The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28487.
A very clever and amusing theme: all the answers either end in S, but are not plurals, or do not end in S, but are. I spotted this early enough to be of considerable help, but it was still far from a write-in. There is a wealth of cunning constructions (perhaps a touch heavy on the envelopes) to keep up the interest. Thanks Brendan – you round off an excellent week at the Guardian.
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | ULTIMATA |
Within cult, I’m a target for threats (8)
|
| A hidden answer (‘within’) in ‘cULT I’M A TArget’. | ||
| 9 | AGORAE |
Open spaces in Asian city holding nothing eastern (6)
|
| A charade of AGORA, an envelope (‘holding’) of O (‘nothing’) in AGRA (‘Asian city’); plus E (‘eastern’). | ||
| 10 | LIRE |
Story about Rome’s beginning as capital of Italy some time ago (4)
|
| An envelope (‘about’) of R (‘Rome’s beginning’) inn LIE (‘story’), for a plural of lira, the Italian currency prior to adoption of the euro. | ||
| 11 | SMUTTINESS |
Small ignoramus I brought before head for indecency (10)
|
| A charade of S (‘small’) plus MUTT (‘ignoramus’) plus ‘I’ plus NESS (‘head’). | ||
| 12 | YOICKS |
Excited expression of character in Hamlet, not king or queen (6)
|
| A subtraction: YO[r]ICK’S (‘of character in Hamlet’ – of course, only his skull appears in the play; note the ‘of’ for the possessive ‘S) minus the R (‘not king or queen’ – Rex or Regina). | ||
| 14 | NARCISSI |
Son thus goes into country, returning for flowers (8)
|
| A reversal (‘returning’) of ISSICRAN, an envelope (‘goes into’) of S (‘son’) plus SIC (‘thus’) in IRAN (‘country’). | ||
| 15 | SANCTA |
Private places in clubs, protected by present distributor (6)
|
| An envelope (‘protected by’) of C (‘clubs’) in SANTA (‘present distributor’). | ||
| 17 | LAMMAS |
Priests holding mass for religious feast (6)
|
| An envelope (‘holding’) of M (‘mass’) in LAMAS (‘priests’). | ||
| 20 | AUTOMATA |
They work tirelessly, packing cut fruit in Gold Coast’s centre (8)
|
| An envelope (‘packing’) of TOMAT[o] (‘fruit’) minus the last letter (‘cut’) in AU (chemical symbol, ‘gold’) plus A (‘coAst’s centre’). | ||
| 22 | CANVAS |
Preserve vessel for oil (6)
|
| A charade of CAN (‘preserve’) plus VAS (‘vessel’); the definition is a painting. | ||
| 23 | DESIDERATA |
We want these figures about English team, right? (10)
|
| An envelope (‘about’) of E (‘English’) plus SIDE (‘team’) plus R (‘right’) in DATA (‘figures’). | ||
| 24 | TORI |
One part of it produces things like doughnuts (4)
|
| T OR I (‘one part of IT’). | ||
| 25 | CUMULI |
Unfinished clue I’m altering, about utopian’s head in clouds (6)
|
| An envelope (‘about’) of U (‘Utopian’s head’) in CMULI (or …), an anagram (‘altering’) of ‘clu[e]’ minus its last letter (‘unfinished’) plus ‘I’m’. | ||
| 26 | STIMULUS |
It produces reaction — litmus changes before its conclusion (8)
|
| A charade of STIMUL, an anagram (‘changes’) of ‘litmus’; plus US (‘its conclusion’ – i.e. of litmUS). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ILLINOIS |
Badly in love, is in this state (8)
|
| A charade of ILL (‘badly’) plus ‘in’ plus O (‘love’) plus ‘is’. | ||
| 2 | DICE |
Cast objects to cut (4)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 3 | KANSAS |
First couple in Arizona initially leaving another part of US for a third (6)
|
| A subtraction: [ar]KANSAS (‘another part of US’) minus AR (‘first couple in ARizona’); ‘initially’ simply says that the removed letters are at the start; and, of course, the ‘third’ is yet another part of the US. | ||
| 4 | BACTERIA |
Tiny creatures European found in ancient part of central Asia (8)
