Mog provides us with today’s challenge. We thought it was a while since we blogged a puzzle by Mog but on checking, someone has completed the last two Mog crosswords that we were scheduled to blog as we were away!
Tuesday is theme day, and we like themed puzzles – this one is based around the concept of a single two-word answer (15ac) leading to two separate sets of thematic entries. All the thematic clues are readily identifiable by including reference to 15ac, but because there are two theme words, the surfaces suffer at times.
The themes are SATELLITES and DISHES, with a rather random selection of examples of each. We are not well-versed in astronomy, so we had to check all the satellites – moons of Jupiter (8ac and 26ac), Saturn (19ac) and Mars (7d and 22d).
An anagram (‘broadcast’) of MEAN EDGY
EEL (fish) round or ‘netting’ a reversal (‘repulsed’) of MAN (island)
E (energy) CHOp (hack) missing the last letter or ‘not quite’
CO (company) A (advanced) TO (toward) FARMS (agricultural sector)
SCRAPE (pickle) in or ‘filling’ SKYR (cheese – ‘dairy product’)
A (American) LSO (London Symphony Orchestra)
A clue-as-defintion: an anagram (‘working’) of IT HAS TELLIES with D (last letter or ‘back’ of feed) ‘plugged in’
HEAR (try – as in court case) with the last letter or ‘finale’ moved to the front
PULLED (extracted) P (quietly) + wORKs missing the first and last letters or ‘without casing’
An anagram (‘wildly’) of LET’S ACT + SLY (scheming)
wOVEN (‘as is web’) missing the first letter or ‘opening’
A reversal (‘returning’) of RUE (regret) PA (per annum – ‘yearly’) round or ‘consuming’ O (Oscar in the phonetic alphabet)
U (university) + a reversal (‘retired’) of VAN (leaders) + OWED (unpaid)
PA (secretary) + an anagram (‘twisted’) of NECK round or ‘catching’ A + S (small)
NY (New York) LO (look) retraNSlates (middle or ‘essential’ letters)
D (diamonds) COR (wow) in or ‘encrusted with’ REAL (proper)
ME (setter) S A (first letters or ‘starts’ of skip accoutrements)
EV (electric vehicle) in DOUR (dreary)
CA (circa – ‘about’) LAMA (priest) RabbI missing the middle letters or ‘on vacation’
DEMOS (shows) round or ‘blocked by’ I (first letter or ‘head’ of ITV1)
PAL (mate) round or ‘hoarding’ HIs missing the last letter of ‘most of’
subTRACTION (withdrawal) missing or ‘not including’ ‘sub’ (boat)
EVE (night before) RAY (beam) round or ‘sucking up’ YD (yard)
An anagram (‘excited’) of SEEM and HORN
HI (welcome) AT (present) US (crossworders)
The Beatles played in Hamburg before they achieved fame and became known as the Fab Four – in Hamburg they were PRE-FAB
PHOtOS (snaps) with the ‘t’ (time) replaced by B (book)
SO (very) UP (high extremity?)
I liked PREFAB and PHOBOS. I only knew RHEA was a moon, because I looked it up for another puzzle, but needed help to get DEIMOS.
Beaten by DEIMOS in the end: nho and I did not connect ‘shows’ with DEMOS. Quite a tricky puzzle – even after I had worked out what I was meant to be doing with the two halves of the key word. And DISH does not give one a lot to go on when looking at that section of the themers.
I liked SATELLITE DISH, itself. A very nice &lit. Other faves inc PHIAL, HIATUS and PREFAB.
Thanks both
Rhea was the one nho, and it’s the second biggest of Saturn’s too … I thought it was a bird! No, skyr the cheese was another (if it was in the MP cheese skit I missed it!). Pre fab needed all crossers to twig but then got a chortle. All good fun, ta Mog and B&J.
Great concept with the twin themes happening at the same time, though as you say the selection of dishes in particular was pretty random. I found the bottom right corner most difficult (OVEN and UNAVOWED) but I got both in the end.
I liked the clue for ENAMEL. I’m always wary of fish in crosswords but eel is a very fair one to use.
Skyr is more of a yogurt than a cheese.
Thanks both. Oh dear – didn’t really get along with this, mainly as the gateway clue felt imprecise in its anagram fodder (feed in back’s = d) and that it was often unstated whether we were seeking satellites or dishes. I took some consolation in PREFAB whilst noting The Beatles were also pre-four at that time.
The Beatles being the Prefab Four surely has its origin in The Rutles?
Not sure what extremity is doing in 24.
Does it just mean the last bit of satellite dish and hence just a dish?
Found this tough but got there in the end (just now!)
Thanks to Mog and BandJ
I did struggle with this at first – the first themed answers I got (before the gateway 15) were GANYMEDE and PANCAKES, and I boggled at what they might have in common! Rather random set of dishes, as has been observed. I have seen tubs of ‘Skyr’ and thought it was a brand name, didn’t know it was a noun in its own right. Will have to try it some time.
I had ‘reTRACTION’ for withdrawal in 16 (I retract/withdraw my offer) so was puzzling over why ‘RE’ was a boat!
I wondered if ‘extremity of 15’ in 24 might mean that soup is usually the first dish served in a meal?
Thanks to S&B, that was quote a tough one.
Not for me! I just found the loose connection to the theme word very unsatisfactory.
Very tough for this amateur – not helped by multiple nho’s and as Ericw says an added layer of complexity linking to the theme word. I did enjoy PREFAB, HIATUS, PULLED PORK
Third toughie in a row. Agree with most of the concerns noted above. Would be nice to have a couple of more accessible ones in the next few days? 🙏
On most days I do the puzzles in the order Guardian, FT, Indy; so it sometimes happens that I get to the Indy late or not at all. So…late today. I quite enjoyed this, though I agree that the infinite quantity of things that might be a DISH made those clues pretty random. I had heard of all of the SATELLITES, though–and, of course, all the dishes, none of which were especially obscure. (My first theme entry was EUROPA, which immediately led me to the keystone clue. Europa is notable for having liquid water on its surface; there are many other obstacles to its habitability, but that hasn’t stopped sci-fi writers from dreaming.)
Do they really have PULLED PORK in Britain? Cooked low and slow in a smoker and everything? I doubt it tastes much like Carolina barbecue even if so.
One could probably construct a plausible puzzle in which literally every entry was a DISH. There are enough of them that you can probably find one to fit nearly every letter pattern you need. Baba ganoush! Pad see ew! Mantoo! Maki! It just goes on and on.
Well aware that no one is reading this: PHOBOS and DEIMOS, mythologically the sons of Mars (Ares technically–the names are Greek) are most likely two former asteroids from the nearby asteroid belt that Mars captured into its orbit when they strayed long ago.
Wrong, mrpenney@14! Someone is reading that: fascinating.
By now really nobody is reading this, but I quite enjoyed this puzzle and I made it all the way through, even with the nho DEIMOS and skye. I found the theme approach interesting, although I agree of course that the dishes were pretty random. They keystone clue was a great &lit.
“Extremity of” refers to taking one of the two words of the keystone, similar to how one of the two words is indicated in most other themed clues. But it’s not the clearest indicator tbh, and it held me up for ages trying to use just one or other of the outermost letters.
I assumed RHEA was a dish (like ostrich) rather than a moon 😅.
Pulled pork is very much a thing these days, though I doubt it’s cooked authentically! Thanks for the other interesting info -and thanks of course to setter and bloggers.