All Present and Correct by Eclogue
Silvered entries are to be deduced from the eight thematic clues, listed in alphabetical order of their solutions, which lack definitions. Initial letters of these entries can be rearranged to provide a ninth thematic solution, to which the equivalent ‘entry’ should be written below the grid.
NB The title may need to be considered historically in some instances.
A fairly straightforward preamble for a change. Should I be worried? Does Eclogue have something up his sleeve? And what does the NB at the end mean?
The first clue my eyes were drawn to was 12a and I solved it, pretty much, straight away. This led me to tackle 7d – a pretty obvious anagram of a word I’ve never heard before. And then I was off and running.
Normally when a crossword comes with thematic clues like this, I tend to ignore them until the grid fill has progressed or desperation has set in. In this case, neither actually happened before I glanced at the second such clue. It looks like a straightforward anagram and so does the fifth one for that matter. Whoa! Wait a minute, one of them is SIX words. That “must” be the long one in column c of the grid. But wait a second, 6 words between 13 letters, that’s an awful lot of short words.
OK, third clue leads to IMPOSSIBLE, let’s see where that’ll fit. Hmm… there are no 10-letter entries, let’s go back to the normal clues.
At this point, I had _RM_T_ON_ in column h and suddenly elmac and I shouted, simultaneously, “It’s ARMSTRONG it’s POINTLESS!” The penny had well and truly dropped. The television quiz show POINTLESS was clued but ARMSTRONG (the presenter) had to be entered in the grid.
Thus all the thematic clues led to British TV game/quiz shows and their respective presenters were to be entered in the grid instead.
Soon we had unravelled all the thematic clues and were able to enter them in the grid. The shows and presenters are shown in the following table:
| Thematic clues (undefined) | |||
| Clue | Original answer | Entry | First letter |
| • Obstruct destroyers | BLOCKBUSTERS | (Bob) HOLNESS | H |
| • Upset implies sob | !MPOSSIBLE | (Rick) EDWARDS | E |
| • Rule with care | MASTERMIND | (John) HUMPHRYS | H |
| • Lone criminal caught in trap (2 words) | ONLY CONNECT | (Victoria) COREN MITCHELL | C |
| • Slip stone out | POINTLESS | (Alexander) ARMSTRONG | A |
| • Box users (2 words) | TELLY ADDICTS | (Noel) EDMONDS | E |
| • Upset ring on purpose (2 words) | TIPPING POINT | (Ben) SHEPHARD | S |
| • Lawmen woo rehabilitations somehow (6 words) | WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE | (Chris) TARRANT | T |
Now there are three things left to do:
Work out what the title means
Figure out the ninth thematic solution
OK, I guess that the NB means that this puzzle was actually compiled before the current series of Mastermind. Mastermind was presented by John Humphrys from 2003 until 2021 when Clive Myrie took over.
I think that the title is a play on the fact that these people all PRESENT the given programmes and CORRECT the contestants when they get things wrong.
The first letters of our presenters’ names give us HEHCAEST and it took us far longer than it should have to work out the anagram. It wasn’t until I said that it probably has “THE” in it that THE CHASE fell out. The Chase is, of course, presented by the ubiquitous Bradley Walsh. So “bradders” has to be written under the grid.
I’m a big game show fan so I loved this puzzle. I’ve seen, and watched, sometimes religiously, all these programmes with the exceptions of the wonderful Tipping Point which is an ITV show. ITV don’t broadcast in Ireland. The best deal I get is two or three year old programmes when one of the Irish channels broadcast them. If you’ve never seen Tipping Point, then you’re in for a treat. A lot of people slag it off because of the “dumbness” of the contestants but, be honest, wouldn’t you want to see that machine in action?? Wouldn’t you want to have a go??? I certainly would.
However, the indisputable Queen of Game Shows has to be Only Connect with the enigmatic VCM. Everything stops for approximately 26 consecutive Monday nights at 8pm. And, hey! I once got an answer right!
So that’s it, job done. Many thanks to Eclogue for one of the most enjoyable Inquisitors ever. Maybe a bit on the easy side to be a contender for POTY 2022 but you never know.
