It’s over a year since I blogged a Dalibor puzzle, so it’s good to get another opportunity.
As I finished the blog, I realised that it was a Tuesday, so there was likely to be a theme. I expect many people saw it much quicker than I did. There are links between many entries and clues to the book and television series Normal People. Grid entries MESCAL, DAISY, COLLEGE, DUBLIN, SHERIDAN, TRINITY, ROONEY and SLIGO are all associated with the book or the series, while clues mention Normal People, Marianne, Connell, Peggy, Ireland and Lorraine. I haven’t read the book or watched the series, but my wife has done both. Almost certainly there will be a few more references I have missed.
I enjoyed this puzzle and thought there were some good clues. The football clue at 23 down linking Roy Hodgson and Wayne Rooney was clever. I like quirky clues, so the one for NEEDED went down well. It was good to get a Johnson  who wasn’t Lyndon Baines or Dr Samuel or Boris.
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| Across | |||
| 1 | Piece of furniture having unpleasant smell? Fine when in church (8) |
BO (body odour; unpleasant smell) + OK (okay; fine) + (AS [when] contained in [in] CE [Church {of England}]) BO OK C (AS) E |
BOOKCASE (piece of furniture) |
| 5 | Hot priest shows wit (6) |
Anagram of (hot) PRIEST ESPRIT* |
ESPRIT (wit or liveliness) |
| 9 | Normal People full of sex appeal? That’s cheesy! (8) |
PAR (normal) + (MEN [people]) containing [full of] SA [sex appeal]) PAR ME (SA) N |
PARMESAN (hard dry cheese) |
| 10 | Case of Marianne disrupting class, abandoning school – some spirit! (6) |
ME (outer letters of [case of] MARIANNE) + an anagram of (disrupting) CLAS ME SCAL* |
MESCAL (spirit distilled from the fermented juice of the agave) |
| 12 | In relation to ‘heat’: time woman’s getting male partner (9) |
T (time) + HER (woman’s) + M (male) + ALLY (partner) T HER M ALLY |
THERMALLY (in relation to temperature [heat or coldness]) |
| 13 | Flower girl found at Platform 25 (5) |
DAIS (platform) + Y (the 25th letter of the alphabet) DAIS Y |
DAISY (flower) DAISY (girl’s name) |
| 14 | Connell regularly meets Peggy, at last alone (4) |
ONL (letters 2, 4 and 6 [regularly] of CONNELL) + Y (final letter of [at last] PEGGY) ONL Y |
ONLY (without others; alone) |
| 16 | Porter perhaps keeps on offering student accommodation ? (7) |
COLE (reference COLE Porter [1891 – 1964], American composer and songwriter) containing (keeping) LEG (the on side in cricket) COL (LEG) E |
COLLEGE (some students live in COLLEGE accommodation) |
| 19 | Meat: food rejected in German city (7) |
HAM (meat) + GRUB (food) reversed (rejected|) HAM BURG< |
HAMBURG (German city) |
| 21 | It’s nonsense to be quiet (4) |
TO + SH (be quiet) TO SH |
TOSH (nonsense) |
| 24 | Correct answer will reveal body parts (5) |
RECTA (hidden word [will reveal] in CORRECT ANSWER) RECTA |
RECTA (plural of the terminal part of the large intestine; body parts) |
| 25 | 26 unhappy about smooth melodic effect (9) |
Anagram of [unhappy] SLIGO (entry at 26 down) containing (about) SAND (to smooth) GLIS (SAND) O* |
GLISSANDO (the effect produced by sliding the finger along keyboard or strings; melodic effect) |
| 27 | Here in Ireland, couple’s without love (largely what love is, they say) (6) |
DU DU BLIN |
DUBLIN (Capital city of the Republic of Ireland) |
| 28 | Split vote in Parliament (8) |
DIVISION (rupture; split) DIVISION |
DIVISION (the taking of a vote in Parliament) double definition |
| 29 | Required: E, N and D, served in various quantities (6) |
NEEDED – a word formed from the three letters E, N and D in different quantities. In alphabetical; order, there are 2 Ds 3 Es and 1 N NEEDED |
NEEDED (required) |
| 30 | I listened to fado performance, end of July, in the sun (3,2,3) |
EYE (sounds like [listened to] I) + an anagram of (performance) FADO + Y (last letter of [end of] JULY) It’s not necessary to understand the word FADO, but it is Portuguese folk music, so the following word ‘performance’ is very apt, as is the allusion conveyed by the clue EYE OF DA* Y |
