S&B 2025 – Do you know your ABCs? by Guinevere

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Guinevere has kindly created a jumbo puzzle for solvers at the York get-together. For anyone who wants to solve it before reading the blog, the puzzle is here.

Maybe not one to be solved on the day, I would suggest, but could be ideal for one of those ‘rail replacement buses’ that many will be faced with on any journeys down South afterwards…

This was a jumbo and a marathon in many senses of those words – 90+ clues, so effectively three times a standard 15×15, and quite densely packed.

The title suggested a theme, which started to become clear as the grid gradually filled up – lots of entries that are either phonetic alphabet letters – GOLF, QUEBEC, CHARLIE – or words that can be abbreviated to a single letter – ACE, ALTO, AMATEUR for A; BETA, BOOK, BORN for B; CIRCA, CHARLIE for C, etc. down to TIMES for X, YEAR for Y…

I’m not sure I can see a Z, or whether the whole of the rest of the alphabet is covered, but the time spent parsing 90 clues and creating the grid this week (working from an advance copy…I haven’t put the blog together on the day!) has precluded further detailed analysis of the thematic material…of which there is an impressive amount.

I have tried to highlight a few below but, having met Guinevere at the Saturday afternoon session and seen her master copy, which was a sea of shading, there are obviously a lot more that I have missed!

Given the preponderance of shorter words in the grid, not to mention the marathon effort of setting all those 90 clues, there were inevitably some relatively ‘easier’ clues/write-ins to get the grid-fill of to a productive start. But there were also a few more involved clues, and a few chuckles and eyebrow raises along the way.

I have recently re-re-re-watched the first 7 episodes of Reggie Perrin (on the BBC iPlayer, for those in the UK) so 15A’s ‘mother-in-law beast’ brought an instant mental image of a hippopotamus, even though the beast in question was the lion of MILLION! 40D with SIX as ‘nine, wrong way up’ also tickled my fancy.

My favourite was probably the homage to ‘cryptic guru’ ARAUCARIA at 56D, with a suitably cruciverbal surface read.

 

 

My thanks to Guinevere (and indeed all the setters who put so much effort into producing puzzles to keep us entertained on the day…and probably up until Christmas, before I get through the full set!)

I trust all is clear below – although I am sure the odd typo or parsing error may have crept through…

 

Across
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1A TESTAMENTS Wishes for future exams to include only the early bits of The Alchemist, Middlemarch, Emma and Nostromo (10)

TES_TS (exams) including TAMEN (initials, or early letters, of ‘The Alchemist, Middlemarch, Emma and Nostromo’

[testament as in a will, expressing one’s wishes for the future, when one is no longer one…]
6A QUEBEC Question terms of restrictive pub lease rhetoric – it’s said to represent letter (6)

QU (question) + last letters, or terminations, of ‘restrictivE puB leasE rhetoriC’
13A ACCOUNT Tory protected by legislation screening 81 money store (7)

AC_T (legislation) around (protecting) CO_N (Conservative, or Tory), itself around (screening) U (81A, upper-class, not non-U!)
15A ON PAPER Officially concerning Church leader in Scotland and Monarch (2,5)

ON (concerning) + PAPE (Scottish form of pope, or church leader) + R (rex or regina, monarch)
16A MILLION Mother-in-law, beast, intimidating figure? (7)

MIL (mother-in-law) + LION (beast)

[I have recently been re-watching the original ‘Fall and Rise of Reggie Perrin’, where he imagines his MIL as a hippopotamus…]
17A ONE United nil, first two for Newcastle (3)

O (zero, nil) + NE (first two letters of NEwcastle)
18A ACREAGE American soldiers in prison area (7)

A (American) + C_AGE (prison) around RE (Royal Engineers, soldiers)
19A SEA BASS Spy caught Baron, dope swimmer (3,4)

SEA (homophone, i.e. caught, SEA can sound like SEE, or espy) + B (Baron) + ASS (dope)
20A SUCCEEDED Pulled it off, doctor deduces, with the involvement of church (9)

