Many thanks to IO for this morning’s challenge.
A very enjoyable puzzle from the setter who likes to keep us on our toes. Apologies for the lateness of the blog – a technical glitch meant I lost all I had typed as I was finishing up and had to start again. Easier the second time…
I’m afraid I admit defeat on parsing IBIZA. I have OVERTHOUGHT it and can’t escape the circles my mind insists on running. Someone out there will know! And all alternative thinking/parsing is welcome as ever in the comments.
In OVERT (public), THOUGH (admitting the subject)
O (round) + CH (kirk, church)
Cryptic definition
Bettys is a famous tea shop in the UK; play on TEA SELLER
[b]AR BIL[liards]< (participant in, <tipped)
Cryptic / double definition
Someone not being the sharpest knife in the drawer (i.e. a bit dim) might miss the point
Literally a blunt knife might be missing its point
MASSE[s] (hosts, cut)
A MASSE is a trick shot in snooker
[despo]T (last) + IT (Italian) + FORT (stronghold) + AT (close to)
A[uthority] (first sign of) now missing from (HE[a]D MADE IT)* (*sparkly) &lit
[d]O[u]B[l]E [c]L[a]I[m] (to be discharged at intervals)
(IN TEHRAN THIS GREAT)* (*explosion) semi &lit
Double definition 🙂
RE[pub]LISHING (second edition, PUB-free)
DOT[e] (serve, short)
e.g. Six o’clock on the DOT
BUM SON’S EATS (cadge food from boy)
Quadruple definition
- to tire out (completely)
- to have calculations out (at fault)
- cry out (loudly)
- thrown out (dismissed)
EX-A.M.s (old mornings = afternoons, cryptically)
Cryptic definition
Members of THE MILE-HIGH CLUB have managed to get IT, up
O (over) + (T[ill] (cleared of ILL (wrongful)) charges (BIG DEAL)* (*cooking up))
(RIGHT)* (*wrong)
(LOSE SLEEP NOT THE)* (*newly designed)
(BE LET OUT)* (*a tricky fix to) when I (one)’s dropped in &lit
TRING (where reservoirs are, English town) following HEARTS (suit)
ME (Middle English) + WORD (promise) to keep (SHTUM)* (*unusually) &lit
S (sun) + PEAR (fruit) + MINT (cool, slang)
TOO (into the bargain) is carrying MAT (lustreless) and ILL (harmful)
[reac]H ARE M[any] (within)
Help??
G & S (fathers of Savoy Opera, Gilbert & Sullivan) inhaling A
Thanks, Io and Oriel!
A tough challenge. Quite some effort went into parsing several entries. An equally excellent blog.
Liked OVERTHOUGHT, OUT, TEASELLER, OUBLIETTE, TOMATILLO and IBIZA.
OUT
Had a quadruple def like Oriel did.
Just an alternative parsing: Completely=OUTRIGHT. At fault=not RIGHT (a bit laboured?)
TEASELLER
One who teasels a cloth (who raises a nap on a cloth/who can bring up a cloth)
Double cryptic def?
IBIZA
I(island) BI (swinging) ZA (A to Z wanting ‘to’=AZ. AZ put about).
&lit?
M T POINT
OVERTHOUGHT into this: 🙂
A dimwit will also doubt less…???
HEARTSTRING
I have a doubt:
Tug at the heartstring(s) is the basis of this clue. Right?
‘perhaps tender’ is to say that ‘this tug is perhaps painful or arising out of pity’?
‘Tug may get one (a heartstring)’: There may be a tug at the heartstring out of tenderness of the heart?
Not fully clear to me.
OUT
For ‘Dismissed’, I thought of a batter getting OUT in cricket. ‘Throw out’ may not quite work, I think.
DOT
I had a different take:
Serve=DO+short time=T
Period-the def.
Thanks for the blog , typically good clues here .
Still not sure on IBIZA , I can see the reversed AtoZ missing to , swinging and BI are definitely not the same thing , Island has been used up in the definition. Does IBI refer to BI swinging both ways ?
I think the final OUT=dismissed refers to cricket.
KVa@2 the tender in HEART-STRING means in a loving way.
KVa @3 and 4 . Snap on the cricket and the DOT , Serve=DO as in a char .
Roz@5
BI swinging both ways doesn’t parse, I think. I have seen ‘swinging’ used for BI before (I do agree they are not the same).
IBIZA as an &lit should work.
IBIZA works for the whole clue as wordplay but certainly not for the definition.
All four defintions of OUT are in Chambers from a very long list.
Roz@8
IBIZA
You are right. Maybe there is a way to make ‘BI swinging both ways’ work. Or else, we may have a situation where Island is used twice.
Stretching it a bit (too far?):
Read it as Islands=Island (IBIZA)+I 🙂
NO NO NO!
