This is Quaiteaux’ 2nd puzzle this year, a welcome return after a gap of eighteen months or so from her previous offerings.
We think Quaiteaux must be from the same era as we are – the last of her puzzles that we blogged (in 2015) had a Pink Floyd theme and this one is based (rather more obviously than the Floyd puzzle) on 3d 24ac, with singer 26d 22d appearing, along with their two best known songs (‘4d 10d’ and ‘6d to 2d’). We were never really into the band during the psychedelic rock era of the late 60s, but ‘4d 10d’ is an absolute classic of the era – based on ’11ac’s Adventures in Wonderland’. The song seems to suggest that the book could have been written under the influence of the hallucinatory drugs that became popular in the late 60s and 70s.
The clues for 11ac and 9d also make reference to 1970s contemporary musicians.
We really enjoyed the puzzle, although we are somewhat confused by the inclusion of the last three words in 29ac, and had to check 7ac and 18d in Chambers.
| Across | ||
| 7 | You once flipped, getting into cannabis, ecstasy and mescal (6) | |
| PEYOTE | YE (you ‘once’) reversed or ‘flipped’ in POT (cannabis) E (ecstasy) – a new word for us | |
| 8 | Agreement on extension in house near Big Apple (7) | |
| HARMONY | ARM (extension) in HO (house) NY (New York – ‘Big Apple’) | |
| 11 | Cooper‘s band (5) | |
| ALICE | Double definition – ALICE Cooper and ALICE band | |
| 12 | Corruption reflected in extremely fierce and violent dissent (9) | |
| FETIDNESS | FE (first and last or ‘extreme’ letters of ‘fierce’) + an anagram of DISSENT – anagrind is ‘violent’ | |
| 13 | They publish online, giving scroungers nothing for article (8) | |
| BLOGGERS | BL |
|
| 15 | Having energy in volatile type of relationship – it won’t happen again (3-3) | |
| ONE-OFF | E (energy) in ON-OFF (volatile type of relationship) | |
| 17 | I can be found blocking missile returning 21 (5) | |
| TRIAD | I in or ‘blocking’ DART (missile) reversed or ‘returning’ – 21d is ‘treble’ | |
| 19 | I must retract refusal before end of debate (3) | |
| ONE | NO (refusal) reversed or ‘retracted’ + E (last letter or ‘end’ of ‘debate’) | |
| 20 | For example, you’re probably thinking initially of this country (5) | |
| EGYPT | EG (for example) + ‘initial’ letters of You’re Probably Thinking | |
| 22 | Uncle came back carrying a bit of melon in season (6) | |
| SUMMER | REMUS (‘uncle’ – the fictional narrator of African Amercian folktales) reversed or ‘coming back’ round or ‘carrying’ M (first letter or ‘bit’ of ‘melon’) | |
| 24 | Time spent organising perinatal transport in Texas (8) | |
| AIRPLANE | An anagram of PERINA |
|
| 27 | No charge for accommodation on island (9) | |
| INNISFREE | INN IS FREE (no charge for accommodation) – the island is in Lough Gill, Co Sligo, immortalised by a Yeats poem | |
| 28 | Starts to brush almond paste on roll (5) | |
| BAGEL | First letters or ‘starts’ of Brush Almond + GEL (paste) | |
| 29 | Check briefly on cattle moving in playground once (7) | |
| KINETIC | TIC |
|
| 30 | Left parent scratching head in a state of agitation (6) | |
| LATHER | L (left) |
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | Come unstuck about team in country (6) | |
| MEXICO | An anagram of COME (anagrind is ‘unstuck’) round XI (eleven – a football ‘team’) | |
| 2/28 | Ostentatious sign of affection – there’s nothing ‘live’ about it! (4,4) | |
| LOVE BITE | LOVE (nothing) BE (live) round IT | |
| 3 | Derisive statement about subsequent pages – issue for president (9) | |
| JEFFERSON | JEER (derisive statement) round FF (subsequent pages) SON (issue) | |
| 4 | Tips for watering houseplants if they’re etiolated and pale (5) | |
| WHITE | First letters or ‘tips’ of Watering Houseplants If They’re Etoilated | |
| 5 | Formal study of poet (6) | |
| DRYDEN | DRY (formal) DEN (study) | |
| 6 | It’s being unspecified what 3 24 sang to 2 (8) | |
| SOMEBODY | SOME BODY (‘unspecified being’) – a reference to the Jefferson Airplane (3 24) song ‘Somebody to Love’ | |
| 9 | Maybe Trump lifts their hearts, protecting America from Islam (5) | |
