Brendan again on a Monday – Hurrah!
A very clever puzzle, whose theme [which didn’t become completely apparent until near the end of the solve] is hinted at in 10ac. In every one of the down clues the same letters are repeated, which is a real tour de force, making for a most entertaining and enjoyable puzzle.
Many thanks, Brendan – it’s great to see you back.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
7 Two talk wildly about one measure for power (8)
KILOWATT
An anagram of TWO TALK round I [one]
9 How rifles may be carried by soldiers not wanted in retreat (6)
PORTED
A reversal [in retreat] of DE TROP [not wanted]
10 Its players react competitively after every match (4)
SNAP
Cryptic definition of the card game in which players call ‘Snap!’ when two matching cards are turned up
11 It’s clear a band used awfully elaborate lighting fixtures (10)
CANDELABRA
An anagram [used awfully] of CLEAR A BAND
12 Multinational organisation exists, working for total agreement (6)
UNISON
UN [United Nations – multinational organisation] + IS [exists] + ON [working]
14 Understandings seen as target, using visual aids (8)
INSIGHTS
IN SIGHT = seen as target and sights are devices used in aiming a gun but I can’t quite fit it together
15 Reason, for example, money’s held back therein (6)
SANITY
A reversal [held back] of TIN [money] in SAY [for example]
17 Give a hand to musician taking a bow — no ‘bravo’ at first (6)
ASSIST
b[ASSIST] [musician taking a bow] minus b [Bravo – NATO alphabet]
20 Capital family possesses invested in South Africa (8)
KINSHASA
KIN [family] + HAS [possesses[ in SA [South Africa]
22 May, in past, by taking British out, showing strength (6)
MIGHTY
MIGHT [the past tense of may] + [b]Y [minus b [British] – wonderful surface!
23 It monitors movement of liquid resources we had over one period and most of another (5,5)
WATER METER
WE round A TERM [one period] + TER[m] [most of another]
24 King and queen, perhaps, reversed course of action (4)
TACK
A reversal of K [king] + CAT [queen, perhaps]
25 Narrow window for research publication (6)
LANCET
Double definition, the second being the medical journal
26 Again connect the cart and a convertible thus (8)
REATTACH
An anagram [convertible] of THE CART and A
Down
1 Recruits demolished Sing Sing (8)
SIGNINGS
An anagram [demolished] of SING SING
2 Feature of stern father is bottling up love (4)
POOP
POP [father] round O [love] – the first of several palindromes
3 8 in lively dance (6)
CANCAN
The answer to 8dn is TIN TIN
4 Placates wild animals, feeding them vegetables (8)
APPEASES
APES [wild animals] round PEAS [vegetables] – which are anagrams of each other
5 A ruling in hearing is bringing accusation (10)
ARRAIGNING
Sounds like [in hearing] ‘a reigning’ [a ruling] – the letters A R I G N are all used twice
6 It takes the lead as French land on time (6)
TERRET
TERRE [French land] + T [time] – precise cluing for a word new to me: ‘the ring on a dog’s collar for attaching the lead’ [Collins] – another palindrome
8 Highlight popular young hero (6)
TINTIN
TINT [highlight] + IN [popular]
13 One dreadful scene eclipses another in process of aging (10)
SENESCENCE
An anagram [dreadful] of SCENE round another anagram of SCENE
16 No opponent has drink minutes before end of game (8)
TEAMMATE
TEA [drink] + M [minutes] + MATE [end of {chess} game]
18 It’s spotted in exotic cacti, north of a lake in South America (8)
TITICACA
IT in an anagram [exotic] of CACTI + [north of, in a down clue] A
19 What’s used to pay twice for dental coverage? (6)
TARTAR
TAR [what’s used to pay = ‘to caulk {the seams of a wooden vessel} with pitch or tar’ – Collins] twice
21 One name of prophet, as I repeatedly recollected (6)
ISAIAS
An anagram [recollected] of AS I, repeatedly – an alternative spelling of ISAIAH
22 Damage sign in grass (6)
MARRAM
MAR [damage] + RAM [sign of the zodiac] – another palindrome
24 Express disapproval over what splits TV dancer’s costume (4)
TUTU
TUT [express disapproval] round U [the letter between T and V]
Great puzzle to start the week.
