The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29139.
Even by Qaos’s high standards, I found this a finely crafted crossword, with some brilliant surfaces, and quite a bit of subterfuge. Being Qaos, there is a theme, which announces itself in 5D DALLAS , backed up by 24A brEWING and 15A OILed, Answers include the soap’s location, characters, and even an actor (Donna REED, part-time Miss Ellie) – and a few more peripheral references, not highlighted. However, I think the real theme of the puzzle is envelopes – and no two introduced identically. Indeed, a top-notch puzzle; thank you Qaos.
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | TONIGHT |
Mean to cover up leg this evening (7)
|
| An envelope (‘to cover up’) of ON (‘leg’, cricket) in TIGHT (‘mean’, parsimonious). | ||
| 8 | CHEATED |
Fooled around, getting angry (7)
|
| A charade of C (circa, ‘around’) plus HEATED (‘angry’). | ||
| 9 | OKRA |
Fine artist portraying ladies’ fingers (4)
|
| A charade of OK (‘fine’) plus RA (‘artist’), for the mucilaginous vegetable. | ||
| 10 | FAREWELLS |
Parting expressions were translated during trips (9)
|
| An envelope (‘during’) of REWE, an anagram (‘translated’) of ‘were’ in FALLS (‘trips’). | ||
| 12 | SILLY |
Extremely sorry — divided by 49 + 50 is just absurd! (5)
|
| An envelope (‘divided by’) of IL (’49’, not the canonical Roman numeral) plus (+) L (’50’, no argument there) in SY (‘extremely SorrY‘). | ||
| 13 | PARISHES |
Hilton Hotel’s plugged by English districts (8)
|
| A charade of PARIS (‘Hilton’, great-granddaughter of Conrad, the hotelier) plus HES, an envelope (‘plugged by’) of E (‘English’) in H (‘hotel’) plus S (‘ ‘s’). | ||
| 15 | SUED |
In retirement, God’s taken to court (4)
|
| A reversal (‘in retirement’) of DEUS (‘God’). | ||
| 16 | OILED |
Drunk‘s wound wants a bit of cleansing (5)
|
| ‘Wants’ needs to be read as “is lacking’: a subtraction of [c]OILED (that kind of ‘wound’) minus the C (‘wants a bit of Cleansing’). | ||
| 17 | REED |
Way to inject drugs inducing rush (4)
|
| An envelope (‘to inject’) of EE (‘drugs’) in RD (road, ‘way’). | ||
| 18 | WHITE TIE |
Bond chasing criminal with European in formal evening dress (5,3)
|
| A charade of WHIT, an anagram (‘criminal’) of ‘with’ plus E (‘European’) plus TIE (‘bond’). Great surface. | ||
| 20 | BOBBY |
Policeman in Boris’s first campaign sacking 50 (5)
|
| A charade of B (‘Boris’s first’) plus [l]OBBY (campaign’) minus the L (‘sacking 50’). | ||
| 21 | FIREWATER |
Poor waiter, beset by official over strong drink (9)
|
| An envelope (‘beset by’) of IREWAT, an anagram (‘poor’) of ‘waiter’) in FER, a reversal (‘over’) of REF (‘official’). | ||
| 22 | SOAP |
Cleaner scrubs overalls after pocketing tips (4)
|
| First letters (‘tips’) of ‘Scrubs Overalls After Pocketing’. | ||
| 24 | BREWING |
Escort partners inside gathering (7)
|
| An envelope (‘inside’) of EW (‘partners’ at bridge, say) in BRING (‘escort’)’. ‘Brewing’ as storm clouds, perhaps. | ||
| 25 | BELLIES |
Will I punch social workers in the guts? (7)
|
| An envelope (‘punch’) of ‘LL (‘will’ short form) plus ‘I’ in BEES (‘social workers’). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | JOCK |
Whitehall comedian ignoring answer involving old Scotsman (4)
|
| A substitution: JACK (Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall, ‘Whitehall comedian’) with the A replaced by O (‘ignoring answer involving old) | ||
| 2 | RIVALLED |
Competed with Villa playing in claret (8)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of IVALL, an anagram (‘playing’) of ‘Villa’ in RED (‘claret’). | ||
| 3 | SHIFTY |
Dishonest Tory leader protected by fishy organisation (6)
|
