Gaff is today’s setter.
There is normally a theme or a Nina in a Gaff puzzle, but I can’t see one at the time of writing this. I’ll keep looking, but in the meantime if anyone else sees it, please comment.
EDIT – worked it out. Enid Blyton was born 125 years ago today, and she created the SECRET SEVEN, whose books include SECRET SEVEN ADVENTURE, SECRET SEVEN ON THE TRAIL, SECRET SEVEN WIN THROUGH, LOOK OUT SECRET SEVEN and GOOD WORK SECRET SEVEN
The puzzle itself was a bit of a mixed bag, as themed ones often are (which makes me think there may be a theme). Purists won’t like “are” in 1 across and I can’t think of a situation where WIN = BEAT for 21 ac. On the plus side, the clues for USUAL, LAWMAKING and DURESS earned ticks from me (as may a few others – note to self – must take more notes as I’m solving)
Thanks Gaff
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SECRET |
About a hundred damaged trees are hidden (6)
|
| *(trees) [anag:damaged] about C (“a hundred” in Roman numerals) | ||
| 4 | LUSAKA |
Capital stimulus a kangaroo produces (6)
|
| Hidden in [produces] “stimuLUS A KAngaroo” | ||
| 8 | AVERAGE |
Mean to state the time (7)
|
| AVER (“to state”) + AGE (“time”) | ||
| 9 | SURVIVE |
Last incomplete exam penned by firm (7)
|
| [incomplete] VIV(a) (“exam”) penned by SURE (“firm”) | ||
| 11 | ON THE TRAIL |
Following triathlon, exhaustion’s starting to be replaced (2,3,5)
|
| *(triathlon e) [anag:to be replaced] where E is E(xhaustion) [‘s starting] | ||
| 12 | NUNS |
Order members’ pigeons (4)
|
| Double definition, the second referring to a type of pigeon whose head feathers look like a nun’s hood. | ||
| 13 | FEAST |
Eat a lot or nothing preserving energy (5)
|
| FAST ((eat) “nothing”) preserving E (energy) | ||
| 14 | MESSED UP |
With canteen opening early, Protestants made a mistake (6,2)
|
| MESS (“canteen”) + [opening (of)] E(arly) + DUP (Democratic Unionist Party, mainly “Protestant” party of Northern Ireland) | ||
| 16 | GOOD WORK |
Congratulations for charitable actions (4,4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 18 | TILDE |
Sign over letter after removing a terrible detail (5)
|
| *(detil) [anag:terrible] where DETIL is DET(a)IL after removing A | ||
| 20 | FIRE |
Light flame of passion in sack (4)
|
| Quadruple definition | ||
| 21 | WIN THROUGH |
Succeed by following beat (3,7)
|
| THROUGH (“by”) following WIN (“beat”) | ||
| 23 | SKYLARK |
Heavens! Trick produces bird (7)
|
| SKY (“heavens”) + LARK (“trick”) | ||
| 24 | COYOTES |
Wolves’ leaders to count on yellow outfits to excite supporters (7)
|
| [leaders to] C(ount) O(n) Y(ellow) O(utfits) T(o) E(xcite) S(upporters) | ||
| 25 | DURESS |
Force to turn into don (6)
|
| U(-turn) into DRESS (“don”) | ||
| 26 | SYSTEM |
Order NY team to return after story ends (6)
|
| <=METS (“NY team” return) after S(tor)Y [ends]
The New York Mets are a baseball team. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SEVEN |
First Lady points out sins count (5)
|
| EVE (“First Lady”) with S + N (south + north, “points” of a compass) out(side)
Refers to the seven deadly sins. |
||
| 2 | CERTHIA |
Spies seizing port with tip-off for treecreepers (7)
|
| CIA (Central Intelligence Agency, so “spies”) seizing (p)ERTH (Australian “port” with its tip off) [EDIT – may be (b)ERTH?]
Certhia is the genus of birds that includes treecreepers (not in any of my three go-to dictionaries, but found on Wikipedia) |
||
| 3 | EIGHTY-TWO |
Why I get to change number (6-3)
|
| *(why I get to) [anag:change] | ||
| 5 | USUAL |
Normal to find saunas odd in mid- July (5)
|
| [to find] S(a)U(n)A(s) [odd (letters thereof)] in [mid] (j)UL(y) | ||
| 6 | ADVANCE |
Loan leading to progress (7)
|
| Triple definition | ||
| 7 | ADVENTURE |
Exploit coming over the river (9)
|
| ADVENT (“coming”) over (the river) URE | ||
| 10 | LAWMAKING |
Bill creating trouble for short Malawi leader (9)
|
| *(malaw) [anag:trouble for] where MALAW is [short] MALAW(i) + KING (“leader”) | ||
| 13 | FROLICKED |
Had fun finding “wet” in French dictionary (9)
|
| LICK (“wet”) in Fr. (French) + OED (Oxford English “Dictionary”) | ||
| 15 | SET THEORY |
Bit of maths problematic for the oyster (3,6)
|
| *(the oyster) [anag:problematic for] | ||
| 17 | DUELLER |
Little bit of excitement in rather boring fighter (7)
|
| [little bit of] E(xcitement) in DULLER (“rather boring”) | ||
| 19 | LOOKOUT |
Beware of guard (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 21 | WORKS |
Labour’s compositions (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 22 | GLEAM |
Brilliance of jungle ambush (5)
|
| Hidden in [of] “junGLE AMbush” |
I don’t know what the “anniversary” referred to at the top of the puzzle is either. There are a few hints in the answers but I can’t put them all together. I don’t know if grantinfreo will be commenting here, but if he does, I imagine he’ll have something to say about PERTH being described as a ‘port’ at 2d. It’s inland a bit on the Swan River and Fremantle is really the port. This was the reason I excluded it after the futile alphabet trawl which ended up with 2 blank squares.
