Kruger provides this week’s IQ challenge.
The preamble:
When the 2ac went to the 11 in 16, 25 disturbed 31 the 47: this led to tragedy and the voiced displeasure at 50 (4 words). Every clue contains an extra word of at least five letters that must be removed before solving; the first, middle or last letters of these words (equal numbers of each), in clue order, instruct solvers what to do to the completed grid.
Enumerations in brackets refer to the space available for answers. Ignoring blank cells, the grid contains only real words, proper nouns or phrases at all stages.
The plural form at 22 may be confirmed in Collins.
As usual, having read the preamble, we have no option but to start attempting to solve some clues taking note of the fact that all clues have an extra word and that there will be some empty cells. 10d was our first clue solved, but the solution is only 6 letters in 7 cells, so we couldn’t start to fill the grid without some crossers. 15ac was the next in, followed by 19ac, 7d and 8d.
We gradually worked our way round the grid, and ended up with several clues in the north-west corner and 18d, 38d and 37ac unsolved. We had established that the empty cells are all in 7th row either side of the unclued WA–A-E at 31ac, and were really worried that we had gone wrong somewhere with the unclued 50ac reading EEI-M-E-E- (4 words!). We decided that we had to try to sort out the thematic message created by the unclued entries and concluded that 11d must be ZOO and 47ac is likely to be LION. Bert then dragged a distant memory from his childhood of a poem he had heard on the radio about a child called ALBERT being eaten by a LION at a ZOO. With a little electronic assistance, all was resolved – theme is ‘The Lion and Albert’, a monologue written around 1930 for Stanley Holloway by Marriott Edgar. The RAMSBOTTOMS visit BLACKPOOL ZOO, where ALBERT gets eaten by WALLACE the LION. His mother’s response is ‘EE, I AM VEXED’. Filling in the unclued entries enabled us to finish the missing clues.
Then it was a question of figuring out what we had to do to the grid from the first, last or middle letters of the extra words. This was no mean task, given the multiple choices, but we eventually worked out that the instruction is: CHANGE IT TO SHOW RESULT OF POKING STICK IN ANIMAL’S EAR. In the poem, Albert is eaten because he poked a stick in Wallace’s ear.
After a few abortive attempts to add letters to the six empty cells (‘WAS’ on the left and ‘ATE’ on the right?), we realised that WALLACE had to be split into the empty cells to swallow ALBERT from the row above.
In the parsings below the extra words in the clues are in [grey] and the letters used in the instruction are in GREEN
If you would like to hear Stanley Holloway read the poem click HERE.
| ACROSS | ||||
| No. | Entry | Extra word | ||
| 12 | AECIUM | avoCado |
On counter missing core notes the essence of [avocado] pear’s fruiting body (6)
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| A reversal (‘on counter’) of MU |
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| 15 | AERO | nortH |
Confection from [North] Korean sent back (4)
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| Hidden (‘from’) and reversed (‘sent back’) in kOREAn | ||||
| 17 | TONTO | Another |
Scout’s master to repeatedly note [another] being involved (5)
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| TO TO (‘repeatedly’) round or ‘involving’ N (note) – We had to check this – Scout was the name of TONTO’s horse in ‘The Lone Ranger’ TV series in the 60s | ||||
| 18 | PERN | browN |
A [brown] northern honey buzzard (4)
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| PER (‘a’ – for each) N (northern) | ||||
| 19 | ARTIC | immiGrant |
[Immigrant] about to abandon very cold lorry (5)
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| AR |
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| 20 | OCTAVOS | conservativE |
Beginning to object to retrospective [Conservative] tax described by socialist books (7)
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| O (first letter or ‘beginning’ to object) + a reversal (‘retrospective’) of VAT (tax) in or ‘described by’ SOC (socialist) | ||||
| 21 | PALIEST | notIced |
[Noticed] unusual petal is no longer whiter than any other (7)
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| An anagram (‘unusual’) of PETAL IS | ||||
| 23 | NYES | recTory |
Disused nests close to [rectory] garden? Indeed (4)
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| N (last letter or ‘close’ to garden) YES (indeed) | ||||
