Soup’s second foray into the Saturday Prize slot…and quite a mental workout, at least for your correspondent…
…with some clever double-definitions, several ‘lift-and-separate’s in wordplay, an outrageous Spoonerism, a cunningly disguised reversed hidden word, and some alphabetical manipulation.
I made reasonable progress early on, filling most of the left-hand side and bottom of the grid, but was held up for quite a while by 7D, 16D and 19A before finally having a full set.
At 7D, I couldn’t get past the ‘psyched up’ Nitro needing an anagram of NITRO, trying to fit RTION and other permutations in there. When I finally spotted the reversed hidden word, the air reverberated with the slap of my face-palm!
At 16D, I eventually had S?U?K as the framework, or skeleton (set of bones!), but it took a while to take the last letter of SKULL back by one, alphabetically.
And as for 19A…it had to be KAA, from the Jungle Book, but I spent a while trying to go-ogle-justify KWA (initial letters of Kickbox With Athena). It was probably the Tuesday by the time I realised that Athena was a double-lift-and-separate – A THEN A!
Lots of other fun along the way – the wonderfully succinct ‘boom-box’ for SPAR at 1D; the BOEING WROTE Spoonerism at 15D; the farm animal in ARAMIS at 23D as ‘one of three’ musketeers.
And, to top it all, I have just realised that there is a theme! It is alluded to by the very last clue – ‘finals of Gladiators next Saturday‘. I’ve just checked, and indeed Saturday 30 March sees the ‘grand final’ of the 2024 re-mix of Gladiators…and it then jumped out at me…almost every clue has the name of one (or more) of the 2024 Gladiators in it – Electro, Diamond, Giant, Viper, Athena…the list goes on, but I think all 16 are in there – quite an achievement!
Lucky I spotted that at the last minute, or the comments below would have been full of people pointing out that I had missed it! I guess the theme mitigates the use of ‘Viper’ in the Kaa clue – where my researches had indicated it was a rock python… And it also explains some of the capitalisations in the clues – Fire, Steel, etc.
There is also the Eliminator round, ‘Shadow’ from the original series(?), and maybe other thematic items that have passed me by. I presume Soup is a fan…I have to admit that I haven’t watched a single minute of the 2024 resurrection, but I was an avid watcher of the original series back in the early 90s!
Thanks to Soup for the challenge…and the slow-burn theme!
Setters, ready? Solvers, ready? Let’s gladiate!…
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
| 9A | PERCOLATE | Power Electro developed drinking a filter coffee (9)
P (power) + ERCOL_TE (anag, i.e. developed, of ELECTRO) around (drinking) A |
| 10A | LAPEL | Flap when lines cover mirror (5)
L_L (line, plural) around (covering) APE (imitate, or mirror) |
| 11A | REPEL | Reject or push back outcast (5)
LEPER (outcast) pushed back = REPEL! |
| 12A | BLUEBERRY | Dog from kids’ TV eats nibbles from baked egg roll, refusing fruit (9)
BLUE_Y (dog from kids’ TV?) around (eating) BERR (first letters, or (nibbles, from ‘Baked Egg Roll Refusing’) [‘Bluey’ could be from various kids’ TV shows on ITV and CBBC?] |
| 13A | TAPERED | After repeat performance, Diamond gradually tailed off (7)
TAPERE (anag, i.e. performance, of REPEAT) + D (diamond) |
| 14A | BIRDIES | Shoots one below rib, retires, loses a life (7)
BIR (rib, retired) + DIES (loses a life) [one below par, in a golfing sense!] |
| 17A | SORRY | Rueful Giant backs up 3 yards (5)
SO (os, outsize, or giant, backed up) + RR (Rolls-Royce, 3D) + Y (yards) |
| 19A | KAA | Cartoonish Viper’s beginning to kickbox with Athena! (3)
K (beginning letter of Kickbox) + AA (a then a!) [‘Athena’ being a double lift-and-separate! |
| 20A | WAGYU | Bob, you called for expensive steak (5)
WAG (bob) + YU (homophone, i.e. called for, of you) |
| 21A | NAIVETE | Introducing AI to disastrous event shows ingenuousness (7)
