Puzzle from the Weekend FT of January 6, 2024
Leonidas brings us a crossword that pays homage to one of my favourite dishes, Cullen Skink. What a treat! In case anyone does not know, Cullen Skink is a soup made with smoked haddock and potatoes, and is one of the glories of Scottish cuisine.
My first-in was 6d (WISER) and last was 25 (SUQ – a new spelling for me). My favourites are 14a (PAY), 21 (ADEPT), 24 (ICINESS) and 26 (BARROOM).
Thank you Leonidas for this delicious puzzle.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BRASSICAS |
Plants money regularly in class (9)
|
| BRASS (money) + I[n] C[l]A[s]S | ||
| 6 | WOOSH |
Sudden sound of silence at back of court (5)
|
| WOO (court) + SH (silence) | ||
| 9 | RECITAL |
Brief quote inspired by genuine performance (7)
|
| CIT (brief quote, i.e. citation) in (inspired by) REAL (genuine) | ||
| 10 | PASTEUR |
Soundly beat old city chemist (7)
|
| PASTE (soundly beat) + UR (old city) | ||
| 11 | SMEAR |
Libel finally receives maximum attention (5)
|
| [receive]S + [maximu]M + EAR (attention) | ||
| 12 | ENTERTAIN |
Consider attaching key to metal-plated article (9)
|
| ENTER (key) + A (article) in (plated) TIN (metal) | ||
| 14 | PAY |
Cough up bits of pasta accidently (yuk) (3)
|
| P[asta] A[ccidentally] Y[uk] | ||
| 15 | INSPECTIONS |
Piano features in Popular Pieces for Examinations (11)
|
| P (piano) in (features in) IN (popular) SECTIONS (pieces) | ||
| 17 | LISTERIOSIS |
Condition of sculpted Osiris appended to catalogue E (11)
|
| LIST (catalogue) + E (E) + anagram (sculpted) of OSIRIS | ||
| 19 | HID |
Skin mostly removed from view (3)
|
| HID[e] (skin mostly) | ||
| 20 | NEBRASKAN |
American silicone bras Kansas stocks (9)
|
| Hidden word (stocks) | ||
| 22 | FADED |
Game sold ultimately after craze lost freshness (5)
|
| FAD (craze) + [gam]E [sol]D | ||
| 24 | ICINESS |
Monsieur’s here with head cold that’s intense (7)
|
| ICI (monsieur’s here) + NESS (head) | ||
| 26 | BARROOM |
Yank’s place to drink in Rod & Anchor on retirement (7)
|
| BAR (rod) + MOOR (anchor) backwards (on retirement) | ||
| 27 | EVENT |
Time Square exchanging places in competition (5)
|
| EVEN (square) + T (time) | ||
| 28 | QUEBECKER |
Little flower protected by odd Canadian (9)
|
| BECK (little flower) in (protected by) QUEER (odd) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BIROS |
Writers bone up on bone (5)
|
| RIB (bone) backwards (up) + OS (bone) | ||
| 2 | ALCHEMY |
Each left confused over setter’s dodgy science (7)
|
| Anagram (confused) of EACH L (left) + MY (setter’s) | ||
| 3 | SATURNINE |
Vase wrapped in silk atop eastern grave (9)
|
| URN (vase) in (wrapped in) SATIN (silk) + E (eastern) | ||
| 4 | CULLEN SKINK |
Ground skull & neck in Duncan’s dish? (6,5)
|
| Anagram (ground) of SKULL NECK IN with a definition that, I presume, uses ‘Duncan’ to suggest a Scot and not any particular Duncan. I don’t recall any mention of Cullen Skink in Macbeth. Unless (heavens!) the witches were using their cauldrons to make some? | ||
| 5 | SAP |
Drain more than one assistant lifted (3)
|
| PAS (more than one assistant, i.e. Personal Assistants) backwards (lifted) | ||
| 6 | WISER |
More sage is planted into banks of wide river (5)
|
| IS (is) in (planted into) W[id]E + R (river) | ||
| 7 | OREGANO |
