Brockwell has become a fairly regular Grauniad setter, with eight puzzles since his debut last April…and most (all?) of them have contained a theme of some sort…
…but unfortunately I forgot that last little nugget of information until right at the end when I was creating the grid for the blog!
I had subconsciously noted that there was some JOY at 19A, a few PLEASURES at 12A and an EPICUREAN at 29A, with some linkage between the clues for these, and I remember thinking ‘That’s nice of Brockwell, spreading a little joy on a Saturday morning!‘…and a little EMOJI in the top right corner which could be a smiley face (;+>).
And the puzzle itself was a joy to solve – a great anagram for 22D JAMIE LEE CURTIS; Michelle Mone as a ‘lady in lingerie’ in 21A ENVENOM, although she may be wearing prison fatigues soon?…; the choking smell of Lynx Africa for 22A CARACAL; callisthenics causing a ‘tighter bum’ at 23D CLOSER; and the PIGPEN as a ‘Berkshire residence’ at 4D!
Brockwell’s link to Exeter makes an appearance at 1D ODDS, with the odd letters of ExEtEr providing the drugs, at a price! (My son is at Exeter University, but I didn’t dare show him 1D in case I got an answer I didn’t want to hear from the surface reading…)
My LOI was 20A DINER – I was convinced it should be DINAR (European ‘capital’, or currency), but couldn’t parse it from the wordplay until I realised the DINER was the doctor himself, and the capital was just the initial letter of European…
Then, in a moment of clarity as I typed up the grid, I saw JOY and DIVISION, and that little nugget of information triggered off a quick bit of e-research, as I am not overly familiar with their oeuvre. And woven into the grid we have the four members (CURTIS, HOOK, MORRIS and SUM-NER); three albums (UNKNOWN PLEASURES, STILL and CLOSER); and also NEW ORDER, which the remaining members formed after Curtis’ death:
There may be other material in there that I have missed – if so, I’m sure more dedicated Joy Division fans will enlighten us in the comments below… Also, I can’t seem to find any significant date to indicate an anniversary – maybe Brockwell was just having a leaf through his old vinyl collection (or his Spotify playlists, depending on his age!?)
My thanks, as usual, to Brockwell, for an enJOYable solve, even if I was a bit slow on the uptake with the theme! And I trust all is clear below…
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
| 9A | DETECTIVE | Insufficient time for female investigator (9)
DE( |
| 10A | EMOJI | Single bloke recalled bedding male icon (5)
E_OJI (I – one, single; JO_E – bloke, all recalled) around (bedding) M (male) |
| 11A | STILL | Silent picture (5)
double defn. – STILL can mean silent; and a STILL can be a picture/photograph |
| 12A | PLEASURES | Revolutionary record by Steps needing no introduction for 19a (9)
PL (LP, record, revolutionary) + ( [19A being JOY] |
| 13A | UNKNOWN | Some junk now normal in X? (7)
hidden word in, i.e. some of, ‘jUNK NOW Normal’ [X indicating an unknown quantity in mathematics, although X – formerly Twitter – is also full of junk] |
| 14A | OPOSSUM | Spice Girl briefly in love with total animal (7)
O (zero, love) + SUM (total), around POS( |
| 17A | ARDRI | Sacred druid making regular sacrifices for Irish king (5)
regular letters ‘sacrificed’ from ‘sAcReD dRuId’ leaving ARDRI |
| 19A | JOY | Jimmy Case trapping ball is a delight (3)
J_Y (outer letters, or casing, of JimmY) around (trapping) O (round letter, ball) |