| An envelope (‘protected by’) of T (‘Tory leader’) in SHIFY, an anagram (‘organisation’) of ‘fishy’. Did someone say “surface”? | ||
| 4 | SHOWERED |
See Dr Who getting prepared and washed (8)
|
| An anagram (‘getting prepared’) of ‘see Dr Who’. | ||
| 5 | DALLAS |
Alien captain unhappy about everyone getting promoted (6)
|
| A reversal (‘getting promoted’ in a down light) of SALLAD, an envelope (‘about’) of ALL (‘everyone’) in SAD (‘unhappy’), for the captain (played by Tom Skerritt) of the spaceship Nostromo in the film Alien. | ||
| 6 | MESS |
Scam inside Las Vegas ends in confusion (4)
|
| Last letters (‘ends’) of ‘scaM insidE LaS VegaS‘. | ||
| 11 | REPELLENT |
Driving back 45 inches a long time ago in regret (9)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of ELL (’45 inched a long time ago’ – an old measure of about that length) in REPENT (‘regret’). | ||
| 12 | SOUTH |
Second hospital admits being on strike to make a point (5)
|
| An envelope (‘admits’) of OUT (‘being on strike’ – it would be happier without ‘being’, but then the word would have no function) in S (‘second’) plus H (‘hospital’). | ||
| 14 | ENEMY |
Back in the past, you captured soldiers in time? (5)
|
| A reversal (‘back’) of YMENE, an envelope (‘captured’) of MEN (‘soldiers’) in YE (‘in the past, you’). I have a vague recollection that we have had an inconclusive discussion here about the origin of the idea of the enemy time. | ||
| 16 | OUTSWING |
Dismissal by Small — success! Starting to get movement with ball (8)
|
| A charade of OUT (‘dismissal’, as a command) plus S (‘Small’) plus WIN (‘success’) plus G (‘starting to Get’). | ||
| 17 | ROBUSTLY |
Firmly lift gold sculpture, luckily hollow (8)
|
| A charade of RO, a reversal (‘lift’ as a command, in a down light) of OR (‘gold’) plus BUST (‘sculpture’) plus LY (‘LuckilY hollow’). | ||
| 19 | THROWN |
Allegedly royal seat’s in shed (6)
|
| Sounds like (‘allegedly’) THRONE (‘royal seat’). I spent a while trying to shoehorn TARA into it. | ||
| 20 | BARNES |
Wallis Simpson finally stops rattling sabre (6)
|
| An envelope (‘stops’) of N (‘Simpson’) in BARES, an anagram (‘rattling’) of ‘sabre’. Barnes Wallis was the engineer who invented the Dambusters bouncing bomb. Another finely misleading surface. | ||
| 21 | FORK |
Split delivered in 4K? (4)
|
| A charade of FOR, which sounds like (‘delivered in’?) ‘4’ plus K. | ||
| 23 | ARES |
God taking part in horse race coming up (4)
|
| A hidden (‘taking part in’) reversed (‘coming up’ in a down light) answer in ‘horSE RAce’). |
.
So many went in on the first pass through I thought it must be a Monday. I even worked out the theme post solve (unusual for me) with the addition of ‘worth’ (backwards in 19d) to go with the ‘south’ to give southworth.
Just for the record, time has never been my enemy. Just sayin’.
Not a great fan of American television, and never having watched the program in question, I missed the theme. But then again, I nearly always do. (Hadn’t heard of Captain Dallas either.)
Introduced to two new Brits today, Barnes Wallis and Jack Whitehall.
Couldn’t parse BELLIES. So “LL” is “will” short form? Sheesh!
Thanks Qaos & PeterO.
Almost ‘worth’ backwards.
I guess “will I” is fancifully ‘LL I perhaps? I had figured that BELLES of the ball worked socially, perhaps.
It seems a pity not to have left out “time” in 14d–seems like it’d have served perfectly as an &lit.
A nice puzzle; DNF because I have never heard “ladies’ fingers” for OKRA or Jack Whitehall. But I knew when to give up on those. Thanks Qaos and PeterO.
I could put in a rant about the ethics of the dambusters, but I will refrain.
Did not get the theme, and it is a long time ago. I didn’t really watch that show at all.
