD being our LOI. We smiled at the idea of the no-good cabinet minister (which one? – answers on a postcard, please) but our favourite was ROTOR BLADES.
Thanks Chalmie and loonapick
Thanks Chalmie and loonapick
I’m strongly in the “this was a great puzzle” camp – agree with the opening comment in the blog, “This was possibly the best Chalmie puzzle I have solved”! Whilst feeling the frustration initially before cracking the keystone clue across the centre, it is repaid in spades when the chipping away at the crossers finally causes the penny to drop. That happened well after the half way mark for me here.
There was plenty to unpack in the solution of many of the clues and was happy to have seen everything except for the ANS C part of 15d (tried valiantly to find SC as an article). Really enjoy the challenge with clues such as LOSES HEART and thought that the first part of the construction of 17, 18, 19 was quite brilliant.
Finished in well over the hour with LULU (didn’t know her hit with ‘Shout’), CELEBRATOR and RANTERS (with its devious ‘first bet’ definition). Eagerly look forward to his next one !!!
I just got round to doing this one and really enjoyed it – never completely parsed 17/18/19 but it didn’t feel like that was really necessary. I am happy with the imperative “Buy a round” as equivalent to “It’s your shout”, so 29a seems well-formed, as long as the “when” is just performing connective duty…
Thanks, Chalmie.
Sil @14 This was the first clue I have put a tick against in a long time, glad someone else appreciated as much as I did