Grecian, a compiler whose work I am not that familiar with, has provided our Tuesday teaser this week.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle with some very original wordplay, which I think that I have now parsed to my satisfaction. As for my favourite individual clues, I could single out 1A, for the clever RI references; and 17, 26 and 29, all for smoothness of surface. In addition to that, I particularly appreciated a rather innovative feature in this puzzle whereby proper nouns that appear in numerous clues – e.g. 3, 6, 9, 22, 23 … – need to be split up between the definition and the wordplay when the clue is parsed.
Tuesday is theme day, and Grecian signposts the theme at 20A: Charles Dickens and, more specifically, his novel David Copperfield, as illustrated if you run together entries at 12, 22 and 27. Further relevant references are to be found at 1D and 11, with other hints in the clues at 15 (“Emily”) and 1D (“Yarmouth”) and perhaps elsewhere too.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | MICAWBERISH | Organised beach swim around Rhode Island is avoiding Providence
RI (=Rhode Island) in *(BEACH SWIM); “organised” is anagram indicator; the “Providence” of the clue is not the state capital of Rhode Island, but foresight, making provision for the future; the reference is to Mr Micawber, a character in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, who hoped for the best instead of planning for the future |
| 07 | AID | Help from ChatGPT for one degree
AI (=ChatGPT for one, i.e. Artificial Intelligence) + D (=degree) |
| 09 | SQUAT | Team not initially dealing with centre from Peter Crouch
SQUA<d> (=team; “not initially (=first letter) dealing” means letter “d” is dropped) + <pe>T<er> (“centre from” means middle letter only) |
| 10 | GASOMETER | Large tank destroyed megastore
*(MEGASTORE); “destroyed” is anagram indicator |
| 11 | URIAH HEEP | Wee Hearts shock United making a comeback in group
PEE (=wee, i.e. urinate) + H (=hearts, in cards) + HAIR (=(a) shock) + U (=united, as in UN); “making a comeback” indicates reversal; Uriah Heep is a British rock band, formed in 1969 – and the name of the unctuous, hypocritical villain in Dickens’ David Copperfield |
| 12 | DAVID | Vangelis’s No 1 single covered by pop artist
[V<angelis> (“No 1” means first letter only) + I (=single, one)] in DAD (=pop, i.e. father); the reference is to e.g. French painter Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) |
| 13 | TRIDENT | Spear fish in river
ID (=fish) in TRENT (=river, in England) |
| 15 | DAYS | Emily finally getting into The German Times
<emil>Y (“finally” means last letter only) in DAS (=the German, i.e. a German word for the); cf. in Victorian days/times |
| 18 | TROT | Red Queen cutting finger
R (=Queen, i.e. regina) in TOT (=finger, of e.g. whisky); a Trot(skyite) is a communist, hence a “red” |
| 20 | DODGIER | Dickens character arresting one more suspect
I (=one) in DODGER (=Dickens character, i.e. the Artful Dodger in Dickens’ Oliver Twist) |
| 23 | WOODY | Court date ending for Lily Allen perhaps
WOO (=(to) court) + D (=date) + <lil>Y (“ending for” means last letter only); the reference is to US comic actor Woody Allen (1935-) |
| 24 | TROUSERED | Nick Drake gutted about wearing pants
TROUSER (=nick, pinch) + ED (D<rak>E; “gutted” means all middle letters are dropped; “about” indicates reversal) |
| 26 | APPLIANCE | Scottish guy about to break fruit machine
[IAN (=Scottish guy, i.e. common male forename in Scotland) + C (=about, i.e. circa)] in APPLE (=fruit) |
| 27 | FIELD | Runners // stop and return
Double definition: a FIELD is all the runners or entrants in a race or competition AND to FIELD a ball in e.g. cricket is to stop and return it to the bowler or wicketkeeper |
| 28 | SIR | Gentleman’s abrupt personal assistant
SIR<i> (=personal assistant on Apple devices; “abrupt” means last letter is dropped) |
| 29 | DECLARATION | Lead actor in Rocky makes announcement
*(LEAD ACTOR IN); “rocky (=shaky)” is the anagram indicator |
| Down | ||
| 01 | MOSQUITO | Sailor on leave in the centre of Yarmouth is a pest
[OS (=sailor, i.e. ordinary seaman) + QUIT (=leave, e.g. a place)] in <yar>MO<uth> (“the centre of” means middle two letters only) |
| 02 | CRUCIFIX | Police force in Channel Islands correct to get cross
[RUC (=police force, i.e. Royal Ulster Constabulary) in CI (=Channel Islands)] + FIX (=correct, put right) |
| 03 | WITCH | Live streaming company missing introduction from Ten Hag
<t>WITCH (=live streaming company); “miss introduction (=first letter) from Ten” means letter “t” is dropped |
| 04 | EDGIEST | Most nervous side get hammered
*(SIDE GET); “get hammered” is anagram indicator |
| 05 | INSIPID | Retired characters taking part in skinny dip is nice and tasteless
Reversed (“retired”) and hidden (“characters taking part in”) in “skinny DIP IS NIce and” |
| 06 | HAMADRYAD | Naga Munchetty finally had drama broadcast
*(<munchett>Y (“finally” means last letter only) + HAD DRAMA); “broadcast” is anagram indicator; naga and hamadryad are names for the cobra snake |
| 07 | ACTIVE | Busy contralto in revolutionary musical
C (=contralto) in ATIVE (EVITA=musical; “revolutionary” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 08 | DORADO | Angler served up for trouble for fish
DOR (ROD=angler, i.e. implement for fishing; “served up” indicates vertical reversal) + ADO (=trouble); dorado is the coryphene, a large edible marine fish |
| 14 | EARLY BIRD | Journalist hanging around mobile library is a proverbial character
*(LIBRARY) in ED. (=journalist, i.e. editor); “mobile” is anagram indicator; the early bird catches the worm, as the proverb goes |
| 16 | DISRAELI | Princess entertaining country’s prime minister
ISRAEL (=country) in DI (=Princess, i.e. Lady Di); the reference is to UK Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) |
| 17 | TRADED IN | Exchanged with naked lady in version of Tinder
<l>AD<y> (“naked” means first and last letters are dropped) in *(TINDER); “version of” is anagram indicator |
| 19 | TITANIC | Bristol City’s top worn by an international giant
[AN + I (=international)] in [TIT (=Bristol, in Cockney rhyming slang) + C<ity> (“top” means first letter only)] |
| 20 | DROSERA | Doctor Who’s final series has a carnivorous plant
DR (=doctor) + <wh>O (“final” means last letter only) + SER (=series) + A |
| 21 | SWEARS | Head of Sky Sports making promises
S<ky> (“head of” means first letter only) + WEARS (=sports, dons, e.g. clothes) |
| 22 | COPPER | Bobby Fischer ultimately escaping from accident
C<r>OPPER (=accident, as in to come a cropper; “Fischer ultimately (=last letter only) escaping” means a letter “r” is dropped); a bobby is a policeman, hence “a copper” |
| 25 | SOFIA | Oddly slow Friday in the city
S<l>O<w> F<r>I<d>A<y>; “oddly” means odd letters only are used |
What a treat! – another Dickens gem from Grecian.
