For a while now, I’ve been used to prefacing my blogs of Imogen’s Prize puzzles with a comment that they appear very rarely: I think this is only the sixth in six years – and I’ve blogged five of them (not a complaint!). However, this is the third this year and I’m hoping this trend will continue.
I enjoyed this puzzle, with its good variety of well-constructed clues, covering a wide variety of topics, with meticulous wordplay and satisfying surfaces.
I had ticks for 1ac CROSSBAR, 9ac STUPOR, 11ac SPEARHEAD, 15ac OBTUSE, 19ac BOTTLE, 21ac HAITI, 4dn BARCHESTER, 6dn WAGS, 7dn INFORMANT, 24dn MERE and 27dn LIE, plus (gold medal) 14dn PAROXYSMAL.
Many thanks to Imogen for a worthy Prize puzzle.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Woodwork that Tennyson finally expected to do (8)
CROSSBAR
I used Google to confirm my guess that this was football terminology: several sites had crossbar and woodwork as interchangeable but another made a nice distinction – see here
The Tennyson reference is to his poem, ‘Crossing the Bar’, which I remembered from school
6 Shrivel, bringing tail well forward to coil (6)
WRITHE
WITHER (shrivel) with the last letter (tail) brought forward in the answer
9 In a daze, replaces nothing right? (6)
STUPOR
This took a minute or two for the penny to drop: ‘replaces’ means ‘puts back’, so we have a reversal of PUTS + O (nothing) + R (right) – ingenious construction and a rather unusual placing of the definition
10 Raised V-sign as greeting? (4,4)
HIGH FIVE
HIGH (raised) + FIVE (V) – I changed my mind several times as to what to underline as the definition (where to put ‘sign as’) and I’m still not entirely sure – I’d welcome others’ thoughts
Thanks for all the comments, which, generally, seem to agree with my instinctive underlining
11 Conference perhaps in shade to change leader of attack (9)
SPEARHEAD
PEAR (conference perhaps ) in an anagram (to change) of SHADE
13 Slow down as short pause announced (5)
BRAKE
Sounds like (announced) ‘break’ (short pause)
15 Stupid old bat doesn’t have a purpose (6)
OBTUSE
O (old) + B[a]T (bat doesn’t have a) + USE (purpose)
17 See a list with nothing in it
VACANT
V (short for Latin ‘vide’ – see) + A CANT (inclination from a vertical or horizontal plane)
18 Under the influence no leader is strong (6)
RUGGED
[d]RUGGED (under the influence) minus its first letter – leader
19 Trunk internally dry, water may be here? (6)
BOTTLE
BOLE (trunk of a tree) round TT (teetotal – dry)
21 Hot island … and another … and half of another (5)
HAITI
H (hot) + AIT (island) + I (another island)
HAITI, along with the Dominican Republic, makes up the island of HISPANIOLA, hence ‘half of another’ (actually three-eighths, according to Wikipedia)
22 I approve hotel ad (2,2,5)
BE MY GUEST
Double definition, the first with the sense of ‘Do as you wish’; go ahead’; help yourself’
25 Listens, as composer gets into harness (5,3)
GIVES EAR
(Charles) IVES (composer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ives in GEAR (harness)
26 Oil company executive’s ending in cell (6)
MOBILE
MOBIL (oil company) + [executiv]E – both Collins and Chambers give ‘mobile’ as an informal abbreviation for ‘mobile phone’ but I can’t find ‘cell’ used in the same way – anyone?
