A themed puzzle published to coincide with the 55th anniversary of the first landing on the Moon.
Confusingly, the Guardian also published online a link to a puzzle by Paul with the same number, but this puzzle by Kite was the one printed in the paper and it seems as though the links to the other puzzle were removed. Perhaps we’ll see that puzzle shortly.
I thought I was unfamiliar with the work of Kite but on checking I see that he (or she) had a puzzle in the Prize slot only a few weeks ago, which I remember solving. It took a little while for the theme to become apparent, both Timon and I spotting it simultaneously. I hope that I have highlighted all the references to the Apollo 11 mission in the grid, but please let me know if I have missed any.
We particularly enjoyed the clues to LOGGING OFF and to MOON, but were unable to parse SATURN; fortunately Kenmac stepped in with the crucial insight. Thanks to him and to Kite.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | SPLENDOUR |
Liberal cuts waste given Guardian’s opulence (9)
|
| L(iberal) inside SPEND (waste) OUR (Guardian’s). | ||
| 10 | EAGLE |
Flyer getting each leg broken (5)
|
| EA(ch) *LEG. The first thematic reference, although we didn’t spot it at the time. | ||
| 11 | AIRER |
More moderate leader sacrificed at hanging frame (5)
|
| (f)AIRER. | ||
| 12 | ARMSTRONG |
Member determined to become rider (9)
|
| ARM (member) STRONG (determined). Not the most obvious definition, but a thematic reference to the first man to set foot on the Moon. The rider is of course Lance Armstrong, the notorious racing cyclist; thanks to Kva and Shanne for pointing this out. | ||
| 13 | KENNEDY |
President that might reportedly spin knowledge delivered at first (7)
|
| Sounds like “ken” (knowledge) “eddy” (spin). Another thematic reference. | ||
| 14 | COLLINS |
Actor reveals depression with no English in her part (7)
|
| COL (depression) LIN(e)S (part). Presumably a reference to Pauline or Jackie Collins, although again it’s a thematic name. | ||
| 17, 25 | SMALL STEP |
Initial stage as little dogs maybe jumped up (5,4)
|
| SMALL (little) PETS (dogs, maybe, rev). Part of the famous message delivered by Armstrong as he stepped on to the Moon’s surface. | ||
| 19 | BUS |
Main transporter reverses supplying another one (3)
|
| SUB (main transporter, i.e. a ship of some kind, rev). I did wonder if this was thematic (i.e. did the astronauts refer to the lunar module as a “bus”) but haven’t been able to find confirmation of this. | ||
| 20, 24 | GIANT LEAP |
Monster effort as two soldiers overtake European inside (5,4)
|
| GI (soldier) ANT (another kind of soldier), E(uropean) inside LAP (overtake). The second part of Armstrong’s famous phrase. | ||
| 21 | SPARRED |
Boxed fish found within the fronts of some empty drawers (7)
|
| PARR (a young salmon) inside initial letters of Some Empty Drawers. | ||
| 22 | SKI PASS |
Idiot given at the beginning spring or winter ticket (3,4)
|
| SKIP (spring) ASS (idiot). | ||
| 24 | LATE START |
City sculpture perhaps bears examination causing delayed opening (4,5)
|
| TEST (examination) inside LA ART (city sculpture perhaps). | ||
| 26 | GROOM |
Good N. African returns for curry (5)
|
| G(ood) MOOR (N African, rev). This is the less familiar sense of “curry”, meaning to comb or groom a horse. | ||
| 28 | AGILE |
Retired Israeli gambles, keeps in good condition (5)
|
| Hidden and reversed (“retired”) in “Israeli gambles”. | ||
| 29 | PORTFOLIO |
Left stupid fool to go around one office (9)
|
| PORT (left), I(one) inside *FOOL. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ASIA |
Landmass is like one beside America (4)
|
| AS (like) I (one) A(merica). | ||
