Umpire’s latest offering has been published for our entertainment this Wednesday.
This is only the second puzzle by this compiler that I have solved and blogged. I found it stimulating and entertaining in equal measure, and I think that I have more or less parsed the clues to my satisfaction.
That said, I would appreciate confirmation (or otherwise) of my parsing at 7, where I am a bit iffy about my reliance on US slang. I also wondered about the US spelling at 30, since I have only ever come across the spelling with an “e” at the end in the UK. The entry at 9 was new to me, and I needed to search Chambers to get the first three letters; I have also now learnt exactly what a lichen is, thanks to Umpire’s puzzle.
As for my favourites today, I rather liked 6D, for smoothness of surface; the slang-ridden 16; and 21, for its humorous surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | CHOP-CHOP | Policeman arresting Henry on crack quickly
[(H=Henry) in COP (=policeman)] + CHOP (=crack, fissure) |
| 06 | CLAIM | Assert sea-creature’s in control of current
I (=current, in physics) in CLAM (=sea-creature) |
| 10 | EXTINCT | Put out lewd message with opening censored in court
<s>EXT (=lewd message; “with opening censored” means first letter is dropped) + IN + CT (=court, in addresses); extinct means no longer alight, of e.g. a pipe, hence “put out” |
| 11 | SLAMMER | Three months you ultimately spent guarding Los Angeles prison
LA (=Los Angeles) in S<u>MMER (=three months; “you ultimately (=last letter) spent” means letter “u” is dropped |
| 12 | HOPE | Desire opening of poppies, primroses or pansies in garden
P (“opening of” means first letter of poppies, primroses or pansies) in HOE (=(to) garden) |
| 13 | CONTENTS | Satisfied with small section of book
CONTENT (=satisfied) + S (=small, of sizes) |
| 16 | GOB | Trap John on the way back
BOG (=lav, loo); “on the way back” indicates reversal; cf. to shut one’s gob/trap |
| 18 | ANAGRAMMING | A horse charging violently causing characters to relocate
A + NAG (=horse) + RAMMING (=violently charging); the “characters” of the definition are letters in words |
| 20 | A BONE TO PICK | Something that needs discussing with king after OPEC obtain liquid
*(OPEC OBTAIN) + K (=king, in cards); “liquid”, fluid is anagram indicator |
| 21 | ERA | Date’s wild when stripping
<f>ERA<l> (=wild, of animal); “when stripping” means first and last letters are dropped; according to Chambers, an era is an important date |
| 22 | MEAT LOAF | Policemen stand around consuming a mince dish
A in [MET (=police, i.e. the Metropolitan Police) + LOAF (=stand around (idly), loiter)] |
| 24 | PEPO | Go by front of orchard to get fruit
PEP (=go, energy, vigour) + O<rchard> (“front of” means first letter only); a pepo is a large, many-seeded berry |
| 28 | IRKUTSK | Criminal stuck without leader of cartel after trouble somewhere in Russia
IRK (=trouble, annoy) + *(STU<c>K); “without leader (=first letter) of cartel” means letter “c” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “criminal” |
| 29 | IMPASTO | Setter’s beyond old painting technique
I’M (=setter’s, i.e. Umpire’s) + PAST (=beyond) + O (=old, as in OT) |
| 30 | FUROR | Men going after mink, say, causes outrage
FUR (=mink, say) + OR (=men, i.e. other ranks) |
| 31 | NONSENSE | Snoop around new senator’s bunk
[N (=new, as in NT) + SEN (=senator)] in NOSE (=snoop, pry) |
| Down | ||
| 02 | HET UP | That male sheep is angry
HE (=that male) + TUP (=sheep) |
| 03 | PINE | Long number that’s secret and ending in three
PIN (=number that’s secret, for e.g. credit card) + <thre>E (“ending in” means last letter only); to pine is to yearn, long for |
| 04 | HOT POTATO | Old ink in edited photo is matter of controversy
[O (=old, as in OT) + TAT (=(to)ink, i.e. tattoo)] in *(PHOTO); “edited” is anagram indicator |
| 05 | POSIT | Statement I put in letters
I in POST (=letters, correspondence) |
| 06 | CHAIN-SMOKE | Light up repeatedly – man chokes terribly having inhaled one
I (=one) in *(MAN CHOKES); “terribly” is anagram indicator |
| 07 | ARMISTICE | A spray of liquid’s absorbed by grass when no longer needing heat?
A + [MIST (=spray of liquid) in RICE (=(type of) grass)]; in colloquial US English, a heat is a firearm, thus not needed when an armistice is in force |
| 08 | MARK | Model being married on boat
M (=married) on ARK (=boat, steered by Noah); a mark is a model, type, issue, as in Mark 1) |
| 09 | NEPHOGRAM | Author’s written about two beastly males shot in the sky
NEP ((to)PEN=(to)author; “about” indicates reversal) + HOG (=beastly male) + RAM (=beastly male); a nephogram is a picture of a cloud, hence a shot in the sky |
| 14 | MALEFACTOR | Outlaw master alcohol ingredient
M (=master, as in MA) + ALE (=alcohol) + FACTOR (=ingredient, element) |
| 15 | IGUANODON | Dinosaur dung spreading, I assume
GUANO (=dung, from birds) in [I + DON (=assume, put on)] |
| 17 | BOOKMAKER | Surprise kissogram’s outside bakery with no clothes offering better service
BOO (=surprise, as exclamation) + K<issogra>M (“outside” means first and last letters only) + <b>AKER<y> (“with no clothes” means first and last letters are dropped); a bookmaker takes bets, hence offers a “better” service! |
| 19 | RUINATION | Helping to look after university in state of collapse
[U (=university) + IN] in RATION (=helping, serving) |
| 23 | LIKEN | Picked up fungus and alga to compare
Homophone (“picked up”) of “lichen (=fungus and alga, living symbiotically)” |
| 25 | EASES | Relaxes grants following student’s departure
<l>EASES (=grants, concessions); “following student (=L, for learner)’s departure” means letter “l” is dropped |
| 26 | TIFF | Delight if family houses pet
Hidden (“houses”) in “delighT IF Family”; a pet is a huff, display of irritation, hence “tiff” |
| 27 | EPEE | Tent’s top cut off with sword
<t>EPEE (=tent, for Native American); “top cut off” means first letter is dropped |
I wonder if anyone has ever used era to mean an important date? Otherwise much enjoyed, so thanks Umpire and RatkojaRiku.
