Filbert has given us a tricky puzzle, in more than one way . . .
It’s April Fool’s Day, so we should probably expect a trick of some sort. Here it’s a delightfully misleading clue along the top row, where there’s an obvious solution (wrong) and a more obscure one (right). There are a few hints in later clues that something might be afoot, and/or general references to the theme of playing tricks, but it’s not until the last clue that we definitely find out we’ve been fooled. Neatly done.
Today’s puzzle is also tricky because there are a couple of complex constructions, and a few somewhat obscure words and references – or at least they seemed obscure to me, though your view of “general knowledge” may vary. But enough straightforward clues to get going, and to provide some crossers to help with the harder ones. Great surfaces too: 15A (which did take a bit of decryption after all), 25A (where a lot of marches seem to end up, one way or another), 7D (this is why we do cryptics, after all).
Thanks Filbert for the challenge – you had me fooled a few times before I got there in the end.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1/4 | MARCH PAST |
A must for 1/4, proof all infantry’s heading for review? (5,4)
|
| A wonderfully misleading clue! Is 1/4 a self-reference to the clue numbers? Well, it’s a clever bit of placing – but no, it means 1 April. (Apologies to Americans and others who expect dates in month-day format, but day-month is the usual British convention.) So this must be APRIL FOOL, right? Anagram (for review) of PROOF ALL with the heading letter of I[nfantry]?
No, it isn’t, as will become clear from later clues. It’s actually a double definition. A requirement for getting to 1 April is to have MARCH PAST; and a “march past” is a military parade, where infantry (footsoldiers) march past their commander for review (inspection). |
||
| 9 | GAL |
Miss con, starting from the end (3)
|
| LAG (con = slang for a convict / prisoner), reversed (starting from the end).
Gal = miss = informal terms for “girl”. |
||
| 10 | RIP CURRENTS |
Sprinter jinks round dog in dangerous races (3,8)
|
| Anagram (jinks) of SPRINTER around CUR (dog).
Race = current of water; a rip current is an unexpected fast-flowing current away from the shoreline, which can be dangerous for swimmers and watersports participants. |
||
| 11 | CHELTENHAM |
Town‘s football team dropping deep, all but one of them amateur (10)
|
| CHEL[sea] (football team), dropping SEA (the deep), then TEN (all but one of a football team) + HAM (amateur actor).
Spa town in Gloucestershire, SW England. |
||
| 12 | JOSH |
A 1A’s husband’s kid (4)
|
| 1A = MARCH, so a 1A’s = JO’S (Jo is one of the four March sisters in the novel Little Women), then H (husband).
Kid = josh = to tease / mislead in a humorous way, for example with an April Fool trick. This clue also provides a hint that the obvious reading of 1A/4A isn’t correct, because (strictly speaking) 1A needs to start with a consonant; otherwise we’d need “an” for “An April’s . . .” |
||
| 13 | POTENCY |
Might pretentious hosts cut sandwiches and cake at 4pm? (7)
|
| PONCY (slang for pretentious), containing (hosting) TE[a] (sandwiches and cake at 4pm; cut = last letter dropped).
Might, as a noun = power = potency. |
||
| 15 | EN CLAIR |
Linear C surprisingly needing no decryption (2,5)
|
| Anagram (surprisingly) of LINEAR C. (Which is one of a series of ancient script systems discovered in Greece, identified as Linear A, B and C, and mostly still undeciphered; that’s not necessary to solve the clue, but it makes for a good surface.)
En clair = written or transmitted in plain text, not enciphered. Both the French phrase here and its English translation IN CLEAR are valid anagrams, and both are used with the same meaning; I originally went with the English version, which got in the way of other clues for a while. I assume that’s what Filbert intended. |
||
| 17 | SPINACH |
Leaves children behind at home filling baths (7)
|
| IN (at home), inserted into (filling) SPA (baths), with CH (short for children) after it (behind). | ||
| 19 | TYPESET |
Two classes make up a forme (7)
|
| TYPE and SET = two synonyms for “class”.
