Filbert has provided a crossword for this week’s theme day.
I found this to be medium-to-hard in terms of difficulty, yet challenging and entertaining in equal measure.
The way into today’s theme is to be found at 13A, where we learn that some of Tom Hank’s film roles pepper the completed grid: Sam (=entry at 4) Baldwin (11D), from Sleepless in Seattle (1993); (Andrew) Beckett (11A) from Philadelphia (1993); (Sheriff) Woody (1D), from Toy Story 1-4 (1995-2019); Walt Disney (1A) from Saving Mr Banks (2013); Captain (18) Chesley “Sully” (21) Sullenberger from Sully (2016); Colonel (12A) Tom Parker (13) from Elvis (2022); …. One can, of course, complete the puzzle without the need to identify any of these, but tracking them down generated an additional layer of pleasure for me.
My favourite clues today were 3 and 21, for playing on the double meaning of “grounds” and “defile” respectively; 11D, for sheer flair; 12A/13D, for incorporating so much Elvis-related content into the clue; and 14, for smoothness of surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | WALT DISNEY | Studio boss reshaped Steinway lid with one cut
*(STE<i>NWAY LID); “with one (=I) cut” means letter “I” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “reshaped”; the reference is to the American animator and director Walt Disney (1901-66) |
| 08 | LONG-TERM | No good opening new Merlot for ages
NG (=no good) in *(MERLOT); “new” is anagram indicator |
| 09 | HIATUS | American after success takes a break
[A in HIT (=success)] + US (=American) |
| 10 | SYRUPS | Apothecary’s back in Tottenham returning sickly potions
<apothecar>Y (“back” means last letter only) in SRUPS (SPURS=Tottenham, i.e. English football club; “returning” indicates reversal) |
| 11 | BECKETT | Stream Alien and Troy for writer whose plots can lack thrills
BECK (=stream, rivulet) + ET (=alien, extraterrestrial) + T (=Troy, in weight); the reference is to Irish-born writer Samuel Beckett (1906-89), author of e.g. Waiting for Godot, known for its lack of plot |
| 12/13D | COLONEL TOM PARKER | ‘King promoter’ once, all shook up?
*(K (=king, in cards + PROMOTER ONCE ALL); “shook up” is anagram indicator; the reference is to the Dutch-American talent manager (1909-97), best known for being Elvis Presley’s manger, hence “king promoter”; semi- & lit. |
| 13 | THANKS | Acknowledgement of man whose parts are scattered around here
T<om> HANKS (=man whose parts are scattered around here, i.e. US actor Tom Hanks (1956-), some of whose film roles are accommodated in the completed grid) |
| 14 | PISCES | Many stars Greek characters character spots in the audience
PI (=Greek character, i.e. letter of the Greek alphabet) + homophone (“in the audience”) of “sees (=spots, catches sight of)”; Pisces is a constellation, hence “many stars” |
| 16 | WOMBATS | Australian wildlife cut back, out of your tree
WOM (MOW=(to) cut, e.g. grass; “back” indicates reversal) + BATS (=out of your tree, mad) |
| 18 | CAPTAIN | US cop likely to punch murderer
APT (=likely (to do something)) in CAIN (=murderer, of his brother Abel); a captain is a senior police or fire officer in the United States) |
| 20 | ASSIST | Idiot seconds from time essentially steers ball to goalscorer
ASS (=idiot) + <t>I<me> <e>S<sentially> <s>T<eers> (“seconds from” means second letter of each word only is used) |
| 22 | MILLER | Food processor that’s miles worse
M (=miles) + ILLER (=worse); as one who grinds grain into flour, a miller could be described as a “food processor” |
| 23 | LIKEABLE | Attractive plastic bell outside bell outside budget furniture store
IKEA (=budget furniture store) in *(BELL); “plastic” is anagram indicator |
| 24 | PLUM BRANDY | Slivovitz maybe, straight up, then ready for bed
PLUMB (=straight up, vertical) + RANDY (=ready for bed, i.e. sexually aroused) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | WOODY | Gastronome making fine wine, initially tasting of oak?
FOODY (=gastronome, gourmet); “making fine (=F) wine, initially (=W, i.e. the first letter)” means letter “f” is replaced by “w” |
| 02 | LEG-PULL | Bluff English doctor fills quiet time
[E (=English) + GP (=doctor, i.e. General Practitioner)] in LULL (=quiet time, pause) |
| 03 | DRESSINGS | Grounds invaded by Nazis wearing bandages
[SS (=Nazis, i.e. Schutzstaffel) + IN (=wearing)] in DREGS (=grounds, of coffee) |
| 04 | SAM | Weaponised rocket NASA modestly keeps under wraps
Hidden (“keeps under wraps”) in “naSA Modestly”; a SAM is a surface-to-air-missile, hence “weaponised rocket” |
| 05 | ETHIC | Principle by which kitchen’s contents are organised
*(<k>ITCHE<n>); “contents” means middle letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “are organised” |
| 06 | BAUERA | Sound of sheep entertains our ears regularly in Australian bush
<o>U<r> E<a>R<s> (“regularly” means alternate letters only are used) in BAA (=sound of sheep); bauera is an evergreen shrub with pink flowers, found in Australia |
| 07 | OUT-TAKES | Thug whose cap come off uses extra clips
<l>OUT (=thug; “whose cap has come off” means first letter is dropped) + TAKES (=uses, e.g. a drug); out-takes are extra bits of filming that do not make the final cut, hence “extra clips” |
| 11 | BALDWIN | PM a follower of N Armstwong?