SUC_EDED (anag, i.e. doctor, of DEDUCES) around (involving) CE, Church of England)
21A AMATEUR Partner, you are faced with a layperson (7)

A plus (facing) MATE (partner) + UR (text-speak, UR, you are)
24A NO ONE They don’t count missing 17 (2,3)

if 17A (one) is missing, then there is NO ONE!
26A ABOUT Close to a round! (5)

A + BOUT (round, contest, usually boxing/wrestling)
28A SHIP Craft ‘special’ joint (4)

S (special) + HIP (joint)
30A ALTO Lead in Othello, introduced by key part (usually female) (4)

ALT (keyboard key) + O (leading letter in Othello)
32A DATES Fruit goes past its prime (5)

double defn. – DATES are fruit; and if something DATES, it goes past its prime
34A ALLIANCE Union a lie, clan disintegrating (8)

anag, i.e. disintegrating, of A LIE CLAN
36A YARD Reversing beer truck some distance (4)

DRAY, beer truck, reversing to give YARD!
37A YEAR Some time in the past you saw Fry naked (4)

YE (archaic, i.e. in the past, for you) + (S)A(W) (F)R(Y) (saw and fry, with outer letters removed, so naked!)
39A ICKIER Admitting centre of Blackpool colder and more offputting (6)

IC_IER (colder) around (admitting) K (central letter of blacKpool)
40A SUBWAYS Public transport was busy, running in the wrong order (7)

anag, i.e. running in the wrong order, of WAS BUSY!
43A MOONS Reveals what’s behind low points (5)

MOO (low, noise made by cattle) + NS (North and South, compass points)
45A UZI Shooter, origin of incident on outskirts of ULEZ (3)

UZ (outskirts of UleZ) + I (first letter, or origin, of Incident)
46A OVA Eggs VAR, obscuring referee going after ball (3)

O (round letter, ball), followed by VA(R) (VAR, obscuring r, or referee)

[my Chambers doesn’t give ‘r’ as referee, but I guess it may be used in annotation of sports results/reporting?]
47A MUG UP Con foreign character returning dog (3,2)

MU (Greek letter, or foreign character) _ G_UP (pug, or dog, returning)

[to con, as in to swot, or mug up, on a subject before an exam]
48A FOXTROT Dance exceptionally, without limits – cracking bottom! (7)

FO_OT (bottom, base) around (cracked by) (E)XTR(A) (extra, exceptionally, without limiting characters
50A RADIUS Starts off royal artwork detailing intricate unicorn symbolism that’s found in arms (6)

initial letters, or starts, from ‘Royal Artwork Detailing Intricate Unicorn Symbolism’

[radius as in bone of the forearm, not as in spokes of a circle]
52A BOOK Sudden increase in business, getting one 1 down for another publication (4)

BOO(M), sudden increase in business, swapping K (kilo-, symbol for 1000) for M (another 1000, Roman numeral this time) = BOOK
53A BETA Encourage and help with cycling test (in realistic circumstances) (4)

(A)BET, encourage, cycling its first letter to last = BETA

[a beta test is a further test, after unit/system/user testing, in more realistic circumstances]
55A GOLF BALL Go, it’s on green?! (4,4)

GO, split into G and O – GOLF (g, phonetic alphabet) + BALL (o, round letter, ball)
58A STATE Report personal artwork seized by someone on vacation (5)

S_E (SomeonE, vacated) around TAT (short for tattoo, or personal decoration/artwork)
59A NOON 24 forgets the last of the Twelve (4)

NO-ON(E), 24A, forgetting E, last letter of thE = NOON
63A AREA Name dropping in theatre district (4)

ARE(N)A, theatre, dropping N – name
64A NINJA Some assassin in Japan (5)

hidden word in, i.e. some of, ‘assassiN IN JApan’
65A CYCLE Whirlwind blowing on round (5)

CYCL(ON)E (whirling wind!) losing, or blowing, ON
67A ENGLISH Nigel’s husband butchered language (7)

anag, i.e. butchered, of NIGELS + H (husband)
71A EXERCISES Practices, removes evil energy forcing out ghost, essentially (9)

