[If you’re attending York S&B please see comments 32&33] - here
Poat is a setter who doesn’t appear very often. There has been over two years between Poat puzzles recently.
The preamble this week was fairly short – Clashes arise in eight cells, with an intruder in each case ensuring that the entries read as words, names or phrases. A rearrangement of the intruders reveals a singular culprit (3,5), suggesting a five-word entry in the Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (also ODQ, eg 6th edition) that must be entered below the grid
Before solving, I noted that the grid was asymmetric, so any hope I had of the clashes being symmetrically positioned was rendered fairly unlikely at that point. Indeed, the clashes weren’t symmetrically placed.
There was no indication which clues led to clashes, so I just barrelled in and hoped that the clashes would become obvious. As always seems to be the case in puzzles like this, it was a long time before I found a clash. Towards the end, I still didn’t have many clashes but eventually they all materialised.
The intruder device was not one I have come across before, but it was fairly understandable once I found a clash and could see how the clashes could be resolved by adding an extra letter between the across and down clashing letters. The order of the clashing letters and the intruder in the final grid was sometimes – across-intruder-down and sometimes down-intruder-across. There were four of each type.
The clashes were found at
| Across | Down | Answer | Answer | Intruder | Entry | Entry |
| 14a | 11d | LADA | DIPPER | D | LA-DI-DA | DIDAPPER |
| 18a | 13d | CANBANK | REAL | T | CANTABANK | RENTAL |
| 20a | 3d | MAROR | CHUCKLE | H | MARKHOR | CHUCKHOLE |
| 26a | 1d | GENERAL | BILIMBI | N | IN GENERAL | BILIMBING |
| 36a | 29d | LATED | BRIDON | G | LIGATED | BRIGADOON |
| 38a | 39d | CHID | SPED | A | CHASID | HASPED |
| 40a | 32d | WINDOW | GOLLUM | B | WINDBLOW | GOLDBLUM |
| 41a | 36d | MOSES | LIT | I | MITOSES | LIMIT |
The grid below shows that with three letters entered in each of the clashing cells we generated a fully interlocking crossword.
The intruders formed an anagram of BAD THING. I also considered BAD NIGHT for a time but I couldn’t find anything in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (ODQ) relating to BAD NIGHT or BAD NIGHTS. On the other hand, ODQ had a proverb entry for BAD THINGS (plural) in the form of BAD THINGS COME IN THREES. We have the component letters of BAD THING (the singular culprit) as the intruders in eight groups of THREE letters. Apparently the phrase is a late 19th century proverb. The phrase should be entered below the grid.
The grid with the initial clashes (shown in order accross then down letters) looked like this:
When the intruder was added, the final grid looked like this:
BAD THINGS COME IN THREES
The clues all seemed very fair and I think I have got the parsing right. For some reason, it took me a long time to parse AXILLA at 37 across.
The title CULPRIT refers to the BAD THING.
Sorry about the extra blank lines in the grid below. I’m experimenting with different html editors at the moment and this one has introduced a lot of extraneous “height” directives
| No | Clue | Clash |
Intruder | Entry |
| Across | ||||
| 1 |
Toby’s post-prandial report (5) BELCH (noise produced when voiding [wind] from the stomach by the mouth, an action that can happen after a meal [postprandial]) BELCH (reference Sir TOBY BELCH, a character in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night) double definition BELCH |
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| 5 |
Drunken head’s up around noon with form in absentia (8) UNSHAPED (with no distinct form) Anagram of (drunken) HEADS UP containing (around) N (noon) U (N) SHAPED* |
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| 12 |
You’ll probably want to avoid this gang smuggling heroin (5) CHORE (unpleasant or tedious task, something you will probably want to avoid) CORE (company, gang or shift) containing (smuggling) H (heroin) C (H) ORE |
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| 14 |
Two pairs of dilapidated old red cars? (4) LADA (old Russian [communist; red] cars) LA and DA are both pairs of letters [two pars of] found within the word DILAPIDATED LA DA |
LADA clashes with DIPPER 11d) | D |
LA-DI–DA |
| 15 |
Brute constituting the wall overseas (5) LEMUR (long tailed mammal; animal; brute) LE MUR (French for ‘the wall’ ; the wall overseas) LE MUR |
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| 16 |
Give very hard treatment to 70s comic (5) EMERY (to rub or coat with EMERY, a very hard mineral) EMERY (reference Dick EMERY [1915-1983], English comedian) double definition EMERY |
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| 18 |
Green repository is somewhere you might go before the bench (7) CANBANK (repository for recycling cans; green repository) CAN (informal word for toilet [somewhere you might go]) + BANK (bench for rowers in a galley) CAN BANK |
CANBANK clashes with REAL (13d) | T | CANTABANK |
| 19 |
Strike in parts, no loud strike (3) RAP (strike) FRAP (dialect term [in parts of the country] for strike) excluding (no) F (forte; load) RAP |
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| 20 |
To wed holding ring, not unknown in symbolic part of feast (5) MAROR (dish of bitter herbs [especially horseradish] eaten during the Jewish Passover, symbolizing the bitterness of the Egyptian oppression of the Israelites) MARRY (wed) containing (holding) O (ring shaped character) but excluding (not) Y (letter used to a signify an unknown value in mathematics) MAR (O) R |
