Good morning everyone.
I was rather pleased to see I’d been gifted a puzzle by Serpent to solve.
As a setter with a considerable reputation, I was relishing the challenge, and it didn’t disappoint. There were a few things working in my favour, though. I’m a fan of a multiple word answer, of which there were several and thankfully, there also weren’t too many convolutions in the clueing, which Serpent has something of a penchant for.
Landgrave was a new word for me. Wikipedia tells me this is an old German heraldic order from the Holy Roman Empire.
The other thing Serpent is famous for is either a ‘Nina’ in the grid, or a hidden theme. Try as I might I couldn’t spot a Nina, so over to you guys! I was wondering, given 18th March was the anniversary of the end of the last crusade, whether references to Knights Errant, Holy Roman Empire titles and Sealed (religious) Orders might be a hint at a theme?
Surface definitions are underlined.
ACROSS
1 & 5: Critical cleric’s case disheartened regime bombing hostile region (6,6)
ARCTIC CIRCLE
(anag.) CRITICAL cleric’s case (CC) disheartened regime (RE) bombing
10: What may measure resistance faced by government? (5)
RULER
Resistance (R) faced by (ahead of) government (RULE)
11: German nobleman beginning to lisp with an accent (10)
LANDGRAVE
Beginning to lisp (L) with (AND) an accent (GRAVE)
12: Flier makes fanatic come out of shell (8)
NUTHATCH
Fanatic (NUT) come out of shell (HATCH)
Nuthatches are small, woodpecker-like birds.
13: Observation error current probes returned (6)
ESPIAL
Error (LAPSE) current (I) probes (I placed inside LAPSE) returned (all backwards)
15: Put up with split ignoring line down middle (4)
HAVE
Split (HALVE) ignoring line down middle (remove the “L”)
16: Promoted clubs occupying one ground argued indiscriminately (10)
ENCOURAGED
Clubs (C) occupying one ground (placed inside anag. ONE) argued indiscriminately (anag. ARGUED)
18: Equality involving work leads to union leader’s appeal to people (10)
POPULARITY
Equality (PARITY) involving (letters to be placed inside) work (OP) leads to union leader’s (UL – first letters of UNION and LEADERS)
19: Sport reporter’s owed money (4)
JUDO
Beautiful homophone (sounds-alike) clue with a pun as well. Serpent has used “reporter’s” as the hint for the homophone of: “Due Dough”!
22: Person responsible for sacking John replaces lawyers in exchange (6)
LOOTER
John (slang: LOO) replaces lawyers (BAR) in exchange (BARTER)
Sacking is a synonym for Looting
23: Monkey, having stolen vegetables, departs satisfied (8)
APPEASED
Monkey (APE), having stolen (had letters placed inside) vegetables (PEAS), departs (D)
As self-appointed leader of the Pedant’s revolt, I feel the monkey/ape synonym might be worth sharpening the pitchforks for!
25: Barges ought to get rust removed regularly (9)
SHOULDERS
Ought (SHOULD) to get rust removed regularly (GET RUST with even numbered letters removed = ERS)
26: Previous head of religious community (5)
PRIOR
Very straightforward double definition clue. A Prior is the most senior monk in a monastery.
27 & 28: Adventurous male philosopher charged with perverted thing by English Bishop (6,6)
KNIGHT ERRANT
Philosopher (KANT ) charged with (place inside) perverted thing (anag. THING = NIGHT) by English Bishop (E – Eng and RR – “Right Revd”)
DOWN
2: Who, perhaps, is in favour of supporting family member, with sister receiving nothing (8,7)
RELATIVE PRONOUN
Is in favour of (PRO) supporting (placed below) family member (RELATIVE), with sister (NUN) receiving nothing (O).
An explanation of the relative pronouns is here
3: Storyline that is somewhat beneath readers (6)
THREAD
“Somewhat” suggests hidden word clue: beneath readers.
4: Response Unit cross about universal credit’s introduction (4,6)
CALL CENTRE
Cross (CENTRE) about universal (ALL) credit’s introduction (C)
5: What’s in ice cream vendor’s Room 101? (4)
CONE
C=100 in roman numerals, with the added “One”. The cryptic reference here is an ice cream cone.
In George Orwell’s novel 1984, Room 101 was the torture chamber where the state used a prisoner’s worst thoughts or fears to break them.
6: Republican for example lives next to tax office (8)
REGISTRY
Republican (R) for example (EG) lives (IS) next to tax (TRY)
7: “Number one, each way” contains search that’s intended to produce certain result (7,8)
LEADING QUESTION
Number one, each way (LEADING and ION (No.1 backwards)) contains search (QUEST – placed inside)
8 & 18: What could enhance deal relating to different countries (6,6)
FRENCH POLISH
Very neat cryptic clue. French and Polish relates to France and Poland respectively.
French Polishes are a technique usually used on very highly grained wood surfaces, producing a high sheen.
9 & 20: Marine directed arrangements and guidance going forward (6,6)
SEALED ORDERS
Marine (SEA) directed (LED) arrangements (ORDERS).
Sealed orders are written in advance, to be opened under a specific set of future circumstances. One of the most famous examples is the “Letter of last resort” on British Trident missile submarines.
