This month’s geographically based wordplay fun is brought to us by Hamilton. Find the puzzle online at ft.com/crossword
A cryptic puzzle themed on one particular place in the world. The name of the country should be inserted at 14 across. Work out the place by solving the *asterisked clues, all undefined. Their solutions have some relevance to the place, such as its places, famous people, culture and language
Always read the preamble! I was caught out slightly because I didn’t bother, being pretty familiar with these puzzles by now, so I didn’t initially twig that instead of a country, this time round the puzzle was themed around a city – that city being New York. Never mind, I soon realised my error and it was mostly plain sailing after that.
Thanks, Hamilton!
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | SAKS |
* Discussing rifles (4)
|
| Sounds like “SACKS” (rifles)
A New York department store on Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. |
||
| 8 | EDEN |
Unprecedented setting for Shangri-La (4)
|
| Hidden in unprecEDENted | ||
| 9 | BRONX |
* Buddy comes to New Cross (5)
|
| BRO (buddy) + N (new) + X (cross)
One of the five boroughs of New York City. |
||
| 11 | BROADWAY |
* Two minor thoroughfares (8)
|
| B-ROAD (a minor thoroughfare) + WAY (and another)
An avenue in Manhattan, home of New York’s theatre district. |
||
| 12 | GRACIE |
* Cinematographers suffering smartphone confiscation! (6)
|
| Anagram (suffering) of CINEMATOGRAPHERS less the letters of SMARTPHONE
Gracie Mansion is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. |
||
| 13/29 | FLATIRON |
* Penthouse Club (8)
|
| FLAT (penthouse) + IRON (golf club)
A famous New York landmark, the Flatiron building was built in 1902 on the junction of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. |
||
| 14 | RED LIGHT |
Stop! Third leg is problematic (3,5)
|
| Anagram (problematic) of THIRD LEG | ||
| 16 | SHUBERT |
* Composer caught out (7)
|
| ScHUBERT (composer) omitting C (caught)
The New York family responsible for establishing Broadway as a theatre district. |
||
| 18 | SCUTTLE |
Give up plans to run for household container (7)
|
| Three definitions – give up plans, run (flee/abandon) and a household container (for coal)
Not 100% convinced I have this right – any better suggestions welcome. |
||
| 21 | UNCOUPLE |
French husband and wife to separate (8)
|
| Whimsical cryptic definition – split into two words, it becomes UN COUPLE, French for a couple, eg a husband and wife. | ||
| 23 | EAST |
* Situated in Chelsea Street (4)
|
| Hidden in chelsEA STreet
East River is a waterway in New York City that separates Long Island from the mainland. |
||
| 26 | STOKER |
Fireman evacuates last reefer smoker (6)
|
| S (last letter of evacuates) + TOKER (reefer smoker)
Fireman or stoker was a job on steam trains. |
||
| 27 | NORMALLY |
Shearer and Allen leaving one out as a rule (8)
|
| NORMA (Norma Shearer, American screen actress of the 1920s) + LiLY (Lily Allen, English pop singer) leaving out I (one) | ||
| 28 | SWAYS |
Part of 11 on board oscillates (5)
|
| WAY (part of the solution to 11) “on board” SS (steamship) | ||
| 29 |
See 13
|
|
| 30 | ERIE |
First young leave nest high above canal (4)
|
| Y (first letter of young) leaves EYRIE (nest high above)
The Erie Canal is a waterway in upstate New York that links the Hudson River to Lake Erie. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PARRY |
The way to foil a foil? (5)
|
| Cryptic definition – the way to foil (block) a foil (sword) in fencing | ||
| 2 | ASSAIL |
Charge for a small boat trip (6)
|
| A + S (small) + SAIL (boat trip) | ||
| 3 | SEAWATER |
Wet areas — literally! (8)
|
| Anagram of WET AREAS
A literal is a spelling error, so “literally” could whimsically work as an anagram indicator, and seawater could literally (ie not figuratively) form wet areas. |
||
| 4 | NEW YORK |
* [See setter notes] (3,4)
|
