Atrica shows up around here every couple of months, often on a Tuesday.
An enjoyable puzzle with some great surfaces (especially 28a). There were a few unusual constructions, especially 2d and 17d, and an odd anagram indicator at 31a, but it all made some sort of sense. I liked the choice of drinks in both 16d and 24d.
As it’s Tuesday, there’s a hidden extra, for which 22d/15a provides a hint (as does 2d). The beginning and end of each odd-numbered row spells out a colour, giving the three primary colours in each of the two colour models RGB (additive colours for light mixing) and CMY (subtractive colours for printing), along with white and black. I’ve highlighted these appropriately in the grid, though for obvious reasons I’ve had to cheat with the first and last rows. Thanks Atrica for the fun.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | WHET |
Stimulate with hot film (4)
|
| W (abbreviation for with) + H (abbreviation for hot) + ET (the Steven Spielberg film).
As in “whet one’s appetite”. |
||
| 4 | PERQUISITE |
Foolishly queries tip as fringe benefit (10)
|
| Anagram (foolishly) of QUERIES TIP.
Usually shortened to “perk”; an incidental benefit that comes with an employment position. |
||
| 9 | YEARNING |
Craving the last bit of stretchy netting (8)
|
| Last letter of [stretch]Y, then EARNING (netting = achieving). | ||
| 10 | BELLOW |
Later on interrupted by large blast of hot air (6)
|
| BELOW (later on in a written text, as in “see below”), containing (interrupted by) L (abbreviation for large).
Bellow = blast of hot air = an angry shout. |
||
| 11 | MAGNET |
What attracts spy chief? Agent whose hidden opponents flip (6)
|
| M (codename for the spy chief in the James Bond series), then AGENT with its contained (hidden) E and N (East and North = opponents in card games) flipped. | ||
| 13 | PLACENTA |
Site not without oxygen, a biological supplier of nutrients (8)
|
| PLACE (site) + N[o]T without the O (chemical symbol for oxygen) + A.
Organ that supplies nutrients to a foetus in the womb. |
||
| 15 |
See 22 Down
|
|
| 16 | WESLEYAN |
Rudely yawn, overwhelming otherwise laid-back Christian type (8)
|
| Anagram (rudely) of YAWN, containing (overwhelming) ELSE (otherwise) reversed (laid back).
A follower of the 18th-century brothers John and Charles Wesley, or of the Methodist theology they taught. |
||
| 19 | BLUSTERY |
Dirty old man possibly put inside by Stormy (8)
|
| LUSTER (one who lusts, perhaps a “dirty old man” = slang for a lecherous adult male), put inside BY. | ||
| 22 | PLEASE |
Be so good as to place conclusions of committee and referee in speech (6)
|
| PL (abbreviation for place, for example on streetmaps), then a homophone (in speech) of ES (plural of E = the double E endings of committee and referee). | ||
| 23 | GREAT TIT |
Big booby’s little bird (5,3)
|
| GREAT (big) + TIT (booby = foolish person).
British garden bird: “great” because it’s slightly bigger than the blue tit and similar species, but still quite small. Not likely to be confused with the booby, which is a seabird and much larger. |
||
| 27 | ICEMEN |
Cool chaps could be killers in Brooklyn (6)
|
| ICE (as a verb = cool = make something cooler by adding ice) + MEN (chaps).
Criminal slang in the US (so in Brooklyn, New York City) for professional killers; ice (as a verb) = to murder. |
||
| 28 | RODENT |
Sat on extremely noncompliant capybara? (6)
|
| RODE (sat on a horse or a bicycle, for example) + end letters (extremes) of N[oncomplian]T.
Definition by example. It’s the largest surviving species of rodent (about 4 feet long), native to South America, but I expect it would be noncompliant if you tried to sit on it. |
||
| 29 | STARTLED |
Surprised prostitute in vehicle with runners (8)
|
| TART (slang for a prostitute) in SLED (vehicle with runners for travelling on snow or ice). | ||
| 31 | BAPTISTERY |
Where the font is waffled at by priest (10)
|
| Anagram (waffled?) of AT BY PRIEST.
