Enigmatic Variations No. 1491: Pioneer by Wickball

I blogged Wickball’s most recent EV – EV 1439, back in the depths of the first lockdown – which I introduced as ‘A pretty complicated preamble, and a pretty complicated solve…‘, sentiments I feel the need to repeat here!

The (quite involved) preamble states that:

“Seven answers are too long and must be accommodated by displaying two discoveries in the grid, each comprising seven characters, to be entered in the appropriate format. In 20 other clues, an extra letter produced by wordplay spells out an allusion to one of the discoveries; one further clue is perversely informative. In the completed grid, the contents of two cells must be amended to reveal the name of the PIONEER (13, two words) responsible, which solvers must highlight together with the discoveries (25 cells in total). Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is an abbreviation.”

My first instinct was not to worry too much about the complicated stuff – get scanning/solving, and see if any of those ‘too long’ answers become apparent. If they are too long, and ‘something’ ends up displayed in the grid, then it is likely to be some sort of symbols – e.g. maybe Greek letters, or elements, or numbers replacing their wordy equivalents? Hopefully some of those extra letters will fall out along the way.

And so it proved – it soon became clear there was something going on in the top right corner, with LIPID, AGAINST and MAKESHIFT all too long for their slots. So, LIPID could be LIP-ID, L-IPI-D or LI-PID, etc. Years of EV experience suggested that there might be another batch of similar activity in the bottom left – given our setters’ devotion to symmetry! – and I wasn’t wrong here – although this took a while longer to eke out. LISLE and TWO-WAY were initial candidates down there – with TWO-WAY likely to become 2-WAY, and the third row up looking likely to be the location.

Going back to the preamble – which mentions two lots of seven characters – and working through the permutations in the top right, I eventually realised that we weren’t quite symmetrical, with the top right most likely to be the second row down. ‘Seven characters’ up here gave T_E_IPI_GAIN_I_MAKES_O. And in the bottom left what eventually looked like F_AND_M_IS_E_WITH_TWO (given that I had not helped myself by entering MAILMAN rather than MAILVAN at 26D, not that it made much difference at this stage).

Neither of these made much sense, except that AND (+), IS (=), MAKES (=), GAIN (+), WITH (+) seemed to suggest mathematical operators, so we were maybe looking at some sort of equations.

The next stage in the evolution of my solution came with the extra letters, which gradually started to look like they began with R_I_C_H_A_R_D_F, and my thought process was triggered by a recent Chalicea puzzle (EV 1464) featuring Richard Feynman. Assuming it was him helped to get a few other clues solved, and left something looking like ‘JEWEL’ at the end.

At this point the 30-odd year gap between A-level Maths/Physics (and university level Maths) and the present day had to be bridged with a bit of Wiki-oogling…leading (via some diversions into Quantum ElectroDynamics) to an equation described by Feynman as ‘…our jewel…‘: Euler’s Identity.

So, seven characters, but only six cells – that T from INTROIT was a dead herring!

This led to finding LEO(NH)ARD replacing LEO(P)ARD (seven cells, eight letters!) and (E)ULER replacing (R)ULER, to give the PIONEER.

And, with a bit of mopping up – and correcting MAILMAN to MAILVAN – I eventually got to Euler’s (maybe less beautiful/jewel-like?) ‘Characteristic‘:

(Slightly rearranged here to give F + V = E + 2.)

So I think that just about wrapped it all up – two discoveries, a pioneer, an allusion – which just left the ‘perversely informative’ clue, which I took to be 13A – an anagram of the initial ‘identity’ formula representation, giving a gobbledygook word, but making reference to a ‘rule’ as the definition.

And the final grid looks something like this, with 25 cells eventually highlighted:

 

 

Wow – that is some puzzle! A tour-de-force of grid construction, with a cunning preamble and some misleading multiple-character cells – not to mention the use of I/1 and O/0 in PILLION and DOPEY!

Not too much in the way of obscure/new words – ATTRAHENT and ALERION were my only completely new words, along with the abbreviation SFAS. I happened to be familiar with ORIYA, having spent some time in Orissa, but that may have been a stretch for many solvers’ GK, requiring some reference to confirm? (I couldn’t parse ANNELID at solving time – entering it from crossers and the ‘worm’ definition. The parsing came to me as I was writing this up – having initially left it blank, asking for suggestions…)

Many thanks to Wickball for a (very) challenging and educational solve. I’m off for a lie down – I trust all is clear above and below!

