Inquisitor 1882: Broadcasting Company by Vismut

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This is our first IQ blog and to our great relief, we found Vismut’s offering fairly straightforward (by IQ standards!).

The preamble:

‘The two letters at the centre of a redundant word in some of the clues form two columns.
Read in clue order, the left hand column in the across clues gives a name, the right the definition of a word intrinsic to an American television show. For the down clues, reading the left column followed by the right indicates what change solvers must make to one entry in the completed grid.’

Having read the preamble, we decided (as usual) that we would have to dive in and start solving in the hope of finding some of the unknown number of clues with redundant words. As it happens, our first one in was 15ac, which was one of the ‘special’ clues. This was followed by 7d, 9d, 13ac and 17ac, all of which included redundant words and gave us a good start in the NE corner.
As usual with IQs and barred grids generally, there are quite a few unusual entries, but also several unusual definitions of more common words (eg 13ac, 21ac, 37ac, 39ac), all of which needed checking in Chambers.
We were keeping tabs on the middle letters of the redundant words as we worked through the puzzle, and it became apparent that the name given by the letters in the left column of the across clues was DAVE someone, and with limited knowledge of American TV shows we could only think of Dave Letterman, but this didn’t fit with any of the other letters we had found. With some electronic help, Joyce established that the name is DAVE GARROWAY, someone we had never heard of before. This helped complete the grid:
  picture of the completed grid
It also revealed that the right column reads PRESENT TIMES, a synonym for ‘TODAY’, a programme that Dave Garroway apparently hosted on NBC from January 1952 until June 1961. He died in July 1982.
The letters in the down clues read NAME OF CO-HOST. The preamble suggests that we have to change one entry in the grid to complete the puzzle. With more electronic help we discovered that Dave Garroway’s co-host on ‘Today’ was a CHIMPANZEE (13d) called J. FRED MUGGS (only in America!). Hence the final grid is:
All-in-all, an enjoyable puzzle with a rather obscure theme which taught us a little about an American broadcasting pioneer who we had never heard of before!. We felt that although some of the ‘redundant’ words spoilt the surfaces of the clues – it didn’t spoil the fun, and often helped identify the extra word, but we do appreciate good surfaces!
Thanks Vismut.
Redundant words in clues are in green below, with middle letters identified after the entry. Definitions are underlined.
ACROSS
No. Entry Letters
1 SHOCKING PINK D P
Key wordplay issue in old shaggy dog – it’s glaring (12, 2 words)
Key issue in old shaggy dog – it’s glaring (12, 2 words)
KINGPIN (key issue) in SHOCK (an obsolete word – ‘old’ – for a dog with long shaggy fur)
12 VILLAN
In Paris she drops off poem for copyholder (6)
VILLANelle (poem) missing or ‘dropping off’ ‘elle’ (French for ‘she’)
13 COLLIER A R
Charcoal burner lost unmarked dog Rex (7)
Charcoal burner lost dog Rex (7)
COLLIE (dog) R (rex) – an obsolete (‘lost’) word for a charcoal burner
14 EDDA
Two books found in Cheddar (4)
Hidden in ChEDDAr – two Scandinavian books
15 HEATHER V E
Anger that heavenly woman Erica (7)
Anger that woman Erica (7)
HEAT (anger) HER (that woman)
16 VESPER
“No thankyou” match according to Evening Star (6)
VESta (match) missing ‘ta’ (‘thankyou’) PER (according to)
17 CHINA E S
Cockney’s fleshy mate not outside during tea (5)
Cockney’s mate not outside during tea (5)
IN (not outside) in or ‘during’ CHA (tea)
18 TRAT
Little restaurant briefly runs about for Oscar (4)
TRoTs (runs) missing the last letter or ‘briefly’ with A (about) replacing ‘o’ (Oscar in the phonetic alphabet)
19 HAMMAL G E
Eastern porter’s gorgeous thigh man cut (6)
Eastern porter’s thigh man cut (6)
HAM (thigh) MALe (man) missing the last letter or ‘cut’
21 KIP A N
Ian’s to play truant in Grange Hill (3)
Ian’s to play truant in Hill (3)
Double definition – both Scottish words for playing truant and a hill
23 IDLE
Sid Little on vacation spending Sabbath not working (4)
sID missing or ‘spending’ the ‘s’ (Sabbath) + LittlE missing the middle letters or ‘on vacation’
25 BETA
Biden’s first French and American letter (4)
B (first letter of Biden) ET (French for ‘and’) A (American)
26 AID R T
Help taking coat off fourteen servants (3)
Help taking coat off servants (3)
mAIDs (servants) missing the first and last letters or ‘taking coat off’
30 PLONKS
Puts down afterthought about resort of Köln (6)