Learnt two new words – to pay in the ‘tar’ meaning, TERRET.
French in 6 dn and 9 ac. You know how I feel about the use of foreign words and my question ‘what is acceptable and what isn’t?
I liked the anagram at 13 ac.
Thanks to Brendan and to Eileen.
Quite a feat as you say Eileen. Can’t believe I didn’t spot it. Doh Doh!
Thank you to both – very satisfying.
Coincidence corner: TUTU is the solution to the last clue here and to the first clue in today’s Quick crossword in G2.
Sheer class and a joy on a Monday morn and thanks Eileen.
Thanks Eileen and Brendan.
A wonderful construction as you say.
I remember that a few years back, many of the clues in a Brendan crossword had answers in which the letters were repeated in exactly the same order in the second half eg HOTSHOTS or BERIBERI.
Great spot, Eileen, many thanks.
I, of course, was oblivious although I had a feeling something must be going on as the clues felt a little ‘strained’.
I was hoping the blog would tell me how the INSIGHTS clue works – maybe later.
I vaguely remembered “pay with tar” from Patrick O’Brien but did not know the alternative spelling of ISAIAS.
Enjoyable puzzle but I much prefer this setter unconstrained by a theme.
Nice week, all.
Thanks Brendan and Eileen
I didn’t spot a theme, of course, and it was a DNF as I put ISAIAH, a prophet I had heard of.
I found the NE very difficult. TERRET was a new word, PORTED unfamiliar in that context, and ARRAIGNING and INSIGHTS difficult.
I didn’t like the “in” in 22d.
I didn’t appreciate the difficulty with INSIGHTS. I just assumed that the ‘visual aids’ were the sights on the gun. Too easy?
I have also now realised what Eileen and others realised eons ago, the repeating letters in the down clues. Wow, impressed!
I am usually in complete agreement with Eileen, but on this occasion, I thought that it was an excellent puzzle that was somewhat marred by the need to accommodate the theme. I’m with William @6 on that. I think that the clue for ‘insights’ is just a double definition: as Eileen indicates, one definition is ‘understandings’, the other is visual aids when looking at a target – think telescopic sights.
I failed to solve 9a, 10a and 2d and was unable to fully parse 23a and 19d.
New words for me were TERRET and TIN = money.
My favourites were TUTU and TEAMMATE.
For INSIGHTS I was thinking of a target that is “visible, especially through the sights of one’s gun”
Thank you Brendan and Eileen.
Thanks for the blog. You’re “in my sights”, I thought? Seen many more tenuous clues.
Anna @8. Sorry, we crossed. Perhaps I should also have said that the ‘seen’ is significant in the clue as it makes clear that the target is seen through the visual aids.
Well this was a total joy. You know you’re going to get something from Brendan, and this was tremendous.
There’s no problem with “insights”. If you have a rifle, and you have someone or something in your sights, you can see them through the weapon’s aiming device (sights).
Yes, this did feel a bit clunky, but hadn’t noticed, even when completed, how clever this was. Must have plucked Terret from some obscure horse person’s manual as it’s not a word I’ve come across before…
Truly I am absolutely hopeless at spotting themes unless they’re idiot-proof obvious and having completed the puzzle (OK, had to cheat 22d) and stared at the completed grid for another 10 minutes, I am absolutely none the wiser. Please enlighten me, someone!
Muffin@7 – “port arms” is a parade ground instruction.
Thanks Eileen and Brendan.
Spotting the theme quite early helped with several last ones such as TERRET.
I am amazed at the number of original ideas Brendan has had for his crosswords over the years – I don’t know how he keeps it up, but I certainly hope he will.
RH@22 stating the obvious, all the down clues use the same letter twice and exactly twice – actually I had misunderstood the theme to just be thet some down clues are lexicographically repetitive, but more subtleand comprehensive than that. Quite a feat.
RH@16, obv.