Yes really great crossword – and fun – although despite thinking DALLAS at 5d was both an unfamiliar reference (had forgotten the “Alien” character) and a city in Texas, I didn’t see the theme – mainly because I forgot to look for it – despite the mantra that’s now playing in my head “Qaos always…” [I was with Geoffdownunder@2 and gregfromoz@5 in my thinking when I came to the blog – “Dallas” was a long time ago and it must be many years since I saw “Alien”, as Sigourney Weaver was very young in it as I recall.] I liked 8a CHEATED. Thanks Qaos and PeterO.
Never watched the programme or heard of the captain so the theme evaded me. I always enjoy Qaos’s number-play, though.
Thanks to P&Q.
And good old JR himself in the top left of the grid 🙂
Delighted to get the theme for once – not sure I’d have got DALLAS without it
Cheers P&Q
And WELLS IN 10a to go with OIL
Felt Mondayish until the last couple in the SE corner. Was defeated by BELLIES, and would have appreciated some hint that we were looking for an abbreviation. Favourites were DEUS and MESS for the surface. Would it be unkind to link Sue Ellen to FIREWATER? (Memories of the student drinking game when we divided into teams of Ewing and Barnes and had to take a shot alongside any member of the family who took one in the programme – quite dangerous during Sue Ellen’s dipsomaniac phase.)
I’m in the ‘didn’t watch Dallas or Alien’ camp so the theme was lost on me – though the repeated envelope device was not. It’s a mark of the cluing quality that the repetition was not an irritation but, as PeterO emphasises, a pleasure. This was certainly the easiest puzzle to complete so far this week – and that is not a criticism. Just very smooth and I was lucky to find my thinking corresponding with our setter’s.
Favourites include CHEATED, PARISHES, FIREWATER, SHIFTY, ROBUSTLY, THROWN and BARNES.
Thanks Qaos and PeterO
Just for once, I noticed it was Qaos and remembered to look for a theme, but I failed to spot it even after finishing. I wouldn’t have known many of them were in the programme anyway.
It was kind of Qaos to mention a comedian in 1d, the clue would have still been fair without it, and I would have probably needed a pause for mental reset to spot the Scotsman and parse the clue.
My favourites were brewing and rivalled.
As well as JR in the top left which has been mentioned, SUE ELLEN is hiding in 15a 11d, and who could forget Bobby emerging from the SHOWER after an entire season turned out to be just a dream?
Neither the soap nor Alien my genre (the kids watched the latter). Dambusters the movie was me aged about 10, and dnk its designer Wallis. [Echo greg @5 re ethics in war; just saw Oppenheimer … similar issues]. Nice puzzle, thanks P and Q.
Also wondered about a criminal called Whit … definite onset of the dreaded wotchermacallit 🙂
Yes, grantinfreo @ 15, I too spent some time trying to work out why “whit” meant “criminal”.
I failed to solve 22ac and 23d and I could not parse 16ac.
Favourites: SHIFTY, OKRA, FORK.
New for me: English engineer Barnes Wallis; Captain Dallas in Alien movie (thank you, google. I saw the movie many years ago but I definitely have forgotten all the characters’ names).
I only looked for a theme after I finished the puzzle. Saw Dallas, JR, South Fork, Bobby, brEWING. I’m sure there is more but I am not so familiar with that old TV show.
In contrast to references to old movies and TV shows, it was refreshing to see a reference to a young-ish British comedian, Jack Whitehall.
Thanks, both.
Thanks Qaos and PeterO
No theme for me, of course – never seen Dallas or Alien. Quite a lot more GK as well.
I took a long time to get 1d as “Whitehall comedian” meant Brian Rix to me.
I had a very slightly different take on LLI in beLLIes. “Will I” is “I will” backwards, abbreviatable to “I’ll,” Essentially the same thing, but possibly more elegant. Favourite RIVALLED, for the surface.
I did briefly consider there might be a theme after getting DALLAS early on, but then didn’t bother to think about it again and wasn’t hindered by that omission. Pretty mild by Qaos standards, I thought, and unlike others I thought
the repetitive use of the envelope device became a bit tedious and that FORK was weak. Some nice surfaces, of which CHEATED was among the smoothest. So not one of this setter’s best, in my opinion.
Thanks nonetheless to Qaos, and to PeterO for the blog.