| Across | ||
| Clue | Entry | Wordplay |
| 1 Scots call about large sources of chocolate (6) | CACAOS | CA (Scots call)+CA (about)+OS (outsize: large) |
| 9 Regarding blooms distributed for all (6) | FLORAL | FOR ALL (anag: distributed) |
| 10 Admire American somewhat for his lemon squeezer (6) | REAMER | admiRE AMERican (hidden: somewhat) |
| 11 Small source of light constructed from wire (8) | FIREWORM | FROM WIRE (anag: constructed) |
| 12 Marx, perhaps, not having right to return fish (4) | OPAH | HA[r]PO (Marx) minus Right; rev: to return ref: Harpo Marx |
| 13 PA unit, for instance, a high point in series (7) | SPEAKER | PEAK (high point) inside SERies |
| 14 Student of Dublin who’s completed two years work in silence (4) | SOPH | OP (work) inside SH (silence) |
| 15 Female civil engineer is away! (5) | HENCE | HEN (female)+CE (Civil Engineer) |
| 17 Mental theory is a belief in half the alphabet? (7) | ATOMISM | (I’m not 100% sure of this one) I can see A-TO-M is half the alphabet and I can see ISM is belief but: taking belief+halphabet would make ISMATOM taking belief inside halphabet would make A-ISM-TOM, AT-ISM-OM or ATO-ISM-M |
| 18 Help limb out of bed (5) | LEG-UP | LEG (limb)+UP (outof bed) |
| 20 Noses getting bad smell at almost two miles? (5) | BOKOS | BO (body odour: bad smell)+KOS[s] (almost; a distance of 1 3/4 miles) |
| 22 One who loathes to work alone in Perth with queen (5) | HATER | HAT (to work alone; Australia)+ER (Her Majesty) |
| 23 Peacekeepers force men to remove masks (7) | UNVISOR | UN (United Nations: peacekeepers)+VIS (force)+OR (men) |
| 24 Caracul’s knitted product? (7) | ACCRUAL | CARACUL (anag: knitted) |
| 26 A light here coming onto the stage (5) | ENTRY | (double cryptic def) Referring to the practise of referring to crossword entries as lights) |
| 27 Walk unsteadily and come to a standstill (4) | HALT | (double def) |
| 29 Day in old Rome fades (4) | DIES | (double def) |
| 30 Discharge European embassy (8) | EMISSION | European+MISSION (embassy) |
| 31 City hideaway that’s long in shape but short in duration? (6) | ECLAIR | EC (City [of London])+LAIR (hideaway) One of Chambers wonderful “gigglossary” entries. ref: eclair |
| 32 Make less efficient cadet uneasy in part (6) | DETUNE | caDET UNEasy hidden: in parts |
| 33 Bovid chewed yelm that’s sweet and sour (6) | OXYMEL | OX (bovide)+YELM (anag: chewed) |
| Down | ||
| 2 Bats, say – palsied bats (7) | ALIPEDS | PALSIED (anag: bats) |
| 3 Yard cipher that enables call to NYPD? (8, 2 words)) | AREA CODE | AREA (yard)+CODE (cipher) |
| 4 Ginmaker’s tips on secret lives of elephants (4 | SLOE | S[ecret] L[ives] O[f] E[lephants] (tips of) |
| 5 Rock fragments elevation of moon and sun (6) | TERRAS | TERRA (high land on Moon’s surface)+Sun |
| 6 Sore lot reforming fashions anew (7) | RETOOLS | SORE LOT (anag: reforming) |
| 7 Mama is excited with upright leaf (13) | AMPHIGASTRIUM | MAMA IS UPRIGHT (anag: excited) |
| 8 Approaches tight pair of bends (5) | NEARS | I can see nears=approaches but nothing else |
| 16 Star oldie excites besotted admirers (9) | IDOLATERS | STARS OLDIE (anag: excites) |
| 19 Record one unpleasant downward curvature (8) | EPINASTY | EP (record)+I (one)+NASTY (unpleasant) |
| 20 Burly sort that is in fracas in Govan (7) | BRULYIE | BURLY (anag: sort)+IE (that is) |
| 21 Ancient ruined in favour of heartless poet (7) | FORDONE | FOR (in favour of)+[John] DO[n[NE (poet; heartless) ref: John Donne |
| 23 Not the first clue that’s confounded master’s scholars (6) | ULEMAS | [c]LUE (minus first letter; anag: confounded)+MASter |
| 25 Colorado embraces this member of a band of brothers (5) | CHICO | COlorado around HIC (this) ref: Chico Marx |
| 28 Jonathan’s prank achieved nothing (4) | DIDO | DID (achieved)+O (nothing) |
I thought ATOMISM was more of a cryptic definition than a charade. A belief in Marx is Marxism, a belief in nepotism is cronyism etc…, a belief in the first half of the alphabet is ATOMism
A much gentler challenge this week – answers went in thick and fast here, so much so that I was down to just a handful of clues remaining within a couple of hours. Endgame also proved to be pretty straightforward too – one of my fastest ever finishes.
For 17A : I read ISM as ‘belief in’, so I don’t think there is a need to physically conceal ISM within A TO M.
For 8D : I had NEAR as tight (as in very close) and the letter S is two bends.
Surely the Ninth ‘entry’ to be written below the grid should be just WALSH – the other eight are all surname only – it’s how Bradley Walsh would have been listed within the grid.
Many thanks to Eclogue for a light but enjoyable puzzle, to kenmac for the blog and to other commenters for sharing their thoughts.
