Inquisitor 1947: Four-letter Word by Cranberry

It’s Valentine’s Day and we have a Cranberry IQ to solve.

The preamble: The two unclued entries give a thematic artist. Middle letters, or letter-pairs, from single extra words in each clue provide instructions. 46 may be verified online.

We’re standing for Kenmac this week, and after Bungo’s IQ, the previous week, we were grateful for the fact that the clues were ‘normal’ (albeit with an extra word in each), they were numbered and the answers were the same length as the space available in the grid!

We made steady progress across the top half of the grid (7d, 6ac, 13ac and 6d being our first ones in), had a bit of a hold-up making connections to the bottom half, before ending up with five or six clues unsolved, but enough to establish the thematic artist (with some electronic assistance) and most of the instruction.

Having figured out the last few clues, the completed grid looks like this:

We were not familiar with ROBERT INDIANA’s name, but we were aware of his iconic 1960s pop art graphic image ‘LOVE’.

The letters from the extra words read: COMPLETE SHADING OF ALL CELLS HAVING LETTERS FROM ARTIST’S NAME – OUTLINE FOUR LETTERS THAT THEREBY EMERGE

Carrying out the instructions creates an extraordinarily accurate (though pixellated!) version of the ‘LOVE’ image, here with the four letters outlined as instructed:

Very appropriate for 14th February, and what an amazing feat by Cranberry to fill a 14 x 14 barred grid with mirror symmetry with only a few unusual words and the restriction of only being able to use the nine letters in the artist’s name in 106 of the 196 cells.

In the notes below, the extra words in the clues are in [brackets] with the middle letters or letter-pairs bold. Definitions are underlined

