A puzzle with a theme so obvious I shall be astonished if anyone claims to have missed it.
For the second week running the Prize puzzle featured an unannounced theme: Agatha Christie last week and Gilbert and Sullivan this week. Brummie has managed somehow to insert the names of both composer and lyricist as well as references to at least seven of their works (HMS Pinafore, Trial by Jury, Patience, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, The Gondoliers and Utopia, Limited). I have to admit that spotting the theme early on did make the puzzle relatively easy (although it took us far too long to get PIRATES, even after we had worked out PENZANCE). And MINUTE MARK, which is a phrase not found in either Chambers or the Oxford Dictionary of English (or the OED for that matter) was the last one in.
Unlike the puzzles by his alter ego, Cyclops, there are absolutely no political references in this puzzle (unless you think that UTOPIA TOPSY-TURVY just about sums it all up). Thanks, Brummie, for an enjoyable end to what has been a week of mixed emotions, in a political sense (Timon helped ensure the re-election of Matt Western MP, bucking the trend in this region). Yes, it was another fairly easy puzzle but, as I have said before, I see no cause for complaint there, as long as we get some tougher ones from time to time (and no doubt we will next week, with the Christmas special).
| Across | ||
| 8 | PINAFORE | One in favour of donning long protective wear (8) |
| A FOR in PINE (long). | ||
| 9 | TRIAL | Industrialised housing experiment (5) |
| Hidden in industrialised. | ||
| 10 | ORAL | Because there’s no beginning a Latin exam (4) |
| (F)OR A L(atin). How would Cyclops have clued this, I wonder? | ||
| 11 | TOPSY-TURVY | In confusion, turn over before syrupy TV broadcast (5-5) |
| T(urn) O(ver) *(SYRUPY TV). Another Gilbertian reference: “topsy-turvy” was the term used to describe Gilbert’s early works (and was the title of Mike Leigh’s 1999 film about the pair). | ||
| 12 | STUPOR | Rubbish Proust — result of too much drink? (6) |
| *PROUST. | ||
| 14 | PATIENCE | Broadcast people treated as a game (8) |
| Homophone of “patients” – people treated. | ||
| 16 | GILBERT | Mr White‘s gerbil smeared over Tarantino’s head? (7) |
| T in *GERBIL. Gilbert White was a 18th century naturalist | ||
| 18 | PIRATES | Draws breath, since fleeing raiders |
| (as)PIRATES. | ||
| 21 | SULLIVAN | Celebrated prizefighter making audible smear on vehicle (8) |
| Sounds like “sully van”. John L Sullivan was (probably) no relation to Sir Arthur Sullivan. | ||
| 23 | MIKADO | Emperor king gets in amid dodgy circle (6) |
| K in *AMID, O. | ||
| 24 | GONDOLIERS | Canal workers, for whom there’s no hope, welcoming lido refurbishment (10) |
| *LIDO in GONERS (those for whom there’s no hope). And Lido is itself of course a Venetian reference. | ||
| 26, 5 | MAIN STAY | Water distribution network connected to river support (8) |
| MAINS TAY. | ||
| 27 | IBSEN | From the same source, money makes the writer (5) |
| IB (for ibidem) SEN (low value Japanese coin). | ||
| 28 | PENZANCE | Town in New Zealand, one flooded with cash (8) |
| NZ A in PENCE. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | LIBRETTI | Start to learn about Tibet suppressing resistance, before one books (8) |
| L(earn), R in *TIBET, I. The anagram indicator is “about”, which isn’t perhaps the most obvious word to use. Of course it’s another nod to the theme. | ||
| 2 | See 25 | |
| 3 | PORTER | Drink ‘turned on’ hotel employee (6) |
| PORT, RE (rev). And another thematic reference: Sir Joseph Porter is the First Lord of the Admiralty in HMS Pinafore. | ||
| 4 | JET PIPE | Penny fills black pudding, which emits gases (3,4) |
| JET (black), P in PIE. | ||
| 5 | See 26 across | |
| 6 | MINUTE MARK | It could denote feet of little note (6,4) |
| A simple charade but neither Timon nor I were familiar with the phrase, which refers to this symbol ‘ , the indication of minutes of arc or linear feet. | ||
| 7 | SLAVIC | As it was written round the loo of a certain European? (6) |
| LAV in SIC (as it was). | ||
| 13 | PEBBLEDASH | Being stoned, has applied a decorative coating (10) |
| PEBBLED *HAS. | ||
| 15 | TUI | New Zealand bird‘s partial intuition (3) |
| Hidden in intuition. Very similar clue to 9 across. | ||
| 17 | REV | On very short cycle (3) |
| RE V(ery). | ||
| 19 | END PIECE | Poorly experienced Rex turned out to be the ultimate jigsaw puzzle completer (3,5) |
| A subtractive anagram; take the letters of REX from “EXPERIENCED” and shuffle the remainder to produce the answer. | ||
| 20 | UNKEMPT | Shrunk, emptied — essentially neglected (7) |
| Another hidden clue, but a little more subtly done. | ||
| 22 | UTOPIA | Ideal place for patio conversion, after you texted (6) |
| U (you in text speak), *PATIO. | ||
| 23 | MISHNA | Somewhat squeamish nanny’s contribution to the Talmud (6) |
| And a further hidden clue (“squeamish nanny”) for a somewhat obscure word. | ||
| 25, 2 | LINE CALL | Court judgement row over name (4,4) |
| A simple charade of LINE (row) and CALL (name). Nicely misleading definition. | ||
| 26 | MOAT | Possible castle fortification said to be minor blemish (4) |
| Sounds like “mote” (blemish), although confusingly mote is an alternative spelling of “motte”, meaning the mound on which the castle might be built. | ||
*anagram
Bridgesong pretty much summed it up, but what’s with the “with” in 28a?