A building (or a structure within a larger building) containing a baptismal font. |
||
| 32 | LACK |
You previously turned back, abandoning obsequious servant in need (4)
|
| LACK[ey] (obsequious servant), without (. . . abandoning) YE (old form of “you”, so “you previously”) reversed (turned back). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | HUE |
Shade in haunted house where the symbols match (3)
|
| A slightly odd construction: the letters (symbols) H U E occur in the same order (match) in both H[a]U[nt]E[d] and H[o]U[s]E. | ||
| 3 | TYRANNOUS |
Botching run, stay on like a despot (9)
|
| Anagram (botching = messing up) of RUN STAY ON. | ||
| 4 | PRINTER |
Portion at heart oddly peripheral (7)
|
| Odd-numbered letters of P[o]R[t]I[o]N [a]T [h]E[a]R[t].
Peripheral (as a noun) = a device attached to a computer to provide additional function. |
||
| 5 | RIG UP |
Assemble kit in a good mood (3,2)
|
| RIG (kit = equipment, as in the “lighting rig” in a theatre) + UP (in a good mood).
Not my favourite clue because “rig” in both definition and wordplay has the same root meaning, although one is a verb and the other a noun; also this meaning of “up” is more or less repeated in the next clue. |
||
| 6 | UPBEATS |
Cheerful small gestures from the conductor (7)
|
| UPBEAT (cheerful) + S (abbreviation for small).
Upbeat = a musical conductor’s indication of an unstressed beat (usually indicated by an upward motion) before the stronger downbeat at the beginning of a bar. |
||
| 7 | SOLVE |
Doctor loves what you do (5)
|
| Anagram (doctor, as a verb = fix or tamper with) of LOVES.
What you’ve been doing solving this puzzle. |
||
| 8 | TROUT |
Old bag from Turkey available for purchase (5)
|
| TR (abbreviation for the country of Turkey, or the Republic of Türkiye as the locals prefer to call it) + OUT (available for purchase, as in “the latest volume of the series is out now”).
Trout = old bag = rather offensive terms for an annoying or unattractive person. |
||
| 12 | ATOLL |
Bikini maybe excessively abbreviated all around (5)
|
| TO[o] (excessively) without the last letter (abbreviated), with ALL around it.
Definition by example: a ring-shaped coral reef, such as the one in the Pacific Ocean known as Bikini. (The two-piece swimsuit was first introduced a few days after Bikini Atoll was used for nuclear testing; the name seems to have been a rather bad-taste joke by its designer, who hoped it would produce a shockingly explosive reaction.) |
||
| 14 | NAY |
“No” irrelevant before “yes” (3)
|
| NA (or N/A = abbreviation for “not applicable” = irrelevant) before Y (abbreviation for yes).
Archaic form of “no”. |
||
| 16 | WRY |
Two whiskeys, one not completely dry (3)
|
| W (Whiskey in the radio alphabet), then RY[e] (American whiskey made from rye grain) without the last letter (not completely). The US spelling with an E is correct for both.
As in wry humour = dry humour = a deadpan delivery in contrast to the absurdity of what’s being said. |
||
| 17 | ELEMENTAL |
Basic report of three successive letters on time for each pupil (9)
|
| Homophone (report) of L M N (three successive letters), then T (abbreviation for time) + A (for each, as in “£5 a ticket”) + L (abbreviation for learner, as in L-plates on a car = pupil). | ||
| 18 | AISLE |
Man perhaps going after a bride might be here (5)
|
| ISLE (perhaps the Isle of Man) going after A.
A passageway between seating areas in a church, for example the one along which a bride walks to the front of the church for her wedding. |
||
| 20 | USE |
Milk consumption (3)
|
| Double definition, though the two meanings aren’t really independent. Milk, as a verb = use = take advantage of; or consumption, as in “fuel consumption” = use. | ||
| 21 | ESTATES |
Distributions by those willing to supply cars (7)
|
| Two definitions, the first cryptic. Estate = the property of a deceased person, distributed according to the will they left; or estate (station wagon) = a car with its roofline extended to the rear over a large cargo area. | ||
| 22/15 | PRIMARY COLOUR |
Chromatic element of my prior ocular failing (fragmentary lights in rows) (7,6)
|
| Anagram (failing) of MY PRIOR OCULAR. The last four words in the clue could be counted along with the definition, but also hint where to find today’s theme. | ||
| 24 | RIOJA |
Port in Germany? Why not wine? (5)
|
| RIO (the port city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil) + JA (German for “yes” = “why not?” = an expression of agreement).
