Sorry, I scheduled this post but it was still a draft so didn’t auto-publish! This was definitely challenge worthy of a long weekend – thanks, Maskarade!
There was no real guesswork to the theme here, which meant we got off to a quick start (and 1 across was a pretty easy one), and the difference between the enumeration of the answer and grid spaces made it clear which answers were themed. That said, there was a lot of work involved in finishing this one! I think it’s one of the tougher holiday prize puzzles from the Guardian we’ve done over the past couple of years.
I really enjoyed this theme – putting unusual symbols into the grid was fun 🙂
Thank you very much to Mitz in the comments below, who made this excellent image of the completed grid, with the symbols highlighted and gave me permission to include it in this post:
Across
1. Finish one’s sentence and obey road sign (4,2,1,4,4)
COME TO A FULL STOP
Double definition: A sentence often finishes with a full stop, so “Finish one’s sentence” and the Highway Code would tell you that you need to come to a full stop at a “STOP” sign, for example
5. A London vagrant sheltered in this French portico (9)
COLONNADE
(A LONDON)* in CE = “this French”
Definition: “portico”
8. Guides having less expensive items out East(10)
CHAPERONES
CHEAPER ONES = “less expensive items” with E (“out East”)
Definition: “Guides”
13. Flyer around Scotland or Anglia, oddly (8)
LOGANAIR
(OR ANGLIA)*
Definition: “Flyer around Scotland” – “Scotland’s Airline”
14. What a newspaper! Not always! (9)
SOMETIMES
SOME = “What a” + TIMES = “newspaper” (I’m not 100% sure the SOME bit works – instead of “What a cake!” you might say “That’s some cake!” – I don’t think you’d just say “Some cake!”
Definition: “Not always!”
15. John and daughter enter new lift that’s well-illuminated (8)
FLOODLIT
LOO = “John” + D = “daughter” in (LIFT)*
Definition: “well-illuminated”
18. Nervy, sadly I call on rogue (12)
NEUROLOGICAL
(I CALL ON ROGUE)*
Definition: “Nervy”
20. Hour at church causing row at church (6)
TIERCE
TIER = “row” + CE = “church”
Definition: “Hour at church” – Chambers says one definition of TIERCE is “One of the hours of the Divine Office, terce”
21. Line not quite identical to radius (7)
EQUATOR
EQUA[l] = “not quite identical” + TO + R = “radius”
Definition: “Line”
23. Island graduate absorbed in Buddhist scriptures (7)
SUMATRA
MA = “graduate” in SUTRA = “Buddhist scriptures”
Definition: “Island”
24. Choral work: The First Word in Champagne! About time (5)
MOTET
MOET = “The First Word in Champagne”, i.e. the first word of Moët & Chandon around T = “time”
Definition: “Choral work”
25. Happen to retain strike, you feature in cricket(8,3)
COMPOUND EYE
COME = “Happen” around POUND = “strike” + YE = “you”
Definition: “feature in cricket” (as in the insect – crickets have two compound eyes)
28. Mineral fashionable in green (7)
OLIVINE
IN = “fashionable” in OLIVE = “green”
Definition: “Mineral”
30. Just short of healthy appetite! (4)
LUST
LUST[y] = “Just short of healthy”
Definition: “appetite”
31. Here’s a vote wafted Skye-wards (4,3,3)
OVER THE SEA
(HERE’S A VOTE)*
Definition: “Skye-wards” – this is a reference to the The Skye Boat Song
34. Requisition base having left officer (9)
COMMANDER
COMMANDEER = “Requisition” without E = “base” (e is the base of natural logarithms)
Definition: “officer”
35. French crew regularly argues for cargo (10)
FREIGHTAGE
FR = “French” + EIGHT = “crew” (a boat in rowing) + A[r]G[u]E[s]