Phew, that was a toughie for me. Eventually got there when I thought of PEP for the nho PEPO. Not sure I knew that meaning of CHOP, but it couldn’t be anything else.
I liked HOT POTATO, and thought the nho IRKUTSK well-constructed, as provided you follow the instructions correctly, it can’t be IRKSTUK (in which STU{c}K would not have been anagrammed).
Re: 7d, in-flight I took ‘heat’ as just ‘(gun)fire’, although Chambers doesn’t seem to agree.
Thanks RR & Umpire.
I enjoyed this one – especially a bone to pick which took me far longer than it should have. A few words and usages which were new to me but all made sense and went in easily enough.
Thanks Umpire and RatkojaRiku
Didn’t like the def for ARMISTICE. Do they call guns ‘heat’ in major conflicts? Maybe gunfire suggested above does work. I had ETA for the date until the software said I was close but … Then I put ERA thinking BCE and the confetti fell. I liked RUINATION and BOOKMAKER but I found the puzzle a struggle as opposed to an entertainment. Maybe it’s sour grapes. Thanks for the blog RR. I think 30 is an American/Canadian spelling option. Thanks Umpire.
Thanks Umpire and RR
According to the OED, FUROR is the original English spelling, with citations going back to 1477, and FURORE, which has a separate entry, is an Italianised spelling of it.
Sofamore@4
ARMISTICE
Agree with you.
FUROR
This spelling is in Chambers (not indicated as American etc.,).
What a furore! I am corrected and rightly so. Thanks @5 and @6. Serves me right for clicking ‘is it one or the other’ on Google.
I am familiar with this setter’s style so worked my way steadily through the grid with the exception of the NHO PEPO where I failed to think of the appropriate synonym for ‘go’. My bad – though there are a range of other words that could have been entered in that space. Still, as with all GK, you know what you know and, for all I know, PEPO salad might be a staple in the Umpire household. NHO NEPHOGRAM either and found that very tricky as I didn’t associate HOG as being specifically male so had to resort to use of the Check button
I thought some of the constructions here were quite delightful, though: ANAGRAMMING was assembled in a neat way – obvious really but nicely spotted; A BONE TO PICK is a good spot; GOB has nice misdirection with ‘trap’ and IRKUTSK is a clever way of handling a difficult word. And then a little run in the downs delivered real pleasure: another tidy charade for MALEFACTOR, a very amusing assembly for BOOKMAKER, a smooth surface for RUINATION, a really sweet homophone in LIKEN and then COTD is the glorious IGUANODON, wallowing in dung. I’m even prepared to forgive the def in ARMISTICE for those.
Thanks Umpire and RR
Nice
According to Green, heat can mean gunfire, weapons, and the police. So the heat from the heat of the heat…
FURORE from Latin via Italian (and looking like an ablative); FUROR straight from Latin, eliminating the middleman.
Sofamore@4 is right about the difference in US/UK usage.
…(continued from@10 …and pressure, too. So: If you can’t stand the heat of the heat from the heat of the heat…
oed.com has ‘ERA 3.a. 1703– A date, or an event, which forms the commencement of a new period in the history of a nation, an institution, individual, art or science, etc.; a memorable or important date…
1787 This single circumstance..will..mark it [sc. the American revolution] as a distinguished æra in the history of mankind. J. Barlow, Oration July 4th 6′
I’m hoping for the start of a new æra on that date next month, here in the UK.
Thanks U&RR.
I thought NEPHOGRAM meant the sharing of pictures of your relatives on social media till I looked it up. PostMark has listed all my favourite clues. Thanks, both
Thanks both. Liked BOOKMAKER for the story and picture it created, but had issues elsewhere, notably regarding gender….in the unknown NEPHOGRAM I am left wondering if a hog is specifically male, and in MEAT LOAF while there is no deliberate insensitivity and it was an obvious substitution, surely the Met is more accurately clued as police officers or police force?
Enjoyable puzzle. I’m another who has never heard of NEPHOGRAM but was able to deduce it from the precise clueing (a hog is specifically a castrated male pig, as opposed to a boar, which is uncastrated). Thanks, Umpire and RR!
Petert @13 – very droll, I like it.
Nice one, but tough. Favourites PINE and BOOKMAKER.
Was I the only one to think of model Kate MOSS – Married On SS (boat) ?
Thanks both
Widdersbel@15 Thanks – I was checking a point of understanding, however my further reading suggests a boar once castrated loses its gender status, so the expression hog is used, which in itself is gender non-specific; not the most useful piece of GK, and all irrelevant as I guessed the hog element in the answer, but failed on the reversed pen having challenged myself on three-letter authors.
Thanks to RatkojaRiku for the blog and kind words, and to all who have commented as well. Sounds like my American friends have been rubbing off on me! Good points from TFO with regard to policemen and hog, indeed no insensitivity intended.