My reaction to the parsing of BELLIES was the same as Geoff Down Under@2: sheesh! I had to do some scratching around to remember BARNES Wallis (excused by its relevance to the theme) and Jack Whitehall, and I needed to Google the relevance of DALLAS to Alien (again, excused by its relevance to the theme). Never having watched DALLAS, I didn’t see all the references.
I can’t remember who shot JR but I did remember enough about DALLAS to get the theme and for it to help a bit. Yes, Mitz @13, I think the consensus at the time was that the “last season was a dream” thing was just SILLY.
This was an entertaining puzzle with some very nice touches. Wallis Simpson in 20d was brilliant.
Many thanks Qaos and PeterO.
Eventually saw the theme although I never watched the programme so I did not appreciate all the connections. I had picked up enough about it for it to help me solve 24a.
I missed the theme, and have no great wish to be reminded of DALLAS.
BARNES Wallis (and isn’t that a brilliant surface?) invented quite a lot of things beside the bouncing bomb; and while I sympathise with greg @5 about the ethics of the Dam Busters raid, I think the attempt to undermine German arms production was far less ethically dubious than most of the bombing raids against civilian populations by both sides during WW2. (Long ago, I had the privilege of being at school with Wallis’ grandson. Yes, Jonathan, I was listening, even though I didn’t show it).
The highlight of the morning for me was a mis-parsing of 20 across. The thought that the obese and incoherent ex-PM (see also surface to 3 down) might at some stage have had a campaign aptly featuring Mr Blobby appealed to me greatly.
Thanks Qaos and PeterO.
For Bellies; I had a reversal of I’LL, I WILL so LLI in BEES.
Top half went in at speed, well fairly quickly, and I had quite a lot of rhe bottom, but it still took a while. I waplaying with SUNAK for the westminster comedian, never heard of Jack W, but the crossers put me straight. Very enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks both.
NeilH @24 I share your pain having had nightmare visions of bojo and Noel Edmonds appalling creation. I think the clue should have had a trigger warning
Very clever theme, totally missed by me, even though I used to watch DALLAS religiously. There are some very funny out-takes on YouTube if you like that sort of thing.
I could not parse 16a, so thanks for that.
Very enjoyable puzzle and a very rare finish for me.
Thanks both.
Oh, and the 45 inches was new to me to, but successfully guessed.
Sorry blaise@19, we crossed.
Although I thought Alien a superb film, I don’t remember ever noting the captain’s name, but DALLAS went in as it parsed. I thought it was probably someone in Star Trek, whichbI have never thought superb
I was sorry when this finished, it was so enjoyable. Theme halfway through and then search. I think CHEATED sums up JR nicely and thankfully I didn’t have to. Superb.
Ta Qaos & PeterO.
And I suppose DALLAS was a SOAP.
Which of course you highlighted Peter oops.
Like Geoff Down Under, never seen Dallas and didn’t know Captain Dallas but nonetheless an entertaining puzzle.
A rare example of where the theme helped.Muffin, I thought of Brian Rix, too. Nice to remember Gladstone Small.
It’s Qaos, there’s a theme, which I did spot, and helped me at the end with BREWING.
I liked the FAREWELLS during trips, OILED for its wound, BREWING for gathering, ENEMY for ‘back in the past’, and THROWN as a good homophone. Thanks to Mitz @13 for pointing out the SUE ELLEN and bc @8 for the JR.
Thanks Qaos and PeterO.
and the two families were RIVALs.
Another good puzzle from Qaos, despite the horrible grid. I must have been on his wavelength today because I managed to solve three quarters of the clues without much thought – perhaps all those envelopes helped. The rest took much longer! Good constructions and surfaces, as usual.
The theme escaped me, never having watched the series. And I saw ‘Alien’ when it was first released, but that’s more than 40 years ago and so DALLAS went in with a shrug – I don’t remember the names of the characters apart from the the Sigourney Weaver one (The Talented Ms Ripley?).
Thanks to S&B
A most enjoyable puzzle, although I was never a Dallas fan. Thank you Qaos and thank you PeterO for the blog.
[I also thought of Brian Rix, he often came to visit the family I lived with in London.]
Beautifully constructed – but hardly a puzzle. And this is Thursday not Monday, Mr Crossword Editor!
