This remarkable workout from Gaff bears the epigraph “A birthday puzzle” . . .
. . . referring to the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, on December 16, 1775. I was getting nowhere fast on solving this until I spotted the theme, and then I more or less started working backwards from the titles. There are several quite tricky clues that I am not sure I would have been able to solve otherwise.
The grid manages to work in references to five of the major novels, plus I would count “SENSE + ABILITIES” as a stand-in for Sense and Sensibility. I am not particularly knowledgeable about Jane Austen, but I would consider some other solutions as possibly intended to be thematic, such as POST, CARDS, NEEDLE/POINT, MARMALADE, and SATIRISED. There may well be more.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | MANSFIELD |
Race’s competitors’ old sex symbol (9)
|
| MAN’S (race’s, i.e., the human race) + FIELD (competitors), referring to Jayne Mansfield | ||
| 6 | ENSUE |
Directions to appeal result (5)
|
| {E + N} (directions) + SUE (appeal) | ||
| 10 | CHIPMUNKS |
Blocks out one afternoon for squirrels (9)
|
| CHUNKS (blocks) around (out) {I (one) + PM (afternoon)} | ||
| 11 | ACHIEVABLE |
Can be done by a head with no tail. Very clever! (10)
|
| A + CHIE[F] (head) minus last letter (with no tail) + V (very) + ABLE (clever) | ||
| 12 | MEOW |
Echo cut out cat-call (4)
|
| MOW (cut) around (out) E (echo) | ||
| 14 | PRIDE |
Lions that come in a summer? (5)
|
| Double/cryptic definition, the first referring to a group of lions, and the second referring to the expression “Pride comes before a fall,” punning on the two meanings of “fall” | ||
| 15 | MARMALADE |
Disorder made alarm spread (9)
|
| Anagram of (disorder) MADE ALARM | ||
| 17 | END POINTS |
Start and finish of Final Score (3,6)
|
| END (final) + POINTS (score), with a capitalization misdirection | ||
| 20 | KNIFE |
Cut held back by chef in kitchen (5)
|
| Hidden in (held . . . by) [CH]EF IN K[ITCHEN] reversed (back) | ||
| 21 | UTAH |
State you got extra cash tips (4)
|
| U (you) + last letters of (tips [of]) [GO]T + [EXTR]A + [CAS]H | ||
| 23 | PERSUASION |
Rue passion that’s mistaken for seduction (10)
|
| Anagram of (that’s mistaken) RUE PASSION | ||
| 26 | IMBROGLIO |
Fight grease and pass right weight test in retirement (9)
|
| {OIL (grease) + GO (pass) + R (right) + BMI (weight test, i.e., body mass index)} all reversed (in retirement) | ||
| 27 | GRIMM |
Dark Materials’ original author (5)
|
| GRIM (dark) + first letter of (original [of]) M[ATERIALS], with a capitalization misdirection, and referring to either of the brothers Jacob or Wilhelm Grimm | ||
| 28 | EGYPT |
Say axis of empty planet’s in place (5)
|
| E.G. (say) + Y ([Cartesian] axis) + outside letters of (empty) P[LANE]T | ||
| 29 | SATIRISED |
Took off ruined Haiti dress without second thought (9)
|
| Anagram of (ruined) {[H]AITI DRESS minus (without) second [letter of] [T]H[OUGHT]} | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | MOCHA |
Time for tea or coffee (5)
|
| MO (time) + CHA (tea) | ||
| 2 | NORTH WIND |
Drown in the endless suffering of bitter blow (5,4)
|
| Anagram of (suffering) {DROWN + IN + TH[E] minus last letter (endless)} | ||
| 3 | FASTENED ON |
Attached quickly with one end loose (8,2)
|
| FAST (quickly) + anagram of (loose) {ONE END} | ||
| 4 | EXCLAIM |
Shout demand for alimony perhaps (7)
|
| Jocularly EX-CLAIM (demand for alimony perhaps, i.e., a claim made by one’s ex) | ||
| 5 | DAIMLER |
Crashed red mail truck (7)
|
| Anagram of (crashed) RED MAIL | ||
| 6 | EMMA |
Girl lifted lid off problem (4)
|