| 2 | ALDRIN |
Hospital Dr (intern) discovered pest controller (6)
|
| Hidden in “hospital dr intern”. The second man on the Moon. | ||
| 3 | SNORKELLER |
Swimmer is noisy sleeper welcoming kip at arm’s length (10)
|
| K(ip) ELL (measure of an arm’s length) all inside SNORER. “Kip” here refers to a Laotian currency unit. | ||
| 4 | ROTARY |
Spinning Tory broadcast about Arab (6)
|
| AR(ab) inside *TORY. | ||
| 5 | GRIMACES |
Forbidding stars to show sneers (8)
|
| GRIM (forbidding) ACES (stars). | ||
| 6 | PELT |
Run and hide (4)
|
| Double definiltion. | ||
| 7 | AGNOMINA |
Gonna aim to reproduce Roman nicknames (8)
|
| *(GONNA AIM). This plural form of agnomen isn’t given in Chambers, but it is in Collins. | ||
| 8 | BERG |
Calf born beside work unit (4)
|
| B(orn) ERG (work unit). The reference is not to cows, but to icebergs. | ||
| 13 | KISTS |
Brush around front of the ancient coffins (5)
|
| T(he) inside KISS (brush). | ||
| 15 | LOGGING OFF |
Finishing work to produce long gig? (7,3)
|
| A self-referential clue: an anagram (“off”) of LOGGING is LONG GIG. | ||
| 16 | SITES |
State names for plots (5)
|
| Sounds like “cites” (“names”). | ||
| 18 | ABATTOIR |
A vampire is one to go berserk, turning up for a place to kill (8)
|
| A BAT (a vampire) RIOT (go berserk, rev). | ||
| 19 | BEDLAMPS |
They throw light on retiring couples (8)
|
| Cryptic definition. Another word that I couldn’t find in Chambers but which is given in Collins. | ||
| 22 | SATURN |
Space traveller is class act, not the first time ignoring principal head of research (6)
|
| S(t)A(r) TURN. Not the smoothest of surfaces (what is “principal” contributing to the clue?), but another thematic reference. | ||
| 23 | APOLLO |
God’s around protecting count (6)
|
| POLL (count) inside A O (a round). | ||
| 24 |
See 20 Across
|
|
| 25 |
See 17 Across
|
|
| 27 | MOON |
Show seat that’s low number (4)
|
| MOO (low, as a cow does) N(umber). |
Thanks bridgesong. For once I did discern the theme, though the astronauts’ names did not register and it took the small step and the giant leap before realization could belatedly dawn. Quite a variation of difficulty in the clues and some clever devices made for an enjoyable session or two. Had to seek confirmation of 7 and 13d. LOI was SATURN, it had to be the answer of course but I thought the clue was unnecessarily convoluted and clumsy.
‘Principal’ in the clue for SATURN means you ignore the first R in ‘star turn’ (as well as the first T).
I really enjoyed the puzzle and got the theme early on, after just SMALL STEP, GIANT LEAP and ARMSTRONG. It was then just a case of going through and looking for the other two astronauts.
You might find the plural of AGNOMEN in KENNEDY.
The theme was almost impossible to miss but I had done 90% of the puzzle before realisation struck. This gave me Apollo, Moon and the misleading Indian meal @ 26A to finish. I enjoyed this, which was much less challenging than Kite’s appearance a couple of weeks ago which I struggled with and failed to finish.
Thanks Kite for an enjoyable crossword with a very familiar theme. I needed outside help for SPLENDOUR and COLLINS but all else made sense with my top picks being LATE START, LOGGING OFF, and MOON. Thanks bridgesong for the blog.
Seeing the theme early (SMALL STEP was the spark) meant I did some searching for other thematic answers which would obviously be there somewhere. This also brought back memories of sitting in a Physics 1 lecture at UTas watching the live broadcast of the first steps on a standard TV – no huge screens then. One of the (many) advantages of living here was the time zone match. The crossie was great fun – thanks, Kite and bridgesong.
