Alchemi is the setter of the Independent Tuesday puzzle last week.
As it is Tuesday, it must be theme day. It’s also Valentine’s Day but that might be too obvious a theme, so I looked a bit further. Last Tuesday we had the music of Jeff Beck; today we have tracks from a 1971 Album released by The Who. The entry at 26/27/28 was a pointer to the other thematic entries.
I think there are five tracks from the Who’s Next album shown (or very nearly shown) in the grid
The SONG is OVER
BARGAIN
GETTING IN TUNE
BEHIND BLUE EYES; and
WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN
I can’t see any relationship between 14th February and The Who, so Alchemi probably just likes The Who
It’s always interesting to see the words that are used as anagram indicators. I think today is the first time I have seen ‘carnage’ used in this way.
I liked the clue for BLUE EYES with it’s multiple use of first and last letters, although ‘enforcedly’ stood out as an odd word that must be serving some special purpose.
There was multiple use (well, just twice) of another device using the first letters where we had ‘naked’ in 6 down and ‘barely’ in 21 down.
My last one in was MONTHS where it took me along time to dredge up MOTHS rather than bats as night-flyers.
Thanks to Alchemi.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
Clothing for baseball umpire enforcedly exhibits a distinguishing feature (4,4) BLUE EYES (distinguishing feature) BL (outer letters of [clothing for] BASEBALL) + UE (outer letters of [clothing for] UMPIRE) + EY (outer letters of [clothing for] ENFORCEDLY) + ES (outer letters of [clothing for] EXHIBITS) BL UE EY ES |
| 5 |
Overthrow of government initially letting everyone have sex (6) COUPLE (pair sexually) COUP (COUP [D’ETAT] – a violent or subversive action resulting in a change of government or state policy) + LE (first letters of each of [initially] LETTING EVERYONE) COUP LE |
| 10 |
Greek philosopher greeting power flower (5) HIPPO (Hippo was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, from around the 5th century BCE) HI (a greeting) + P (power) + PO (Italian river; flower) HI P PO |
| 11 |
Carry On Poet cures disorder (9) PROSECUTE (carry on with) Anagram of (disorder) POET CURES PROSECUTE* |
| 12 |
Europeans swearing on Carnage (10) NORWEGIANS (natives of Norway, a European country) Anagram of (carnage) SWEARING ON NORWEGIANS* |
| 13 |
Air therefore no good (4) SONG (an air) SO (therefore) + NG (no good) SO NG |
| 15 |
Night flyers welcome neutral periods (6) MONTHS (periods of time) MOTHS (insects that habitually fly at night) containing (welcome) N (neutral) MO (N) THS |
| 16 |
Cheap lawyers win (7) BARGAIN (cheap buy) BAR (legal profession; lawyers) + GAIN (win) BAR GAIN |
| 19 |
Understanding old giant breaks horse (7) GETTING (understanding) ETTIN (archaic [old] word for a giant) contained in (breaks) GG (gee-gee; child’s word for a horse) G (ETTIN) G |
| 21 |
Tie nun up harmoniously (2,4) IN TUNE (harmoniously) Anagram of (up) TIE NUN IN TUNE* |
| 23 |
A large number start to retch at the back of the boat (4) RAFT (large number) R (first letter of [start to] RETCH) + AFT (nautical term for ‘towards the stern or back of the boat’) R AFT |
| 25 |
Happy to keep MI6 steady (10) CONSISTENT (fixed or steady) CONTENT (happy) containing (to keep) SIS (Secret Intelligence Service; MI6) CON (SIS) TENT |
| 27 |
See 26 Down [WON’T] GET FOOLED [AGAIN] |
| 28 |
See 26 Down [WON’T GET FOOLED] AGAIN |
| 29 |
Tell story backwards during scripture lesson (6) RELATE (tell) TALE (story) reversed (backwards) and contained in (during) RE (religious education; scripture lesson) R (ELAT<) E |
| 30 |
Ditch everybody in times showing great cruelty (8) BRUTALLY (showing great cruelty) (RUT [ditch] + ALL [everybody]) contained in (in) (BY [multiply; times]) B (RUT ALL) Y |
| Down | |
| 1 |
Losing what Unite accepts (6) BEHIND (losing) BIND (unite) containing (accepts) EH (a word expressing enquiry; what?) B (EH) IND |
| 2 |
Top university job includes a hairdo (9) UPPERMOST (top) (U [university] + POST [job]) containing (includes) PERM (PERManent wave; hairdo) U P (PERM) OST |
| 3 |
