Hypnos provides the Tuesday challenge this week
Tuesday is usually theme day in the Independent, so it is no surprise to find a very topical theme today. The theme is fairly clear from the clues, but the grid itself strengthens the theme with four Ukrainian cities or districts KHARKIV, CHERKASY, DONETSK and ODESSA – spelled out in the unchecked letters forming the perimeter. The grid also contains KYIV and NATO.
I thought there might be two possible entries for the cryptic definition 8 across RAINGEAR or RAINWEAR, but I think only RAINWEAR is a word in a dictionary. I’m not a great fan of cryptic definitions and this one didn’t seem particularly cryptic. Perhaps I’m missing something.
There were many other clues that I did like, especially the complex construction involved in RATIONAL and MODERATO at 7 down and 20 down
I hadn’t come across YELLOW as an informal term for sensational before today.
It’s always interesting doing research when writing a blog. I was surprised to realise that HANK Marvin is now 80, although I should have known given that he was already playing guitar when I was young, and also surprised to learn that Kenneth KAUNDA only died last year at the age of 97.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 8 |
Habits in a shower? (8) RAINWEAR (clothes worn in a RAIN shower) RAINWEAR (habits is a term used to describe customary dress) – cryptic definition RAINWEAR |
| 9 |
Batty woman in Alaska gets protection against the cold (6) ANORAK (waterproof outer jacket, usually hooded, providing protection against the cold) NORA (reference NORA Batty, a female character [woman] in the TV sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine) contained in (in) AK (abbreviation for the American State of Alaska) A (NORA) K |
| 10 |
Marvin, say, when cycling noted symbol (4) ANKH (an ansate cross, ie T-shaped with a loop above the horizontal bar, the symbol of life; noted symbol) HANK (reference HANK Marvin [born 1941], English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist of the Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the backing band for Cliff Richard) with the letters shifted left and round (cycled) to form ANKH ANKH |
| 11 |
Lately Ukrainians stop aggressive force westward showing rapidity (5) SPEED (rapidity) SPEED (final [lately] letters of each of UKRAINIANS, STOP, AGGRESSIVE, FORCE, WESTWARD) SPEED |
| 12 |
Greeting adopted in South America for a group of believers (4) SHIA (a branch of Islam, or a collective name for its adherent sects, that recognizes Ali [Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law] and his successors as the true imams. This is a different view from that held by Sunnis) HI (greeting) contained in (stopped by) SA (South America) S (HI) A |
| 13 |
Recognised young athlete as somewhat unhappy? (4-4) HALF-BLUE (at university, a substitute for a full blue, or the colours awarded him or her. Colours are usually awarded to talented sportsmen or women) HALF-BLUE (somewhat sad) HALF-BLUE |
| 16 |
Welsh woman infiltrates a society for non-Europeans (6) ASIANS (a group of people who are from the continent of ASIA, and are therefore not European) SIAN (Welsh lady’s name) contained in (infiltrates) (A + S [society]) A (SIAN) S |
| 18 |
Attacked capital proving somewhat risky, I venture (4) KYIV (capital city of Ukraine; currently under attack) KYIV (hidden word in [somewhat] RISKY I VENTURE) Probably an &Lit clue where the definition could be considered to be the whole clue KYIV |
| 20 |
Second rental property turned into facility for drivers (5) MOTEL (accommodation for travellers, usually drivers) MO (moment; second) + LET (rental property) reversed (turned) MO TEL< |
| 21 |
Bloomer shown by the Italian in large yard (4) LILY (flower; bloomer) IL (Italian for ‘the’) contained in (in) (L [large] + Y [yard]) L (IL) Y |
| 22 |
Woman across a bay, maybe, briefly (6) ASTRID (lady’s name; woman) ASTRIDE (sitting across the back of a bay [horse], for example) excluding the final letter (briefly) E ASTRID |
| 23 |
Sensational media boss became sickly looking (8) YELLOWED (looking jaundiced or sickly) YELLOW (informal term meaning sensational) + ED (EDitor; media boss) YELLOW ED |
| 26 |
Son with uniform in sports car looking self-satisfied (4) SMUG (offensively self-complacent) S (son) + (U [Uniform is the International Radio Codeword for the letter U] contained in [in] MG [marque of a sports car]) S M (U) G |
| 28 |