I agree with Biggles A@1 in there was a great variety of difficulty. I enjoyed some of this, but found the number of wordy clues unappealing and tiring. A few too many obscurities for my liking too. A couple of clues went unparsed, so thanks bridgesong for explaining them. My favourites were MOON and LATE START for their surfaces.
Thanks Kite and bridgesong
Nice puzzle, good lot of theme words (maybe too many – after a while it became a matter of guess a theme word then find where it is in the grid).
Minor gripe in 20,24: an effort and a (figurative) LEAP are not the same thing – the effort needs to succeed first.
Otherwise, very enjoyable. Thanks
For a change I did spot the theme early on from EAGLE and ARMSTRONG, which was some help. Ironically my LOI was MOON. Thanks Kite and bridgesong.
Loved the puzzle. great blog indeed.
Thanks Kite and bridgesong.
Top faves: GIANT LEAP (despite agreeing with Dr.WhatsOn’s observation) and BEDLAMPS. Liked many more.
ARMSTRONG
Is the setter referring to Lance? Kite won’t bring in a banned cyclist into the fine theme to define the hero of the theme. The def seems weak (the blog mentions it in a way).
BUS
I fine that ‘spacecraft bus’ is a thing but not sure it fits the context.
I found this more accessible than the previous Kite prize, and also spotted the theme fairly early on – which was helpful, as I don’t think I’d have decoded ALDRIN without looking for him.
I thought Lance ARMSTRONG for the rider, as I couldn’t think of anyone else – and when I Googled, that’s all that came up.
Thank you to Kite and bridgesong.
I agree with Kva and Shanne: “rider” in the clue for Armstrong is indeed a reference to Lance Armstrong, the cyclist. I’ll amend the blog.
Good to have a theme that is clear to identify. Could LOGGING OFF be part of the space theme? And BUS has a meaning related to guiding rockets, I believe.
At 13d I put in ‘cists’, the more common spelling I think, which caused problems identifying the president at 13a, even though he was an obvious part of the theme. And I was convinced 19a was ‘ass’ ( a transporter), with ‘ss’ (steamship) somehow being involved – but I got there eventually.
I question 19d. I cannot find BEDLAMPS in Chambers, Webster, or (unlike bridgesong) Collins (mine is 1998). It is online in Wiktionary, but I know only ‘bedside lamps’ – is BEDLAMP a modern alternative? Also, what does ‘couples’ contribute to the clue? Those who retire to bed alone get light the same way.
Thanks anyway to bridgesong and to Kite.
I thought that BUS was the closest that Kite could get to ‘Buzz’ ALDRIN. It was hard to miss the theme, but took a while for the penny to drop and I’d almost puzzled before the SMALL STEP and GIANT LEAP made it blindingly obvious. Didn’t remember COLLINS and wondered if there was a BERG involved, but couldn’t be bothered to check.
Otherwise, not too tricky from Kite. Thanks to him and to bridgesong.
The theme appeared early, helped by ALDRIN being a hidden clue, and Armstrong being a well known rider/cyclist, and MOON went in early with a giggle, but it didn’t help putting in LOGGING OUT instead of OFF at first for solving the SE corner.
It is somewhat ironic that a COL is usually the highest point of a mountain road, and in my mind far away from the sense of a depression!
Thanks K and B
sjshart @13: BEDLAMPS is in the (free) online version of Collins.
I did … and enjoyed … the other Guardian cryptic crossword numbered 29,440. The Paul one was really tough (for me) but a great puzzle. I’ll say no more.
Am grateful to bridgesong for acknowledging its temporary existence.
I think the other COLLINS actor is Joan, Jackie being an author
A few new words for me, Aldrin, Agnomina and Kists. Also in 16D never heard “State” to mean “Sounds like”. But enjoyed the puzzle, thanks to Kite and Bridgesong.