A forme, in the days of printing with movable type characters before computers took over, was a collection of such characters arranged in a frame ready for printing. Typeset (verb) = to prepare text for printing in this way = to make up a forme. Some of the terminology survived into the computer age, so “typeset” was familiar from my technical author days, but I had to guess and check “forme”. |
||
| 21 | LEIA |
Princess seen on camera clearing lightspeed (4)
|
| LEI[c]A (German camera brand), clearing out the C (c = symbol representing the speed of light in vacuum).
Princess Leia, character from the Star Wars films. |
||
| 22 | PROFLIGATE |
Spendthrift set get 23 24 with 50% off (10)
|
| Anagram (set = put in place) of GET APRIL FO[ol], referring to 23D APRIL and 24D FOOL with half of the latter taken off. | ||
| 25 | APHRODISIAC |
Stimulating bar in a pub is where march goes (11)
|
| ROD (bar) in A + PH (abbreviation for public house, usually shortened to pub) + IS, then IAC (1 AC = 1 across = where the word MARCH goes in the grid). Another hint of the trick in 1A/4A. | ||
| 26 | RID |
Clear where to write solutions, except the first (3)
|
| [g]RID (where to write solutions), except for the first letter.
Clear (verb) = rid, as in to clear / rid a dog of fleas. |
||
| 27 | SLUG |
Swallow that flies off when gun is fired (4)
|
| Double definition: a mouthful of drink, or a metal projectile fired from a gun. | ||
| 28 | SHOAL |
Many 18, maybe the bit of Connery that lives on? (5)
|
| The late actor Sean Connery was known for pronouncing the letter S somewhat like SH, so Filbert is suggesting that he’d pronounce SOUL (the bit of him that lives on) like SHOAL.
Shoal = a large group of fish, for example herring (18D). The word can be used as both singular and plural: one herring, many herring (or many herrings). |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | MALLE |
Chopper’s fallen on toe of Hammer film director (5)
|
| MALLE[t] (hammer), with the last letter chopped off (chopper’s fallen on toe?).
Louis Malle, French film director. Maybe I should have heard of him but this was another guess-and-check. |
||
| 2 | RURITANIA |
Romantic country sport played in tiara (9)
|
| RU (Rugby Union = sport) + anagram (played) of IN TIARA. The image of the Six Nations being played in tiaras is delightful, though no doubt Health and Safety would object.
Fictional country in Central / Eastern Europe, giving its name to “Ruritanian romance” novels and plays set in similar locations. |
||
| 3 | HAPENNY |
Old bit of dry grass cut by writer before noon (7)
|
| HAY (dry grass), containing (cut by) PEN (writer) + N (noon).
Usually written ha’penny = corruption of halfpenny = old coin = “bit” in slang. |
||
| 4 | PLUMAGE |
Highly desirable to get on down etc (7)
|
| PLUM (highly desirable, as in “a plum job”) + AGE (to get on = to get older).
Down = fine soft feathers, so “down etc” = feathers in general = plumage. |
||
| 5 | SURE |
Firm runs through claim in court (4)
|
| R (abbreviation for runs, in cricket scoring) inserted into (through) SUE (to claim in court). | ||
| 6 | EGGCUP |
Say, gallantry medal mounted in holder by soldiers? (6)
|
| EG (e.g. = say = for example) + GC (George Cross = gallantry medal) + UP (mounted = riding a horse).
As in “boiled egg and soldiers” = a soft-boiled egg, served in an eggcup, accompanied by strips of toast (soldiers) for dipping in the egg yolk. |
||
| 7 | ANGOLANS |
People long to be muddled; alternative answers accommodate that (8)
|
| Anagram (to be muddled) of LONG, contained in (accommodated by) A + ANS (two alternative abbreviations for “answer”).
