Ifor specialises in setting barred crosswords. Fifteensquared has blogs about his crosswords in all of the Inquisitor, Enigmatic Variations and Listener series. Today’s puzzle is his 52nd Inquisitor crossword since his debut in January 2011.
An extensive preamble that told us: Answers to each pair of down clues sharing a number must be individually jumbled to nonwords and entered so as to show the same new pair of words (7, 6), with one pair entered thematically. 24 contiguous cells in a closed curve that spell out a definition in Chambers of an obsolete usage must be highlighted. Together with the silvered entries, these suggest successive lines of a chorus to a song to be named under the grid. Each of the ten clues to Across entries with no highlighted letters contains an extra word. In clue order, these define four short words that in clue sequence name the singer.
Obviously there is a lot going on here and I usually start solving and see what pans out to make the preamble more understandable.
The silvered cells linked to 1 down and 10 down, both containing two separate clues for 6- and 7-letter words.
I made reasonable progress with the clues, getting a foothold with SHAPERS, SCHLEPP, LIKE, NUDES and IRON AGE in the acrosses and AMBUSH, RIGID, ERSE and PICEOUS in the downs.
For the double clues, PINETA, the six-letter word in 10 down fell first. As the other entries built up, I knew that any letters I had in either of the outer columns would also appear in the other column by the end of the puzzle. We were also told that one of the columns was entered thematically. Given that we were already dealing with jumbles, the thematic entry couldn’t be an anagram. The most likely alternative therefore was a reversal.
A bit of thought generated the possibility of PAINTED PONIES in column 12 and its reversal in column 1. That led to a search on the web and the discovery of the song THE CIRCLE GAME, written by the Canadian-American singer songwriter JONI MITCHELL (born 1943). Note that PAINTED PONIES is an anagram of PATINE & DISPONE (1 down) and PINETA & SPINODE (10 down)
The chorus for this song goes:
And the SEASONS they GO ROUND AND ROUND
And the PAINTED PONIES go UP and DOWN
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
with the first two lines showing a link to the preamble and the grid.
I doubt if I was the only solver looking initially for SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN and WINTER as the 24 letters required for highlighting. As that search got nowhere, I looked in Chambers and found that SEASON had an obsolete meaning of SEASONING. At that point the word HERB in THERBLIG seemed to leap out of the page, which was a bit of a surprise as I had classified that clue as having an extra word [itemising].
Anyway, it became clear that a 24-letter contiguous curved chain could be formed from HERB as HERBS, SPICES, SALT and PEPPER. Well, it would be curved if you drew a circle through the letters in the grid.
After I did the highlighting in the grid, I was able to see which across entries were not involved. As I mentioned earlier, I hadn’t got all the extra words right, or even found all 10 of them. Knowing which clues to look at, resolved the two or three extra words I hadn’t found.
JONI MITCHELL can be split into 4 shorter words, JO, NIM, ITCH and ELL. JO and ELL are common entries or part of the wordplay in barred crosswords, but I didn’t know the meaning of NIM as ‘steal’.
The relationship of the extra words to the constituent parts of JONI MITCHELL are shown below, where the number in brackets indicates the across clue in which the extra word was found.
JO – BELOVED (1) ONE (5) – Scottish word
NIM – APPROPRIATE (11) BEFORE (12) – obsolete usage
ITCH – CONSTANT (24) TEASING (32) DESIRE (37)
ELL – OLD (38) CLOTH (40) MEASURE (41)
The initial grid is shown immediately below with the PAINTED PONIES going UP and DOWN in the silvered cells. The second grid adds the SEASONS GOING ROUND AND ROUND and also shows the across entries that had a word removed before solving (highlighted in yellow).
The name of the song is written below the second grid.
The curve is not symmetrical vertically, but as it covers 10 rows of 13, there is no way it could have been.
