Boxing Day’s puzzle has been set by Grecian.
We have a strong Christmas theme today with the title and characters from one of Charles Dickens’ most popular book. The characters are not always formed by complete entries and some times spread across two entries. As far as I can see, the following thematic words and names can be seen in the grid: CHRISTMAS CAROL (feel free to pick an A somewhere else in the grid to get the full title), BOB CRATCHIT, SCROOGE, TINY TIM, JACOB MARLEY, GHOST, PRESENT, PAST and BELLE. Grecian did very well to get so much thematic material into both acrosses and downs without having to resort to really obscure words elsewhere in the grid.
Grecian has introduced a good mix of general knowledge into the clues. You need a bit of sport, some film, a bit of culinary knowledge, some recent American political outrage, and a bit of literature.
Overall, a good puzzle for a relaxing Boxing Day!.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 9 | Slice of tiramisu knocked back in China (5)
IMARI (type of Japanese porcelain, richly decorated in red, green and blue; china) IMARI (reversed [knocked back] hidden word in [in] TIRAMISU) IMARI< |
| 10 | Ah, Daniel Craig’s heading off for meal in Leon (9)
ENCHILADA (Mexican dish consisting of a rolled stuffed tortilla cooked with a chilli-flavoured sauce. Leon is a city in Mexico as well as being a city in Spain) Anagram of (off) AH DANIEL and C (first letter of [heading] CRAIG) ENCHILADA* |
| 11 | Sycophant is curious about travel agents retiring (3-6)
YES PERSON (someone who agrees with everything that is suggested; an obedient follower with no initiative; sycophant) (NOSEY [curious] containing (about) REPS [representatives; travel agents]) all reversed (about) (YE (S PER) SON)< |
| 12 | Spirit of game broken by Hearts wingers in shoot-out (5)
GHOST (spirit) (GO [board game] containing [broken by] H [hearts]) + ST (outer letters of [wingers in] SHOOTOUT) Hearts refers to Heart of Midlothian, a Scottish Premiership football club based in Edinburgh G (H) O ST |
| 13 | Mark King with a temperature in school (7)
SCRATCH (mark) (CR [Charles Rex; current King] + A + T [temperature]) contained in (in) SCH (school) S (CR A T) CH |
| 15 | List of title’s prime locations – almost 25 (7)
ITEMISE (list) ITE (letters 2, 3 and 5 [first three prime numbers] of TITLE) + MISER (a SCROOGE [entry at 25 across] is a MISER) excluding the final letter (almost) R ITE MISE |
| 17 | True blue perhaps changing direction at first (5)
LOYAL (faithful; true) ROYAL (reference the colour ROYAL blue) with the direction right (R) changed to left (L) to form LOYAL LOYAL |
| 18/23 | Singer cut Ma Baker’s last line (3,6)
BOB [MARLEY] (reference BOB MARLEY [1945 – 1981], Jamaican reggae singer) BOB ([hair]cut) + MA + R (final letter of [last] BAKER) + LEY (any of the straight lines between features of the landscape, possibly pathways, or perhaps having scientific or magical significance in prehistoric times) BOB MA R LEY |
| 20 | Dance round and round (5)
DISCO (dance) DISC (round object) + O (round character), together giving ’round and round’ DISC O |
| 22 | Engineers union in another meeting (7)
REMATCH (play again in another match) RE (Royal Engineers) + MATCH (marriage; union) RE MATCH |
| 25 | Dickensian character goes mad about return of monster (7)
SCROOGE (reference Ebeneezer SCROOGE, character in Dickens’ novel ‘A Christmas Carol’) Anagram of (mad) GOES containing (about) ORC (fierce sea-monster; also one of an imaginary race of evil goblis [monsters], especially in the fiction of J R R Tolkien) reversed (return of) S (CRO<) OGE* |
| 26 | Song making Pink’s stomach turn (5)
CAROL (song) CORAL (shade of pink) with the central letters (stomach) ORA all reversed (turn) to make ARO and form CAROL CAROL |
| 27 | Mitch Marsh’s guts upset by end of Ashes feast (9)