Some setters use double duty occasionally but surely not IO , perhaps someone will have a better idea later.
Sorry, can’t help with that extra I in IBIZA.
I’ll claim cognitive fatigue as my reason for failing this one. After seeing ‘loudly’ I entered OFF for 1d and didn’t have the energy to go back and have another look. It wouldn’t have made much difference as I would have had no hope with TEASELLER anyway. A pity as this was otherwise not as fiendish as most of Io’s past puzzles, but it was hard enough and too good for me.
I liked the &lits and the hat tip to our eminent blogger.
Thanks to Oriel and Io
Parsed DOT as KVa@4 – Dote = serve doesn’t really work.
Oriel – your parse of THE MILE-HIGH CLUB suggests its members have managed to get Information Technology, up.
Just joking. I know you meant the difference between ‘get it up‘ and ‘get “it” up’.
I worked in IT – it wasn’t sexy at all. 🙂
MUMS THE WORD
Is ‘Middle English’ contributing to the def? Does it indicate that the phrase originated in the period
of Middle English?
Frankie@12
THE MILE-HIGH CLUB
😀
Roz@10
Sure someone will. There is a helluva lot to learn in this forum.
I am thankful to everyone who is involved in this phenomenal knowledge-sharing exercise (esp. the admin and the bloggers who do Yeoman’s service).
IBIZA is called the party capital of the world, I gather from the net (Maybe several islands and mainland towns must be claiming this) 🙂
Anyway, that could be the context to the message ‘Island’s swinging’ that the guide wants to spread around (the surface reading).
For IBIZA maybe…
AZ I[s] BI
the ”s” meaning has, the “wanting” referring to the “is” and the “to put about” indicating reverse it all?
KVa@ 13 Middle England is a term used in the UK to mean very genteel and middle class. The sort of people who might say Mums The Word which is quite a twee phrase.
FrankieG@18
That should work provided AZ means guide.
the ‘s’ that ‘BI AZ Is’ wanting …
Roz@19
Thanks. I didn’t know that.
Oriel said: ….can’t escape the circles my mind insists on running.
We have entered Oriel’s circles…:-)
I’m always delighted to find a Io crossword (yes, I know… but I really am). My favourite was 9d as I did know about teasels being used in this way but never thought it would turn up in a crossword
Many thanks to Io and Oriel
I meant the ”apostrophe-s” meaning has, the “wanting” referring to the “is” and the “to put about” indicating reverse it all
Island has swinging guide = Island’s guide (AZ) is BI
The “is” is wanting, short of, lacking the ‘s’.
Io certainly plays fast and loose, doesn’t he?
I have no idea if “teaseller” is a word, but I’ve never heard of Bettys. Mind you, I’m only 70 and British so what do I know? I’m also a snooker fan, and never heard of “masse”. So it goes.
Got it FrankieG@24
We have two things to deal with:
‘Guide’ is AZ (not A to Z). That may be possible. Dunno for sure. That’s one.
The second thing-Read the clue as:
‘AZ IS BI’ is wanting…..Here you say that ‘IS’ becomes short (wanting).
Hmm….not sure.
KVa@13 – Wiktionary has:
‘From Middle English MUM or mom (“silent”), reminiscent of the sound made when gagged or with a hand over one’s mouth. Perhaps related to dated German Mumme (“mask”).’
You actually had to make a sound to signify that you wanted to keep silent! 🙂
Roz
I am trying to recall something (triggered by ‘MIddle English’). There was a discussion on a certain pair of homophones (I don’t remember the words) a few days ago (Guardian). The clue had the word ‘gently’ or ‘gentle’ in it to indicate a particular type of pronunciation. I am giving only some sketchy info from my memory. Are you able to recall the context (gently spoken/gentle speech/some such thing)?
FrankieG@27
Noted. Thanks.
Thanks Io and Oriel. An almost perfect example of how a crossword can be challenging without all of the ghastly devices used by some other setters. I say “almost” perfect mainly because something definitely seems to have gone wrong with 20dn.
9ac: For what it is worth, teaseller is in Chambers 2014 (C) without a specific definition, but related to teasel as a verb. However, as I have said on previous occasions, I am always willing to regard C as a sufficient justification on a question of validity, but not one of obscurity, and I can sympathise with the view that this word is too obscure for a daily puzzle.
As is so often the case, I have had a further thought almost immediately after posting a comment, in this case relating to 9ac. First I should clarify that I deliberately wrote “sympathise” not “agree”. Perhaps the clue would have been better with the enumeration (3,6), which would reverse the definition and wordplay elements in the clue. Again, I meant “Perhaps” to be taken literally.
KVa@27 , sorry our paper bin was collected yesterday so I can’t check on recent Guardian puzzles.