The clues in Inquisitors tend to get ignored in blogs as the endgame usually takes priority. I thought these clues were very good and presented the right level of challenge. I had the wrong entry for 41 across initially, when I put in ARPENT another anagram of PARENT, using ‘measure’ as the definition. Eventually I realised the entry had be ENTRAP [catch] and ‘measure’ was an extra word in the clue. I have also failed to parse HARM at 6 down. The detailed table explains the wordplay and also shows the ten clues with extra words before and after removal.
The title of the puzzle, ROUNDERS is fairly self-explanatory given the SEASONS GOING ROUND AND ROUND.
Thanks to Ifor for fun.
| No | Detail | Word | |
| Across | |||
| 1 | Gossipy talk said to be beloved of lady of the night (5)
Gossipy talk said to be of lady of the night (5) PROSE (informal term for gossipy talk) PROSE (sounds like [said to be] PRO’s [belonging to, or of, PROstituteS [ladies of the night]) PROSE |
BELOVED | |
| 5 | Influencers succeeded after one confected phrase (7)
Influencers succeeded after confected phrase (7) SHAPERS (influencers) Anagram of (confected) PHRASE + S SHAPER* S |
ONE | |
| 11 | On the alert, caught in appropriate decision (6)
On the alert, caught in decision (6) ARRECT ([of an animal’s ears] upright, pricked up; on the alert) C (caught) contained in (in) ARRÊT (judgement of a tribunal; decision) ARRE (C) T |
APPROPRIATE | |
| 12 | Second bid that’s lost before picture (5)
Second bid that’s lost picture (5) MOVIE ([moving] picture) MO (MOment; second) + VIE (obsolete [lost] word for ‘bid’) MO VIE |
BEFORE | |
| 14 | Unit itemising part of task born in lighter working (8)
THERBLIG ( unit of work into which an industrial operation may be divided; unit itemising part of task) B (born) contained in (in) an anagram of (working) LIGHTER THER (B) LIG* |
||
| 15 | Fragment, sometimes alight, around explosive (5)
NITRO (explosive) (ORT [fragment] + IN [a word sometimes used to describe a fire that is alight in a grate in a lounge, for example]) all reversed (around) (NI TRO)< |
||
| 17 | Sails must link without any winding up (6)
MUSLIN (nautical term for sails) Each of MUST and LINK (excluding the final letter [without any winding up]) to form MUS + LIN MUS LIN |
||
| 18 | Online commentators destroying character after first time wobbles (7)
TEETERS (wobbles) TWEETERS (people who comment on-line, formerly on Twitter but now on X) excluding (destroying) the W, character after the first letter T (time) (after first time) TEETERS |
||
| 20 | Weapon held in deepened wound (4)
ÉPÉE (sharp-pointed, narrow-bladed sword without a cutting edge, used for duelling and, with a button on the point, for fencing) EPEE (reversed (wound) hidden word in (held in) dEEPEned) EPEE< |
||
| 22 | Cash appeal dropping as awful drag (7)
SCHLEPP (drag) Anagram of (awful) CASH APPEAL excluding all 3 occurences of the letter A (dropping As) SCHLEPP* |
||
| 24 | Approve characteristic of constant (4)
Approve characteristic of (4) LIKE (approve) LIKE (characteristic of) double definition LIKE |
CONSTANT | |
| 26 | Resort to outdated clear access code (6, 2 words)
USER ID (access code) USE (archaic [outdated] word for ‘resort to’) + RID (clear) USE R ID |
||
| 27 | Overskirt discovered rumpled badly after pressure (6)
PEPLUM (a short skirt-like section attached to the waistline of a dress, blouse or jacket) P (Pressure) + an anagram of (badly) UMPLE (letters remaining in RUMPLED when the outer letters R and D are removed [dis-covered]) P EPLUM* |
||
| 29 | Pale blue colouring of iceberg, melting without a bit of work (4)
BICE (a pale blue or green paint or colouring) Anagram of (melting) ICEBERG excluding (without) ERG (the CGS unit of work equivalent to 10-7 joules) BICE* |
||
| 32 | Amateur teasing often involves money (4)