|
| An envelope (‘found in’) oof E (‘European’) in BACTRIA (‘ancient part of central Asia’ – in the region of Afghanistan; I only knew of it for the camel). | ||
| 5 | COUNCILMEN |
Nice column represented chaps running local government in America (10)
|
| An anagram (‘re-presented’) of ‘nice column’. | ||
| 6 | CASSIS |
In neighbourhood of Italian town I tossed off fruit drink (6)
|
| A charade of C (circa,’in the neighbourhood of’) plus ASSIS[i] (‘Italian town’) minus the final I (‘I tossed off’). | ||
| 8 | ALUMNI |
Graduates left university in a minute part of UK (6)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of L (‘left’) plus U (‘university’) in ‘a’ plus M (‘minute’) plus NI (Northern Ireland, ‘part of UK’). | ||
| 13 | CENSORIOUS |
Fault-finding survey about old port (10)
|
| An envelope (‘about’) of O (‘old’) plus RIO (‘port’) in CENSUS (‘survey”). | ||
| 16 | TRAPEZIA |
They have parallels, giving thanks when receiving a prize in error (8)
|
| An envelope (‘when receiving’) of RAPEZI, an anagram (‘in error’) of ‘a prize’ in TA (‘thanks’). | ||
| 18 | SCABROUS |
Scaly cobras disturbed more than just me (8)
|
| A charade of SCABRO, an anagram (‘disturbed’) of ‘cobras’; plus US (‘more than just me’). | ||
| 19 | CALAIS |
Cold unfortunately trapping one in port (6)
|
| An envelope (‘trapping’) of I (‘one’) in C (‘cold’) plus ALAS (‘unfortunately’). | ||
| 21 | UTERUS |
Source of issue among computer users (6)
|
| A hidden answer (‘among’) in ‘compUTER USers’. | ||
| 22 | CRANIA |
Operated in group with lots of intelligence — they’re full of brains (6)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of RAN (‘operated’) in CIA (‘group with lots of intelligence’). | ||
| 24 | THUS |
In this way, energy’s extracted from so-called melting pot (4)
|
| A subtraction: TH[e] US (‘so-called melting pot’ – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses ….”) minus the E (‘energy’s extracted’). |
Nice puzzle and blog. I thought I had identified the theme as Latin plurals, later extending it to Latin and Greek plurals (AUTOMATA), but totally missed the other plurals plus the ending-in-S part. All clues accounted for that way, very clever.
BTW there is a bit more Latin-ness in Circa, VAS and UTERUS, and of course 10a, a great clue.
As the puzzle churned out of the printer, ULTIMATA was (ironically) my primis solve. Thenceforth a rather grim grind, with very little DESIDERATA until the very LOI (TORI).
In fairness I suspect it was a wavelength thing, & my fault not the setters. So thanks, Brendan.
Overall this cryptic week came out around B-plus, after a run of lesser grades, so can’t complain.
Fun puzzle, helped by the theme.
New: VAS = vessel or duct; YOICKS.
Liked CRANIA, NARCISSI, AGORAE. AUTOMATA, SANCTA, CENSORIUS.
Did not parse the melting pot bit of 24d THUS = in this way.
Failed to solve 24a TORI.
Thanks, both.
Yes, a little Latin makes a vas deferens …
More or less got the theme fairly early which was very helpful. But like others failed to parse TORI and THUS. Overall, a very fair and clever puzzle.
… and even a smattering helps, but didn’t have enough to suss vas after can without help (oh of course that oil, d’oh). Another d’oh was 2a, down a wormhole thinking “dice used to be slang for throw (cast) about 60 yrs ago, but what about the rest of the clue?”. Talk about a Mutt, as in ‘.. and Jeff’. And to complete the d’oh trifecta tori was a biff, didn’t t or i. Oh well, otherwise it was pretty smooth, and the pluralae were fun, thanks both.
… me @6, meant of course 2 down re dice comment…
Reminded me to go placidly amid the noise and haste, the old DESIDERATA advice!