ACROSS
No.	Entry	Middle letters
2	TRAMPS	CO	[Tycoon] walks in suited and booted, retrospectively seizing power (6)
			A reversal (‘retrospectively’) of SMART (‘suited and booted’) round or ‘seizing’ P (power)
6	CYBRID	M	A measure of clemency: [roomier] Bridewell cell? (6)
			Hidden (‘a measure of’) in clemenCY BRIDewell
11	CIT	PL	Townsman rude in the past about the other [chaplain] (3)
			C (circa – ‘about’) IT (‘the other’)
12	MUSK	E	A necessity when making first [bucketful] of the king’s perfume (4)
			MUSt (a necessity) with the ‘t’ (first letter of ‘the’) replaced by K (king)
13	ZOEA	TE	Immature fiddler maybe cross: listener not essentially sharing [excitement] (4)
			ZO (‘cross’ – between a male yak and horned cow) EAr (‘listener’) missing the ‘r’ (middle or ‘essential’ letter in sharing)
14	KIT	S	Supplies antique violin that’s [astonishingly] small (3)
			Double definition – we had to check the small violin
15	CAN	HA	Staff briefly pre-record [chat] (3)
			CANe (staff) missing the last letter or ‘briefly’
17	GUYANA	DI	Make fun of an American [Indian] nation (6)
			GUY (make fun of) AN A (American)
18	SPA	N	[Dense] soap bubbles leaving ring in bath (3)
			An anagram (‘bubbles’) of SoAP without the ‘o’ (ring)
19	ROUGH-WROUGHT	GO	Trump, in conversation with Republican [bigots]: anything at all crude? (12)
			A homophone (‘in conversation’) of RUFF (another name for the card game ‘trump’) W (with) R (Republican) OUGHT (anything at all)
20	PARLY	F	Present [gifts] including a case of luxury Scottish gingerbread (5)
			PR (present) round or ‘including’ A + L Y (first and last letters or ‘case’ of luxury)
23	SHERD	AL	Get together after [inhaling] small bit of pot (5)
			HERD (get together) after S (small)
24	FAROES	L	Set out for [idyllic] sea islands (6)
			An anagram (‘set out’) of FOR SEA
25	IDEA	CE	Discovered [excess] fee – I’d previously accepted proposal (4)
			fEe missing the first and last letters or ‘discovered’ after I’D + A (accepted)
26	END MAN	LL	Last [caller] in line mistakenly made to ring new number (6, 2 words)
			An anagram (‘mistakenly’) of MADE ‘ringing’ N (new) + N (number)
27	DEPP	S	US actor having English [lessons] to assume role of Keir Starmer once (4)
			E (English) in or ‘assuming’ DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions – Keir Starmer’s former role)
28	NONAGE	HA	Minority, say, soon brought [diehards] round (6)
			A reversal (‘brought round’) of EG (‘say’) ANON (soon)
33	GRASP	V	Hold both ends of [nervous] garter snake (5)
			G R (first and last letters or ‘both ends’ of garter) ASP (snake)
36	HE-HE	IN	[King] Henry the Eighth at last the butt of joke: that’s a laugh (4)
			H (Henry) E H (last letters of the and eighth) E (last letter or ‘butt’ of joke)
37	BUFFO	G	Enthusiast [delighted] by old comic (5)
			BUFF (enthusiast) O (old)
39	MARCUS AURELIUS	LE	Stoic leader – erratic, mercurial – [tirelessly] keeping America American (14, 2 words)
			An anagram (‘erratic’) of MERCURIAL round or ‘keeping’ USA (America) + US (American)
41	UMBO	TT	[Rotten], faceless Big Boss (4)
			jUMBO (big) missing the first letter or ‘faceless’
45	BASH	E	Acting [introspectively], quiet following bachelor party (4)
			A (acting) SH (quiet) after B (bachelor)
47	PALPED	RS	Felt one [coarsely] interrupting left-wing MPs led to bar brawl, ultimately (6)
			A (one) ‘interrupting’ PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party – ‘left-wing MPs) + lED missing or ‘barring’ the ‘l’ (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of brawl)
48	PULE	F	Pressure [interfering] with rubber pipe (4)
			P (pressure) ULE (rubber)
49	ELYSEE	RO	Sees palace [bedrooms] (6)
			ELY (see – diocese) SEE
50	SLUR	M	Slight glugging sound when drinking [premium] short (4)
			SLURp (‘glugging sound when drinking’) missing the last letter or ‘short’
51	SPLOTCH	AR	Heavy stain: soft cloth’s [nearly] ruined (7)
			An anagram (‘ruined’) of P (soft) CLOTH’S
DOWN
No.	Entry	Middle letters
1	OCCUPYING	TI	Force [fetish] club’s regulars to hide Head of Espionage inside (9)
			O C C U (alternate or ‘regular’ letters in ‘force club’) + sPYING (espionage) missing or ‘hiding’ the first letter or ‘head’
2	TIARAED	S	Athletic Australian tried [awesome] new sporting headgear (7)
			An anagram (‘new’) of A (athletic) A (Australian) and TRIED
3	AMPULS	TS	[Pint–size] doses of medicine and massage initially reduced throbbing (6)
			A M (first or ‘initial’ letters of ‘and massage’) + PULSe (throbbing) missing the last letter or ‘reduced’
4	MUGGY	N	Close to [panic] attack, genuinely exhausted (5)
			MUG (attack) + G~~enuinel~~Y missing the middle letters or ‘exhausted’
5	SKYWARD	AM	Rising [fame] a minor concern for broadcaster? (7)
			SKY (broadcaster) WARD (‘minor concern’ – as in a young person under guardianship)
6	CZARDOM	E	Virtually crazy degenerate, dirty old man [wandering] Russian emperor’s lands (7)
			An anagram (degenerate) of CRAZy missing the last letter or ‘virtually’ + DOM (dirty old man)
7	BEAUS	OU	Boyfriends suffering [foul] abuse (5)
			An anagram (‘suffering’) of ABUSE
8	RAUGHT	TL	[Battling] board game, barely touched before (6)
			dRAUGHTs (board game) missing the first and last letters (‘barely’)
9	DIP-TRAP	I	Under sink, twisted component for [repairing] bend in plumbing (7)
			DIP (sink) + a reversal (‘twisted’) of PART (component)
10	STAND UP TO	NE	Comedian originally talent-spotted on Challenge [Anneka] (9, 3 words)
			STAND-UP (comedian) + T O (first or ‘original’ letters of talent-spotted on)
16	NORTENA	F	Working near to edge of town, San Diego lady [off] for a Mexican? (7)
			An anagram (‘working’) of NEAR TO and N (last letter or ‘edge’ of town)
18	SHEREEF	OU	Key [groups] in support of female Muslim ruler (7)
			REEF (key – island) after or ‘supporting’ SHE (female)
21	KANEHS	R	Hebrew measures [are] shaken up (6)
			An anagram (‘up’) of SHAKEN
22	WEARER	LE	About to get into river, one’s put on [full-length] clothing (6)
			RE (about) in WEAR (river)
29	ASCOT	TT	Redirected to [better] college IT course (5)
			A reversal (‘redirected’) of TO C (college) SA (sex appeal – ‘it’)
30	REALLY	E	In Truth or Dare, [believing] all youngsters taking part (6)
			Hidden (‘taking part’) in daRE ALL Youngsters
31	THUMPS	RS	Hits [undersized] sleeping policeman in street when reversing (6)
			HUMP (sleeping policeman) in a reversal of ST (street)
32	BULBS	T	[Often] cry when upset, as if halving onions? (5)
			A reversal (‘upset’) of BLUB (cry) + S (half of ‘as’)
34	RAMP UP	HA	Take little [wire-haired] dog to enjoy morning hike (6, 2 words)
			R (take) PUP (little dog) round or ‘enjoying’ AM (morning)
35	PUPPET	T	Quisling set about [refitting] safety gear (6)
			PUT (set) round PPE (personal protective equipment – ‘safety gear’)
37	BEADED	TH	Apparently perspiring [author] maybe writing away, like Tolstoy or Hemingway, say (6)
			BEArDED (like Tolstoy or Hemingway, say) missing ‘r’ (‘maybe writing – one of the ‘three r’s’)
38	FUSHUN	ER	Some of us [were] hungry in Chinese city (6)
			Hidden (‘some of’) in oF US HUNgry
39	MUMPS	E	I almost forgot: Mother Superior, [extremely] old- fashioned, is silent (5)
			PS (‘I almost forgot’) with MUM (mother) above or ‘superior’ (in a down clue)
40	SHURA	BY	Afghan council [lobbyist] foolhardy to cycle around capital of Uruzgan (5)
			RASH (foolhardy) with the last two letters moved to the front or ‘cycling’ round U (first letter or ‘capital’ of Uruzgan)
42	BILL	E	Gates maybe opening to bring [great] misfortune (4)
			B (first letter or ‘opening’ of bring) ILL (misfortune)
43	TALC	ME	[Shameful]! You shouldn’t have left cocaine powder in the bathroom (4)
			TA (‘you shouldn’t have’) L (left) C (cocaine)
44	TEEN	R	I’m possibly still experiencing [recurrent] growing pains, though retired (4)
			A reversal (‘retired’) of NEET (a person not in employment, education or training – who could be retired)
46	ARLA	GE	[Gorgeous] moths, those seen in April, occasionally mid-May (4)
			ApRiL (alternate or ‘occasional’ letters) + A (middle letter of May)