MAROR clashes with CHUCKLE (3d) | H | MARKHOR |
| 21 |
Learner – repeat candidate? (8) LITERATE (an educated person without a university degree, especially a candidate for priestly orders) L (learner) + ITERATE (repeat) L ITERATE |
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| 22 |
What protects you from canine in Acton? (5, 2 words) B-CELL (type of lymphocyte or cell, originating (in mammals) in the bone marrow, which manufactures antibodies, present on the cell surface, in response to stimulation by an antigen; something that protects you) BELL (reference Acton BELL [pen name of write Anne Bronte) containing (about) C (canine) B (C) ELL |
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| 24 |
This resin tin could be used for tamarind dressing (5) DAMAR (hard resin used for making varnish) DAMAR (along with TIN, DAMAR can be anagrammed [dressing] TAMARIND*) DAMAR |
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| 26 |
Blanket adjusted near leg (7) GENERAL (relating to the whole or to all or most; universal; blanket) Anagram of (adjusted) NEAR LEG GENERAL* |
GENERAL clashes with BILIMBI (1d) | N | IN GENERAL |
| 28 |
Make a mummy of Frenchwoman holding little dog back (6) EMBALM (to preserve [especially a dead body] from decay by treatment with chemicals or drugs; to preserve with fragrance; mummify) (MME [madamoiselle; form of address for a French lady] containing [holding] LAB [abbreviation for {little} LABRADOR {breed of dog}]) all reversed (back) (EM (BAL) M)< |
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| 31 |
Indian leaves last of tea in sink (4) SAAG (Indian term for spinach; leaves) A (final letter of [last of] TEA) contained in (in) SAG (sink) S (A) AG |
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| 34 |
Remove twist from Windsor knot for excursion (6) SORTIE (raiding excursion) WINDSOR excluding (remove from) WIND (twist) + TIE (knot) SOR TIE |
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| 35 |
Fails to execute three cardinals in a tittle (6) DOESN’T (fails to do) ESN (East, South and North, three cardinal points of the compass) contained in (in) DOT (a tittle) DO (ESN) T |
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| 36 |
Missing one nicety in retrospect, William’s overdue (5) LATED (Shakespearean [William] word for belated or overdue) DETAIL (precision; minutiae; nicety) excluding (missing) I (Roman numeral for one) reversed (in retrospect) LATED< |
LATED clashes with BRIDOON (29d) | G | LIGATED |
| 37 |
Front of jaw must be removed for this cavity (6) AXILLA (armpit, example of a hollow or cavity) ? AXILLA |
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| 38 |
Disciple forgetting Latin is reprimanded (4) CHID (scolded; reprimanded) CHILD (disciple) excluding (forgetting) L (Latin) CHID |
CHID clashes with SPED (39d) | A | CHASID |
| 40 |
Opportunity presented when system falls short (6) WINDOW (period of time when conditions are suitable for a particular activity and constitute an opportunity for it) WINDOWS (Microsoft operating system) excluding the final letter (falls short) S WINDOW |
WINDOW clashes with GOLLUM ( 32d) | B | WINDBLOW |
| 41 |
Receiver of tablets – one’s found in Stirling, maybe (5) MOSES (The book of Exodus in the Bible describes MOSES receiving the tablets from God setting out the Ten Commandments) E (an ecstasy tablet) contained in (found in) MOSS (reference Stirling MOSS [1929-2020], British Formula 1 racing driver) MOS (E) S |
MOSES clashes with LIT (36d) | I | MITOSES |
| 42 |
Aussie bird’s leading note rising (6) EMEUTE (popular rising or uproar) EMEU (alternative spelling of EMU, flightless, fast-running Australian bird) + TE (one of the notes in the tonic sol-fa) EMEU TE |
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| 43 |
Melancholy character at the end of the earth, long ago in verse (6) EEYORE (A fictional character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character) E (last letter of [at the end of] THE) + E (earth) + YORE (poetic [in verse] word for long ago) E E YORE |
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| 44 |
Do away with upright contributing to Verdi’s masterpiece (7) DISMAST (to topple or remove a mast [upright pole] or masts from a ship) DISMAST (hidden word in [contributing to] VERDI’S MASTERPIECE) DISMAST |
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| 45 |
Woman’s failure to exchange money for note (6) DENISE (Woman’s name) DEMISE (failure) with M (money) replaced by [to exchange … for] N (note) DENISE |
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| Down | ||||
| 1 |
Flexible type with one branch tucked inside tree (7) BILIMBI (an East Indian tree of the wood-sorrel family) (I [Roman numeral for one] + LIMB [branch]) contained in (tucked inside) BI (bi-sexual; attracted sexually to both sexes; flexible type) B (I LIMB) I |
BILIMBI clashes with GENERAL (26a) | N | BILIMBING |
| 2 |
Scrooge’s half-cut; one and the same for Scots in hard family (9) EBENACEAE (a family of trees almost as hard as stone) EBENEZER (reference EBENEZER Scrooge, character in Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol) excluding the last four letters [of eight; half-cut] EZER + ACE (one) + AE (Scots word meaning ‘the same’) EBEN ACE AE |
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| 3 |