N_VETE (anag, i.e. disastrous, of EVENT) around (introducing) AI |
| 22A | RANSACK | Harry chased Fire (7)
RAN (chased) + SACK (fire) |
| 24A | NODULATED | Bumpy, late entering – not a failure (9)
NO DU_D (not a failure) around (entered by) LATE |
| 26A | BEARS | Sabre’s injured shoulders (5)
anag, i.e. injured, of SABRE |
| 28A | CHEAT | Take for a ride around Eliminator event (5)
C (circa, about, or around) + HEAT (eliminator event) |
| 29A | MENDACITY | Lying dazed, Dynamite clutching head on crashmat (9)
MENDA_ITY (anag, i.e. dazed, of DYNAMITE) around (clutching) C (head, or first letter, of Crashmat) |
| Down | ||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
| 1D | SPAR | Boom–box (4)
double defn. – a boom can be a SPAR on a sailing boat; and to SPAR can be to box |
| 2D | PROP UP | Support for offspring? (4,2)
PRO (for) + P_UP (offspring of many animals) |
| 3D | ROLLS-ROYCE | Perhaps Phantom registers first of your core exercises (5-5)
ROLLS (registers, lists) + ROYCE (anag, i.e. exercises, of Y, first of Your, and CORE) [Phantom being one version of the Rolls-Royce range] |
| 4D | GABBED | Gossiped ‘Legend’s touching sailor on couch’ (6)
G (end of leG!) + AB (Able-Bodies seaman, sailor) + BED (couch) [another lift-and-separate – legend = leg end!] |
| 5D | PENUMBRA | Weakish Shadow roughing up barmen (8)
anag, i.e. roughing, of UP BARMEN |
| 6D | CLUB | Bat–suit’s symbol (4)
double defn. – a CLUB can be a bat; and a CLUB is the symbol of a suit of cards [another lift-and-separate, although the hyphen is pretty much doing it for us!] |
| 7D | SPORTING | Introducing Nitro, psyched up, somewhat willing to take a chance (8)
reversed, hidden word, i.e. up and somewhat, in ‘introducinG NITRO PSyched’ |
| 8D | PLOY | Apollo oddly pulled back from dirty manoeuvre (4)
even letters, i.e. odd letters pulled out, from ‘aPoLlO’ + Y (back letter of dirtY) |
| 13D | TYSON | Pugilist Fury is stony with rage (5)
anag, i.e. with rage, of STONY [pugilist and self-styled ‘Gypsy King’, Tyson Fury] |
| 15D | ROWING BOAT | Transport aircraft company sent a letter to Spooner (6,4)
the Rev. Spooner might have transposed ROWING BOAT into BOEING (aircraft company) WROTE (sent a letter)! |
| 16D | SKULK | Steal set of bones, but ultimately put it back (5)
SKUL( |
| 18D | REINDEER | Maybe Comet is thinner, climbing to grip top of net (8)
REI_DEER (reedier, or thinner, climbing) around (gripping) N (top, or first letter, of Net) [Comet being one of Santa’s reindeer] |
| 19D | KEEP TIME | Accurately measure board I’m hiding in hollow tree (4,4)
KEEP (board, as in board and lodging) + T_E (tree, hollowed out) around (hiding) IM |
| 22D | RIDING | Part of Yorkshire getting worked up (6)
double defn. – a RIDING is an administrative part of Yorkshire; and if an item of clothing, say, is RIDING up, it could be working up during movement |
| 23D | ARAMIS | A farm animal is one of three (6)
A + RAM (farm animal) + IS [one of the three musketeers!] |
| 24D | NICE | Kind? Bionic? Erm … a little! (4)
hidden word in, i.e. a little of, ‘bioNIC Erm’ |
| 25D | LETS | Obstructions from the net sap energy from Steel in ascent (4)
LE( [obstruction from the net in e.g. tennis] |
| 27D | STYE | Finals of Gladiators next Saturday? I’ve something in my eye! (4)
last letters, i.e. finals, of ‘Gladiators Next Saturday I’ve’ |
I noticed the Gladiators theme early, but having never watched it, it didn’t help, or rather, I thought they sounded like Gladiators.
The Nitro solution hid it’s self from me too, I was trying to start with N then a nitro anagram. Rereading the clue carefully on about the 6th visit led me to the answer. I think even those who dislike spoonerisms must have chuckled at this one.
Super crossword, thanks both.
Well I could see there was a theme but knew nothing of Gladiators but that did not interfere with my enjoyment of this puzzle. Thank you mc_r for explaining the parsing of SKULK and SORRY. Keep them coming Soup!