People = those belonging to a specific nation. The surface is perhaps a hint that Filbert fully intended the ambiguities of 1A/4A and 15A. If there are others, I’ve missed them. |
||
| 8 | ESTHER |
Book that woman’s carrying is in French (6)
|
| HER (that woman’s), after (carrying = below, in a down clue) EST (“is” in French).
Book in the Old Testament. |
||
| 14 | TWILIGHT |
Couple out of love cheerful after one relatively dark period (8)
|
| TW[o] (couple) removing the O (zero = love in tennis scoring), then LIGHT (cheerful) after I (one in Roman numerals). | ||
| 16 | CAPRICCIO |
Prank company welcomes 23 1, showing fourfold increase at the end of the month (9)
|
| CO (short for company), containing (welcoming) APRI[l] (23D)+ I (one in Roman numerals), with the L at the end of April (L = 50 in Roman numerals) multiplied by four to give CC (200).
Caprice / capriccio = a prank (such as an April Fool trick I suppose), or a light-hearted musical composition. However, Chambers only recognises “caprice” (not capriccio) for the sense “prank”, and Collins seems to think “capriccio” in this sense is specifically US usage. |
||
| 17 | SYLVAN |
Woody Allen’s heart breaks seconds before turning blue (6)
|
| Middle letter (heart) of [al]L[en], breaking into S (short for seconds) + NAVY (blue) reversed (turning).
Sylvan = relating to woods (as in areas of land covered by trees). |
||
| 18 | HERRING |
Silver darling? Maybe bride expected this to be gold (7)
|
| A bride might expect HER RING (wedding ring) to be gold.
Silver darling = another name for the herring. |
||
| 19 | TIFFINS |
Match up bony bits of 18 Indian meals (7)
|
| FIT (match = be appropriate), reversed (up = upwards in a down clue), then FINS (bony bits of fish, for example the herring as in 18D).
Tiffin = Indian English word for a meal; originally similar to “afternoon tea”, but the word can now also mean lunch, or a snack between meals. |
||
| 20 | TWEEDS |
Temperature rising in sweaty journalist’s wool clothing (6)
|
| WET (sweaty) with the T (temperature) moved to the start (rising = upwards in a down clue), then ED’S (editor’s = journalist’s).
Clothing made from woven wool fabric (tweed). |
||
| 23/24 | APRIL FOOL |
Pair tucks into French garlic dessert, a possibility for 1/4 (5,4)
|
| PR (short for pair), inserted in (tucking into) AIL (French for garlic) + FOOL (a dessert made from fruit and cream).
Again, 1/4 is 1 April, when an April Fool joke is a distinct possibility. Saying the phrase out loud is equivalent to saying “admit it, I had you fooled, didn’t I?” – so Filbert is now acknowledging the trick played earlier with the obvious solution to the first clue, which can’t be right because it’s repeated here. |
Phew! Fooled us!
Took an hour to work out that ha’penny didn’t fit with April Fool…..
Had Hester for Esther, as well, wonder if that was intended to be ambiguous, as it is also a book?
Thanks Filbert and Quirister
Yes I was completely kippered by this and with april fool, in clear and hester all wrong it took an age to sort out, many thanks Filbert and Quirister
Completely lovely. Obviously got 1/4 wrong to start with, encouraged by the fact that 2d worked, but I was rescued fairly early on by 12a. (As the only male in a female household I am obviously well attuned to Little Women references!)
Great stuff. Had me fooled!
Very good. I was held up by 1/4 (clever device) for a long time at the start and could only solve this with the help of 23/24. Ended up not being able to get LEIA and SYLVAN, both solvable in retrospect and didn’t appreciate the subtleties of a few others. Some consolation in being able to parse JOSH which was therefore my favourite.
