Eleutherian by Opsimath
Clues are listed in alphabetical order of their solutions, to be entered in the grid jigsaw fashion, wherever they will go. Letters occupying cells 1-19 will then spell in order a three word nickname of a speaker with a famous stated preference. Solvers must alter two letters in the completed grid to represent the preference and then highlight both speaker and preferred option (18 cells in total).
Standing in for HiHoBa.
My usual first reaction when I encounter a “jigsaw” type puzzle is to run for the hills but as a responsible blogger with my hordes of fans waiting anxiously, I must conquer my fears and face the challenge.
Buzzing through the clues in no particular order, I soon realised that they were all (or mostly all) very gentle. And having concentrated on the 8- and 9-letter answers I had enough of them to start tentatively entering into the grid. Actually, my daughter, elmac, was helping and she held my hand as I proceeded, gingerly, into the quagmire that is otherwise known as a blank grid.
Pretty soon, I had a good >90% filled and managed to deduce the remaining answers.
With the grid full, it was then time to start extracting the letters from the numbered cells. Initially wondering if there was any reason why the number “7” was left-justified instead of right-justified but it looks like that was just an editorial oversight.
So the letters spelt out THE GREAT EMANCIPATOR which was another nickname of Honest Abe – Abraham Lincoln the 16th president of the USA.
Now on to the task of finding, presumably, ABRAHAM LINCOLN in the grid, I spotted ABRAHUM (f4-f10) and figured that LINCOLN was probably symmetrically placed and, sure enough, it was there (as LINCELN) in i5-i11. The U and the E in line 9 form part of the word BULLET, which, when changed, makes BALLOT. Thus representing Lincoln’s quote – THE BALLOT IS STRONGER THAN THE BULLET.
So, that’s it. Job done. It looks like this was Opsimath’s third puzzle and I’ve blogged every one of them. Kruger will be getting jealous as people are beginning to talk.
I didn’t actually see the title until doing this blog. I didn’t know but ELEUTHERIAN means “Freedom-giving.”
As with the other two, I found this nice and gentle, which is always welcome. Thanks Opsimath.
| Clue |
Entry |
Wordplay |
| Charges when firsts follow silver (6) |
AGISTS | AG (silver)+ISTS (1STS: firsts) |
| Bath plea corrected first elements (8) |
ALPHABET | BATH PLEA (anag: corrected) |
| Property associated with alien society (6) |
ASSETS | ASS[ociated]+ET (alien)+S[ociety] |
| Giant being taken aback (not new) when up to no good (4, 2 words) |
AT IT | TITA[n] (giant; minus New; rev: taken aback) |
| Make up for deficiencies in a garbled note (5) |
ATONE | A+NOTE (anag: garbled) |
| An award to waste (7) | ATROPHY | A[n]+TROPHY (award) |
| Ring for poisonous plant without a Latin woman (4) |
BELL | BELL[adonna] (poisonous plant) minus A DONNA (Latin woman) |
| Papal edict is nonsense (4) | BULL | (double def) |
| Entrance exam left cartoon clip (3) |
CEL | CE (Common Entrance: exam)+L[eft] |
| A quintet goes astray riding (8) | EQUITANT | A QUINTET (anag: goes astray) |
| Queen inhales the anaesthetic (5) | ETHER | ER (queen) containing THE |
| Bronx railroad carries your old gas (5) |
ETHYL | EL (Bronx railroad) containing THY (your; old) |
| Plant left bust having introduced retro line (7) |
FELWORT | LEFT (anag: bust) containing ROW (line; rev: retro) |
| Goddess conceals muscle in cotton fabric (7) |
GALATEA | GAEA (goddess) containing LAT[issimus dorsi] (muscle) |
| Sprite found by US sailor on ravine (6) |