Not only did I miss the theme, I still don’t know what Gladiators is/are, despite the blog. But that’s ok, water under the bridge.
I spent all week trying to justify SKULK, but thanks to the blog for explaining that! Otherwise, quite enjoyed the puzzle.
Thanks mc_rapper67. True to form I didn’t even suspect there may have been a theme and it wouldn’t have meant anything to me anyway but I enjoyed it nevertheless. I had the same experience as you with 7D, 16D and 18A and wasn’t sure about HARRY=RANSACK.
Ditto CanberraGirl@2, absy no idea of the theme, but no matter. I did know about Bluey, tho by osmosis, never having seen. Elsewhere, I thought that a wag is side-to-side whereas a bob goes up and down, and that Tyson was Mike. But hey ho, all part of the fun, thanks Soup and rapper. Now for a latte and today’s. Easter greetings, or just nice long weekend, to all.
BLUEBERRY
Wiki:
Bluey is an Australian animated preschool television series which premiered on ABC Kids on 1 October 2018.
Loved the above and also these:
KAA, SKULK and RIDING.
Thanks Soup and mc.
Great puzzle. Superb blog!
RIDING
one question:
Getting worked up=RIDING up (in the sense mentioned in the blog). Isn’t it?
Does RIDING here mean something like RIDING a wave?
Another alternative (convoluted for sure):
getting (someone) worked=RIDING
up=RIDING (a horse?)
Works?
Thanks mc_rapper67. I also needed your help for SKULK and SORRY and the theme.
Now I know why there was bionic in the NICE clue which I thought was odd at the time. And Fury in TYSON. Knew of the pugilist Mike Tyson, but then I got a bit overwhelmed by fury and rage.
Loved ROWING BOAT with the novel construction “… letter to Spooner“.
My first reading of the clue for KEEP TIME was with imaginary punctuation and a chuckle.
Absolutely measure board (as in payment for lodging)? I’m hiding in hollow tree!
Favourites were SPAR and GABBED. Great surfaces.
[me@8. Correction. Accurately measure ….]
Absolutely! Read it accurately. No worries.
pdm@8
Some entertaining comments.
🙂
Like others, I was unfamiliar with the theme although I worked out partway through that it was probably a reference to that show. I thought some of the surfaces were pretty clunky, mostly as a result of using the competitors’ names. But it was still worth it for BLUEBERRY at 12a, starring our locally grown (from just down the road in Brisbane, Queensland) blue heeler character, BLUEY; she is a firm favourite of my three-year old granddaughter!
Thank to Soup and mc_rapper67.
me@7
Getting worked up=RIDING up (in the sense mentioned in the blog). Isn’t it?
Does RIDING here mean something like RIDING a wave?
I think I missed a sentence in between:
Probably, without ‘up’ after RIDING, there seems to be a mismatch between ‘getting worked up’ and RIDING.
Alternatively…
Happy Easter All!
Soup being devilishly clever as always. Spotted the theme early on and even though I don’t watch Gladiators, I enjoyed the way the theme was woven into the clues rather than the solutions.
Liked the ‘lift and separate’ of 1d’s Boom–box to get the two SPAR definitions. Very concise. (No hyphen in Wikipedia).
And the repunctuation – (not a ‘lift and separate’) – of ATHENA to get “A, THEN A” for 19a KAA
Thanks S&M
A few things I did not know – Gladiators being one, AthenA another, ++. Favourites were the simpler clues – RANSACK MENDACITY and PROP UP
Thanks Soup and mc_rapper67
Vigo in the Indy had a BLUE(berr)Y(2018–) theme just five days before this.
(Six years old and still current – making a nice change from 50-year-old “whatever have you”.)
Bat–suit (hyphen optional) is a ‘lift and separate‘, whereas Leg end isn’t.
‘…coined/first used by reigning Times Crossword Championship winner Mark Goodliffe’ in 2007 here
Thought this was difficult and had to return it during the week and there were a few I couldn’t parse. Didn’t spot the theme but then I have never watched Gladiators.
Liked WAGYU, BIRDIES, GABBED, CLUB, REINDEER, ARAMIS
Thanks Soup and mc_rapper67
Thanks for the blog, very good set of clues , I sort of noticed the Gladiators theme but my knowledge does not extend to the new version.
SPORTING is a very devious reverse hidden, REINDEER is neat wordplay , SKULK a great idea, KAA has the rare double-Playtex for Athena, I took VIPER in the metaphorical sense meaning treacherous . RIDING I took the second part in the sense of working a horse.