Across
Clue No	Solution / Entry	Extra letter	Clue (definition underlined) / Logic/Parsing
1	WATER SEAL		Raw steel bent round a U-trap, perhaps (9, two words) / WATER SE_L (anag, i.e. bent, of RAW STEEL) around A
8	APOD	R	Drop a wriggly footless creature (4) / anag, i.e. wriggly, of D(R)OP A (or a straight reversal?)
11	INTROIT		Anthem during jog around institute (7) / IN (during) + TRO_T (jog) around I (institute)
13	E IPI GAIN I MAKES O / E^(I*PI) + 1 = 0		I imagine a pie’s OK, upsetting the rule (6) / anag, i.e. upsetting, of I IMAGINE A PIES OK
15	STEM	I	Staunch site member (4) / S(I)TE + M (member, as in MP)
16	LEOPARD / LEONHARD		Hope beginning to fade sadly in fat cat (7) / L_ARD (fat) around EOP (anag, i.e. sadly, of (H)OPE, first letter, or beginning, fading, or disappearing)
18	OUTLIE		Set apart sketch with no name (6) / OUTLI(N)E (sketch) with no N (name)
19	ILEUS	C	Internal blockage of sluice fixed (5) / anag, i.e. fixed, of SLUI(C)E
21	EDIFY		Journalist provided with year to mentally improve (5) / ED (editor, journalist) + IF (provided) + Y (year)
22	AIRSPACE	H	Highly regarded territory – one’s scalp? (8) / subtractive double defn. one’s scalp might be HAIRSPACE (mine isn’t any more (;+<); and AIRSPACE is high up, and regarded as ‘territory’
24	BOTS	A	Victorian cadges craft (4) / subtractive double defn. – BOATS are craft; and BOTS are cadgers, or scroungers, in Australia, i.e. Victorian
27	ELLIPSE		Some miracles, pill entirely brought back figure (7) / reversed hidden word, i.e. ‘some’ and ‘brought back’, in ‘miraclES PILL Entirely’
29	SFAS		US statement is nothing special (4) / S (contraction of ‘is’) + FA (Sweet FA, nothing) + S (special)
31	OBSTACLE	R	Catch little brother returning with bouncy castle (8) / O(R)B (bro, little brother, returning) + STACLE (anag, i.e. bouncy, of CASTLE!)
34	ORIYA	D	Funny old diary, Asian tongue (5) / anag, i.e. funny, of O (old) + (D)IARY
35	RULER / EULER		Potentate’s tree planted between two rivers (5) / R_R (two rivers) around ULE (rubber tree)
36	FILLET	F	Fellow oddly ill felt broken bone (6) / F (fellow) + IL (odd letters of IlL) + LET (anag, i.e. broken, of LE(F)T)
38	LEGHORN	E	‘Fowl’ play with heron following on (7) / LEG (on, cricketing term) + HORN (anag, i.e. play with, of H(E)RON)
41	TWO-WAY / 2-WAY		Involving shared responsibility to consider carefully, we hear (4) / homophone, i.e. we hear – to consider something carefully might be TO WEIGH it up; which can sound like TWO-WAY
43	A SALTI		Alas, it moves by fits and starts (6, two words) / anag, i.e. moves, of ALAS IT
44	LEGATOS		Ambassador abridged very large passages of notes (7) / LEGAT(E) (ambassador, abridged) + OS (outsize, very large)
45	LANE	Y	Part of running track: Pink Floyd’s Arnold ____ (4) / subtractive double defn. – Pink Floyd sang about Arnold LAYNE; and a LANE can be part of a running track
46	ATTRAHENT		Drawing the Tantra out (9) / anag, i.e. out, of THE TANTRA
Down
Clue No	Solution / Entry	Extra letter	Clue (definition underlined / Logic/Parsing
1	WILLIAMS		Tennis player having determination is outside before noon (8) / WILL (determination) + I_S around AM (ante meridian, before noon)
2	ANNELID		Set up conflict, reducing spaces for worm (7) / DILEMMA (conflict) reducing M (em, printing space) to N (en, half an em!) twice, and set up = ANNELID