| 20A | DINER | Doctor eating in European capital – for example? (5)
D_R (doctor) around (eating) In + E (capital letter from European) [an &lit, with the whole clue being the definition, including wordplay(?)] |
| 21A | ENVENOM | Lady in lingerie knocked back after endless sin and poison (7)
ENV( |
| 22A | CARACAL | Lynx Africa oddly choking adult in California (7)
C_AL (California) around ARAC (AR_C, odd letters of AfRiCa, around, choking, A – adult) |
| 24A | DISAPPEAR | Fly page in Paradise Lost (9)
DISAP_EAR (anag, i.e. lost, of PARADISE) around P (page) |
| 26A | BOOST | Encouragement when Son gets amongst Chelsea? (5)
BOO_T (Chelsea, type of boot) around S (son) |
| 28A | HOOKS | Henry and Jack holding fine catches (5)
H (henry, Si unit) + O_S (Ordinary Seaman, jolly Jack Tar) around (holding) OK (fine) |
| 29A | EPICUREAN | Echo article about timeless movie character devoted to 12 (9)
E (echo, phonetic alphabet) + AN (indefinite article), around PIC( [12A being PLEASURES] |
| Down | ||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
| 1D | ODDS | Where to find drugs in Exeter … for a price? (4)
E (ecstasy tablet, so drug) can be found at all the ODD letters of ExEtEr! [a price from a bookie] |
| 2D | AT RISK | Cheers rising with game in danger (2,4)
AT (ta, thanks, cheers, rising) + RISK (strategy board game) |
| 3D | SCILLONIAN | Islander’s local inn is heaving (10)
anag, i.e. heaving, of LOCAL INN IS [the islands in question being the Scillies] |
| 4D | PIGPEN | Dr. Livingstone finally getting leg over in Berkshire residence? (6)
PI_N (leg) around (over) GP (doctor) + E (final letter of livingstonE) [Berkshire being a breed of pig] |
| 5D | CEREMONY | Funeral maybe set up inside by no mere coincidence (8)
reversed hidden word, i.e. set up and inside, in ‘bY NO MERE Coincidence’ |
| 6D | NEWS | All-points bulletin (4)
N-E-W-S are all points of the compass! |
| 7D | MORRISON | See 27 (8)
see 27D |
| 8D | PILS | Fall head over heels for lager (4)
SLIP (fall) head-over-heels = PILS! |
| 13D | USAGE | Custom in states north of Georgia (5)
USA (the States) over (north of, in a Down clue) GE (Georgia, the country, not the US state, which is Ga) |
| 15D | ORDER ABOUT | Bully to arrange a fight (5,5)
ORDER (arrange) + A + BOUT (fight) |
| 16D | MORAL | Decent interpretation of Amol Rajan’s starter (5)
anag, i.e. interpretation, of AMOL + R (starter of Rajan) |
| 18D | DIVISION | Fool is working around current split (8)
DIV (divvy, foolish person) + IS + I (electrical current) + ON (working) |
| 19D | JAMIE LEE (CURTIS) | & 22 Actress rates lime juice cocktail (5,3,6)
anag, i.e. cocktail, of RATES LIME JUICE! |
| 22D | CURTIS | See 19 (6)
see 19D |
| 23D | CLOSER | Tighter bum following introduction to callisthenics (6)
C (first letter, or introduction, of Callisthenics) + LOSER (bum) |
| 24D | DAHL | Hospital consumed by boy having elevated pulse (4)
DA_L (lad, elevated) around (consuming) H (hospital) |
| 25D | POST | Stick-up job (4)
double defn. – to POST something could be to stick it on a noticeboard; and a job can be a POST |
| 27D | TONI (MORRISON) | & 7 Author with crazy notion to pinch old car (4,8)
TONI _ON (anag, i.e. crazy, of NOTION) around (pinching) MORRIS (old make of car) |
This is only the second time I’ve managed to complete a Prize crossword, which was very satisfying. Even more satisfying was that I spotted the theme, and early enough for it to actually help with some of the clues.
