The continental theme seems to have ‘drifted’ on beyond ‘Ladies’ Month’, with Gaston taking us to THE SOUTH AMERICAN ONE this week: Will it be a road to Rio? Will it be Chile when we get there? Will we catch a boat to Bolivia?
The preamble states that:
“Each of 18 across clues and 18 down clues leads to a single superfluous letter in its wordplay. Read in clue order, these extra letters give indication as to the six elements (THE SOUTH AMERICAN ONEs) which must be highlighted in the completed grid – 39 cells in total, with some cells doing duty in more than one element. Every element bar one is symmetrical and they are (very approximately) where solvers would expect to find them. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is an abbreviation.”
Now then, when I see the word ‘elements’ in a preamble, I usually reach straight for the Periodic Table…but that turned out not to be necessary here. There are 36 clues with these superfluous letters, leaving 13 ‘normal’ – so each clue has a (roughly) 1 in 4 chance of being normal…
I proceeded with the usual clue scanning and initial runs through – teasing out any obvious extra letters/straight clues, before getting down to the harder looking ones.
Things took a while to clarify, but my first PDM was seeing ‘FALLS’ as extra letters, from 39A to 45A. And, as any fule nose, the most famous falls in South America are Angel Falls, so we will probably be looking for ANGEL somewhere in the grid later. Next up was ‘MOUNTAIN, from 1D, and a bit of e-research told me that the highest mountain on the continent is Aconcagua – which seemed to tally with some Gs, Us and As around the middle/right-hand side. I was on a roll!
Next up was ‘RANGE’, from 1A to 15A and, serendipitously, there were the ANDES between TRIB-AND and ES-CAPE, neatly segueing into the curved ‘HEADLAND’ of CAPE HORN.
At this point I had a bit of a quibble with the supposed ‘symmetricality’ mentioned in the preamble – there wasn’t anything symmetrically opposite to ANDES or CAPE HORN, and it took me a while to realise it just meant symmetrical in their individual shapes – this realisation helped by the discovery of ‘LAKE’ TITICACA, perched at the top of the Andes, and intersecting with the ATACAMA ‘DESERT’.
At which point I was almost there, except for those two initial diversions – I eventually found the IGUAZU falls (the non-symmetrical one, which used up some of those Gs, Us and As), and a disproportionate amount of time later I was climbing up and over SUGARLOAF ‘MOUNTAIN’ – so we did get to Rio in the end!
We also got to Chile – where most of the Atacama desert is – but not Bolivia…and ISOMER is about as close as we got to the Periodic Table…
At a squint, the six ‘elements’ (or geographical features) are just about where you might see them on a (very pixellated) map!
I found this a relatively gentle jaunt of an EV – a geographically educational theme; not too taxing a device with the extra letters; an impressive grid construction; and a fun word search into the bargain!
There weren’t too many obscure/new (to me) words – SHEOL, OUPHS, TACAMAHAC and TOISECH (as a variation on TAOISEACH) spring to mind, and IRBIL, GAENOR and PASOK needed a little GK checking. My LOI/LOP (last one parsed) was ADAGIO at 22A. And I was interested to learn that a KNEEHOLE is ‘the space beneath a desk or bureau for the knees‘.