BLUEY ,as mentioned , is Australian but very popular in the uk with the sproglets.
Minor quibbles for BIRDIES and NODULATED , rib/late in clue and answer , not wrong but I am not fond of it. Rib is more understandable in the context of the clue.
I enjoyed this. Soup mentioned that the Gladiators final was originally scheduled for last weekend and the puzzle was due to coincided with it. Then the BBC moved the scheduling due to some football. They couldn’t change the puzzle date because today is the Easter Jumbo from Maskarade, so 27D had to be rewritten to include the word “next”.
Thanks to Soup and mc67.
I did see the theme and I’ve watched Gladiators, once, because I didn’t have a TV first time around and wondered what the fuss was. Most of this went in reasonably quickly, but I couldn’t see SKULK, so a DNF. I knew it had to be SKULK or snuck but couldn’t parse either.
Bluey is so well known that Kew Gardens have Bluey visiting this Easter as the main alternative attraction.
Thank you to Soup and mc_rapper67.
Roz@20
KAA
KAA has the rare double-Playtex for Athena
As much as Jorum has become popular, Playtex hasn’t, I think.
That said, I always remember Playtex when I see one such wordplay.
What do you call it when two words are merged in a wordplay?
You said that a couple of times. Unable recall it now. Starting with b…???
Quite tough but enjoyable. I failed 19ac KAA – never heard that name before, probably because I never read The Jungle Book or saw the cartoon/movie.
Also do not know what the Gladiators theme alludes to – never heard of this either.
Favourites: GABBED, REINDEER, ARAMIS, ROWING BOAT, BIRDIES.
New for me: boxer TYSON Fury (for 13d); BLUEY = dog from kids/TV (for 12ac).
I could not parse 17ac; 22d RIDING the ‘getting worked up’ bit; and 16d SKULK.
Thanks, both.
[ KVa@23 it is called Gossard , for reasons we will not discuss, very late 80s early 90s.]
Gossard! Thanks Roz!
Although I have not watched the current manifestation, like some others here I did see shows back in the day. And it helped me realise what was going on in the surfaces. I have to say, they really do manage to choose the most unintimidating noms-de-guerre for the Gladiators. Nitro? Legend? Diamond? Not the most inspiring of programmes but it inspired a fun puzzle and, as MC says in his entertaining blog, some creative constructions. SORRY, KAA, MENDACITY, SPAR and LETS were my faves.
Thanks Soup and MC
Saw there was some sort of theme involving Gladiators (I thought some of the names might have been Marvel superheroes as well, but apparently not). Like many here I’ve never watched the show. For me, very occasionally a theme adds something to a puzzle, usually it can just be ignored if I even spot it, and sometimes as in this case it’s mildly irritating.
Other than that, some good clues e.g. the wordplay but not definition for KAA; ROWING BOAT; ARAMIS; RIDING.
Never heard of Bluey but seemed a reasonable name for a cartoon dog.
ginf@5, pm@8 – I believe TYSON Fury’s parents named him after Mike Tyson; neither Tyson seems to be a person I’d want to spend much time with.
Thanks mc_rapper67 and Soup.
I find Soup difficult but well worth the effort. Completely missed the theme, but as it’s based on a programme I know of but have never seen I don’t feel guilty about that. As mc_rapper67 says, it does explain why KAA is clued as a viper when the Jungle Book character is definitely a python. Surprised how many have managed to remain unaware of Bluey – perhaps she isn’t as ubiquitous in her native Australia as she has become in the UK – but then it took me ages to stop trying to fit Scooby in there!
In the end the only one I couldn’t parse was SORRY. I enjoyed the wordplay for KAA and A RAM IS, and the definitions for BIRDIES, REINDEER and ROLLS ROYCE among many. Rather sorry to see leper still being defined as outcast – linguistically correct of course, but no longer medically necessary.
As said above, some lovely clues.
BEARS is obviously correct, but I think BRAES also works ( a hillside is often a shoulder).
Looking forward to further helpings of Soup.
gladys @29, Bluey is very ubiquitous in her native Australia, as she should be being a blue cattle dog. It’s a joint commissioned ABC/BBC production. As Julie In Australia says @11, it’s produced in Queensland and is seen here as a great export similarly to The Wiggles. Australia certainly seems to have a knack when it comes to Children’s entertainment. My grandkids are a bit old for it, unlike Roz @19, but I understand that it’s also fare for adults given it’s handling of family themes.