There were a number of clues relating to the 70s/80s bands Joy Division and New Order, which happen to be two of my favourites. I spotted:
JOY DIVISION
NEWs ORDER
UNKNOWN PLEASURES (Joy Division’s first album)
CLOSER (Joy Division’s second album)
STILL (Joy Division’s third album, a compilation)
Ian CURTIS (Joy Division’s lead singer, who tragically died of suicide at a young age)
Peter HOOKs (bass player with Joy Division and New Order)
Stephen MORRISon (drummer with both bands)
CEREMONY (New Order’s first single – it was written by Joy Division, then released by New Order shortly after Ian Curtis’s death)
Thanks to mc_rapper67 and Brockwell
And thanks again to mc_rapper67 for pointing out Bernard SUM-NER – _ I had been disappointed at his ommission. No love for Gillian Gilbert though?
Thanks Brockwell and mc!
Liked DINER, ENVENOM, EPICUREAN, ODDS (As an answer to the question in the clue, there is probably a preposition missing. Maybe I am overthinking. I Liked it nonetheless) and PIGPEN.
I was listening to a lecture on Epicureanism. The popular belief
that Epicureans were gluttons and indulged in worldly pleasures
in an unrestrained manner, is probably not fair, according to the
lecturer.
For our purposes, the def is fine tho.
DINER
Does the ‘for example’ bit participate in the wordplay? Almost &lit, I guess.
Nho the theme bands. Wrong generation.
If the clue for 20a had read “Doctor eating in a European capital – for example?” (note the A) the answer would be DINAR (currency of Serbia). Anybody else spend forever trying to make that fit?
Got there in the end, though. Nice tussle.
Damn, I didn’t think to look for a theme, and I went to see Joy Division at The Electric Ballroom, we were huge fans, but to be short lived. Ian Curtis was very charismatic. My favourite was the well hidden CEREMONY, thanks MC for a concise blog.
They started life as Warsaw, I bought the rare blue vinyl of their first recordings before they became Joy Division, with the Buzzcocks and John Cooper Clarke as well!
When I read the clue for 19/20d, a clear picture of the actor in A Fish Called Wanda popped straight into my head… but it took quite a while for the name to follow (helped by the fodder). Weird. Solving this took a while, and I totally missed the theme, though I do know something of Joy Division/New Order through my sons. Thanks, Brockwell and mc_rapper.
Thanks mc_rapper67. As usual the theme eluded me completely, not my scene, but I enjoyed the challenges of the puzzle. I find there are alternative spellings for 24d but I unhesitatingly entered DHAL which I think is the most commonly used and created a problem for myself with 28a. I never did explain EPICUREAN so thanks for that.
I would be interested to hear whether Joy Division is well known outside UK. I vaguely recognize the name but did not know any of their songs
An enjoyable tussle, made more difficult by references that are new to a non-Brit and a few international nho words. I needed a couple of sittings to almost complete the puzzle, in that I needed mc_r’s blog to parse EMOJI & ODDS and clear up some of the Brit references. DAHL seems to have as many spellings as it has letters and, like Biggles A immediately above, I used the wrong one at first so HOOKS was my last one in.
JAMIE LEE CURTIS was such a great anagram that it is my stand-out favourite. UNKNOWN and ORDER ABOUT come in close second.
Thanks to Brockwell and mc_rapper67
I somehow know the first bit of tune in their hit LWTUA, but that’s absy all I know of them, so no theme here. Ditto re that movie image, TT@7, and her name went straight in. Of Toni Morrison, have read Beloved, and one other whose title I forget. And yes, heard similar, KVa @3, that Epicureans weren’t about gluttony. So, plenty to interest one here, thanks to Brockwell and Rapper.
NHO the theme, or the Lady in lingerie in ENVENOM. Favourite was PIGPEN for the neat definition
Martyn @9, I’d heard of the name and knew they were a band but like you wouldn’t be able to name one of their songs. Coincidentally, they cropped up in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald cryptic. They were one of 10 themed answers where the definition was the earlier name of the band, in this case “Happy to lose legal case touching on schism in Warsaw (3,8)”.
