[New comment layout] - details here
Our Tuesday challenge is from Grecian.
I liked the wide range of source material in the surfaces, ranging from Milton’s poetry via film, TV, snooker and cricket to a high-street underwear shop. Most of these were there to confuse rather than to help, as were the delightfully offbeat definitions in 3d and 8d.
Our Tuesday theme is pointed out by the link between two clues: 9a/22d refers to 21d/1a, but there are other hidden references to find. I think this should actually be 28a/21d/1a because the band’s name was generally given as THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. We also have four band members (some as partial solutions) in Lou REED, John CALE, Sterling MORRISON (not Jim Morrison of The Doors as suggested by the clue), and Moe TUCKER; Andy WARHOL who was briefly their manager, and NICO who sang as a guest vocalist with them; and (in addition to the specific reference to FEMME FATALE) they also recorded a song called HEROIN. Thanks Grecian for an enjoyable puzzle.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | UNDERGROUND |
Where you can find Victoria‘s Secret (11)
|
| Double definition. Victoria is a line on the London Underground; or underground = secret, in the sense of activity carried out without the approval of the authorities. | ||
| 7 | WIT |
Comedian in Jackass needing no introduction (3)
|
| [t]WIT (jackass = foolish person), without the introductory letter. | ||
| 9/22 | FEMME FATALE |
Siren song by the 21/1A (5,6)
|
| Double definition, though I don’t think they’re really two separate meanings. An attractive but dangerous woman; or a song by the band Velvet Underground (21d / 1a) about such a woman. | ||
| 10 | CHIVALRIC |
Gallant rival upset in style (9)
|
| Anagram (upset) of RIVAL, in CHIC (as a noun = style = the quality of being stylish and elegant). | ||
| 11 | ALTISSIMO |
Sits around in a car getting very high (9)
|
| Anagram (around) of SITS, in A + LIMO (short for limousine = large car).
Musical term meaning very high-pitched. |
||
| 12 | HOOVE |
President contracted cow disease (5)
|
| HOOVE[r] (Herbert Hoover, 31st US President) without the last letter (contracted = shortened).
A disease of cattle involving gas trapped in the belly. |
||
| 13 | EXPLODE |
Old Earl receiving police discharge (7)
|
| EX (old = former, as in ex-soldier) + E (abbreviation for Earl), containing (receiving) PLOD (slang for a police officer, from the character Mr Plod or PC Plod in Enid Blyton’s Noddy stories).
Discharge, as a verb (of an explosive device) = explode. |
||
| 15 | NOTE |
Suggestion of school getting turned around (4)
|
| ETON (Eton College = a public school) reversed (getting turned around).
Note = suggestion = a faint trace, as in descriptions of wine flavours or perfumes. |
||
| 18 | LONG |
Pine in Babylon gardens (4)
|
| Hidden answer (in . . .) on [baby]LON G[ardens].
Pine, as a verb = long = yearn for something. |
||
| 20 | HEROINE |
Double dose of drugs for diva? (7)
|
| HEROIN (a drug) + E (abbreviation for ecstasy = another drug), so a “double dose” of drugs.
Diva = a leading female opera singer, who may sing the role of the heroine in an opera. |
||
| 23 | ERASE |
Wipe rear end in comfort (5)
|
| End letter of [rea]R in EASE (comfort). | ||
| 24 | MORRISONS |
Perhaps Jim’s beginning to shop in supermarket (9)
|
| MORRISON (perhaps singer Jim Morrison of the Doors) + beginning letter of S[hop].
UK supermarket chain. |
||
| 26 | VIABILITY |
Dictator’s rival with talent for reasonableness (9)
|
| Homophone (dictator’s = speaker’s) of VIE (rival?), then ABILITY (talent). I’m not sure this quite works: rival (as a verb) = vie with, surely? | ||
| 27 | SCALE |
Alec’s chaotic graduation (5)
|
| Anagram (chaotic) of ALEC’S.
As in “on a scale of one to ten”. |
||
| 28 | THE |
Article in More! not taking sides (3)
|
| [o]THE[r] (more, as in “any more suggestions?”) without the outer letters (sides).