Singing the judge in T by J in school matric year was my one and only stage appearance; it was fun, as was this. Pebbledash not a word much heard here but I like it (btw, is ‘stoned’ doing double duty here?). Younger solvers mightn’t know the ‘ mark, although feet are still in use as measure in some contexts. Nho Mr White, naturalist, tho I did see the one in Tarantino’s film (shudder!, after which that night’s ep of The Bill was like a feather-stroke). Thanks both, and to all a happy Solstice for today and a joyful Season.
Thanks to Brummie and bridgesong. Yes, catching the theme early on made things easier (e.g., getting PENZANCE led to PIRATES) and I knew MISHNA but new to me were TUI and GILBERT White (both of which I parsed but then looked up). I did not get MINUTE MARK until late in the week after many experiments with the crossers (I did finally get some reassurance on-line).
Sorry to mention the obvious, but Libretti should surely get a themed blue hi-light for it’s operatic connection.
I got MINUTE MARK: it was JET PIPE I had to Google to make sure it was real.
I managed to spot the theme in this puzzle. IT was an anjoyable solve.
Thanks B+S.
I can’t attempt today’s as I do not have a printer.
To my everlasting shame, I didn’t spot the theme until I entered PENZANCE as my LOI, but good fun , nonetheless.
Thanks B and b.
Thanks Brummie and bridgesong
Yes, pretty easy. JET PIPE was my last too.
PORTER caused confusion. It seems that Brummie isn’t aware that it is also a drink – a light stout – hence making the PORT RE wordplay unnecessary!
Another disappointingly easy puzzle – with the exception of MINUTE MARK. It took me ages to get this and even then it was a semi-guess. Spent a long time wondering if ‘walz’ could be an alternative to waltz, then, when I got the K, I was wondering about ‘walk’ … !
Thanks to bridgesong and also hope that we’ll get some more interesting puzzles over Christmas. And if Brummie happens to be reading this – there was nothing wrong with your puzzle, it would have been fine on a Monday. But it’s just not on for a prize.
I once blogged a puzzle and failed to spot the grid contained the names of the entire 1966 World Cup winning England football team. I no longer regard anything as obvious!
Thanks both.
Rarely for me I spotted the theme and it helped. I had the same thought about PORTER as Muffin and didn’t enter it until there was no alternative. It’s also another G&S link in that Sir Joseph Porter was Leader of the Queen’s Navee in HMS Pinafore.
Thanks to Brummie and bridgesong.
Pino @11: yes, I did point that out in the blog, and highlighted it in the grid…
Dr Whatson @1: I don’t think anyone has replied to your question re 28a. I parsed it as NZ + A, “flooded with” (= covered by = inserted into) PENCE.
Thanks Brummie and bridgesong.
Well, I failed on Christie last week but I did get this one- with Gilbert early on!- and I found this rather entertaining. I can’t say I’m much of a G&S fan but knew all of these.I also had some trouble with MINUTE MARK and I was another who guessed it once the crossers were in!
Thanks Brummie.
bridgesong@12
My apologies for repeating what you had already said. I must confess that I don’t always check the blog if I am confident in my parsing. It narks me a bit when those who comment here clearly haven’t looked at what has already been posted, so no excuses really.
Even spotting the theme, I didn’t find this a walk in the park. So thanks to B and b.
Michelle @6: it’s not too late to put a printer on your Christmas list …
For once I spotted the theme before finishing (but well after I’d enter G and S individually and some of the others). JET PIPE took me a couple of days for some reason.
Btw, Bridgesong, the MINUTE MARK is also used for divisions of time: 3’21” means 3 minutes and 21 seconds.
Peedee, had to laugh at you missing the World Cup squad. I remember the puzzle, but not your blog. I wonder what you said about CHARLTON appearing twice?
Jet pipe beat me. I got p in pie but missed jet=black.
An angle can be measured in degrees minutes and seconds indicated using second and minute marks. Second also appears as an angle in the definition of a parsec
Thanks bridgesong. Be astonished, I missed the theme completely. I can only offer the excuse that most of the answers just wrote themselves in and required no further thought. It was over very quickly.
It’s two weeks later, so no one will read this but I have to comment anyway. My late father was the music director for the Savoy Society in Ottawa, and he directed all the operas mentioned here except for Utopia Unlimited. I was looking through a scrapbook of newspaper articles and reviews of his productions recently, and the next day I completed this crossword. To my astonishment, my LOI was 17 down, REV, which happen to be his initials. Spooky or what?
Spooky indeed. I read it, because I hang on to my puzzles until I’ve given up all hope of completing, and only then check here. It was libretti that had me stumped.