Mc rapper: for 17a you’ve underlined sacred druid instead of Irish king. Just a typo, but you’ll probably want to correct it.
I didn’t notice the theme, do I ever? And am not familiar with JD’s oeuvre, so it wouldn’t of helped if I had
But I got there eventually. Are DAHL and PULSE synonymous? I know it’s a dish of pulses, but. Other than that very enjoyable.
Thanks both.
[Martyn @9: I think they were pretty well known in Oz. When I was caving in the Florentine Valley in the 80s, a lot of the younger cavers were right into Joy Division and New Order.]
Thanks for a great blog and amazing grid , plus extras from TTP@1 and Antonknee@5.
Lovely puzzle but I missed the theme . ARDRI a neat clue and very fair for an obscure name for me. AT RISK includes my favourite game, especially using student rules. PIGPEN very nice for the Berkshire, CEREMONY a brilliant hidden ….many more.
As part of the &Lit police force I must reject DINER , – for example ? not part of the wordplay. Fine clue though.
As an irrelevant aside, I notice that the grids for Brockwell last Saturday and Brummie today are mirror images.
Tough puzzle and did not finish in the SW.
Liked ENVENOM, TONI MORRISON, PIGPEN, EMOJI
Thanks Brockwell and mc_rapper67
I spent quite a while over the DINER/Dinar issue, but finally thought it through. I spent much longer puzzling over what I eventually worked out must be. PIGPEN, but that’s because I had no idea Berkshires were pigs. (At which point my wife said, “But you’ve read Blandings, haven’t you?”) it almost goes without saying that I missed the theme, so I found the blog quite enlightening. Thanks, mc_rapper, and thanks to Brockwell for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Tks, mc_rapper. It is worth reading blogs, if only to learn of a theme which completely passed me by.
It struck me that in 21A the lady in lingerie would be obscure to non-UK solvers. It’s a clever clue, because David Cameron put her in the House of Lords, giving her the title Lady Mone. She has not brought credit to the HoL or (in The Guardian’s view) her political party. As we have an election on here, I say no more (but I do support The Guardian).
ARDRI was new to me, and I had to check PIGPEN, as I would call it a sty, but it is indeed in the dictionary. I enjoyed ODDS – a reversal of the way such clues usually work.
Thank you the theme, nope of course I missed it, although I was into music around that time.
I also puzzled over DINER.
Thank you to Brockwell and mc_rapper
Consensus on the various dictionary sites seems to be that DHAL or DAL is the lentil, and DAHL is a dish made with those lentils. I couldn’t find out if this related back to some difference in the original language though!
Brilliant from Brockwell and great graphics MC. Seems weird how contemporary this felt given it’s 44 years or so since Joy Division were with us. I loved the eclectic mix of references with Steps, Jimmy Case, Amol Rajan and Paradise Lost making a strange melange. In years to come the Mone clue will just seem to have lingered a brief moment in the spotlight. I did think the sacred druid may have referenced Julian Cope, another contemporary of the era. CARACAL was nice to solve never having heard of it. Other faves were EPICUREAN, PIGPEN and CEREMONY third last in which finally drew the theme.
Chambers93 has – Dal, dahl , dhal = pulse.
The setter is entitled to rely on the dictionary even when they may be wrong.
Enjoyable puzzle but I groaned at the reference to Michelle Mone (in 21ac), having heard of her involvement in the PPE Medpro scandal.
I could not decide on 20ac DINER or DINAR – was unsure if it should be DINAR = money/capital or DINER = place to eat but was only able to parse the latter.
Favourites: ODDS, DAHL, PIGPEN, EMOJI.
New for me: Ard Rí = Irish king; DIV = fool; SCILLONIAN.
Thanks, both.
* I didn’t look for a theme and would not have spotted this one anyway.