Morning, all –
Thanks for the nice words – it seems that the theme didn’t get in the way *too* much, so thanks for humouring me. For a theme like this where few people know it the theme *has* to be in the clues and (crucially) has to have nothing at all with the answers – you don’t need to know anything about it but it looks like you do, if you see what I mean. Boatman does this too!
I’m sorry about mis-speciesing KAA – of course I knew he was a python, but the clue was just so delicious in the way it used two Gladiator names I couldn’t resist it. I did discuss it with the editor and we decided to keep it…
RIDE can mean ‘to work up out of place’ (Chambers) so I am happy.
If you haven’t seen Bluey then go and find either Sleepytime or Onesies (remembering this is a show for kids) and I defy you not to cry. They’re only a few minutes long.
My favourite clue: MENDACITY. I left ‘late’ in NODULATED’s clue because it’s a hard word as a solution and wanted to make it slightly easier.
Thanks to MC for the blog, solvers for solving, and the Gladiators for having silly names. See you soon…?
Hamish/Soup
DNF this one, got the left hands side and about half the right hand and then gave up, but really enjoyed the ones I did get!
Particular fave was the Spoonerism, which elicited a good chuckle once I saw it. Thanks to Soup and mc_rapper67
Gladiators on page 3 of the Guardian today , lots of pictures and names.
Tim@31 I am not too old for Bluey although our sprogs turn their noses up at it.
At least once a year I watch Dvds of Bagpuss , Mr Benn and the Banana Splits.
Lovely and lots of originality, skulk last one in, but a fine clue. Thanks both
Nice counterbalance to quantum physics Roz.
No idea why KAA is clued as a viper. In both book and Disney cartoon it’s clearly a python (I think the book even says so explicitly).
Hamish/Soup@32 shares with us this on KAA’s clueing:
I’m sorry about mis-speciesing KAA – of course I knew he was a python, but the clue was just so delicious in the way it used two Gladiator names I couldn’t resist it. I did discuss it with the editor and we decided to keep it…
Thanks Hamish for dropping by.
Enjoyable solve, anyone who watches the BBC will have seen the previews, if not the actual programme.
My top vote went to Boeing wrote; I also liked the A then A, the nicely hidden SPORTING, KEEP TIME, for the board = KEEP, and the one of three musketeers.
I came here to solve the parsing of ‘snuck’ (16D) – a partial rearrangement of the letters in ‘knuckles’, doh! A quiblet that I think D = diamondS.
Thanks Soup and mcr.
Beaten by KAA, SKULK unparsed but otherwise good fun. No idea of the theme, but that’s nothing new for me.
But while I’m here …. a whinge. I hate Bank Holidays. Have your Jumbo Prize if it makes you happy, dear Grauniad, but please could we have a regular Cryptic too for those of us who can’t be doing with printers, pens and paper.
Thanks to Soup and thanks to mc_rapper67 for the jolly good read in the introduction!
I had not heard of the Gladiators show, which hasn’t penetrated the US market (though I have heard of Bluey, which has). It was clear there was a theme, but I thought it was some sort of comic-book superhero thing. Anyway, it resulted in the clue for SORRY (a rueful Giant backing up three yards) unintentionally evoking images over here in America of, say, Eli Manning getting sacked. (Though in that clip, the Giants have a lot more than three yards to rue!)
Thank you so much Hamish/Soup, so good to see you dropping in. Thanks also to mc_r67 for the brilliant blog. I couldn’t parse SKULK or BLUEBERRY, the latter because I have not come across the 🐕. True to form I did not get the theme, but since I have never watched it, it wouldn’t have helped. Very clever now all is explained. Happy Easter one and all! 🐰🐣💐🎉
Pauline@44 – I don’t think that knowing the theme would have helped you at all – at least, that was the idea! 🙂
H/S
I spotted the Gladiators theme straight away and found it so irritating that I almost gave up after reading half a dozen clues. I’m glad I persisted as there was so much to enjoy. Special mention for the outrageous Spoonerism, as others have said, and SKULK. I was pleased that I finally remembered the name of the snake in Jungle Book (I wasn’t bothered what type of snake it was).
I couldn’t satisfactorily parse RIDING, and while I appreciate the explanations from both setter and blogger, they seem to rely on ‘up’ in the definition but not in the answer: when my shirt works up from the belt of my jeans, isn’t it RIDING UP?