28 Nervous, especially if one has vertigo? (2,4)
ON EDGE
Cryptic definition
29 One shuts up gun and reclines to relax (8)
SILENCER
An anagram (to relax) of RECLINES
Down
2 Become weak from endless repetition (3)
ROT
ROT[e] (repetition, endless)
3 Pigment, one chimps perhaps gather up (5)
SEPIA
A reversal (up) of APES (chimps) round I (one)
4 Having less on round the trunk in novel location (10)
BARCHESTER
BARER (having less on) round CHEST (the trunk) for the setting of Trollope’s novel ‘Barchester Towers’
5 What to put in the back? Try again (6)
REHEAR
EH (what?) in REAR (the back)
6 Amusing people, other halves (4)
WAGS
Double definition, the second being some more (originally) football terminology
7 Six-footer playing well, he tells me (9)
INFORMANT
IN-FORM ANT – or ANT IN FORM (six-footer playing well)
8 Drop litter and show anxiety (4,7)
HAVE KITTENS
Double definition
12 Incorporate mistakes in starting off a new generation (11)
PROCREATION
A well-spotted anagram (mistakes) of INCORPORATE
14 Fitting substitute comes across a little short (10)
PAROXYSMAL
PROXY (substitute) round A + SMAL[l] (little, short) – ‘fitting’ as in ‘having a fit’
16 Drunken schoolmaster seen in the front row (5,4)
TIGHT HEAD
TIGHT (drunken) + HEAD (schoolmaster) – oval-ball terminology this time: ‘the prop on the hooker’s right in the front row of a scrum’
20 Wreckage as bride’s partying (6)
DEBRIS
An anagram (partying) of BRIDE’S
23 Pope’s headgear, not the topper (5)
URBAN
[t]URBAN (headgear, minus its ‘top’) – there have been eight popes known as URBAN
24 Just the sea at Calais, close to Dieppe (4)
MERE
MER (the sea in French, so ‘at Calais’) + [diepp]E
For non-UK solvers, Calais and Dieppe are English Channel ports, close to each other
27 Believe guards aren’t honest (3)
LIE
Hidden in (guarded by) beLIEve – a little gem to end with
Thanks Eileen. I found this to be another where very little yielded at the first pass and initial progress was slow. I also found myself overthinking quite a few of the clues which no doubt was planned for me. LOI was 14d which I have to admit I needed assistance with and even when I had it took quite some more time to understand. But I did enjoy it all.
I’m sure your definition in 10a is the most logical.
26A: In the US, at least, “mobile phones” are universally called “cell phones,” or “cells.” I understand “mobile,” but would never call one that.
9A: It seems to me that either “replaces” or “right” is doing double-duty here, or else the “?” is supposed to mean “reversed.” “In a daze, replaces nothing right back” might work?
I found this puzzle very challenging, but I did manage to drag myself across the finish line.
I found this enjoyable even if fairly tough going. I got them all, but thanks for the explanations to 1, 9, 15, 17 ac and 14 d Eileen.
Thanks Imogen, too
I agree that this was a well-worded puzzle with a bit of variety. I found it tough in some places and it took me a while to break in. I have very different favourites to Eileen: WRITHE, HAVE KITTENS, STUPOR, INFORMANT and URBAN.
I usually agree with Eileen, but two quibbles involved two of her favourites. I thought CROSSBAR and “crossing the bar” sufficiently different, even for crossword land, that the clue did not work well. I was also not enthusiastic about BARCHESTER. I also wondered whether BE MY GUEST means “I approve”. Is that really the same as “go ahead”? In two minds.
Similar to Eileen, I was not sure how to treat “sign” in HIGH FIVE. A raised V-sign can be quite rude, after all. And MOBILE phones are cell phones in North America
I needed Eileen’s help to parse HAITI (which I bunged in, not knowing AIT and hoping the answer was not “Malta”), and VACANT (not speaking latin I had no idea where V came from).
Sorry, this got a bit long. So let me thank Imogen for a nice puzzle, challenging in parts, and Eileen for a great blog
25A: Oh, I understand your parsing now. Never mind. Still not a big fan of the clue, though.
Good question re 10a Eileen. As all aging hippies know, the V-sign, with palm outward of course, is itself a greeting. (With palm inward it’s quite another thing!)
Thanks Imogen and Eileen!
Liked many including STUPOR (despite the ‘in a’ sticking out in an odd place), ON EDGE and LIE.
HIGH FIVE
I took ‘(a) sign as (a) greeting’ as the def.
MOBILE
My Chambers app has this under ‘cell’
14. A cellphone (informal).
You’ve clearly not been streaming any US shows on Netflix, Eileen, wherein the cell is ubiquitous. (I first heard it long before, when our eldest lived in NYC).
Can’t remember how long this took, but I do remember noting that there was nothing too obscure, esoteric or erudite, which Imogen can sometimes be. Not that I mind when he is. So, now for coffee and today’s. Ta to Im and Eil.
I liked this very much as many of the clues were imaginately constructed so thanks to Imogen and Eileen. Unfortunately I failed to get 14D so didn’t quite finish. I was happy with all the cluing and disagree with the quibbles above particularly those that complain that the crossword is English and not American!
I enjoyed this and had it all in and I’m pretty sure parsed, although I did have to research the odd clue.
Thank you to Eileen and Imogen.
I was aware of cell for mobile from various US TV shows, as per Cineraria @2. Hardcopy Chambers 2016 has the same as KVa @7, “a cellphone (inf)” and cellphone or cellular phone as “a portable telephone for use in a cellular radio system”. I’m surprised it doesn’t indicate it as chiefly US which I would think it is, given the UK and Aus usage of mobile rather than cell. My e version of Collins has under cellphone “or cell phone US”.