Herb starts to grow at night only beneath mineral (7)
|
| ORE (mineral) + G[row] A[t] N[ight] O[nly] | ||
| 8 | HARD-NOSED |
Tough son her dad trained (4-5)
|
| Anagram (trained) of SON HER DAD | ||
| 13 | TREASONABLE |
Disloyal core of ragtags north of fair (11)
|
| [rag]T[ags] + REASONABLE (fair) | ||
| 14 | POLONAISE |
Musical piece Sonia distributed among staff (9)
|
| Anagram (distributed) of SONIA in (among) POLE (staff) | ||
| 16 | TASK FORCE |
In note, request college’s crack team? (4,5)
|
| ASK FOR (request) + C (college) together in (in) TE (note) | ||
| 18 | SUBLIME |
Majestic vehicle turned green (7)
|
| BUS (vehicle) backwards (turned) + LIME (green) | ||
| 19 | HADDOCK |
Component of 4 consumed with port (7)
|
| HAD (consumed) + DOCK (port) with ‘4’ referring to 4 down “Cullen Skink” | ||
| 21 | ADEPT |
Fitting trousers essentially maddened expert (5)
|
| [mad]DE[ned] in (trousers) APT (fitting) | ||
| 23 | DEMUR |
Object medic put around bird (5)
|
| EMU (bird) in (put around) DR (medic) | ||
| 25 | SUQ |
Arab market upset homeless siblings (3)
|
| QU[in]S (homeless siblings) backwards (upset) |
Leonidas provides consistently good entertainment and this grid was no exception.
I liked PASTEUR (for ‘beat’ cluing ‘paste’), ICINESS, QUEBECKER (surface) and DEMUR for the ‘bird’ which I was so sure would be the definition until that ‘odd Canadian’ came along.
I had to check the alternative spelling of ‘souk’ in 25D, my last one in, as I couldn’t parse it. Then Pete shows how simple it was, after all. And yes, CULLEN SKINK is very tasty.
Thanks to Leonidas and Pete.
Thanks Leonidas and Pete
11ac: I read this as [receive]S [maximu]M + EAR; I could not find M for maximum as a single letter abbreviation in any of Chambers 2016, Collins 2023 or ODE 2010.
12ac: I had ENTER + (A in TIN). Collins gives tain as “tinfoil used in backing mirrors”, which does not quite work for me.
Re 12A, I had a different parsing from Pete’s, which is fine anyway. I saw ‘TIN’ (metal) as ‘plating’ (coating) ‘A’ (article).
Ah, I see we crossed, Pelham.
Thank you Diane and Pelham. I stand by your interpretations.
Diane’s first paragraph @1 just about covers it for me
I parsed it, but I have a very large question mark next to CULLEN SKINK. I also had a note “why HADDOCK?”. I guess I should have looked it up on the internet, but thanks for the lesson Pete. I did manage to parse SUQ, but it took me ages to see it hidden backwards in quins. Like others, I cannot remember having seen that variant.
I originally wrote in detail about how I agree with PB@2’s parsing of ENTERTAIN, to find on posting that Diane and Pete got there first. So, I used the new edit function to save everyone the agony.
Thanks for another enjoyable crossword, Leonidas and thanks for another excellent explanation, Pete.
Thanks Leonidas for a super crossword. I’m glad CULLEN SKINK was an anagram otherwise I might not have solved that clue. (I hadn’t heard of the dish but I hope to have it when I hike the Speyside Trail this September.) My top picks were PASTEUR, SMEAR, ENTERTAIN, ICINESS, and SUBLIME. Thanks Pete for the blog.
Further to Martyn @6,
I think the new edit function is a great idea which, I hope, should minimise typos!
Liked ICINESS, QUEBECKER (BECK for (a) little flow-er!) and SUQ.