Amateur often involves money (4) EURO (unit of currency [money] used in many European countries) EURO (hidden word in [involves] amatEUR Often) EURO |
TEASING | |
| 34 | Sudden changes (one day only) bare figures
NUDES (bare figures) Anagram of (changes) SUDDEN excluding one D (day), leaving just one D in the anagram NUDES* |
||
| 35 | Loose garment needing the tailor’s opening to create buttonholes (7)
BLOUSON (loose outer garment gathered into a waistband) BUTTONHOLES is an anagram of (to create) BLOUSON [the entry] and THE and T (first letter of [opening] Tailor) BLOUSON |
||
| 36 | No air supply; gauge “empty” a long time ago (7, 2 words)
IRON AGE (a period of time in the past; a long time ago, suggested to be between 1200BC and 550BC) Anagram of (supply – derived from supple) NO AIR + GE (letters remaining in GaugE when the central letters AUG are removed [empty]) IRON A* GE |
||
| 37 | Hot music rhythmically gathering desire down under (3)
Hot music rhythmically gathering down under (3) HUI (a Maori gathering; gathering in New Zealand, part of the Antipodes [down under]) H (hot) + UI (letters 2 and 4 [rhythmically, because they are evenly spaced in the word) of MUSIC) H UI |
DESIRE | |
| 38 | Strangely frightening old verse, avoiding the best possible (4)
Strangely frightening verse, avoiding the best possible (4) EERY (dialect term for strangely frightening) EVERY (best possible, as in EVERY chance of winning) excluding (avoiding) V (verse) EERY |
OLD | |
| 39 | Features of spine so far staying least flexible (7)
ATLASES (cervical vertebrae; features of spine) AS (so far) contained in (staying) an anagram of (flexible) LEAST ATL (AS) ES* |
||
| 40 | Decent regularly even marks in calculating cloth (6)
Decent regularly even marks in calculating (6) SEEMLY (decent) (EE [letters 1 and 3 {regularly} of EVEN] + M [marks]) contained in (in) SLY (calculating) S (EE M) LY |
CLOTH
|
|
| 41 | Catch parent dancing measure (6)
Catch parent dancing (6) ENTRAP (catch) Anagram of (dancing) PARENT ENTRAP* |
MEASURE | |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Antique communion plate at the right place during conclusion of service (6)
PATINE (old [antique] word for PATEN [communion plate) PAT (at the right time or place) + IN (during) E (last letter of [conclusion of] servicE) PAT IN E |
||
| Set in order once completed installing broadband provider (7)
DISPONE (set in order) DONE (completed) containing (installing) ISP (Internet Service Provider) D (ISP) ONE |
|||
| 2 | No end of emotion in overembellished harangue (5)
ORATE (harangue) ORNATE (overembellished) excluding (no) N (last letter of [end of] emotioN) ORATE |
||
| 3 | Plant collection (3)
SET (to plant) SET (a collection) double definition SET |
||
| 4 | Augment for Shakespeare; abbreviated dictionary repeated (6)
ECHOED (repeated) ECHT (Shakespearean word for ‘augment’) excluding the final letter (abbreviated) + OED (Oxford English Dictionary) ECH OED |
||
| 6 | Damage stocks before issuing brief response (4)
HARM (damage) I don’t understand the wordplay here – I can see that A is ‘before’ and is contained in (stocks) but that’s about as far as I get. HARM |
||
| 7 | Leap out to catch tram – bus hardly stops (6)
AMBUSH (suddenly leap out from hiding to attack or catch an enemy) AMBUSH (hidden word in [stops] trAM BUS Hardly) AMBUSH |
||
| 8 | Curses pass over setter’s head (5)
EVILS (curses) LIVE (spend or pass) reversed (over) + S (first letter of [head] SETTER) EVIL< S |
||
| 9 | Trick over papers not articulated (5)
RIGID (unbending; not articulated) RIG (trick) + ID (identity papers) RIG ID |
||
| 10 | Tree collections at home in decayed peat (6)
PINETA (collections of pine trees for botanical or ornamental purposes) IN (at home) contained in (in) an anagram of (decayed) PEAT P (IN) ETA* |
||
| Turning point on graph overdrawn in back of book (7)
SPINODE (a cusp or stationary point of a curve) OD (overdrawn) contained in (in) SPINE (back of a book) SPIN (OD) E |