| 27 | AS TO | lusTily |
Regarding Nancy [lustily], perhaps abruptly (4, 2 words)
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| ASTO |
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| 35 | AMBER | Outlandish |
Room dropping [outlandish] chestnut for yellow-brown (5)
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| 37 | YARD | Stirling |
One-time emblem of authority in [Stirling] workplace (4)
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| We’re not totally convinced that this is correct: a double definition? ‘The Yard’ being Scotland Yard, ‘one-time emblem of authority’? | ||||
| 39 | AVERT | rougH |
Ward off a very [rough] short assault, finally (5)
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| A VER |
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| 41 | DOLE | Obvious |
Dealing out [obvious] pain no longer (4)
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| Double definition | ||||
| 42 | COW GUM | Willing |
Bond, with this trying situation for Bruce in CIA, [willing] to deceive (6, 2 words)
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| COW (Australian word for a trying situation – as used by Bruce?) GUM (US slang for ‘deceive’ – as used by the CIA?) | ||||
| 45 | ENOS | Rival’s |
Grandchild of Adam broke [rival’s] nose (4)
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| An anagram (‘broke’) of NOSE | ||||
| 46 | DRIP | forEign |
Daughter in LA to severely criticise weak [foreign] individual (4)
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| D (daughter) RIP (US word for ‘severely criticise’ – as used in LA?) | ||||
| 48 | LAG-END | momentouS |
Playwright’s [momentous] long-delayed finale – very famous European now acting (6)
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| L |
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| 49 | DUSTS | United’s |
Cleans [United’s] sullied studs (5)
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| An anagram (‘sullied’) of STUDS | ||||
| DOWN | ||||
| No. | Entry | Extra word | ||
| 1 | BABOON | awfuL |
Favour imprisoning [awful] sailor (uncouth person) (6)
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| BOON (favour) round or ‘imprisoning’ AB (sailor) | ||||
| 2 | RELIC | builT |
Personal memorial of high priest [built] in Taiwan (5)
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| ELI (high Priest) in RC (IVR for Taiwan) | ||||
| 3 | MICRA | Operational |
Current corps in army mostly formed small [operational] units (5)
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| I (current) C (corps) in an anagram (‘formed’) of ARM |
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| 4 | SUKH | pitiFully |
Marketplace in Hong Kong ([pitifully] unserviceable) erected (4)
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| A reversal (‘erected’) of HK (Hong Kong) US (unserviceable) | ||||
| 5 | OBOES | Performing |
Instruments former [performing] pupil regularly covets (5)
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| OB (old boy – ‘former pupil’) + alternate or ‘regular’ letters of |
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| 6 | THORPE | Originally |
The poor half-heartedly worked [originally] in old village (6)
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| An anagram (‘worked’) of THE PO |
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| 7 | OCTAL | taKen |
Numbering system [taken] to lack 1000 – unwanted, bizarrely (5)
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| An anagram (‘bizarrely’) of TO LAC |
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| 8 | MAORI | conceIvably |
Native of Oklahoma (or [conceivably] Indiana) (5)
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| Hidden in OklahoMA OR Indiana | ||||
| 9 | SENTE | cubaN |
Dispatched first of [Cuban] exported sugar to Lesotho (5)
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| SENT (dispatched) E (first letter of exported) – ‘sugar’ is apparently a slang term for money – we’d never come across this before in decades of cruciverbalism! | ||||
| 10 | ARTIST | jamminG |
Musician of eccentric [jamming] traits (7)
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| An anagram (‘eccentric’) of TRAITS | ||||
| 13 | CARTE | Science |
Carry entry to [science] exhibition ticket (6)
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| CART (carry) E (first letter or ‘entrance’ to exhibition) | ||||
| 14 | ULNAR | pracTical |
Starts to utilise latest [practical] NASA aircraft research on part of wing (5)
