Absolutely no ambiguity about the preamble this month, but a tricky challenge nonetheless.
Picaroon has managed to construct a grid where every answer bar one is in fact two answers joined together and cycled, so that the starting point is anywhere but the beginning. Likewise the two clues are joined seamlessly. In addition, the 26 perimeter cells contain every letter of the alphabet. The one standard clue provides some crossing letters (including a useful “v”) to help solvers get started. This was a very satisfying solve, and I found it helpful to keep a record of the letters used in the perimeter cells as this narrowed the possibilities as the cells got filled. I have shown in the blog where I think the dividing line between the clues is to be found.
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | BINEDATAVISMCOM |
Together in packs teased /American about one vast, awful tendency to regress (8 and 7)
|
| COMBINED – IN inside COMBED (teased); ATAVISM – *(1 VAST) inside AM. | ||
| 9 | KONEDDULLESTREC |
Crimson dresses fashion label figure thought /most unexciting — clean clothing line by the French (8 and 7)
|
| RECKONED – CK (Calvin Klein) ONE inside RED; DULLEST – L(ine) LE inside DUST (clean). | ||
| 10 | JAYAUSTRIAPOPIN |
Dandy old man and home bird /are, with learner, leaving one country or another (8 and 7)
|
| POPINJAY – POP (old man) IN (home) JAY (bird); AUSTRIA – AUSTR(al)IA | ||
| 11 | TELEVISION SET |
Novel ties and novel ties in the box (10,3)
|
| *(NOVEL TIES TIES). A lovely clue. | ||
| 12 | FELLOWSEVERLONG |
Going on a while, male poet/ cut free verse (10 and 5)
|
| LONGFELLOW – LONG (going on a while) FELLOW (male); SEVER – *VERSE. | ||
| 13 | LLSTROJANSHOLDA |
Building’s filled by worn-out luggage,/ itinerant sort welcoming month in Paris etc (8 and 7)
|
| HOLDALLS – OLD inside HALLS; TROJANS – JAN in *SORT. | ||
| 14 | VERATEDVIEDASSE |
Struggled with film about English/ fool First Lady thought highly of, it’s claimed (4 and 11)
|
| ASSEVERATED – ASS EVE RATED; VIED – E in VID. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | UIVOCALTREBLEEQ |
Horsey type mostly speaking up in ambiguous/ high voice, which is to shake after losing heart (9 and 6)
|
| EQUIVOCAL – EQUI(ne) VOCAL; TREBLE – TRE(m)BLE. | ||
| 2 | YEYEFALLFLATLAZ |
Three months in US accommodation fizzle out, /I heard, after rest nursing unknown ocular trouble (4,4 and 4,3)
|
| FALL FLAT – FALL (autumn, or three months) FLAT; LAZY EYE – Z (unknown) inside LAY (rest), EYE (sounds like “I”). | ||
| 3 | HATDISAVOWSOMEW |
Deny Ovid was exchanging /notes? I didn’t hear that, to an extent (7 and 8)
|
| DISAVOW – *(OVID WAS); SOME (notes) WHAT (I didn’t hear that). I’m not sure exactly how “some” is indicated by “notes”, but it’s in Bradford’s. | ||
| 4 | SABLERASHERADVI |
Best mince as bad and vile /meat’s less prudent (9 and 6)
|
| ADVISABLE – *(AS BAD VILE); RASHER – double definition. | ||
| 5 | TILEBARONESSTEX |
Material in tip of trilby — old hat /noble individual’s seen in pubs (7 and 8)
|
| TEXTILE – T(rilby) EX TILE (old hat); BARONESS – ONE’S in BARS. | ||
| 6 | OMATRONSELDORAD |
Old lady with disrespectful laugh about nurses /treated older trouble in fabulous place (7 and 2,6)
|
| MATRONS – MA, SNORT (rev); EL DORADO – *OLDER ADO. | ||
| 7 | ROVELISTINGDISP |
Contradict detective, special expert on vice, gutted /computer printout‘s left by current Police leader (8 and 7)
|
| DISPROVE – DI S PRO V(ic)E; LISTING – L(eft) I (symbol for electric current) STING (leader of The Police band). |
This was my first Genius, and coming from the Inquisitor, I assumed that the header “Set by Picaroon” meant that the title of the puzzle was “Set”. This led me immediately to TELEVISION SET!
