Kcit is calling for ORDER, ORDER in the EV House…we EV solvers can be an unruly lot sometimes…
The preamble states that:
“Clues are given in the correct ORDER, but there are eight unclued entries. In the initially completed grid, two of these are out of ORDER, and must be swapped, retaining real words in the grid. In eight clues there is a redundant exemplary word; the initials of these words in clue order provide a hint to the rule behind the order. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; the answer to the obelised clue is in Collins.”
So we have a jigsaw with un-enumerated clues and eight unclueds to fit in. Nothing to do but press on with some cold solving, and see what transpires. But first, I did my usual jigsaw annotation around the grid, indicating the length of each light nearest the beginning/end of each row/column…so row 1 was 7 on the left, 5 on the right, and so on. I find this helps later on when trying to fit solutions in, and not having to re-count lights each time.
The second clue looked like AR(A)GON, so was probably one of those 5s near the top; similarly LIAR had three 4s near the top of the grid as possibles; then not much happened until ACRES and EGEST about a third of the way through, but there were lots of 5-cell slots, so they weren’t much help!
The first PDM (of several) came with CARNIVORA – one of only two 9s, and probably the first one (in normal clue order), given how many clues there were left after it.
That would mean the top right word starting with a C, so ARGON on the second row…and one of the top row must be unclued. The first A of CARNIVORA would then possibly cross the A of LIAR…and so on. Things gradually started to take shape with CAUSA meaning that the top left word would be unclued. Then ARSON and APEXES would probably hang off the As of CAUSA…
Given how disproportionately early CARNIVORA came in the clues, I started to wonder if all the unclueds might be Across entries, but it still took a while to make reasonable traction in the grid, although getting LEAVISITE and HEVESY helped quite a lot!
Once the top half of the grid started to fill up it became clear that SIZE and AGE must be unclued, and were fully checked. (And at this point I realised that the grid was not fully symmetrical – presumably sacrificed in the interest of getting thematic material in.) The top left had to be PURPOSE and bottom right looked like OPINION – both 7 letters and possible candidates for swapping, confirmed by writing them in above/below their counterpart and seeing that lots of proper words were retained.
But at this point I couldn’t make any link between OPINION, PURPOSE, SIZE, AGE, COLOUR…or make head-nor-tail of the initial letters of the redundant words – OSASC??P – and a little e-research was needed. It turns out there is a rule (OSASCOMP) defining the order of multiple adjectives before a noun, namely:
- OPINION (overrated)
- SIZE (substantial)
- AGE (ancient)
- SHAPE (square)
- COLOUR (crimson)
- ORIGIN (Omani)
- MATERIAL (metallic)
- PURPOSE (prehensile)
So, for example, you wouldn’t say your blogger was an ‘old (age) silly (opinion) fool’ – you would say he was a ‘silly old fool’, as any fule no!
I certainly don’t remember learning this at skool, but that was an awful (opinion) long (age) time ago, but it must be something that osmoses into our psyche over the years, as both of those phrases just don’t sound right if the OSASCOMP rules are not followed.
I would venture to say that this felt like it was towards the gentler end of the Kcit spectrum, but the jigsaw, lack of enumeration and initial uncertainty over unclued entries meant it certainly wasn’t an easy solve! The grid construction was impressive – with the swapped words leaving real words in all cases. And of course, it was educational, as I will not be able to forget the OSASCOMP ORDER in a hurry! And I also learned a few new words – HEVESY, KRUPP, LEAVISITE, VINA, SHEN and HARDBAG have (at least temporarily) expanded my vocabulary/GK…
It only remains to thank Kcit for said education and enjoyable diversion, and I trust all is clear below.
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Redundant Word | Solution / Entry | Clue (definition underlined, redundant word in bold)
Logic/Parsing |
|
| * | OVERRATED
(OPINION) |
CAUSA | Legal motive in California and its overrated country
CA (California) + USA (it’s country!) |
|
| * | ARGON | Noble stuff interior area denied to part of Spain
AR( [Argon being a noble gas] |
||
| * | LIAR | Story-teller in bar returned
LIAR (storyteller) = RAIL (bar), reversed, or returned |
||
| * | TASS | Cup ties are sometimes suspended at the start
initial letters, i.e. at the start, of ‘Ties Are Sometimes Suspended’ |
||
| * | LEIDEN | Academy replaced by Institute in depressing Dutch city
LE( |
||
| * | ONYX | Line extracted from single by one of the Stones?