PS (postscript – ‘afterthought’) round an anagram (‘resort’) of KOLN
32 OGEE R T
Curvy monster undertaker runs out for earth (4)
Curvy monster runs out for earth (4)
OGrE (monster) with the ‘r’ (runs) replaced by E (Earth)
33 GARUM
Pickled fish sauce that was starters for giggling angler peculiar (5)
G A (first letters or ‘starters’ of giggling angler) + RUM (peculiar)
35 ENGAGE O I
Attract blokes dropping money with choice plum (6)
Attract blokes dropping money with plum (6)
mEN (blokes) missing or ‘dropping’ the ‘m’ (money) + GAGE (plum)
36 GRATINE
Tangier bananas cooked with cheese (7)
An anagram (‘bananas’) of TANGIER
37 RULE W M
Sky blue crewmate stripped twice for a dash (4)
Sky blue stripped twice for a dash (4)
ceRULEan (sky blue) missing the first two and last two letters or ‘stripped twice’
38 ALIDADE
A top and hollow base for surveying instrument (7)
A LID (top) + AnD missing the middle letter or ‘hollow’ + E (base)
39 ERASED A E
Extinct chamaeleon coming back in Everglades area (6)
Extinct coming back in Everglades area (6)
Hidden and reversed (‘coming back’) in EverglaDES AREa
40 ALL SYSTEMS GO Y S
Excitedly get Sally Moss ready for bodysuit action (12, 3 words)
Excitedly get Sally Moss ready for action (12, 3 words)
An anagram (‘excitedly’) of GET SALLY MOSS
DOWN
No. Entry Letters
2 HIDERS
They conceal dire rubbish in high school (6)
An anagram (‘rubbish’) of DIRE in H S (High School)
3 OLD SALT
Retailed key sending up Ancient Mariner (7, 2 words)
SOLD (retailed) ALT (key – as on a keyboard) with OLD (‘ancient’) ‘sent’ to the front or ‘up’ in a down clue
4 CLAPTRAP N C
Some college friend once admitted turning over cobblers (8)
Some college friend admitted turning over cobblers (8)
A reversal (‘turning over’) of PART (some) C (college) round or ‘admitting’ PAL (friend)
5 KANEH
Left unseen, broken ankle needs hospital measure (5)
An anagram (‘broken’) of ANKlE with the ‘l’ (left’) omitted or ‘unseen’ + H (hospital)
6 INGRAIN
Establish hot Greek afternoon to gather crop (7)
IN (hot, as in trendy) GR (Greek) A (afternoon) IN (to gather crop). A new definition of ‘in’ for us.
7 GOES A O
Leaves empties unfilled after German karaokes over (4)
Leaves empties unfilled after German over (4)
EmptieS (without the middle letters or ‘unfilled’) after G (German) O (over)
8 PLACARD
Notice Audi finally replaced by vehicle in tartan (7)
PLAiD (tartan) with the ‘i’ (last or ‘final’ letter of Audi) replaced by CAR (vehicle)
9 NIHIL M H
Nothing nearby is hiding wormhole in Libra initially (5)
Nothing nearby is hiding in Libra initially (5)
First or ‘initial’ letters in Nearby Is Hiding In Libya
10 KEENS
Laments drug in disreputable houses (5)
E (ecstasy – ‘drug’) in KENS (disreputable houses). This made us smile as Ken looks after fifteensquared – are we a disreputable site?
11 ARRASENE
Stripped sea-grass seen in production for embroidery material (8)
mARRAm (sea-grass) missing the first and last letters or ‘stripped’ + an anagram (‘in production’) of SEEN
13 CHIMPANZEE
Humanize Cape bats, not African Union ape (10)
An anagram (‘bats’) of HuMaNIZE CAPE missing AU (African Union)
18 TOBOGGAN E O
Wrapping garment around John and naked Cleone in sled (8)
Wrapping garment around John and naked in sled (8)
TOGA (garment) ‘wrapped’ round BOG (toilet – ‘John’) + aNd missing the first and last letters or ‘naked’
20 LIPOGRAM
Some writing “kiss” spread love around (8)
LIP (kiss) + a reversal (‘around’) of MARG (margarine – ‘spread’) O (love)
21 KALMIAS
Sailmaker, not old queen, embroidered bushes (7)
An anagram (’embroidered’) of SAILMAKer without ‘er’ (old queen)
22 PIKELET
Fish allowed in Victorian scone (7)
PIKE (fish) LET (allowed) – ‘Victorian’ referring to the Australian state
24 DEGAUSS O S
Remove colossal magnetism from impressionist enthralling you and me (7)
Remove magnetism from impressionist enthralling you and me (7)
DEGAS (‘impressionist’ painter) round or ‘enthralling’ US (you and me)
27 PEG LEG
Positive two examples are accommodating learner’s prosthetic (6, 2 words)
P (positive) EG EG (‘two examples’) round or ‘accommodating’ L (learner)
28 CARLA
Scottish miser with a girl’s name (5)
CARL (‘Scottish miser’) + A
29 TRAIL F T
Dog heads to the BAFTAS riding aboard immense limousine (5)
Dog heads to the riding aboard immense limousine (5)
First letters or ‘heads’ of The Riding Aboard Immense Limosine
31 SNORE
Sleeping partner’s racket has gentleman dropping last bit of trade (5)
SENOR (gentleman) with the ‘e’ (last letter or ‘bit’ of trade) ‘dropping’ to the back
34 INDY
British Barbie scratching Sierra in motor racing class (4)
sINDY (British doll similar to Barbie) missing or ‘scratching’ ‘s’ (Sierra in the phonetic alphabet)