Clumsy children dropping sweets in honeysuckle (7) CHUCKLE (clumsy) CH (children) + HONEYSUCKLE excluding (dropping) HONEYS (sweets) CH UCKLE |
CHUCKLE clashes with MAROR (20a) | H | CHUCKHOLE |
| 4 |
Stop right before steps in Tel Aviv? (4) HORA (Israeli dance [steps] performed in a circle) HO (instruction to a horse to stop) + R (right) + A (before) HO R A |
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| 6 |
Recognised insect by its sound, a green one (6) NEWBIE ( new arrival on a specific scene, eg on the Internet; a green [inexperienced] one) NEW (sounds like [by its sound] KNEW [recognised]) + BIE (sounds like [by its sound] BEE [insect]) NEW BIE |
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| 7 |
Redecorated seat is wet – very much so! (9) SWEATIEST (most moist or wet) Anagram of (redecorated) SEAT IS WET SWEATIEST* |
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| 8 |
Refuse to hold mass up after husband sang adoringly (6) HYMNED (sang in adoration) H (husband) + (DENY [refuse] containing [to hold] M [mass]) reversed (up;down entry) H Y (M) NED< |
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| 9 |
Historic feast in the heart of the principality (3) ALE (archaic [historic] term for a feast or festival, from the liquor drunk) ALE (middle letters of [from the heart of] WALES [Wales has been referred to as a principality in the past, but the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has defined Wales as a "country" rather than a "principality" since 2011, following a recommendation by the British Standards Institute and the Welsh Government]) ALE |
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| 10 |
Substitute wool from Mt Ararat unravelled by father (10) PARRAMATTA (fabric like that made from merino wool, made of worsted and cotton; substitute wool) PA (father) + an anagram of (unravelled) MT ARARAT PA RRAMATTA* |
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| 11 |
Ripped off pickpocket (6) DIPPER (slang term for a pickpocket) Anagram of (off) RIPPED DIPPER* |
DIPPER clashes with LADA (14a) | D | DIDAPPER |
| 13 |
Former Royal visiting Rievaulx every so often (4) REAL (obsolete [former] word for royal) REAL (letters 1, 3, 5 and 7 [every so often] RIEVAULX) REAL |
REAL clashes with CANBANK (18a) | T | RENTAL |
| 17 |
Pineapples put away in season for cordial types (10) GRENADINES (pomegranate syrups, or similar, used in certain drinks; season for cordial types) GRENADES (pineapple is a term used to describe a grenade) containing (put away) IN GRENAD (IN) ES |
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| 23 |
Plugs in hand tool used for awkward spots (6) PADSAW ( small sawblade with a detachable handle, used for cutting curves and awkward angles) ADS (advertisements; plugs) contained in (in) PAW (hand or foot) P (ADS) AW |
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| 25 |
New property owners understood to withdraw after an untruth (8) ALIENEES (people to whom property is transferred; new property owners) A + LIE (untruth) + SEEN (understood) reversed (to withdraw) A LIE NEES< |
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| 27 |
Unlawfully kill a far-flung visitor in local farmer’s strip (7) LYNCHET (boundary ridge or unploughed strip) LYNCH (judge and put to death without the usual forms of law) + ET (extra-terrestrial; far-flung visitor) LYNCH ET |
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| 29 |
Snaffle free gift packs (7) BRIDOON (the light snaffle usual in a military bridle in addition to the ordinary bit) BOON (gift or favour) containing (packs) RID (to free) B (RID) OON |
BRIDOON clashes with LATED (36a) | G | BRIGADOON |
| 30 |
America in the grip of antiquated Asian stingers (7) MEDUSAE (jellyfish) USA ([United States of] America) contained in (in the grip of) MEDE (one of the people of Media, fused as a nation with the Persians about 500BC) MED (USA) E |
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| 31 |
No-good male getting married and very satisfied north of Gretna (6) STAWED (Scottish word [north of Gretna] for sated [fully satisfied]) STAG (male) excluding (no) G (good) + WED (married) STA WED |
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| 32 |
One who sought precious metal, nearly 75% of nugget (6) GOLLUM (character in J R R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels who refers to the Ring as my precious) GOLD (metal) excluding the final letter (nearly) D + LUM (first three letters [of four], 75% of LUM GOL LUM |
GOLLUM clashes with WINDOW (40a) | B | GOLDBLUM |
| 33 |
Game involving plate and ball (6) PELOTA (any of various related games of Basque origin, popular in Spain, S France and Latin America, in which two players hurl a ball against a marked wall using a basket-like racket strapped to the wrist) Anagram of (involving) PLATE and O (ball-shaped letter) PELOTA* |
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| 36 |
Chillax when corporate bigwig is away – that’s settled (3) LIT (landed; settled) COOL IT (chillax) excluding (is away) COO (Chief Operating Officer; corporate bigwig) LIT |
LIT clashes with MOSES (41a) | I | LIMIT |
| 39 |
Hit the gas pedal? You see what happened (4) SPED (accelerated; hit the gas pedal) SPED (hidden word in [you see] GAS PEDAL) SPED |
SPED clashes with CHID (38a) | A | HASPED |
I found this tough going and although I identified all the clashes, I couldn’t see how to proceed. Partly it’s because some of the new words generated are pretty obscure, but now that I see how the device works, I do wish I had persisted a little longer.
