Holy Hole in a Donut!
Solvers must highlight a traveller in the completed grid. Clues to two places where he arrived eventfully lack a definition, as do those to his location three days before reaching the last light (unclued). Corrections to single-letter misprints in two sets of eight consecutive clues provide his current location. Misprints are in the definition in one set and the wordplay in the other.
Yep, that was what I thought too. Pretty tough, eh? Clues that didn’t so much lead to the answer as refuse stubbornly to give ground. Oh yes, some were definition-less and led to place names you probably hadn’t heard of. For once misprints were the least of our problems.
Which is to say that I spent rather a long time labouring, the emphasis being on the labour bit, some of that sitting in the car park (for an hour, I tell you) of a local supermarket, struggling one unforgiving clue at a time.
We reached the evening, at which point I began to notice JOHN A… in the diagonal. Oh, and solved SUVLA BAY which took me down a rather unpleasant rabbit-hole considering the WWI links.
Much later I would get the L, pluck JOHN ALCOCK somewhere from the depths, and then Google to the rescue, lobbing in the other entries that didn’t have a definition and the very last, unclued one. Thus checking letters led to the bitter end.
Is this cheating? Perhaps, but as we had no way of completing without looking up the last entry without being extremely knowledgeable or guessing correctly, I feel the poor beleaguered solver may be forgiven somewhat, especially given the unforgiving nature of the clues.
Anyway, the upshot is that ALCOCK landed rather memorably in the bog at 1ac, also at the aforementioned BAY, and was at the SCIENCE MUSEUM a few days before coming somewhat of a cropper at the very last one. He’s, needless to say, buried in SOUTHERN CEMETERY.
Every day’s a school day with the Inquisitor, isn’t it?
A few I didn’t understand on the parsing front this week, so over to you.
Should I mention that from next month you’ll be in more capable hands in this slot? Yep, probably should. Anyway, you will, life having got the better of my ability to solve and blog these puzzles. Maybe I’ll turn up again, like a bad penny.
| Clue | Answer | Misprint (Where Applicable) | Wordplay | |
| Across | ||||
| 1 | Early sign of dementia, tiddly lizard Mark put back (10) | DERRYGIMLA | D mERRY GI(M)LA – the M moving to the right | |
| 10 | Half-built arch, one that’s worked in Cornwall? (5) | ELVAN | ELVish + AN | |
| 11 | Like feeling around, touching ears (5) | AURAL | Courtesy of KVa in the comments:
Feeling around=AURA, like feeling around=AURAL |
|
| 12 | Imprisoned old farm labourer? (4) | PEON | ||
| 13 | Noble gas container advanced more than one secret (6) | ARCANA | AR (Argon) CAN A | |
| 14 | Everybody tense for American score (4) | ETCH | Change the A for a T in EACH | |
| 15 | Vehicle research location agreed (8, 2 words) | SUVLA BAY | SUV LAB AY | |
| 16 | I attach times preceding lower tide (8, 2 words) | SECOND XI |
S | SECOND ( |
| 18 | Bandsman to move between sites for audience (4) | SERF | O | A bondsman that sounds like surf |
| 19 | Scalelike stricture largely stunted woman after birth (6) | SQUAMA | U | SQUAt MA is a scalelike structure |
| 25 | As loss of weapons, all out patrolling the ground (6) | LETHAL | T | An anagram of ALL about another of THE (as lots of weapons) |
| 26 | Harden, withholding name, needful of law? (4) | IURE | H | InURE – heedful of law is the def. |
| 28 | Fellow dons this item: clothing individually cut (8) | TEACHING | E | T(EACh)HING for something a fellow (don) does |
| 31 | Copies from court waiting winding letter about process (8) | ESTREATS | R | ESS about TREAT – copies from court writing |
| 33 | Exhibit duty ultimately, or order (4) | OBEY | N | An &Lit – Y on OBE |
| 34 | Asian language – anyone spoken outside of China? (6) | NEPALI | N EI is presumably supposed to sound like “any”, outside of PAL | |