Definition: “cargo”
36. Outlander briefly arranged new way things should be (7,5)
NATURAL ORDER
(OUTLANDER ARR)*
Definition: “way things should be”
41. Critic of broadcaster admitting resistance to its measure (8)
BEERBOHM
BEEB = “broadcaster” (nickname for the BBC) around R = “resistance” followed by OHM = “[resistance’s] measure”
Definition: “Critic”
42. Costs of hauling for pay (6)
TOWAGE
TO = “For” + WAGE = “pay”
Definition: “Costs of hauling”
43. Warden is a cautious soul! (9)
CARETAKER
“a cautious soul” would be one who takes care
Definition: “Warden”
48. Where cases are put down at the station (5,5)
CRIME SHEET
Cryptic definition
49. His in a stewpot (7)
HASHISH
HIS in HASH = “stew”
Definition: “pot”
50. Extract with care losing bit of tooth — ditto! (4,3)
EASE OUT
I don’t really get this: I guess [t]EASE OUT is “Extract with care losing bit of tooth”, but I’m not sure about th “ditto” bit – Thanks to Flea who explained first: “Extract with care” is TEASE OUT – losing T[ooth] (“bit of tooth”) gives you “EASE OUT” which also means “Extract with care” – hence the definition is “ditto”
Definition: “ditto” (“Extract with care”)
52. Mark rebel out, crazy agitator (12)
TROUBLEMAKER
(MARK REBEL OUT)*
Definition: “agitator”
53. Careless hit? Blow! (8)
SLAPDASH
SLAP = “hit” + DASH = “blow”
Definition: “Careless”
54. Chinwag with a Blue of sorts: I left (6)
NATTER
NATTIER = “a Blue of sorts” (“nattier” is shade of blue) without I
Definition: “Chinwag”
57. ‘We serve drinks in shifts’, each admitted (3,4)
TEA URNS
EA = “each” in TURNS = “shifts”
Definition: “We serve drinks”
58. Warning that’s read when ricotta goes off (4,3)
RIOT ACT
(RICOTTA)*
Definition: “Warning that’s read”
59. Poor Hank Marvin’s not against Pakistani captain and president (5,4)
IMRAN KHAN
(HANK MARIN)* – the fodder is HANK MARVIN without V = “against”
Definition: “Pakistani captain and president”
62. Workers gather fruit as food (8)
ALIMENTS
ANTS = “Workers” around LIME = “fruit”
Definition: “food”
63. Tiny sum in clue worked out(9)
MINUSCULE
(SUM IN CLUE)*
Definition: “Tiny”
64. Dressing that’s sexually attractive — such impudence! (3,5)
HOT SAUCE
HOT = “sexually attractive” + SAUCE = “such impudence!”
Definition: “Dressing”
66. So far ‘no’, but Tony’s tea gets spoilt (3,2,3)
NOT AS YET
(TONY’S TEA)*
Definition: “So far ‘no’”
67. Make professional contact with opponents and pair of kings (7)
NETWORK
NE = “opponents” (North and East in bridge) + TWO = “pair” + RK = “kings” – R and K
Definition: “Make professional contact”
68. Sceptical surveillance of Liam’s band (5,3)
BEADY EYE
Double definition: “Sceptical surveillance” and “Liam’s band”
Down
1. Currency represented in 5 (5)
COLON
Refers to the : in the answer for 5
Definition: “Currency” referring to the Costa Rican colón
2. Dealing with ancient monuments, Welsh girl endlessly settled here in ancient Rome (10)
MEGALITHIC
MEGA[n] = “Welsh girl endlessly” + LIT = “settled” + HIC = “here in ancient Rome” (i.e. the Latin for “here”)
Definition: “Dealing with ancient monuments”
3. Figurine of horse in bracken (7)
TANAGRA
NAG = “horse” IN TARA = “bracken” (a variety of bracken found in New Zealand, according to Chambers)
Definition: “Figurine” – Chambers defines tangra as “A terracotta figurine made in the town of Tanagra in ancient Boeotia”. (As a Star Trek fan, I couldn’t help but think of the Tamarian phrase “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra”.)
