The puzzle may be found here: https://www.fifteensquared.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Laccaria-puzzle-50a.pdf
I very much enjoyed solving and blogging this.
Being an American, I was unfortunately completely oblivious to the theme, although fortunately, my ignorance was no obstacle to solving this cleverly clued puzzle. (Broadcast tobacco ads were banned in the US in 1971.) I have since discovered these delightful ads on YouTube, and I can recommend your spending a half-hour or so with them. Here are Laccaria’s own notes on the theme:
“The mini-ghost theme is the old funny HAMLET CIGAR TV adverts. The best known was probably the PHOTO BOOTH with Gregor Fisher (“Rab C Nesbitt”) failing to get a pic of himself! Others featured King Canute (KNUT in Danish) failing to hold back the tide, COLUMBUS sailing off the edge of the world, NAPOLEON meeting his Waterloo, a motorist getting drenched in a CAR WASH, a passenger in a SIDECAR being detached from the motorbike, and a man’s TOUPEE coming off when he’s on a date.”
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | HAMLET |
Thelma playing with Great Dane (6)
|
| Anagram of (playing) THELMA | ||
| 4 | ENCRYPTS |
Makes secret call softly: sent deceptive cover (8)
|
| Anagram of (deceptive) SENT around (cover) {CRY (call) + P (softly)} | ||
| 9 | RE-SIT |
Once again take orders: pints regularly (2-3)
|
| Alternate letters of (regularly) [O]R[D]E[R]S [P]I[N]T[S], i.e., as for an examination | ||
| 10 |
See 26 Down
|
|
| 11 | SHORN |
Cut south to Cape (5)
|
| S (south) + HORN (Cape) | ||
| 12 | FLOTILLA |
Group 29, all of it, left out (8)
|
| Anagram of (out) {ALL OF IT + L (left)}. Importing 29 Across, the complete definition reads “Group at sea.” | ||
| 13 |
See 7 Down
|
|
| 15 | LEAF |
The French are fumbling at first page (4)
|
| LE (the [in] French) + first letters of (at first) A[RE] F[UMBLING] | ||
| 16 | IMPRESARIO |
Showman to make his mark – almost a scream – almost! (10)
|
| IMPRES[S] (to make his mark “almost”) + A + RIO[T] (scream “almost”) | ||
| 19, 24 Down | CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR |
Not quite winning Oscar, being 50% outclassed, unfortunately (5,3,2,5)
|
| Anagram of (unfortunately) {OSCAR + BEING + OUTCL[ASSED] (minus its second half [50%])} | ||
| 20 | KNUT |
Great Dane‘s twisted torso – not right (4)
|
| T[R]UNK (torso) reversed (twisted) minus (not) R (right) also known as Canute or Cnut the Great | ||
| 23 | RECTO |
One side appears in incorrect outfit (5)
|
| Hidden in (appears in) [INCOR]RECT O[UTFIT] | ||
| 25 | NAPOLEON |
Emperor‘s staff captured by unknown writer with head turned (8)
|
| POLE (staff) inside (captured by) ANON (unknown writer) with first two letters reversed (with head turned) | ||
| 27 | ARGOT |
Embargo totally restrains Cockney? (5)
|
| Hidden in (restrains) [EMB]ARGO T[OTALLY] | ||
| 28 | IRE |
Fume from bog when cover of moss removed (3)
|
| [M]IRE (bog) minus (when . . . removed) M first letter of (cover of) M[OSS] | ||
| 29 | AT SEA |
Floundering in the water? (2,3)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 30 | HARDENER |
Setter with that woman going around West Midlands area (8)
|
| HER (that woman) going around ARDEN (West Midlands area) | ||
| 31 | TOUPEE |
Headgear to go when out of uniform (6)
|
| TO + PEE (go) around (when out of) U (uniform) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | HARMFUL |
Hospital with quite a lot unhealthy? (7)
|
| H (hospital) + ARMFUL (quite a lot) | ||
| 2 | MUSCOVADO |
Russian ‘losing it’ with European mess – use this as sweetener (9)
|
| MUSCOV[ITE] (Russian minus both [losing] IT + E [European]) + ADO (mess) | ||
| 3 | ENTAIL |
Part of estate‘s occasion (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | NORM |
William, maybe, dropping article: it’s the rule (4)
|
| NORM[AN] (William [the Conqueror], maybe minus [dropping] AN [article]) | ||
| 6 | ROSE-BUSH |
English shrub – so rampant! (4-4)