I tried the thematic clues first (I enjoy the cold-solving phase of most puzzles, even when definitions are absent!), and I readily got Blockbusters, Impossible and Pointless. I recognised the first and third of these as TV Quiz games. Too hastily, I allowed myself to be put off by the fact that two of these solutions would not fit in any of the silvered entries, but (like you, kenmac) it did not take me long to realise the important (and precise) distinction made in the preamble between the solutions to those clues and their entries. With that information, the thematic solutions and entries were more easily found, and THE CHASE became the ninth example, with Walsh (in preference to ‘Bradley Walsh’, perhaps) as the ninth entry.
I didn’t know three of the nine featured quiz programmes, or two of the hosts, and had to look them up.
I loved the definition of ECLAIR, straight from Chambers. I knew it already as it is quite well known, and I know a few more of these quirky and humorous definitions. (For example, see stud, second headword, the definition preceding ‘stud poker’. Also middle-aged and baryon, the latter being a bit more subtle. These are all in my 2016 edition.)
Thanks to Eclogue and kenmac.
Me_Sat… @2
Sorry for repeating the point about WALSH. I was busy typing my comment.
“Light but enjoyable” MSHAH, post 2, sums this up perfectly. I’d never heard of Tipping Point, Impossible or The Chase, but in the first two cases the clues and likely names were easy enough to work out and then confirm, and there wasn’t much else the initial letter anagram could have been. Thanks to Eclogue for a pleasant diversion.
I was a great fan of Blockbusters, at least until every (male) contestant seemed to think he was the first to say “Can I have a pee, please Bob” in a knowing, aren’t-I- funny voice. With the arrival of Ecstasy that became “Can have an E please Bob?” which annoyed me even more!
Great stuff, thanks Eclogue. It perhaps took me longer than it ought to spot the theme, but once the penny dropped it was a speedy finish.
I’ve appeared on two of these shows, with limited success.
Forgot to say thanks to Kenmac and Eclogue. I seemed to have found this harder than most as don’t watch quiz games, or any TV at all really. For those quizzes I did know the presenters I remembered died years ago. Anyone still remember Magnus Magnusson? The frequent appearance of Only Connect in the IQ puzzles in the past meant I could crack the theme without the need to resort to speculative Googling, which was nice.
Alan B @ 4 : No need to apologise, it happens to us all – I unwittingly did a similar thing to PeeDee @ 1 when posting my comments on ATOMISM … it’s always good to know that others concur with our thoughts when we add our respective inputs.
I got Pointless as my first answer and correctly guessed the quiz show theme (for once, actually helped by the puzzle title that seemed to confirm it).
It was pretty straightforward from then on (once I’d confirmed Armstrong), dare I say it was possibly the easiest Inquisitor I’ve done in my two years of trying? I almost didn’t believe that “Floral” could be as obvious as an anagram of “For all”.
But it was still very enjoyable and it’s nice to get easier ones from time to time – although I did wonder whether the next one might be at the opposite end of the spectrum…
Thank you to setter and blogger, as always.
Like Peedee, I’m not a quiz watcher and struggled to connect the emerging names (Amstrong and Shephard pointed towards astronauts, if Shephard wasn’t misspelt). Humphrys helped.
Thanks, Alan R, for revealing that my dictionary has a sense of humour. I had no idea.
Thanks to Eclogue and kenmac.
An enjoyable, pretty gentle solve, helped perhaps by one of the shows in question being on the TV while I was solving. A welcome change of pace!
How anyone manages to stay awake for an entire episode of the TV mogadon that is Tipping Point is beyond me
Too busy yesterday to visit Fifteensquared, and now it’s all been said. Not brutal but good fun. Thanks all round.
Yes, a fairly gentle solve after some in the previous weeks. I was totally flummoxed by the preamble but, after solving enough usefully-placed clues, I saw a half-completed COREN-MITCHELL leaping out at me and, suddenly, everything made sense and fell into place. I am not a great fan of quiz shows with lots of dramatic pauses, background music or audience participation so had to look up some of the names to confirm them. Give me good old-fashioned UC and OC any time.
Thanks to Eclogue for an enjoyable ride and to Ken (& Ellie).
We were busy with the Indy yesterday and didn’t check out the IQ blog. Our comments would concur with David Langford@13.
However, we would add that we are Pointless fans. When the news at 5:00 on Radio 4 became too depressing with Brexit etc, we turned on the TV instead.
Thanks to kenmac and Eclogue.
Almost too easy to be enjoyable. Nevertheless, thanks to Eclogue, and to kenmac for reminding me of the “light”/ENTRY connection at 26a & the rest of the blog. (I’m with the no-Bradley group.)
A small point for Dave W @14, Victoria CM doesn’t employ a hyphen between her surnames.
15a I had:
SHE (female) and NICE (civil)… which I had to engineer… with IS away!
Which I thought deserved an exclamation! 🙂