Is Punk making an attempt to offer his services as setter for Private Eye’s puzzle in the future?
When I started I was taken aback to see so many references to 7 Across in the clues, and when 7 Across itself referenced 17 Across I wondered where the break-in could be found. So I skipped over clues with those cross-references in an attempt to get some letters in the grid.
First one in was 9A ASH – which didn’t help much at all. Then I got 7d (though I couldn’t fully justify all the wordplay – and still can’t) followed swiftly by 10 and 20. 16 took a little longer, but it all resulted in loads of crosses for that top left corner and filling in 1 and 2 down felt like I was getting somewhere.
I wrote in several more and realised I was still none the wiser about any of the linked answers despite many crossing letters.
It took until there were barely a dozen left unsolved, including all those linked, when, from the crossing letters, I saw 28A just had to be Luke Littler.
I still didn’t understand how he related to 7A. (I was thinking about the way Don Quixote “tilted at windmills” and wondering if that was relevant. Darts are orders of magnitude smaller than a lance.) Anyway I went looking for other names from the darts world and then easily got 24 and 11.
At the end I had only 7A and 3D to fill in and that’s when the penny fully dropped. I had earlier considered BULLSHITTER from the crossing letters but dismissed it – mainly on the grounds that a quality newspaper would not include such a word. (“Family Puzzle!”)
The wonderful wordplay for 3d made it solid.
Help needed to complete some of the wordplay explanations: Across 10, 17, 24; and 7 down
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | BULLSHITTER |
17 Across in Don Quixote, say? (11)
|
| Definition 17 Across answer is Matador so that is a “Bull’s Hitter” as in someone who hits bulls, or maybe a “Bull Shitter” as a matador is the character who finally kills the bull. (What a farcical cruel travesty of an event. I’m surprised still survives in modern day Spain. Good grief in this country we banned bear-baiting etc. centuries ago. Sorry I just had to say something) Also used as “Bulls Hitter” throughout the puzzle when refencing the far more noble game of Darts. A game that’s right up my street as it goes hand in hand with copious consumption of beer. However I’d rather play it than watch it. And finally also referenced as the colloquial BS in the wordplay of 3d. The Cryptic Def. referencing Don Quitoxe references that latter definition, the way he was somewhat “economical with the actualité” on many occasions. First one read. Last one in at the same time as 3d STUB when the reality dawned. |
||
| 9 | ASH |
’emp remains (3)
|
| Double def. with the subordinate, more cryptic part ’emp (hemp) leading to hash i.e. ‘ash | ||
| 10 | IMP |
Monkey shaving head of chicken or mouse (3)
|
| [w]IMP (chicken) or [?]IMP (mouse) what is this “mouse”? Is it [shr]IMP? | ||
| 11 | ERIC BRISTOW |
Scribe has wit, or funny 7 Across? (4,7)
|
| (SCRIBE + WIT OR)* AInd: funny. A darts champion of old. Wiki for EB |
||
| 12 | ARAUCARIA |
Evergreen gilt-edged artist, initial on cruciverbal melody (9)
|
| RA (artist) inside AU (gild-edged), C[ruciverbal] ARIA (melody) | ||
| 14 | THROB |
Pound notes and the euros for gambler, all in the middle (5)
|
| Middle letters of noTes tHe euRos fOr gamBler | ||
| 16 | REGALIA |
A drink knocked back, one guzzled in the Crown and Sceptre, say? (7)
|
| (A LAGER)< (A drink, knocked back) with I (One) inside (guzzled) | ||
| 17 | MATADOR |
Deliverer of final thrust in business portal for the auditor? (7)
|
| MATA (in business?) DOR Homophone: “door” (portal) HInd: for the auditor. I’m not sure how that first bit of wordplay works. |
||
| 20 | CHASM |
A little belch as mouth opening (5)
|
| Hidden in belCH AS Mouth. Hidden Ind: A little. | ||
| 23 | STRAPLINE |
Alter and snip off subheading (9)
|
| (ALTER + SNIP)* AInd: off. | ||
| 24 | JOCKY WILSON |
In conversation, manipulate PM, 7 Across? (5,6)
|
| JOCKY (In conversation, manipulate?) WILSON (PM, Harold of that ilk) Another past master of the arrows. Wiki for JW Is “Jocky” a homophone (in conversation) of something I cannot see? Or is the “manipulation” part referring to e.g. jock[e]ying for position? |