| YUSUF | Middle letters or ‘hearts’ of maYbe TrUmp liFts round or ‘protecting’ US (America) – Yusuf Islam was previously known as Cat Stevens | |
| 10 | Line up a little talk (6) | |
| RABBIT | BAR (line) reversed or ‘up’ BIT (a little) | |
| 14 | Finally starting to understand ultimate reality? (3) | |
| GOD | Last or ‘final’ letters of startinG tO understanD | |
| 16 | Did Clyde finally become criminal? Unquestionably (9) | |
| DECIDEDLY | An anagram of DID CLYDE and E (last or ‘final’ letterof ‘become’) – anagrind is ‘criminal’ | |
| 18 | It’s about being a male amongst others, inherently belonging (8) | |
| IMMANENT | IT round MAN (a male) in or ‘amongst’ MEN (other males) | |
| 20 | Not extremely upset about thoughtful communication (1,1,1) | |
| ESP | ||
| 21 | Three get high, as we hear (6) | |
| TREBLE | Double definition | |
| 22 | Smooth start to surprising defeat (5) | |
| SLICK | S (first letter or ‘start’ to ‘surprising’) LICK (defeat) | |
| 23 | Stare in astonishment at the last replacement (6) | |
| ERSATZ | An anagram of STARE (anagrind is ‘in astonishment’) + Z (the ‘last’ letter) | |
| 25 | Schemer pulled switcheroo to learn about source of gold (6) | |
| ANGLER | An anagram of LEARN (anagrind appears to be ‘pulled switcheroo to’ – not a phrase we’ve come across before, a ‘switcheroo’ seems to be a North American word for ‘change’) round G (first letter or ‘source’ of ‘gold’) | |
| 26 | Elegance comes from good breeding (5) | |
| GRACE | G (good) RACE (breeding) | |
| 28 | See 2 | |
Interesting puzzle, thanks to Q, B&J.
The Kinetic Playground was a Chicago club in which JA played (it sez on the internet)
Nice stuff but I failed to get INNISFREE or ERSATZ. Like BJ, I didn’t understand the reason behind the last three words in 29a or, come to that matter, why the word ‘must’ appears in 19a. Liked the cat reference in 9d. Cat Stevens was somebody I listened to (and still do) but I’ve never listened to JA. Fortunately I had heard of them and the reference in 6d allowed me to get 3d and that, in turn, let me complete the NE quadrant.
Thanks Quaiteaux and BnJ
There are more themers in there: MEXICO, TRIAD and LATHER are all JA-related song titles, PEYOTE could well have been used by them, and their trademark sound was the HARMONY between Grace Slick & Marty Balin. You can also link 22A & 2D to give the usual description of 1967. And if memory serves, one of Slick & Kantner’s children was called GOD, while Spencer DRYDEN was the JA’s drummer during their heyday.
You may gather that the theme was right up my street.
Thanks B&J and welcome back indeed Quaiteaux. Alas all the kinetic equipment has been removed from the playgrounds I used as a sprog – in those far off days of course one had to be careful that there were no dinosaurs about – so the clue has a sad point. Health and Safety.
Well, one of us had heard of Jefferson Airplane which helped with 6 and 2/28 but the rest of the thematic references passed us by. But we got there in the end, though held up for ages thinking that 29ac had to be KINETIC but not putting it in because we couldn’t understand the playground reference. Then we got SLICK and 29 couldn’t be anything else so we googled kinetic playground and voilà!
Is it just us, or was there too much reliance on first, last and middle letter sequences in the clues?
Conrad@4: Sounds as if you live in the ‘wrong’ part of the country. Our grandchildren have plenty of access to zip wires, trampolines and, of course, conventional swings and roundabouts.
Thanks, Quaiteaux and B&J
Allan@5. ‘Wrong part of the country’ – that there’s fighting talk pardner! Of course I don’t live now where I lived way back when….
Thanks Baerchen and Simon S for the additional information explaining the ‘playground ‘ reference and the other thematic clues – we couldn’t help but think that there was more going on!
Thanks BertandJoyce and Quaiteaux.
Coming to this late after blogging yesterday, and have one query:
Is “in Texas” in 24ac in any way related to the theme? or something else?
Thanks for settling it for me.
Hi Schua – it’s an American spelling.
Thanks BertandJoyce. I’m so used to seeing and using it (certainly more than the other word), that I didn’t suspect its American origin.