The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hi all. Tees erupts into our Saturday with a crossword centred around volcanic activity near Grindavik in Iceland. The puzzle also includes some other fiery content, mostly godly but also domestic.
I would like to report that I was on fire and indeed I started that way, finding the cross-references helpful. However, in the end my solving was more of a damp squib: the wordplay enabled me to get nearly everything without turning to references, but not quite. And it didn’t help that I misread 23d as “… taken in by …”. I had fun though and particularly enjoyed the wordplay in 6d. Thanks Tees!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 9a | Polish king storing a rocket in town 7s threaten (9) |
| GRINDAVIK — GRIND (polish) and K (king) containing (storing) A VI (a rocket). 7d=ERUPTION | |
| 10a | Where the eagle really landed: a backward country? (5) |
| AERIE — A + in reverse (backwards) + EIRE (country) | |
| 11a | One putting out second fire in room (5) |
| INGLE — [s]INGLE (one) removing (putting out) S (second) | |
| 12a | Fruit from tree, poplar, best all but ruined (4-5) |
| SORB-APPLE — POPLAR BESt almost (all but) anagrammed (ruined) | |
| 13a | At home with divine huntress in state (7) |
| INDIANA — IN (at home) + DIANA (divine huntress) | |
| 14a | 150 in 19? That’s gentle on Fagradalsfjall (7) |
| INCLINE — CL (150) in I–NINE (19?) | |
| 16a | Single chap from east cut by Oscar’s woman (5) |
| NAOMI — I MAN (single chap) reversed (from east, in an across entry) with insertion of (cut by) O (Oscar) | |
| 18a | When hot, what 22A may throw out in 7 (3) |
| ASH — AS (when) + H (hot). 22a=VOLCANO; 7d=ERUPTION
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| 19a | Pheasant from Sandringham on a ledge (5) |
| MONAL — The answer is taken from SandringhaM ON A Ledge
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| 21a | Crater in collapsed 22A about to devour tree (7) |
| CALDERA — CA (about) taking in (to devour) ALDER (tree). 22a=VOLCANO
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| 22a | O look! See about saving ass! In Fagradalsfjall? (7) |
| VOLCANO — O LO (look) and V (vide: see) reversed (about) containing (saving) CAN (ass – N American slang) | |
| 24a | Complete justification for narrow escape (5,4) |
| CLOSE CALL — CLOSE (complete) + CALL (justification) | |
| 26a | Molten rock in periodical almost duplicated? (5) |
| MAGMA — MAG MAg (periodical almost duplicated) | |
| 27a | Run through advice for deployment of parasol? (3,2) |
| USE UP — Two indications, the second whimsical. Reminds me of the old riddle, “what can go up a drainpipe down but not down a drainpipe up?” | |
| 28a | Spooner’s badger set forth — became still (9) |
| STAGNATED — Spoonerism of NAG STATED (badger set forth) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Key to fire engine? (8) |
| IGNITION — Cryptic definition: not the key to a fire engine but the key to fire an engine | |
| 2d | Grass with the blackened ends, so affected by 6? (6) |
| SINGED — SING (grass) + last letters (ends) of thE blackened. 6d=LAVA | |
| 3d | One leaving riotous Dáil Eireann in something of a rush? (10) |
| ADRENALINE — I (one) is leaving an anagram of (riotous) DÁ[i]L EIREANN | |
| 4d | Atomic fire-starter in Zoroastrian writings? (6) |
| AVESTA — A (atomic) + VESTA (fire-starter). The fire starter is a match, the name of which comes from the Roman goddess of the hearth | |
| 5d | Glide over snow jolly hard, joining Iceland battle (8) |
| SKIRMISH — SKI (glide over snow) + RM (jolly) followed by H (hard) next to (joining) IS (Iceland) | |
| 6d | Material discharged in 7 in flow around Valhalla’s room? (4) |
| LAVA — The answer is found anagrammed (in flow) around VAL{hall}A’s HALL (room). 7d=ERUPTION
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| 7d | Event near 9 contaminated housing one occupies in turn? (8) |
| ERUPTION — In reverse (… in turn) NOT PURE (contaminated) is the container or housing which I (one) occupies. 9a=GRINDAVIK | |
| 8d | Moon goddess observed start of 7 crossing lake (6) |
| SELENE — SEEN (observed) and the start of Eruption (7d) around (crossing) L (lake). 7d=ERUPTION | |
| 15d | Entire crew needed, or staff in total one short? (10) |
| COMPLEMENT — MEN (staff) in COMPLETe (total) without the last letter (one short) | |
| 17d | Working with beauty who might view 7 from 9? (8) |
| ONLOOKER — ON (working) with LOOKER (beauty). 9a=GRINDAVIK
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| 18d | Stories after Edda initially included poetic reversal (8) |
| ANAPAEST — ANA (stories*) + PAST (after) with the first letter of (… initially) Edda inside (included). *As in Victoriana etc, and apparently a word in its own right meaning a collection of possessions, gossip or anecdotes, although if anybody has seen it outside crosswords please write in! Anapaest is a metrical foot, but why reversal? It is a dactyl reversed | |
| 20d | Explosive one contained by fat old polymath (8) |
| LEONARDO — An anagram of (explosive) ONE contained by LARD (fat) + O (old) | |
| 21d | Clubs do something with American plant (6) |
| CACTUS — C (clubs) + ACT (do something) + US (American) | |
| 22d | God of fire in delta-wing bomber (6) |
| VULCAN — Two definitions. The thematic one is the Roman god of fire and volcanoes | |
| 23d | Green mineral water taken by fool cycling? (6) |
| AUGITE — EAU (water) taken next to (by) GIT (fool) and all cycling round | |
| 25d | Just for finishers, time is up by clock (4) |
| ESPY — Last letters only of (just for finishers) timE iS uP bY | |
Crikey there are some fiendish synonyms and constructions in here, several of which defeated me. I did not think of the French water in AUGITE and stupidly interpreted ‘taken by’ as an insertion instruction rather than a juxtaposition; I have never heard of the American CAN = ass in VOLCANO; I had spotted a room in ValHALLa but was nowhere near recognising the rest of the wordplay as instructions to anagram the letters around it; and I couldn’t parse the key word, ERUPTION, even though the solution was clear – I thought I was looking at two container instructions rather than the one ‘housing one occupies’. Throw in not knowing AERIE = eyrie and the poetic term and I was well beaten. It’s a super gridfill with the themed solutions but I was not up to the parse today.
