The Inquisitor puzzle this week was set by Kruger who has been compiling Inquisitors for many years.
The preamble was shorter than some I have seen and told us that "each unclued entry is an example of a member of a different group taking part in a leisure activity. Wordplay in each clue yields an extra letter that is not entered in the grid. In clue order, these letters give an instruction (involving 16 cells) and the context for the unclued entries whose unchecked letters could make MUSIC BIGOT LIE".
The ‘extra letter in the wordplay yielding an instruction’ device is a fairly common element in barred crosswords, so it shouldn’t have provided a serious problem for many solvers. There are also a few words that feature regularly in instructions which should also help, but there may be some unexpected words. Today’s instruction displayed examples of both words.
I made fairly steady progress through the clues with bits of the message and could see the word ‘HIGHLIGHT‘ developing at the beginning of the instruction. I had more difficult deducing the part of the message formed by the extra letters in the Down clues particularly around the ‘ONGGR‘ string of consecutive letters.
Deducing the unclued entries was helped by the bit of the preamble that told us their unchecked letters could make MUSIC BIGOT LIE.
Eventually the full message was revealed as HIGHLIGHT THE STRUCTURE THAT MAH JONGG RESEMBLES.
The unclued entries were ECCENTRIC, PUFF, SPRING, SIMOOM, PORCELAIN, ORBIT and IRIS. The blue, maroon and green letters indicate the unchecked letters which can indeed be reformed as MUSIC BIGOT LIE
My knowledge of MAH JONGG is very limited to hear a lot of tiles clacking when I worked for a few weeks in Hong Kong, so I had to do a bit of research to find the groups involved. I learnt that MAH JONGG tiles fall into 3 suits – CIRCLE (also known as dots, cash, wheel or ball), BAMBOO and CHARACTER, plus HONOR and BONUS tiles. DRAGONS and WINDS form the HONOR tiles, while FLOWERS and SEASONS form the BONUS tiles.
Some of the relationships between the unclued entries and groups were very clear, but one or two needed a bit of lateral thinking. In the end, I made the associations between the unclued entries and the groups as follows
ECCENTRIC – CHARACTER
PUFF – DRAGONS (Puff the magic dragon)
SPRING – SEASONS
SIMOOM – WINDS (Simoom is a hot suffocating desert wind in Arabia and North Africa)
PORCELAIN – BAMBOO (I found reference to Bamboo Porcelain in Chambers Dictionary)
ORBIT – CIRCLES (I was working with DOTS as the group initially and wasn’t sure that ORBIT and DOTS went together)
IRIS – FLOWERS
The final part of the end game was to HIGHLIGHT THE STRUCTURE. Initial word searches in the grid failed to reveal any complete words across the bars and it took a bit more online research to find that players build their tiles into four WALLs (touching at the corners), enclosing a space called the river. There was also one or two references to the GREAT WALL OF CHINA describing this defensive position. A bit more searching of the grid revealed 16 cells forming a square, symmetrically placed around the central cell of the grid, spelling out GREAT WALL OF CHINA reading anticlockwise from the G of GAZER at 34 down.
The grid graphics below show the initially completed grid followed by the grid with the DEFENSIVE FORMATION HIGHLIGHTed.
The clues were very fair yielding a good mix of known and less well known words.
The title, DEFENSIVE FORMATION?, has been explained above.
Overall this was a very enjoyable Inquisitor. Thanks to Kruger.