Say concert I organised is all about me (10) EGOCENTRIC (self-centred; all about me) EG (for example; say) + an anagram of (organised) CONCERT and I EG OCENTRIC* |
| 4 |
English politician connects drains (7) EMPTIES (drains) E (English) + MP (member of parliament; politician) + TIES (connects) E MP TIES |
| 6 |
Past lovers, naked (4) OVER (finished; past) OVER (letters remaining in LOVERS when the outer clothing, the letters L and S are removed [naked]) OVER |
| 7 |
Underworld boss’s place you went to finally (5) PLUTO (the Greek god [boss] of the underworld) PL (place) + UTO (last letters of [finally] each of YOU, WENT and TO) PL UTO |
| 8 |
Ten twists about to become one on the way out (8) EMERGENT (appearing; rising; on the way out) Anagram of (twists) TEN containing (about) MERGE (become one) E (MERGE) NT* |
| 9 |
Originally having ordered bacon, nursing orderly brings biscuit (6) HOBNOB (type of biscuit) HOBNOB (first letters [originally) of each of HAVING, ORDERED, BACON, NURSING, ORDERLY and BRINGS) H O B N O B |
| 14 |
Harry Potter’s social worker, faithful sort (10) PROTESTANT (someone who shares the beliefs, of one of those churches founded by the Reformers; faithful sort) Anagram of (harry) POTTERS + ANT (worker insect who is a member of a social colony) PROTEST* ANT |
| 17 |
Beginning to hug everybody after dreadfully inane film (5,4) ANNIE HALL (romantic comedy film released in 1977) Anagram of (dreadfully) INANE + H (first letter of [beginning to] HUG) + ALL (everybody) ANNIE* H ALL |
| 18 |
Setter repeats Indian music ascending (4- 4) AGAR-AGAR (jelly prepared from seaweeds of various kinds; setter) (RAGA [traditional Hindu [Indian] musical form or mode) + RAGA again [repeats]) all reversed (ascending; down entry) (AGAR AGAR)< |
| 20 |
Spinning delivery like a search engine? (6) GOOGLY (cricketing term for a delivery that spins the opposite way to that expected) GOOGLY |
| 21 |
Areas India redeveloped without any adults having specialist knowledge (7) INSIDER (someone within an organisation in a position to gain specialist knowledge) Anagram of (redeveloped) AREAS INDIA excluding (without any) the three As (adults) INSIDER* |
| 22 |
Malodorous pigpen hosts tattoo (6) STINKY (smelly; malodorous) STY (pig pen) containing (hosts) INK (to tattoo) ST (INK) Y |
| 24 |
Barely, if at all, certain to kill (5) FATAL (causing death; certain to kill) FATAL (letters remaining in IF AT ALL when the outer letters [clothing] I and L are removed [barely]) FATAL |
| 26/27/28 |
Song breaking law of egg detonation (4,3,6,5) WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN (song released by The Who in 1971) Anagram of (breaking) LAW OF EGG DETONATION WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN* |
The theme was right up my street. The Who are one of my favourite rock bands and Who’s Next is one of their best albums. Alchemi prompted me to dig out my dusty vinyl copy and listen to the whole thing. It’s all great but Won’t Get Fooled Again is a timeless classic.
The Greek philosopher seemed a bit random, but not if you are into Greek philosophy, I suppose.
Many thanks to Alchemi for a fun puzzle and the trip down memory lane. Thanks too to Duncan.
I had the same thing with bats/moths. LOI. Fun crossword. GOOGLY and STINKY would be my top two. Liked The Who way back when. Thanks.
I did recognise the 26-28 combo as a song by The Who but not the others or the album and one example – even multi-worded – does not make a theme. So thanks to duncan for filling in the rest.
Looking back over the clues, I find I am drawn to a number of quite simple devices that just worked very elegantly today: MONTHS, GETTING, UPPERMOST, EMPTIES, OVER, HOBNOB, PROTESTANT and FATAL were my favourites though the overall puzzle was very enjoyable.
Carnage is a new one on me though I have to admit to still finding a nounal anagrind immediately following the fodder to be awkward. I’m not 110% happy with the imperative verb following the fodder but have reluctantly accepted that it works so ‘poet cures’ disorder for PROSECUTE does the job; ‘swearing on carnage’ doesn’t do it so well, even though I know exactly what Alchemi wants me to do.