8 comments on “Inquisitor 1882: Broadcasting Company by Vismut”

  1. This was a good puzzle to come back to after a break. It was satisfying to have collected all bar one of the pairs of letters from the redundant words in the clues on filling the grid: I missed only the NC pair from 4d to complete the phrase NAME OF COHOST. Vismut could have said ’18’ clues rather than ‘some’, but setters have different ways of writing their instructions.

    I knew nothing about the ‘Today’ TV show apart from its name, but that was enough to find the cohost in the relevant Wikipedia article. It then took me longer than it should have to realise the name would occupy the same cells as CHIMPANZEE. A neat finish.

    Congratulations to Bertandjoyce (already familiar as bloggers on fifteensquared) on their first IQ blog, and thanks of course to Vismut for another good IQ puzzle.

  2. One of the more straightforward IQs of recent times, I thought, but still great fun. I was very impressed at how the replacement of almost all the central column rendered new real words throughout. That’s the kind of technical setting achievement that impresses me!

    Many thanks to Vismut and welcome to IQs to Bertandjoyce.

  3. Nice puzzle (although a strange topic – imagine that happening today!) and I didn’t mind a “week off” the really hard ones.

  4. A very solvable crossword with a pleasingly bizarre theme; where on earth did Vismut find out about J Fred Muggs? It precisely fulfills what I think is the right Inquisitor objective: making us discover pointless but enjoyable backwaters of human knowledge.

  5. Yes, relatively simple solving with an elegant and satisfying endgame – who wants a battle every week? Thanks to Vismut; welcome Bertand joyce…

  6. An enjoyable challenge with clear instructions and satisfying solutions. I did appreciate being introduced to Dave Garroway and his co-host, thanks to Vismut.

  7. Thanks for the blog Bert and Joyce and to everyone else for their kind comments. Sagittarius, I can only recommend Countdown or Pointless to you, or if you can stand it Flog It.

  8. Not very strenuous, for which I’m sure Bertandjoyce are grateful. I too spent quite a while going through Dave Garroway’s various human co-hosts until I alighted on the chimp – a bit slow. Anyway, thanks to Vismut and the new kids on the blog.

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