A very enjoyable solve today, I loved all the plurals without an “S” and the non-plurals ending in “S”! Many likeable clues already canvassed. I also ticked 1d ILLINOIS, 2d DICE (took me a minute for the penny to drop too, gif@6), 3d KANSAS and 21d UTERUS. I was lucky enough to encounter torus/TORI in another recent crossword, when I remembver I needed to google it and saw that doughnut diagram, so I was okay with 24a TORI.
Thanks to Brendan and PeterO. [PeterO, you must have smiled at the reference to your country THe US in 24d THUS – I was another who failed to parse that one! Should have thought of it as I have just organised three e-cards to arrive in the US for the Fourth of July.]
[gif@4, love your “vas deferens” comment on CANVAS, 22a – for a minute I wondered where the de-tailing indicator was for VASE!]
Not sure which deserves more praise; Brendan’s construction or gif’s pun @4. I didn’t spot the theme in its full glory but had noticed how many plurals we had ending in vowels. Of which, CRANIA and SANCTA got my vote. I was beaten by a few, not recalling Bactria or knowing AGORAE and YOICKS simply not coming to mind. Also 2d where I confidently entered FIRE and only saw my error when Check All threw it up.
Thanks Brendan and PeterO
Thanks Brendan and PeterO
No theme for me, of course. I also didn’t parse TORI or THUS. Favourites UTERI and DICE.
UTERUS, of course. I also wondered if Yorick could be considered a “character”. (One of the most frequently misquoted lines – no “well” in the play.)
I thought this was just brilliant but my heart sinks when I read the whingeing in The Guardian comments. What must it be like to be Brendan, creating such a brilliant crossword and then getting mean-spirited complaints about this and that? That’s the norm on most days but it must be dispiriting, to say the least, for the setters. I missed the key aspect of the puzzle – the one you spotted PeterO about the non-plurals all ending in S – though I certainly spotted the latinate and Greek plurals early on, and that helped a lot. We could add “dice” as a plural – seeing as we know it has evolved from the singular “die”? But that’s probably v daft of me. I did not get “vas” – reading it instead as v for vessel and “as” for “for”. Of course that was just wishfulthinkingness…. Really enjoyed this puzzle – thanks all round.
Those pesky four-letter words finally got the better of me: hadn’t spotted the theme and tried JIBE in my LOI, 2D, which I could almost justify, then gave up and revealed it [them?].
Res ipsa loquitor!
Like DoctorWhatson @1, I originally thought the theme was Latin and Greek plurals (and so thought my birthday had come a couple of weeks early) but then found that, as always with Brendan, there was more going on. I just marvel at his inventiveness.
My last one in was 2dn DICE, too, blaise @13. TerriBlislow @12, it is a plural – ‘cast things’ (‘the die is cast’).
Lots of lovely constructions and surfaces- my favourites were 10ac LIRE, 12ac YOICKS, 14ac NARCISSI, 15ac SANCTA, 20ac AUTOMATA, 23ac DESIDERATA (thanks for the quotation, Julie – we had the poster in the ’70s), 6dn CASSIS, 8dn ALUMNI and 13dn CENSORIOUS.
I’m still smiling at ginf’s pun – many thanks for that.
And, of course, huge thanks to Brendan for the fun and PeterO for the blog.
Found this heavy going, but interesting. Spotted the s-less plurals but not the ssingularss. VAS=vessel was a new one (an appreciative OUCH for gif@4) which left me scratching my head over CANVAS – one of the two I didn’t get, along with YOICKS (I even consulted a dramatis personae, but of course Yorick isn’t in it). Did anyone else try to shoehorn the oh-so-nearly-anagram of SLOVENIA (in love is, badly) into 1d?
Yes, Eileen@15 – I know it’s a plural. That’s my point. It is somewhat at odds with the other plurals, even though it does not end with an s, because it gets used as singular. Thanks, as ever though, for putting me right.
Gladys@16 – yes I hold my hand up to the Slovenia trap. I was so blind-sided by that idea and kept trying to work in love, in full, that Illinois was my LOI.
Sorry for misunderstanding you and sounding patronising, TerriBlisow.
