Puzzles by Grecian tend to appear once a month in the Independent series at the moment.
I note that I have blogged the last three Grecian puzzles in May, June and July, but I’m quite happy to blog another.
This being Tuesday there is a theme and this week we have a theme covering both clues and entries. The theme is GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens. We have the location and a number of characters in the clues – Kent, a convict, Camilla, John Wemmick, Miss Havisham and Joe Gargery. In the entries we have ESTELLA as part of FENESTELLA, PIP, BARLEY, HERBERT POCKET and the title GREAT EXPECTATIONS. There are other POCKETS in the book, not just HERBERT. Literature is not my forte and I don’t think I have read the book, so I may well have missed something.
I was slightly surprised to see ‘accepting’ used twice as a containment indicators in the first three clues.
I wonder whether the homophone BARLEY / BALI will generate any comment. I pronounce the R in BARLEY meaning it doesn’t sound entirely like my pronunciation of the Indonesian island.
I dredged up CLYTEMNESTRA from the depths of my mind with great help from the crossing letters.
There’s also a sporting and games theme in the clues with references to chess, football (Frank Lampard), tennis, rugby and cricket (Jack Leach).
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Perpetual convict accepting short stretch (7)
LASTING (durable; perpetual) LAG (convict) containing (accepting) STINT (stretch [of time or of a period of work]) excluding the final letter (short) T LA (STIN) G |
| 5 | Produces piece in seconds (6)
SPAWNS (produces a mass of eggs) PAWN (chess piece) contained in (in) (S [second] + S [second] giving seconds) S (PAWN) S |
| 9 | Frank Lampard ultimately accepting viewer is shocked (4-4)
OPEN-EYED (astonished; shocked) (OPEN [frank] + D [last letter of {ultimately] LAMPARD]) containing (accepting) EYE (viewer) OPEN (EYE) D |
| 10 | Char in revolutionary Sandals hotel (6)
SCORCH (char) CROCS (a brand of foam clogs or sandals, but also a generic term for such shoes) reversed (revolutionary) + H (hotel) SCORC< H |
| 12 | Old Queen Camilla’s beginning manly setter’s cryptic (12)
CLYTEMNESTRA (in Greek mythology, the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae; old queen) C (first letter of [beginning] CAMILLA) + an anagram of (cryptic) MANLY SETTER C LYTEMNESTRA* |
| 15 | Spooner’s Wimbledon chap gets small window (10)
FENESTELLA (small window or window-like opening) FENESTELLA (Dr Spooner would pronounce this as TENNIS [Wimbledon reference] + FELLA [fellow; chap]) FENESTELLA |
| 17 | Pressures surrounding number one seed (3)
PIP (seed) (P [pressure] + P [pressure] giving pressures) containing (surrounding) I (Roman numeral for the number one) P (I) P |
| 19 | Eastender’s shock appearance (3)
AIR (look;outward appearance) ‘AIR (an Eastender would pronounce HAIR [reference a shock of HAIR] without the H) AIR |
| 20 | Rugby official in a field is 19 (10)
ATMOSPHERE (air [entry at 19 across]) TMO (television match official, a rugby official) contained in (in) (A + SPHERE [field of activity]) A (TMO) SPHERE |
| 22 | Poet in sex act harmed prospects (12)
EXPECTATIONS (prospects) Anagram of (harmed) POET IN SEX ACT EXPECTATIONS* |
| 26 | Tropical island reportedly produces grass (6)
BARLEY (a hardy grass) BARLEY (sounds like [reportedly] BALI [tropical island in Indonesia]) BARLEY |
| 27 | I felt awful about knocking back Jack Leach (8)
FILTRATE (percolate; leach) Anagram of (awful) I FELT containing (about) (TAR [sailor] reversed [knocking back]) FILT (RAT<) E* |
| 28 | Mark remains after finish (2,4)
EN DASH (printing term for a dash that is one EN long, used as a punctuation mark) END (finish) + ASH (remains) EN D ASH |
| 29 | Asquith maybe in that woman’s bed with husband out (7)
HERBERT (reference HERBERT Asquith [1852-1928], UK Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916) HER (that woman’s) + BERTH (bed) excluding (out) the H (husband) HER BERT |
| Down | |
| 1 | John Wemmick finally making an appearance (4)
LOOK (appearance) LOO (lavatory; John is an informal term for lavatory) + K (last letter of [finally] WEMMICK) LOO K |
| 2 | Building in Slough (4)
SHED (a building) SHED (cast skin; slough) double definition SHED |
