Hello everyone. Is Eclogue going to take us clubbing?
The preamble:
The wordplay in 38 clues yields an extra letter not required by the defined answer. In clue order, these letters provide the names of two CLUBS and the game being played. One clued answer suggests a general location. The specific location, which lies between two unclued extremes (each of two words), must be highlighted, together with two pieces of essential equipment (23 contiguous cells in total). Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
About half way through I had enough of the grid filled to see that the two unclued entries would be HIGH TIDE and LOW WATER (after reminding myself from the preamble that these were both of two words). The message forming from the extra wordplay letters was beginning to take shape too. Often I resist looking at generated messages until at or near the end of a solve, but I didn’t take that approach here so everything came together in a joined-up way. It also helped that the words were split by the normal clues, a touch I always note and appreciate. I found that the two CLUBS and the game being played, respectively, are:
ROYAL SOUTHERN YACHT, ISLAND SAILING and CRICKET
An online search would clearly reveal all, but I started my hunt in the grid for the specific location and the two pieces of equipment. As were are told that one answer hints at the general location, I had a look to see if that might help but found myself at sea. I did discover two sets of STUMPS – which indeed would be needed for CRICKET. For the rest, after some grid staring and a bit of fruitless time trying to trace a route between HIGH TIDE and LOW WATER, I decided it was time to do that internet search. The first result was this article about the annual cricket match between ROYAL SOUTHERN YACHT CLUB and the ISLAND SAILING CLUB. Its location? BRAMBLE BANK, a large sandbar in the middle of the Solent – IN SOLENT (2d)! – which is exposed only at very low tides.
Congratulations in advance to the next winner, Royal Southern Yacht Club, and also to Eclogue for giving me a game I very much enjoyed. Thanks Eclogue!
| # | ANSWER | Clue with definition underlined | |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps | |||
| Across | |||
| 7a | SCUBA | Diving gear to check in South Australia (5) | R |
| CU[R]B (to check) in SA (South Australia) | |||
| 11a | UNWIST | Edmund’s unknown wins out unduly (6) | O |
| WINS [O]UT anagrammed (unduly) | |||
| 12a | EXCISED | Cut off the old ninety with side reworked (7) | Y |
| [Y]E (the old) + XC (ninety) + SIDE anagrammed (reworked) | |||
| 14a | STENT | Test holding over clear assessment in Edinburgh (5) | A |
| S[A]T (test) containing in reverse (holding over) NET (clear) | |||
| 16a | IONS | Tiny particles of oxygen in pools (4) | L |
| O (oxygen) in [L]INS (pools) | |||
| 17a | JERQUER | Book with short question for searcher of smuggled goods, perhaps (7) | |
| JER (book – Jeremiah) with short QUERy (question) | |||
| 18a | ALTS | Antisubmarine lieutenant seconds poet’s temporary stops (4) | S |
| A[S] (antisubmarine) + LT (lieutenant) + S (seconds) | |||
| 19a | MAIRE | Roam aimlessly around Italy and Spain to find Parisian official? (5) | O |
| An anagram of (… aimlessly) R[O]AM around I (Italy) + E (Spain) | |||
| 22a | AESOP | Fabulist, one in Aberdeen taking broth (5) | U |
| AE (one in Aberdeen) + SO[U]P (broth) | |||
| 24a | INCEPTS | Takes in colours surrounding mushroom (7) | T |
| [T]INTS (colours) surrounding CEP (mushroom) | |||
| 26a | INCISOR | Cutter from Gaelic island is leading troops? (7) | H |
| INC[H] (Gaelic island) + IS preceding (leading) OR (troops) | |||
| 28a | HOSES | After call for attention gets glimpse of water conveyors, say (5) | E |
| After HO (call for attention), SE[E]S (gets glimpse of) | |||
| 29a | AMBLE | Fitter to take maiden for stroll (5) | R |
| ABLE[R] (fitter) surrounding (to take) M (maiden) | |||
| 30a | BARI | Italian city to secure ancient hotel (4) | N |
| BAR (to secure) + I[N] (ancient hotel) | |||
| 33a | CHORDAE | Stringlike structures engaging local father in a job of work (7) | |
| Inserting (engaging) DA (local father) in CHORE (a job of work) | |||
