Snakes alive!
Preamble: Two intimately connected names, each of three words, appear in the grid and partially overlap, resulting in clashes in a number of cells. The non-clashing letters in the names are not indicated in the wordplay of clues to answers which contain them. Solvers must overwrite the names, in one case including a relevant title, with an appropriate symbol (occupying 22 cells) and write the names below the grid.
A setter new to the Inquisitor but with several puzzles in Magpie I see.
It always takes a bit of time to settle in to a new setter’s style of clueing but I solved 1 across & 1 down straight away … and then things slowed a little. CORAL at 15a was the first clue I met with deficient wordplay, soon followed by the intersecting RECTOR and ERODES.
Progress was fairly evenly paced, but with unsurprising hold-ups regarding clues where answers clashed, though once the shape of the appropriate symbol began to develop it became easier to guess which cells were going to have clashes. Sometime later and with just two clues left to resolve (the wordplay for 14d TROWELED and the answer at 25a PI…) I decided to put the puzzle away for the day – I felt confident about the shape and how the connected names would emerge, and there would be something to look forward to over coffee the following morning.
The story continues: DOCTOR seemed to be a reasonable way to start one name, and maybe BERRY to end, so I Googled that plus “transsexual”, soon completed (and corrected) to DOCTOR JAMES BARRY and yielding his/her birthname MARGARET ANNE BULKLEY. (There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the middle name is spelt ANNE or ANN – the puzzle works with the E.) The clashing letters form a circle, the start of the male name (DOCTOR) makes an arrow pointing diagonally upward to the right, and the cross signifying female is formed by the first letters of MARGARET below the circle – together they form the intersex symbol ⚥.
Lots of good clues and no bad or even mediocre ones that I can recall. I fished around to see if the timing of publication was relevant – anniversary of birth or death, or other key event – but didn’t uncover anything really significant. (Closest was 25-Jul-1865 for date of death.) All in all a most enjoyable solve, thanks Fer-de-lance. When will we see you again?
| No. | Clue | Answer | Wordplay |
| Across | |||
| 1 | Belief in God happens to divide authority figures (6) | THEISM | IS (happens) in THEM (authority figures) |
| 5 | Every year oppose mainly what could affect movement (7) | PARESIS | PA (per annum, every year) RESIS(t) (oppose) |
| 10 | Stop interrupting car journeys? (9) | ROADHOUSE | cryptic definition |
| 12 | What may be used for hanging work on walls? (4) | ROPE | OP (work) in RE (on) |
| 13 | Chambers involved in repatriation (5) | ATRIA | (rep)ATRIA(tion) |
| 15 | Programming language test failing to begin with (5) | CORAL | (o)RAL (test) |
| 16 | British Army plays safe (5) | AMBRY | [B(ritish) ARMY]* |
| 18 | Individual harbours resentment for Liberal Party (6) | SOIRÉE | SOLE (individual) with IRE (resentment) for L(iberal) |
| 19 | Hydrocarbons in leak affected most of river (7) | ALKENES | [LEAK]* NES(s) (river) |
| 20 | British socialist who wrote books on US subjectively? (4) | WEBB | BB (books) after WE (us, first person plural) |
| 21 | What may make one blue when bottling up love? (5) | ANILS | AS (when) around NIL (love) |
| 23 | Left income out in latest resolution of dispute (13) | RECONCILEMENT | [L(eft) INCOME]* in RECENT (latest) |
| 25 | Religious image in Letters to the Corinthians (5) | PIETÀ | PI & ETA (letters in Greek alphabet) |
| 27 | Fine artist’s rendering of ladies’ fingers (4) | OKRA | OK (fine) RA (artist) |
| 28 | Support action to prevent cuts? (7) | SECONDE | SECOND (support) |
| 29 | Intolerant people brought charges twice (6) | BIGOTS | GOT (brought) in BIS (twice) |
| 31 | Remove almost all support (5) | ERASE | EASE(l) (support) |
| 33 | Vacuous description of how space and time end (5) | INANE | IN AN E (last letters of space & time) |
| 34 | Translation of Tacitus omits account of African people (5) | TUTSI | [TACITUS ¬ AC(count)]* |
| 35 | Opening item in programme is late starting (4) | VENT | (e)VENT (item in programme) |
| 36 | Agrees terms of service contract could be set aside (9) | SEGREGATE | [AGREES (servic)E (contrac)T]* |
| 37 | “Start of extremely slippery slope” inspires line in article by correspondent (7) | EPISTLE | E(xtremely) PISTE (slippery slope) around L(ine) |