Didn’t know that NUNS were a type of ‘pigeon’. ‘Beat’ is listed as an obsolete sense for WIN in the dictionary referred to in 13d. I liked the quad def for FIRE which had a very amusing surface as well.
Look forward to finding out all about that mysterious anniversary from subsequent posters.
Thanks to Gaff and loonapick
Nothing too taxing, but a few scratches of the head. I was not aware of DUP nor the NY team the Mets. I’d never heard of CERTHIA, and nor has the Oxford online, but it was pretty easy to get from the wordplay. There really should be a hyphen in “bill-creating” in 10d, but I suppose that would destroy the surface and the crypticity. And that wonderful river Ure pops up again. I think it was yesterday that I last encountered it. I wonder if the people who live along it know how celebrated it is in cryptic crosswords?
I had berth not Perth for the port clue.
Loonapick, great blog; you helped me understand a couple of parsings.
WP: Your comment about “beat” should refer to 21A not 13D. I don’t know when “beat” became obsolete: Newcastle beat Notts Forest last weekend!
As an Aussie, I can confirm that Fremantle is the WA port, not Perth but maybe Clive’s take on it is the correct one.
Like you, I couldn’t see any theme or too many answers that could be linked so I’ll come back later to see if someone has worked it out.
Worked out the theme – Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven series, all of which, in my defence, I had read before I was 5, so more than half a century ago
Peter @4 – Newcastle beat Nottingham Forest, but Newcastle didn’t win Nottingham Forest. They won AGAINST them.
Hello Peter @4. Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear. I should have written: “Regarding 21a, ‘beat’ is listed as an obsolete sense of WIN in the ‘dictionary’ referred to in the wordplay for 13d.”
I think Clive @3 is correct about (B)ERTH. Thanks for identifying the anniversary / theme, loonapick.
I’m another with (b)erth for port.
Enjoyed this. Didn’t spot the anniversary theme at first having worked backwards but once ‘secret’ and ‘seven’ were in, I did vaguely remember a few of those titles. (No Mr Twiddle though).
Favourites were FROLICKED and COYOTES for the super surface since Wolves do play in golden yellow. Bum bum, baggy, baggy, as their fans say.
Thanks to GAFF and Loonapick who helped me with the unknown NUNS and unparsed SYSTEM.
Loonapick – congratulations for working out the theme. It seems that 11th August is the date on which Enid Blyton was born – in 1897. I read most of her books but I still didn’t work out the theme.
I’m with the “brerthers” but I’d never heard of CERTHIA. I failed to get DUELLER since I couldn’t (and still can’t) get beyond DULL for “rather boring” which is not a comparative. As I typed this a light bulb came on where rather can mean more. Thanks toGaff and loonapick.
I meant “breathers”.
How about “berthers”. Spell check is messing with me!
As often with Gaff anniversary puzzles, completed this without the theme: I did see “Secret Seven”, which gave me a vague idea, but I always cordially disliked her books, so it was no help.
In general, as is frequently the case with themed puzzles, I found this not very entertaining or interesting, with an honourable exception for “FROLICKED”.
Let’s be honest folks – if it wasn’t for the obsessive anniversary shtick, Gaff’s puzzles would otherwise struggle to merit publication.
Technically, his wordplay indicators and syntax are often clumsy or dubious. Aesthetically, the clues tend to reflect industry over imagination. And surface readings about stimulatory kangaroos or canteen-befuddled Protestants must make aspiring but unpublished setters despair.
Very harsh methinks Oceanic…
I never got beyond Ulysses
Similarly (a little earlier, I nebver got further than the Famous Five-never heard the Secret Seven
I’ve even got a copy of FW but I’ll leave it for Desert Island Discs
Hank on a minute , I’m not famous!
Late to the party as we didn’t get round to commenting yesterday. Just to note that we got CERTHIA in a bit of a roundabout way. We thought it might be a scientific name so looked up ‘treecreeper’ in Chambers which told us treecreepers are members of the family Certhiidae. From there we guessed CERTHIA and confirmed it by googling.
Not a terribly inspiring puzzle on the whole but we liked SET THEORY. Thanks, though, to setter and blogger.