GOBLIN | GOB (US sailor)+LIN (ravine) |
| Fair Welshman goes with Yorkshire neighbour at first (4) |
GWYN | G[oes] W[ith] Y[orkshire] N[eighbour] (first letters) |
| Run hospital unit (4) | HARE | Hospital+ARE (unit) |
| I distribute in accord with theory (5) |
IDEAL | I+DEAL (distribute) |
| International representative nameless in group of warriors (4) |
IMPI | I+MP (representative)+I[n] (minus Name) |
| South American popular with Canadian (5) |
INCAN | IN (popular)+CANadian |
| Game in Japan and Spain for all to see (3) |
JEU | Japan+E (Spain)+Universal (for all to see) |
| Malay dagger takes agent back to 17th C doctrine (7) |
KRYPSIS | KRIS (Malaysian dagger) containing SPY (agent; rev: back) |
| Trumpet before church loser is left in this (5) |
LURCH | LUR (trumpet)+CHurch |
| Cow fattened for Scots trading place (4) |
MART | (double def) |
| Who’s in empty room of base after midday? (5) |
NOONE | NOON (midday)+E (base) |
| Book found in overcoat destroyed with no sign of hesitation (6) |
OCTAVO | OV[er]COAT minus ER (sign of hesitation) anag: destroyed |
| This slimy mud picked up from Yorkshire river (4) |
OOZE | Sounds like OUSE (Yorkshire river) |
| Australian expert adopts one small apparatus (8) |
OZONISER | OZ (Australian)+ONER (expert) containing I (one)+Small |
| A word from friend with a supporter (7) |
PALABRA | PAL (friend)+A+BRA (supporter) |
| Hurl a stone for lightly armed soldier (7) |
PELTAST | PELT (hurl)+A+STone |
| The Spanish popes destroyed nations (7) |
PEOPLES | EL (the in Spanish)+POPES (anag: destroyed) |
| One absorbed by writer munching fresh pitta bread (9, 2 words) |
PETIT PAIN | PEN (writer) containing I (one)+PITTA (anag: fresh) |
| Hostile piece from East European on tailless rodents (7) |
POLEMIC | POLE (East European)+MIC[e] (rodents; tailless) |
| Ales left before bitter vetch (7) | PORTERS | PORT (left)+ERS (bitter vetch) |
| Panders in favour of healers (9) | PROCURERS | PRO (in favour of)+CURERS (healers) |
| Son with good girl for old timer (9) |
SANDGLASS | Son+Good+LASS (girl) |
| Saboteur, unknown, follows elite force for S. African native (7) |
SASSABY | SAS (elite force)+SABoteur+Y (unknown) |
| I left rescuer to enjoy the sensation (6) |
SAVOUR | SAV[i]OUR (rescuer; minus I) |
| Host negotiated nearer TV (8) | TAVERNER | NEARER TV (anag: negotiated) |
| Woollen fabrics best hit when knotted (7) |
THIBETS | BEST HIT (anag: knotted) |
| Small tree cobras in large jars (7) | TINAJAS | TI (small tree)+NAJAS (cobras) (makes me wonder what’ worse – a kick in the cobras or a kick in the najas) |
| Worn-out old constabulary takes in drug every two years (9) |
TRIETERIC | TRITE (worn out)+RIC ([Royal Irish] Constabulary) containing E (drug) |
| Go missing one out of Italian city (4) |
TURN | TUR[i]N (missing I) |
| Wrote complicated quiz question worth double points? (5) |
TWOER | WROTE (anag: complicated) |
| Brown fish of the salmon family (5) |
UMBER | (double def) |
| United lead Tanzania – optimistic! (6) |
UPBEAT | United+PB (lead)+EAT ([East Africa]Tanzania) |
| Addict given bum steer oddly missing (4) |
USER | [b]U[m] S[t]E[e]R (alternate letters) |
Thanks to Opsimath and Kenmac. The gentleness of the clues was appreciated after some very hard slogging in the previous IQ, but having to jigsaw the answers into the grid added a bit of challenge and made it all more fun.
As per the above really. A welcome change of pace after the previous week, and no particular issues encountered apart from BULL unfortunately fitting where BELL is a little above, a mistake soon rectified.