And I started off down the Slovenia blind alley, too.
Great stuff. Spotting the conceit helped with some of the clues. One of my last in was CANVAS, as I didn’t see the connection between vas and vessel. Another was YOICKS: is Yorick a character in Hamlet? Hmm. He does appear in Kenneth Branagh’s film, played in flashback by Ken Dodd.
[An actor named George Frederick Cooke (d.1811), according to The Frank Muir Book, “… willed his skull to an American friend, a Dr. Francis, who later gave it to a troupe of players for use in the graveyard scene in Hamlet. So it is quite possible that somewhere, in the U.S.A., George Frederick Cooke is still occasionally putting in an appearance.”
Muir doesn’t say whether Cooke ever played Hamlet himself: if he did, he must be the only actor to have played both roles.]
I found that incredibly tough, possibly more so by having been out gigging until the wee small hours last night/this morning. Ugh.
Unfortunately, compulsory Latin ended 2 years before my time at WHSB so I was mostly all-at-sea on this – even where I had what I thought was an answer I couldn’t work out where is should go plural-wise.
FOI strangely was TORI because just last night I was talking to someone about a visit I did many years back to the Nuclear Fusion experiment at Culham called the Joint European Torus https://ccfe.ukaea.uk/research/joint-european-torus/ . (And I had a cuppa and a rather nice glazed ring doughnut on the train on the way up to London…)
Anyway, this is a VERY clever puzzle and Brendan is to be congratulated and PeterO thanked.
The classical plurals were apparent fairly quickly to me, but I didn’t appreciate the full theme until I came here. A truly excellent concept around which to work an excellent crossword. Like many here, I couldn’t see the parsings for TORI and THUS but just biffed them.
TerriBlislow @ 17 may or may not be interested to learn that dice isn’t used as a singular on this side of the Atlantic. Still “die” here.
Me too – i.e. spotting the (helpful) non-s plurals (plurali?) but missing the S-singulars. I needed help parsing more or less exactly the ones others have mentioned, and also tried to anagram ‘in love is’ – though I had too many crossers to fall into Slovenia. Very enjoyable – thanks, Brendan abd PeterO.
A classic!
Thanks to the ever-inventive Brendan and to PeterO.
A Friday treat – enjoyable from start to finish and I noticed the plurals and the singulars
Thanks to Brendan for a great crossword and to PeterO for the blog
A great piece of setting. Like many, I spotted the plurals but not the singulars.
Failed to spot the T OR I, and THE US (what was a theus?- “Theus” for a service that fifty other Greeks had rendered to oppressed towns without regarding themselves as having done anything very remarkable …)
I particularly liked SANCTA, CENSORIOUS and CRANIA.
Thanks Brendan and PeterO, and ginf @4 for the laugh!
I’m so hopeless at spotting themes that I didn’t notice all the Latin plurals etc. Couldn’t get YOICKS or DICE. But it was a great puzzle. Thanks to B & P.
I’m not sure that it’s fair to call any criticism of this mean spirited? I thought the theme was brilliant and there were some great clues; DESIDERATA, CRANIA and TRAPEZIA to name a few personal faves but I thought some others were questionable – STIMULUS lacked precision and there were quite a few “pub quiz” clues that required GK of proper nouns with no supporting wordplay eg AGORAE, BACTERIA and about 6 or 7 others
Great week overall though – I’d give it an A-
I was another who started off assuming that we were going to Slovenia, maybe because of watching Pogacar and Roglic in the Tour de France. I was just thinking ‘That’s a Ljublj answer’, when I noticed that it didn’t work.
Thanks Brendan, PeterO and gif@4
Multi-pack, inventive fun today!
I thought there might also be a mini-stateside theme (with IL, KS, COUNCILMEN and five solutions ending in US), but perhaps I need to douse my cranium with CASSIS.
Thank you (in the plural) Brendan and PeterO
A quite remarkable achievement by both setter and blogger. Many thanks to both.
My excuse for completely missing the theme is medication for neuralgia – ugh!