IBIZA some valiant efforts but I am not convinced by any , least of all my own.
TEASELLER I do not mind, although a different tea seller could have been used . I imagine Bettys could be quite obscure for some.
I greatly enjoyed the puzzle so thanks to both.
9ac defeated me although I had all the crossers. I see Bettys is based in Yorkshire so unknown to most Southerners. Our loss I assume from the delectable teas on the Bettys website.
Can’t help with IBIZA, though I can throw {is = I I (i.e. plural of i)} into the mix. ‘Swinging’ could be a reverser, with ‘put about’ a container, so A[to]Z II reversed (swinging) containing (put about) B. But then what’s the B: Britain (island?). All nonsense. The correct way to parse a clue is the way that everyone thinks it parses. If there isn’t such a way then the clue is duff, even if just because nobody can crack it.
For the guide, while it is called AtoZ in speech, its actual name is just AZ, which just adds to the doubt.
OVERTHOUGHT is not a noun, only the past tense/participle of overthink, so its definition is ‘the subject of unnecessary analysis’, eg as in ‘the IBIZA clue has been overthought/the subject of unnecessary analysis’. Are we being teased?
Loved BUMS ON SEATS, OUBLIETTE.
James@33
Collins:
A to Z
in British English
NOUN trademark
1. British
a book containing maps of streets in a particular area
an A to Z of Glasgow
2. a guide to a particular subject, with information gathered under headings in alphabetical order
An A to Z of careers gives helpful information about courses.
Maybe AZ also means ‘guide’.
If Islands can be island+island, then the problem is solved. me@9 tried just that, but I thought the idea was crazy. If that’s valid, then one island can be the def and the other one becomes I to contribute to the wordplay. I+BI+ZA (assuming ‘swinging’ is BI).
From my side, no more on this. Feeling dizzy. 😀
OVERTHOUGHT
If it is not a noun, we can probably take it as an adjective and modify the def to ‘of unnecessary analysis’. Does it work?
KVa, I didn’t realise A to Z was a thing separately to the map company. As for the map company, perhaps they do have a trademark for ‘A to Z’ but I can’t find any trace of it (outside Collins) being anything other than AZ or A-Z.
OVERTHOUGHT: but admitting = THOUGH, so what’s ‘the subject [of]’ doing in your version?
Yes, the map company is AZ, no question about that. is = II, no problem there, but B is for baffling.
OED gives plenty of citations for overthought used as a noun. But I don’t see how “the subject” can be part of the definition of “though”, so I’m inclined to agree with James on this one.
Anyway, superb puzzle, loved it – especially BUM SON’S EATS. Thanks, Io and Oriel.
With Io, I quit worrying about whether the clues make any damned sense, and just go with the flow. The profusion of confusion in the blog/comments would seem to validate that approach. Also, what is THE DIADEM supposed to mean/refer to, such that the definite article is merited?
Oof – thought I was on for a record time for an IO with a dozen plus in on first pass, then ground to a halt.
Came here seeking clarity on IBIZA and OVERTHOUGHT and frankly no bloody help there at all. My tupp’orth FWIW is as follows
island = I.
“swinging” = BI as in goes both ways with inverted commas to acknowledge no actual dictionary support.
guide is missing to put about <A(to)Z
While I'd hesitate to call it an &lit, I feel the phrase "extended definition" is justified.
OVERTHOUGHT I finally decided "the subject of" was the insertion as in OVERT over covering) THOUGH. with a nounal def of unnecessary analysis.
Anyway most enjoyable with OCH being the best of the bunch for me.
Thanks IO and "the I'm sure suitably pleased to be name-checked" Oriel.
Hard.
gave up with 6 to go
(:
James@35
OVERTHOUGHT
I had ‘admitting the subject’ =THOUGH as Oriel had.
Adjective: Of unnecessary analysis.
Noun (if it is there): Unnecessary analysis.
Blah@38
IBIZA
My parsing@1 and your parsing match with one difference. I mistakenly called it an &lit. I buy your extended def argument.
I mostly forewent parsing and just guessed phrases based on general tenor of the clue and letter counts and got about a third right! Couldn’t say why they were right until I read this blog. Thank you!
Another cracker from the mastersetter
Late thanks Oriel as I had a few parsing blanks but fewer than usual for Io, and failed entirely on 9A where I had a wild guess at TRAVELLER (thinking that a Bettys employee might somehow be ravelling a tea-cloth but not getting any closer to a definition). Agree with KVa@2 on IBIZA – while a bi person may be serially monogamous they might still be colloquially said to swing both ways so be a “swinger”, allowing those quotation marks to hint at the not-really-equivalence. i hate the word but loved back-parsing OBLIGATED and enjoyed plenty more, thanks Io.