It’s been a while since we last blogged a Raich puzzle and we really looked forward to this, especially as it’s Tuesday – theme day
We rattled away at this initially, as there are quite a lot of short words with relatively easy clues. However we were stuck on 1/4 as we had entered ‘hero’ at 2d – it seemed a perfectly logical answer, if not really a ‘god’. It was only when we spotted 11ac and realised from the crossers that the ‘theme song’ would fit at 1/4 that we revisited 2d and everything fell into place.
We’re not big Country Music fans, but 1/4 is a memorable song from the 60s even though it did not reach higher than no.13 in the UK singles charts. It has a rather haunting melody, with well-written lyrics telling a story of the suicide of 4ac at the 11/14 and hinting at a possible motive, which is never explained, but prompted much speculation at the time.
Thanks, Raich, for the fun and the memories.
Across
1/4 They say outstanding elite oil job has been arranged for oldie (3,2,6,3)
ODE TO BILLIE JOE
A homophone (‘they say’) of OWED + an anagram of ELITE OIL JOB – anagrind is ‘has been arranged’ – the 1967 single and the gateway clue on which 5 more across entries are based
9 Slow worker’s place, more bizarre (7)
PLODDER
PL (place) ODDER (more bizarre)
10 Twenty-four hour period concludes for Allies (7)
FRIENDS
FRI (Friday – ’24 hour period’) ENDS (concludes)
11 In stall, a hatch, I examine Mississippi flower (12)
TALLAHATCHIE
Hidden in sTALL A HATCH I Examine – a river (‘flower’) in Mississippi which features in 1/4
14 Game reduced in length as there’s no publicity about it? (6)
BRIDGE
aBRIDGEd (reduced in length) without the ‘ad’ (publicity) forming the first and last letters – the 11/14 features in 1/4
15 Musician might use this cut, perm, learner restyled (8)
PLECTRUM
An anagram of CUT PERM and L (learner) – anagrind is ‘restyled’
19 Mail a tad unreliable in coastal region? (8)
DALMATIA
An anagram of MAIL A TAD – anagrind is ‘unreliable’
21 Sweet when welcoming paper associated with monarch (6)
AFTERS
AS (when) round or ‘welcoming’ FT (Financial times – paper) ER (monarch)
24 Policeman reportedly linked with upper class singer (6,6)
BOBBIE GENTRY
A homophone (‘reportedly’) of BOBBY (policeman) + GENTRY (upper class) – the singer/songwriter of 1/4
28 Began badly rejecting the Italian language (7)
BENGALI
An anagram of BEGAN (anagrind is ‘badly’) + IL (‘the’ in Italian) reversed or ‘rejected’
29 Native American food captivating act on tour (7)
CHOCTAW
CHOW (food) round or ‘captivating’ an anagram of ACT – anagrind is ‘on tour’ – features with 31 in 1/4
30 Financial aspects of refusal splitting English entertainers (9)
ECONOMICS
NO (refusal) in or ‘splitting’ E (english) COMICS (entertainers)
31 Trip around good raised area (5)
RIDGE
RIDE (trip) round G (good)
Down
1 My mistake, removing covers of book – note added (4)
OOPS
bOOk without the first and last letters or ‘covers’ + PS (post script – ‘note added’)
2 God’s section of the rosary? (4)
EROS
Hidden in or a ‘section of’ thE ROSary
3 Conservative group initially opposing local democratic government as no good (3,4)
OLD GANG
Initial letters of Opposing Local Democratic Government As No Good
4 Lawyers supported by cathedral city? Only just (6)
BARELY
BAR (lawyers) ‘supported by’ ELY (cathedral city)
5 Porky about fine husband, getting on, in relation to rights ending on death (8)
LIFEHOLD
LIE (porky) round F (fine) + H (husband) OLD (getting on) – a new word for us
6 Foolish, I had at beginning interrupted referring to listener? (7)
IDIOTIC