| [DIL]EMMA (problem) minus (off) LID inverted (lifted) | ||
| 7 | SENSE |
Maybe common sight perhaps (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | ELSEWHERE |
The Spanish stitch woman’s loose end in a different place (9)
|
| EL (the [in] Spanish) + SEW (stitch) + HER (woman’s) + last letter of (end [of]) [LOOS]E | ||
| 13 | PARK RANGER |
Boat called by outside conservation worker (4,6)
|
| PER (by) outside {ARK (boat) + RANG (called)} | ||
| 14 | PREJUDICE |
Odd pureéd [sic] extract containing last word in poison (9)
|
| Odd [letters of] P[U]R[E]E[D] + {JUICE (extract) around (containing) last [letter of] [WOR]D}. This whole clue might also be read as &lit, I think. | ||
| 16 | ABILITIES |
Disease doesn’t begin to describe the core of politics’ powers (9)
|
| [R]ABIES (disease) minus first letter (doesn’t begin) around (to describe) central letters of (the core of) [PO]LITI[CS] | ||
| 18 | NEEDLES |
Points at badgers (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | SUSS OUT |
Discover America’s going in one direction shortly (4,3)
|
| US’S (America’s) inside (going in) SOUT[H] (one direction) minus last letter (shortly) | ||
| 22 | ABBEY |
A British governor for where they keep order (5)
|
| A + B (British) + BEY ([Turkish] governor), i.e., a monastic order | ||
| 24 | NOMAD |
Hill racer turns into rambler (5)
|
| DAMON (Hill racer, i.e., Damon Hill, a former racing driver) inverted (turns) | ||
| 25/9 | POSTCARDS |
Pictured messages after daughter stuck in traffic (9)
|
| POST (after) + {D (daughter) inside (stuck in) CARS (traffic)} |
Very enjoyable and I also found the theme helpful for several clues.
Liked marmalade, elsewhere, abbey: no real moans.
Well set and blogged, thanks both.
I often find Gaff’s themed puzzles a bit contrived and laborious. But, today I agree with James P and I enjoyed this puzzle.
I also agree with our blogger that there were some very tricky clues. I got the theme from the internet (where I discovered the birthdays of Beethoven and Austen are today). That certainly helped, but there was still a degree of solving then parsing, which seems par for the course with this setter. GRIMM was my favourite clue.
Thanks for the puzzle, Gaff, and thanks for an excellent blog Cineraria
Love the theme.
Theme wasted on me — again.
The Turkish governor was unknown. I don’t understand sue/appeal.
Enjoyable, and a good level of difficulty.
GDU@4: Both “sue” and “appeal” can mean “to ask (earnestly),” as in “sue for peace” and “appeal for calm.”
Comment #6
For once the theme came to light in time to solve the otherwise very tricksy “prejudice” and it also pointed me to “abbey” with a bit of a forehead slapping moment over the word “order”. No “Sanditon” or “Lady Susan” hidden in the grid, alas.
I find that Gaff can be a little loose with wordplay (many would take issue with “last word” for “d” for example, and there are occasional link words which are needed for the surface only) but that is just part of his style and it is great that there is variety in setting. This, for me, was a fun solve where the SW held out for some considerable time but everything was fair. Thanks Cineraria for unpicking the parsing, and Gaff for the puzzle and tribute.
Happy birthday, Jane!
A very enjoyable puzzle made much more ‘achievable’ by the winning theme.
Thanks to Gaff and Cineraria.
Thanks, Cineraria@5. I didn’t know that.
Enjoyed the puzzle. Excellent blog.
My top picks: ACHIEVABLE and PARK RANGER.
MOCHA
Time for tea: ‘for’ seems redundant for the WP (noted what JOFT@7 said).
PRIDE
Does the cryptic grammar work?
that come…
PREJUDICE
Didn’t see it as an &lit.
Thanks Gaff and Cineraria.