The wordplay alludes to the 1969 lunar mission Apollo 11, replicating the replacement of “r” for “w”, i.e. B<uzz> Aldr/win followed N<eil> Armstr/wong!; the reference is to UK PM Stanley Baldwin (1867-1947) |
| 12 | CHIN-CHIN | Children creep home for toast
CH (=children) + INCH (=creep (forward)) + IN (=(at) home) |
| 15 | CUPOLA | Dome-shaped top, going on Pepsi bottles?
UP (=going on, as in What’s up?/What’s going on?) in COLA (=Pepsi) |
| 17 | ABSTAIN | Don’t drink six-pack you shouldn’t have at home
ABS (=six-pack, i.e. muscles) + TA (=you shouldn’t have!, as exclamation) + IN (=(at) home) |
| 19 | APRIL | Cost of borrowing one pound for thirty days
APR (=cost of borrowing, i.e. Annual Percentage Rate) + I (=one) + L (=pound, as in LSD) |
| 21 | SULLY | Small ravine, less grand defile
S (=small, of sizes) + <g>ULLY (=ravine; “less grand (=G)” means letter “g” is dropped); as a verb, to defile is to sully, besmirch |
| 23 | LAM | Batter shelled scallops
<c>LAM<s> (=scallops; “shelled” means external letters are dropped); to lam is to beat, batter |
Apart from civilians Sam, Andrew & Walt T.HANKS has played:
Sheriff WOODY in Toy Story 1-5 (1995-2026 – I’m looking forward to it),
CAPTAINs John H. MILLER in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Richard Phillips in CAPTAIN Phillips (2013), Chesley “SULLY” Sullenberger in Sully (2016),
[Briefly a Commander – Ernest Krause in Greyhound (2020)],
A fourth CAPTAIN – Jefferson Kyle Kidd in News Of The World (also 2020),
And finally, promoted to COLONEL – TOM PARKER in Elvis (2022). COTY: a brilliant anagram, with one of the King’s earworms (1956) to ‘lift and separate’.
Loved it. T.HANKS F&RR
Thanks Filbert and RR.
Liked C T PARKER, ASSIST, LIKEABLE, PLUM BRANDY and BALDWIN.
Thanks both. I was beaten up lightly but enjoyably, with WOODY and BALDWIN unparsed. Quiblet about the equivalence of clams and scallops but a clever entertainment (though the Hanks references escaped me in spite of the hint to look for them).
Frankie, don’t forget Captain Jim Lovell in Apollo 13, as long as we’re listing all his military-rank roles. (NASA didn’t observe military ranks exactly, but he held the rank of captain in the Navy at the time.)
So many great clues in a tribute to the man who seems to vie with Mae West as Crosswordland’s favourite actor. Thanks, both.
Nice puzzle! Chewy, and had me going round the whole grid piecemeal, but it fell into place. I loved CTP although I hadn’t heard of him – an interesting read – but once plenty of checkers were in place to confirm the anagram it couldn’t be anything else. (The anagram fodder took a while to sort out; the trick of mixing abbreviations of words from the surface with whole words always holds me up.) Other faves were ABSTAIN, APRIL, PISCES, ETHIC and CUPOLA. Laughed at LIKEABLE.
I needed the blog for parsing ASSIST – great trick with “seconds from”, and a new one for me. BAUERA was a jorum. Quibble about equating “LONG-TERM with “for ages”; the former is an adjective and the latter, adverbial.
I didn’t help myself by slapping LOP in from scallops, which meant PLUM BRANDY held out until the end, at which point I finally looked up Slivovitz to find out what it was, which pretty much gave the clue away (and led me to fix LAM), which is why I don’t do that unless I’m properly stuck.
I enjoyed solving the theme clue and knew a couple of the roles – but I’d already got those ones in, so I can’t say the theme helped me today. I liked that TOM was placed appropriately in the grid.
THANKS both!
Splash
Oh yes! I wondered why you hadn’t gone for something less random for that spot. Like camera, frinstance.
Thanks Filbert. Despite having just superficial knowledge of Tom Hanks I managed to solve this albeit with some wild guessing. Lots of good clues including WOODY, ETHIC, CHIN-CHIN, ABSTAIN, and APRIL. Thanks RR for the blog.
Well past my bedtime when the blog appeared but I still would like to register my appreciation for this puzzle. More of a Filbert fan than a Hanks fan but the puzzle was perfect. Thanks very muchly.
Yes, quite a late blog so I’ve not caught up with it until now. Too late, now, for much of a comment other than to say it was another very smooth and enjoyable Filbert with a theme I knew to be there even if I did not recognise all the constituent elements.
Thanks both
Another themed entry was BAUERA, or “BAUER, A” referring to Allen Bauer, Tom’s character in Splash
Came late to this today after browsing old puzzles to find something fun, and this was quite something. Bravo, Filbert!