I’D (I had) I (first letter or ‘beginning’ of ‘interrupted’) OTIC (referring to the ear or ‘listener’)
7 Jack referring to a hotel, source of bad luck (5)
JONAH
J (Jack) ON (referring to) A H (hotel)
8 Guarantee does not have right result (5)
ENSUE
ENSUrE (guarantee) without the ‘r’ (right)
12 A teaching expert in retirement? (4)
ABED
A B.ED (bachelor of education – ‘teaching expert’)
13 Face being laid up (4)
DIAL
A reversal (‘up’) of LAID
16 Referring to the Spanish dance (4)
REEL
RE (referring to) EL (‘the’ in Spanish)
17 Nearly all Medical Officers on time (4)
MOST
MO S (Medical Officers) T (time)
18 Inn Luigi converted providing pasta (8)
LINGUINI
An anagram of INN LUIGI – anagrind is ‘converted’
20 In lively manner, I’m entering top grade international organisation (7)
ANIMATO
I’M ‘entering’ in A (top grade) NATO (international organisation)
22 Zeal of group pinching diesel oil after Duke’s left (7)
FERVOUR
FOUR (‘group’) round or ‘pinching’ dERV (diesel oil) without the ‘d’ (duke)
23 Performs in play in street – stick around! (6)
ENACTS
ST (street) CANE (stick) all reversed or ‘around’
24 Anger about book – authoritative one? (5)
BIBLE
BILE (anger) round B (book)
25 Instrument to prohibit judo in extreme instances? (5)
BANJO
BAN (prohibit) JudO (first and last letters or ‘extreme instances’)
26 Boss’s examination curtailed (4)
STUD
STUDy (examination) without the last letter or ‘curtailed’
27 Over-sentimental TV where odd characters feature (4)
TWEE
Alternate or ‘odd’ letters of Tv WhErE
*anagram
Nice puzzle.
Trouble here is that good as it was as a story well told, it didnt make my top ten listening in 1967 what with the first Pink Floyd, Strawberry Fields etc etc.
So I got the song, the singer(songwriter), Tallahatchee, Choctaw Ridge and then..,
12d I aimed too high….DON- ANOD? no….I left it and missed the very neat clue for BRIDGE.
Next time I’ll use Mr Google
Thanks BJ and Raich.
I didn’t know the song, so had to look it up once I’d got the Billy Joe part. I wondered if PLECTRUM was part of theme too as the original was just with guitar… alas not a BANJO. Nice puzzle and blog. Thanks Raich and BertandJoyce
Thanks to B and J and Raich. Unusually spotted the theme quite quickly and carried on gently and pleasantly with the solve.
BJ – my co-solver had hero for 2D. In another place very recently hero was the answer from near identical wordplay. 12D, 13D and 31D have also appeared very recently with very similar clues. May they RIP.
We struggled with this to begin with, our first one in being BENGALI, but then a generous sprinkling of easy clues – chestnuts, even – in the Downs got things moving. LOI was TALLAHATCHIE once we realised it was a hidden, but it was only when we googled it to confirm it that we saw the theme – we knew of the song at 1/4 but hadn’t associated it with anything else in the grid.
Favourites were JONAH, LINGUINI and ANIMATO.
Thanks, Raich and B&J.
I really enjoyed this, and managed without googling, despite knowing nothing about the theme.
Thanks to Raich and Bertandjoyce.
was hoping to get an explanation for “or laid on” — as spelt out in the second row — but since one hasn’t been given i guess it’s just coincidental
Many thanks for the excellent blog, Bertandjoyce. Thanks also to all those who commented. PLECTRUM was not put in for thematic reasons.
Yes, I think you are quite right about HERO fitting in the EROS clue. Did not spot that unfortunately, nor did I spot the material in the second row mentioned in #6. That is, as suggested, just coincidental, and I’d not have changed it, I think.