I always think twice [I’m too old to run for the hills, kenmac!] before starting a jigsaw-type puzzle, or any puzzle that involves mainly solving clues in a list without any crossers or other information to help, but as I had a good experience last year with my only other puzzle by this setter (which was not a jigsaw) I decided to try it. I hoped at least to be able to solve two-thirds of the clues from the list.
I actually solved 29 clues out of 47, which wasn’t enough to start the jigsaw. I thought my minimum requirement would be to have six of the eight longer solutions (of 8 and 9 letters), but as I had only four of them I decided not to proceed until I got a bit of extra luck with the clues. On returning to the puzzle a day later I solved three more clues, giving me, crucially, all nine of the 5-letter answers.
The two symmetrical sets of three interlocking 5-letter words in the NW and SE corners enabled me to start the jigsaw, as there was only one way of configuring them. Thereafter the jigsaw itself helped me with my 15 unsolved clues.
The preamble suggested finding the ‘preference’ first, but I would not have found it that way. I found the speaker and then (in plain sight) the preference – an appropriate and very neat thematic device. I too had to look up the word in the title in order to find out its significance.
This crossword was pitched just right for me and was not what I would call easy.
Thanks to Opsimath and kenmac.
A beautiful puzzle. The gentle clues helped offset my worries about attempting a jigsaw puzzle like this.The only real challenge was putting them into the grid with some clues left unanswered. Clean and tidy endgame as well. Excellent work, Opsimath!
I’m not sure where you might keep your ‘hoards’ of fans, Kenmac … 😉
Gentle clues indeed, but the jigsaw element made it fun. With all four of the 8-letter words and two of the 9-letter ones, I had enough to enter PETIT PAIN (top left) and the intersecting EQUITANT, followed by the answers to lots more clues. Solving moved along quite smoothly after that, tho’ it did take longer than it should to spot the two letters to change – I had assumed (wrongly) that the quotation would include the word “prefer”.
PS I knew the derivation of the one-word title: I had a good friend at university whose name was Eleutherios – meaning Freedom in English, and shortened to Fred (which was much more convenient to pronounce).
Thanks to kenmac & Opsimath.
I feel compelled to write following John Dory @5 to proudly own up as a Kenmac fan. And the other IQ bloggers as it happens. I cannot claim to be a hoard but I am a loyal follower. I very much enjoyed this puzzle after WAN’s toughie last week. My route into the jigsaw very much followed HG’s @6. I found LINCELN fairly quickly but got hung up on looking for ABE rather than ABRAHAM. In the end I spotted that the U in BULL could be replaced with an A, saw that BULLET became BALLOT and finally saw ABRAHAM.
I had a few 8- and 9-lettered answers, when I decided to enter SANDGLASS and ALPHABET as crossers in the NE. This proved to be correct, and I was off and running. I stumbled briefly when I had BULL and UMBER instead of BELL and ETHYL for a while, but soon realised I couldn’t fit in ATROPHY. Rather disappointed that I had it all done in the one session. It often takes me until the Sunday evening to finish.
Mang @7 – I’m flattered!
John Dory @ 5
OOPS! I can’t imagine how that happened. Now corrected.
Kenmac,
Jealous? Moi? Of course not – but I’ve just removed you from my Xmas card list.
Kruger
I look forward to carte-blanches, they are one of the things that I can do. Solving the clues is less of a strong point so not having difficult clues was a relief. All done and dusted in an hour or two, compared to last week which was still hopelessly unfinished after two weeks!
Thanks to both Opsimath and kenmac.
We really enjoy the jigsaw-type puzzles so this was up our street.
Joyce was so annoyed when she looked up the title in Chambers at the end. In Greek ‘eu’ is pronounced as ‘ev’ and the Greek phrase ‘Freedom or Death’ is “????????a ? ???????” which she learnt in her evening class some years ago.
Thanks Opsimath and kenmac.
Sorry – the Greek characters I used were not recognised.
This was much more gentle than it looked initially, and balm to the brain after the previous week’s slog. Credit to the editor for ensuring a good balance between the difficulty levels of these puzzles. Thanks, Opsimath.