| 35 | Range over Scottish section, preserve abandoned by English (4) | SCUR | S CURe | |
| 36 | Act out rogue in the absence of a knife (5) | CUTTO | An anagram of aCT OUT without the A | |
| 37 | Consider how it might be received (5) | WEIGH | Sounds like “way” | |
| 38 | See preamble (10) | COTTEVRARD | Unclued | |
| Down | ||||
| 1 | Fixes train heading for station (5) | DOPES | DO PE (train) S | |
| 2 | Worried churchgoer wanting any hints of holiness and God to come back (7) | REOCCUR | An anagram of ChURChgOER without the H’s and G’s | |
| 3 | Five taught by OK Frenchman (4) | YVES | C | V caught by YES |
| 4 | Demigods turn amidst blur, jazz music boosted (7) | GARUDAS | E | U (turn) amidst SAD (blue) and RAG all reversed |
| 5 | Rope wound in later (7) | MARLINE | M | An anagram of IN LAMER |
| 6 | Director’s clue bars most of players (5) | LUCAS | E | cLUe bare CASt |
| 7 | Cooler acting cracks singer (6) | CANARY | T | CAN A RY (tracks) |
| 8 | Lively power place energy source’s vented last (7) | PLAYFUL | E | P LAY FUeL without the E (east) |
| 9 | Spring torment, then sunshine at last (4) | JETE | R | JET (torrent) E |
| 17 | It’s fine to burn a tree (3) | OAK | Y | OK burying an A |
| 19 | Feeling of guilt just after being in prison (7) | SCIENCE | See comments
A feeling of guilt would be CON SCIENCE, but I’m still less than convinced this works |
|
| 20 | Rating facilities lacking I am reviewing (7) | MATELOT | TOiLET + AM reversed. Doesn’t facilities = toilets? | |
| 21 | Charge set, multiply busy, short of time (7, 2 words) | FLAT FEE | FLAT FEEt (police, busies, short of T) but multiply for multiple doesn’t seem right to me | |
| 22 | Character once the last to be promoted (3) | ETH | THE with the E moved | |
| 23 | Old Colombian life force sustained by black tea (7) | CHIBCHA | CHI B CHA | |
| 24 | Mime drinking milk (6) | MUSEUM | M(USE)UM | |
| 27 | She has inspired poets and liberators (5) | ERATO | Hidden in libERATOrs | |
| 29 | Location of John o’Groats, corner of Scotland? (4) | NEUK | NE UK | |
| 30 | Turned heads to get you embarrassed (5) | GYRED | G Y RED | |
| 32 | This idler upset big shots (4) | SPIV | A reversal of VIPS |
16a SECOND XI – I think the “X” comes from “times”
I found this on the tougher side too, but to the question “Is this cheating?” my response is a resounding “No!” 🙂 I personally find that references sources (including Messrs Google and Wikipedia) are almost always needed at some point in a decent IQ puzzle!
I found this one the tough side too. And also had no shame in hitting the John Alcock Wikipedia page once his name appeared for me.
Plenty to admire in the way Radler got all the thematic material in the grid
I parsed 12A as (O) in PEN (farm, supported by Chambers and Bradfords)
Thanks Jon_S for all your blogging efforts. They are v much appreciated. And, of course , big shout for Radler for the entertainment and education.
Agree with HG@1 about Second XI, which then becomes a “lower”, or less senior side. The “attach” (second) and the X precede the I. For 19D, I think it means that if you put a “being [who is] in prison”, aka a con, in front of Science, you get a feeling of guilt. But I couldn’t crack Aural at 13A.
I very much enjoyed this puzzle, which unfolded gradually but steadily, with the breakthrough when Southern Cemetery in Manchester emerged and I found that John Alcock was a well known burial there. Entirely agree with Rob T above about “cheating”; in fact I have never understood the use of this word in reference to crossword puzzles, which seems close to a category error. It isn’t a game against opponents, and nobody cares how you find the answers; there aren’t any crossword deities marking homework. The setter will have gone to Wikipedia or equivalent to produce Derrygimla, Suvla Bay and Cottevrard, and it’s educational to follow them. Thanks to Radler, and to Jon not just for this blog but all the others: I hope you do come back and enjoy the solves.