Grammatically, the definite article. |
||
| 29 | DISAPPEARED |
Missing page in Paradise Lost edition (11)
|
| P (abbreviation for page) in an anagram (lost) of PARADISE, then ED (abbreviation for edition). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | UNFLAWED |
Footloose touring Florida is perfect (8)
|
| UNWED (footloose and fancy free?) around (touring) FLA (abbreviation for the US state of Florida). | ||
| 2 | DEMO TAPE |
Poet made up audition sample (4,4)
|
| Anagram (up) of POET MADE. | ||
| 3 | REEDS |
Socialists getting around strike ultimately providing material for Thatcher (5)
|
| REDS (socialists) around the last letter (ultimately) of [strik]E.
No, not that Thatcher; it’s the one who makes traditional roofs out of bundles of reeds. |
||
| 4 | RECLINE |
Play area with family lounge (7)
|
| REC (short for recreation ground = play area) + LINE (descent in a family, as in “inherited through the female line”). | ||
| 5 | UNICORN |
My word for love in marriage is a horny one (7)
|
| UNI[o]N (marriage), with the O (love in tennis scoring) replaced by COR (cor! = my word! = an expression of surprise). | ||
| 6 | DEATH STAR |
Lethal Weapon ends with dark material (5,4)
|
| DEATHS (ends) + TAR (a dark material).
In the Star Wars film series, a space station that acts as a super-weapon, capable of destroying pretty much anything. |
||
| 7 | WARHOL |
Factory boss regenerated Harlow (6)
|
| Anagram (regenerated) of HARLOW.
The artist Andy Warhol, who ran a studio called The Factory. |
||
| 8 | TUCKER |
Barbie products possibly wear out (6)
|
| Double definition, both of them somewhat cryptic. Australian slang for food, for example something cooked on a barbie (Australian for barbecue); or as in “best bib and tucker” = formal clothes for going out = wear out. (The second definition could also possibly be a woman’s lace collar worn over a low-cut bodice.)
[UPDATE: As KVa and Hovis have pointed out in the comments, “tucker” is also a slang word for tire out = exhaust: “I’ve had a long day and I’m tuckered”. I hadn’t come across that, but it may well be what Grecian intended for the second meaning.] |
||
| 14 | OF ONE MIND |
Find Nemo swimming around duck in harmony? (2,3,4)
|
| Anagram (swimming) of FIND NEMO, around O (zero = duck in cricket scoring). | ||
| 16 | MINOTAUR |
Greek character devoured by child monster (8)
|
| TAU (the Greek character corresponding to the letter T) contained in (devoured by) MINOR (child).
A bull-headed monster in Greek mythology. |
||
| 17 | BEDSTEAD |
Steve Davis initially upset during lively debate in frame (8)
|
| Initial letters of S[teve] D[avis], reversed (upset = upwards in a down clue), inserted into (during) an anagram (lively) of DEBATE. | ||
| 19 | GAMBITS |
Terrible stigma surrounding British plays (7)
|
| Anagram (terrible) of STIGMA around B (abbreviation for British).
Gambit = play = an action or sequence of actions intended to obtain an advantage in a game, especially in chess. |
||
| 20 | HURRY UP |
Quick Bravo over dismissing Australia (5,2)
|
| HURR[a]Y (hurray! = bravo! = expressions of praise for someone’s achievement) + UP (as in “time’s up” = over = finished). The surface suggests the West Indian cricketer Dwayne Bravo. | ||
| 21 | VELVET |
Material gains for Grand National jockey (6)
|
| Triple definition. Luxury fabric; slang for winnings from gambling; or Velvet Brown, teenage girl in the 1930s novel (and later film) National Velvet, who rather improbably rides a Grand National winner. | ||
| 22 |
See 9 Across
|
|
| 25 | ISSUE |
Affair in Sons and Daughters (5)
|
| Double definition. A situation that needs to be dealt with; or as in “deceased without issue” = a legal term for children, who would inherit property after their parent dies. |
Perfect Day, Perfect Puzzle – A Walk on the Wild Side.
That you Grecian and Quirister.
Thanks Grecian and Quirister
Really enjoyed this, right up my street as The Velvet Underground & Nico became a favourite album when I first bought it in 1971. I still have that copy, the English mono version that didn’t have the banana on the cover.
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND formed in 1964 – a diamond anniversary.
Their ’67 debut album – the one with the peelable banana sticker – The Velvet Underground & uNICOrn.
TUCKER
TUCKER (slang) is also ‘wear out’ in the sense of ‘to tire/to exhaust’.