ON( |
||
| * | REES | More than one bird departs from marsh plants
REE( |
||
| * | SPIN | Determination to reduce manipulation of information
SPIN( |
||
| * | HEVESY | Hungarian chemist – that chap with vanadium (yes, molten)
HE (that chap) + V (very) + ESY (anag, i.e. molten, of YES) [George Charles de Hevesy, Hungarian radiochemist and Nobel laureate] |
||
| * | AVALE | Poet’s alight – a verse, and beer
A + V (verse) + ALE (beer) |
||
| * | SUBSTANTIAL
(SIZE) |
KRUPP | Arms manufacturer‘s pressure, substantial pressure, applied to African seafarer
KRU (Liberian seafarer) + PP (pressure, *2) [Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, German arms manufacturer] |
|
| * | ACRES | Top performers around Republican estates
AC_ES (top performers) around R (Republican) |
||
| * | OBITAL | Marking death, of course, with Rector passing
O( |
||
| * | REHASH | Spots mobbing return of ambassador offering new arrangement
R_ASH (spots) around (mobbing) EH (HE, His or Her Excellency, ambasador, returned) |
||
| * | ANCIENT
(AGE) |
EGEST | Discharge for ancient one is occurring in Paris
EG (e.g, for one) + EST (is, French, so occurring in Paris!) |
|
| * | PATERS | Secretary, brusque, cut off fathers
PA (Personal Assistant, secretary) + TERS( |
||
| * | URATE | One uncertain about egg failing to open salt
( |
||
| * | POSES | Suggests a lot of verse about Society
PO_ES( |
||
| * | SQUARE
(SHAPE) |
ONLINE | Against situation involving square number, checking website?
ON (against) + LI_E (situation, as in the lie of a golf ball) around N (number) |
|
| * | SLID | Moved smoothly? Moved smoothly, but not there
SL( |
||
| * | EINE | Old Observers? Online publication ditching unknown number
E( [eine being archaic/obsolete, or old, for eyes, or observers] |
||
| * | CRIMSON
(COLOUR) |
CARNIVORA | Crimson car or van I redesigned for dogs, cats, etc
anag, i.e. redesigned, of CAR OR VAN I |
|
| * | OMANI
(ORIGIN) |
ARSON | Omani native supporting a King’s crime
A + R (rex, king) + SON (native) [‘supporting’ gives a hint that this is a Down entry] |
|
| * | SYZYGY | Subtly zany gallery gutted opposition
outer letters, i.e. inner letters ‘gutted’, of SubtlY ZanY GallerY’ |
||
| * | APEXES | Copy relations when going up summits
APE (copy) + XES (sex, relations, going up) [‘going up’ again implies a Down entry] |
||
| * | VINA | Pointless moving alto instrument in India
V( |
||
| * | LEAVISITE | Permission to adopt one position regarding some literary criticism
LEAV_E (permission) around (adopting) I (one) + SIT (position) |
||
| * | SHEN | Hands-on therapy – rarely beautiful, and heartless
SH( |
||
| * | METALLIC
(MATERIAL) |
PECK | Metallic fragment, not small, in pitch
( |
|
| * | HARDBAG | Difficult to secure 1990s dance music +
HARD (difficult) + BAG (secure) [the ‘obelised’ clue – obscure 90s music reference!] |
||
| * | SOPRANI | Concession operated with support of international singers
SOP (concession) + RAN (operated) + I (international) [again, ‘with support of’ suggests a Down entry] |
||
| * | GO HOME | Climbing pig mostly threatening sign? Get back (two words)
GO_H (hog, pig, climbing) + OME( [climbing, another Down hint!] |
||
| * | AGATES | Stones are special, welcoming crowd
A (are, metric unit of land measure) + S (special), around GATE (crowd, attendance, usually at a sporting event) |
||
| * | RUSHEN | The woman participating in course no longer using marsh plants
RU_N (course) around SHE (the woman) [rushen being archaic, so ‘no longer’ for ‘made of rushes’] |
||
| * | PESTO | Son being embraced by dearest love leads to something saucy
PE_T (dearest) around (embracing) S (son), plus O (zero, love, score in e.g. tennis) |
||
| * | WART | Person disliked craftiness in pursuit of women
W (women) before (pursuing) ART (craftiness) [‘wart’ being an abusive term for a disliked person] |
||
| * | CLIO | Leader in Canberra upheld Australian news as source of inspiration
C (leading letter of Canberra) + LIO (oil, usually with good, Australian slang for news, upheld) [Clio being the Muse of history, so source of inspiration; upheld, another Down hint!] |
||
| * | FRAP | Fortepiano securing artist hit in some regions
F_P (fortepiano, musical instruction) around (securing) RA (Royal Academician, artist) [‘frap’ being dialect, so in some regions, for to strike, or hit] |
||
| * | PREHENSILE
(PURPOSE) |
CHIN | Feature, prehensile tail of mouse, missing from part of spine
CHIN( |
|
And, as always, there’s a setter’s blog: https://phionline.net.nz/setters-blogs/order-order/