Enigmatic Variations No. 1679: No Introduction by Gaston

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Gaston says that this puzzle ‘requires NO INTRODUCTION’, so I won’t write one…

The preamble states that:

“The puzzle requires NO INTRODUCTION. Six thematic nouns (one hyphenated) are hidden in the completed grid; unclued entries give four thematically connected adjectives. Five of the former and one of the latter (37 cells in total) must be highlighted to give a pictorial representation of the theme. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”

Sounds like quite a lot going on…time for some solving to see what transpires.

After a few passes, the grid started to fill up nicely, and a few crossers started to go in on those unclued entries. The two crossing lower ones were shaping up to be SUNLESS and SACRED, and after a while I was fairly confident of MEASURELESS and STATELY for the others. So far, so good, and in more erudite solvers’ brains, these might have rumbled the theme already?

As far as the hidden nouns were concerned, I could make out a RIVER and a CAVERN, but still no flashing lightbulb over my head!

And, after a bit more searching, I have to confess to Wiki-oogling the thematic material to find Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Kubla Khan’ (1816):

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea…

(Poem © Out of copyright)

(So technically the puzzle DOES need an introduction, as the theme is the introductory passage of that work! But it doesn’t need the very first line…)

And with a bit of final searching and colouring in I ended up with something hopefully close to what the setter is asking for:

 

(Not sure I’ve completely got it right with the colouring, but hopefully you get the picture!)

I also have to confess that as I read it I tend to have the Frankie Goes to Hollywood version in my head….‘In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a pleasure dome e-rect…’ etc. from ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’.

But enough of my lack of literary knowledge! My thanks to Gaston for a fun and educational challenge – exactly what an EV puzzle should be – and I trust all is clear below.

 

Across
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/Parsing
9 LAGAN Plant almost concealing silver items left on seabed (5)

L_AN(D) (plant – one’s feet, settle, almost) around (concealing) AG (argentum, silver)
10 HARDGOT Mad dog tucking into deer seized with difficulty (7)

HAR_T (deer) around (tucking in) DGO (anag, i.e. mad, of dog)
11 ARET Entrust to Ed selection of rare texts (4)

hidden word in, i.e. selection of, ‘rARE Texts’
13 SOCA Note about Caribbean music (4)

SO (note, in sol-fa notation) + CA (circa, about)
14 ALSO Further allusion occasionally (4)

occasional letters of ‘AlLuSiOn’
15 IMPORT Gaston’s left load (6)

IM (I am, from Gaston’s point of view) + PORT (nautical, left)
16 PET Favourite sulks (3)

double defn. – a PET could be one’s favourite; and a PET can be a fit of sulks
17 LEHR Oven is regularly elsewhere (4)

regular letters of ‘eLsEwHeRe’
18 VIAE Classical ways of life in Rome? Timeless! (4)

VI(T)AE – of life, Latin, so in Rome, without T – time-less!)
19 BACTERISES With strain, treats graduate and others returning with bigger salaries (10)

BA (graduate) + CTE (etc, and others, returning) + RISES (bigger salaries)
22 HESITANTLY Reluctantly that guy’s immediately losing partners (10)

HES (he’s, that guy is…) + I(NS)TANTLY (immediately, losing N and S, bridge partners!)
24 SAIC Agency’s recalled vessel (4)

CIAS (CIA, agency, with S. contracted ‘s, recalled, or reversed) = SAIC
25 AVER Positively declare it’s mean dismissing generation (4)

AVER(AGE) – average, or mean, dismissing AGE, or generation)
28 SPA Having no issue with a bath (3)

SP (sine prole, Latin, without issue, or children) + A
31 CICERO Type smaller than English orator… (6)

double defn – CICERO is a printing typesize that is smaller than ‘English’ and bigger than ‘pica’; and CICERO was an orator
32 ET AL … and others retiring recently (4, two words)

LATE – recently – retiring to give ET AL
33 AFAR Endless hunting expedition a long way away (4)

(S)AFAR(I) – endless safari, or hunting expedition
34 LOLA Lots of love accepted for Charlie’s TV sister (4)

LOL (txt spk for ‘lots of love’) + A (accepted)
35 SEAMY Erotic removing trousers initially? Sordid! (5)