4. England cricketer Moeen in California (3)
ALI
Hidden in [c]ALI[fornia]
Definition: “England cricketer Moeen”
6. Nobody fails to finish in time (4)
NOON
NO ON[e] = “Nobody fails to finish”
Definition: “time”
7. Pass time with prosperous Lola twice! (8)
DIETRICH
DIE = “Pass” + T = “time” + RICH = “prosperous”
Definition: “Lola twice!” – Marlene Dietrich played a character called Lola Lola in Der blaue Engel
9. Prince and outlaw backed lines for actress (5,5)
HALLE BERRY
HAL = “Prince” + REBEL = “outlaw” reversed + RY = “lines”
Definition: “actress”
10. No big audience at Twist’s place of residence (9)
POOR HOUSE
Double definition: “No big audience” and “Twist’s place of residence” (referring to Oliver Twist)
11. Feel empathy for characters from Tralee (6)
RELATE
(TRALEE)*
Definition: “Feel empathy”
12. Go to bed in stormy sea, feeling gloomy (9)
SATURNINE
TURN IN = “Go to bed” in (SEA)*
Definition: “feeling gloomy”
16. Gibbons’ trade was strangely hip not long ago (9)
PHILATELY
(HIP)* = “strangely hip” + LATELY = “not long ago”
Definition: “Gibbons’ trade” – I guess this is a reference to Stanley Gibbons
17. He cuts some six new horror films (7,6)
SLASHER MOVIES
SLASHER = “He cuts” + (SOME VI) = “some six new”
Definition: “horror films”
19. Draws a parallel, we hear, to show hosts (8)
COMPÈRES
Sounds like “compares” (“Draws a parallel, we hear”)
Definition: “hosts”
22. Violent gang wars traded in hostile state (2,7,5)
AT DAGGERS DRAWN
(GANG WARS TRADED)*
Definition: “hostile state”
23. Problem with French name turning page (6)
SUMMON
SUM = “Problem” + NOM = “French name” reversed (“turning”)
Definition: “page” (as in “to page the on-call surgeon”)
26. Privately, like a fish (5)
ASIDE
AS = “like a” + IDE = “fish”
Definition: “Privately”
27. Nocturnal mammals at river jetties are heard (6)
TAPIRS
Sounds like “Tay Piers” (“river jetties”)
Definition: “Nocturnal mammals”
29. I sadly belong to base (7)
IGNOBLE
I + (BELONG)*
Definition: “base”
32. Owls’ horns (7)
HOOTERS
Double definition: “Owls” (owls hoot) and “horns” (in the sense of “noses”, I guess?) Thanks to Auriga who pointed out that horns also hoot
33. All sighed about literary detective (9)
DALGLIESH
(ALL SIGHED)*
Definition: “literary detective” created by P. D. James
37. One sailor and another with no joint is surprised (5)
ABACK
AB = “One sailor” (an Able Seaman) + [j]ACK = “another [sailor]” without J = “joint” (as in The Big Lebowski, when The Dude asks “mind if I do a J?”
Definition: “surprised”
38. Reserved it, back in fresh surroundings (8)
RETICENT
IT reversed in RECENT = “fresh”
Definition: “Reserved”
39. Pitch invaders are clumsy painters (9)
STREAKERS
Double definition: “Pitch invaders” and “clumsy painters”
40. Rehab organised with one making a career as a draper (11)
HABERDASHER
(REHAB)* = “Rehab organised” + DASHER = “one making a career” (as in “careering”)
Definition: “a draper”
44. Woman’s garment ordered from college time sheet (10)
CHEMISETTE
(C TIME SHEET)*
Definition: “Woman’s garment”
45. A-team in almost all of these WWII powers (3,4)
THE AXIS
A + XI (a cricket 11) in THES[e]
Definition: “WWII powers”
46. 64-ton emu bred at NT property (9,5)
MONTACUTE HOUSE
(HOT SAUCE TON EMU)*
Definition: “NT [National Trust] property”
47. Track official’s first order (7)
STARTER
Double definition: “Track official” and “first order” (you order starters before main courses normally)
51. Said to test tool and bike (8)
TRICYCLE
Sounds like “try” (“test”) “sickle” (“tool”)
Definition: “bike”
52. Female group is well-qualified though still just above freezing (5,7)
THREE DEGREES
Having three degrees would make you well-qualified, and three degrees celcius is just above freezing
Definition: “Female group”
54. ‘No’ in France, as well as ‘but’ in Latin — so confused! (10)
NONPLUSSED
NON = “No in France” + PLUS = “as well as” + SED = “but in Latin”
Definition: “so confused!”