Thanks Alchemi and duncan
Thanks Duncan and all.
I’m rather with PostMark about ghost themes. I admit that on this occasion, I did actually clue a song as “Song”, because I couldn’t bear to leave it out – as Rabbit Dave says, it’s a classic and therefore just about counts as a title non-experts in the artist would know. But I generally dislike having ghost-themed puzzles signposted as such.
I need a seed to get a puzzle started because I’m hopeless at filling grids without one. If I’ve got an idea which involves linking clues or using the same word over and over again or referring to events or what have you, in which the solver needs to have some thematic knowledge, then the theme will be obvious. But if I’ve just found a source for a bunch of words to get a puzzle started and basically avoid making any reference to where the seed came from, then, to be honest, it’s only specifically aimed at me. If anyone else manages to spot where I got my seed from, fine, but I hate people thinking they’ve been made to feel stupid because they should have spotted it. If it isn’t an entertaining puzzle without any knowledge of where the words came from, I’ve failed. I composed a puzzle which included the track listing for Tangerine Dream’s first album (not Phaedra, but the one only issued in Germany), an album which I’ve never even seen, let alone heard, and I can’t believe that anyone would spot that in a million years. This puzzle was 718 for me, and Who’s Next was released in August 1971 and has a number of track titles which one can clue sensibly, so I gave it a shot to see what would come out.
Thanks both. Knew the song and guessed there might be other Who tracks, but I wasn’t buying albums that long ago. The definition for EMERGENT puzzled me, and I see ‘outgoing’ as a listed synonym, which I wonder may be in the sense of being flamboyant rather than actually on the way out?
I don’t really keep a track of which setters fall into my Medium/Hard/Give Up catagories, but this one today flew in for me in about half an hour. Just on the same wavelength I guess. Forgot it was theme Tuesday (as always) but it wouldn’t have helped anyway. Not a Who fan, but it certainly didn’t hinder me or spoil my enjoyment of the puzzle.
Thanks to Alchemi and to Duncan for his usual very neat blog.
I missed the theme despite my older brother having bought the album not long after it was released and hearing it many times then. I obviously remember the “unconventional” image on the album cover better than I do the songs! Still, managed to finish OK and enjoyed the tussle.
My favourite was ANNIE HALL, a film of which I have fond memories; I hope Alchemi liked the film more than the surface of the clue would indicate!
Thanks to Alchemi (and thanks for popping in) and Duncan
Yet another theme that has no interest or meaning for me – heigh ho, press on! Apart from that, I enjoyed the puzzle, so thanks Alchemi and Duncan.
Ah well – so much for my hopes of a Valentine’s Day theme! It did start out promisingly with BLUE EYES and COUPLE but rapidly went downhill.
Tops for me today were SONG, MONTHS & BARGAIN.
Thanks to Alchemi and to Duncan for the review.
Having spotted NORWEGIANs, BLUE and PLUTO, I was expecting a death-based theme as a counterbalanced to the more saccharine side of Valentine’s Day. Some nice surfaces today , even the rather surreal law of egg detonation.
Am not a big music fan, so have heard of Wont Get Fooled Again, but managed to unpick the anagram
Liked BLUE EYES, and AGAR-AGAR, and was another one thinking of Bats as night fliers (with a couple of vain attempts to somehow shoehorn owls in as well) before moths clicked.
[PeterT @10: Having spotted NORWEGIANs, BLUE …etc: unlike you, I was expecting a Monty Python-based theme …!]
I thought this most enjoyable, elegant and relatively light with smiles throughout the grid.
My favourite was the clever PROTESTANT but I liked the almost childish GOOGLY and STINKY too, along with NAKED (&) COUPLE plus MOTHS.
Not a huge fan of The Who but I absolutely love BARGAIN (the best I’ve ever had!)
Many thanks ALCHEMI and DS.
Well, I’ve heard of The Who, but knew nothing about them and didn’t get any of the song titles. The long entry I guessed from the crossers. But, apart from that, fairly easy.
Tuesday, theme day. So when we got BLUE EYES straight off as FOI we thought ‘Sinatra?’ No, obviously not, as it transpired and we had no idea after that. An enjoyable puzzle, nevertheless, although it took us ages to work out the 26/27/28 anagram.
Thanks, Alchemi and Duncan.
Some might say “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is ideal for a Valentine’s Day puzzle 🙂