Thanks Tees and Kitty for explaining what I had missed.
What PostMark said @1, and thanks to Kitty for explaining those very fiendish clues. I was thrown at first by trying to fit Reykjavik into 9, but it’s a city not a town so looking at a map of Iceland soon sorted that. I needed to check a wordlist for 23D. Thanks Tees for a fun puzzle.
Almost put off by 7 referring to 9 and 9 referring to 7, but got an inkling of what was going on even though I took no interest in the eruption or news of. Had to look up the town name, but persisted and it was all worth it for the spectacular feathered friend at 19a, which is a new one for me.
Thanks to Tees and to Kitty for filling in my blanks.
Nicely done, though themed puzzles always invite criticism for either being too esoteric or a write-in. There was a fair sprinkling of cross-references as one would expect, but the clues were fair and fun. Toughish work-out but enjoyable.
Lovely stuff. A few nhos, but all soluble – SORB-APPLE, MONAL (he’s gorgeous), and Loi AUGITE.
[Iceland – been there, bought the fridge magnet. It says “ég tala ekki íslensku” . (Eyjafjallajökull – remember Fagradalsfjall’s big brother?)]
Thanks T&K
Thanks both. Perhaps the most difficult and bewildering crossword I have ever attempted. To try to extract a positive, the few unknowns here I guess become an opportunity to learn, though AUGITE ANAPAEST and AVESTA strike me as obscure, that’s before we arrive in GRINDAVIK for which I needed some help, not knowing V1 as rocket, though I now see it described as a bomb….perhaps ironic reflecting on my performance
As Postmark said – crikey! I did eventually get there but there was a lot of delving into reference books en route and I still wasn’t very sure about the parsing of ANAPAEST – dactyls are well outside of my comfort zone……..
A substantial challenge, Tees, and I doubt that I’ll retain much, if any, of the new ‘stuff’ but quite an achievement on your part. Many thanks to Miss K for making sense of everything!
Good crossword but agreed that some of the definitions/cluing in very edge of acceptable stretching.
Would have struggled if not for Vulcan which was easy and set up theme for me very early.
Thanks Kitty snd Tees
We saw the theme, but too many unknown words for this to be fun! (Ana, can, monal and all the deities and poetry all beyond us).
I also found this hard, and couldn’t finish it, which is something of a first for me. Thankfully for my self-esteem I’d never heard of the ones I didn’t complete so had no chance. ANAPAEST is a word that has never crossed my lips, even if I knew how to pronounce it.
Anyway, each to his own, and a deserved win for the setter.
Well done blogging that Kitty.
Thanks to both.
Thanks Tees and Kitty
Enjoyable and inventive puzzle, but technical quibble: the V1 wasn’t a rocket, it was a ramjet. The rocket was the V2.
I did finish this yesterday, with my daughter, mostly on the tube. I needed aids for ANAPAEST and AUGITE, which I didn’t parse, I have come across ANAPAEST before but couldn’t bring it to mind, also ANA, which I’d forgotten. Unlike SELENE among the many gods and goddesses, who I just checked I’d remembered and spelt correctly. Lots of checking my ropy knowledge of volcanoes having spotted the theme.
I like chewy and learning things, so we enjoyed this. Thank you to Tees and Kitty.
Very enjoyable puzzle, all done and parsed except ANAPAEST. I’m no poet but have heard of anapaest before in connection (if I remember correctly) with one of Dr Seuss’ favourite rhyme schemes. Will look out for ANA in future. Thanks Kitty and Tees.
oed.com has ANA: ‘1. 1728–1843 † A collection of memorable sayings or anecdotes. Obsolete.’ citing ‘
a1843 Boswell’s Life of Johnson, which..for its intrinsic worth, is the Ana of all Anas. R. Southey, Doctor (1847) vol. VII. 347′ and
2. 1739– As plural. Memorable sayings or anecdotes; notes or scraps of information relating to a person or place; literary gossip. In later use also: objects associated with a person or place; mementos. Now chiefly historical.’ The latest two citations: ‘
1959 Edgar Allan Poe, whose 150th anniversary was celebrated by an exhibition of books and manuscripts and ana. TLS 11 September 524/4
1999 Collections of ana had been in Europe since the fifteenth century. K. Hart, Samuel Johnson & Culture of Prop. i. 27’…
…oed.com also has -ANA as a suffix, citing all these examples: Americana, Rossettiana, Southeyana, Hardyana, Raleghana, Hollywoodana, Gorey-ana, Pompeiana, Africana, cricketana, railwayana, Victoriana, Disneyana, Footballana, Regencyana, and tropicana.
[Ana M (aka Ane M) is the name of “‘er indoors” (aka “she who must be obeyed”) – This is my tribute]