Bodycheetah @9 and certain characters were frequently WELL OILED
Did not finish, missed the theme, and couldn’t parse a lot of my guesses. PeterO’s blog and other contributions explained why it was actually an excellent crossword, otherwise I would never have realised! And the GK eluded me, Wallis? Captain Dallas? Never saw the soap or the film.
Must try harder! Thanks Q and P
Very enjoyable and I should remember to look for themes.
I didn’t know the Alien captain was DALLAS, never seen that film, I worked it out from the wordplay, and then forgot to look for soap theme, as I did see a few episodes back in the day.
I wasn’t sure if it was Jack or JOCK until I got the vowel crosser.
Thank you to Qaos and PeterO.
I’m so focused on the clue that I always forget to look for themes. That said, I doubt I’d have spotted this one. I had a very vague memory that a character in Alien was named Dallas, but really had to dredge up from depths of my memory. The bouncing bomb was developed at the NPL which is not far from where I live in Teddington. A few bombs fell on Teddington during WWII in an attempt to destroy NPL, though I doubt the Germans knew anything about the bomb as such. Of course, Michael Redgrave played Barnes Wallis in the 1955 film The Dam Busters. I loved the film as a child, though now realise it is all a lot more complicated than portrayed. What a surprise…With thanks to Qaos and PeterO.
Thanks for the blog, totally missed the theme, I was hoping for an Alien theme after Dallas. Anyone who has seen the film must remember Lambert screaming – Dallas get out of there – when he is in the ventilation ducts.
A reversed ILL would have been better for BELLIES – Will I return to punch…….
SHIFTY was quite a neat clue.
Usually I like Qaos, but too many not-very-good clues here IMO – all noted by others already. BELLIES: I agree LL is not really acceptable for “will”; I’LL reversed works but there is no reversal indicator. FORK is just weak. DALLAS definition not great – OK it’s GK and you either know it or don’t, but the characters’ names (other than Ripley) don’t register with me and I’ve seen Alien more than once; answer was obvious though. One or two clues too long to be elegant – that for OUTSWING being the worst offender.
I knew ELL from ‘give her an inch and she’ll take an ell’ though couldn’t have said how big one of them was. REPELLENT one of the best here, along with SHOWER, SHIFTY, ENEMY and the simple but neat OKRA.
Thanks Qaos and PeterO.
4d could be included in the theme.
[Roz @44: you might appreciate this. When I saw BELLIES under BOBBY it reminded me of the affectionate nickname Special Branch officers gave to their ‘rivals’ in the Anti-Terrorist Branch, due to their body shape, but it’s a secret 🙂 ]
[ Very amusing AlanC @47 , I will not tell anybody . Perhaps the whole grid has a hidden Special Branch theme, too secret for you to reveal.
By the way , is it true that KPR are changing their name to Aardvark ? ]
Huge thanks to Qaos. Agree wholeheartedly with PeterO – this was a ‘top-notch puzzle’. Wonderful surfaces, elegant anagrams and deft manipulation. Challenging but hugely entertaining.
Quite a satisfying solve, although a few remaining at the end which felt a little unfair. Not sure that Barnes or Dallas are super recognisable, especially to those of us who grew up on Ramsay Street.
I solved over a dozen clues pretty quickly, OKRA, SILLY, SHOWERED and BARNES being write-ins, so I knew perfectly well that this must mean Qaos was taking things much more gently than usual.
How nice to have an alien reference that wasn’t ET – although I toyed with Wall-E for a bit and, frankly, though I remembered the name of the ship I had to check the captain’s moniker online.
The theme, however, sailed way over my head. I saw a few episodes of that series as a kid but didn’t much care for it. It was always way too hammy.
Unlike this crossword! Thank you Qaos for the fun, and PeterO for the blog
Castafiore@ 46: Indeed. As referenced by Mitz @13: when 20 A steps out of the shower and the dream sequence is revealed. Surely one of the most toe curling and ridiculous episodes in all of television history (!) PS are you named in honour of the great Bianca?
[Roz @48: Funny]
[AlanC@53 is it so they can be top of the league for a few minutes when it starts ? .
Also I agree with your points about Anto the other day , I was too late to comment ]
[Petert @34
Yes, Gladstone Small, the man with no n……eck!]
