Once again I get to blog a Genius by a new setter – so welcome, Glyph!
A delightfully clever, pleasing and ingenious solve taking less than three hours – so fitting the bill in every department and making for a most promising debut – thanks to Peter – as I’m told the setter’s name is, alias Bard in The Independent.
The instructions tell us Entrants must pick a side. This suggests the alternative entries for 17 across, the central light. This is defined as game show contestants and may be entered as THE TRAITORS or THE FAITHFUL – the two sides in the BBC game show. The whole clue reads: 7 and 20 could be games show contestants and 7 and 20 down solve as FAWKES and JUDAS (traitors) and 7 and 20 across as FRIAR and JESUITS (faithful).
Then the instructions continue: the majority of down clues must have a letter removed before solving. These letters, taken in clue order, inform the solver of one who may not pick a side. The letters to be deleted in all but 6 of the down clues spell out CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN (highlighted in red in the relevant clues and capitalised to the right), the host of the show who remains neutral throughout.
The rubric goes on: Five further clues are ambiguous. One of these is 17 across which centres the whole structure; the other four are the down clues which do not lose a letter or are not 7 and 20 – these are 6, 15, 16 and 18, whose alternative answers offer the alternative “sides”. And four more (clues) are undefined: these are 7 and 20 across and down, the examples of traitors and faithful.
Although we are told we have to pick a side, the entry form requires both alternatives to be offered in all five cases. It does not (as with so many Geniuses) check whether one has come up with the host – but it would be hard to solve most of the down clues without doing so.
The alternative grids thus are:
On top of all which, the grid is a pangram. Definitions are underlined
Across
7 Day endlessly difficult (5)
FRIAR
FRI (day) + hARd – difficult without either end. Not defined
8 Like a huntsman, cunning – stealing a new / old identity (9)
ARACHNOID
ARCH (cunning) around (stealing) A followed by N (new) + O (old) +ID (identity)
10 Salaries go back and forth, cast keep haggling (4,7)
WAGE PACKETS
WAG (go back and forth + anagram (haggling) of CAST KEEP
12 Haircut Henri rudely snipped (3)
FRO
FROG (Henri – a Frenchman, rudely) without last letter – snipped. Definition – short for AFRO – I was aware of the abbreviation …
13 Outrageously we blame young female (3-4)
EWE LAMB
Anagram (outrageously) of WE BLAME
16 Introduce official inside measurement, approximately 30 inches (7)
PREFACE
REF (official) inside PACE (measurement, approximately 30 inches)
17 7 and 20 could be game show contestants (3,8)
THE TRAITORS (if FAWKES and JUDAS) or
THE FAITHFUL (if FRIAR and JESUITS)
20 Glyph in Calais attracting whistles from Londoners (7)
JESUITS
JE (Glyph – setter = I, in French) + SUITS (Cockney slang for which is Whistles – and flutes). Not defined
22 Followers from Europe backtracking after concerning ITN broadcast (7)
RETINUE
UE – reverse (backtracking) of EU (Europe) after RE (concerning + TIN (anagram – broadcast – of ITN)
25 Expected performance to end early (3)
DUE
DUET (performance) without ending – to end early
26 Rewriting DNA history in smart way to reposition data sequences (3,3,5)
CUT AND PASTE
Anagram (rewriting) of DNA + PAST (history) all inside CUTE (smart way)
30 Tough to find a fitting place for this nerd, games ultimately challenging (6,3)
SQUARE PEG
Square (= nerd) + PE (games – physical exercise) + G last letter (ultimately) of challenging
31 Organic material from waxy lemon (5)
XYLEM
Anagram (waxy -!) of LEMON. Xylem (I learn) is the vascular material that transports water upwards in plants.
Down
1 Fact US soldier embellished, at first, for VIP (6) C
BIGGIE
BIG (fat) + GI (US soldier) + E (first letter of embellished)
2 Support Dad winning Marlie’s heart (4) L
PROP
POP (Dad) containing (winning) R (Marie’s heart)
3 Powder starts to tickle Aunt Alisa’s cheeks (4) A
TALC
Starts (first letters) to Tickle Aunt Lisa’s Cheeks
4 Elaborate system of gauze no good after minute (4) U
MAZE
AZE (gaze without G for good) after M (minute)
5 Vestal college had setter regularly thrown out (6) D
CHASTE
C (college) + HA + alternate letters (regularly) of SeTtEr
6 Upturn in British trade – metal (old money) and sporting kit (4,4)
GOLF BAGS
Reversal (upturn in down clue) of B (British) + FLOG (trade) followed by AG (abbreviation for silver – metal) + S (shilling in old coinage)
OR
GOLF BALL
Reversal (upturn in down clue) of B (British) + FLOG (trade) followed by AL (symbol for aluminium -metal) + L (pound in old coinage)
7 Women into counterfeit Monets, perhaps (6)
FAWKES
W (women) inside (into) FAKES – counterfeit artworks – Monets, perhaps). Not defined
9 Hoist e.g. Tesla or Ford’s rear end up (5) I
DROVE
EV (electric vehicle – eg Tesla) + OR +D (Ford’s rear) – all reversed UP in a down clue). Definition – as in a drove of cattle. My LOI – knew there had to be a V to complete the pangram but could not get the (obvious) EV
11 Tray of Chai (masala) (3) A
AIM
Hidden in chAI Masala. Definition: to aim is to try to do something
14 Parrot gawped, wings clipped (3) W
APE
The “wings” (first and last letters) of GAPED are clipped
15 Reveals, for audience, shoulders (5)
BEARS or BARES
with definition “shoulders”, a homonym of BARES (reveals)
with definition !reveals”, homonym of BEARS )shoulders)
16 Father Rafa insistent offence only taken on one side in Puerto Rico (5)
PRIOR or PATER
First letters (taken on one side) of Insistent Offence Only in PR (Puerto Rico)
or: Last letters (only taken on one side) of rafA insistenT offencE in PR
17 Old volunteers I busted replaced – this may reveal bitterness (5,3) I
TASTE BUD
Anagram (replaced) of TA (Territorial Army – old volunteers) + BUSTED
18 Flapjack ingredient one of last two in BOGOF mate discovered (3)
OAT or FAT
Either O (as one of last two in BOGOF) + AT (MATE uncovered)
Or F (as one of last two in BOGOF) + AT
19 Sent free advice once by retired writer (6) N
REDEEM
REDE (old-fashioned word for advice) + EM (ME – writer – reversed)
20 Like Punch’s wife – short, over the top (5)
JUDAS
AS (like) with above it (over the top) JUD (Judy – short-ened). Not defined
21 Maybe fostered kin race around (2,4) K
IN CARE
Anagram (maybe) of IN RACE
23 Bishop falls off zigzag slide on playing field (3) L
END
B (Bishop) removed from (falls off) zigzag (BEND). Definition – as in the two ends of a football field
24 Cuddle up in cheat’s den with liberal European (6) E
NESTLE
NEST ( the den of – eg -a chat) + L (liberal) E (European)
27 Mistakem? Yes and no! (4) M
TYPO
Mistakem could be a typo but without the M would not be – but would still be a synonym for typo
28 Goat’s hindquarters struck following a refusal – it’s futile (2,2) A
NO GO
GO – goat without (struck) the A or T (its hindquarters) after (following) NO – a refusal
29 Poor quality coordinates south of Paston’s outskirts (4) N
POXY
X and Y (co-ordinates – horizontal and vertical axes) after (south of) PO – beginning and end (outskirts) of PASTO