Filbert has produced this week’s Tuesday puzzle, on what we know is typically theme day.
Today’s theme revolves around the many and varied meanings of “bob” at 17, and it is something of a compiling tour de force. I am not sure that I have managed to unpick everything, but most of it for sure. I would appreciate some help with the parsing at 26, which may have gone awry.
This puzzle is one where the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. If I had to single out any individual clues, I would mention 9A and 10, both for their humorous surface and the latter for its clever use of a proper noun; 15, for the PDM when it finally came; 19, for its deceptive use of “Banks” as a container indicator; and 21, for maintaining the sports theme in the whole clue.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 08 | AROMA | Nose traveller follows back from India
<indi>A (“back from” means last letter only) + ROMA (=traveller, gypsy); the nose of a wine, say, is its aroma |
| 09 | DEPENDENT | Relative starts to do elegant swan impression
D<o> E<legant> (“starts to” means first letters only) + PEN (=swan, i.e. female of cob) + DENT (=impression, i.e. in a surface) |
| 10 | PIECEMEAL | Pastry Lee Mack shortly demolished, bit by bit
PIE (=pastry) + *(LEE MAC<k>); “shortly” means last letter is dropped from anagram, indicated by “demolished” |
| 11 | TILDE | Flat ceramic includes date mark in Spanish
D (=date) in TILE (=flat ceramic); the tilde is the mark above the letter “n” in words such as España |
| 12 | SALCHOW | Jump on ice that hurts after jarring clash
*(CLASH) + OW (=that hurts, i.e. exclamation); “jarring” is anagram indicator; a salchow is a jump in ice-skating |
| 14 | STEPPED | Staggered by 16A and D
STEPPE (=plain (=answer at 16A), i.e. a flat expanse) + D (=the letter is just transposed, it is not a reference to the entry at 16D!); e.g. staggered payments are spread over a longer period, stepped |
| 16 | PLAIN | Design unfinished and home undecorated
PLA<n> (=design; “unfinished” means last letter is dropped) + IN (=(at) home) |
| 17 | BOB | Builder who’s 27 29 when the job’s done
The reference is to the BBC children’s TV programme Bob the Builder AND also to the expression Bob’s your (=entry at 27) uncle (=entry at 29), to indicate the successful completion of task, a result; this is the gateway clue to today’s puzzle |
| 19 | MINOR | Child pally with old Mr Banks
[IN (=pally, as in to be in with the boss) + O (=old, as in OT)] in MR |
| 20 | INSWING | Curving flight of e.g. fly cut in half – what keeps it up?
INS<ect> (=e.g. fly; “cut in half” means 3 of 6 letters are dropped) + WING (=what keeps it (=fly) up); the reference is to a kind of delivery in cricket |
| 22 | BUDDY UP | Barefooted South African agreed to make friends
BUDD (=barefooted South African, i.e. the runner Zola Budd) + YUP (=agreed, yes) |
| 24 | LYNCH | Meal with different side for you to take out
LUNCH (=meal); “with different side of you” means letter “u” is replaced by “y”; to lynch is to bump off, kill, hence “to take out” |
| 26 | BELLY-FLOP | Disastrous attempt at 16A 17 19 falling flat
A plain bob minor (16A 17 19) is a method in bellringing, so cryptically a belly-flop could be a disastrous attempt at it! |
| 28 | SEVENTEEN | Still 19, just one away from 18
18 – 1 = 17; if you are 17 years old, you are still a minor (=entry at 19)! |
| 29 | UNCLE | Parents’ friend has name in cryptic clue
N (=name) in *(CLUE); “cryptic” is anagram indicator; parents have their children refer to male friends of the family as “uncles” |
| Down | ||
| 01 | PAMPAS | 16A old man’s holding up map the wrong way round
PAM (MAP; “the wrong way round” indicates vertical reversal) + PA’S (=old man’s); the pampas are grassy plains (=entry at 16A) |
| 02 | HOPE FLOATS | A famous 17,17, 17 film with Sandra Bullock