EYE OF DAY (the sun) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Somewhere off the beaten track, young person starts to visit Roman city (6) |
YP (initial letters of [starts to] YOUNG and PERSON) contained in (in) BATH (a city in England with Roman origins) B (YP) ATH |
BYPATH (secluded or indirect PATH; somewhere off the beaten track) |
| 2 | Writer of ordinary book’s nothing to Lorraine (6) |
O (ordinary) + B (book) + RIEN (French [Lorraine is a Region of France]) O B RIEN |
O’BRIEN (reference Edna O’BRIEN [born 1930], Irish novelist) |
| 3 | The best thing that goes with strawberries (5) |
CREAM (best part of anything) CREAM |
CREAM (a foodstuff that is frequently served with strawberries) |
| 4 | Johnson‘s occasionally in blue during visit (7) |
NLE (letters 2, 4 and 6 of [occasionally] of IN BLUE) contained in (during) STAY (visit) STA (NLE) Y |
STANLEY (reference STANLEY Johnson [born 1940], father of the current UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson) |
| 6 | People wasting money stop eating chips? On the contrary (9) |
SPALLS (splinters; chips) containing (eating) END (stop), i.e. the opposite of [on the contrary] of what the first part of the clue suggests. SP (END) ALLS |
SPENDALLS (spendthrifts; people wasting money) |
| 7 | Suddenly moved back from playground’ that’s greasy (8) |
REC (recreation ground; playuground) + OILED (greasy) REC OILED |
RECOILED (suddenly moved back) |
| 8 | They keep records of unbelievable husband leaving Maidenhead (8) |
TALL (hardly to be believed, as in TALL tale) + TALL YMEN |
TALLYMEN (people who keep counts or records) |
| 11 | Time together to become less intense, they say (4) |
SYNC (sounds like [they say] SINK [diminish; become less intense]) SYNC |
SYNC (synchronise; coincide or agree in time) |
| 15 | Deranged Etonian securing university grant without bombast? Sweet! (9) |
Anagram of (deranged) ETONIAN containing (securing) (U [university] + G NO (U G) ATINE* |
NOUGATINE (hard, chewy confection made of a sweet paste filled with chopped almonds, pistachio nuts, cherries, etc) |
| 17 | Playwright‘s woman managed to steal papers (8) |
SHE (referring to a woman) + (RAN [managed])containing (to steal) ID ([identity] papers) SHE R (ID) AN |
SHERIDAN (reference Richard Brinsley SHERIDAN [1751 – 1816], Irish satirist and playwright) |
| 18 | Friendly guy supporting Jamie after dropping clothes (8) |
AMI CABLE |
AMICABLE (friendly) |
| 20 | Musical performance on island (4) |
GIG (concert; performance) + I (island) GIG I |
GIGI (a Musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and by music Frederick Loewe. It is based on the 1944 novella GIGI by Colette and 1958 hit musical film of the same name) |
| 21 | Taking part in attempt to create threesome (7) |
IN IT (taking part) contained in (in) TRY (attempt) TR (IN IT) Y |
TRINITY (threesome) |
| 22 | Louis XIV discovered Germany’s cruel (6) |
UN KIN D |
UNKIND (cruel) |
| 23 | Footballer, one given welcome by coach Hodgson (6) |
ONE contained in (given welcome by) ROY (reference ROY Hodgson [born 1947, well-travelled and multilingual football manager who has managed top-flight league teams as well as national teams in several countries. He is currently managing Crystal Palace in the English Premiership) RO (ONE) Y |
ROONEY (reference Wayne ROONEY [born 1985], English footballer, currently interim manager at Derby County, an English Championship team) |
| 26 | County should look into golden opportunities for starters (5) |
SLIGO (first letters of [starters] of each of SHOULD, LOOK, INTO, GOLDEN and OPPORTUNITIES) SLIGO |
SLIGO (County in the Republic of Ireland) |
This was all good fun, and the perfect level of challenge for us, so thanks to Dalibor. There were a few unfamiliar words (BYPATH, SPENDALLS), but these were gettable from the clues and the crossers.