Thanks to Filbert and Quirister
Superbly clever, and a reminder of why we all love cryptic puzzles so much. Of course I fell for the trick, then had a feeling that the final clue might somehow connect to the first. On solving it, I then wondered if the ‘joke’ might be the breaking of the unwritten rule that that same answer mustn’t appear twice, but then I recalled a clue from decades ago (I’m very old) that I think went “One who may be taken in after March past?” which made the penny drop.
Many thanks to Filbert.
Brilliant! We fell for the 1ac/4ac trick, of course, until we realised that the down answers weren’t fitting in. I’m afraid the cleverness of 15ac passed us by, as we only knew the French version anyway. The links to 12ac and 25ac were very nicely done.
It took us a long time to finish, with MALLE (unknown to us) being the last one in. My favourite clue was 13ac, with its multiple misdirections.
Thanks to Filbert and Quirister
That was hard! Took our combined brain cells well over an hour, and with much head scratching and a fair amount of cheating. Definitely lovely cryptic clues to read in the blog – less lovely when absolutely stumped!
Who said that last week’s Hob was a beast?
Well, then this was a Beast!
Like others I was fooled by 1/4 (my first one in, and out again ….)
A relatively rare DNF for me as I ultimately failed on 12ac.
After about ten clues, I had spent more time on this puzzle than on the whole of last Saturday’s Times Jumbo.
A mixture of becoming annoyed due to slow progress and pure admiration for the cleverness shown.
Many thanks for Quirister & Filbert.
We also initially thought the trick might be the repetition of the same answer, with 1/4 being &lit-ish, but then realised that was a red 18. Even then it was slow going – we took ages to get JOSH and MALLE and eventually needed a wordfinder for ANGOLANS (which we should have seen but our brains were fading by then).
RIP CURRENTS, SPINACH, PLUMAGE and CAPRICCIO were among our favourites.
Thanks, Filbert and Quirister.
Torn between admiration (both for the setter and anyone who completed this unaided) and frustration at my own inability to finish this without a lot of help. I felt like I was trying to harvest spaghetti in San Serriffe.
Thank goodness there was a check button. Thankfully we didn’t have to resort to the reveal button although we did use a few word searches to enable us to finish this during our meal this evening!
Thanks and respect to Filbert. Well done Quirister for the blog.
Not for me. After about an hour I had five answers, two of them wrong. So I gave up and read a book.
Totally brilliant 1A, didn’t realize the error until 25A! Very difficult but worth the struggle.
Very clever but very annoying. Had to admit all the clues work, except for 28a which is really feeble.
I thought the conception and execution of this was utterly brilliant. Best cryptic in ages bar none.
Chapeau, Filbert!
(Very pleased, too, to see ail = garlic. Sometimes, there just aren’t enough condiments in foreign languages to make a puzzle really satisfying, but this one had the lot!)
I was so dim that 1/4 wasn’t solved at once, and eventually there were some crossers which meant that I never even considered APRIL FOOL. So unwittingly I avoided being made a fool of.
What virtuosity. Absolutely brilliant, as Filbert tends to be.
This was terrific – the solution to 1/4 is an April Fool because it isn’t April Fool even though it is the first of April.
Life’s so unfair – so many comments at ‘the other place’ while it all happened here today.
@9, I forgot to say that I really liked 11ac (teams can indeed drop deep – how apt a surface is that?).
Sil @19, Could not agree more. The crossword today was an extraordinary tour de force. Led down the garden path and then back again.
Masterclass. Thanks, Filbert, for taking us on a ride; and thanks Quirister, for pointing out the sights.
Thanks Filbert and Quirister. Didnt help not having a functioning printer.
Some great stuff in here.
And to have Rodriguez giving it a nod is high praise indeed,
Thanks for the super blog and comments, much appreciated. That anyone enjoyed it at all was only thanks to Eimi et 1 al suffering the OTT first version (in which the clue for Angolans had more widespread relevance) and kindly giving it an early bath.
Ooh, Filbert @23, you’ve piqued our curiosity about the first version now!