S(T)EAMY – erotic, removing T (initial letter of Trousers)
36 SLENDERIZES Maybe Shylock, in Measure and Measure, becomes thinner (11)

S_IZE (measure) around LENDER (Shylock, Shakespearean money-lender), plus S (small, clothing size)
Down
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/Parsing
1 ALAAP A record including rock music from India (5)

A + L_P (long-playing record) around (including) AA (volcanic rock)
2 MARLE Contracted Bob, perhaps, to wonder no longer (5)

MARLE(Y) – Bob Marley, perhaps, truncated by a letter
3 EGEST American soldier leaving most unpleasant smelling discharge (5)

EG(GI)EST – most unpleasant smelling), without (leaving out) GI (American soldier)
4 SNAIL Sons fix slowcoach (5)

S (sons) + NAIL (fix)
5 RALPH Possibly Lauren is one causing chaos in printing house (5)

double defn. – RALPH Lauren is an example of people called Ralph; and a RALPH can be a printer’s gremlin
6 ERRORS Top fears: making mistakes (6)

(T)ERRORS – fears, topped, or removing top letter (for a Down clue)
7 EGOTIST Self-important type, say, to sit around (7)

EG (for example, say) + OTIST (anag, i.e. around, of TO SIT)
8 SOCMAN Former tenant from Sweden caught entering country (6)

S (Sweden) + O_MAN (country) around (entered by) C (caught, cricket notation)
10 HOMER Poet‘s measure? (5)

double defn – HOMER was a poet; and a HOMER is a Hebrew measure of capacity
12 TOLTEC Time in France set up for old Mexican (6)

CET (Central European Time, time in France) + LOT (set), all ‘up’ to give TOLTEC
18 VENNEL Herb fellow replaced by very Scottish lane (6)

(F)ENNEL – herb, replacing F (fellow) with V (very) = VENNEL
19 BUS PASS Vitality raised in kiss is benefit for OAP (7, two words)

BUS_S (kiss) around PAS (sap, or vitality, raised)
20 CHICANE Deceive elderly smart one in Perth (7)

CHIC (smart) + ANE (one, Scottish, i.e. in Perth)
21 BAGFUL Girlfriend enters British carrier with case of unusual container capacity (6)

BA (British carrier, or airline) + UL (case, or outer letters of UnusuaL), around GF (girl friend)
23 TERAS Drinks snaring Republican monstrosity (5)

TE_AS (drinks) around (snaring) R (Republican)
26 VERSE Division of chapter is against ancient language (5)

V (versus, against) + ERSE (ancient language)
27 ROSSI Diana maybe has one for Valentino? (5)

ROSS (Diana Ross, an example of a Diana) + I (one)

[Valentino Rossi, Italian MotoGP rider]
28 STOAE Food served up around old colonnades (5)

ST_AE (eats, or food, served up) around O (old)
29 PALMS Hides trees (5)

double defn, – to PALM something can be to steal, or hide, it; and a PALM can be a tree
30 ALAYS When entertaining song calms down earlier (5)

A_S (as, when) around (entertaining) LAY (song)

3 comments on “Enigmatic Variations No. 1679: No Introduction by Gaston”

  1. Thank you for the challenge, Gaston. And thank you ever so much for the blog, mc_rapper67.
    I wasn’t sure either of my colouring. But since we had to choose 5 nouns and 1 adjective for a total of 37 cells, my choice was to highlight PLEASURE-DOME, CAVERNS, SUNLESS SEA, ALPH and RIVER (leaving out, beside measureless and stately, MAN and SACRED – for me, sacred was doing double duty, as river was already flowing down into sunless sea).
    I would be delighted if anyone could prove me wrong (or right) after reading the official solution (which I won’t get to see myself as I don’t get the newspaper version).

  2. A brilliant puzzle. Manu, yes you highlighted the correct items. I was familiar with the work, and once I saw “sacred”, I was there. Thank you Gaston, and Mc_rapper for the beautiful illustration.

  3. Thanks for the comments, Manu and jigjag – much appreciated as usual…

    The published solution was as you surmised, Manu – so I shouldn’t really have highlighted SACRED and MAN in the final grid above – not sure what I did with my submitted entry, but someone called John Tyler was the lucky winner this week, so it is academic!

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