(One very minor quibble, maybe, is that my various eChambers don’t seem to give NONUPLET as meaning a child as part of a multiple birth. Instead it is ‘a group of nine, especially musical notes‘. Strange, as septuplet and octuplet both do refer to multiple births. Maybe Chambers have decided that nine is too rare to warrant a mention, although my eCollins does still have it. I believe there was a recent case of a Malian woman who carried nine babies to successful delivery…but I digress…)
Many thanks to Gaston for a very enjoyable challenge, and I hope all is clear below…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Extra letter | Clue (definition underlined) / Logic/Parsing (extra letters in Bold) |
|
| 1 | UP TO | R | Capable of being at top of hill (4, two words) / UP (being at top of) + TO(R) (hill) |
|
| 5 | DEMOCRATS | A | Protests about out-of-date estimate for party (9) / DEMO_S (protests) around C(A)RAT (obsolete, i.e. out-of-date, for estimate) |
|
| 12 | APISH | N | Silly Spanish stupidly shunning society! (5) / anag, i.e. stupidly, of SPA(N)I( |
|
| 14 | STICKS | G | Carrying 100 kilograms, sits awkwardly and gets jammed (6) / STI_S (anag, i.e. awkwardly, of SITS) around (carrying) C (100, Roman numeral) + K(G) (kilograms) |
|
| 15 | DHURRIE | E | Spinning drier protecting colour in cotton (7) / D_RRIE (anag, i.e. spinning, of DRIER) around (protecting) HU(E) (colour) |
|
| 17 | LIBATORY | – | Members of two parties split by activist’s initiation of drink offering (8) / LIB + TORY (members of two political parties) around (split by) A (initial letter of Activist) |
|
| 18 | EBRO | M | Flower seed not unknown (4) / E(M)BR( |
|
| 19 | TACAMAHAC | O | Resin from varnish repelled Asian nurse before food (9) / TA(O)C (coat, varnish, repelled) + AMAH (Asian nurse) + AC (ante cibum, Latin, before food) |
|
| 20 | ISNT | U | Group of Scottish islands without name doesn’t exist (4) / (U)I_ST (group of six Scottish islands) around (without, or outwith, in Scotland?!) N (name) |
|
| 22 | ADAGIO | N | Slowly showing nothing on either side of US soldier (6) / (N)ADA + O (two versions of zero, nothing) either side of GI (US soldier) |
|
| 23 | NIDOR | T | Return of decay and disturbance, creating strong smell (5) / RO(T) (decay) + DIN (disturbance), returned = NID (T)OR |
|
| 25 | RIG | A | Fix port (3) / thematic double defn. RIG = to fix; RIG(A) = Latvian capital, and port |
|
| 27 | UVULA | I | Fleshy body of grape enthralling Julia endlessly (5) / UV_A (grape) around (enthralling) ( |
|
| 30 | GNEISS | N | Rock operettas’ creators receiving bad reviews in Hamburg (6) / G_S (Gilbert & Sullivan, operettas’ creators) around (receiving) NEI(N)S (‘no’s, or bad reviews, in German, i.e. Hamburg) |
|
| 35 | AS IF | – | That Miltonic poem’s incredible! (4, two words) / AS (that, consequence, Milton) + IF (poem, Kipling) |
|
| 37 | SQUEEZIER | – | More cramped? Majority of squad reportedly more comfortable (9) / SQU( |
|
| 39 | ANCE | F | Ventilate church at any time in Ayr (4) / (F)AN (ventilate) + CE (Church of England) |
|
| 40 | NONUPLET | A | Unacceptable fold is one of many (8) / NON-U (socially unacceptable) + PLE(A)T (fold) |
|
| 41 | SEA CARD | L | Calderas scattered around nautical chart? (7, two words) / anag, i.e. scattered around, of CA(L)DERAS |
|
| 43 | ORDEAL | L | Somehow collared missing colt – a distressing experience (6) / anag, i.e. somehow, of ( |
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| 45 | OUPHS | S | American explosive horrifies gutless Elizabethan idiots (5) / (S)OUP (US, informal for nitroglycerine) + HS (HorrifieS, gutless) |
|
| 46 | KNEEHOLES | – | Openings of bureaux changing one shekel? (9) / anag, i.e. changing, of ONE SHEKEL |
|
| 47 | PSST | – | ‘Hey, listen! Ship occupies port’ (4) / P_T (port, abbreviation) around (occupied by) SS (steamship) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Extra letter | Clue (definition underlined) / Logic/Parsing (extra letters in Bold) |
|
| 1 | UNSLAIN | H | Barbarians stretched out, having not been killed (7) / (H)UNS (Barbarians) + LAIN (stretched out) |
|
| 2 | PETIT | E | Once insignificant bird filling leak (5) / PE_(E) (leak) around (filled by) TIT (bird) |
|
| 3 | TRIBAND | A | Type of mobile jazz music covers I forbid (7) / TR(A)_D (jazz music), around (covering) I + BAN (forbid) |
|
| 4 | ORC | D | Woman who did good works failing to get arsenic for killer (3) / (D)ORC( |
|
