A complex preamble but not really that complicated. Regular clues numbered and then pairs of regular clues linked together forming a row or column’s entries and insert the appropriate bars – then highlight a thematic 9 letter word.
Nothing too tricky in the clueing department – obscure words are to be expected in barred puzzles. The only real challenge was fitting the rows and columns together. The strip tease of the title.
The 9 letter word ECDYSIAST lying centrally on the central row meaning a striptease performer. Adding bars did indeed yield a 180 degree symmetric grid.
Thanks Kcit and excellent barred crossword
Key * anagram; rev reversed; underline definition
Clues:
Across
5 Line of hair, line displayed by second big shot (8)
row(line) after mo(second) + nob(big shot) = MONOBROW
7 Nothing interrupts computer scientist giving series of lectures? (7)
Turing(computer scientist) around o(nothing) = TOURING
11 Reversing routine with favourite hospital purgative (7)
Rev. rut(routine) + pet(favourite) + h(hospital) = TURPETH
14 Old woman with genetic disorder playing bassline (8)
(bassline)* = ALBINESS
Down
1 Show quantity of light left on top (7)
ray(quantity of light) after port (left) = PORTRAY
2 Property once housing rook not combined (4)
fee(property once) around r (right) = FREE
3 Mark boundaries of distribution of media title (10)
(media title)* = DELIMITATE
4 Note of hesitation over province being upheld as part of this? (4)
er(not of hesitation) + Rev. NI(province) = ERIN
6 Dicky won’t repair car parts (10)
(wont repair)* = POWERTRAIN
8 Arthurian heroine? Isolde’s foremost in consequence (4)
end(consequence) around I(Isolde’s foremost) = ENID
9 Animal groupings excluding quiet tree frog (4)
pyhla(animal groupings) – p (quiet) = HYLA
10 Former border account linked to limit of land (7)
ac(account) = coast(limit of land) = ACCOAST
12 Wrong to abandon using Long Island for citrus fruit (4)
using – sin(wrong) + Li(Long island) = UGLI
13 Carriage horse flicking tail up? (4)
arab(horse) moving b(tail) up = ARBA
Strips
COLUMN 5
* A difficult situation keeping South Carolina cut off
a + bind(difficult situation) around sc(South Carolina) = ABSCIND
over gas escape, initially corresponding
o(over) + neon(gas) + e (escape initially) = ONE ONE
ROW 8
* Affecting a halo, arranged Euro-deal
(eurodeal)* = AUREOLED
our working extracted from Eurocrat, getting upset reply
(eurocrat – our)* = REACT
COLUMN 10
* Again stir up and hinder river
rear (hinder) + ouse(river) = REAROUSE
French river, as in stirring Loire, ultimately
(as in =e)* = AISNE
COLUMN 1
* Antique visor to survive atop a new Dutch furniture item
umbrel(antique visor) + last(survive) + a + n (new) = d(Dutch) = UMBRELLA STAND
ROW 3
* British with ploy to have Italy investing in pound
B(British) + ruse(ploy) around I(Italy) = BRUISE
start to report about Italy needing a source of increased concentration?
r(start to report) + Italian(about Italy) – a = RITALIN
COLUMN 7
* Cat – exclamation over second amongst pastries – dreadful scene
oi(exclamation) + s (second) in tortes([pastries) + hell(dreadful scene) = TORTOISE SHELL
ROW 5
* Encouraging sex – heart embracing it after knocking back
Rev core(heart) around it = EROTIC
sweet drink, one blended with a lot of lemon
(one + lemo)* = OENOMEL
ROW 1
* Finished day with good deal in NY – American thermal
up(finished) + d (day) + raft(good deal in NY) = UPDRAFT
underwear finally accepted in Carnegie’s offer and left where underwear was often dispensed with?
r(underwear finally) in bode(Carnegie’s offer) = l (left) = BORDEL
ROW 13
* Meal esoteric after daughter,
inner (esoteric) after d(daughter) = DINNER
boisterous girl, starts to dowse everything in coffee
de(starts to dowse everything) in latte (coffee) = LADETTE
ROW 9
* Old Nick brooded – an idiot mostly
sat(brooded) + an + ass(idiot) – s = SATANAS
runs from Nick to get support
scratch(nick) – r (runs) = SCATCH
COLUMN 4
* Party is blocking corruption –
rot(corruption) around is = ROIST
no price changes to accommodate a safety measure for bridge
(no price a)* = ICE APRON
ROW 11
* + Polysaccharide emerged, introducing gallium
arose(emerged) around ga (gallium) = AGAROSE
Osmium into river water in French Caribbean capital
os(osmium) in r(river) + eau(French water) = ROSEAU
ROW 6
* Post legislation, leading party member reckoning for Scots
law (legislation) + in (leading party member) = LAWIN
to adapt to Indian religion after one is in operation
hind(after) + i(one) in use(operation) = HINDUISE
COLUMN 9
* Rarely dull old German confederacy restraining tense
o(old) + bund(German confederacy) around t(tense) = OBTUND
bearlike actor that’s ruined paperwork
(actor)* + id(paperwork) = ARCTOID
COLUMN 13
* Stately home: loathes lounge after redesign
(loathes lounge)* = LONGLEAT HOUSE
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. I was able to solve about half of the numbered clues and half of the unnumbered ones before I hit a proverbial wall and began to think the puzzle was pitched too high. I’m sure it was mainly the combination of the two special features of most of the ‘Strip’ clues – namely the two-clues-in-one device and the absence of word-lengths – that slowed me down. I nevertheless completed the grid eventually, but in my rush to find the thematic nine-letter word I saw only TORTOISES and UMBRELLAS as possibles. After a cup of tea, I saw ECDYSIAST staring at me from its rather obvious location.
It was curious and amusing that the thematic word ECDYSIAST related only to the title STRIP TEASE, which was itself made up from two unrelated words in the preamble and not from anything in the clues or solutions. I nevertheless admired the original design of this puzzle, which I concluded was pitched just right. The Strip clues, by the way, were in alphabetical rather than ‘random’ order.
Thanks to Kcit for another quality EV puzzle and to twencelas for the very clear blog.
I managed to forget about the setter’s blog for this one, though, on thinking about it, there’s very little to say other than I looked at an ordinary grid and wondered about treating the pairs of words in rows as ‘strips’, and the rest of it was just there. I decided it needed a hidden feature and remembered Joyce Cansfield’s “Yes, I’d cast all off” clue to ECDYSIAST. But the grid itself is just a normal barred puzzle.