I was just pondering whether we were due a Picaroon, but Brendan is just as wonderful a name to be confronted with. Half of this slid in very easy – the theme didn’t require too much consideration – but it was a bit of a slog to tie up the bits and pieces: DICE, CANVAS and suchlike.
DESIDERATA and the surely-been-done-before UTERUS were my favourites.
Thank you PeterO for explaining THUS, VAS (vg ginf@4) and revealing the full magnitude of this setting achievement, add me to the camp of semi-spotters who found a lot of this tough going (i was also at a gig last night but behind the bar so can’t even blame the booze this time).
I didn’t pop over to Slovenia (vg also penfold@30) but fell into PostMark@9’s FIREtrap, consoling myself with a moral victory as I kept plugging away until the DICE tumbled into place rather than just reveal in exasperation.
DESIDERATA and TORI both great clues for obscure words, nice to see TRAPEZIA, but top for me is AUTOMATA whose surface reminds me how lucky I was never to pick pineapples etc while backpacking in Oz – thanks Brendan.
Came late to the party today, and for a while thought I was wading through a Literae Humaniores degree, with all those classical endings. Well, I only actually got as far as Latin O Level…
Thought Automata was a fun clue (until recently there was a lovely little Musuem of Automata in York near the river – great for kids), and like one or two others just couldn’t see the double meaning with DICE, so that one qualified for my last throw this afternoon.
Super puzzle, even before I PeterO told me the theme.
I would never have spotted this theme in a year of head-scratching. Actually, I didn’t devote even a second of head-scratching to looking for a theme, so it’s just as well.
I guessed MUTT for “ignoramus,” but I have no idea why. Not a usage I know.
YOICKS doubles the number of English words I can think of where CK follows two vowels, the other being the nearly-extinct verb “hoick.” I thought of this a while ago when thinking of the French spelling in “steack frites” (steak and fries), supposedly the French national dish, if you can believe it. I’m guessing that to a French eye adding the c makes the word look more English, more like hack and rock and wreck, say. Actually, it makes it look less so, since in English “ck” almost never (see above) follows two vowels. Any more examples where it does? As far as I know, “yoicks” is what you holler as you pursue a fox, and not otherwise — is that right?
muffin corrected me yesterday about whether orcs are characters in the Tolkien books, but I really don’t think ones who are dead before it even begins get to be a character in a play even if their CRANIA do put in an appearance.
The one-M lama, he’s a priest.
The two-M lammas, that’s a feast.
But I will bet a crate of commas
There aren’t any three_m lammmas.
(Sorry, Ogden Nash.)
Me too, Gladys@16 and others. For far too long I thought 1d was an anagram (“badly”) of “in love is.” Led to all sorts of nonsense.
MB@21 Glad you enjoyed your ring doughnut. Is there another kind?
Thanks, Brendan for a super puzzle and PeterO for an excellent blog.
[ MaidenBartok@21, I worked on JET for a while as a graduate student, it is still in operation and will probably continue until ITER in France is running. As always, unfortunately, sustainable fusion is 25 years away ]
Valentine@ 36. Quack.
[ I think Shaggy said YOICKS frequently in Scooby Doo . ]
I saw a comment on the Guardian site, complaining that too much knowledge of Greek and Latin was required. Having a couple of Latin plurals in, I did wonder if that was the theme? But questioned if the Guardian poster thought “STIMULUS” was unfair because it required knowledge of the classics…. Anyway, I missed half the theme because of that, and I’m glad to have been enlightened as it is now twice as good a puzzle as I thought it was.
“VAS” took a while for the penny to drop. Medical terms I should be very familiar with since, I have so many problems – but like William @32, I can claim pain meds for neuralgia as a mitigating circumstance
Thanks to setter, blogger and commentators
[Roz @39: Zoinks! 😉 ]
Gosh, Roz @38, that was quick!
Valentine @36: love the ditty. Very neatly adapted.
[Valentine @36 – as well as quick and quack, there’s oomiack, a variant spelling of umiak (an Inuit boat). This information will probably never be of use to either of us. ;-)]
PostMark @ Roz: How about the US car manufacturer Buick?