| 3 | Left in seaside resort without a clue (8)
IDEALESS (without an IDEA or clue) L (left) contained in (in) an anagram of (resort) SEASIDE IDEA (L) ESS* |
| 4 | Where you can find The Ashes broadcast in August? (5)
GREAT (imposing; majestic; august) GREAT (sounds like [broadcast] GRATE [the part of a fireplace where you can find the ashes]) GREAT |
| 6 | Writer clutching designer bag (6)
POCKET (little pouch or bag) POET (writer) containing (clutching) CK (brand name for Calvin Klein, born 1942, an American fashion designer who uses his initials as the monogram for his brand) PO (CK) ET |
| 7 | Cleaner pinching father in lift is a bugger (10)
WIRETAPPER (someone who listens in to [bugs] telephone conversations) WIPER (cleaner) containing (pinching) PATER (father) reversed (in lift; down entry) WI (RETAP<) PER |
| 8 | Shots and photos announced by Sean Connery on drugs (10)
SCHNAPPSES (any of various strong alcoholic drinks, especially Holland gin.) I assume SCHNAPPSES is the spelling of the plural. SCHNAPPS (how Sean Connery might pronounce SNAPS [photographs]) + ES (ecstasy tables; drugs) SCHNAPPS ES |
| 11 | Piece of glass almost smashed (6)
SMALTO (coloured glass or enamel for mosaic work) Anagram of (smashed) ALMOST SMALTO* |
| 13 | English myth about F1 can be destroyed (10)
EFFACEABLE (capable of being destroyed) (E [English] + FABLE [myth]) containing (about) (F + ACE [one {I, Roman numeral for one}]) E F (F ACE) ABLE |
| 14 | Dad embarrassed after prune stew is not ready (10)
UNPREPARED (not ready) Anagram of (stew) PRUNE + PA (dad) + RED (embarrassed) UNPRE* PA RED |
| 16 | Ally coming up short to catch (6)
ENTRAP (catch) PARTNER (ally) excluding the final letter (short) R and then reversed (coming up; down entry) ENTRAP*< |
| 18 | Miss Havisham possibly puts a favourable slant on period of time not married (8)
SPINSTER (in Great Expectations, Miss Havisham is an example of a SPINSTER ) SPINS (puts a favourable slant on) + TERM (period of time) excluding (not) M (married) SPINS TER |
| 21 | Nick guards men on board (6)
SCREWS (informal term for prison [Nick] guards) CREW (men) contained in (on board) SS (steam ship) – on board is frequently used as a containment indicator when putting letters inside an abbreviation for ship) S (CREW) S |
| 23 | Sunak’s close to top people in the EU (5)
IRISH (people in the European Union (EU) as the Republic of Ireland is a member of the EU) RISHI (reference RISHI Sunak [born 1980], Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) with the last letter (close) I moved to the start (top, of this down entry) to form IRISH IRISH |
| 24 | Joe Gargery bottling up madness (4)
RAGE (madness) RAGE (reversed [up; down entry] hidden word [bottling] in JOE GARGERY) RAGE< |
| 25 | County cricketer at heart unit in hospital (4)
KENT (English county) K (middle letter of [at heart] CRICKETER) + ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat unit at a hospital) K ENT |
An enjoyable puzzle and a detailed high-quality blog!
Thanks, Grecian and duncanshiell!
I had BORNEO for BARLEY. Google said it was an artificial grass. Otherwise the pronounciation was close enough. Really enjoyed the puzzle. Perhaps WIRETAPPER would be my top clue along with CLYTEMNESTRA and SCREWS for ‘nick guards’. Thanks both.
I enjoy this kind of themed puzzle; where the theme is distributed across both clues and solutions. Even if I don’t know enough about the book to recognise more than a few of the allusions. Grecian has done it well here although a couple of tricky NHO’s were forced by the grid. Guessed at FENESTRELLA (once again, hazy recollections of the Defenestration of Prague proving to be helpful). Also guessed at SMALTRO as the only combination that I could make work with the crossers. And, talking of hazy recollections, I have no idea where I dragged CLYTEMNESTRA from!
I’d agree with Sofamore on WIRETAPPER (‘bugger’ surely had to be used in that sense??? I guess it could have been one who pesters. Other potential solutions might be beyond the pale). Other significant ticks include SPAWNS, PIP, GREAT, POCKET, SCHNAPPSES (a long time since I’ve seen a Connery clue), SPINSTER, IRISH and KENT.
Thanks Grecian and duncan
SCHNAPPSES
Would Seann Connery not pronounce ‘SNAPS’ as ‘SHNAPSH’???!!!