Favourite was STUPOR for “replaces”.
Thanks Eileen. Agree with your picks. I also did a double take at replaces=puts back in STUPOR. A rebus within a clue.
I parsed HIGH FIVE as per KVa@7. Raised V (high five, ie the hand movement with all five fingers raised, palms touching, against another’s) , def sign as greeting. Is high five not common in the UK? American, and familiar in Oz.
This took me at least 3 visits, but I got there in the end. I didn’t know AIT for island but I had the other bits. If you want to complain about woodwork, then I’d just mention the uprights. Tennyson obviously expected to CROSS (the) BAR. Nobody asked for the title. BE MY GUEST was close enough for me and raised a chuckle when I finally got it. I went for greeting as the definition because the clue made sense that way. Am I being a bit churlish here?
Thanks both.
Thanks, Eileen and Imo. I found this tough, finishing on Wednesday, with PAROXSYMAL and BE MY GUEST my LO(s)I. ‘Fitting’ was cleverly used in 14d, and I got there by trying X because ‘across’ featured in the clue, and I incorrectly looked for ‘a cross’. Wasted time trying to make the 4d novel location ‘Northanger’.
Coming from Surrey, I knew ‘ait’. There are several islands so called in the Thames above London.
At 10a, I agree with others that ‘Raised V’ is the fodder, and ‘greeting’ the definition; ‘sign’ adds little, except to make the clue sound coherent.
I got HAITI as being a ‘hot (tropical) island’ comprising HA (an island) and ITI (half of Tahiti). Not what was intended by Imogen, I’m sure.
I really enjoyed that, and I see I ticked more favourites in this than I have for a while, particularly the cluing for INFORMANT, LIE, OBTUSE, MOBILE and HAITI. I’d have added STUPOR if only I’d fully appreciated the reason ‘puts’ was reversed. Nice one, Imogen. I find I hear ‘cell’ for ‘mobile’ so often nowadays I catch myself using it, I’m afraid. Barchester (Towers) has always been a favourite novel, too. I did however need help with PAROXYSMAL (I still can’t quite believe that’s how you spell it); in the end I guessed how it must end, took a punt with a rhyming dictionary and there it was. So, perhaps not a complete success, but satisfying anyway, and thanks to both Imogen and Eileen.
I really enjoyed this puzzle and was delighted to have finished it and totally parsed everything- or so I thought until I read Eilleen’s parsing and thoughts on 1a where, despite being fairly knowledgeable about football. I had not made the football connection and just assumed that CROSSBAR referred to some kind of frame, doh. At least I had learned and read Tennyson’s poem in working it out. Still learning every day.
My favourites were probably HAITI and HAVE KITTENS but I had loads of ticks.
Thanks for the blog, Eileen, and Imogen for another goldilocks puzzle for the prize slot.
I only do crosswords at the weekend so rarely get a chance to comment and by the time the Prize puzzle blog goes up I’ve usually forgotten that I meant to do so, but hopefully I’m not too late with this one…
14dn was my LOI and I was chuffed when I finally sussed it. Less so that it took me nearly as long to get the oil company, which unlocked PAROXYSMAL.
I enjoyed the fructal deception in 11ac.
I usually solve on my laptop but was away from home and used my phone for this which I don’t like doing – but completed it quite quickly so must have found it easy enough.
Regarding cell/MOBILE – don’t most people just say ‘phone’ nowadays? No problem with the clue though.
I didn’t have any quibbles (apart from several dodgy anagram indicators – which these days I just accept with a shoulder-shrug).
Needed to come here for full parsing of STUPOR.
Favourites already mentioned by others.
Thanks Eileen and Imogen.
Thanks for all the helpful comments.
Re 10ac: the consensus seems to follow my instinctive ‘greeting’ (alone) for the definition – it was only at the point of actually posting the blog, when I had to decide what to underline, that doubts crept in.
Re ‘cell’ for ‘mobile’: that sounds as odd to me as ‘mobile’ does to Cineraria @2 (I don’t have Netflix, grant @8 😉 ) but it’s good to have confirmation that it’s American usage.
Cineraria – I don’t see any double duty in the clue for STUPOR: the reversal is indicated by the nifty use of ‘replaces’ = PUTS back.
An excellent and challenging prize crossword
Thanks Imogen and Eileen
I went with VA as the code for the holy see for 17a, but yes, that leaves a redundant A in the clue.
Thanks Imogen and Eileen.