Thanks PeterO and Qaos! Fun.
Can’t see it’s been mentioned – but the matriarch ‘Miss ELLIE’ is also hidden round the centre squares. Apt.
As always I was in the category of “Theme? What theme?” even after filling the grid.
WHITEHALL and DALLAS were new to me, but I was able to solve them with crossers and confirm with google (other internet search engines are available). I’m dubious about their fairness as GK. Similarly having written in the envelope REP_ENT for 11D I suspected there might be an old measure called an ELL; and so there was.
The parsing of 25A completely evaded me, even with BE_ES in place, so thank you PeterO.
All good fun and a nicely hidden theme, but a bit Mondayish for my liking.
WHITE TIE was great though.
Thanks Qaos and PeterO
Now that I’ve learned always to look for a theme with Qaos, it’s a relief when I can’t find one that the theme (as is often the case) is something I know nothing about. I’ve never seen Dallas, though I do know it’s about somebody named Ewing who got shot but not killed. I’ve never seen Alien either, so Captain Dallas was lost on me. Qaos is much more up on pop culture than I am.
Too many unparsables to list. Never heard of the Whitehall person. or Barnes Wallis. I dimly think I’ve heard of okra as ladies’ fingers. To me, lady fingers are cookies.
Overall good fun. Thanks, Qaos and PeterO.
Surprisingly, I found the 4-letter clues hardest to solve today, and simply couldn’t see why ENEMY had to be the solution to 14d. So a DNF. And clueless about JOCK, and with the O and K crossers in place had (Barry) Took in place, as the only comedian I knew who fitted there. Fiddled around with Brian Rix for a while, as it was he who was always associated with the Whitehall Farces, but to no avail…
About half went in quickly, but I then ground to a halt.
Thanks for the parsing , nicbah @25, which actually makes sense!
…Cookie@38…did see one of Brian Rix’s Whitehall farces many, many moons ago in The West End. Lots of split second exits and entrances as part of the plot. But he didn’t come to tea at ours afterwards!
[ronald @62
Back in 60s we had a family week in London, and we each had a pick of a night out. Mine was a Whitehall farce (was it Dry Rot?), my sister the ballet, my mother the Festival Hall. My father never said what his was, but he went by himself….]
Interesting that no one knows an ell – it’s the old length for selling fabric, and the way it was measured is how I measure a metre quickly, using the length of an arm (yes, I’m a titch), so choose your shop assistant wisely.
I don’t think I’ve seen “will” used to indicate LL before, but I like it.
I never watched Dallas, but still somehow I recognize all of those character names and references to it. I spotted the theme after I’d finished solving.
There were quite a few bits of knowledge I lacked — Jack Whitehall, Captain Dallas, Wallis Barnes, and “outswing” (which I take to be a cricket term), but in all cases the clue construction was precise and clear enough that I managed to figure them out.
I remember reading as a child a fairy tale in which a little girl had to ask I forget what of three women who had noses one, then two, then three ells long.
Very enjoyable puzzle. Thanks, Qaos and PeterO. I noticed neither the Dallas theme or the number of clues with envelope-based wordplay, but found much to like here. I thought the clue for BELLIES was fine.
Lord Jim @22 – Kristin Shepard, as any fule kno. She was Sue Ellen’s little sister. Being able to retain this kind of nonsense is why I generally do OK at pub quizzes. Just don’t ask me where I left my house keys last night…
beaulieu@45 : The reversal indicator is WILL I not I WILL.
Thrilled to bits to sit down after lunch and finish in 40 minutes. Fantastic boost to my ego! Knew ell as they were probably still being used when I was young…. Have never seen either Dallas or Alien so 5d was loi when it definitely couldn’t be anything else. Hard to pick favourites but I did like 16, 21 and 24.
[me @63
Yes, it was Dry Rot – I remembered it involved a horse, and I’ve just checked the plot.
(For anyone interested, which I doubt, the ballet was Cinderella and the Festival Hall was St. Nicholas – which made a lasting impression on me.)]