EX(O)RCISES, removes evil, with O (essence, or middle letter, of ghOst) replaced by E (energy)
74A TORNADO Ripped notice first we see of oncoming storm (7)

TORN (ripped) + AD (advert,, notice) + O (first letter we see on Oncoming)
75A VERSACE Model craves 67 designer (7)

anag, i.e. designer, of CRAVES + E (English, 67A)
76A HOT Sexy snap uncovered (3)

(P)HOT(O), snap, uncovered, or outer letters removed
77A AIRLINE They are conveyers of very fine missing heroin (7)

(H)AIRLINE, very fine, missing H (heroin)
78A INITIAL Starting comeback of French milk in Italy (7)

LAIT (milk, French) + IN + I (Italy), all coming back to give INITIAL
79A CHARLIE Drug king? (7)

double defn. – CHARLIE is slang for cocaine; and one might informally refer to the current king as CHARLIE!
80A DOLLAR Toy cars unwrapped, ready (6)

DOLL (toy) + (C)AR(S) (cars, unwrapped of outer letters)
81A UPPER-CLASS Finishing school for them, perhaps, lesson on the top floor? (5-5)

punning double defn. – UPPER-CLASS children might go to a finishing school; and a class having lessons on the top, or upper, floor, might be the ‘UPPER’ CLASS?!
Down
Clue No Solution Clue (definition underlined)

Logic/parsing
1D THOUSAND Large number distributing handouts (8)

anag. i.e. distributing, of HANDOUTS
2D SOPRANO Tony, eponymous gangster soak, controlled 25 (7)

SOP (to soak) + RAN (controlled) + O (25D, nothing, zero)
3D APPEASE Quiet monkey eating green veg (7)

AP_E (monkey) around (eating) PEAS (green veg!)
4D EUROSTAR Train tours are rearranged (8)

anag, i.e. arranged, of TOURS ARE
5D TIMES Paper Towns is my essay subject, principally (5)

first, or principal, letters of ‘Towns Is My Essay Subject’
7D UNIVERSAL Sun viral article finally translated for everyone (9)

anag, i.e. translated, of SUN VIRAL + E (final letter of articlE)
8D BONED Secret agent concealed tip of épée – made corset stiffer (5)

BON_D (James Bond, secret agent) around E (either end, or tip, of EpeE)
9D CANADA John, a district attorney, somewhere in North America (6)

CAN (US slang, toilet, or john) + A + DA (District Attorney)
10D CURATE Bet a ruction’s masking rampant cleric (6)

hidden, reversed word, i.e. masked by and rampant (upstanding, for a Down clue) in ‘bET A RUCtion’
11D AT HEART Spooner’s millinery is in his true character? (2,5)

the Rev. Spooner might have said HAT ART (millinery) for AT HEART?!
12D BLACK TEA One opposing white gang snubbed English breakfast? (5,3)

BLACK (chess, one opposing white) + TEA(M) (team, gang, snubbed, or losing end letter)
14D CIRCA More or less archaic dancing – no laugh! (5)

subtractive anagram, i.e. dancing, of ARC(HA)IC without HA – laugh!
22D MILE Measure beams, but only on the inside (4)

(S)MILE(S), beams, on the inside!
23D TROY System of weights regularly lifted at Brno gym (4)

regular letters lifted, or removed, from ‘aT bRnO gYm’
25D NOTHING Making record of hard-hearted lack of substance? (7)

NOT_ING (making record) around H (hard, pencil lead strength, at the heart of not_ing!)
27D OVER On top of topless fan (4)

(L)OVER, or fan, without top letter
29D ITALY Computer department, a lonely hollow place (5)

IT (Information Technology, computer department) + A + LY (LonelY, hollowed out)
30D ACE One afternoon, in recent times (3)

A (afternoon) + CE (Christian Era, recent – and current – times!)
31D PRESSURE Publicity expectations exhausted reliable force (8)

PR (public relations, publicity) + ES (ExpectationS, exhausted, or emptied) + SURE (reliable)
32D DECEMBER Ant’s mate covering bit of hot wood when Santa comes? (8)