| 36a | SYNC | Line up the Seychelles with New York City (4) | Y |
| SY (the Seychelles) + N[Y]C (New York City) | |||
| 37a | SYRAH | Has run back round Caledonian racetrack for red wine grape (5) | A |
| HAS reversed (run back) round [A]YR (Caledonian racetrack) | |||
| 38a | ETESIAN | Periodical I can’t see somehow (7) | C |
| I [C]AN’T SEE anagrammed (somehow) | |||
| 39a | ODENSE | Clean over with shimmering sheen in Danish city (6) | H |
| DO (clean) reversed (over) + an anagram of (shimmering) S[H]EEN | |||
| 40a | WECHT | Design in weight for that which sifts grain in the Highlands? (5) | T |
| E[T]CH (design) in WT (weight) | |||
| Down | |||
| 1d | HUTIA | Shanty on Iowa rodent (5) | |
| HUT (shanty) on IA (Iowa) | |||
| 2d | INSOLENT | It’s rude of single fool (8) | I |
| IN (of) + SOLE (single) + N[I]T (fool) | |||
| 3d | GWENT | Large cities found in great Welsh county (5) | S |
| WEN[S] (large cities) found in GT (great) | |||
| 4d | HISS | Warning sound heard initially on Long Island steamer (4) | L |
| First letter of (… initially) Heard on [L]I (Long Island) + SS (steamer) | |||
| 5d | ITEM | Make note of international side (4) | A |
| I (international) + TE[A]M (side) | |||
| 6d | EXTERNAL | Former partner waving lantern outside (8) | N |
| EX (former partner) + an anagram of (waving) LANTER[N] | |||
| 7d | SCARE | Frighten disorganised cadres (5) | D |
| An anagram of (disorganised) CA[D]RES | |||
| 8d | CINQUE | Medic in Quebec nursing number of gamblers? (6) | |
| MediC IN QUEbec is nursing the answer | |||
| 9d | BEDE | Plants English prayer from the past (4) | S |
| BED[S] (plants) + E (English) | |||
| 10d | ADPRESS | Squeeze together Lovelace, perhaps with iron (7) | A |
| AD[A] (Lovelace, perhaps) + PRESS (iron) | |||
| 13d | STUMPS | Poses hugging match official’s legs! (6) | I |
| S[I]TS (poses) enclosing (hugging) UMP (match official) | |||
| 15d | TUMPS | With time puts up with rustic barrows (5) | L |
| With T (time), [L]UMPS (puts up with) | |||
| 20d | ABOMASAL | Adult constrictor above projection of stomach (8) | I |
| A (adult) + BOMA (constrictor) above SA[I]L projection | |||
| 21d | ETERNISE | Risen teen is excited to immortalise through fame (8) | N |
| RISEN TEE[N] is anagrammed (excited) | |||
| 22d | AIRCREW | Scottish land area boasted high flying staff (7) | G |
| [G]AIR (Scottish land area) + CREW (boasted) | |||
| 23d | SCROBE | Small capitals to assume garb of office? That’s in the groove (6) | |
| SC (small capitals) + ROBE (to assume garb of office) | |||
| 25d | CHEKA | Unrevealed bogeys in Russia having American promissory note absent (5) | C |
| CHE[C]K (American promissory note) + A (absent) | |||
| 27d | INRUSH | Incursion affecting his nurr (6) | R |
| An anagram of (affecting) HIS NUR[R] | |||
| 29d | ADMIT | Concede that I am within passageway (5) | I |
| [I]’M (I am) within ADIT (passageway) | |||
| 31d | AYONT | Account hangs over poor Tony farther away from up North (5) | C |
| A[C] (account) hangs over an anagram of (poor) TONY | |||
| 32d | ICKER | Give up US casualty for Hamish’s ear of corn (5) | K |
| [K]ICK (give up) + ER (US casualty) | |||
| 34d | HATE | Detestation of male hosting Greek goddess (4) | E |
| HE (male) hosting AT[E] (Greek goddess) | |||
| 35d | AROW | Sailor that hurt one after another long ago (4) | T |
| [T]AR (sailor) + OW (that hurt) | |||
| 36d | SHEA | That lady accepted producer of butter (4) | |
| SHE (that lady) + A (accepted) | |||
About halfway through solving this I got stuck on MAIRE and TUMPS, but after a good night’s sleep they both yielded, and I continued to enjoy unravelling and solving the remaining clues.
Quite early on, I guessed ‘HIGH TIDE’ and ‘LOW …’, but they did not lead me to anything. It was ROYAL SOUTHERN (from the Across clues) that pointed me to what was clearly the theme, which was completely new to me. I saw IN SOLENT, BRAMBLE BANK and STUMPS, the last of which navigated me to the other STUMPS (of course!).
Thanks to Eclogue for a well-clued and interesting puzzle, and to Kitty for the blog. I too noted and appreciated the fact that the words in the message were split by normal clues.