[Roz @39: I thought of Scooby Doo, but apparently it was Yikes! or Zoinks! as per essexboy @41]
[ MrEssexboy @ 41 yes of course , well remembered, Scooby Doo Where Are You? original series .
It was always the janitor.
MrPostMark@ 42 the early duck catches the worm.
William@44 good spot, I never know how to pronounce this one. ]
I agree now Penfold , it jogged my memory.
[My link didn’t word as I’d hoped, but you can click on the ‘It’s a Wonderful Word’ book and scroll down a few pages to ‘Yikes’. There are other interesting words in there.]
[Valentine@36 thank you for a worthy tribute to a favourite rhyme of my youth. It may cheer you to know that hoicks over mid-wicket can still be seen every weekend at cricket grounds around the world.]
[William and Roz: I wondered about Buick – I’d include it in the list. Less sure about bivouacking or bivouacked. Certainly adopted into English but of French/Swiss origin.
If all are allowed, Valentine, and with the inflections of hoick you are now up to 9!]
[With inflections: hoick, hoickest, hoicketh/hoicks, hoicked, hoicking, quack, quackest, quacketh/quacks, quacked, quacking. And those who perform said activities are hoickers and quackers.]
[ Sorry MrPostMark@42 , I have only just twigged about your use of quick. Bravo .]
I don’t have much to add. But my home state of ILLINOIS put in an appearance, very cleverly clued, so I suppose I am obligated to pipe up.
[I recall a time when I was in France and we (my now-ex boyfriend and I–this was many years ago) rented a car. When the man behind the counter saw our drivers’ licenses, he said, “Ah–eel-nwah. I’ve always wanted to go there.” It took us a moment: “uh, it’s ill-annoy.”]
[valentine @36. To me a doughnut is more or less a spherical ball of deep fried dough usually filled with a fruit compote. American doughnuts or donuts are annular and seem to be the only form available now – though churros have the same culinary ancestry. ]
[eb @51: you’re showing the benefits of a proper education, wot I never had. I guess we could add quickly, quickest and quicker to the list. And there are compound words including quick – quicksand, quicklime etc
Valentine – bet you wished you’d never brought this up? 😀 ]
[ My early education was in Florence, Dresden and Etruria, but I cannot speak Italian or German, a puzzle for all you cryptic solvers.
Quicksilver is a good word and quicksand from Tarzan. ]
[ …to say nothing of a quickie
PM: I thought the clever men (and women) at Oxford know all there is to be knowed?]
[Roz @56
I don’t know about Florence or Dresden, but Etruria is in the Potteries, I think.]
[ Well done Muffin , quite correct. There are many strange names used for small areas in Stoke on Trent. My primary school was in Florence and my high school was in Dresden. There are also actually six towns, Arnold Bennett missed out Fenton . ]
[Roz @59
I tried Googling Potteries Dresden and Potteries Florence, but just got lots of hits on actual ceramics!]
[ Try Florence colliery Stoke on Trent , or Dresden Longton, but I know zero about these search things, ]
Mostly enjoyed this but between a doctor’s appointment, a couple of beers and then the Tour de France, was not able to devote the full complement of brain cells. That’s my excuse, anyway, for failing on BACT(e)RIA & CANVAS. I’m familiar with the vas deferens joke, but this didn’t help me to get ‘oil’=CANVAS. Am I the only one who thinks this clue is a tad unfair?
TORI was one of my first in, even though I preferred jam-filled donuts as a child, but THUS was unparsed; TH(e) US a melting pot? ‘So called’ indeed! More like a former slave state where the native population has been dispossessed and largely exterminated, but that wouldn’t fit nicely in a clue.
Thanks to PeterO especially for a superb blog, and to Brendan for making it necessary.
[Er… hello, is that Mr Kettle? I’m just calling from England…]
[Valentine @36: Yes! Ring doughnuts are for me not ‘real’ doughnuts – jam doughnuts (no hole; intravenous raspberry jam) are the real thing.
Roz @37: I’m trying to remember when I did a tour of JET – I think it must have been about 1989. I remember being told that firing the magnetic plasma containment system required more power than the local grid could supply so two flywheel generators were built to act as energy stores. My father was an engineer with the CEGB and we managed to wangle a personalised tour. Lucky you for working there – it is utterly fascinating.]
