A puzzle from Wiglaf today.
Tuesday is usually theme day in the Independent series, but I can’t see anything in the grid that fits the bill. Perhaps Eimi’s puzzle yesterday hijacked theme day this week.
I seem to be solving quite a few puzzles just now where Esau and his exchange of his birthright for a MESS OF POTTAGE crops up. Wiglaf’s clue at 7 down makes it three in a week for me.
The discovery that OPUSES at 2 down and OPERA are different forms of the same word was new to me, but crosswords are often a rich source of new information. SENUSSI, the entry at 15 down was a new word for me. Every other entry was a word I have come across before, even if only in crosswords, e.g. PIGNUT at 19 down.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 6 |
One wallows in river (5) HIPPO (HIPPOpotamus, an animal that wallows in a river) HIP (trendy; in) + PO (river in Italy) HIP PO |
| 7 |
"Tree person" on plantation (8) MANGROVE (a tree, especially a species of Rhizophora, that grows in muddy swamps covered at high tide or on tropical coasts and estuary shores) MAN (person) + GROVE (small plantation of trees) MAN GROVE |
| 9 |
From what we hear, they may be just fools? (8) DESSERTS (items found in the final course of a meal; puddings or other sweet items) DESSERTS (a FOOL [puree of fruit scalded or stewed, mixed with cream or custard and sugar] is a type of DESSERT) There is also a reference to the phrase JUST DESSERTS. I’m not sure why we need the ‘from what we hear’. DESSERTS |
| 10 |
Description of alternative energy for the most part (5) GREEN (a word used to describe environmentally friendly forms of many activities, such a the provision of energy) Anagram of (alternative) ENERGY excluding the final letter Y (for the most part) GREEN* |
| 11 |
Compulsive boozer’s consuming interest is drawing (4,4) DIPS INTO (puts one’s hand into to remove something; is drawing [from]) DIPSO (dipsomaniac [someone who constantly craves alcoholic stimulants; compulsive boozer) containing (consuming) INT (interest) DIPS (INT) O |
| 12 |
One of the glitterati jilts a famous surgeon (6) LISTER (reference Joseph LISTER [1827 – 1912], British surgeon, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery) A-LISTER (one who belongs to the most important or famous group; one of the glitterati) excluding (jilts) A LISTER |
| 13 |
Recalled endless sex party with bit of tit for tat (4) GROT (rubbish; tat) ORGY [sex party] excluding the final letter Y (endless) reversed (recalled) + T (first letter of [bit of] TIT) GRO< T |
| 15 |
It’s great when complainant keeps quiet (5) SUPER (exceptionally good; great) SUER (complainant) containing (keeps) P (piano; quiet) SU (P) ER |
| 16 |
Shadow bans earl from online business (4) TAIL (follow closely; shadow) E-TAIL (electronic retail; online business) excluding (bans) E (earl) TAIL |
| 18 |
Encourage boy to keep up looking left and right (4,2) SPUR ON (encourage) SON (boy) containing (to keep) (UP [reversed {looking left}] + R [right]) S (PU< R) ON |
| 20 |
Triple-layered, the answer has to be varied slightly (5-3) THREE-PLY (having three layers or strands) THE REPLY (the answer) with the third and fourth letter swapped [varied slightly] to form THREE-PLY THREE-PLY |
| 23 |
Large Greek with large son (5) GROSS (very large) GR (Greek) + OS (outsize [large]) + S (son) GR OS S |
| 24 |
Awfully enraging? (8) ANGERING (enraging) Anagram of (awfully) ENRAGING ANGERING* |
| 25 |
He is getting irritated with nun’s bright outlook (8) SUNSHINE (brightness) Anagram of (getting irritated) HE IS and [with] NUN’S SUNSHINE* |
| 26 |
Gent finally turned on – seeing a bit of leg (5) THIGH (part of the leg) T (last letter of [finally] GENT) + HIGH (excited; turned on) T HIGH |
| Down | |
| 1 |
Charlie and I see her sadly becoming more tacky (8) CHEESIER (more artificial, inferior or tacky) C (cocaine; charlie) + an anagram of (sadly) I SEE HER C HEESIER* |
| 2 |
Love the sound of Cats as an alternative to opera (6) OPUSES (opera is an alternative form of the plural of OPUS) O (zero; love score in tennis) + PUSES (sounds like [the sound of] PUSSES [cats]) O PUSES |
| 3 |
Author Shirley managed to support kid (6) CONRAN (reference Shirley CONRAN [born 1932], British novelist and journalist) CON (swindle; kid) + RAN (managed) As this is a down entry the letters in RAN are supporting the letters in CON CON RAN |
| 4 |
Retired pilot caught stealing European tableware (5,3) CRUET-SET (set of condiments for the table) ([TEST {trial; pilot} + C {caught}] containing [stealing] EUR [European]) all reversed (retired) (C (RUE) T SET)< |
| 5 |
Gene Vincent’s entertaining show (6) EVINCE (show clearly) EVINCE (hidden word in [entertaining] GENE VINCENT) EVINCE |
| 7 |
Cock-up on the catering front? It cost an inheritance (4,2) MESS OF POTTAGE (Esau, son of Isaac, sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a MESS OF POTTAGE) MESS OF (cock-up) + POTTAGE (soup; catering item) MESS OF POTTAGE |
| 8 |
He pettily criticises government line in African state (7) NIGGLER (one who criticises in a petty way) (G [government] + L [line]) contained in (in) NIGER (West African country) NIG (G L) ER |
| 14 |
Slowcoach tires too easily (8) TORTOISE (slow-moving person) Anagram of (easily) TIRES TOO TORTOISE* |
| 15 |
Muslim nurse is upset about America (7) SENUSSI (member of a Muslim sect, chiefly in North East Africa) (SEN [State Enrolled Nurse] + IS reversed [upset; down entry]) containing (about) US (United States; America) SEN (US) SI< |
| 17 |
I loan out the work of G&S (8) IOLANTHE (comic opera written and composed by Gilbert and Sullivan) I + an anagram of (out) LOAN + THE I OLAN* THE |
| 19 |
Edible tuber provided by animal lover (6) PIGNUT (earthnut [edible root-tuber]) PIG [animal] + NUT [person with an obsessive interest; lover] PIG NUT |
| 21 |
Sorts out ceremonies in the auditorium (6) RIGHTS (sets in order; sorts out) RIGHTS (sounds like [in the auditorium] RITES [ceremonies]) RIGHTS |
| 22 |
Bug in more ways than one (6) EARWIG (insect; bug) EARWIG (eavesdrop usually surreptitiously; bug) double definition EARWIG |
For 9a it sounds like “just deserts”, that’s “deserts” as in things deserved, often now written as “just desserts”, hence the confusion.