Rex is given approval for an alternative to sushi? (5) RAMEN (Japanese dish of clear broth containing vegetables, noodles and often pieces of meat; a possible alternative to sushi, another Japanese dish) R (Rex) + AMEN (a term of approval) R AMEN |
| 30 |
Grouping welcomed by citizen at Odessa? (4) NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is an intergovernmental military alliance among 28 European countries and 2 North American countries, from whom Ukraine would like assistance) Another possible &Lit clue NATO (hidden word in [welcomed by] CITIZEN AT ODESSA) NATO |
| 31 |
Celebrity losing a form of appeal touring clubs? That’s harsh (6) STRICT (severe; harsh) STAR (celebrity) excluding (losing) A + (IT [sex appeal] containing [touring] C [clubs]) STR I (C) T |
| 32 |
Arms went astray for those lacking integrity (5,3) STRAW MEN (people of no substance; people lacking integrity) Anagram of (astray) ARMS WENT STRAW MEN* |
| Down | |
| 1 |
African leader once upset UK and America (6) KAUNDA (reference Kenneth KAUNDA [1924 – 2021], first President of Zambia) Anagram of (upset) UK AND + A (America) OR an anagram of all constituent parts UK AND A KAUND* + A OR KAUNDA* |
| 2 |
No substantial measure favoured by the Chinese (4) INCH (short measurement; no substantial measure) IN (favoured) + CH (Chinese) IN CH |
| 3 |
Part of a fleet, maybe, leaves at sea with sun covering area (6) VESSEL (ship; possibly part of a fleet of ships) Anagram of (at sea) LEAVES with S (sun) replacing (covering) A (area) VESSEL* |
| 4 |
Native American restricted set of beliefs (4) CREE (member of a Native American tribe living in Montana and parts of Canada) CREED (any system of belief or set of principles) excluding the final letter (restricted) D CREE |
| 5 |
An offence in one sport or another (8) HANDBALL (a sport between goals in which the ball is struck with the palm of the hand) HAND BALL (in some sports, such as football, it is an offence to handle the ball if you are not the goalkeeper) HANDBALL |
| 6 |
Queen’s person in general with energy prominently visible for long periods (4) EONS (long periods of time) ONES (I think this a reference to the Royal Family [Queen] referring to themselves as ONE rather than I) with E [energy] moved to the front (prominent position) EONS |
| 7 |
Russian leader unsettled 30 around start of invasion with a piece of lunacy – not being this? (8) RATIONAL (endowed with reason; Hypnos is suggesting that Vladimir Putin [Russian leader] is being irrational when deciding to invade Ukraine) R (first letter of [leader] RUSSIA) + (an anagram of [unsettled] NATO [entry at 30 across]) containing [around] I [first letter of {start of} INVASION]) + A + L (first letter of [piece of] LUNACY) R AT (I) ON* A L |
| 14 |
Note fine Buckinghamshire village (5) FIVER (bank note worth £5) F (fine) + IVER (village in Buckinghamshire) F IVER |
| 15 |
Guard barring the latest of Russians seeking access? (5) ENTRY (access) SENTRY (guard) excluding (barring) S (last letter of [latest of] RUSSIANS) ENTRY |
| 17 |
Current unending misery in place associated with cold? (5) IGLOO (dome-shaped Inuit house made of blocks of hard snow; place associated with cold) I (electric current) + GLOOM (misery) excluding the final letter (unending) M I GLOO |
| 19 |
Some yet to be excited about island in national park (8) YOSEMITE (one of the National Parks in America) Anagram of (to be excited) SOME YET containing (about) I (island) YOSEM (I) TE* |
| 20 |
Group planning defence by Ukraine ultimately organised rota at a fair speed? (8) MODERATO (musical direction to play the following notes at a MODERATE or fair speed) MOD (Ministry of Defence; group planning defence) + E (final letter of [ultimately]) UKRAINE + an anagram of (organised) ROTA MOD E RATO* |
| 24 |
Left notes for unaccompanied types (6) LONERS (people who prefer to be on their own; unaccompanied type) L (left) + ONERS (£1 notes, though I doubt if you will find many these days) L ONERS |
| 25 |
Course in headquarters first off attended by European (6) ENTREE (course [in a meal]) CENTRE (headquarters) excluding (off) the initial letter (first) C + E (Europeans) ENTRE E |
| 27 |
Greek papers featuring in network (4) GRID (network) GR (Greek) + ID (identity papers) GR ID |
| 29 |
Million with request for form of protection (4) MASK (form of protection) M (million) + ASK (request) M ASK |
| 30 |
Nice weight outwardly for an amphibian (4) NEWT (a tailed amphibian) NE (outer letters [outwardly] of NICE + WT (outer letters [outwardly] of WEIGHT) NE WT |
Very respectful puzzle which i enjoyed albeit in a chillingly sympathetic way.