I also spotted (Betsy) TROT WOOD and DORA.
I admired the anagrams at 10ac GASOMETER, 29ac DECLARATION and 4dn EDGIEST and, like RR, the generous sprinkling of lift-and-separate, especially 6d: I’m always impressed when setters include names of real people.
Favourites: the excellent MICAWBERISH at 1ac, 12ac DAVID, 18ac TROT, 24ac TROUSERED, which made me laugh and 2dn CRUCIFIX.
Huge thanks to Grecian for a lovely puzzle and to RR, for doing it justice.
TROT+WOODY gives us Betsey
Excuse my incorrect spelling of ‘Betsey’!
Eileen@1 -Snap on Betsey 🙂
Lots of people to lift-and-separate: Peter Crouch, Lily Allen, Nick Drake, Naga Munchetty, Bobby Fischer. – soccer, pop, folk, breakfast tv, chess.
But Sly Stallone was no help in solving “Lead actor in Rocky”. And Vangelis (Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou) only has one name professionally.
dnk Naga was a snake. Knew HAMADRYAD as a nymph – like oread, naiad, dryad – not as a king cobra. Now I know.
CRUCIFIX – Why is the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ulster_Constabulary so called – Because they are, you see?
‘founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal !rish Constabulary (RIC) following the partition of Ireland. …superseded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in 2001’
Thanks G&RR – good fun
Sorry – Vangelis only had one name professionally.
I agree with Eileen, including the same favourites plus the amusing HAMADRYAD – surely the debut appearance in a cryptic crossword for Naga Munchetty? Great fun. Thanks, Grecian and RR.
DECLARATION
15a “Emily” (Little Em’ly)
RR referenced Emily, along with Yarmouth, in the blog.
When I applied for University entrance, I was living in Norfolk and one of the more challenging questions at one of my interviews was how well I thought Dickens had represented the Norfolk accent in ‘David Copperfield’.
‘RR referenced Emily…’ – So he did. Sorry, RR
Eileen @9. Was that a trick question, since Dickens spent more time in Bury St Edmunds and David Copperfield was born in Blunderstone – both in Suffolk, not Norfolk? Definitely not easy to unpick the voices in the book.
Excellent entertainment today, thanks both.
Very enjoyable and well crafted as always. I did spot some of the themed words – though only the blindingly obvious ones. TROTWOOD and DORA passed me by. As FrankieG points out, Grecian has certainly gone to town with his cultural references and Naga Munchetty, in particular, made me smile.
Loads of faves inc TROT, WOODY, TROUSERED, HAMADRYAD, EARLY BIRD, TITANIC, SWEARS and SOFIA.
Thanks Grecian and RR
Xmac @11 – apologies for the delay: I’ve been looking (unsuccessfully) for a copy of the book!
It’s an awfully long time ago (and I can’t recall my response!) but the interviewer would presumably have been referring to the dialect of Little Em’ly’s family, the Peggottys, who lived in Yarmouth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggotty
Spotted the theme for once – and before finishing! We had to check DROSERA in Chambers, as well as HAMADRYAD which we only knew as a wood-nymph. But there was plenty to enjoy, too, such as APPLIANCE, MOSQUITO and EARLY BIRD.
Thanks, Grecian and RR.
Many thanks to RR for the excellent blog and to everyone else for the nice comments. HAM (Peggotty) was the only thematic reference not picked up, although this was just an excuse for me to get Naga Munchetty into a clue. I do hope that it’s her cryptic debut, as Widders @6 suggests. If you haven’t read Demon Copperhead (Barbara Kingsolver’s modern American reworking of DC), I would thoroughly recommend it. G
Really miffed to have missed HAM – especially when I was so impressed by Naga’s inclusion!
I loved this and second the recommendation for Demon Copperhead,
Ingenious puzzle. Loved it.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Had forgotten what a Bristol was.
Really lovely puzzle, including the unfamiliar words like 6d HAMADRYAD and 20d DROSERA (I love learning!) I particularly relished every “David Copperfield” reference, including some which I only saw when I came here. Sorry to be late to the party, but all praise to Grecian. And many thanks to RR for the blog.