10 comments on “Inquisitor 1947: Four-letter Word by Cranberry”

Sagittarius

#1 - Tue 24th Feb 26, 12:11

A lovable puzzle indeed. I must have bumped into the LOVE image, but not so as to remember, and had certainly not met Robert Indiana. I feel suitably educated, and even managed to shade the image in a recognisable way. I parsed TEEN as being an obsolete word for “pains” (in Chambers), plus someone still experiencing growing. Many thanks to Cranberry and to Bertandjoyce.
Rob T

#2 - Tue 24th Feb 26, 13:51

I will declare an interest and say that as a cruciverbal acquaintance of Cranberry’s I had the pleasure of previewing / test-solving this puzzle many months ago — and have been giddily waiting for the rest of the world to be able to experience its genius! He’s a veritable sorcerer, that man… As noted above, constructing a workable grid with half the cells letter-constrained is quite the feat. And great clues throughout.

Well done Cranberry and thanks to Bertandjoyce for the excellent deconstruction/explanations
Neil Hunter

#3 - Tue 24th Feb 26, 16:04

Count me among the highly impressed, though I did suffer, I now see, from shading exhaustion and didn’t quite do credit to Indiana’s choice of font. I usually have a handful of parsing queries, but here the clueing was pleasingly transparent. Thanks to Cranberry and BertandJoyce
HolyGhost

#4 - Tue 24th Feb 26, 17:18

I agree with Sagittarius @1 regarding the correct parsing of TEEN. I don’t think that a NEET could be classed as retired (the term is widely accepted to refer to those aged 16-24 – they haven’t started!) and ‘retired’ indicates that ‘pains’ is an archaic meaning of TEEN – it’s not doing double duty as part of the definition of NEET and indicating a reversal.

Also ALL the cells are letter-constrained: each cell that contributes to LOVE is in the artist’s name, and all the cells that don’t contribute to LOVE aren’t in his name.

Great stuff from Cranberry and thanks to B&J for standing in for Kenmac one last time.
arnold

#5 - Tue 24th Feb 26, 18:05

I found the gridfill a bit of a slog, but the endgame more than made up for it. A thing of beauty which I considered framing 🙂
Well done indeed to Cranberry and thanks B&J for the blog.
Alan B

#6 - Tue 24th Feb 26, 21:40

I was unable to enjoy this puzzle as it took too long to both unravel and solve the clues (of which there were more than usual). I stopped when I was stuck on 39a, realising then that I had almost no chance of finishing in time. I seem to have missed another brilliant design (I remember Cranberry’s previous puzzle well).
kenmac

#7 - Tue 24th Feb 26, 23:14

Thanks to BertandJoyce and duncanshiell for standing in for me during my recent incarceration.

Hopefully I’ll be back for IQ1951.
Kippax

#8 - Fri 27th Feb 26, 10:54

Tremendous! Finally cracked this last night via a bit of a backwards route: I worked out the message before getting the name of the artist, and guessed what the work would be with help from the title (the “I heart NY” logo was a contender at one point).

Many thanks Cranberry, an early POTY contender for me.
Jon MacToon

#9 - Sat 28th Feb 26, 09:38

Loved this. Although having made good progress in the bottom right I was briefly convinced that the artist we were looking for was Carlos Santana! Thanks to the setter for an enjoyable challenge and to Boyce for clearing up one or two solving errors – hence only 9.5/10 this week, despite accurately reproducing Indiana’s artwork.
HolyGhost

#10 - Mon 2nd Mar 26, 11:44

An afterthought: RUFF in the wordplay for 19a is simply another word meaning to trump (in bridge, for example); Chambers indicates that the old card game is ‘trumps’, with an ‘s’.