Thanks Hypnos and Dunc
Yep I had the same issue with 8ac and the theme was obvious but a well formed grid nonetheless. Thanks Hypnos and Duncan.
I found the clueing style hard to get into and there were quite a few unknowns for me making for a tough challenge. Got there in the end and enjoyed it. My only quibble was with 7d. I don’t care for a reference of “30” in a down clue to refer to 30 across when there is also a 30 down (and with the same letter count). I appreciate that adding “down” to the clue would ruin the surface.
Missed the nina element but, whilst they’re names prominent in the news, my eyes aren’t tuned to pick them up. I had noticed an unusually large number of four letter words for a Tuesday themed puzzle – the full dozen – and wondered why.
At an extremely mini-theme level, it was fun to ‘note’ the appearance of both ONER and FIVER amongst the solutions; I did wonder if a tenner might turn up.
I agree with Hovis @3 on the potential for confusion with the reference to 30 but I was fortunate in solving from the cryptic definition, the leading R and the ‘piece’ of lunacy at the end so didn’t get around to looking at 30 or coming back to 7d later which I should’ve done. Didn’t think of the alternative to RAINWEAR but it’s a fair point. Minor blemishes aside, this was a really fine puzzle. Excellent clueing and surfaces as well as the clever constructions that I missed.
copmus @1: chapeau for your comment. I’ve mentioned the clearly unfortunate coincidences that kept cropping up in puzzles at the beginning of the war; this is the first time I’ve encountered a serious quantity of topical references that are clearly intentional. A potentially risky venture but carried out extremely well and, yes, respectfully.
Thanks Hypnos and duncan
I share copmus’ feelings @1.
I enjoy this setter’s style and this proved to be a good challenge. I completely missed the perimeter Nina (Duncan you have misspelt CHERKASY in your introduction).
I too didn’t know that “yellow” could mean “sensational”, and 28a was a new word for me but clearly clued. As someone who dislikes the use of vague male and female names in the clues, I am delighted to see that Hypnos today has qualified one woman as Batty and one as Welsh. Very well done to him!
Many thanks to Hypnos and to Duncan.
Respectful or not, I found the tragic nature of the theme uncomfortable in the essentially frivolous context of a crossword.
Keeping purely to the crossword aspect, I found this a slog (as often with heavily themed puzzles) but at least I learnt the meaning of STRAW MEN while ANKH, HALF BLUE and that ‘AK’ can mean Alaska were all welcome TILTs. I’m no wiser about the alternative meaning of ‘yellow’ but my feeling is that I can survive without it.
Thanks to Hypnos and to duncanshiell.
Well done indeed to our setter for managing to produce a topically themed puzzle that would cause little or no offence.
Like others, I hadn’t previously come across ‘yellow’ for sensational – what a curious analogy.
The reference to Nora Batty made me smile.
Thanks to Hypnos and to Duncan for the review.
I think yellow refers to the colour of the book covers if sensational or crime novels. It’s more familiar to me from Italian.
Thanks Hypnos and DS
As well as the theme elements that others have mentioned, 13 & 23 also give us BLUE above YELLOW, the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
Nice spot, Simon. Congrats to Hypnos for such an impressive theme coverage and also for taking the risk. I’m glad that most solvers (me included) are ok with this and I equally respect those who are not.
Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism.
This from Wikipedia.
I can think of several British ‘newspapers’ covered by this definition.
Great puzzle and super blog. Thanks to setter and blogger.
Yellow journalism. Of course! I’d forgotten about that.
RAMEN turned up not that long ago – Phi on the 4th March.
Thank you GeordyGordy for explaining why YELLOW is associated with sensational media.
I like some others did feel “This is a very cleverly executed thematic crossword and it could feel uncomfortable to some”.
I too missed the nina and the blue/yellow centre piece (particularly touching when I did see it). I do mostly like to open a crossword for a bit of escapist fun but I also enjoy the overtly political pieces by Tyrus/Vlad, Knut, Cyclops et al; I also recall serious themed puzzles prticularly from Arachne/Rosa Klebb. To me it’s evident that Hypnos feels deeply about what is happening and the depth of that feeling is expressed quietly and with dignity here, and I appreciate that.
Thank you also to duncanshiel.
Agree with Petert’s sentiment.
A lot of nice little clues made this reasonably satisfying for us. Didn’t know that meaning of yellow. I don’t think I ever called a £1 note a oner, and the clue seems several decades too late!