CHRISTMAS (feast) Anagram of ITCHMARS (central letters of [guts] MITCH MARSH) + S (last letter of [end of] ASHES – Mitch Marsh is an Australian test cricketer CHRISTMA* S |
| 30 | Serpent cryptic edited and put before the public (9)
PRESENTED (put before the public) Anagram of (cryptic) SERPENT + ED (edited) PRESENT* ED |
| 31 | Naked bloke chasing Black Beauty (5)
BELLE (beauty) B (black, when describing pencil lead) + FELLER (fellow; bloke) excluding the outer letters (F and R) B ELLE |
| Down | |
| 1 | Extra small sleepwear for Spooner (4)
TINY (extra small) Reverend Spooner would pronounce TINY as NYTI or NIGHTIE [sleepwear) TINY |
| 2 | Old men host TV show (4,4)
DADS ARMY (TV show) DADS (old men) + ARMY (a host of people) DADS ARMY |
| 3 | Bond eating his superior porridge (4)
TIME (porridge is an informal term for a jail sentence [time]) TIE (bond) containing (eating) M (codename for James Bond’s boss in the book and film series) TI (M) E |
| 4 | Mike brewed Beamish in former wife’s address (8)
MEMSAHIB (in colonial India [in former times], a title of address for a married European woman; former wife’s address) M (Mike is the international radio communication code for the letter M) + an anagram of (brewed) BEAMISH M EMSAHIB* |
| 5 | Northern European screen princess (6)
SCANDI (informal term for a SCANDInavian [Northern European]) SCAN (screen) + DI (reference Diana, Princess of Wales [1961 – 1997]) SCAN DI |
| 6 | Spitting Image covering heavy metal band’s number one (10)
RINGLEADER (LEADER [number one] of a RING [group or band of people]) RINGER (DEAD-RINGER [lookalike; spitting image]) containing (covering) LEAD (example of a metal that’s heavy) RING (LEAD) ER |
| 7 | Actor‘s nameless brother (6)
JACOBI (reference Derek JACOBI [born 1938], English actor) JACOBIN (French Dominican monk; brother) excluding the N [name] thereby being nameless JACOBI |
| 8 | Half of 2 and 3 done (4)
PAST (gone before; done) PAS (DADS, or half of the entry at 2 down [DADS ARMY]) + T (TIME [entry at 3 down) PAS T |
| 13 | Latitude involved in rise of The Sun (5)
SOLAR (descriptive of the sun) L (latitude) contained in (involved in) SOAR (rise) SO (L) AR |
| 14 | Gossip from account clerk (4-6)
TALE-TELLER (a gossip) TELLER (accounts clerk) who relates TALEs [a gossip] TALE TELLER |
| 16 | Stir up memories of uplifting Janácek overture (5)
EVOKE (call up or awaken [especially memories] in the mind) EVOKE (reversed [uplifting] hidden word in [of] JANÁCEK OVERTURE) EVOKE< |
| 19 | Top horse to dominate (8)
BESTRIDE (stand or sit across in an imposing manner; dominate) BEST (top) + RIDE (informal term for a journey on horseback, which can also refer to the horse itself) BEST RIDE |
| 21 | Porn star introducing Wild At Heart in a threatening manner (8)
STORMILY (in a threatening manner) STORMY (reference STORMY Daniels [born 1979], American pornographic film star who had an affair with Donald Trump) containing (introducing) IL (central letters of [at heart] WILD) STORM (IL) Y |
| 23 | See 18 Across
[BOB] MARLEY |
| 24 | Supply teacher for the most part a goddess (6)
HECATE (Greek goddess of magic) Anagram of (supply derived from supple]) TEACHER excluding the final letter (for the most part ) R HECATE* |
| 26 | Head of International Rescue’s back (4)
CAPE (geographic term for a headland or head) CAP (sportsmen receive a cap for every international match in which they play) + E (last letters of [back] RESCUE) CAP E |
| 28 | America’s revolutionary baloney sandwiches (4)
SUBS (SUBmarine sandwiches) US (United States; America) reversed (revolutionary) + BS (bullshit; rubbish; baloney) SU BS< |
| 29 | Perhaps 18 Across will be solved at last (4)
SLED (another name for a BOB [BOBsleigh; toboggan] entered at 18 across) SLED (final letters [at last] of each of ACROSS, WILL, BE and SOLVED) SLED |
Thanks, Grecian and duncanshiell! Great puzzle and a great blog.
Liked BOB MARLEY, DADS ARMY, PAST and CAPE.
TALE-TELLER
I took ‘account’ as TALE and ‘clerk’ as TELLER.