For once I spotted the theme – a bit late, but for once in time to actually help with the solving, rather than after the event or from the blog, which is more usual for me. I got EAGLE straight away, then managed to spot the hidden ALDRIN (meaning to check later that it was a pesticide, but only briefly reminded of Buzz), then got ARMSTRONG (presumably Lance, but ‘rider’ seemed pretty unspecific) still without making the connection. It was only when I realised COLLINS would fit the (again, pretty unspecific) ‘actor’ that it all clicked and distant memories of watching the landing from a bar in Edinburgh – slightly under age – came back. It was an exciting time that seems to have been on hold for a surprising number of years now. As for the non-themed clues, I was a bit surprised AGNOMINA and BEDLAMPS were words, and struggled to remember that icebergs produce calves. Enjoyed the memories, though. Thanks Kite, and thanks, bridgesong.
[Zoot@3 – 😉 – …or in Lewis & Short]
Like Keith@20 I spotted the theme in time for it to help me, in my case with ALDRIN and COLLINS. An unusual solve in that I was doing it with some family members in a brewery tap, which helped in having two co-solvers, but hindered in that it was very noisy and we had to talk to other family members, who had all gathered for my 70th birthday. In fact it took until the following morning to spot the theme, when SMALL STEP directed attention to GIANT LEAP, an early solve which should have pointed us in the right direction but was somehow missed in the cacophany.
A mix of relatively easy and downright obscure, as others have hinted. Chambers doesn’t have K for kip among its abbreviations, although the word itself is listed, so I guess it’s not totally unfair. I eventually worked out AGNOMINA – my sister-in-law half-remembered the singular from her Latin at school, but the plural was a process of elimination once the crossers were in place. The clue for SATURN is so convoluted that I don’t blame our blogger for giving up on it.
Thanks to Kite and bridgesong.
I think this is only the second time I’ve managed to complete a prize crossword, and it took me multiple sessions over the course of the week. I did spot the theme, but it only helped me with one or two clues.
LOGGING OFF was my favourite, even though i’m another who initially had LOGGING OUT which held up the SE until the penny dropped for PORTFOLIO.
Thanks to Kite and bridgesong.
oed.com has no entry for BED(-)LAMP, even though it has this quotation from Muriel Spark’s Memento Mori (1959), for ‘to put forth, in put, v.’:
‘As she put forth her hand another, paler, spider-legged and fluffy creature on the pillow where the bed-lamp cast a shade caught her sight.’
[The moon landing – 1969, a 55th (Emerald) anniversary – as themed in Everyman 3797 five years ago] — Happy 70th, sheffield hatter@22🎂!
Haven’t yet been able to find anywhere that gives BERG as a definition of ‘calf’, can anyone explain..?
A nicely timed theme, though once I spotted it COLLINS and ALDRIN became write-ins. Chapeau to Kite for getting them all in. The abbreviations for ARab and Kip were new to me and so was the plural of AGNOMEN, and it took me some time to realise that LOGGING OUT must be wrong. Someone, somewhere must call them BEDLAMPS, but I’ve never seen that before either.
Sean&Gem@25: when glaciers reach the sea they “calve” off smaller masses of ice which float away as bergs – though berg and calf are not precise equivalents.
And now, back to Soup, where I am struggling.
I’m with others who discovered the theme quite late in the solving process. I enjoyed it all the way through, and I ‘got’ all the themed entries except EAGLE. Last one in was SATURN, which I did not really understand until coming here.
Thanks Kite and bridgesong.
I finished this in several sessions over the week, but I didn’t really enjoy it. This was partly because I rarely think to look for themes unless the setter flags them up (like Picaroon last week).. Like earlier bloggers, I found some of the clues a bit dubious or over-contrived (SATURN). I did not enter BEDLAMP (no such word?) or SITES until the end. Re SITES, surely clue should be ‘States names for plots?’ I liked LOGGING OFF when I finally figured out the use of OFF.
Sean&Gem@25. I know that a chunk that breaks off an iceberg is sometimes called a calf, so that was enough for me.