Shanne ’64: What sort of giant has an arm length of 45″. I am 6′ 1′ and I measure a yard from the tip of my nose to the tips of my fingers, which was the official measuremnt. Two arms + body should be 72″, but I am not as supple as before and it was more 68″. Is that what you are doing? and still only getting 39″?
nicbach @25,68 Blaise @19 beaulieu @45
My first reaction to Blaise @19 and nicbach @25 was, like beaulieu @45, that the clue did not have a reversal indicator. However, as I think nicbach @68 is saying, it is not a reversal as usually understood in a crossword clue, but an (equally valid) swapping of particles – i.e. rendering I’L(1)L(2) as ‘L(1)L(2) I, not ‘L(2)L(1) I. Or, to put it another way, Chambers lists ‘LL as an abbreviation for ‘will’.
My experience was the same as KateE@61. I didn’t spot the theme despite having been to Dallas, sat by the pool at Southfork, visited the Ewing building (the offices of Arthur Andersen) and eaten at the Cattlemen’s Club ( a branch of Benihana.)
I finished in two sessions and I have never heard 9a being referred to as Lady Fingers so I learned something new, 14d still puzzles me and maybe the inclusion of the word time would have helped, but as always I enjoyed this.
TIA
Thanks Qaos for a super set of clues. I missed JOCK, knowing neither the comedian nor the Scotsman but all else made sense. I briefly searched for a theme but didn’t spot it. Thanks PeterO for the blog.
I am puzzled as to the ‘problem’ with 29: I read it as ‘WILL’ = ‘LL’ plus ‘I’ – no need for a reversal.
My question is: did anyone watch ‘Dallas’? I recall it as a big thing in my youth (not that I ever watched it, of course…)
I’m also surprised at how few people know of Barnes Wallis.
Me @76: apologies – messed up the italicising. Not that it’s important.
RamonSauvage @76
Very. very occasionally when playing golf you hit your ball on a low trajectory into water and it bounces out. Golfers always refer to this as a “Barnes-Wallis”.
Am I the only one who doesn’t pronounce THRONE the same as THROWN!?
AuntRuth @79
Mmm – yes? I suppose if I really tried very hard I could pronounce them differently, but it would be forced.
Me and Mrs S always do the crossword after tea with a glass of something and maybe some music so we’re late to the party as usual…
I knew the Barnes Wallis thing because he went to Christ’s Hospital (the Bluecoat School) and that’s where I was educated.
Re the ell and the length of arms; I worked on a market for a while and the stall next door sold cloth, measured usually by the yard. However I’m sure I saw him using his arms, and the measure was from his left armpit (where his left hand naturally went when he bent his arm) and his outstretched right hand. So 45″ is probably about right.
I’ve never seen Dallas either. I don’t feel unduly culturally deprived.
And yes a great puzzle, which we got most of!
RamonSauvage @76 – yes, I watched Dallas religiously. Utter rubbish of course, but entertaining rubbish.
I enjoyed this crossword. Maybe I’ve missed it, but I didn’t see a mention of J and R being the first down solutions letters
muffin @80: given the topic, you should not be forcing anything …
Fonj @83: the JR hat tip goes to Body Cheetah @8
There’s a quote from Jack Whitehall on the cover of this week’s Radio Times or I would never have parsed 1d.
A hymn to approximation indeed.
paul@10 first mentioned her and Mitz@13 found her hiding in 15a SUED 11d REPELLENT
Here’s her REPELLENT namesake, currently Home Secretary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suella_Braverman
‘Sue-Ellen Cassiana Braverman KC – née Fernandes’
Just to say, strictly speaking, a REED is not a rush. Reeds are aquatic grasses. Rushes are members of a different botanical family.
Is “repellant” a synonym of “driving back” (vs., say, “repelling”)?
Yes.
PaulC@90. Chambers: REPELLENT (or repellant, though it doesn’t match the crosser from 18a): “driving back; able or tending to repel; distasteful”. Repelling would also mean “driving back”, but it doesn’t accord with the wordplay.
Very late to this but loved it. I think the Dallas clue is one that will really be appreciated by geeks like me. The more specialised you make the clue, the more it will be appreciated by the niche who are into that. I couldn’t believe I’d got it right based on the definition at first, but loved it when I realised it had to be. Obviously not going to be for everyone, but then I hate clues about poetry and opera, so it’s swings and roundabouts.
49 was XLIX for the Romans, who did a lot for us. And in only the land of Cruciverbia is 100 = IC.