55. Shinkansen from McQueen film, we hear drops (6,5)
BULLET TRAIN
BULLET sounds like “Bullitt” + RAIN = “drops”
Definition: “Shinkansen”
56. Steve Reich with car (leading Mercedes) by celebrity rating (10)
MINIMALIST
MINI = “car” + M[ercedes] = “leading Mercedes” + A-LIST = “celebrity rating”
Definition: “Steve Reich” (an unindicated definition-by-example)
60. Ecstasy consumed by attractive relation (5)
NIECE
E = “Ecstasy” in NICE = “attractive”
Definition: “relation”
61. File of memorabilia is a difficult problem in poker (7)
TICKLER
Triple definition: “File of memorabilia”, “difficult problem” and “poker”
65. Old fine, overdue, not long past (2,4)
OF LATE
O = “Old” + F = “fine” + LATE = “overdue”
Definition: “not long past”
TEASE OUT is “extract with care”; EASE OUT is “extract with care” -> hence ditto. T is, of course, the bit of tooth.
Maybe I can’t count to 36.
The Guardian have altered the print version of the crossword, admitting that there were 37 solutions including symbols, not 36.
I really enjoyed this – I’ve never seen a crossword like it, and it’s so good to come across an original and well executed idea.
This was a magnificent feat of setting and great fun to tackle. I came back to it several times over a few days and nearly finished (but not quite). I did enjoy putting the symbols in the grid (I see you haven’t tried to reproduce them all mhl!)
Hard to pick favourite clues out of so many but I liked the 64-ton emu bred at the NT property.
mhl: “I don’t think you’d just say “Some cake!” (14a). What about Churchill’s comment on being told that in three weeks Britain would “have its neck wrung like a chicken” – “Some chicken! Some neck!”
Many thanks Maskarade and mhl.
Thanks for the blog – I wondered if an image of the completed grid would be included – now that would be a challenge!
Agreed – this was hard – most of it went in over the weekend but the stragglers took several more days to run to earth.
Certainly novel and enjoyable. Mild demurral at ‘soul’ in 43ac. Long out of date as =person,, so should have some meaning in clue; but it might just as as well have been ‘Guardian is cautious’.
Owls and horns both hoot. No nose invlolved.
Great puzzle and a completely new idea to me.
Failed on 41a.
Thanks to Maskerade for an interesting challenge and mhl who so ably rose to it.
I have just tweeted an image of the full solution, symbols included.
Mitz@8. Brilliant! Many thanks.
Just noticed the blog has arrived. I enjoyed this, though small print (cannot read clue numbers) and tiny squares made things slow. As one with a maths degree I’m ashamed that my one uncompleted clue was TA(PI)RS. Certainly an impressive effort and worth doing.
Congratulations to Mitzi for the completed grid- though the Roman numerals for II, VIII and IX seem to be more than one “symbol”
With hindsight I regretted not printing a blow-up grid.
I agree with Keith @10: wouldn’t it be more accurate to use Arabic numerals (each of which is a symbol) rather than Roman numerals? But apart from that, I agree that this was an original idea, splendidly executed.
Thanks Mitz @8 and in view of the comment at 10 surely the symbol for nine is 9 and for two is 2 etc.
An excellent puzzle that was original, challenging and great fun. The concept was simple, but it was exploited very well indeed – and on such a grand scale. I completed most of the grid in my first two days of working on it and was left with two pairs of intersecting clues: ABACK and BEERBOHM, TIERCE and SLASHER MOVIES (I had never heard of the phrase ‘slasher movies’, nor that meaning of ‘tierce’). I solved those four clues several days later!
Thanks to Maskarade and mhl. Also to Mitz for the excellent grid. Incidentally, I used the numerals 1, 2, 8 and 9 rather than their Roman equivalents, e.g. NE2RK for NETWORK.
Thanks for the blog, a mammoth task. I will join the praise for this, a great idea carried out to perfection with neat, precise clues. Took me three good goes to finish, lovely spring day sat in the garden doing the puzzle and issuing instructions.