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| First letters or ‘starts’ to Utilise Latest NASA Aircraft Research | ||||
| 18 | POLLY | lyIng |
Bird [lying] in spring water (5)
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| Double definition – we had to check the second! | ||||
| 22 | TOOTSES | erotiC |
Jock’s show of impatience when hugging last of numerous [erotic] English sweethearts in Birmingham (7)
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| TOOTS (Scots term for a show of impatience) round or ‘hugging’ S (last letter of numerous) E (English) – an Americanism – the ‘Birmingham’ in the definition must be in the USA | ||||
| 24 | SWEEPER | Kilmarnock |
Defensive player ([Kilmarnock] reserve) upset – about to cry (7)
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| A reversal (‘upset’) of RES (reserve) round WEEP (cry) | ||||
| 26 | TEAMED | anxIous |
Being harnessed together made mare and [anxious] colt both, in the end, unsettled (6)
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| An anagram (‘unsettled’) of MADE with E and T (last or ‘end’ letters in mare and colt) | ||||
| 28 | SENDS | strickeN |
Sounds of waves die aboard [stricken] ship (6)
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| END (die) in or ‘aboard’ SS (ship). We had to check the definition. | ||||
| 29 | ADDLE | certAinly |
Muddled son [certainly] lost in mountain pass (6)
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| 30 | MORAL | latiN |
[Latin] exam after noon’s a certainty for Sheila (6)
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| ORAL (exam) after M (meridiem – noon) – an Australian slang term | ||||
| 32 | ARCANE | UkraInian |
Mysterious adult [Ukrainian] crane is agitated (6)
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| A (adult) + an anagram (‘agitated’) of CRANE | ||||
| 33 | ARGOT | Mutineer |
Traditionally famous [mutineer] sailor disregarding Nauru’s particular language (5)
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| ARGO |
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| 34 | VENUE | extrA |
[Extra] income not concerned with location of concert (6)
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| 36 | BLIGH | Latest |
Naval officer’s [latest] setback interminable (5)
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| BLIGH |
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| 38 | DUNAM | farmer‘S |
Turned over wet, soft earth covering middle of [farmer’s] land (900m2 or so) in ancient Turkey (5)
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| A reversal (‘turned over’) of MUD (wet, soft earth) round or ‘covering’ |
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| 40 | ROUTE | chiEfly |
Marching orders to be firmly established – [chiefly] by word of mouth (5)
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| A homophone (‘by word of mouth’) of ROOT (to be firmly established) | ||||
| 43 | OLDE | Auctioneer |
Unconventional antique tool edger [auctioneer] oddly misplaced (4)
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| 44 | WI-FI | furtheR |
Means to send [further] information from spouse mainly to India (4)
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| WIF |
Another thoroughly enjoyable IQ — many thanks to Kruger and Bertandjoyce. I confess to losing track of the hidden-message wording halfway through, but CHANGE IT TO SHOW RESULT OF was a sufficient hint that I eventually realized the need to open up WALLACE without bothering to work out the rest!
That verse was familiar from a very long time ago: I saw it in a book when I was a small child. Oddly enough, the (illustrated) version I found online had “Eeh, I am vexed” with an extra H, but never mind.
37A: in my Chambers, YARD(1) definitions include “a rod of authority”. Which was a surprise to me too.
I’m familiar with Stanley Holloway’s monologues, and got the theme rapidly once LION emerged and ZOO looked likely (anyone concerned about Albert’s fate need not worry; as revealed in the Return of Albert, which is crisper and funnier, he does not stay swallowed for long, and then regularly reappears, usually accompanied by the stick with the ‘orse’s ‘ead ‘andle). I had a brief flicker when the first transcribed version of the monologue I looked up had “Well I am vexed”, but “ee” is obviously more faithful to the original. Thanks to bertandjoyce for elucidating TONTO, where I’d assumed the Lone Ranger was the scout and got confused about the relationships, and to Kruger for a clever puzzle.