|||
| 13 | Pass degree from college of St Peter Port (6)
DIEPPE (French port city) DIE (pass) + PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, you can graduate from St Peter’s College Oxford with a degree in PPE) DIE PPE |
||
| 16 | Highlanders’ language that never sets limits (4)
ERSE (formerly, and still occasionally, the name given by Lowland Scots to the language of the people of the West Highlands; Highlanders’ language) ERSE (hidden word in [limits] nevER SEts) ERSE |
||
| 19 | Potty bulges over in some places with muddy clods (7)
GLEBOUS (a rare [in some places] term for cloddy) Anagram of (potty) BULGES and O (over) GLEBOUS* |
||
| 21 | Old age without offspring for Morag (4)
EILD (archaic word for old age) EILD (Scottish [Morag] word for not bearing young; without offspring) double definition EILD |
||
| 23 | Black ice under parking leads to obviously uneven surfaces (7)
PICEOUS (black) P (parking) + ICE + OUS (first letters of [leads to] each of Obviously, Uneven and Surfaces) P ICE OUS – as this is a down entry, ICE is written under the P |
||
| 25 | Stars in Spirit of Memphis line reception area (7)
KURSAAL (the reception-room of a spa) (URSA [reference the constellations URSA Major and URSA Minor; stars] contained in [in] KA [in Ancient Egypt. the spirit or soul within a person, a god, or a statue of a dead person. Memphis was the first capital of Ancient Egypt]) + L (line) K (URSA) A L |
||
| 26 | Something plucked from this country fuelled extremely limited riots (7)
UKULELE (a musical instrument that is plucked) UK (United Kingdom; this country + an anagram of (riots) UELLE (the letters remaining in fUELLEd when the outer letters [extremely] F and D are excluded [limited]) UK ULELE* |
||
| 28 | Footwear with holes continually annoy the world over (6)
BROGAN (a stout shoe usually with a decorative pattern of holes) (NAG [annoy continually] + ORB [a world]) all reversed (over) (BRO GAN)< |
||
| 30 | Completely content to see soup free from lumps (5)
PUREE (of food, reduce to a smooth consistency, such as a soup; soup free from lumps) PURE (completely) + E (middle of the three letters forming SEE; content to sEe) PURE E |
||
| 31 | Love fuss and bother, not as well set up (5)
ADORE (love) ADO (fuss) + ER (letters remaining in BOTHER after BOTH [as well] has been excluded [not]) reversed (set up; down entry) ADO RE< |
||
| 33 | Minor legal official guillotined drug dealer (5)
USHER (minor legal official in a court of law) PUSHER (drug dealer) excluding the first letter (guillotined; head cut off) P USHER |
This puzzle exemplified for me the fundamentally subversive nature of the cryptic crossword. The Joni Mitchell song, which I didn’t know but dutifully listened to, is a good one and she performs it well. But one can never take it totally seriously again after imagining an eternally revolving set of condiment trays as exemplifying the Circle of Life. I did indeed scan for Spring etc, and also went down a blind alley with the song Both Sides Now, having identified the singer well before the Painted Ponies. Like Duncan I cannot parse HARM, but assumed that it must come from an obsolete word for “stocks” from which a shortened form of “response” is omitted. But some cleverer solver will be able to correct me. Many thanks to Ifor for a very enjoyable concept, and to Duncan for the blog.
I went the other way round from our blogger…found the circle of seasoning, then (after a lot of head scratching) the singer and finally the song. Made the mistake of googling “painted ponies” rather than “painted ponies song” and hence from the unhelpful results, went down a rabbit hole convinced that the phrase was a cryptic reference to some sort of coloured horses. I enjoyed the clue solve (although I am another one who came to no HARM) but my prior knowledge of Ms Mitchell’s oeuvre is lacking.