Thanks Leonidas and Pete Maclean!
Thanks KVa@9. I assumed a beck was a little thing with petals that I had not heard of. Turns out it is a little thing with water that I had not heard of. I should have looked that up too!
Thanks for the blog , very good set of clues , SUQ is very neat and I liked the use of BECK , it is widely used in the Lake District for a stream , further East and North the term burn is used.
I agree with Diane @1. Thanks, Leonidas and Pete!
Found this a bit tougher than previous Leonidas’ puzzles but it was a lovely way to spend Saturday afternoon.
CULLEN SKINK was my FOI and a favourite.
Also liked: LISTERIOSIS, ICINESS, ALCHEMY, OREGANO
Thanks Leonidas and Pete
Delightful puzzle but what else would we expect? Consistently succinct and plausible surfaces throughout – even that for CULLEN SKINK. I did wonder if the Duncan allusion was intended to have us thinking about the witches and their cauldron, for which the ingredients would have been a natural fit.
PASTEUR, ENTERTAIN, INSPECTIONS, FADED, SATURNINE and ADEPT earned my biggest ticks amongst plenty of other top notch clues. SUQ was a dnk and I didn’t parse it either!
Thanks Leonidas and Pete Maclean
I agree entirely with PostMark’s comment @14 – like him, I have more ticks than those he mentions – and with Pete’s enthusiasm for CULLEN SKINK (as for Fiona, it was my FOI). I think the question mark in the clue takes care of the definition by example. I did guess SUQ as an alternative spelling, but missed the parsing – lovely!
Many thanks to Leonidas for another delightful puzzle and to Pete for the blog.
I think SMEAR must intend the two last letters plus EAR. But any puzzle with CULLEN SKINK and SUQ in it gets my vote. Super stuff.
Thanks to all for the comments today and thanks Pete again for a fine blog.
I make a rather tasty bowl of CULLEN SKINK if I don’t say so myself. I can recommend the tinned Baxters variety. I did originally have Macbeth (I certainly had the idea of the witches cauldron in my mind probably because of the rather gruesome fodder) but swapped to Duncan at the eleventh hour.
Have a good weekend everyone.
To entertain my guests I created my own sublime version of Cullen Skink, substituting neeps (a brassica) for the tatties and seasoning with a smear of oregano, but inadequate inspection of the haddock led to a listeriosis event. Fortunately everyone survived and my saturnine look eventually faded.
Thanks Leonidas and Pete for the tasty (17a notwithstanding) fun.
Cellomaniac @18 😉
I’ve been moved today to make CULLEN SKINK again – I actually, by coincidence, took delivery of smoked haddock this afternoon. One of the joys of winter is home-made soup!
I love CULLEN SKINK, and had a particularly delicious bowl of it in the Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow – in the original location on Sauciehall Street (the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed place). They also made good gluten free scones. That clue went in on first pass, after a bit of squinting at the anagram.
One of the joys of walking the Pennine Way is how the language changes as you walk north: streams become becks and burns, lakes become meres and tarns. When I walked it the breeds of sheep changed and the food available – I first met Cumberland sausage locally made, on that walk.
Thank you to Pete Maclean and Leonidas.
Shanne, Thanks for commenting. I know the Willow Tea Rooms well but do not remember if I have ever had their Cullen Skink.
The BECK in 28a QUEBECKER brought to mind the lyrics to D’ye ken John Peel – a song learnt in primary school.
‘He liv’d at TroutBECK once on a day’. There have been parodies – this from I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again:
‘D’ye ken John Peel with his voice so grey? | He sounds as if he’s far far away;
He sends you to sleep at the end of the day; | ’til you’re woken up by Tony Blackburn in the morning.’ – And this from Porridge:
‘D’ye see yon screw with his look so vain? | With his brand new key on his brand new chain;
With a face like a ferret and a pea for a brain | And his hand on his whistle in the morning.’