| No |
Detail Extra letter in the wordplay is highlighted in fuchsia |
Letter |
| Across | ||
| 10 | Capuchin taking time before entering tree (7)
SAOUARI (alternative spelling of SOUARI [tropical American tree]) SAI (capuchin monkey) containing (taking) (A [before] contained in [entering] HOUR [period of time]) SA (OU (A) R) I |
H |
| 11 | Trouble in blood in abundance (6)
GALORE (in abundance.) AIL (trouble) contained in (in) GORE (blood) G (AL) ORE |
I |
| 12 | Court drinks great wine (6)
CLARET (dark-red wines of Bordeaux) CT (court) containing (drinks) LARGE (great) C (LARE) T |
G |
| 13 | Instruct wandering clan with no home at last to associate with Jock’s own (6)
ORDAIN (order; instruct) HORDE (wandering clan) excluding (with no) E (final letter of [at last] HOME) + AIN (Scottish [Jock’s] word for ‘own’) ORD AIN |
H |
| 16 | Streisand film about shrewish woman (5)
YENTA (shrewish woman) YENTL (1983 film starring Barbra Streisand [born 1942]) + A (about) YENT A |
L |
| 17 | Returning to destroy trail on mountain range down under is more contemptuous (7)
LOFTIER (more aloof; more contemptuous) FOIL (destroy a trail by crossing) reversed (returning) + TIER (Tasmanian [down under] word for a mountain range) LOF< TIER |
I |
| 19 | Understand origins of African languages and others (4, 2 words)
ET AL (Latin for ‘and other things’) GET (understand) + AL (first letters of [origins of] each of AFRICAN and LANGUAGES) ET AL |
G |
| 20 | Chile cut current supply of certain mineral (8)
LEUCITIC (descriptive of a whitish mineral) Anagram of (supply [derived from supple]) CHILE CUT and I (electric current) LEUCITIC* |
H |
| 22 | Photographer’s final period of intensive search for bird (4)
RHEA (small flightless South American bird, resembling the ostrich) R (last letter of [final] PHOTOGRAPHER) + HEAT (period of intensive search) R HEA |
T |
| 24 | Slope on half of this cultivated land (5)
TILTH (cultivated land) TILT (slope) + TH (2 of the 4 [half] letters in THIS) TIL TH |
T |
| 26 | Former person in choir to be at fault, mostly (4)
CHAL (obsolete [former] term for a person) CH (choir) + HALT (be at fault in logic or rhythm) excluding the final letter (mostly) T CH AL |
H |
| 28 | Rosaceous shrubs are passé, I fancy (8)
SPIRAEAS (plants or shrubs of the rosaceous genus of the same singular name) Anagram of (fancy) ARE PASSÉ I SPIRAEAS* |
E |
| 30 | Area of South Africa homing native (4)
ZONA (an area) ZA (International Vehicle Registration for South Africa) containing (homing) SON Z (ON) A |
S |
| 32 | Bird call shortly repelled unemotional person (7)
ICEBERG (unemotional person) (GREBE [diving bird] + CITE (name; call] excluding the final letter [shortly]) all reversed (repelled) (IC EBERG)< |
T |
| 35 | Reputations of tenors damaged (5)
NOTES (reputations) Anagram of (damaged) TENORS NOTES* |
R |
| 36 | Mole’s comrade extremely useful stopping old banger – like this? (6)
RATTLY (making a RATTling sound as an old banger may do) UL (outer [extremely] letters of USEFUL) contained in (stopping) RATTY (Mole’s companion in the Wind in the Willows book) RATT (L) Y |
U |
| 37 | Harangued paper forgetting retired editor died (6)
ORATED (harangued) DECORATE [hang] wallpaper] excluding (forgetting) ED reversed (retired editor) + D (died) ORATE D |
C |
| 39 | English League put in modified list of team members (6)
LINE-UP (list of team members) Anagram of (modified) E (English) and L (League) and PUT IN LINE-UP* |
T |
| 40 | Engineer about to regret article in French – according to regulations there (7, 2 words)
EN RÈGLE (French term meaning in due order; according to regulations) (ENG [engineer] containing [about] RUE [to regret]) + LE (one of the French forms of the definite article) EN (RE) G LE |
U |
| 41 | Pampas rarely features glacial deposits (4)
ÅSAR (glacial deposits) ASAR (hidden word in [features] PAMPAS RARELY) ASAR |
R |
| Down | ||
| 1 | They try changing the appearance of eyes and ears with commencement of surgery (8)
ESSAYERS (people who try) Anagram of (changing the appearance of) EYES and EARS + S (first letter of [commencement of] SURGERY) ESSAYER* S |
E |
| 2 | Overturned agreement to permit a form of medication (6)
CAPLET (solid medicinal tablet with a hard coating; form of medication) PACT (agreement) reversed (overturned) + LET (to permit) CAP< LET |
T |
| 3 | Tedious job includes working above centrepiece of glass chandeliers (7)
CORONAE (round pendent chandeliers, as hung from the roof of a church) CHORE (tedious job) containing (includes) (ON [working] + A [middle letter of [centrepiece of] GLASS) COR (ON A) E – ON is above A in this down entry |
H |
| 4 | Elderly relative’s an idiot (3)
NAN (pet name for a grandmother; elderly relative) NANA (idiot) NAN |
A |
| 5 | Star “It Girl” recast (5)
RIGIL (first-magnitude double star in the foot of the Centaur, usually known as Alpha Centauri) Anagram of (recast) IT GIRL RIGIL* |
T |
| 6 | Spiritual leader’s assured, though (5)