||
| 26 | TOD |
Old fox from period looking back? (3)
|
| DOT< (period, looking back). | ||
| 27 | SUE |
Charge Native Americans in hearing? (3)
|
| Homophone “Sioux” HInd: in hearing. | ||
| 28 | LUKE LITTLER |
First missing, luck diminished for 7 Across? (4,7)
|
| [f]LUKE (luck, first missing) LITTLER (diminished) Ref: absurdly young darts champ. Wiki for LL First of the darts champions I got when I had the L_K_ crossing letters (and a few more). I was going to write “Darts Greats” but I cannot bring myself to call someone as a great when they are several years younger than my youngest child. [ Let’s leave that till he’s 21, eh?] |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SLAP-BANG |
Allies, after uprising, shot dead (4-4)
|
| PALS< (Allies, uprising) BANG (shot) | ||
| 2 | MINI-BREAKS |
Simian berk monkeying around for brief periods abroad, say (4-6)
|
| (SIMIAN BERK)* AInd: Monkeying around. [“Simeon Burke” sounds like a fictional 1930s detective] |
||
| 3 | STUB |
4 Down short of the stuff of 7 Across in butt (4)
|
| STUB[bs] Ref: the artist George Stubbs minus his final BS (bullshit). My favourite clue when I got it – joint last along with 7A when the cookie crumbled for the wordplay here. |
||
| 4 | ARTIST |
Hunt perhaps passing through Stuttgart is thrilling (6)
|
| Hidden in StuttgART IS Thrilling. Definition refers to Holman Hunt an artist who was among the Pre-Raphaelites. |
||
| 5 | DARTER |
Diver referring to classic flips (6)
|
| RE TRAD (referring to classic) all reversed. Reversal Ind: flips. Diver as in ducking and diving? No! I have just found there is a waterbird (aka diver) known as a darter <link>. I haven’t heard of these before mainly because there are no darters amongst UK birds |
||
| 6 | PHEW |
Last on coach to occupy seat, I made it by a whisker! (4)
|
| [coac]H inside PEW (seat) Always satisfying to just catch that train. |
||
| 7 | BRIC-A-BRAC |
Stuff article between baked item and loaf, both cut (4-1-4)
|
| BRIC[k] (baked item) A (article) BRAC[???] (loaf ?) What is this BRACxxx thing that is a loaf? |
||
| 8 | STENCIL |
Design short shelf filled with endless fish (7)
|
| TENC[h] (fish, endless) inside SIL[l] (shelf, short) I could see STENCIL fitting for a long time, but it took ages to realise what the endless fish was, and longer for the short shelf |
||
| 13 | ARM-WRESTLE |
Coming to the table, a show of strength as marines in war with steel at sea (3-7)
|
| RM (marines) in (WAR + STEEL)* AInd: at sea. Longish definition providing a clear image of the sport. |
||
| 15 | BARTENDER |
Local employee bound to stop trade (9)
|
| END (bound) inside BARTER (trade) An employee who works inside a local |
||
| 18 | TOPKNOT |
£100,000 prize fund put up for hairstyle (7)
|
| TON K POT : TON (100) K (1,000) POT (prize fund) all reversed. Rev Ind: put up. Like Leonardo Di Caprio’s character in his latest film. |
||
| 19 | DAINTILY |
In a particular way, battered tin wrapped in paper (8)
|
| (TIN)* AInd: battered. inside DAILY (paper) Particular used in an “old-fashioned” way |
||
| 21 | ARCHER |
Author, 7 across? (6)
|
| Double Def. Ref: Jeffery and darts. | ||
| 22 | MAYFLY |
Ephemeral thing could work? (6)
|
| MAY (could) FLY (work) Mayflies may fly but famously not for very long. |
||
| 24 | JEST |
Flier into which slipped small joke (4)
|
| S[mall] inside JET (flier) | ||
| 25 | ICKY |
Yucky cookie, surface licked off (4)
|
| [b]ICKY (cookie, surface licked off). I did toy with the possibility that the answer was [c]OOKI[e] or [b]ICKI[e] because I think of a “surface” covering both ends, but favoured the more common “yucky” answer. |
Agree with you, Beermagnet, about 7a. I was certain it should be BULLFIGHTER. but because of 3d could only really fit in BULLSHITTER. Then wasted an inordinate amount of time trying to think of other words on the basis the Indy wouldn’t go there. I guess when the setter’s nom de plume is Punk we should have known better.
Worse still was the amount of time I then wasted trying to work out why Eric Bristow would be a bullshitter. Very much a face palm moment when it finally landed.
Thanks Punk for the masterful misdirection, and Beermagnet for the blog.
MATADOR
MATA sounds like Matter (business)
BRIC-A-BRAC
BRAC(k)
The homophone for business in 17a is “matter”.