Omnibus – a new setter or a group of setters?
I've never come across Omnibud before, so don't know anything about the setter who has produced this themed puzzle about an author I had vaguely heard of, but know very little about. I solved most of the puzzle without needing to know who Mick Herron was, but had to look him up to get my LOI which was JACKSON LAMB, which I don't think I would ever have solved otherwise (took me a good five minutes to parse it, even after I had looked it up). The grid includes the author's name, his main protagonist and the first six novels in which Jackson Lamb appears, so no mean feat, but some of the clues were very strained, and I don't think the one for RAKES (2dn) quite works. E for ecstasy appears twice in the clues as well, and LIONS defined as "team" is a bit vague.
Thanks, Omnibus.
PS for reference, the book titles appearing in the grid are SLOW HORSES, DEAD LIONS, REAL TIGERS, SPOOK STREET, LONDON RULES and JOE COUNTRY.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | STREET |
Setter recovered from the ‘hood (6)
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*(setter) [anag:recovered] |
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| 4 | TIGERS |
Ranks include first of garrison’s fighters (6)
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TIERS ("ranks") include [first of] G(arrison) |
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| 9, 24 | MICK HERRON |
After what’s taken by Wags, that woman’s right about author (4,6)
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MICK ("what's taken by wags") + HER ("that woman's") + R (right) + ON ("about") Mick Herron is a British thriller novelist. |
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| 10 | SPOOK |
Unsettle spirit and fifth columnist (5)
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Triple definition, the third referring to an undercover agent. |
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| 11 | SLOW |
LS Lowry’s detail is obtuse (4)
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Hidden in [detail] "lS LOWry" |
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| 12 | HORSES |
Nags if out of drugs (6)
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HORS (without, so "out of") + E's (ecstasy tablets, so "drugs") |
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| 13 | COUNTRY |
Jointly attempt to reverse effort to create nation-state? (7)
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In theory, UNTRY could mean to "attempt to reverse (an) effort", so if done jointly with another agency, that could lead to CO-UNTRY. |
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| 15 | REPLY-PAID |
Lay ripped to pieces: ready to be sent back (5-4)
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*(lay ripped) [anag:to pieces] |
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| 17 | DEAD |
Late Democrat after US leader of the War on Drugs (4)
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D (Democrat) after DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency, so "US leader of the war on drugs") |
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| 18 | ARMS |
Weapons! – a Republican manuscript (4)
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A + R (Republican) + MS (manuscript) |
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| 19 | ANDRE GIDE |
Writer of rag denied misbehaving (5,4)
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*(rag denied) [anag:misbehaving] André Gide was a French author, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947. |
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| 23, 29 | JACKSON LAMB |
Spy readies boy to go on the run – one way to get out (7,4)
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JACK (US slang for money, so "readies") + SON ("boy") to go on the LAM ("run") + B (bowled, in cricket, so "one way to get out") |
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| 24 |
See 9
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| 27 | REAL |
Bona fide leader, the Sea Admiral at last (4)
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(leade)R (th)E (se)A (admira)L [at last] |
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| 28 | DELTA |
Djokovic’s end leads tennis authority to a lesser star (5)
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D(jokovic's) E(nd) [leads, i.e first letters] + LTA (Lawn Tennis Association, so "tennis authority") |
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| 29 |
See 23
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| 30 | RISING |
King is in groin’s first waxing (6)
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R (Rex, so "king") + IS IN + G(roin) ['s first] |
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| 31 | ODDS-ON |
Weird kid – but worth a flutter? (4-2)
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ODD ("weird") + SON ("kid") |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SKI POLE |
Omit 26, it’s used on piste (3,4)
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SKIP ("omit") + OLE (solution to "26" down) |
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| 2 | RAKES |
Debauchees: artist keeps no records (5)
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RA (member of the Royal Academy, so "artist") + KE(EP)S with no EP ("record") Clue would work better if it were "record""records". |
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| 3 | EASES UP |
Reduces intensity of cores of cheapo assets; consults quietly (5,2)
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[cores of] (ch)EA(po) (as)SE(ts) (con)SU(lts) + P (piano, in music notation, so "quietly") |
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| 5 | INKPOT |
Pyongyang’s domain slammed into surrounding well (6)
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*(into) [anag:slammed] surrounding NK (North Korea, the capital of which is Pyonyang, thus "Pyongyang's domain") |
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| 6 | EISENBERG |
US actor beheaded uncertain physicist (9)