Given the current tournament, I`m sure mc RAPPER would have preferred the use of John “Barnsey”`s cover – instead of Jimmy Case.
sjshart @19, I think Michelle Mone is actually obscure for the UK, and someone nobody particularly wants to remember anyhow!
Thanks for the various comments and feedback so far – much appreciated as usual. I will be out most of the day, collecting ‘Thing 1’ from Cambridge (where she has just achieved First Class Honours in Earth Science…#proudparents!), so will keep an eye on things, but won’t be able to respond until later…talk amongst yourselves!
nicbach at #13 – thanks for pointing that out – duly corrected – and nice to know that people are reading the blog right down to that level of detail – makes the effort worthwhile. (That is a sincere comment, not sarcasm, by the way!)
Also, ref. various comments, Chambers has ‘dal/dhal/daal/dahl, also dholl‘! 1. the pigeon pea. 2. a pulse 3. a purée of said pulse.
Roz at 15 – after hitting the ‘publish’ button I often lie awake in bed at night waiting for the knock on the door from the &lit police! (Although, I would argue here that the doctor is only one of the diners, assembled like an Agatha Christie cast, sitting outside a café in a European capital, while Hercules Poirot pulls into the station on a steam train…so the ‘for example’ indicates that (s)he is the one selected for the clue…)
I have to admit to only really knowing LWTUA, with its iconic opening, although I am a bit more familiar with New Order.
(I seem to have crossed with a few other comments – sorry for repetition on the DAHL theme, Dahlings!)
michelle at #24 – I think your namesake, Ms Mone, should be well and truly in the public spotlight and should linger long in the memory once the eventual Covid corruption inquiry, trials and imprisonments have concluded…but I can live in hope…
Bah! Missed the theme and I am disappointed as I really like the music of Joy Division … but as others have said that’s the benefit of being part of an internet forum, as during this review, I also came to a whole new appreciation of the “joy” of this crossword.
I definitely found this one tough going in places, but well worth it for the gems such as 4d PIGPEN and 27,7d TONI MORRISON (an inspirational author I hold in high esteem).
RIP Ian Curtis – what a talent, what a voice …
Brockwell is such a clever setter who provides so many layers of enjoyment for his solvers. Many thanks to him for a brilliant puzzle and to mc_rapper 67 for a brilliant (and detailed) blog.
Big thanks to Brockwell for a really enjoyable crossword. Totally missed the theme, so equally heartfelt thanks to mc_rapper67 for highlighting it and sparking a reverie of my youth. Here’s some JD https://youtu.be/1EdUjlawLJM?feature=shared
MC , many congratulations to your family , success is always a joint effort.
First &Lit offences are treated leniently, not even a caution, – for example? does contribute to the definition as you say but the wordplay ends before the – .
Like you I hope fraud etc is not treated so lightly.
[P.S. I couldn’t parse 21a ENVENOM as I hadn’t heard of the “Lady in lingerie” – and having googled her I wish I hadn’t heard of her…]
[Playing our vinyl of “Closer” now in honour of Mr Curtis and this crossword…]
I thought I had finished this last Sunday but on picking up last weekend’s Guardian I found that I had not written in ODDS, as I didn’t get the parsing, though it couldn’t be anything else. So many thanks to mc_ for that, for the psychedelic grid and for the rant against corruption @28.
Unlike Tassie Tim@7 I had no trouble remembering JAMIE LEE CURTIS’s name! The obscurities were so fairly clued that I wrote in ARDRI and CARACAL with such confidence that I immediately felt that I was familiar with the words, and I suppose it’s not impossible I’d seen them before – though I’m still not convinced. Good cluing!
Apparently there was a theme.
Thanks to Brockwell for the challenge.
Echoing Roz@31, that’s lovely news about your daughter’s success, mc_rapper@67. You will be justifiably proud as her supportive parents.
Excellent puzzle and great blog, including the impressive grid.