HARM
Brief response could be Hm but is AR before issuing?
I will jump in here to save further speculation (and respond more completely later). Much as Sagittarius suggests, HARMANS is listed in Chambers as an obsolete term for the stocks, whence ans (a brief response) is issued.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with the thematic content of this puzzle both during and after solving the excellent clues. The only clue I had difficulty with was 6d HARM. The previous Inquisitor, as it happens, featured as many as seven ‘subtraction’ type clues, which tend to be particularly tricky when the minuend (HARMANS in this case) is an unfamiliar word.
From JO and ELL at the start and end of the singer’s name it was not hard to think of Joni Mitchell, leading me first to PAINTED PONIES and then to the (unfamiliar) song The Circle Game. Eventually (helped by marking and thereby ‘excluding’ all the answers to the ten special Across clues) I found the ‘circular’ phrase listing the condiments, and luckily I picked on the word ‘season’ from the song to find the relevant entry (under ‘Season’) in Chambers.
This was a well-pitched puzzle with (I repeat) excellent clues and a brilliant thematic design. Many thanks to Ifor, and to Duncan for his usual thorough blog.
This was great fun and one of the first Inquisitors I have solved.
Of the thematic bits, I spotted PAINTED PONIES first and assumed it was a song I’m more familiar with – “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat and Tears – and of course the title ‘Rounders’ only led me further down that path!
Eventually I got there of course – a new song on me.
Many, many thanks to Ifor for the fun and to Duncan for a great blog post.
“What goes up must come down
Spinnin’ wheel got to go ’round
Talkin’ ’bout your troubles, it’s a cryin’ sin
Ride a painted pony, let the spinnin’ wheel spin”
An enjoyable and edifying challenge – I managed to get to the ponies and Joni fairly quickly but the closed curve had me baffled for a while until I spotted herbs. Then one thing quickly led to another. Although I identified Jo and Nim, I didn’t really understand why, so 9/10 this week. Thanks to Ifor for setting my mind spinning and Duncan for laying it all out so clearly.
Total fail with the closed curve, but otherwise an enjoyable solve. When I was looking for the name of the singer I found Itch and Ell and then thought, ‘why not, maybe he sings as well’, and checked the meaning of David. Apparently it also means Beloved. Who knew? Fortunately I also knew Nim, and then Jo clicked into place, so the alarming possibility of Mr Mitchell singing could be safely discarded.
Nothing to add, really, but I had a good time with this one despite music and songs being a bit outside my sphere. All thanks to Ifor, duncanshiell and those nice people at Wikipedia. The “seasons going round and round” provided a laugh-out-loud moment.
I think ECH is the Shakespearean word for ‘augment’, and ‘abbreviated’ refers to OED. Also possible, but I would say less likely, is ECHE (not ECHT) abbreviated.
As usual, many excellent clues from Ifor and, on the whole, an enjoyable grid fill. I had trouble, however, finding the correct extra words. Like, Duncan, I had itemising as an extra in 14A. In 39A, I had staying as an extra which prevented me from parsing it correctly, entering A-SLATES, which, although not in Chambers, I guessed must be a component for the ridge (spine) of a roof! I got PAINTED PONIES fairly quickly and, as soon as I included the word Song in my on-line search, I was able to locate the source and the singer. I spotted AND PEPPER in the grid but, because I had excluded (and misspelt) 39A, it was a while before the penny dropped and I was able to correct my slip and complete the circle.
Thanks to Ifor and Duncan.
As ever, my thanks to all who commented and of course to Duncan for another of his wonderfully comprehensive blogs. Just a few thoughts: Sagittarius, you might like to glance at IQ 1507, on this site or elsewhere. Matt, I knew the BS and T song, but that memory hadn’t registered when I set the puzzle. Tony, spot on.