12a is actually a very good clue – I parsed it as O [old] in PEN [ie a prison] and the overall meaning of a PEON means it’s pretty much a classic &lit
Can’t help with AURAL I’m afraid, as much a mystery to me as you
19 is CONSCIENCE less the CON [a being in prison] but I really don’t think the clue works
Neither does 27 come to think of it
Google was everyone’s friend with this one I think
PS Thanks for all your blogging Jon
bingy@5
SCIENCE
I think the clue works. The cryptic reading: conSCIENCE after con—>read the word conSCIENCE after c o n.
Isn’t 13A a double definition? Like an aura, and of the ear.
And thanks, Jon_S.
AURAL (I think)
feeling around=AURA, like feeling around=AURAL
touching ear=concerning ear=AURAL
ERATO
Agree with bingy@5
Looks like ERATO is ‘inspired’ by libERATOs.
MATELOT
facilities=a toilet/a lavatory is supported by dictionaries.
Jon: Thanks for all your efforts over the last 2 or 3 years.
21d: I read “multiply” as the adverbial form of “multiple”, not as a verb.
16a: in what sense does “attach” mean “second”? (I can’t really get the clue to work satisfactorily.)
33a: I still don’t see how this works – what’s the definition and where is the misprint? (It shouldn’t be “oN order” because that’s part of the wordplay.)
A tough one from Radler for Jon to bow out on – glad it wasn’t my turn to blog.
FLAT FEE
The ‘multiply’ works as an adverb, I think.
(Edit: HolyGhost@10 has said that already)
libERATOrs*
HG@10: if you are seconded to an organisation you become temporarily attached to it. On 33A, if the clue reads “Exhibit duty ultimately, ON order”. then I think you have an &lit as the definition and the “exhibit” bit just tells you to display the y after the order. Thanks to those who parsed “Aural”.
Thanks Sagittarius @12.
If they are indeed the intended explanations, then I don’t rate of either of those clues as very high quality.
Tough indeed, but I thought it was ultimately fair. All thanks to Radler and
Jon_S, with a final round of appreciative applause for the latter if this is indeed goodbye.
Of the undefined lights I saw SCIENCE MUSEUM first, which set me wondering about a travelling exhibit that moved around like the famous Hope or Dippy. Then SUVLA BAY emerged just as CEMETERY was looking likely for the word in Down corrections. A little Googling on those three soon found Alcock (not yet visible in the diagonal) and the awkward words in top and bottom rows.
Thanks all – I’ve updated the grid and parsing.
First, many thanks to Jon_S for all the blogs, and what a puzzle to end on.
It’s good to know that I wasn’t the only solver to struggle with parsing, but apart from that difficulty, I really enjoyed the crossword. This comment is a bit late because Jon has updated the blog but I had SECOND XI as … attach 2 substitute words for time / times (namely second (as a unit of time) and then X (meaning multiply)) before I. The definition is lower side which keeps the misprint in the definition rather than in the wordplay. Many thanks to others for sorting out parsing of clues that beat me.
This is the first time I’ve completed a Radler puzzle … I’m not sure that I’ll claim it as fully solved because of the unparsed clues that remained, but thank you Radler for an entertaining crossword.
In retrospect I think I prefer Sagittarius’ explanation with attach = second.
Hand to hand combat indeed, and in addition to the tough clues generally I thought the definition-less ones were a bit ridiculous. Hands up those who successfully entered COTTEVRARD or DERRYGIMLA from the wordplay, without finding them on Google first? If so then what’s the point of having them clued at all…
An interesting story and I feel a bit sad for JOHN going from Science Museum hero to death in 3 days – but the puzzle was just that bit too intense I thought.
Seeing SUVLA BAY sent me on a wild goose chase on the Dardanelles until I spotted John Alcock diagonally
A great story -a lot achieved in a short life
Thanks Jon and Radler.
thanks J and R! i fell into the second ii trap though couldn’t actually parse it which is always a strong indicator that’s something’s fishy.
Arnold @18 makes a very good point. I waited until I had a lot of information before going to a search engine (Alcock or Elcock…), so didn’t waste too much. More important, I’ve always enjoyed Jon_S’s amusing blogs, and I’ll miss him.
Excellent puzzle which took a couple of days to complete and I needed a low-down afterwards. Thanks to blogger and setter for a great workout