Thanks mc_rapper@67 for providing explanations for ODDS (devious) and HOOK (OS another abbreviation for sailor), both solved but not parsed, as well as clarifying the DINER/DINAR question, not that I like either.
Being an Aussie, I didn’t know that div = fool but did know about the lingerie lady.
USAGE was puzzling until I thought of the other Georgia – good misdirection.
My favourites were PIGPEN, EMOJI, CEREMONY, ENVENOM, TONI MORRISON.
Thanks Brockwell and mc_rapper@67 and congrats to your daughter.
Another delight from Brockwell who is a very welcome addition to the roster with his cunningly themed puzzles. Not a band I followed so the details were lost on me but I did at least spot both their name and NEW ORDER (though I had no idea the two were connected, other than in the WWII sense).
I love Brockwell’s surfaces and very much admire the cunning wordplay that eliminates the majority of link words. It ups the pleasure of the constructions and makes identification of definitions that bit more challenging. Extremely economical too. And what a spot for JAMIE LEE CURTIS! Chapeau.
Thanks Brockwell and mc (many congratulations on your daughter’s fine achievement)
Unknown Pleasures was released on 15th June 1979 so it was the 45th anniversary last Saturday.
Ian (Curtis) is at the end of 3 down (sicillIAN).
I did notice 3 other band names in the grid, 8 down PIL short for Public Image Ltd – John Lydons old band. Also, the JAM in 19 down and the CURE in 29 across.
These may be just coincidence as the theme seems to be based around Joy Division.
I can only echo what others have said. Brilliant puzzle, theme and blog. Thanks to Brockwell and mc… I’d like to add my congratulations to the proud parents. Hard to choose favourites from so many. I think PIGPEN is probably the one I’d choose. Thanks also to Baggins @30 for the earworm. I’m glad someone did 😎.
Total theme bypass despite them once being one of my favourite bands. And in their honour here’s HMHB’s perennial crowd pleaser Joy Division Oven Gloves
Cheers + congrats MC&B
Thanks Brockwell and mc_r
I used to know JD very well (saw them 25 times), so it was great to see them featuring so prominently.
Unknown Pleasures was released on June 15 1979, so last Saturday was the 45th anniversary.
Just a further thought that had NEW ORDER been hidden in a clue somewhere as an anagrind, I would still have missed the theme.
Thanks (this time) to S&B
Good crossword; I realised with Brockwell that there would probably be a theme. Oh yes, it must be the film ‘Knives Out’ that included JLC, who apparently was born as a MORRISON. Also included TONI Collette, and, of course, there is Toni Curtis. I don’t really know much about Joy Division, so no recognition there.
I really liked the anagram for JLC, and the wordplays for CARACAL, ODDS, and PIGPEN (definition also). Yes, DINER is I think a semi-&lit, extended definition or CAD (clue as definition).
Thanks Brockwell and mcr (stunning graphics!)
Just a snippet of an observation. TONI MORRISON may be a well known American author – just not one known to me (and her Pulitzer prize-winner was published nearly 40 years ago) – but it’s an unusual entry and would have defeated me – had not the same author appeared in a Filbert Indy last month. I do enjoy coincidence.
Very nice crossword! Thank you to Brockwell, and to mc_rapper67 for the excellent blog.
Regarding DAHL/DHAL, I think it’s a bad clue. My preference is that a cryptic clue should have an unambiguous answer that can be written down confidently without crossers. I imagine this can be a difficult task for the crossword editor; but it’s important. The most common failure seems to be when two homophones have the same length but the clue isn’t structured to tell us which one is the entry and which one is part of the wordplay. Somehow setters and editors miss this a bit more often than I’d expect.
