“In this puzzle, solvers play HIDE AND SEEK, whereby the answer to each clue is concealed within it, as is the definition for another answer. The pattern linking definitions and answers is to be discovered. Clues are listed in conventional order, and solvers must add bars so that the completed grid shows 180° rotational symmetry. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is a prefix and one proper noun has a two-word definition.”
| Notation | |
|---|---|
| Answer to clue | |
| Definition of other clue | |
Sorry this is late – and thank you to Ken for chasing me up!
However, I can’t imagine that solvers had too much trouble with this one (except maybe with a word like AAH, the MOON GOD). For me, at least, the biggest challenge was working out that the preamble really did mean what it said!
I like innovative devices in puzzles, and I don’t recall seeing a trick like this used before. That said, I can’t have been alone in regretting the lack of a cryptic element in the clues (and the redundant material, although that is more of a purist concern).
In any case, it was a painless exercise to look for possible words, match up the lengths of the across clues to create symmetry (although this left significant ambiguities), and pair the clues.
The pairing (first across clue paired with first down clue and so on) was probably the first tried by solvers, and some of the first few pairs (particularly OBOE and INSTRUMENT, and BANTER and BADINAGE) were pretty clear indicators.
Thanks to Piccadilly, and sorry again that the blog was late.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| Ant and Dec re-engaged to host Mobo extravaganza | |
| Policeman flips his lid, espousing urban terrorism | |
| Wear a black dress to lunch in Derby | |
| Five quit youth team in Colorado games | |
| For purposes of PR, EMI sent a man dual-band phone | |
| On the spree? Begin it with a cocktail or Madeira, perhaps | |
| Reagan, a pacifist, considered war futile | |
| I loathe ptarmigans, they re treacherous | |
| Sloe gin, a new batch, I made it yesterday | |
| System braced for action as cigarette butt on wood starts fire | |
| Toni, Geri and I attend demo on Godalming High Street | |
| Champagne with rum and coke could incur very large bar bill | |
| Blanche roots for Chelsea, Betsy for Arsenal | |
| In Mexico Alsatians chase Americans | |
| Cambodia criticised as MPs massacred: Itabled an objection | |
| Curse Rene lying to Prunella | |
| Steffi’s hen night became uproarious | |
| Dance hip-hop lustily at disco in Chelsea | |
| Some Burmese take to wearing Spandex, perturbingly | |
| Slade sign a ten-year contract to get a TV series | |
| Down | |
| Animal doctor daintily medicates against rumen trouble | |
| Wearing gloss lipstick looks bad in a geriatric ward | |
| Guarantees to pay author’s expenses | |
| At Whitsun, I only play the Jew’s harp, Eileen | |
| I’ve a problem making Tibetan tea Terry likes | |
| A face appeared under headdress as leader of tribe spoke out | |
| Beau Geste a love story by Proust? Untrue | |
| A regatta in Henley included children’s events | |
| Offer by a manager might tempt you to buy | |
| Lonely Planet re-established interest in Machu Picchu globally | |
| Having more public houses puts Swansea ahead of the rest | |
| The bite of Caspar, a bolas-spider, brings death readily | |
| Dairymaid, still infectious, made Norman ill again | |
| Braemar inevitably cold during December snows | |
| Hollywood museum, LA, utterly deserves praise: worth your attention | |
| Leaders of Mafia escape and keep calm, lying low | |
| Sombre amices made of genappe are dreary | |
| First-class entertainer: Harpo’s it, l’ve no doubt | |
| Persuade Ptomely to contemplate a universal truth | |
| Trusty legal team heads for Ankara | |
| O | B | O | E | S | L | I | D | E | S | ||
| A | R | A | B | S | H | E | Q | U | I | T | Y |
| T | D | D | P | T | A | M | A | N | D | U | A |
| T | A | I | L | O | R | M | A | D | E | N | M |
| A | I | N | A | P | P | A | H | E | P | T | A |
| I | N | A | N | E | E | M | B | R | A | C | E |
| N | I | G | E | R | I | A | T | H | R | U | M |
| A | B | E | T | S | A | N | S | E | A | M | B |
| E | R | C | R | E | D | I | T | A | B | L | E |
| S | E | R | E | N | E | L | Y | D | O | A | R |
| C | A | M | E | U | P | L | L | P | L | U | S |
| M | E | S | E | T | A | E | T | A | T |
Thanks Mr. S
It was the tricky 3 letter clues that held me up particularly the Moon-God. Spotting the hidden words wasn’t too difficult but deciding which was answer and which was definition only came when the bars and rotational symmetry came to the rescue
Thanks to Picadilly and the Numpties too
Certainly innovative – and maybe brave of setter and editor to present a ‘non-cryptic’ puzzle in a cryptic puzzle slot? – but enjoyable to have a different type of challenge.
Fitting it all in with the bars was a bit fiddly…until the AAH moment helped to clear it all up!
Thanks to P and Mr S
Thank you Mister Sting and Piccadilly.
What slowed me down particularly was finding STOP instead of ESTOP and UNDERHEAD instead of DUNDERHEAD, which made me wonder what was wrong with the vertical symmetry of my grid (also SLIDE/SLIP vs SLIDES/SLIPS).
A really fun puzzle.
I have never encountered a puzzle like this before, and I must say it made a refreshing change. After working on the first four (Across) clues I then worked on the Downs, and that obviously helped me to find the pattern for the pairings. I think I started with OBOE and BADINAGE, and when TAILOR-MADE and CREDITABLE found their rightful places I made steady progress until the end.
Thanks to Piccadilly for an interesting and different kind of puzzle and to mc_rapper67 for the blog.