A fun puzzle, in which decoding the trios was probably the hardest work (or at least, the thing that felt like work); I went wrong and thought we were trying to work out how to put a stick into one of the two ears given to Wallace in the finished grid. Naturally, I failed. Thanks to Kruger and Bertandjoyce for giving the elegant conclusion.
Hmm, a bit lacklustre for me, this one. I did get the theme, from working out or guessing at some of the thematic words and then googling, which led me to the poem. Fortunately I was able to deduce the endgame from knowing where the empty cells were and what Albert’s fate was, so I avoided having to struggle with piecing together the message.
However, I had a dozen clues still unsolved, a poor showing for me, and from the blog it’s clear that some of those I simply wouldn’t have got, in particular YARD and COW GUM. Ah well.
Thanks to Kruger nonetheless for the puzzle and to B&J for the informative blog!
My grandmother used to teach elocution and sight-reading using the Marriott Edgar monologues so this was very familiar. I don’t share the view that ‘The Return of Albert’ is better, despite the splendid last line: ‘Go see what the tigers can do’ (or similar). If you want to reacquaint yourself with the Ramsbottoms at their finest, I’d recommend ‘Runcorn Ferry’.
A nice gridfill particularly once I figured out the Ramsbottoms were going to the ZOO not the LOO…and a fun story too, despite the rather excessive number of grammatical errors.
I then figured out the endgame quite quickly (despite having entered ARGOL not ARGOT), but trying to decipher the message took a very long time. May I suggest to future setters that a choice of two letters (say beginning or end) is acceptable, but a choice of three is too many especially if we are looking for something that could be expressed in any number of ways.
Thank you to Kruger for the challenge and to B&J for the blog and clearing up the remaining clues.
Definitely a switchback experience for me. I found the gridfill pretty easy initially and soon had enough to suggest ZOOand LION. I wondered if 25a could be ROBERT but then I got 18d, providing an L. So how about ALBERT???. The penny dropped as I remembered SH’s monologue from my childhood and I was able to complete all the thematic entries in a flash. Then the problems arose as I struggled with many of the remaining clues. 38D had to be DUNAM from the wordplay but it was not confirmed by any of my dictionaries and I was determined that this IQ was to be solved without use of the internet. I eventually parsed 42a but was unable to parse 1a. Finally as already observed, cracking the message was an uphill job. I had forgotten where the stick was poked, so my message ended with …POKING STICK IS ANIMAL MEAT, which the letters do allow, but I am sure B&J are right.
So, my final grid, with the middle row amendments, was 100% correct, even though my getting there was not.
Thanks to Kruger for a challenging but entertaining puzzle and to B&J for the detailed blog.
Top half was quite bare but once I had LION and saw that ALBERT would fit, the theme soon dawned on me. My only hesitation came at the very end when, having opened up WALL-ACE then dropped ALBERT into the gap, I was left with LALBERT across the middle – not in any dictionary of mine. Google to the rescue: it’s a small town in Victoria, Australia, with a population of 151 at the 2016 census.
My thanks go to David Langford @1 for YARD (I had the same as B&J suggested), and to blogger & setter – but honestly, the palaver of sorting out first, last, or middle letters was rather tedious to say the least; I’m with arnold @6 on this point.
A puzzle of two halves — I spotted the theme surprisingly early (the ditty being a favourite from my Lancastrian childhood) and once the grid was filled the blank cells made it quite obvious to me what the endgame actually was, and that was nicely satisfying… but deciphering the hidden message to confirm the endgame instruction was such a slog! I echo the comments of others that this ‘pick one of three letters’ device was a step too far.
Still, up until that point it was great fun so thanks Kruger, and Bertandjoyce.
I think I’m correct in saying first eight of the candidate letters could have spelt ONTOGENY. I spotted that and assumed there was no possible way that it could be a coincidence. Which of course scuppered any chance I had of completing the endgame.