Bluth fills the mid-week Indy slot today.
As we have come to expect, this was an enjoyable puzzle with excellent surfaces and well-constructed wordplay. We think this is the first time we’ve seen prime numbers used in selecting letters from a phrases part of the wordplay (in 9ac) – it makes a change from the usual alternate letters (as used in 22ac and 21d). We do wonder why Bluth chose the particular double-digit at 23 – was it just the next clue number or is there a deeper significance?
2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th (‘prime’) locations in fILm DeEr after W (western)
INdOLENCE (laziness) with the ‘d’ (daughter) replaced by S (son)
BANG (report) + ED (journalist) in or ‘using as cover’ THRUM (drone)
Hidden (‘some’) in religioUS Education
An anagram (‘to fizz’) of TINTEd (without the last letter or ‘ultimately wanting’) LIGHTBULB and E (energy)
A reversal (‘rolling’) of N (knight) ANON (soon) round or ‘over’ GO
Hidden in (‘housed by’) BerlIN HAS TErraced
‘HINT’ is used to indicate that the answer is an anagram (NEW) of OPEN SITES FOR – apparently these ponies are described as a Mountain and Moorland breed – clearly more moorland than mountain!
Alternate (‘periodic’) letters of StAnD
An anagram (‘up’) of I GLUE ODD BIT – we’re not sure why Bluth chose 26 as an example
OR (other ranks – ‘men’) following P (quiet) with INSECT (‘six-footer’) outside
INsT (‘this month’) with the ‘s’ (last or ‘final letter of Charles) replaced by (‘becoming’) ER (Elizabeth II – ‘old monarch’)
SWAn (‘possibly pen’) missing the last letter or ‘detailed’ B (book)
PLAN K (’11th scheme’ if the 1st is ‘Plan A’) TO N (last or ‘conclusive’ letter of detain)
SEX (‘how’s your father’) + ON (working) after T (time)
An anagram (‘surprisingly’) of TALENTED and IT
A reversal (‘revolutionary’) of ST (street) + a reversal (‘upset’) of RA (artist)
PLY (keep providing) MOUTH (chops)
ANNUL (revoke) round or ‘entertaining’ A (article)
R E (first and last letters or ‘banks’ of regime) LENT (loaned) LESS (smaller amount)
An anagram (‘can be seen as’) of BAKINg (missing the last letter or ‘wiping bottom’) NAANS
E (last letter or ‘bottom’ of staple) PISTOL (gun) on A RY (railway – ‘line’)
GO (work) ODD (funny) + a reversal (‘backing’) of DEE (Jack Dee – one of our favourite comedians)
SINGLE’S (one’s) round or ‘securing’ H (hotel)
ID (middle or ‘essential’ letters of Adidas) ‘invested’ in WEST (Kanye West)
cOuRt (missing the odd letters) DA (District Attorney – ‘lawyer’) IN (wearing)
Double definition
First letters (‘principles’) of The Others Teaching Economic
Thanks, Bluth and B&J!
Liked WILDE, INERT, DOUBLE-DIGIT and UP TO.
TOTE
Does ‘principle’ mean ‘the first’?
The usual complex parsings to unscramble, but all good fun with INERT my favourite.
Thanks to Bluth and B&J.
KVa@1 for principle, Collins gives:
6. a source or fundamental cause; origin – principle of life
Yes, which is not the same as first/principal (letter).
Thanks, FrankieG.
I haven’t seen this device before. Bluth may drop in sometime to add to what you said.
Chambers also has ‘a beginning (obsolete)’, but it seems iffy to me too. Principle is used for abstractions, not for physical beginnings, while words such as origin, source etc. are used in both senses. Principal as a noun actually has less dictionary support than principle as a first letter indicator as it only refers to people at the top (unlike, say, leader, head etc.).
Thanks B&J.
KVa @1 – I’ve used ‘principle’ before now. Indeed the last time I did, you commented on other things but that slipped past without any quibbles.
It has been debated before – when used by Serpent and Azed for example.
For me, the first definition given by Chambers: ‘a source, root, origin’ makes it fair enough, although I can see something in James’ point @6 about the abstract versus the physical. But then, I suspect many, familiar indicators might fall over if subjected to the same stress test – ‘essence’?
Fun as always though I did find the long anagram for BITING THE BULLET too much to pull apart and filled that one in from crossers. I have encountered the ‘prime’ device before over on MyC (I think the first time I saw it was along the lines of ‘Have sex with prime pieces of fruit (3)’ ). I liked the reverse cryptic for NEW FOREST PONIES – it had to be that but I was thrown by ‘mountain’ for a while.
My podium is all drawn from the down clues: SEXTON and PLYMOUTH – both very amusing – and ORDAIN for the delightful definition. Another of those words (is there a name for them?) that normally appears only in its negative form.
Thanks Bluth and B&J
As usual from Bluth, not too many write-ins. I wasn’t looking carefully enough to notice the ‘principles’ at 25d, but even if I had thought things didn’t quite fit, I still would have bunged in TOTE anyway. Never heard of the ‘comedian’ at 16d so couldn’t parse GOOD DEED.
I liked the ‘prime locations’ device at 9a, the ‘drifters?’ def for PLANKTON and the reverse anagram NEW FOREST PONIES.
Thanks to Bluth and B&J
Bluth@7
Thanks for dropping in and explaining the use of ‘principle’.
I took ‘g’ for ‘principle of gallows’ quite mechanically the last time when you
used this device (thanks for posting that link). 🙂
The first ‘out in the sunny garden ‘ solve of the year and the crossword was as enjoyable as the weather
Thanks to Bluth and B&J
For postmark. They are “lost positives” things like ept and hevelled. I seem to have invented the term inadvertently. Google it and you may find John Rentoul of the Independent taking my name in vain in 2014! Not sure why ordain qualifies though.
Lots of fun as always, thanks Bluth. And thanks B&J for the blog.
I enjoyed that – it filled most of a (lengthy) wait I had to endure today; so gratitude also.
I labour under the impression that 1 is a prime so that rendered WILDE un-parsable (my bad I suppose) but I should have parsed PLANKTON (grrr..).
I’ve always had trouble with principle/principal and avoid both when writing. But the ellipsis was a distraction (as intended no doubt).
Just good fun. Thanks all.
Jane @7. I think the intended lost positive was “frock” , which (with this meaning) is much more commonly “defrock”
Thanks to all involved
Jane @12 & Xmac @15: thanks and, yes, Xmac has it. It is unfrocked or defrocked one might encounter in the wilds, rather more than frocked I suspect. And congrats to Jane for naming a grammatical feature!
Toughies elsewhere usually take precedence during the week but I’ll always try to make time for a Bluth as he’s so entertaining.
WILDE, NONAGON, INERT, PLYMOUTH (particularly as it’s my part of the world) and EPISTOLARY all particularly appealed.
Many thanks to Bluth and to B&J for their usual excellent blog.
A really good puzzle. Was pleased to finish it. Thanks, S&B.
Well that made me feel thick! Only managed half to two thirds, wouldn’t have got Wilde in a million years. Am in awe of people who can solve puzzles this hard.