DNF for me as I failed on two. My mind was VACANT for however long I stared at 17a – if I’ve come across that meaning of “cant” before, I had forgotten it. And I don’t think I would have solved 14d, even with the extra crosser – very clever clue.
I think with 10a some people are fixating on the “v-sign” as a finger gesture – it is just needs to be read as a symbol indicating FIVE.
Thanks Eileen and Imogen.
A fine crossword, as Eileen and many others have said.
I realise that one cannot say ‘cell’ in the way that one can say ‘mobile’ to refer to one’s phone, but I think the setter has based his clueing on the one context in which the words are equivalent, namely, when saying ‘cell phone’ or ‘mobile phone’ to refer to that object. I think I’m right in saying that the use of this device or ‘trick’ in definitions is increasing.
Thanks to Imogen, Eileen and other commenters.
Alan B @ 25. I’m pretty sure Americans do use the word “cell” to refer to the phone itself, i.e. as a synonym for “mobile”. I’m in NYC at the moment so will test this out (still 06:41 here).
Richmond @26
Thanks! I’m keen to know this.
Tough with lots of clever clueing. I failed to parse 17a, VACANT, despite rememberng that cant=-list at some stage in my struggles. I’d forgotten that V=see. For a while I thought the reference was to the Vatican= the Holy See. Alist=heeling over and I’ve seen worse anagrinds but what to do with the I ? I was hoping for different see from Ely.
Thanks to Imogen and Eileen.
I’ve watched enough American TV to know that ‘cell’ is an exact equivalent for MOBILE. If only VACANT had been so obvious – I got so desperate looking for words that would fit that I even wondered whether Havant, a small town in Hampshire, might be a bishopric; I didn’t embarrass myself by looking it up. 😁
I also struggled with BE MY GUEST – my favourite, once I’d got it – but that was because I’d bunged in SUBOPTIMAL at 14d. It seemed to almost work, though it involved SUB as a short form of ‘substitute’! The correct answer, on the other hand, was a joy to behold.
Thanks to Imogen and Eileen.
After several sessions everything fell except the V at the front of VACANT. I will try to remember ‘vide’ for next time.
As an expat in America, I can add to the list of confirmations that cell is indeed what they call mobiles here, and also that most Americans look at me blankly when I say “mobile”.
Britain and America, two countries separated by a bloody great ocean.
The choir I sing in do a lovely choral version of Crossing the Bar, so that was my favourite.
Thank you Eileen for explaining AIT in HAITI and the V=vide in VACANT.
I thought it was an excellent Prize, chewy and enjoyable. My favourite was PAROXYSMAL, after I had tried and rejected ‘suboptimal’ for the position.
Other likes: BARCHESTER, INFORMANT, STUPOR, BOTTLE, BE MY GUEST.
Thanks to Imogen and Eileen.
Thanks to Imogen and Eileen.
A tough puzzle, [ My 1st completed Imogen puzzle 🙂 ] which meant long periods of starring at one or other of the clues. But we got there in the end.
Congrats to setter for our stand out favourite 14d PAROXYSMAL
Petert@31, you have inspired me to look for a choral version of Crossing the Bar. It’s very beautiful. This is from St Martin In The Fields (I hope)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5FlS76eTVs
sheffield hatter @29
Thanks for your comment on ‘cell’ for cellphone. I have since looked up cell in Chambers, which has one meaning for it as ‘(inf.) cellphone’.
My cellphone has a mobile number, the reverse doesn’t apply though.
This was one of those great puzzles where I struggled with so many clues, but every time on getting them my reaction was “of course, why didn’t I see that earlier” – too many PDMs to mention, but what fun.
Thanks Imogen for the delight, Eileen for the engaging blog, and SueM48@34 for the link to that wonderful choral version of Tennyson’s moving poem.
I’ve just been watching the highlights of the England/Sri Lanka test. High fives all round every time a wicket is taken.
SueM48@32. I also had ”suboptimal” for PAROXYSMAL. It parsed beautifully, until crossers disabused me.
Quite difficult, I thought. I stuck with the unsatisfactory SUBOPTIMAL, so couldn’t finish. Drat!
Like many, had to cheat to get PAROXYSMAL, so a DNF. A great pity as it would have felt like an achievement to complete a really good prize puzzle. Just the right standard IMHO. Congratulations Imogen, thanks Eileen.
As an American, I can confirm the usage of “cell”. For instance, “Call my cell”, meaning “Call my mobile phone”, is a perfectly idiomatic thing to say in the US (although as others have pointed out, by now cell / mobile phones are the default, so one would probably simply say “Call my phone” or “Call me”).