Liked UNDERGROUND, HEROINE and VELVET.
Thanks Grecian and Quirister.
… also contains The Black Angel’s DEATH (STAR) Song
’66-7: house band of Warhol’s studio, the Factory, and his travel(l)ing multimedia show, the EXPLOD(E)ing Plastic Inevitable.
9a,22d FEMME FATALE – “Siren song” is a very fine lift-and-separate, even better than 1a UNDERGROUND’s “Victoria‘s Secret”.
I had “tucker” as KVa @4. Lovely themed puzzle. Didn’t get all the references mind you. Only listened to FEMME FATALE a few days ago and it still took me a while to get it.
What no pancakes? The theme was lost on me of course, and DNF as failed at 7A/8D. Otherwise much enjoyed so thanks Grecian and Quirister.
KVa @4, Hovis @8: thanks, I wasn’t familiar with that meaning, but it makes sense. I’ve updated the blog.
I mised the limo and unwed.
I’d expected that I’d know the song, but I don’t. I must have bypassed the original Underground and gone straight to Lou Reed.
Thanks Grecian and Quirister.
Splendid puzzle, splendid theme, not all spotted – I missed NICO hiding away and also the THE! I do like their music and have several albums – but the surnames, MORRISON and TUCKER, unfortunately, have never stuck in the mind. So TUCKER beat me on both fronts as I failed to parse it too. I wonder if I was more able to spot the Barbie/BBQ synonym before the movie brought the pink one into higher focus? This is not the first time I have been suckered by that ploy!
Thanks Grecian and Quirister
Many thanks to Quirister, for the excellent blog and to all you solvers for the nice comments. KVa @4 and Hovis @8 were right about TUCKER. I love how FrankieG can always make a case for non-themed entries being part of the theme. Nice work, sir! Hope to be here again soon. G
Enjoyed the puzzle and a familiar theme (for once) which was very helpful. TUCKER last one in and tops for the misdirection. Couldn’t correctly parse EXPLODE (although I know of Mr. Plod the Policeman) or DEATH STAR (not a fan) so thanks Quirister and thanks Grecian for an excellent challenge. Hope to see another Grecian soon.
Thanks Grecian for an excellent crossword with a theme familiar to me. I spotted all the references and the F-L-A in UNFLAWED led to an earworm of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side. Favourite clues included UNDERGROUND, WIT, DISAPPEARED, UNICORN, and WARHOL. Thanks Quirister for the blog.
Grecian@13 – You mean explode and death weren’t part of the theme? So you won’t want to know – I just found out – about how in 1965, Lou Reed used
DEMO TAPEs of his songs as a poor man’s copyright. You can buy them on a lavish and expensive double 45rpm(!) LP – What will they think of next?
Thanks G&Q
FrankieG @16 – they are forever part of the theme, thanks to you! Interesting stuff about the demo tapes. I hope Lou’s family profit from the release.
Thanks Setter and Blogger. Fun crossword – and the theme (which was so plainly spelled out even I recognised it) actually helped ( there is no anagram of Harlow except … Aha!) for first time in months.
What a treat! Loved The Velvet Underground and loved this puzzle. Seeing Lou Reed live here in Australia was a peak experience of my youth but wish I had got to hear the whole ensemble live at some point, though I am proud to say I still have the well-worn vinyl. 5d U-NICO-RN my favourite. Big thanks to Grecian and Quirister.
[Oh yes, I did enjoy the Australianism “Barbie” as a synonym for TUCKER at 8d; just heading out for a regular barbie (snags and steak) with friends as I type.]
Had to look up Julie in Australia@20’s snags
“A sausage. Also snagger. In Australia and elsewhere snag has a number of meanings, including ‘a submerged tree stump’, ‘an unexpected drawback’, and more recently as an acronym for ‘Sensitive New Age Guy’. But in Australia a snag is also one of several words for ‘sausage’ (others include snarler and snork). It is first recorded in 1937, and probably comes from British (mainly Scots) dialect snag meaning ‘a morsel, a light meal’. Snag has generated another, rhyming slang, term for the humble sausage: the aptly named mystery bag.
1943 Bulletin (Sydney) 15 December: Waiting only to bolt a couple of cold ‘snags’ Ted got out his bike.
1991 Age (Melbourne) 24 December (Supplement): Bangers, snags, call them what you will, the once-humble sausage has moved up into the gourmet class.”