There are quite a few Reggie Perrin references.
The deserts of just deserts only has one ‘s’ – that which is deserved.
I found this quite hard and needed a sleep to clear the brain to finish. My third encounter with Esau and Jacob this week too, though I think (someone will probably tell me I’m wrong) the first time that the specific words MESS OF POTTAGE have been mentioned and it was therefore unparsed and my last in. DESSERTS, OPUSES and teasing out the definition of DIPS INTO were other hold-ups in the NW. No luck in identifying a theme either; if it turns out to be Reggie Perrin, I’d have no hope.
I agree with the “deserts” / DESSERTS homophone parsing of 9a. Favourite was the “Mud, mud, glorious mud” reminder at 6a.
Thanks to Wiglaf and Duncan
Reggie Perrin – you are so right Hovis and now I am kicking myself. Well spotted!
I didn’t supply any of the Reggie Perrin links since I may well miss a lot of them. Here are the ones I spotted: Reginald IOLANTHE Perrin, SUNSHINE DESSERTS, SUPER & RIGHTs, GROT, HIPPO (his mother-in-law). Also “cock up on the catering front” was often said by his brother-in-law, played by the brilliant Geoffrey Palmer.
Also Joan GREENGROSS his secretary.
Well spotted Hovis. I’m of an age that I can’t see GROT without immediately thinking of Perrin. Remarkably prescient insofar as there are plenty of businesses out there today making millions from selling tat. I had forgotten (if I ever knew) his middle name, though. I looked hopefully back over the answers in search of Clapham Junction or defective bogie but, no, they hadn’t appeared. EARWIG is one of the random words that Reggie utters as the pressure begins to tell on him: “I didn’t get where I am today by saying ‘earwig’ instead of ‘thank you’.”
Stepping aside from the theme, DESSERTS is beautifully clued – though, as if to compensate, IOLANTHE isn’t the most testing clue Wiglaf has ever conjured up.
Thanks to both
I’d tentatively suggest 26ac as a theme clue. Didn’t Reggie spend a lot of time gazing at Joan’s THIGH?
7d “Cock-up on the catering front” was a catchphrase of Reggie’s brother-in-law,
Jimmy. Played by the wonderful Geoffrey Palmer.
Great puzzle
I can’t believe, Rog, that THIGH isn’t intentional. Nice one. I am going to add, though at a stretch, PIGNUT. Well he was very happy in that job.
Always like a Wiglaf, though this one was regrettably over quite quickly. I only got mess of pottage because mess fitted the crossers and it seemed to fit with the catering part, but then it turned out to be the cock-up.
I’ve never seen Reggie Perrin, but Geoffrey Palmer was marvellous.
Thanks Duncan, Wiglaf
Having never watched Reggie Perrin the theme passed us by completely – but it was totally unnecessary for solving the puzzle. We liked MESS OF POTTAGE although it was a bit of a write-in but our favourite was HIPPO; one of those clues where you think “surely it can’t be” and then suddenly realise “yes it is!”
Thanks, Wiglaf and Duncan.
Postmark @7 surprised you didn’t remember his middle name because it was necessary to make his initials RIP…
Thanks Wiglaf, I enjoyed this quite a bit even though I’ve never heard of Reggie Perrin. SPUR ON, the &lit ANGERING, and OPUSES were all favourites. GROT, SENUSSI, and PIGNUT were new words for me. I could not parse LISTER, HIPPO, or THREE-PLY so thanks Duncan for the help.
Spotted the theme!
On the matter of OPUSES and opera, many years ago I read a comprehensive biography of the composer Anton Webern where the author throughout refers to “his opera”, which confused me at first as Webern didn’t write any operas.
11a was the one that beat me. I knew it had to end in ‘into’ and that confused me no end as I couldn’t see how that would fit with the tense. Call me pedantic but the definition of ‘is drawing’ or just ‘drawing’ would be ‘dipping into’. Ending the clue with the word ‘draws’ would be correct, but obviously wouldn’t work.
Am I missing something? No matter how many times I say it I can’t get it to work.
Anne Parish @ 16 “is drawing” is equivalent to “draws”. He is drawing. He draws.