Oh what a treat!!!! I just love the way words work! I knew something was going on when I got 3d CANCAN and 8d TINTIN all at once. As a sailor, I loved the POOP deck at 3d!!!!
In the end, I had tick after tick for the down clues, but I also appreciated the economy of TACK at 24a. 10a SNAP and 11a CANDELABRA were also fun.
Many thanks to Brendan for a marvellous Monday and to Eileen for a beaut blog.
andysmith @17
I guessed that must be what it meant, but I had never heard the expression.
Another miracle of construction from my favourite daily puzzle setter. Ideal for a Monday, with all clues perfectly sound and most very easily solved.
William @ 6: Off hand, I cannot remember a Brendan puzzle that didn’t have a theme. They are often in the diagram construction, and as recognising the theme doesn’t affect solving except perhaps to speed the process up, I think you’ve probably just overlooked them.
Thanks to Brendan and Eileen. As others have said a very nice beginning to the week, but totally missed the theme, and a bit more difficult than the typical Monday fare. Actually a DNF for me because I am another who put in Isaiah for 21d. Last to fall were in the NE and SE with terret and marram both new words to me. I think my favourite clues were the short ones in tack, poop and snap (which made me smile). Thanks again to Brendan and Eileen.
A great start to the week with an excellent crossword – plaudits for the setting in all the Down clues (which I missed of course.)
Thanks Eileen; I’m glad that you spotted the theme for me. This would have been difficult to set without too many obscurities. I hadn’t heard of TERRET and I wasn’t sure of MARRAM but otherwise the solutions were reasonably well known.
I’m always surprised by negative comments about a theme. Surely, this adds to the enjoyment.
My My! and Haha! Totally missed the ‘theme’. Lots of fun anyway. Senescence new on me. Elegant word for a generally rather inelegant process! I better get used to it. Liked the crisp Tintin/cancan connect. Thanks Brendan and Eileen
Brilliant!
Many thanks to Brendan and to Eileen and well done on spotting the theme. I noticed lots of repetitions and even wondered why the unusual spelling of 21d was necessary, but I didn’t manage to put two and two together.
I think it says something that so many of us, including me, missed the theme either entirely or until it was very late, despite it making 14 appearances!
A grand effort, but to me spoiled a little by what seemed some unnecessary fluff in a couple of clues: Doesn’t 17a work better without “taking a bow”? None of the bassists I have known, including Chris Squire (RIP) used one. Jimmy Page did, but hardly a bassist.
If there’s some other meaning, then Whoops, disregard the above!
Similarly, isn’t 26a better without the “thus”?
Thanks.
Thanks both,
I got some way towards getting the theme, for once. Technically a Dnf as I had ‘porter’ rather than ‘ported’. A folk etymology derives ‘the devil to pay’ from the need to put pitch in a particular join between planks supposedly called the ‘devil’.
Dr Whatson @ 28
Arco bass is a regular occurrence in jazz.
Thanks to Brendan and Eileen. I missed the theme (no surprise) and did not know MARRAM, TERRET, TITICACA, and LANCET as window but all were gettable from the clues.
Simon S: ah, that would explain it, then, thanks. The clue made it sound more general, if not definitional, though.
Dr Whatson @ 28:
I too wondered what the ‘bow was doing there. I take Simon’s point but at the time I thought maybe a DOUBLE bass which does use a bow. In retrospect, is this another allusion to the SNAP theme?
I also wondered at first what the ‘thus’ was doing there and then decided that it suitably described that you could connect a cart and a convertible by REATTACHing it. Therefore thus (or like so).
[Not sure if I’ve explained it properly though]
Well at least I can take comfort from not being the only one who didn’t spot the theme. Even though I was looking really hard for some magical Brendan-touch, for I’m aware he/she always produces something special… I liked the proximity of TINTIN and CANCAN, I spotted that several clues had a sorta-palindrome nature (TUTU, TITICACA, TEAMMATE) and yet I still didn’t put two-and-two together! Dear Brendan, I’m lost in admiration – many thanks for a splendid puzzle. Thanks also to Eileen for steering me gently (maybe using a terret) towards a full understanding of today’s work of art.