Axilla is of course (m)axilla.
A DNF for me. I don’t have ODQ, I tend to rely on internet searches.
Searching for “bad thing quote” or “bad night quote” with or without “proverb” led nowhere.
Now that I’ve read your blog, it’s left me feeling a bit flat. Sorry Poat and thanks Duncan.
Finding the correct proverb took considerably longer than the grid fill for the same reason kenmac struggled. I’m afraid my heart sinks when we’re asked to lookup something in the ODQ. But this time, somewhat against the odds, I did manage to find it, perhaps because it’s one I find to often be pertinent and quoted hereabouts.
I enjoyed this and managed to deduce BAD THIING but gave up after that (having seen something nasty in the shed)
Thanks :Poat and duncan
I really enjoyed this and thought it was quite a novel idea well-executed. I was familiar with the phrase but decided not to bother writing the phrase since it won’t win me any champagne, olive oil or chocolates…
I’m another who failed to find the relevant proverb. I bought the ODQ when I first started doing the Inquisitor in the 1990s, but as it is only the fourth edition it didn’t have this saying. This is the second time recently when the quote or proverb only appears in the later editions, and Google was no help this time.
For a long time I couldn’t find the last clash as I had HEED for 39 down. It sort of works with the definition as “You see what happened” and the wordplay as HE (Helium) ED, i.e. “heliumed” for stepping on the gas pedal. I eventually saw it had to be SPED contained in “gas pedal”, but never recognised “you see” as the inclusion indicator.
Thanks Poat and Duncan
My solving experience was much like Duncan’s. I have an ODQ, but, on checking, it is the 1979 third edition – so no use. I also went down the bad night route. I can’t now remember what I googled but it was some combination of bad things h and Google suggested “bad things happen in threes” which led me to the conclusion.
I liked the idea of the clashes and the intruder, but I thought it would have been better if the plural version, BAD THINGS had been intruded instead of the singular. OK, but I was left a bit underwhelmed like kenmac.
Thanks Poat and Duncan.
Mine was a positive experience. It was at the right level of challenge for me, it used a cleverly executed and probably unique ‘intruder’ device for the clashes, and it had good clues.
By chance I got the six consonants before I got the two vowels of the eight letters of BAD THING (or ‘bad night’), and A and I were the obvious letters to look for in the remaining two clashes. I couldn’t think of the proverb, but I guessed the plural form would be in it, and I found what I was looking for easily enough in my ODQ 8th edition: ‘bad things come in threes’. I note what others have said about having an up-to-date edition of the ODQ: I would probably not have thought of the proverb given only ‘bad things’ (pluralised), but when I found it I vaguely recognised it.
There were some particularly neat and original definitions for some of the solutions (like ‘post-prandial report’ for BELCH and ‘with form in absentia’ for UNSHAPED), and some of the changes brought about by the clashes were amazing – especially GOLDBLUM/WINDBLOW and DIDAPPER/LA-DI-DA.
Thanks to Poat and duncanshiell.
I agree with Alan B @8; it was a struggle, but when the penny dropped (thank you, Brigadoon) I thought it was a very enjoyable challenge. As for the endgame, I got to ‘bad night’ – and called it a day.
Thanks to Poat and duncanshiell
Pretty hard. I did finish but I’m not sure that the pay-off was commensurate with the effort. Appreciated the work that must have gone into the grid tho’, so thanks. Thanks too for the blog – it cleared up the wordplay for one or two of the clues.