3	ERS	N	Climber found in eastern shrubbery (3) / hidden word, i.e. found in, in ‘eastER(N) Shrubbery)
4	ROTA		Allegedly composed a rondo (4) / homophone, i.e. allegedly – WROTE A (composed) could sound like ROTA (rondo)
5	SIERRA		It might indicate opening of shooting range (6) / S – the opening letter of Shooting – might be indicated (in the phonetic alphabet) by SIERRA
6	AEROBE	M	Me a bore? Rubbish, it could be anyone! (6) / anag, i.e. rubbish, of (M)E A BORE
7	LIPID / L ^I*PI D		Fat one absorbed in old record papers (3) / L_P (old record) around (absorbing) I (one), plus ID (papers)
8	AGAINST / A + ST		Not favouring a walk round the poles (4) / A + GAI_T (walk) around NS (the North and South poles)
9	PILLION / P 1 LLION		Note oil on edge when raising back seat (7) / N (note) + OIL + LIP (edge) – all raised = PILLION
10	DOPEY / D 0 PEY	A	Narcotic ring evacuated place within 24 hours (5) / D(A)_Y (24 hours) around O (ring) + PE (PlacE, emptied, or evacuated)
12	TWO-ER	N	Fancy new T or D in Scrabble, perhaps (5) / anag, i.e. fancy, of (N)EW T OR
14	MAKESHIFT / = HIFT		Rough and ready Romeo leaving fish market in chaos (5) / anag, i.e. in chaos, of FISH MA(R)KET (leaving out R – Romeo)
17	DECIBEL	S	Cut up about live sound unit (7) / DECI_L ((S)L_ICED, cut, up) around BE (live)
20	USES		Exercises and runs less regularly taken (4) / regularly taken letters from rUnS lEsS
21	ERST	J	At first take in jest (4) / (J)E_ST around R (Latin, recipe, take)
23	PLEA		Gratify lust? Not certain, one could be guilty (4) / PLEA(SURE) – gratify lust, without SURE – not certain!
24	BEAU		Dandy or Beano ? United and lost (not in Dundee!) (4) / BEA(NO) (losing no, or ‘not’, in Scotland, i.e. Dundee) + U (United)
25	STERNEST	E	Most severe guide sent abroad (8) / STE(E)R (guide) + NEST (anag, i.e. abroad, of SENT)
26	MAILVAN		Chap nursing ill feeling against post holder (7) / M_AN (chap) around (nursing) AIL (ill feeling) + V (versus, against)
28	ALERION		Eagle’s wing flap taking current to the south (7) / AILERON (wing flap) taking I (electric current) to the South (in a Down clue) = ALERION
30	FRIANDS / FRI + S		Friends essentially upgraded to best epicures (5) / FRIENDS with the middle letter, or essence, E ‘upgraded’ to an A (best) = FRIANDS!
31	OUT WITH IT / OUT + IT		Request to admit best strike (6, three words) / OUT_WIT (best, beat) + H_IT (strike)
32	SKEWER		Transfix biased monarch (6) / SKEW (biased) + ER (Elizabeth Regina, or Edward Rex, monarch)
33	CLOUT		Power to mend with patch (5) / double defn. CLOUT is power, sway, influence; and to CLOUT can be to mend with a patch
34	OFFAL	W	Bad law upset some hearts, perhaps (5) / OFF (bad) + (W)AL (law, upset)
37	LISLE / L = LE		Left part of supermarket heading off for yarn (4) / L (left) + (A)ISLE (part of supermarket, with first letter, or heading, off)
39	GAGA	E	Wildly enthusiastic about good time of life coming up (4) / A (about) + G (good) + AG(E) (time of life) – all coming up = GAGA
40	ETA		Once in Tokyo the least anticipated appearance (3) / double defn. – an ETA in Japan used to be a member of the lowest class; and ETA (estimated time of arrival) is one’s least (earliest) anticipated appearance!
42	YAH	L	Affected toff hardly losing way up (3) / HA(RD)(L)Y losing RD (road, way) and turned up = YAH