Hi all. Well, we’re here because we like a good puzzling puzzle, so let’s see what Arcadia has in store.
The preamble:
In the final grid solvers must highlight all bar one cell in a block, which together cryptically represent a PUZZLE (in ODQ), and write the PUZZLE’s name (six letters) below the grid. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
A nice short intro, and no letters to collect. So far, so unthreatening, and I solved the crossword PUZZLE without seeking or seeing anything of the hidden PUZZLE. I then took a look at the grid. When I didn’t find anything straight away I began to feel PUZZLEd and wonder how long that would take. Happily, finding the block nicely situated in the middle I spotted:
THE WOMAN IN WHITE
I couldn’t make sense of the letters inside at first, but checked the surrounding area and found:
WORLD WAR II ENCODING DEVICE
OK, we have a MYSTERY mystery wrapped in an ENIGMA. Now, what was inside all that? Oh yes: a RIDDLE. Or (haha!) a:
BIG SIEVE
So we have uncovered a representation of Churchill’s famous quote “… a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” from his first wartime broadcast and referring to:
RUSSIA
PUZZLE solved – thanks Arcadia!
If there is a setter’s blog for this puzzle it will be available after 9am here.
RUSSIA
| # | ANSWER | Clue with definition underlined |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps | ||
| Across | ||
| 1a | JUMPS | Skips over Joshua at first, then Judges (5) |
| Joshua at first, then UMPS (judges) | ||
| 6a | SCARCER | Harder to find exit quickly when college replaces parking (7) |
| SCAR[p]ER (exit quickly) when C (college) replaces P (parking) | ||
| 11a | MOOT | Reflection of overly masculine dispute (4) |
| Reversal (reflection) of TOO (overly) plus M (masculine) | ||
| 13a | GET REAL | Yank’s wake-up call rousing alter ego in the main (7, two words) |
| An anagram of (rousing) most of (… in the main) ALTER EGo | ||
| 14a | ILLTH | Ruskin’s lack of wealth still theory to some extent (5) |
| Hidden in (… to some extent) stILL THeory | ||
| 15a | SAICE | Groom’s oddly chosen seat in church (5) |
| With odd letters selected (oddly chosen) SeAt In + CE (church) | ||
| 16a | WORLDLY | Mundane anxiety, losing heart about bad cholesterol (7) |
| WOrRY (anxiety) omitting the middle letter (losing heart) around (about) LDL (bad cholesterol) | ||
| 17a | ETHE | Ed’s easily shorn ram (4) |
| Without outer letters (shorn) wETHEr (ram) | ||
| 18a | WOWED | Bowled over – wicket due (5) |
| W (wicket) + OWED (due) | ||
| 19a | WEENIE | Once fancy diet exposed sausage to New Yorkers (6) |
| WEEN (once fancy) + dIEt without outer letters (exposed) | ||
| 22a | WADTS | Western Australian turnover of standard manganese ores (5) |
| WA (Western Australian) + reversal (turnover) of STD (standard) | ||
| 24a | GIB | Rock hopping ibex herds (3) |
| HoppinG IBex contains (herds) the answer | ||
| 25a | ARCH | Principal border marks exits (4) |
| [m]ARCH (border); M (marks) exits | ||
| 27a | YOGI | Cartoon bear who gets into contortions? (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 30a | NINIAN | Province welcoming in an early saint (6) |
| NI (province) including (welcoming) IN + AN | ||
| 31a | IDO | Auxiliary language that’s spoken by bride and groom (3) |
| I DO (that’s spoken by bride and groom) | ||
| 33a | NEIGH | Snicker audible denial for some (5) |
| Sounds like (audible) NAY (denial for some) | ||
| 35a | EDAMAME | Bean, cheese and mac entrée for starters (7) |
| EDAM (cheese) + initial letters of (… for starters) And Mac Entrée | ||
| 36a | AGGIE | Chaste girl ageing subtly, when finally “out” (5) |
| An anagram of (… subtly) AGEI[n]G with wheN finally taken out | ||
| 37a | RATE | Scold rank soak (4) |
| Triple definition | ||
| 38a | EN RÈGLE | One leaving generale sorted in order (7, two words) |
| A (one) leaving an anagram of (… sorted) GENER[a]LE | ||
| 39a | SAINT’S DAY | Distributing unopened candy as it’s Hallowe’en leads to all this! (9, two words) |
| Anagram of (distributing) all but the first letter of (unopened) cANDY AS IT’S | ||
| Down | ||
| 1d | JIGSAW | Lures amateur with PUZZLE (6) |
| JIGS (lures) + A (amateur) + W (with) | ||
| 2d | UNEASE | Country club closes, bordering going concern (6) |
| UN (country club) + cEASEs (closes) without its edging (bordering going) | ||
| 3d | MOTIVE | Induce to back one’s money up-front (6) |
| TO back plus I’VE (one’s) with M (money) at first (up-front) | ||
| 4d | PER CENT | Kent dropping opener after a century in The Hundred (7, two words) |
| Without its first letter (… dropping opener) kENT after PER (a) and C (century) | ||
| 5d | SWEETISH | Quite tuneful northern tongue’s depth is alien (8) |
| SWE[d]ISH (northern tongue)’s D (depth) is ET (alien) | ||
| 6d | SCAW | Cape roughly located in Devon or Cornwall? (4) |
| CA (roughly) located in SW (Devon or Cornwall?) | ||
| 7d | CHLOE | Verdant lassie children in Peebles love (5) |
| CH. (children) + LO’E (in Peebles, love) | ||
| 8d | ROLL | Upset court president, losing opportunity to start (4) |
| ROLL[o] (court president), losing O (Opportunity to start) | ||
| 9d | COLD WAR | Fishing dispute around lake’s an intense struggle (7, two words) |
| COD WAR (fishing dispute) around L (lake) | ||
| 10d | ETTLES | Demoting Stokes, fix ends at Perth (6) |
| Moving down (demoting) S (Stokes), SETTLE (fix) | ||
| 12d | WHYDAH | African finch for whatever reason held up (6) |
| WHY (for whatever reason) + HAD (held) reversed (up) | ||
| 18d | WEBINARS | E-learning sessions on entropy people generally mostly doubled up (8) |
| Above (on) S (entropy), WE (people generally) and mostly BINARy (doubled up) | ||
| 20d | VINCENT | Sale of old masters including Van Gogh? (7) |
| VENT (sale of old) covers (masters) INC. (including) | ||
| 21d | MANÈGED | Trained, playing endgame (7) |
| An anagram of (playing) ENDGAME | ||
| 22d | WYVERN | PUZZLE nervy Welsh dragon? (6) |
| An anagram of (puzzle) NERVY and W (Welsh) | ||
| 23d | AOUDAD | Barbary sheep, a noisy youngster repeatedly out of line (6) |
| A + [l]OUD (noisy) and [l]AD (youngster) each missing L (repeatedly out of line) | ||
| 26d | CAGILY | Warily allowing tailless lizard into islet (6) |
| We are allowing GILa (lizard) without its last letter (tailless …) into CAY (islet) | ||
| 28d | GNATS | Midges in Highlands jab rears! (5) |
| STANG (in Highlands, jab) goes upwards (rears) | ||
| 29d | WOMEN | Females persuaded to admit CFS (5) |
| WON (persuaded) taking in (to admit) ME (CFS) | ||
| 32d | DALI | Snubbed previously untouchable artist (4) |
| Without the last letter (snubbed) DALIt (previously untouchable) | ||
| 34d | HEEL | Lowlife taking prime locations in The Bell (4) |
| Prime locations in tHE bElL | ||