Rodriguez has set this week’s Thursday puzzle.
It would be a shame if solvers were too busy getting ready for Christmas to find time to solve what, in my humble opinion, is a brilliant puzzle.
The puzzle has a double theme around “pieces of eight”, meaning treasure, coins AND “pieces of music”, where “music” is the entry at 8. This made for a lot of (ambiguous) cross references in the clues, which might not be to everybody’s taste, but personally speaking, I enjoyed this extra layer of complexity and enjoyment. Rodriguez then cleverly extends the theme to cover references to Treasure Island and jazz musicians!
3 was a new word for me, as was the Welsh town at 7. My favourite clues are 25, for surface reading; and, above all, 19, for incorporating both interpretations of pieces of eight/8. However, this is definitely a puzzle that is greater than the sum of its parts in terms of entertainment value.
My thanks go to Rodriguez for this early Christmas present, and my best wishes for Christmas to the whole of the 15² community.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | HAWKINS | Seeker of 9 in story briefly flogging son
HAWKIN<g> (‘=flogging, i.e. selling wares; “briefly” means last letter is dropped) + S (=son); Jim Hawkins is one of the treasure-hunters (=seeks of pieces of eight, entry at 9) in the Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel Treasure Island |
| 05 | TANDEM | Pair sunbathe by sea, rolling over
TAN (=sunbathe) + DEM (MED=sea, i.e. the Mediterranean; “rolling over” indicates reversal) |
| 10 | JAZZ | A boring judge axes 9 from 1 and 27, say
A in [J (=judge) + Z Z (=axes, on a graph)]; Coleman Hawkins (=entry at 1) and Horace Silver (=entry at 27) are jazz musicians, with 9 meaning “music”, i.e. “pieces of (entry at) 8” |
| 11 | SPIRITLESS | Meek, as one should be after an exorcism?
One should be “spirit-less (=free)” after an exorcism |
| 12 | AMMONIAC | Along with e.g. bullets, I can supply tree resin
AMMO (=bullet) + *(I CAN); “supply (=flexibly)” is anagram indicator; gum ammoniac is a tree resin |
| 13 | SKETCH | Depiction of vessel after heading for sea
S<ea> (“heading for” means first letter only) + KETCH (=vessel) |
| 14 | ANTHEMS | Soldiers perhaps guarding border getting 9
HEM (=border) in ANTS (=soldiers); anthems are “pieces of (entry at) 8”, i.e. music |
| 16 | VALETS | Men serving ball regularly caught by old stagers
<b>A<l>L (“regularly” means alternate letters only) in VETS (=old stagers, i.e. veterans) |
| 18 | GLOATS | Boasts some old 27 26 must change hands
GROATS (=some old silver cash, i.e. entries at 27 26); “change hands” means that R=right becomes L=left |
| 19 | FORTUNE | A lot of 9 favouring 9 mostly
FOR (=favouring) + TUNE<s> (=music, i.e. pieces of (entry at) 8; “mostly” means last letter is dropped); a fortune is a lot of money, i.e. pieces of eight |
| 20 | OPUSES | 9 or 21 spread around for all to see
U (=for all to see, of film) in *(PESOS (=entry at 21); opuses are music, i.e. pieces of (entry at) 8 |
| 23 | INUNDATE | Overwhelm lady with faith during one assignation
NUN (=lady with faith) in [I (=one) + DATE (=assignation)] |
| 25 | ASTONISHES | Staggers in part of Brum and wants whiskey to go
ASTON (=part of Brum, i.e. district of Birmingham) + <w>ISHES (=wants; “whiskey (=W, in radio telecommunications) to go” means letter “w” is dropped) |
| 26 | CASH | Country 8 star’s // 9, say
Double definition: Johnny Cash is a country music (entry at 8) star AND cash is pieces of eight (=entry at 9), say |
| 27 | SILVER | 9, or // a seeker of 9 in story
Silver is cash (=pieces of eight) AND Long John Silver (=seeker of pieces of eight in story, i.e. in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island) |
| 28 | ECSTASY | A high city thoroughfare, say, winding around
EC (=city, of London) + ST (=thoroughfare, i.e. street) + *(SAY); “winding around” is anagram indicator |
| Down | ||
| 02 | ALARM CALL | Matutinal signal recalling troops caught by everyone
A LA (=recalling, reminiscent of) + RM (=Royal Marines) + C (=caught, on cricket score card) + ALL (=everyone) |
| 03 | KAZOO | One’s blown a thousand going around park
KA (A + K (=thousand); “going around” indicates reversal) + ZOO (=(animal) park); a kazoo is a musical instrument consisting of a tube with a string of e.g. catgut that makes a buzzing sound when hummed into |
| 04 | NASTINESS | New, sparkling white cape displaying filth
N (=new) + ASTI (=sparkling white (wine)) + NESS (=cape, headland) |
| 06 | ARIAS | King invested in capital for instance 9
R (=king, i.e. Rex) in [A1 (=capital, top-quality) + AS (=for instance)]; arias are music, i.e. pieces of (entry at) 8 |
| 07 | DOLGELLAU | Incredibly old cricket side about to get a lot of praise in Welsh town
*(OLD) + GEL (LEG=cricket side; “about” indicates reversal) + LAU<d> (=praise; “a lot of” means last letter is dropped); “incredibly” is anagram indicator; Dolgellau is a small town in Gwynedd, NW Wales |
| 08 | MUSIC | Maybe air current problem about leader of Conservatives
MUSI (I=current, in physics + SUM (=problem); “about” indicates reversal) + C<onservatives> (“leader of” means first letter only) |
| 09 | PIECES OF EIGHT | Guns old earl’s taken into battle for treasure
PIECES (=guns, revolvers) + O (=old) + [E (=earl) in FIGHT (=battle)] |
| 15 | TOADSTOOL | Toxic growth of vile people with 26 turning up
TOADS (=vile people) + TOOL (LOOT=cash, entry at 26; “turning up” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 16 | VIRTUOSIC | Endless faith, say, and love thus for expert in music
VIRTU<e> (=faith, say; “endless” means last letter is dropped) + O (=love, i.e. zero score) + SIC (=thus) |
| 17 | TREATISES | Agreements to receive Sunday papers
S (=Sunday) in TREATIES (=agreement); a treatise is a formal composition tackling a subject, an academic paper |
| 21 | PESOS | Outline of prelude, needing help to make 9
P<relud>E (“outline of” means first and last letters only) + SOS (=(call for) help); pesos are pieces of eight (=entry at 9) |
| 22 | SUITE | Spades perhaps beginning to excavate set of 9
SUIT (=spades perhaps, in pack of cards) + E<xcavate> (“beginning to” means first letter only); a suite is a set of “pieces of (entry at) 8” |
| 24 | DUCAT | Bit of 27 26 in area in Channel
A (=area) in DUCT (=channel); a ducat is a bit of silver cash (=entries at 27 26) |
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