Thank you duncanshiell. A veritable smorgasbord of GK and clue types.
Agree with KVa’s parsing of TALE-TELLER.
Fav was RINGLEADER.
Don’t know how Mitch Marsh got on over CHRISTMAS, but he might be shining in India tomorrow. I wonder how many Grecian fans got that one.
Excellent use of theme. Also parsed 14d as KVa and parsed 27a as an anagram of MITCH + mARSh + asheS. Six of one, half dozen of the other, as they say.
Once again, Grecian proves he is a master at the gridfill. I spotted the theme early enough for it to be helpful – though I did wonder towards the end where and how future/yet to come was going to fit in. Even though I watched The Muppets’ version of the story last night, I did not remember BELLE but it was hugely satisfying to spot the other key characters and Derek JACOBi/Bob MARLEY was simply inspired.
Odd how themes can reveal themselves: on this occasion, I had TINY, TIME and PAST by the time I got to ITEMISE. That word ‘prime’ does focus the mind and once I had realised I needed ITE and then a short version of 25a, I wondered if MISE(r) was what I would need and anticipated the appearance of Ebenezer before I even got to read the clue. A glance at already completed solutions threw up the three aforementioned, I saw the connections and we were off to the races. Splendid job and a lovely nod to the season.
Thanks Grecian and duncan
Amazed I finished this, though admittedly with some online help. I was so zonked by most of the clues that I was only dimly aware of the theme, obvious though it was. But thanks anyway to Grecian and Duncan.
TiNY is the tiniest Spoonerism I’ve ever seen. Loved it.
The other 4 letter solutions TIME and PAST also good.
When I saw the name on the puzzle, my heart leapt, considering the date and the fact that Grecian has given us several Dickens-themed puzzles already – and was delighted when my premonition proved true.
I found it quite difficult to get into and I hadn’t entered a single across answer but (rather like PostMark) I put in 1dn TINY and 3dn TIMe immediately – and then the fun began.
A beautifully composed puzzle, as others have said and a hugely enjoyable solving experience as the answers revealed themselves. The Derek JACOBi /Bob MARLEY (two favourites of mine!) combination was indeed inspired, and I also enjoyed BOB sCRATCHIT, along with many other clues, already mentioned above
I parsed TALE-TELLER as KVa and paddymelon did – and noted that the Bob Cratchit was Scrooge’s clerk.
Huge thanks to Grecian for a super Christmas Present and to lucky Duncan for the blog.
Apologies for the rogue ‘the’ in my penultimate paragraph.
I wasn’t ever tempted to shout Bah Humbug, while solving this, though the time it took is proof that over-consumption affects the brain. Lovely puzzle and a great blog. Thanks.
Many thanks to Duncan for yet another excellent blog – we can’t keep meeting like this! Thank you also to the solvers for the lovely feedback on my puzzle. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. G
Thanks Grecian and duncanshiell.
This was hard but enjoyable.
TINY Spooner was good.
ITEMISE, PRESENTED, REMATCH, STORMILY, SUBS, YES-PERSON make my list.
15a ITEMISE – I’d only ever come across the “prime locations” trick in puzzles by Bluth/Fed before, but the archives have examples from other setters
going as far back as ten years ago https://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/04/03/financial-times-14277-by-monk/ where ETNA was clued with PETUNIAS
And I’ve just found late posts from Monk here: https://www.fifteensquared.net/2023/10/31/guardian-cryptic-29215-by-fed/ (see @107,108)
citing the above, as well as an even earlier ICONOCLASM cluing COOL “from Times 23102 (8/10/2005) 🙂 “
Oh what a delightful late Christmas present I found today tucked away in my “To Do” pile! I loved seeing this theme emerge, starting with CAROL at 26a followed by 18a/23d BOB MARLEY! I didn’t spot the shortened MISE(r) in 15a ITEMISE until examining the completed grid, and because I had put in SCRATCH (13d) quite early on it took a review to see that CRATCHIT and BOB also related to the Dickensian theme. So much fun I don’t even want to name favourites, just want to send a huge thanks to Grecian and gratitude to Duncan for a thorough and interesting blog.
[Speaking of Mitch Marsh in the clue at 27a, and apropos of paddymelon’s comment @ 2, I hope his “guts” weren’t too “upset” by being caught out on 96 in today’s play against Pakistan.]