And much of 4 22 is set in 25.
Thanks, Grecian and Duncan.
Sorry, I see you already spotted that point!
Another delightful Dickens puzzle from Grecian, following his ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘A Tale of two Cities offerings.
Like PostMark, I particularly admire setters who can convey their theme via both clues and answers and Grecian has done it superbly. I knew there had to be a reason for the inclusion of FENESTELLA!
Apart from the clever handling of the theme, I particularly enjoyed the ‘lift and separates’, including the seaside resort, Sandals hotel, Frank Lampard and Jack Leach. And there was a witty, sensible Spoonerism, as well. Altogether, a most satisfying solve.
Many thanks to Grecian for the fun and Duncan for the blog.
Particularly good blog if you havent read the book. That needs to be addressed.
Orllick is a favourite villain of mine and he always gets left out of film and TV…and this
Great puzzle.
No trouble with CLYTEMNESTRA – she’s “right up my street”
Aeschylus wrote The Oresteia trilogy of Greek tragedies – Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides
Here’s Marina Hyde‘s joke from last year:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/08/no-10-chernobyl-boris-johnson-keir-starmer-mob
‘…this never-ending Greek tragedy is certainly taking its time. How’s your stamina? Like me, you maybe feel the Boristeia is dragging on a bit.
Seemingly three plays in, Shagamemnon is still with us.’
The current PM registered his leadership campaign website well in advance as Ready4Rish! with a “!” like an upside-down “i” – “What is he, 12?!”
John Crace of The Guardian has been calling him Rish! ever since:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/commentisfree/2022/jul/12/i-was-ready-for-rishi-but-he-wasnt-ready-for-me
‘…It had just been a coincidence that the Ready4Rish! website had been registered back in December. Yes, he had written a resignation letter but that had been just for fun. There were no serious points of disagreement over the direction of government. That had just been a slip of the tongue.’
As a loyal Guardian reader, I am unable to solve the clue at 23d. The wordplay just puts the exclamation mark at the front. Anything else is an insult to the IRISH.
I spotted the theme but missed some of the references and kept thinking Magwitch may appear. Never heard of FENESTELLA, which I solved via the Spooneerism, SMALTO or the unlikely looking SCHNAPPSES and failed on the latter. Not a thematic clue but I liked the’Nick guards’ def.
Thanks to Duncan for teasing out all the theme-related references and to Grecian
What Eileen said! Very enjoyable. Thanks, Grecian and Duncan.
Presumably MAGWITCH has been transported?
Thanks both. Couldn’t work out why the last two letters in SCHNAPPSES made an appearance, and didn’t think plural, as the word in singular is hard enough to pronounce when you’re drinking it anyhow. BARLEY works for me as a homophone but also opted for Borneo in a weak moment. FENESTELLA was knew, and was expecting an ‘I’ in there for it to sound right, but my iPad dictionary hasn’t heard of it either, so won’t offer me a pronunciation
Thanks Duncan.
Despite what copmus@8 says, I wouldn’t bother reading it. I’ve recently reread it after a gap of over 50 years hoping I would appreciate it better with the benefit of maturity. I didn’t like it then, but neither was I impressed now. It’s supposed to be one of Dickens’ best and it does contain some good descriptions but also some frankly dreadful ones too. And unless you enjoy massive sets of coincidences, I wouldn’t attempt it either.
Great puzzle though – thanks Grecian.
Many thanks to Duncan, for the customary excellent blog. Sorry that you keep getting the short straw! Thanks to everyone else for solving the puzzle and for the nice comments. It is all much appreciated. G
Magwitch is presumably the lag in 1 across.
Magwitch escaped from a prison ship like this monstrosity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibby_Stockholm#/media/File:Bibby_Stockholm,_Portland_Port,_2023.jpg
Very good. I was beaten by it but enjoyed coming close.
Thanks very much to Grecian. I loved this “Great Expectations” puzzle as I always enjoy any themes to do with literature. A very clever puzzle which challenged me and gave me joy all at once. Still smiling at 16a BALI/BARLEY, 4d GREAT/GRATE, Calvin Klein in 6d POCKET and 18d SPINSTER. I wasn’t at all sure all of my last one at 8d, SCHNAPPSES, but having all the crossers resulted in a guess that it was something to do with the way Sean Connery would have pronounced the “shots”. Thanks also to duncanshiell for a very comprehensive blog.
Way too hard for me, gave up with about ten to go. Unimpressed with 15, 13 and 8. Also 20, never heard of TMO.