Wine from the Rioja region of northern Spain. |
||
| 25 | ALERT |
Something hopped right on your toes (5)
|
| ALE (alcoholic drink made with hops = something hopped) + RT (abbreviation for right, as in Rt Rev = Right Reverend).
Alert = on your toes = awake and paying attention. |
||
| 26 | TASTE |
Nibble at a steak, you won’t want it all (5)
|
| Hidden answer (you won’t want it all) in [a]T A STE[ak].
Taste = nibble = a small sample of food. |
||
| 30 | ETC |
Starts to enter the chamber, it’s obvious what comes next (3)
|
| Starting letters of E[nter] T[he] C[hamber].
Short for Latin et cetera = and the others; often used for “I won’t bother telling you any more because you know it”. |
Thanks Atrica and Quirister!
My top faves: PLEASE, ALERT, HUE and ELEMENTAL.
Really enjoyed this. Ok, the clue for USE wasn’t great and “waffled” is a strange anagram indicator (‘waffle’ can mean ‘waver’, which just about works, I guess). ESTATES is a bit of a chestnut clue as well but, on the whole, this was excellent. Clues like those for HUE, ELEMENTAL & ALERT were lovely head-scratchers.
What a brilliant theme! I didn’t see it though, so well done Quirister. Very enjoyable, so thanks to setter and blogger.
Smashing puzzle, very enjoyable. Faves were RODENT and ALERT. Failed to spot the thematic words despite the strong hint as I was looking in the wrong place. I mean, ETPER and INGBE are obviously not colours… doh!
Thanks, Atrica and Quirister!
With the Stormy Daniels allusion in BLUSTERY and PRIMARY COLOURS I looked in vain for a presidential scandal theme. ELEMENTAL and ALERT were very good. I agree about RIG UP, though. Thanks, both.
Annoyingly, I saw the RGB/CMY letters on the left hand side, connecting with HUE, PRIMARY COLOUR and PRINTER, but failed to see the full colour names. Very clever.
Thank you both.
Rainbow TROUT too? Perhaps not.
Thanks Setter and Blogger. Atrica for such a lovely multilayered puzzle and Quirister for explaining/displaying it so handsomely
Thanks to S&B. The theme helped us solve the last few clues. MAGENTA was the first colour that we noticed.
Missed the theme of course, and also the e’s in PLEASE.
I’ve wondered for a while if anyone else feels guilty about getting a solution like 22d/15a from the clue without working out the anagram? It feels like I’m doing the setter a disservice.
Thanks Atrica and Quirister.
I absolutely did not see the theme, but it’s very nicely done. As was the rest of the puzzle. I was particularly pleased to remember the full origin of ‘perk’.
Thanks Atrica and Quirister.
17 d depends on how you pronounce the 2nd e in elemental. Might be a northern thing but I pronounce it el- EE – mental so couldn’t parse it even though it couldn’t be anything else with crossers.
I once attended a lecture entitled “Pre-requisites for good industrial relations” – the overhead screen spelt out “Perquisites for good industrial relations” which I thought was self-explanatory and apt.
UPBEATS reminded me that all a drummer has to do to play the blues is to emphasise the downbeat…
ETC reminded me that there is a special place in hell reserved for those who pronounce it ‘eXc’.
And I thought that HUE was a great spot.
Most entertaining so thanks both.
Thanks. Relatively unfamiliar (to me) setter, nice puzzle. I forgot to look for the theme! It was well devised.
Thanks Q&A didn’t see the colour thing at all. Spent ages looking and wondered if there was no theme today.
Very clever clueing and neat theme.
How on earth did you uncover that Q?
ELEMENTAL raised my eyebrows skyward.
Needed the help of Quirister to parse at least 6 clues
Thanks to both
Thanks very much to everyone who commented, and especially to Quirister for the truly excellent blog. The theme was hard to spot for the kind people who test solve my puzzles, so congratulations to all who found the hidden words. I’m a bit annoyed with myself for the clues for “rig up” and “use” as I originally had wordplay that I think was more inventive but eventually decided to replace with something “easier”. I won’t let on what they were in the first draft, though, as I may need them in the future (hint: one of them made a reference to Tees)!
Is it a coincidence that:
Questions were asked by A and
Answers were provided by Q
?
Was spotting the colours theme as I was solving, but then 22d/15a gave it all away. Felt utterly cheated. (Just kidding) 🙂
Thought of the book(1996) and film(1998) PRIMARY COLORS, given what was happening in Iowa.
Thanks Q&A