Missed the theme completely.
Enjoyable dnf, but a good learning experience.
Pex: oh, so you think it’s trying to be an &lit too? I don’t know, it’s not really adding anything that’s not already given by “Again connect”.
Re bassist, Collins gives the following definitions: A bassist is someone who plays the bass guitar or the double bass; a player of a double bass, esp in a jazz band.
A classical music double bass player would always carry a bow. Even with jazz I doubt if it is always pizzicato.
Clever but perhaps a bit too clever for its own good. The West side went in quite smoothly but I started to struggle after that with PORTED and TERRET being the last ones in. I finally realised that the former was a reversal of DE TROP but as I’ve never been called upon to carry a rifle, I’ve never heard the command.
Like Muffin, I settled on ISAIAH for 21 dn. Theme? Of course not.
Thanks Brendan.
A dnf for me too as I didn’t get PORTED (also not familiar with DE TROP) or
TARTAR – which I should have and might have if I’d seen the theme. Despite that there was lots to like and I think it’s fine if setters set themselves challenges and end up including the odd iffy clue to make them work. TERRET was completely new and I knew the word SENESCENCE vaguely but it’s meaning was a TILT.
Many thanks to Brendan and Eileen.
I really enjoyed this great puzzle! Thanks Brendan. Thanks Eileen for the blog.
Amazingly, I did get the theme! Very rare. What’s more, I got it in time to get two words which were not known to me (MARRAM, TERRET), as mentioned by other contributors. It also helped getting the unusual spelling of ISAIAS. I needed Eileen’s blog to parse TARTAR (dnk pay=caulk).
Loved to see bassist, having been an amateur one in the past. I was in a blue grass, etc. band; jazz was beyond my competence. I had to learn bowing to play in a pit/chamber orchestra. Fortunately, in many classical pieces, the basses double the cellos, so I could rest during impossible (to me!) passages in such pieces as the overture to the Marriage of Figaro.
Really smiled over the 3/8 combo but never saw beyond that to twig the theme – typical! Would have helped a lot with the ones I didn’t know – SENESCENCE, TERRET and the unusual spelling of the prophet.
Most enjoyable solve – many thanks to Brendan and to Eileen for the blog.
Thanks to the blogger and the etter.
INSIGHTS is a wonderful answer to the clue -Understanding =INSIGHT +S =seen;Seen as target AND using visual aids =IN SIGHTS
As it was Brendan, I was on the lookout for a theme and spotted it for a change. Certainly helped with MARRAM and TARTAR. Quite friendly cluing in the main. I did raise an eyebrow at the “elaborate lighting fixtures” (plural) for CANDELABRA (singular).
Lots of fun. Applause for the construction, Brendan. Thanks for the blog, Eileen.
Hi phitonelly @43
CANDELABRA is the plural of the Latin candelabrum – a candlestick. Both words are given [as interchangeable] in both Collins and Chambers. Chambers says that CANDELABRA is also used as a ‘false singular’ with plural ‘candelabras’ – and Collins adds a possible ‘candelabrums’!
Eileen@44 Oh, I see – thanks. So I guess Brendan could have gone with either.
Brendan’s puzzles are always good value for money, and I was on the lookout for a theme. Did I spot it? Of course not, which is pity because perhaps I would have struggled less at the close on 22d. Never mind, an enjoyable offering nevertheless.
This is one of the few crosswords I have had time for this year, and what a treat it was. I discovered the theme, not realising until my last two answers, MARRAM and TARTAR, that it permeated all the down solutions. ISAIAS was my favourite clue.
Thanks as always to setter and blogger.
Thank you andysmith – I could have stared at it for a week and not recognised that as a “theme”. For
me, that’s a very clever device, but not what I think of as a theme, although I am clearly in a minority
of one. That’s why I need this site.
Great this may have been, but please not on a Monday (posted on Wednesday, I persevered too long considering there were some I was never going to get but foolishly believed I might as it was a ‘Monday’ crossword )