DEC (partner of Ant, TV presenter duo) + EMBER (bit of hot wood)
33D SYRUP Empty sycophancy burst unbounded – it’s sickly sweet (5)

SY (SycophancY, emptied) + (E)RUP(T) (burst, with bounding letters removed, so unbound)
35D LIBERAL Supply all Brie free (7)

anag, i.e. supple-ly, of ALL BRIE
38D AS IF Top marks – International No 1 in Forensics – no way! (2,2)

AS (As, top marks, in exams) + I (international) + F (no.1 letter of Forensics)
40D SIX Spades – nine? Wrong way up! (3)

S (spades, cards notation) + IX (nine, Roman numerals)
41D ACT Principal characters from Antony and Cleopatra close to finest performance (3)

AC (first letters, or principal characters, of Antony and Cleopatra) + T (closing letter of finesT)
42D SOLO On your own, thus pronounced ‘unhappy’ (4)

SO (thus) + LO (homophone, i.e. pronounced, of LOW, unhappy)
43D MARKS Old brass money chests (5)

M (money, economics, M0, M1 money supply) + ARKS (chests)
44D OLD LADY Harry odd ally for Mum? (3,4)

anag, i.e. harry, of ODD ALLY
49D OFFER Present treasure chest unopened (5)

(C)OFFER, treasure chest, unopened, or missing opening letter
51D TON Tiger who eats cereal with Yankee lost weight (3)

TON(Y), cartoon tiger character from the Frosties cereal ads – they’re Grrrrreat! – losing Y (yankee, phonetic alphabet)
52D BORN Delivered second-class or first for next-day? (4)

B (second class) + OR + N (first letter of Next-day)
54D ANAL Trivial, without beginning like a pedant (4)

(B)ANAL, trivial, without beginning
55D GODS Provokes heartless deities (4)

GO(A)DS, provokes, heartless, or missing middle letter
56D ARAUCARIA Cryptic guru without limits – a head for anagrams, infinite ace, revolutionary voice (9)

ARAUCA (anag, i.e. cryptic, of (G)UR(U), without limits, + A + A (first letter, or head, of Anagrams) + AC(E) (ace, un-ending, or infinite)) + RIA (air, or voice, revolutionary)
57D LONG SUIT The Reverend’s serenade, perhaps – plucky thing – best quality! (4,4)

the Rev. Spooner, again, might have said SONG (serenade) LUTE (thing that is plucked, so plucky thing) instead of LONG SUIT
60D PART-TIME Throw out net, capsizing less than five days per week (4-4)

EMIT (throw out) + TRAP (net), all capsizing to give PART-TIME
61D REMOULDS Modifies complicated mod rules (8)

anag, i.e. complicated, of MOD RULES
62D SERVICE Half-cut address preceding evil worship (7)

SER(MON) (address, cut in half) + VICE (evil habit)
65D CARDIAC Hearty? (7)

punning defn. – CARDIAC can mean of the heart, so heart-y?!
66D CZARINA Indiana Ambassador’s source follows vehicle collecting unknown eastern ruler (7)

C_AR (vehicle) around (collecting) Z (unknown, maths), plus IN (Indiana) + A (first letter, or source, of Ambassador)
68D GERMAN European feeding trough rolls around (6)

MANGER (feeding trough) rolling, or cycling round three letters, gives GERMAN
69D IN ALL Totally sick ingesting sodium (2,3)

I_LL (sick) around (ingesting) NA (Na, sodium)
70D HEELED Given shoes, restored, reportedly (6)

homophone, i.e. reportedly – HEALED (restored) can sound like HEELED (given shoes)
72D EMAIL Correspondence writer is on the up, welcomed by the Spanish (5)

E_L (the, definite article in Spanish) around MAI (I am, the writer is, on the up)
73D SHEEP Mindless followers go hard in revolt, supporting extreme character in riots (5)

S (last, or extreme, character of riotS) on top of (supported by, for a Down clue) HEEP (PEE – urinate, go + H – hard)

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