CALIF (formerly the title given to a spiritual leader of Islam regarded as a successor of Mohammed) CALM (assured) + IF (though) CAL IF |
M |
| 7 | Magpie collects most unlikely man-made material (7)
PLASTIC (a man-made material) PICA (magpie genus) containing (collects) LAST (most unlikely) P (LAST) IC |
A |
| 8 | Unattached female harassed here (4)
FREE (unattached) F (female) + an anagram of (harassed) HERE F REE* |
H |
| 9 | Hum of plane in raid alas overlooked (5)
FETOR (offensive smell; hum) JET (plane) contained in (in) FORAY (raid) excluding (overlooked) AY (alas) F (ET) OR |
J |
| 14 | Couple given notice to raise Jock’s pet (4)
DAWT (Scottish [Jock] word meaning ‘to pet’) (TWO [couple] + AD [ADvertisement; notice]) all reversed (to raise; down entry]) (DA WT)< |
O |
| 15 | Department from France to go around the Six Counties (6)
ALLIER (a Department of central France) ALLER (French word for ‘to go’) containing (around) NI (Northern Ireland, also known as the Six Counties) ALL (I) ER |
N |
| 18 | Rode longer than exhausted sheriff initially with gun (6)
OUTSAT (SAT on a moving mode of transport longer than; rode longer than) OUT (exhausted) + S (first letter of [initially] SHERIFF) + GAT (GATling gun) OUT S AT |
G |
| 21 | People with honours in Sri Lanka fool Feds (8)
CLASSMEN (people with honours of a certain CLASS at Oxford examinations) CL (International Vehicle Registration for Sri Lanka [ex Ceylon]) + ASS (fool) + G–MEN (agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation [Feds]) CL ASS MEN |
G |
| 23 | One in absolute control arrives welcoming UK citizen at opening of event (7)
ARBITER (one in absolute control, or right to judge) ARR (arrives} containing (welcoming) (BRIT [UK citizen] + E [first letter of [opening of] EVENT) AR (BIT E) R |
R |
| 25 | Suggestion in the intolerably … (4)
HINT (suggestion) HINT (hidden word in [in] THE INTOLERABLY) HINT |
E |
| 27 | … strenuous form of exercise has got boy heading off unsteadily (7, 2 words)
HOT YOGA (A form of YOGA, also known as Bikram yoga, in which traditional exercises are performed at high temperature and humidity) Anagram of (unsteadily) HAS GOT and BOY excluding the first letter (heading off) B HOT YOGA* |
S |
| 29 | Welsh name that is acceptable to each nationalist (5)
IEUAN (a Welsh name) IE (id est; that is) + U (acceptable) + EA (each) + N (nationalist) IE U A N |
E |
| 31 | Not permitted to hold up additional international oil (6)
NEROLI (an oil distilled from orange flowers) (NL [non licet; not permitted] containing (to hold) MORE [additional] reversed [up; down entry]) + I (international) N (ERO<) L I |
M |
| 32 | Mental images of Nigerian stealing diamonds? Indeed (5)
IDOLA (mental images) IBO (member of a tribe of Eastern Nigeria) containing (stealing) D (diamonds) + LA (indeed!) I (D) O LA |
B |
| 33 | Consider the attractiveness of Brussels – taking in the old place (5, 2 words)
EYE UP (consider the attractiveness of) EU (European Union – Brussels is short for the EU) containing (taking in) YE (old form of ‘the’) + PL (place) E (YE) U P |
L |
| 34 | Agree about gizmo’s core parts one fixes by eye (5)
GAZER (one who fixes on an item with their eyes) Z (central letter of [core] GIZMO) contained in (parts) an anagram of (about) AGREE GA (Z) ER* |
E |
| 38 | Anger father (3)
IRE (anger) SIRE (to father) IRE |
S |
An enjoyable puzzle throughout, with an interesting, well-chosen theme. While filling the grid I found it easy enough to fill in some (obviously correct) unclued entries but not to see any connection: that happened only when I got most of the letters in MAH JONGG. I saw GREAT WALL OF CHINA when I solved my last clue, DAWT.
Matching the unclued entries with the sets of tiles in the game needed some head-scratching, but I’m sure I got there. Much later I realised that PUFF could have been a Wind or a Dragon(!).
Thanks to Kruger for a good, classic Inquisitor to mark my 250th puzzle since I started in 2018, and to duncanshiell for his usual informative and thorough blog.
Much enjoyed — all thanks to Kruger and duncanshiell. It was a happy moment when MAHJONGG emerged from the extra letters and I then had enough answers in the grid to suggest the possibility of ORBIT, SPRING, PUFF and (after a little head-scratching) ECCENTRIC. Not that I’ve ever played the real thing, but the tile suits and specials were familiar from computer solitaire games. Is that cheating?
An enjoyable grid-fill, but I will admit, after a little bit of reading up on May Jong, and looking at a number of images, I opted to wait till Tuesday. Glad to see it was very solveable given time / patience; thanks to Kruger and duncanshiell.
Not too much trouble with this one having played a fair bit of Mah-Jongg until I stopped a decade or so back – no need for Google this time around.
Thanks to Duncan & to Kruger for a pleasant outing.
An enjoyable puzzle but we needed quite a bit of googling as we worked through the puzzle as we knew nothing about MAH JONGG.
Thanks to Duncan and Kruger.