Thanks to duncanshiell for explaining the parsing of 27a (we were trying to do something with “double” for couple) and the theme, as we haven’t read the book or seen the series. We had spotted an Irish theme, with 21d 16a 27a, and a few other Irish authors and places, but hadn’t tied these together.
7d and 29a across were our favourite clues. 28a divided opinion here (see what I did there?) One of us liked it; one of us thought that the two meanings were too close to be a truly satisfying double definition.
Right level of challenge for me also. Completed but didn’t correctly parse 27a or 29a. Slight quibble with 13a , never seen position of letter in alphabet used in clue before (although I realised that was what it was referring to).
Johnnybgoode @ 2
Using a letter’s numerical location to signal it is not at all uncommon, though of course I can’t immediately think of any recent examples. I think ‘coach 8’ has been used to define BUSH in the past.
Thanks Dalibor and DS
Johnnybgoode @2. Your point about 13a occurred to me too, but I interpreted the clue as a whole. So, it’s not simply that Y = 25, but rather that the platform number 25, the 25th platform, is DAIS Y. Does that make more sense?
We spotted a few Irish references but didn’t twig the theme. It didn’t stop us solving,and enjoying, the crossword. DavidO’s explanation of 13ac is surely correct.
Thanks, Dalibor and Duncan.
Themes I can usually take or leave, but I really enjoyed reading Normal People and the TV adaptation was excellent too (the cinematography is astonishingly good), so I am happy to spell out the references since no-one else has. The book is by Sally ROONEY; the protagonists and on-off lovers are Marianne Sheridan and Connell (Waldron); they grew up in SLIGO but ended up together at TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, where they meet Peggy; they are played in the TV series by DAISY Edgar-Jones and Paul MESCAL; Lorraine is Connell’s mother; and the surface of 10ac will paint a picture if you do read the book or watch the series. If the former, be prepared for a complete lack of inverted commas (you’ll get used to it by about page five).
Well done to Dalibor for getting all the themed material in – delightful Tuesday entertainment. And thanks to Duncan too for blogging.
Ah well another tumbleweed thematic for me.. maybe I should get out less… interesting mixture of suspiciously easy eg 3dn, n maddeningly convoluted eg 2dn.. n still not sure what the last part of the surface of 6dn added.. except to further confuse?
thanks duncanshiell n Dalibor
This was one of those where I got through a lot quickly and then struggled, with quite a bit of use of the reveal button. A few were unparsed even after that. Eye of day was new to me, and although nougat’s familiar I hadn’t heard of nougatine. 4d and 23d both raised a smile.
um @ 7
The last part of 6D tells you what to do with the components: as it stands the surface says ‘stop eating chips’, while the ‘on the contrary’ solution has chips eating stop.
Nice to see a more contemporary theme, with lots of names very skilfully weaved in. Is 5ac’s hot priest a reference to another TV character – and another Irishman – Andrew Scott’s character in Fleabag?
Thanks to Dalibor and duncanshiell
Thanks DavidO for explanation of 13a; it makes sense now. Same explanation applies for Simon S’s coach 8 example.
Many thanks to those who commented and Duncan, in particular.
Kathryn’s Dad @6 has mentioned most of the clue references.
(Ita) O’BRIEN (2dn) is another one, the intimacy coordinator who was universally praised for her work during the many sex scenes (indeed, 9ac).
I even booked a place for JAMIE (in 18dn), not so long ago apparently the ‘most hated man’ in Ireland.
The easy clue at 3dn is a nod to the ‘strawberry’ scene in Italy (Jamie: ‘where’s the cream?’).
I totally agree with Kathryn’s Dad about the stunning cinematography of the TV series.
The actors (not just Paul and Daisy) are fabulous too, as is the soundtrack.
Still available on the iPlayer for a few months, roughly until the third lockdown.
Charlie @10: ‘Hot priest’ was indeed a deliberate choice.
See also this: https://ew.com/tv/normal-people-comic-relief-fleabag-hot-priest/
Never seen the series and hardly heard of it, but I shall seek it out now. I’m more comfortable with Cole Porter than with Stanley Johnson: far better known to me. But maybe the fact that Porter had a ‘perhaps’, but Johnson didn’t, means that most people would be more familiar with Stanley.
29A: That’s a Letter Bank type clue, isn’t it? A bit unusual, I think.