I was left with one unsolved for five or six days, but A RAM IS finally came to me as I was stepping out of the shower this morning.
Thanks to Hamish/Soup and mc_ as always for the terrific blog
Sh@46 – I had thought so too, but when Chambers says RIDE can mean ‘ To work up out of position’, who am I to argue? 🙂 Glad you persisted, and thanks for the kind words. H/S
Robi@41
TAPERED (13A)
A quiblet that I think D = diamondS.
I had always assumed that D could stand for diamond as well as diamonds.
Prompted by your post, I googled and failed to find any support for D=diamond.
Pretty tough all round.
Knowing nothing of ‘Gladiators’ the theme was lost on me, but good fun nonetheless.
Like others I was totally lost on the parsing of SKULK: I wrote out a list of words fitting S-U-K and only SKULK seemed to fit the def., so I left it at that.
I often carp at homophones but not this time: ROWING BOAT definitely gets a ‘plus’ – notwithstanding my temptation to pronounce that misbegotten aircraft company as ‘buoying’! Did I ever mention that I hope never to have to fly again – and if I must, not in one of their dodgy contraptions? I’m not the only person who thinks thus!
What else? KAA puzzled me for a while – definitely a python in Kipling’s version, not sure what kind of snake he represents in Disney, but hardly a viper! And the lift-and-separate wouldn’t pass the eagle eye of most editors. We must be thankful for the Grauniad‘s leniency. Once I sussed it, I thought, ‘brilliant!’
Not heard of BLUEY but it seemed a plausible dog’s name, so it fit. IIRC there used to be a cartoon dog called ‘Huckleberry Hound’ who was definitely bright blue in colour. Was that a nickname for him? And is he still around?
Thanks to Hamish/Soup and Mc_R
Robi@41 and KVa@48: When playing bridge one might very well bid “one diamond” – singular of course – and if bids are being recorded that could be written as “1D”. Also the final contract could be “1D”. Seems fair enough to me.
As a solver from across the pond, didn’t get the theme, but did notice the interesting names popping up. I thought they might be connected to some movie from the Marvel/DC universe (of which I am equally ignorant). But found the solving relatively straightforward and very enjoyable, with only skulk left unparsed. Thanks!
If there’s anything that defeats me more roundly than cricket, it’s British TV. I’ve never heard of Gladiators, much less can name any of them. One more reason I’m not a blogger.
I did, though, guess that Bluey might be a dog when I needed him to assemble BLUEBERRY. Maybe it’s because there’s a traditional American song called Old Blue about a dog.
mc and Bigglesa@4 There is no 18A. Are you referring to 18D?
Like many, I got the left side and all but four of the right. Enjoyed the puzzle, thanks Soup and mc_rapper67.
Laccaria@50
TAPERED
D=Diamond
Thanks for the useful info.
Valentine@52
KAA
mc was referring to 19A (18A typo)
19a I should have spotted A then A but didn’t and put in KWA. I suspect that quite a few other solvers will have learnt that a company in the USA called KWA sells an assault rifle called Viper and that a creature in the pre-history of Star Wars was called KWA but it was bipedal so not a viper.
16d I solved this and parsed it as others but I think it is stretching the wordplay to make “but ultimately put it back” mean “replace the ultimate letter with the one further back in the alphabet”.
19d I couldn’t make this work at first as I was thinking of KEEP TIME in the musical rather than the athletics sense.
BigglesA@4 I wondered about HARRY=RANSACK so I looked in Chambers and found “to plunder: to ravage: to destroy: to harass”. I confess that I would have picked the fourth.
Thanks to Soup, to Hamish for dropping in and to mc_rapper67
I didn’t know any of the thematic names, but, as has been said many times already, that hardly mattered. This was an excellent Saturday puzzle, with a whole range of tricks and twists in the clues. WAGYU was my last to go in – I’ve never seen it before, but it had to be that. I remember my favourite was ROWING BOAT.
Thanks to both Soup and mc_rapper.
Pete@HA3: Hear hear! I don’t particularly mind Jumbos, but I don’t enjoy jigsaws at all and rarely attempt them. And if you haven’t got the means to print out an outsize grid, a Bank Holiday special just means no crossword to enjoy.
Don’t know the song Old Blue, Valentine @52, but I do remember a ’50s movie about a dog called Old Yeller.