14: Preparation that’s brushed a test photo up (10)
TOOTHPASTE
A TEST PHOTO (anag.). Serpent using “Up” here as the indicator for the anagram.
17: Dirty sink is a sign the coast is clear (4,4)
BLUE FLAG
Dirty (BLUE – slang) sink (FLAG)
Blue Flags are an award given to beaches that have a good level of cleanliness and lack of water pollution.
21: Moderate politician overwhelmed by support on right (6)
TEMPER
Politician (MP) overwhelmed (surrounded) by support (TEE) on right (R)
24: Cut short cross-examination (4)
TEST
“TESTY” = cross. Cut short removes the last letter.
My goodness, that was tricky but quite brilliant in places and excellent in the rest! Unlike our blogger I’m not a huge fan of multi-word clues but the plethora here didn’t spoil my enjoyment.
I could single out most of the puzzle but I’ve chosen to highlight CONE, RELATIVE PRONOUN (superb) BLUE FLAG, JUDO and FRENCH POLISH.
Many thanks indeed to Serpent and Leeds Climber.
I think some of the underlining in the blog has gone awry. In 5d, “vendor” is part of definition, in 7d “search” isn’t and in 8/18 “deal” (in the sense of ‘wood’) is.
Don’t think you need to invoke any pedantry for 23a. “Ape” and “monkey” both equate to “mimic” as verbs.
Hovis @2 thanks for that. I didn’t get deal for wood so I understand the clue now. Also wondering whether the def for 15a is put up with or just put up. Liked the crossword. LOOTER and ESPIAL were my top picks. Thanks
Some of the solutions are shown on the home page in the blog intro.
Hi James
I’m just wrestling with the editor now. It has got a read more tab just below the intro!
UPDATE: looks like it’s behaving itself now. Thanks James
Hi Leedsclimber. Quick note first – your intro is still revealing a lot more than it should on the 225 homepage. Basically, your entire preamble is visible. I quite often access the Indy by coming to 225 home page and hitting the link top left. So I couldn’t help but see the reference to LANDGRAVE before I began the puzzle.
I have wrestled with Serpent in the past – often a DNF. I felt this one was slightly more approachable – certainly my finishing time was acceptable. I will confess to having to reveal the last: I stared at ESPIAL for some time and had a rough idea of how it was parsing but the right words did not come to mind. Everything else solved and parsed allowing me to get full enjoyment out of all the long ones together with the splendid TOOTHPASTE, APPEASED, LOOTER and JUDO. Poignant to encounter BLUE FLAG – it’s becoming a thing of rarity.
Finally, Hovis has mentioned that ‘vendor’ is part of the def in 5d; I thought ‘room’ was part of the def too. A CONE might be found in a vendor’s room (though, admittedly, it’s slightly odd) but surely ‘room’ is not part of the wordplay. That’s just 101 isn’t it?
Thanks Serpent and Leedsclimber
Serpent provided another fine bit of brain-stretching with lots to enjoy throughout
Many thanks to Serpent and Leedsclimber
Regarding the 5d, for what it’s worth, I would have underlined the whole thing, I see it as a cryptic definition with the play on words of the solution being a possible way of expressing 101. Whatever, it’s a great clue.
Thanks, Serpent. Challenging but solvable. I managed all clues except JUDO, which escaped me and required reveal.
I could not see a Nina, either.
Thanks Serpent for the challenge. I found this hard but RELATIVE PRONOUN made the effort worthwhile. I’m disappointed that I can’t see a nina. Thanks Leedsclimber for the blog.
On the basis that I actually finished this, this must be one of the easier problems this week, The last few days I’ve been hitting brick walls.
Many thanks to Leedclimber for the excellent blog. Thanks also to everyone who has taken the time to solve the puzzle and leave a comment.
[Maurice , Landgrave of Hesse was a very eminent figure during the Reformation. He hosted English travelling players, and was a fine musician, playing and composing for the lute. There is a pub in the East End of London called the Grave Maurice. with a rather weathered sign depicting the head of 16th century nobleman. As a lutenist myself it always pleased me to see that.]
Too difficult for me. Needed LOTS of help and headscratching. I kind of give up if I don’t get anything after 10 or so clues.
If it wasn’t for a word list helper I wouldn’t have got anywhere near finishing.
I don’t think I’ve got any complaints other than being not on the same level as the setter.
I can’t even bring myself to go theough the blog to fill in the caverns in the parsing.
I will definitely thank Leedsclimber for taking the time to do it. Not so much to Serpent for hurting my head though.
I liked JUDO best – because I like aural wordplay ©cellomanic MMXXIII
…Thanks Serpent & Leedsclimber 🙂
@Hovis thank you so much! “deal” didn’t sit right with me at all but learning that deal = wood makes the whole clue click into place, and I learnt another new synonym to file away for the future.
I’d go so far as to say that “Room” is also part of the definition in 5D and the wordplay is just “101” (C-ONE). Ice cream vendors don’t all have ice cream vans, many beaches have ice cream shops that might just be a single room with a hatch to serve out of. At least, that’s how I read the clue.