Kairos fills the Tuesday spot this week.
We found this to be a fairly straightforward grid fill with a good mixture of clue types and some creative definitions.
As it is a Tuesday we were on the lookout for a theme all the way through, but nothing leapt out at us. We have studied the completed grid and still cannot see enough connected entries to constitute a theme.
We wondered whether there could be a theme round commercial radio stations, with CLASSIC FM at 8d and KISS at 12ac, but we can’t find any other popular stations – there are apparently stations called MORE (21ac) FREE and TIME (19ac). If this is the theme, other thematic entries could possibly be MUSIC (3d) and EXTRA (24d) as in Radio 4 Extra, but the connections are rather loose.
Another possibility we considered is a BREAKFAST (7d) theme, with SAUSAGE (5d) and SCHOOL RUN (14d) loosely connected, but this is hardly a theme.
Are we missing something?
Perhaps Kairos will enlighten us later?
An anagram (‘rewritten’) of MANUAL
SITS (takes, as in ‘sits an exam’ perhaps) BACK (position on the field)
Hidden or ‘buried’ in catcH A US FRAUdster – a rather tongue-in-cheek definition
ONE (I) + a homophone (‘reportedly’) of WEIGH (consider)
An anagram (‘high’) of SHY CHAP and POT
Double definition
IS (island) LINE (business) round or ‘capturing’ O (old) C (carbon)
CHANCerY (court) with ER (queen) omitted or ‘leaving’
Triple definition
FRET (worry) round E (first letter or ‘bank’ of England) + IE (that is) round or ‘holding’ M (money)
OR (other ranks – ‘troops’) in ME (Maine)
Someone who is ‘motor-phobic’ could fancifully be described as a CAR DREADER
Double definition
An anagram (‘in a storm’) of ChEATED ON with the ‘h’ (husband) omitted or ‘leaving’
The clue initially needs AND (with) to be inside or ‘cracking’ I (single) MATE (partner), but it is the other way round (‘quite the reverse’) – I MATE in AND
Hidden (‘from’) and reversed (‘back’) in navaL AIR EStablishment
LEAN (skinny) S (soprano)
MU (letter ‘to the Phillipians’ – Greeks) SIC (faithfully reproduced)
PRIOR (of first importance) in AI (artificial intelligence)
SA (Salvation Army) USE (service) round or ‘including’ A G (good)
PORT (drink) reversed or ‘returned’ + HIC (Latin for here)
An anagram (‘cooked’) of FAT BAKER’S
FM (First Minister) after or ‘supporting’ CLASSIC (outstanding)
SCHOOL (‘swimming group’) RUN (organise)
An anagram (‘could be’) of EPIC DREAM
ENC (enclosure) ANT (soldier) round or ‘guarding’ H (hospital)
Someone who is bellicose could be described as FOR WAR + D (duke)
gARNERS (stores up) with E (first letter or ‘source’ of Euros) replacing the ‘G’ (German)
R (reading – one of the ‘3 Rs’) EDDA (old Norse work) all reversed or ‘about’
AXE (cut) reversed or ‘up’ round TR (Turkey)
Certainly musically eclectic today, with a mixed bag of classical and rock references, and if radio stations is indeed the theme applies to that too. Very enjoyable, so thanks Kairos and B&J.
This was enjoyable and challenging as Kairos’ puzzles always are, but, as ever, it all got sorted out with a bit of perseverance. ISOCLINE and TROPHIC were new words for me but readily derivable from the wordplay.
The TD for 17a was my favourite.
Many thanks to Kairos and to B&J.
I couldn’t spot a theme either, but maybe it is radio stations as you suggest. I progressed steadily through this until I was left with the crossing 26a and 20d. (G)ARNERS is not a word that came to mind easily for ‘stores up’ and I had to sleep on it to clear the mind before it appeared from somewhere.
I liked the ‘domestic engineer?’ for HAUSFRAU, the idea of the ‘Skinny soprano’ at 2d and especially SAUSAGE as a ‘term of endearment’ – even better if used with “silly old…”.
Thanks to Kairos and B&J
Classic FM has a More Music Breakfast and a School Run, it seems.
Presumably more in there as well, so either this as a theme, or radio more generally with Kiss FM and others as mentioned by blogger and posters.
I took the theme to be just Classic FM, but I see the wider music theme. The other reference I took to be to CFM is “Sausage”, as one of the presenters – I think Alexander Armstrong – addresses children as “sausage” when he plays a request for them.
Thanks to BertandJoyce and of course Kairos. Looking forward to his reply.
For some reason I made quite heavy weather of this, not helped by the unknowns – ISOCLINE & TROPHIC. I did get satisfaction from completing it but was moved to write ‘phew’ at the top of my sheet!
CARD READER made me laugh so gets my vote for today.
Thanks to Kairos for the battle and to B&J for the review – hope Bert returned safely with no broken bones or sprains to report!
Many thanks to Bert and Joyce for the review and analysis. Folks have tiptoed around the theme but not quite reached it.
Tim Lihoreau hosts the MORE MUSIC BREAKFAST show on CLASSIC FM. The show features the SCHOOL RUN where he plays music for children on the way to school. He affectionately refers to them as SAUSAGES. Tim also has the breakfast SERIAL where listeners come up with a link from the previous day’s music to a new piece – the musical equivalent of word association football. There is also the CARPE DIEM clue where Tim provides a cryptic clue to a book, film, new item etc and listeners text the answer in the hope of getting a name check.
As Tim’s inimitable brand of insanity and sense of humour has helped keep me sane over the last 18 or so months working from home and having been name checked by Tim on too many occasions, I thought I would repay the compliment by including the theme in the crossword.
PS – The remaining musical references and allusions were simply stocking fillers!
Thanks Kairos for dropping by and filling in the gaps.
Jane – Bert is still having some problems with his knee but otherwise very pleased to have completed the challenge.
We found this a fairly quick solve, but failed to spot the theme. We did wonder if it had anything to do with 8dn, but couldn’t get very far with the idea as our main radio station is R3.
We did raise our eyebrows slighly at TROIKA, thiking it was either too obvious (to anyone familiar with Prokofiev) or too obscure (to anyone unfamiliar with him).
We hadn’t met TROPHIC as such before; only in compounds such as ‘eutrophic’.
Favourite was ANECDOTE for the misleading surface.
Thanks, Kairos and B&J.
No chance whatsoever of spotting the theme, never having heard of even Classic FM (a guess), but I really enjoyed this! I thought it quite a bit harder than other Kairos puzzles I have attempted. Failed on 28A. What is “Band of Brothers”?
Band of Brothers was an American mini-series from 2001 – it won An Emmy and Golden Globe. It was based on a novel of the sane name about an airborne division during the Second World War. It starred Damian Lewes. We enjoyed watching it at the time!
So it seems no one else held themselves up for ages with CAPITAL rather than CLASSIC FM – which works just as well with the definition of not the crossers. Thanks to Kairos and B&J