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(Werner) (h)EISENBERG [beheaded] Werner Heisenberg was a German physicist who worked on the German nuclear programme during the Second World War. Jesse Eisenberg is an American actor and playwright who was nomintaed for an Oscar when he played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. |
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| 7 | SCOURED |
Excitedly sourced, having hunted high and low (7)
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*(sourced) [anag:excitedly] |
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| 8 | JOE |
Coffee, Mr Biden? (3)
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Double definition, the first being an American slang word for "coffee", possibly named after Jospehus Daniels, a Secretary of the US Navy who banned alcohol, leading to sailors drinking more coffee instead. |
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| 14 | LIONS |
51 on second team (5)
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LI (51, in Roman numerals) + ON + S (second) Lions could be the Detroit Lions, an American football "team", or various teams that are nicknamed the Lions, such as Millwall. |
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| 16 | LIMEKILNS |
Cooking – mine kills – in ovens (9)
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*(mine kills) [anag:cooking] |
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| 18 | AMATEUR |
Dilettante – in the buff? (7)
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Double definition, the second referring to someone who is an enthusiast. |
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| 20 | REHEARD |
Struggling harder – having taken pill, tried again (7)
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*(harder) [anag:struggling] having taken E (ecstasy, a drug taken in tablet form, so "pill") |
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| 21 | DOORMAN |
One who determines entry in party or 8 (7)
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DO ("party") + OR + MAN (the solution to 8dn is JOE, a slang term for an ordinary "man") |
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| 22 | LONDON |
City where bird entertains new date (6)
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LOON ("bird") entertains N (new) + D (date) |
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| 25 | RULES |
Is in charge of the French after ribbing upset leaders (5)
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LES ("the" in "French") after R(ibbing) U(pset) [leaders] |
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| 26 | OLE |
Spanish show of approval for Hackney slum? (3)
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In Hackney, or even 'Ackney, where people sometimes drop their H's, HOLE ("slum") would be pronounced 'OLE |
Welcome to the 21st century! I really enjoyed this one. It’s great to see a spy (JACKSON LAMB) other than James Bond in a puzzle. I love the books SLOW HORSES, DEAD LIONS, REAL TIGERS, SPOOK STREET, LONDON RULES, JOE COUNTRY (and others not appearing in this puzzle) by MICK HERRON as well as the TV series starring Gary Oldman 🙂
New for me: physicist Werner Heisenberg known for the uncertainty principle (for 6d). It helped that I know the actor/director who created and co-starred in the film A Real Pain.
I could not parse 12ac (‘if out of drugs’ bit); and also 18d ‘in the buff’ bit.
The physicist also formulated the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics hence the use of the word ‘uncertain’. Quite a helpful theme. I have tried to read the author because he’s in the large print section of my library but for me, it’s a case of the movie, or TV series, being better than the book which is not usually the case. Enjoyable nonetheless. Thanks loonapick and Omnibus who might be plural.
For information, Alan Connor posted on the Guardian site a couple of days ago that “between Christmas and New Year we will have an experimental grid amnesty. Guardian grids will step aside; anything goes. Unch-counters beware. After the jamboree, normal service will be resumed.”
In this non-library grid we have 3 letter lights with only the central letter checked.
The anagram at 5ac doesn’t seem to work — there’s no p in into. Am I missing something?
Still an enjoyable puzzle and blog. Thank you.
I found this quite an odd puzzle, probably explained by its being constructed by committee. Knew nothing of the theme, but that didn’t put me off.
I’m still confused about INKPOT, though – where does the P come from? Pyongyang? INTO around NK gives 2 Ns and no P.
Agree with loonapick that RAKES should have been clued with ‘record’ rather than ‘records’.
14dn could also refer to the British & Irish Lions rugby team.
Many thanks to Omnibus & loonapick
The domain code extension for North Korea is .KP , so combined with (into)* the clue works.
The internet domain suffix for North Korea is KP. I believe that is the ‘Pyongyang domain’ being inserted into the anagram of INTO in 5d to get IN KP OT.
Thanks Omnibus and loonapick.
We’ve had at least two previous Omnibus puzzles.
I think the clue for rakes works ok. If there is no EP, it has no records.
Lions could also refer to the British and Irish Lions a combined Rugby Union team who regularly tour Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
There’s a typo in the parsing of inkpot. It’s an anagram of into surrounding KP. I believe KP is used to refer to North Korea.
I enjoyed this but have never read or seen the Slow Horses series. It’s on my list, though.
Thanks Postmark!
Thanks to those that pointed out my parsing error in INKPOT – will try to amend later.
I found myself parsing things and then checking for the rest – SLOW HORSES is on Netflix, so I haven’t seen it, but I had seen Gary Oldman mentioned as being involved – I got as far as JACKSON L… before googling, MICK HERRON I’d heard of but built and double-checked.
Interesting puzzle which I found Monday-ish.
Thank you to loonapick and Omnibus.
Thanks Omnibus, and loonapick for a very helpful blog! Had to google MICK HERRON and JACKSON LAMB. I’ve seen The Social Network but didn’t remember the actor’s name, however it was obvious from the clue. I liked REHEARD and COUNTRY.