And as for SOMEWHAT: Chambers has ‘so’ and ‘me’ as variants of the notes ‘sol’ and ‘mi’.
Thanks to Bridgesong, and to Picaroon, for a triumph of construction. I found this more satisfying than some of the Geniuses where the challenge is to interpret the instructions, but that didn’t mean it was easy!
We got 11a early, which helped, but even so it was quite a long time before we could write in others with confidence – as both parts of a solution were needed and even then it could only be entered if the answer had only one occurrence of the crossing letter.
To compensate, I thought the clues were fair, and of course it got easier as the grid filled, and one could look for perimeter letters not yet used.
We liked it!
I made it my resolution to finish a Genius this year and thought I was off to a good start with this one when TELEVISION SET came without too much trouble… but it got much more tricky after that and I never got round to finishing it. Good fun though.
Thanks Picaroon for an excellent crossword (a triumph of construction, as Mr Beaver says), and bridgesong for filling in the gaps in my solving ability.
The Genius series continues to delight and reward. I found this puzzle as challenging as most of those I have tackled since I started doing them about six months ago.
The design was brilliantly simple (or simply brilliant). I liked the way the central across clue (TELEVISION, my first to solve) provided an anchor for the Down clues that I managed to solve first. Pairs of answers then went in as I managed to get them, followed by individual answers as and when they would fit. My last two clues to solve were 8a and 13a, and the four letters of the alphabet that were left (ABLM) helped.
Many thanks to Picaroon for the excellent construction and the exemplary clues. I kept coming to a stop, but never for too long.
And thanks to bridgesong for the blog.
I really enjoyed this. As others have said, the fact that TELEVISION SET was a straightforward clue made the whole thing fair for the solver. Hidden among the intricacies of the construction were some excellent clues with cleverly hidden definitions. My favourites were TROJAN and MATRONS.
Thanks to Picaroon and bridgesong
I’m just an occasional Genius solver, but I do look at all of them to see if they look interesting. Recently they seem to have been in the “life’s too short for this” category, but this one was definitely in my Goldilocks zone. Just difficult enough to be challenging, without being frustrating, and a very clever construction.
The solutions came gradually but steadily, but I really got stuck at 13a. Just couldn’t see TROJANS, until daughter stepped in to help. (And somewhat annoyingly saw it straight away ). Now it’s my favourite.
Thank you Picaroon and bridgesong. That was fun.
Thanks Picaroon and bridgesong.
Terrific setting. Another successful GENIUS solve for me – encouraging.
I got TELEVISION SET early( only way to start)and then it was just chipping away
A very clever grid and a roller coaster of a ride
Thanks
Many thanks for the splendid blog, bridgesong, and for unravelling everything so clearly. I had no idea if this was going to work or not, but as it doesn’t appear to have triggered any apoplexy, I’m concluding it was OK!
(Small point, but I’d intended the “horsey type” in EQUIVOCAL to be an equid, rather than an equine, just because I’d say words like mostly / almost / nearly / briefly / short should only really indicate removing the final letter, rather than an unspecified number of letters, which would be rather unfairly vague!)
Picaroon, thanks for dropping in, always appreciate those setters who take the trouble. And I take your point about equid; it did occur to me when solving, but I opted for the more familiar equine.
Thanks for this Picaroon, it was really fun and just the right amount of challenging for me (someone who usually completes a Genius, but usually rather slowly and with considerable headache!)
It’s always refreshing to see an imaginative variation on the standard crossword style and structure, this was original without being gimmicky.
@Crossbar, yes I was completely fooled by ‘Paris etc’ for TROJANS, I think it was my LOI in the end.