Piccadilly has set puzzles for all the series, although the last five years has seen him (Mick Willey) setting for Enigmatic Variations. He is also that rare beast, someone who sets both word and numerical puzzles.
In Crews, the diagram has clue numbers but no bars, and we are told that some clues overlap. The subsidiary indications in thirteen clues lead to an extra letter not entered in the diagram, and they can be arranged to form the name of an author. Remaining clues are entered in jumbled form. I know some solvers don’t like jumbles, but I just get on with it.
I seem to have the feeling that Piccadilly is a fairly tough setter, but luckily this puzzle is on the easy side since there is a lot of cold solving. There are a number of straightforward anagrams, like ALLOTMENT, MARZIPAN, DEBT COLLECTOR and PERFORATED, plus at least one that was a real pig … OSWALDTWISTLE, which I’d come across sometime ago in another puzzle, but it didn’t spring to mind this week.
Everything went smoothly, albeit somewhat slowly, and we are left with the extra letters ONAAMHURRSETR for the author: the first name, ARTHUR, was an easy spot, and not long after, RANSOME appears. And we have a 3×11 rectangle in columns 2,3 and 4 giving SWALLOWS: JOHN, SUSAN, TITTY, ROGER WALKER, and a 5×5 rectangle (OK, it happens to be a square) in columns 9-13 giving AMAZONS: NANCY, PEGGY BLACKETT. These need highlighting.
Solving time: about 2½ hours, not surprising given all the jumbling required.
Legend:
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
X = extra letters in wordplay
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | O | FLORAL DANCE | furry: (END OF A COLLAR)*; a ‘furry’ is the floral dance held in Helston, Cornwall on 8 May … how specific can you get?! |
| 12 | N | OSWALDTWISTLE | Northern town: (TWIN WAS LOST LED)* |
| 16 | A | ALLOTMENT | grow vegetables on this: (ME NOT (A)T ALL)*; I’m not thrilled with the superfluous punctuation in this clue, especially between ‘ground’, the anagram indicator, and the words to anagram |
| 17 | ARTEL entered as TERAL |
workers’ guild: in stART ELectrical | |
| 18 | JAWS AWSJ |
lectures: J (jack) + WAS* | |
| 19 | MARZIPAN NIRPAMAZ |
ingredient used by confectioners: MAR (injure) ZIP (fly) + AN | |
| 20 | A | FOHN | alpine wind: regularly in FrOm AtHeNs |
| 21 | BAND NADB |
pop group: sounds like BANNED (prohibited) | |
| 22 | NUNS UNSN |
sisters: NUS (students’ organisation) enrolling N (first of Nine) | |
| 23 | SUES ESUS |
entreats: SUE (girl) + S (society) | |
| 24 | M | SUSPECT | doubt: (MCS SET-UP)* |
| 25 | H | PEG | degree: first letters of Professor Helped Edward Get |
| 27 | TARN RANT |
lake: TAR (sailor) + N (northern) | |
| 28 | U | ANTHOLOGY | flower-gathering: (UNHOLY GOAT) |
| 33 | R | RITT | score (Scotland): R (runs) + odd letters of IrRiTaTe |
| 34 | TICKETTYBOO RITTYOOBCKE |
fine: TICKET (list of candidates) + (TO BOY)* | |
| 37 | R | PYROTECHNICS | fit of temper: (CHORES IN CRYPT)* |
| 40 | DO-GOODER OGERDDOO |
self-righteous reformer: DOG (follow) O (old) ODER (German river) | |
| 41 | LOWER OWLER |
put down: BLOWER (telephone) – B (bishop | |
| 42 | WALTER TWALRE |
man: W (wife) + ALTER (castrate, old word) | |
| 43 | STABILE LBTSIAE |
not moving: I (one) in STABLE (set of horses) | |
| 44 | HANDKERCHIEFS DKERISENAHCHF |
noserags: HANKER (yearning) containing D (last bit of colD) CHIEF (head) + S (beginning to Sneeze) | |
| 45 | S | EASY ON THE EYE | attractive: (SEE ONE THEY SAY)* |
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | SALLOWS entered as LSLWOSA |
trees: ALL (everyone) eaten by SOWS (pigs) | |
| 3 | HOWLS OWLSH |
mournful crires: H (hospital) + OWLS (birds) | |
| 4 | TROJANS RAOJNST |
hard workers: TRONS (market places) accepting JA (Job Applications, initially) | |
| 5 | MIDDLE LDMIDE |
central: in (fiELD DIMming)< | |
| 6 | DEBT COLLECTOR | one acting for creditors: DEB (smart young girl) + T (time) + COLLECT (accumulate) + OR (gold) | |
| 7 | PAWN AWNP |
gallery: PAW (obscene, old word) + N (exhibitioN’s last) | |
| 8 | CONCATENATING NITANCGCNOTAE |
joining together: (GET INTO CAN-CAN)* | |
| 9 | PARENT ETRANP |
one having children: [PARTNER – R (right)]* | |
| 10 | E | PLAZA | public square: in purPLE AZAleas |
| 11 | LEMON MELON |
fruit: M (first in Moscow) swallowed by LEON (Trotsky) | |
| 13 | PLANT LTNAP |
young person: PLIANT (easily influenced) – I (independence) | |
| 14 | MESSY SEMSY |
bungling: [EMBASSY – BA (graduate)]* | |
| 15 | T | ELONGATE | extend: (A LEG TO NET)* |
| 18 | PERFORATED AFERRPOTDE |
pierced: (PART OF REED) | |
| 26 | LATHEES ELTSEAH |
weapons: LA (American city, Los Angeles) + THESE* | |
| 29 | THYROID HYTDRIO |
gland: I (iodine) in (DRY HOT)* | |
| 30 | HOBNOB OBHOBN |
private talk: N (knight) in HOBO (tramp) B (baron) | |
| 31 | WHISKEY YKIWSHE |
drink: W (drop of Water) + H (hot) + IS + KEY (essential) | |
| 32 | BICYCLE BECLICY |
means of transport: [IMPECCABLY – MP & A (about)]* | |
| 35 | ODENSE OEDESN |
port: (OSTEND – T)* + E (English) | |
| 36 | R | TEREFA | what’s not kosher: in caTERER FAils |
| 38 | GAWKY YGWKA |
ungainly: [WAY GEEK – EE (Angus’s eye)]* | |
| 39 | LORRY ORLRY |
wagon: L (fifty) + OR (men) + RY (railway) | |
Thanks for putting this blog up.
Even though I didn’t do this puzzle, I’m trying EV904 which looks fun and a bit less mind boggling than other special advanced cryptic crosswords.
Can someone – if anyone reads this – tell me if I’m correct in thinking EV is a little less steep – due to it being the Daily Telegraph – than the other specials crosswords?
And a good place to start for these type of puzzles?
Jake
Thanks for the comment, and good luck with EV904 (French Polish by Samson). In my opinion, the EV series is the easiest of the three barred thematics, with the Inquisitor being marginally more difficult and the Listener even more so. Obviously some weeks will buck the trend.
So to answer your question, I would say you are right to start with EV, especially in conjunction with blogs on this site, but don’t be surprised if you find some that are impossible for you!.
Of course if you want to read other solvers experiences with other puzzles, read Inquisitor blogs here and Listener blogs at Listen With Others (which I help to run!!).
Best wishes,
Dave.
Cheers Dave.
Jake.