I’ve never encountered the distinction that DHAL is the pulse and DAHL is the dish. Maybe it’s out there, but in my experience DAL and DHAL and DAAL and DAHL are arbitrary choices of English transliteration of a word that refers both to the pulse and to the dish made from it. I would be surprised if the supposed distinction ever stablilizes in usage long enough for it to be meaningful signal (rather than random noise). People at large really don’t seem to pay detailed attention to these things. Given that the original word is from Hindi, I don’t expect people to start paying attention to which transliteration they are using, and so I don’t find credible the idea that there is a distinction being observed in practice. But that’s just me.
Couldn’t parse ENVENOM (the reference is extremely obscure and not what that person will be remembered for) and know nothing about Joy Division other than their name so the theme passed me by. Also nho DIV(or divvy)=fool. Otherwise a fairly decent puzzle.
An enjoyable workout. I smiled at the ladies in lingerie and the Berkshire residence (the latter especially because it reminded me of one of my favourite characters in Peanuts). ARDRI and CARACAL were new but fairly clued. JAMIE LEE CURTIS went in from the numbers before I looked for the anagram. Didn’t know DIV.
Thanks to Brockwell and mc
Thanks Brockwell and mc.
Completely beaten by PIGPEN, and the parsing of ODDS, and the theme. I was not even close. My Chambers only has DHAL as a given spelling, so I was flummoxed for a long time in the SW corner. Only when my parsing of HOOKS just had to be right did I get my ah-ha moment.
Huge thanks to mc_rapper for a fabulous blog and animated grid – wow! Thanks also to everyone for solving the puzzle and commenting on here. I’m very pleased that it seems to have gone down well. The later commenters are absolutely correct – this was designed to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Unknown Pleasures – my favourite album of all time. Hope to see you all here again soon. B
Tremendous blog and grid, many thanks.
I really enjoy Brockwell’s puzzles and his predilection for a pop music theme (I seem to remember his debut was a Bob Marley theme). Favourites here were ENVENOM, HOOKS and ODDS.
Going to be very pedantic, where else is it allowed?
The debut by Brockwell was “Catch a Fire ” by The Wailers , I have the original cover.
Bob Marly and….. was a later marketing tool and I do not like it.
If there’s anything I know even less about than cricket or British television, it’s bands. I’ve never heard of JOY DIVISION, much less any of the related answers.
Never heard of Michelle Mone or divvy either.
ARDRI was a jorum but the wordplay was clear.
Thanks to Brockwell and especially mc for his generous contribution.
Great crossword which I actually managed to solve in one sitting, which is very rare for me. Thoroughly enjoyed it, thanks
I had no idea about the theme, and didn’t realise there was one, but this was an excellent crossword anyway with or without it. I loved the variety of clues, and the ‘layers of enjoyment’ (as remarked by Julie @29) that solvers could enjoy. PIGPEN and JAMIE LEE CURTIS were superb clues.
Thanks to Brockwell and mc_rapper.
Great “Grauniad” animated gif, mc_rapper67! 😉 And agree with you @28 about Michelle Mone.
LOi – this morning – PIGPEN.
Thanks G&M
Just to close things off – thanks for the further comments – especially Grecian for popping in (and for posting the animated grid up on ‘twiXter’).
Good to see a few dedicated JD and NO fans expanding on details here – I seem to have missed CEREMONY from the list of thematic items.
There have been some comments here and on X about the animated grid – this is fairly basic technology, just an animated GIF made up of progressive versions of the grid, a bit like stop-motion filming. I do these all the time on my EV grids, and occasionally the Genius, where there is a dénouement with maybe some grid manipulation to be done. I hope I haven’t set a precedent for other Grauniad bloggers!
As for the colours – described by sheffield hatter at #33 as ‘psychedelic’ – as a colour-blind, or more accurately colour-ignorant, person, I just choose colours that I can easily distinguish…
Lastly, I may have over-shared a little about my offspring’s further educational achievements, but thanks for the various congratulatory comments on that front.
And finally, Roz at #31 – I’m not sure about a first offence, there must be many more to be taken into consideration from my 470+ blogs over the last 14 years or so!