| The solution that links all asterisked clues. | ||
| 5 | ORGANIST |
Musician roasting nuts (8)
|
| Anagram (nuts) of ROASTING | ||
| 6 | ANNIE HALL |
* Musical performance area (5,4)
|
| ANNIE (musical) + HALL (performance area)
Woody Allen film set in New York City. |
||
| 10 | AGED |
Venerable painter goes up, but school’s out (4)
|
| DEGAS (painter) reversed (goes up) less S (school) | ||
| 15 | CHINATOWN |
* How tin can may be repurposed (9)
|
| Anagram (repurposed) of HOW TIN CAN
District of Manhattan that reputedly has the highest concentration of Chinese inhabitants outside China itself. |
||
| 17 | BROOKLYN |
* Look around with Welshman outside (8)
|
| Anagram (around) of LOOK with BRYN (Welshman) outside
Another of the five New York City boroughs. |
||
| 19 | CLEARING |
Nervous girl with acne is getting better (8)
|
| Anagram (nervous) of GIRL + ACNE | ||
| 20 | BEANERY |
A number enter, smelling of alcohol, for cheap American fare (7)
|
| A + N (number) enter BEERY (smelling of alcohol)
A cheap eatery, of which there are many examples in New York City. |
||
| 22 | PERK |
* Gunther’s benefit? (4)
|
| Cryptic definition
Refers to Central Perk, a coffee shop in the New York-set sitcom Friends that was managed by the character Gunther. |
||
| 24 | STATEN |
* Gallery in Saigon emptied (6)
|
| TATE (gallery) in SN (SaigoN “emptied”)
Staten Island is another borough of New York City – the largest by area but the least densely populated. |
||
| 25 | ELLIS |
* Colonel lists certain items (5)
|
| Hidden in colonEL LISts
An island in New York harbour where for many years immigrants arriving in the US were processed. |
SCUTTLE
I parsed it as you did Widdersbel and I think it works all right (As you are not fully convinced, there must be some reason. Will wait and see what others say).
Top faves: BROADWAY, UNCOUPLE and SEAWATER (the best of them all).
A nice puzzle and a wonderful blog! Thanks both!
PARRY
The CD angle is perfect.
Could it also be read as
def 1: The way to foil (meaning ‘sport of fencing with foil’)
Def 2: foil ?
Or does the presence of ‘a’ before ‘foil’ make this parse wrong?
KVa –
SCUTTLE – the first definition doesn’t feel quite right to me – Chambers has “to destroy, ruin (eg plans)” which isn’t quite the same as “give up (plans)” – hence making me doubt my parsing.
PARRY – I’d say you’re overthinking it.
SCUTTLE (Collins online)
(transitive)
to give up (hopes, plans, etc)
SCUTTLE (Cambridge online)
to give up a plan or activity, or spoil a possibility for success:
Angry workers scuttled all hope of quick agreement on a new contract.
PARRY
Agree 🙂
SCUTTLE took all the crossers because I wasn’t sure about “give up on”, because I thought of scuttling boats as something done in conflict, but having checked the definition: to scuttle a boat can be to sink it because the owners have given up on it.
Thank you to Widdersbel and Hamilton.
Ok, if Collins supports it, that’s good enough for me. 🙂
(If I’m being really picky, “plans” is the object of the verb rather than an intrinsic part of the definition but that’s the kind of pedantry that doesn’t win you any friends.)
I didn’t think along those lines (overthinking elsewhere did the damage, I suppose 🙂 ). You don’t sound picky to me. I get your point.
Well, you see it all the time from many different setters so it would be unfair to single out Hamilton for this. But it’s not meant as a criticism anyway. It rarely gets mentioned which suggests most solvers either don’t notice the redundant object or don’t care, or perhaps they welcome it as an extra hint towards the relevant sense of the definition.
For 27a NORMALLY I thought of the less appropriate Moira and Alan before NORMA; the more appropriate Woody, then Dave before L[i]LY.
25d ELLIS inspired me to look up my !rish surname here, finding 458 of us between 1849 and 1957. My uncle may be in there somewhere.
L2i: 7a SAKS, then 1d PARRY
Thanks H&W – [Samson built 1974 – a golden anniversary]