The setter says he and the editor knew that Kaa was a python but deliberately decided to leave a wrong clue to complete a theme set. BOO! The clues come first – themes are secondary
and while we’re at it, when does ransack = harry?
Croc@58: RANSACK means ‘plunder’ (Chambers), as does HARRY (also Chambers), so I’m happy.
I could argue that ‘viper’ is also a ‘treacherous person’ and that KAA is somewhat treacherous, but you’d probably disagree. Sure, it’s not perfect, but I think the puzzle as a whole means it’s forgivable, as I feel one can know the solution’s definitely correct when you’ve got it. Happy to agree to disagree!
Wow – what a lot of comments and feedback – much appreciated, as usual! I forgot to mention that I would be travelling back from the West Country and unable to respond to things most of the day…
Looks like a wide spectrum of views ranging between spotting and not spotting the theme; liking and not liking the theme; and not liking the compromises/adaptations that fitting the theme in entailed? Cue the old cliché about not being able to please all the people all the time!…
I think most of the queries and quibbles have been pretty well responded to – especially by multiple visits from Hamish/Soup – rare (and refreshing) for a setter to be so responsive on here.
Riding (up), harry/ransack, and Kaa/viper seem to have been the main bones of contention, but hopefully they are well chewed by now. And apologies for my indiscriminate use of ‘lift-and-separate’ in describing various bits of wordplay – always triggers a few responses!
For our American friends, I believe the original (90s) Gladiators was based on a series called ‘American Gladiators’…,and I believe there has also been an Aussie version for our Antipodean cousins…
Finally, there have been a couple of comments about today’s Grauniad Prize puzzle…a gentle reminder that the convention on this site is not to make any comment, however anodyne, about active Prize puzzles. Pete HA3 at #42 – thanks for your kind words re. this blog, but your ‘whinge’ on here might disappear into the ether…we have no affiliation or sway with the Grauniad editorial team, so it might be more productive to post your comments on their site.
I think that those poor souls who experienced the HARRYing of the North by William the Conqueror would probably feel they got off lightly if they were only RANSACKed.
mc_rapper67@60. Ok. Noted my dear blogger. Didn’t intend to break any conventions.
Pete.
Well cidered @61 (from well beered at the present time), it seems to me that harrying can include ransacking, so the clue works just fine. You could ask around in the north – a sort of 11th century public opinion poll – and most people would have said they’d been well and truly ransacked, pillaged, plundered, ravaged and destroyed. Or in modern English, pretty much decimated.
Anyway, with ‘Fire’ in the clue leading to a fairly obvious SACK in the answer, I’m not sure if there is actually a sound basis for any complaint about this clue. 🙂
Good puzzle. Well-constructed. I started it late in the week and found it hard to get into. I stuck at it and got most of it by this evening. I needed mc_rapper67’s blog for the last few and to correct two mistakes. I liked SORRY, ROWING BOAT and STYE amongst others. Amusing theme now that it has been pointed out to me. I had texted earlier a message for my 7 year old grandson to watch the final as I thought that he would enjoy it.
Sheffield hatter@63
I think we are aligned. I agrees the clue is good.
I had the impression that the previous commenters were suggesting that harrying was less severe than ransacking – maybe thinking of harassing? That`s why I gave the reminder of the usage relating to the 11th Century devastations.
I had to Google for confirmation of the kid’s TV but 12a reminded me of Bluey and Curley. Anybody else?
Thanks mc_r especially for pointing out the economical movement of the last letter in SKULK though I agree with those above that it is loosely signposted. Also thanks to KVa for some senses of “ riding” that work regardless of chambers, and wellcidered for some important history. Also thanks Roz for the broader sense of a viper, though I think Disney turned Kaa into a bad guy and in Kipling he was more helpful. But also I dimly recall that viper used to be a general word for a snake although maybe am confusing that with adder and the Germanic etymology. Anyway this was excellent, thanks Soup.
Thanks for the analysis had no idea there was a theme. One question, where is the blog to be found. Sorry new here.
Mickey @68 I am the last person to ask but as far as I know the blog is what MC has written at the top here, plus his explanations for the answers ( and maybe all our comments? ) .
Excellent theme. I’m slightly irritated as – unlike most people here – MrsSTP and I have Gladiators on the kitchen TV while prepping Saturdays’ dinners. Idiotic but harmless fun – Gladiators that is, not the prepping.
Plaudits to Soup for ingenious theme threading and Mc for the entertaining blog.