HOPE (=a famous Bob, entry at 17, i.e. the American actor and singer) + FLOAT (=bob, entry at 17, i.e. to bob up and down on the water) + S (=bob, entry at 17, i.e. a shilling, the “s” in LSD); the reference is to the 1998 US film Hope Floats |
| 03 | PALE | Secretary left without the FT is livid
PA (=secretary, i.e. personal assistant) + LE<ft> (“without the FT” means letters “ft” are dropped); livid can mean pale, ashen in colour |
| 04 | APPLES | What you 17 for is relevant, bar one
APPL<i>ES (=is relevant, pertains; “bar one (=I)” means letter “i” is dropped); the reference is to the fairground activity “apple bobbing” in which one “bobs (=entry at 17) for apples” using one’s mouth but not one’s hands |
| 05 | UNSTREAMED | New dustmen are not sorted by academic ability
*(DUSTMEN ARE); “new” is anagram indicator |
| 06 | PEAL | Swap last pair then middle pair of 3, ringing changes
Swap last two letters of “pale (=entry at 3)” to give pael, then middle two letters to give “peal”!; in bellringing, a peal is when changes are rung, hence “ringing changes” |
| 07 | ATTENDER | Person using ticket in response to offer
AT (=in response to) + TENDER (=offer, present, e.g. an apology) |
| 09 | DEEP WEB | Secret internet – we’d be crazy keeping record
EP (=record, i.e. extended-play) in *(WE’D BE); “crazy” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | HAND-IN-HAND | Jointly take bananas to lost property?
HAND IN (=to take … to lost property) + HAND (=bananas, i.e. division of a bunch) |
| 15 | PENNY BLACK | Miniature portrait of Victoria, 12 for a 17?
The reference is to the penny black, the first UK adhesive postage stamp, which bore a miniature portrait of Queen Victoria; in old money a bob (=entry at 17) or shilling was worth 12 pence, hence 12 penny blacks could be bought for a bob! |
| 16 | PAINLESS | No trouble taking 50 away from 16A + 19
P<l>AIN (=entry at 16A; “taking 50 (=L, in Roman numerals) away” means letter “l” is dropped) + LESS (=minor, i.e. entry at 19, inferior) |
| 18 | BABYLON | Decadent place has honey left over
BABY (=honey, i.e. term of endearment) + L (=left) + ON (=over, about) |
| 21 | GOBLET | Try British league and French cup
GO (=try, attempt) + B (=British) + L (=league, as in NHL) + ET (=and French, i.e. the French word for and) |
| 23 | POPPET | Quickly deflate favourite doll
POP (=quickly deflate, e.g. a balloon) + PET (=favourite) |
| 25 | NAVE | Central section of Lexington Avenue
<lexi>N<gton> (“central section of” means middle letter) + AVE (=avenue); the nave is the central section of a church, a wheel |
| 27 | YOUR | A typical year, banking bonus regularly
<b>O<n>U<s> (“regularly” means alternate letters only are used) in YR (=year); “your” can mean “a typical …” in phrases such as your middle-aged white male |
What a laugh! Bad puns and multiple connections. Like my favourite treats from Paul in Grunniad.
Thanks Filbert Bert and Joyce
Ps People of a certain age were mimicking Rowan Atkinson in BlackAdder every time they said Bob to themselves
This was ok… the theme did help a bit but didn’t main line on any particular part of the ensemble.. for a short time I thought it might be all about our Sandra of 2d but it was not to be…
Might have preferred ‘string up’ rather than ‘take out’ for 24ac..
Thanks Filbert n Bertandjoyce
COTD: HAND-IN-HAND
Other faves: BELLY-FLOP ( a question mark or some other ‘whimsy’ indicator should have been there. Right?), HOPE FLOATS and PENNY BLACK.
Excellent puzzle. Thanks Filbert!
Super blog. Thanks B&J!
Excellent as ever from Filbert. The obscurity (for me) of HOPE FLOATS was worth it for the three BOBs. I agree with Undrell@2 about LYNCH though. (Filbert could have had “for a bet”, but I think that would have been breaking the capital letter rules.