I did not know all the symbols, mainly musical , but it did not matter , I never send it off now the prize is so rubbish.
The HOOTER in rugby league for time up is usually an air horn.
Croc @6 I frequently use kind/helpful/generous SOUL to mean a person , so care taker seems very appropriate.
Very enjoyable crossword. This was just right for me and Miss C. Family tradition to do them together at bank holidays. Miss C is a musician so particularly enjoyed TIE, FLAT, MINIM and NATURAL.
Thanks Maskarade and mhl.
[Roz@14. We just crossed. I did wonder how well the musical notation would be known.]
For those of you who prefer Arabic numerals to Roman – fair enough!
Crossbar@ 16 I suppose I could have found out but I just did a squiggle , did not matter in my grid.
Mitz@17 I prefer Indian numerals.
Mitz @ 17
Thank you for posting your grid with the symbols.
Aren’t there different sorts of bullet marks?
I was also a little stumped by ‘tie’ mark but guessed it was what I call a ‘slur’ in music?
Liked the puzzle for its originality, even if some of the clues were a little stodgy.
Thanks to mhl and Maskarade.
Brilliant all round! Took a few days as it did for several others, so ideal for a long weekend – and then some. Always look forward to Maskerade’s challenges and admire Mhi and the other bloggers. Thanks all round.
Mitz@17 would you mind if I included the excellent image from your Tweet in the post, with credit, of course?
A great puzzle! I took a few days too,but was mightily proud of myself to finish it. I think I even managed to parse everything except Motet.
Thanks Maskarade, and thanks mhl for the blog.
Anna @19, a tie and a slur use the same symbol (extended if the slur covers more than two notes). A tie joins two notes of the same pitch, the first is played and held for the combined length of the two notes. In a slur, all the original notes are played.
Really enjoyed this – brought the late, much lamented, Waterloo to mind!
Couldn’t help feeling that one opportunity was missed though – the detective should have been Rebus…
Thanks Maskarade and mhl. Feeling quite pleased with my self even though I didn’t get a couple of symbols. Namely TICK and NATURAL. I became fixated on NUMERIC ORDER and was unable to break free.
Thanks for the blog. I found this puzzle tedious. Presume the setter got some enjoyment out of trying to prove how clever he is.
Katherine @ 22
Thanks for the info on ties and slurs. I was very musical as a child and probably knew that then. Now, as a pensioner, I have just started to learn to play the oboe. It is very demanding, but I do enjoy it when the practice goes well. I just hope the neighbours do too. At least they aren’t disturbed with the Basque and the Fang …
Crispy @ 25
… ‘Tedious’ is a word I have often used to describe Maskerade’s puzzles. Like wading through treacle. Do you remember the obscure place-names puzzles he served up a while ago? At least the cluing in the present puzzle had improved a bit, and of course there was the originality of the symbols idea. So a huge improvement on the norm.
I found this puzzle simply wonderful. Compact clues full of precision. Great thanks, Maskarade. Perfect fodder for a special.
Took ages to work it all out. Without one “purple patch” I might have given up. Very glad I didn’t.
Congratulations also to mhl for explaining things with such compactness. I’d thought having an image of the solved puzzled would be essential. But mhl’s approach highlights all the word-play … which I guess is all that matters.
Discovered I’d gone through a professional life misspelling MINUSCULE. I tended not to need (or have on!) the spellchecker when it first arrived and presumably didn’t always notice stray red-lines when it did get used. Always good to learn!
I didn’t understand the discussion of musical ties. I used an equals sign (=) in TIERCE. Seemed obvious given that it is the symbol used to denote people tied in a competition. Apols if I’ve missed a mention already.
@mhl
Of course – go for it!
I’d given up crosswords for Lent, so this was a double joy! Just when you think you’ve seen it all in terms of crossword variants something new comes along. I thought this was very well pitched, with the NW corner having some gimmes that eased into the theme before some harder challenges further South.
In the end, came up short on OHM, PI, TICK and one other which I cannot recall.
I thought the ‘crossers’ of SUM and DASH were excellent – it was great seeing the symbols being re-used. Maybe a smaller (but still larger than 15×15) grid with more focus on ‘crossers’ would provide even more enjoyment for all concerned – just a thought!