| 38 | Title deed unfortunately wants new let updated (6) | EDITED | [TITLE DEED]* ¬ [LET]* |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Registers vans after modification involving criminal activity (13) | TRANSGRESSIVE | [REGISTERS VANS]* |
| 2 | Wyatt perhaps with his head in cool part of blower (8) | EARPIECE | EARP (Wyatt perhaps) E(arp) in ICE (cool) |
| 3 | Doctors working magic without pinning top of leg (7) | SHAMANS | SANS (without) around HAM (top of leg) |
| 4 | Watered soil round base of oregano (5) | MOIRÉ | MIRE (soil) around (oregan)O |
| 5 | Hand over head of unskinned deer (4) | PUDU | PUD (hand) U(nskinned) |
| 6 | Clergyman sketched naked men (6) | RECTOR | (d)RE(w) (sketched) OR (men) |
| 7 | Part of immune response gradually deteriorates (6) | ERODES | (immun)E RES(ponse) |
| 8 | Quality Street’s filled with calories essentially (4) | SORT | ST(reet) around (cal)OR(ies) |
| 9 | Smug mischief-maker placed in relative isolation initially, guarded by US agent (13) | SELF-SATISFIED | ELF (mischief-maker) SAT (placed) in SIS (relative) I(solation) in FED (US agent) |
| 11 | Artfully edges Isabel’s jacket in a frivolous way (7) | SILLILY | SLILY (artfully) around I(sabe)L |
| 14 | Charlotte’s dressed up to take out Herb (8) | TROWELED | DELE (take out) WORT (herb) all< |
| 17 | Likely consequences of Labour’s many years in seat (8) | NEONATES | EON (many years) in NATES (seat) |
| 19 | Direct a course about new style of film (5) | ANIME | AIM (direct a course) around N(ew) |
| 21 | Promotion occupies brilliant English literary don (7) | ACADEME | AD (promotion) in ACE (brilliant) E(nglish) |
| 22 | Touch irritable before going up in balloon (8) | AEROSTAT | TAT (touch) SORE (irritable) A(nte) (before) all< |
| 24 | Jack nicked when Henry’s shed’s fitted with supports (7) | JOISTED | J(ack) HOISTED (nicked) ¬ H(enry) |
| 25 | Sharp items wearing through pockets (6) | POINTS | IN (wearing) in POTS (pockets) |
| 26 | Scoff at overheard joke (6) | INGEST | IN (at) GEST homophone (joke) |
| 29 | Basic bridge that can be moved (5) | BARRE | BARE (basic) |
| 30 | Queen upset by absent king (4) | RANI | IN (by) A(bsent) R (king) all< |
| 32 | European craze (4) | RAGE | E(uropean) |
Despite solving most of the clues, I couldn’t make head or tail of what was going on here, so many thanks to HolyGhost for all the enlightenment. As so often, in retrospect it was all solvable, but I never got confident enough about where all the clashes were happening (not helped by deciding that Tony Benn would be the British socialist in 20A). I think the reference to a relevant title in the instructions would more helpfully have been put in the first sentence, about the names to be entered, rather than the final one about the overwriting. Finally, can anyone explain what Charlotte is doing in 14D; the dress=trowel meaning doesn’t seem to be specific to any country where there’s a Charlotte (eg N Carolina)?
La la la la Lola!
Great stuff
Sagittarius @1, TROWELED is how they spell TROWELLED in North Carolina.
There was a lot going on in this puzzle, but it was very satisfying to work my way through it. I agree that the reference to a title seemed oddly placed.
Sagittarius, I took it that Charlotte indicated an American spelling, I think the English version would double the L?
Ah, thanks TonyG and Caran. That makes sense.
Found this a tough but ultimately rewarding battle. I too struggled with the parsing for TROWELED – I thought it was T(R)OWE(L)ED (ie ‘to weed’) and that therefore the R and L were not indicated in the wordplay. To say this delayed my solving of the whole puzzle is an understatement…
I have a feeling Fer-de-lance may be a collaboration but I may be wrong
First session, I thought this was very easy – lots of the grid filled; second session, almost impossible. It was all very stimulating, but I have to be counted with those who could do nothing with the clashing and unclued letters. Thanks to HolyGhost and Fer-de-lance
We struggled to fill in the grid and for a long time wondered where we were going.
In the end, it was well worth perservering. We worked out that the clashing letters made the two symbols and it all fell into place.
Such an interesting story which we knew nothing about so were very pleased to discover the endgame. This is what we like about some of the IQs which introduce you to extraordinary stories.
Thanks to HolyGhost and Fer-de-lance.
Many thanks to HolyGhost for the excellent blog and to everyone who has taken the time to comment.
Bingy @6 is correct – Lady’s Man is a joint effort by Ferret and Serpent.
Very tough but very enjoyable and with a great endgame. Thank you all!