[essexboy @63. I’m in the middle of reading David Olusoga’s Black and British, so I don’t need telling about England’s involvement in the slave trade! Or the many centuries of the British Empire’s conquest and exploitation of large parts of the world – including the 13 colonies that became the United States, of course. If the clue had required TH(e) UK I’d have made a similar complaint – fortunately THUK is not yet a word.]
Hey VinnieD@23 – thanks for that info; a good example of how some North American usage preserves older and otherwise lost forms of British English – and almost certainly other languages, too. (Sorry for the long delay in replying. I do not usually look again at this forum after my morning workout but I was so interested in the responses to this crossword that I thought I would take another look after having had a long stint of boring interior decorating. Time now to get rid of the lingering smell of turps before I prep some dinner.)
Wow – TerriBlislow @12 – not allowed to criticise when it’s tough – maybe only when it’s easy
[ MaidenBartok@64 , it was just a six month placement during post grad. I was only a humble theorist, not allowed to touch anything. Very exciting when there is a “run” but all over in a “flash ” . ]
dicho@54 In the US “doughnut” is assumed to be the torus shape, but some are fat uand disky and filled with custard or fruit jelly. (And jelly is no more the American word for jam than turnip the American word for carrot. They are separate and different.) You can get both kinds at a doughnut shop. (But hardly any turnips.)
Roz@59 In that case, the Potteries remind me of Maine, home of Belfast, Belgrade, Calais, China, Damascus, Bangor, Madrid, , Norway, Poland, Scotland (2 of them in Maine), Stockholm, Troy, Wales Center and Wales Corner, not to mention the homegrown Meddybemps or Teakettle Corner. (Tiny hamlets in rural Maine tend to be called Something Corner, while in rural New York they’re Something Corners.)
I should be more precise about my two-vowel thing. I meant two-vowel combinations like ea or oi that move as a unit. The u in quack or quick doesn’t count because that’s part of the qu in Latin and words from Latin, which move s as its own unit. I’m also not counting words adapted from another language like bivouac, because my point is that it’s a characteristic of English. So my personal collection is still two.
Valentine @69 some areas in the Potteries are named after other places in Europe where fine china is or was produced. Josiah Wedgwood himself named the area of Etruria when he set up his main factory there.
MaidenBartok @64 I’m with you on the doughnuts. And so is Bob Marley. We all know how he likes his 🙂
Valentine@69 would you accept any of haick, chiack or auckland? (Probably not)
Only if the origin of the word is in English, since my point was that the two-vowel thing is a trait of the English language. I find on research that the first (that I can find) Auckland is in Ireland, though it’s in the language of the invaders, and comes from Old English meaning ox-land. So that spelling got fossilized in some earlier century but is legit of English origin.
Very good fun, thanks Brendan and PeterO.
Defeated by DICE though got it on the second attempt.
[That’s enough puns for Tadej, Penfold]
4a “Cast Objects …” Could not help thinking “Who is Cast and to what does he object?” as per “Round objects” from “Yes, Minister”.
Brilliant crossword. Late commenting as usual but wanted to send thanks to Brendan and PeterO. My LOI was the excellent CANVAS which was a satisfying way to finish.
Really enjoyed this one. Thins Brendan and PeterO.
Didn’t see why councilmen was American. Anyone still there?
[Bodycheetah @71: 🙂 However, I’m concerned that given that you posted this 20 hours and 44 minutes after the crossword was published, you may have spent the whole day trying to remember that joke…]
Timmytimtim @77. In the UK we say councillor, not councilman.
Didnt Tori Amos have a doughnut song?(just to confuse the issue)
[copmus @80: And Frankie Laine definitely sang ‘Doughnut Forsake me’]
MB @81 I thought that was Tex Ritter
Simon S @82: It was indeed…
sh@79 Now that you mention it, I don’t know which I call them.
The clue for TORI doesn’t work for me and THUS was a bit dodgy.
Just to clarify about TORI – something should have indicated that the letters would have to be reversed, rather than IORT.