Katherine @22 – many thanks for the helpful explanation of slur v tie – as a non-musician I’d not been aware of either until Chambers told me of the ‘tie’, you’ve enriched greatly the basic definition from the dictionary!
Choldunk @28 — interesting point, and it does raise the (probably hypothetical ) scenario if you had submitted this for prize consideration. Would your entry be accepted as valid?
Mitz @8 and @29 – bravo to you!
Many thanks Maskarade for an inventive and awesome challenge, mhl for the lucid explanation and all the other learned contributors on 15^2.
I don’t usually bother with the Maskarade holiday specials. I agree with Anna@26. Too much tedious cluing “like wading through treacle”. However, I was intrigued by the idea of using symbols and so I gave this one a go. The cluing was much better. Many of them were basically quite easy, but the combination with symbols gave them an unusual edge. I was 6 clues short of a complete finish, but thought it was time to pack in. Altogether a rather good holiday prize puzzle, I thought. Liked HASHISH, MINIMALIST and NETWORK (although failed on it). Didn’t like EQUATOR when I entered it as the cluing was obviously wrong, but then liked it after I read the explanation.
Have just looked through all Google’s info on TAPIRS and “nocturnal” is never mentioned. How did so many spot it? Though PI should’nt have slipped past me.
Still this was a treat.
Choldunk @27
At least you noticed the different spellings! I happily put in the minus sign without even thinking the spelling looked different.
If it’s any consolation, I found this online:
‘Minuscule means very small. Miniscule is a newer spelling, probably derived from the prefix mini-. Many feel that miniscule is a misspelling, but it occurs so frequently that it appears as a variant spelling in some dictionaries.’
Advice from Grammarly – if frequency of adverts is a reliable guide, they are *the* people to go for to get expert advice!
Mispellers of the world untie!
Nice one, Katherine @33. I feel less minuscule already.
Keith Thomas @32. Yes, TAPIRS was one of the four that I failed to solve (and I had to use aids to get two others). When thinking of ‘nocturnal’ mammals I couldn’t get much further than bats, which didn’t help. Should have approached the answer backwards, looking for well known symbols that hadn’t made an appearance. 🙂
Another I missed was TANAGRA, of which the only accessible part of the clue resulted in NAG; though even then I wondered whether a double G might have been required instead, but could no more think of a five letter word for ‘bracken’ than one of four. I thought the figurine looked like being obscure, but searching online for TARA leads to a Wikipedia disambiguation page in which the words ‘bracken’ or fern appear zero times each. Doing a reverse search for “variety of bracken found in New Zealand” (from the blog) leads via the Latin name Pteridium esculentum to a Wiki piece in which the word TARA likewise does not appear.
Thanks to the three Ms: Maskarade for the puzzle, mhl for the blog and Mitz for the completed grid.
Well, this was a good workout for a bank holiday ! I found this 95% straightforward in terms of solving although the remaining 5% I could only eventually fill in via some blatant cheating. When entering the symbols I used a red pen to make them stand out a bit more.
A couple of criticisms if I may. Firstly, I don’t like how Maskarade always uses grids with no “long” answers for his holiday puzzles ! I appreciate that this makes the gridfill much simpler for the setter, but goodness does it lead to lots of inextricable nooks and crannies in the puzzle ! Secondly, and this is more a criticism of The Grauniad, the printed grid in the newspaper for these puzzles is far too small to write in neatly especially when the clue numbers take up half of a square ! I no longer submit prize puzzle entries because the prizes aren’t worth competing for IMHO, but I could not have hoped to fill this one in legibly if I wanted to.
Thanks to MHL, Maskarade and Mitz
This was wonderful, and it was nice to have a Special where half the challenge isn’t fitting answers into the grid! (Even better would be one that can be done on screen, but no complaints.)
Croc@6 Soul has a specific current usage in aviation for the number of people on board an aircraft.
The Guardian today has printed the answers in a very nice way with all the symbols.
Couldn’t do this at Easter, no access to printer, so picked it up at May BH – what a Maskarade tour de force!
If I was an emoji master like on House of Games I’d have commented in that way …