S&G@25. Chambers has “an iceberg that has broken off a glacier or larger iceberg”; also berg: “short for iceberg”. 🙂
Sean&Gem @25 Chambers has “calf 1… An iceberg that has broken off a glacier or larger iceberg” and “calve To detach (a glacier or iceberg)”
KISTS is a great word which lends itself in the phrase a “kist o’ whistles” meaning an organ, in other words a “chest full of whistles” which is a great description.
FrankieG#21. At school we used L&S to source the passages set for unseen translation which we then looked up in the relevant Loeb. The sudden improvement made the staff suspicious so they set a paragraph of Livy with a sentence missing in the middle. Predictably several students just paraphrased the English without looking at the Latin with inevitable results.
Thanks to all for the calf/berg clarifications – clearly we need to get hold of a Chambers dictionary!
And thanks to bridgesong and Kite.
Didn’t spot the theme until my son pointed it out. Then I realised why ALDRIN had been defined as an obscure pest controller and not the more obvious astronaut. KISTS and BEDLAMPS were new as was K for kip.
Thanks to Kite and bridgesong
Thanks bridgesong for a super blog and all who commented.
For the SATURN clue, I could have omitted the ‘principal’ but as there were two Rs in staR tuRn, it was more precise to identify which one was to be removed. As it says in the blog, BEDLAMP is in Collins, so I thought it was fair. The actor for COLLINS was identified in the clue as feminine and I was thinking of Joan. I did know that ALDRIN was an insecticide; it’s often difficult to find alternative definitions for surnames.
Thanks to Kite for dropping by. I don’t doubt the accuracy of the clue for SATURN. I described it above @27 as “convoluted”, and from a solver’s point of view there’s a satisfaction in finding out how a clue works, even if we’ve just had a stab at it from definition and crossers.
I was pleased to have been able to enter the correct answer, but I would have been better pleased if I could have unravelled the clue.
Perhaps I was under-motivated. 😃
Thanks again for the puzzle.
Greetings to all. I totally missed the theme till I got here, but I had fun with the puzzle. Thanks to Kite and bridgesong.
Valentine@36. Perhaps there should be a special prize? Even I spotted the theme in time to make it useful, which is incredibly rare. Congratulations!
Everyone has moved on by now but, just for the record, it was also Bridgesong’s birthday (anniversary) on Saturday. I’m not letting on exactly which but its more that Sheffield hatter @ 22 !
Cheers, old friend!
Happy (belated) Birthday, Bridgesong!🎂 — I wonder if you’re old enough to remember this TV show (1958-64) : ‘
The street that wears a fancy label | That’s glorified in song and fable. | The most exciting people pass you by | Including a private eye.
You’ll meet the high brow and the hipster | The starlet and the phony tipster | You’ll find most every kind of gal and guy | Including a private eye.’
Thanks K&B 😉
FrankieG:
Certainly old enough (77!) but although the name and even the theme tune are familiar, it was never a programme regularly watched in our house.
I can’t quite understand the given parsing of 3down – why does the ‘ip’ disappear.
Remiss of me not to say thank you first; thank you first, sorry, couldn’t resist.
I enjoy every cryptic in the Guardian – much gratitude to all compilers and their solvers.
Wittgenstein@42. The “ip” doesn’t actually disappear. K is an abbreviation of the currency unit of Laos, the kip. I mentioned this in my post @22 because I felt it was a little obscure and Chambers doesn’t list it among its standard abbreviations.
K(ip) is another one you can find in Collins, but not in Chambers.
I wonder in what context one might find “Arab” abbreviated to Ar. “Arabic” undoubtedly is so abbreviated, when referring to the language, but I’m having trouble imagining a case where “Arab” would be. No doubt the dictionaries say so, so I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the clue; just wondering.
[And I’m aware that I’m months late getting to this puzzle, so it’s unlikely anyone will answer this. That’s OK. I don’t mind talking to myself — I’m quite a good listener.]
Ted @45: yes, Chambers gives Ar. as the abbreviation for Arab and for Arabic. I wonder if it’s used in horse racing?