| 5 | DIKTAT | L | Old lyrics included fanciful talk and harsh settlement (6) / DI_T (archaic, lyrics, words of a song) around KTA (anag, i.e. fanciful, of TA(L)K) |
|
| 6 | MADRAS | A | Curry first man served up Ethiopian prince (6) / MAD(A) (Adam, first man, served up) + RAS (Ethiopian prince) |
|
| 7 | OOH | N | Express pleasure when Sydney lout has keeled over (3) / OOH (express pleasure) = HOO(N) (Australian, i.e. Sydney, lout) ‘keeled over’ |
|
| 8 | CAUDAD | D | Useless Australian stopping bounder approaching the tail (6) / CA_D (bounder) around (stopped by) (D)UD (useless) + A (Australian) |
|
| 9 | AIRBAG | – | Reveal catch for safety device (6) / AIR (reveal) + BAG (catch) |
|
| 10 | SHEOL | – | Hell holes all over the place (5) / anag, i.e. all over the place, of HOLES |
|
| 11 | ISOMER | – | Radical measure Iceland introduces (6) / IS (Iceland) before (introducing) OMER (Hebrew dry measure) |
|
| 13 | PRECAVA | – | It carries blood before wine (7) / PRE (before) + CAVA (wine) |
|
| 16 | IRBIL | D | Weird billionaire protects Kurdish stronghold (5) / hidden word in, i.e. protected by, ‘weIR(D) BILlionnaire’ |
|
| 21 | TOISECH | E | Celtic noble echoes it all over the place (7) / anag, i.e. all over the place, of ECHO(E)S IT |
|
| 24 | INANE | S | Vacuous and crazy (5) / double defn. – INANE = vacuous; IN(S)ANE = crazy |
|
| 26 | GAENOR | E | Eager on swinging Welsh girl? (6) / anag, i.e. swinging, of EAG(E)R ON |
|
| 28 | USELESS | R | Pathetic Russia restricting Monica, perhaps (7) / (R)U_S (Russia) around (restricting) SELES (tennis player, Monica Seles – example of someone called Monica) |
|
| 29 | A FAT LOT | T | Behind in set? Not much (7, three words) / A F(T) (behind) + AT (in) + LOT (set, as in film set?) |
|
| 31 | ESCAPE | – | Test without restraints, covering Houdini act (6) / ES (tESt without restraining, or outer, letters) + CAPE (covering) |
|
| 32 | SQUASH | – | Frame housing monarch’s fruit (6) / S_ASH (window frame) around (housing) QU (queen, monarch) |
|
| 33 | FEODAL | – | Loafed about, being typically class-conscious (6) / anag, i.e. about, of LOAFED |
|
| 34 | AZURES | – | First take off scrapings to get delicate colours (6) / (R)AZURES (scrapings) removing the first R (take, Latin, recipe) |
|
| 36 | PASOK | L | Friends sanction Greek Socialists (5) / PA(L)S (friends) + OK (sanction) |
|
| 38 | REARS | A | Brings up debt regardless of second rule (5) / (A)R( |
|
| 42 | ROO | K | Fleece small creature (3) / double defn. ROO is the short form, i.e. small, of kangaroo; and to ROO(K) is to con, or fleece) |
|
| 44 | DOP | E | Excellent South African spirit? (3) / double defn. DOP(E) is US slang for ‘excellent’; and DOP is a South African brandy |
|
That was very much my solving experience. Lots of time spent fruitlessly scanning around the Gs in the grid for either anGel or aconcaGua – it’s interesting how hard it can be sometimes to give up on a preconception and try a different tack.
One minor quibble – although Chambers might suggest as much, the idea that “radical” can serve as a definition of “isomer” is I’m afraid simply wrong. Nonetheless an enjoyable and elegantly constructed puzzle, typical of the setter’s style. Thanks to blogger and setter.
I enjoyed this one, despite not completing the final stage – for some reason, I just didn’t think of, or spot, Sugar Loaf. Might have known it would be obvious in hindsight. Still admired the construction, getting so many thematic elements included. Thanks Gaston and to mc_rapper for making me feel slightly better if the mountain took you the most time.
I enjoyed this and found filling the grid on the easier side too. I was hoping someone would explain how ISOMER is “radical”. OK an isomer might be a radical, but it might be any other sort of molecular entity too. The thing that makes it an isomer is not that it is a radical but that it is isomeric to something else.
PS, forgot to say thanks to setter and blogger. Thanks all.
I got to this very late, hence this late post. I found it difficult with some of the clues to extract the required extra letter. However, I did in the end get all six indications of the features to be found in the grid, and I appreciated how well the five symmetric names were incorporated in ‘approximately’ the right places in the grid. I never found the IGUAZA Falls (a feature I did not know). I looked for Angel and Aconcagua early on, but they were clearly not there!
Thanks to Gaston and mc_rapper67.