|
| &lit and anagram of (rampant) {E (English) + SHRUB + SO} | ||
| 7, 13 Across | PHOTO BOOTH |
Image maker, sexy with nothing on to start, in pub (5,5)
|
| HOT (sexy) + O (nothing) + BOOT (start [as a computer]) inside (in) PH (pub) | ||
| 8 | SYNCHRO |
As announced, go down line for electric motor (7)
|
| Homophone of (as announced) “SINK (go down) + ROW (line)” | ||
| 10 | COLUMBUS |
Explorer‘s short article on public transport (8)
|
| COLUM[N] (article minus [short] last letter) + BUS (public transport) | ||
| 14 | TRUNCATE |
Nip tail off sessile sea creature, extract iodine, inject water finally (8)
|
| TUN[I]CATE (sessile sea creature) minus (extract) I (iodine) around (inject) R (last letter of [finally] [WATE]R) | ||
| 17 | RUNNERS-UP |
They get silver and bronze parts of sledge lifted (7-2)
|
| RUNNERS (parts of sledge) + UP (lifted) | ||
| 18 | DEPORTEE |
Store pruned tree anyhow: one to be sent overseas (8)
|
| DEPO[T] (store “pruned”) + anagram of (anyhow) TREE | ||
| 19 | CAR-WASH |
Drive-thru perhaps – some youth saw racer backing up (3-4)
|
| Hidden in (some) [YOUT]H SAW RAC[ER] inverted (backing-up) | ||
| 21 | TONNAGE |
Gent on a roll to get displacement (7)
|
| Anagram of (roll) GENT ON A | ||
| 22 | POTATO |
Cobblers invested in number two staple (6)
|
| TAT (cobblers) inside (invested in) POO (number two) | ||
| 24 |
See 19 Across
|
|
| 26, 10 Across | SIDECAR |
A Place for passenger if not behind driver? (7)
|
| Cryptic definition |
Many thanks Cineraria for your blog. I had thought of giving this one the (perhaps misleading) title “G-String” but didn’t quite get around to it; as those familiar with the theme will of course know, the background music was invariably the popular “Air on the G-String” from Bach’s Suite no.3.
I need hardly add that I have never smoked myself and loathe tobacco – but nonetheless I always found those ads amusing – until they were banned from TV in the 1990s (cigarette TV ads in the UK had been banned earlier, in 1965). There were far too many hilarious subjects to possibly squeeze into a grid! – the cowboy at the Pearly Gates, the highwayman, Guy Fawkes, Sir Walter Ralegh, the unlucky spermatozoon, the head-twisted robot, the golfer, the soldier in the trenches, the football free-kick – to name but a few – even a Dalek (arriving at a staircase) succumbs to the weed…
Perhaps my favourite just as of now was the ‘Dracula‘ one – but that’s for a purely personal reason since I’m going through getting dental implants fitted, at the moment; so I know all about dentures and about forgetting them!
Hope those of you who tackled this had some fun!
Apologies for not commenting earlier on this but I slipped by in the rush of blogs that came out a week ago. I did this with Fez in York: it was useful to have two heads puzzling over it and we did end up with a completed and fully parsed grid – though we didn’t spot the theme.
Whilst the product may be controversial and the advertising was rightly banned, there is no doubt that the advertisements for cigarettes were among some of the most creative (and sometimes stylish) of those which accompanied my growing up. I still remember the stunning work done for Silk Cut and the striking use of Prokofiev’s Montagues and Capulets, possibly for Rothmans.
Thanks Laccaria and Cineraria (a very Roman sounding duo!)
Thanks for the blog and for providing a link , I managed to get this printed at the same time as the PostMark puzzle but not had time until today. Very good clues and a devious theme which I did not notice but I have really enjoyed it now. Great to see tunicates used so cleverly .
I grew up with these adverts , my favourite was the man in the restaurant with the pretty girl and his wig comes off , the pianist starts the theme and the waiter strikes the match on his head, hilarious when you are 6. Although cigarette adverts on TV were banned these Hamlet ones did sneakily promote Benson and Hedges.