What’s going on? Job sharing with BertandJoyce? Filbert’s crossword: so good they blogged it twice.
Thanks for giving me a name check at 17.
Stylistically it was very “Paul”. I’m hoping Filbert is not going that way!
Our apologies RR and all the commenters – we have been away and were so concerned to sort our blog that we hadn’t realised that we were blogging tomorrow. See you then!
Thanks both. I don’t mind occasionally tackling a puzzle with multiple cross-references although they can be a little dizzying, example here being BELLY FLOP where we are asked to solve three other clues and translate into campanology! Some very imaginative devices nonetheless, though I was delayed having entered attendee instead of ATTENDER having decided it might be a straight CD as I did not see the separation which takes ‘at’ as ‘in response to’ and I was struggling for an example for a while, but perhaps ‘I am annoyed at my own dimness’ does the job?
Thanks both.
In the middle row, PLAIN BOB MINOR is a method in bell ringing with six bells.
This looks like a very personal one from Filbert. As Bracoman@9 observes, PLAIN BOB MINOR is a bellringing method. We also have PEAL at 6d (ringing for 5,000 changes), some changes being rung in the construction of that clue and BELLY-FLOP at 26a for a nicely thematic clue. So this may be an indication of a recent Filbert ringing achievement, possibly on handbells going by 13d HAND IN HAND. (I hope my guess is right, and that I’m not just speculating wildly and inaccurately!)
That would be neat enough, but the various non-ringing uses of PLAIN, BOB and MINOR were most inventive. Definitely one to savour.
Thanks Filbert and B&J
I know nothing about campanology, so some bits of this rather flew over my head, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The maybe-vaguely-heard-of crossing pair of SALCHOW and HOPE FLOATS held me up at the end. Eventually I alighted on FLOATS, which left SALCHOW as a plausible arrangement of letters. I did enjoy the many Bobs, and I’m another who thought of Blackadder.
Thanks to Filbert, RR, and B&J.
Was the third Bob not “s” for shilling?
A nice quick solve. Slormgorm and Filbert in one lunchtime.
BOB’s YOUR UNCLE.
Jane @12. Yes I agree. s for Bob seemed very clever to me.
My favourite film review of HOPE FLOATS was the succinct ‘ it’s not the only thing’
Thanks to setter and blogger for an enjoyable puzzle.
The letters of PEAL/PALE appear in other solutions: PIECEMEAL, APPLES, HOPE FLOATS, PENNY BLACK, PAINLESS – Probably a coincidence.
And the movie has 3 more BOBs (15p): a character named BOBbi-Claire; BOB Seger, and 2 versions of BOB Dylan’s (To) Make You Feel My Love.
Definitely a coincidence. [Lots more BOBS on Not The Nine O’Clock News]
Thanks F&RR (& B&J)
So was I the only one who thought 25 was a simple inclusion clue?
Surely ‘central section of’ is doing double duty otherwise n’est-ce pas?
reddevil @16 I didn’t see the bloggers parsing until I came here. So you’re not a long in seeing it as a simple inclusion. I think ave for Avenue would be a little too tame. Having said that, I would consider “central” to be smack bang in the middle of… rather than just amidst. So maybe we’re wrong on that one.
Another at the easier end of the scale for Filbert which I personally don’t mind at all. I like a bot of ego fluffing.
Thanks to the setter and to RR (plus B&J) for the full parsings.
Interesting, but considerable help required and we’d never heard of Hope Floats. We did get the bellringing references, though. Actually our first Indy puzzle (apart from i reprints) for ages as we’ve virtually stopped bothering with them since we do our puzzles on paper and the Indy printouts no longer show the enumerations – just another downside of the Indy’s rubbish software.
But thanks, Filbert and RR.
Thanks for both blogs, hope that wasn’t too annoying.
Sorry for using Hope Floats. My excuse, or penance, is that I have watched it. 27% on Rotten Tomatoes seems fair.
In response to solvers’ comments @12 and @14, I agree on the suggested parsing of 2 and have amended the blog accordingly.
Incidentally, I was oblivious to the double blog until reading solvers’ comment long after the event!