I thought coffee in JOE referred to the “Sleepy Joe” nickname coined by Trump, so I took this to be a cryptic definition…
I struggled with this at first but once I spotted JACKSON LAMB, I was away. I’ve read all of the novels and seen the TV versions – I signed up to Apple TV just to watch them – so I found myself looking for places titles would fit. It became a bit unsatisfying in the end because I wasn’t even thinking about the parsing.
For those in the UK, the Slow Horses series is on appletv which requires a subscription but is well worth it for this alone. Might be accessible via Sky/NOW as well.
I think the books are very well-written, I recommend them.
Had to try and solve this never having heard of MICK HERRON or having watched Netflix, so it all went over my head, I’m afraid. The parsing constituents of JACKSON LAMB were a bit mysterious as well. INKPOT was obvious, but I didn’t get beyond NK, so thanks for the explanation. Thanks to loonapick for teasing out all the parsing and to Omnibus.
I only realised that there was a theme late on when I DuckDuckWent to find if there really was an author called MICK (or, less likely, PISS) HERRON. That was the only way I would ever have gotten LOI JACKSON LAMB (I suspected the LAM bit). Opposite to michelle@1, I got 6d by beheading Werner for another NHO. I have some other quibbles – for me, the neighborhood extends beyond the STREET (though it wasn’t hard to get). And is ‘waxing’ really a synonym for RISING (rather than ‘getting fuller’)? The LIONS, of course, have to be the Brisbane Lions – current AFL champions 😉 . Thanks Omnibus and loonapick.
I enjoy the Slow Horses books, so the theme helped for once. Impressive grid filling to get so many books in. JACKSON LAMB was a sort of reverse Jorum, where I learned that Jack meant money as a result of parsing the clue.
Another fan of SLOW HORSES and the wonderful portrayal of JACKSON LAMB by Gary Oldman, although I would agree with sofamore @2, that MICK HERRON is better on the screen than on the page. I agree that RAKES should be the singular record to make it work better. Very enjoyable puzzle overall.
Ta Omnibus & loonapick.
Thanks Omnibus and Loonapick
I found this very strange. A lot was very easy, but most of the rest was completely baffling. It didn’t help, of course, that I had never heard of MICK HERRON. A DNF, with JACKSON LAMB missing
Why is (in the) buff AMATEUR?
I knew JOE for coffee from a recent puzzle.
I wouldn’t describe ODDS ON as “worth a flutter” – you wouldn’t win a lot!
I was going to suggest “record” rather than “records” for 2d too. I wonder why the compiler chose the plural?
For anyone familiar with the books or the TV series (which sounds good, but I don’t subscribe to the necessary channel) this must have been fun. I’m not – and this wasn’t a puzzle that could be easily completed without that knowledge, so for me it was just difficult. I eventually revealed MICK HERRON, and Wikipedia provided the background to spot JACKSON LAMB (difficult parsing: I didn’t know jack=money) and help with some of the bits of book titles.
I liked the short and sweet JOE, and was pleased to remember ANDRE GIDE from French A level long ago: not the most obvious of authors.
I wondered if TIGERS was referring to American fighter jets or the Tamils, or both? A bit like the various options for LIONS.
Muffin @19: amateur = enthusiast = buff
No mention of Down Cemetery Road here? That series brought Mick Herron to my attention.
Lippi @22
Thanks, but the first step still doesn’t make sense to me. Why should an amateur be an enthusiast?
Spent ages trying to figure out where GARY OLDMAN would fit into the grid!
Muffin @23: the root of amateur is loving something or someone.
The first definition of “amateur” in my Chambers is “an enthusiast or admirer.”
Thanks both
I agree with TassieTim @16 about waxing/rising
I didn’t enjoy this for the reasons muffin@19 and gladys@20 give
Thanks loonapick and Omnibus
Like some other solvers, I found this theme underwhelming, never having read the books or seen the TV show. Thanks loonapick and Omnibus
I only the spotted the theme when about to finish, but it did help with the otherwise ungettable JACKSON LAMB. I’ve read the books and enjoyed the TV series, but those who haven’t won’t get as much from this. JACK=money is unknown to me. I did wonder about INKPOT but I see it’s been cleared up. Did anyone else have COURSED as an anagram for SOURCED (before the crossers put me right)?
Eventually got the theme from JACKSON LAMB – just in time for it to be of no use whatsoever
Overall this felt like a bit fo a mish mash but that could be confirmation bias – I vaguely remembered Omnibus being a team effort
RAKES was my favourite but agree that “record” would have been better
Cheers L&O
I am reminded of the apocryphal comment from a neighbour when someone set a world bagpipe-playing duration record: “Thank guidness there’s nae smell”.
Learned something, albeit something of no real use, about North Korea’s domain name.
Had never heard of Jackson Lamb and don’t feel any great need to find out.
Enjoyed some of this, but very glad to put it aside. Quite a few of the Graun’s standard grids have too many unches. Going further and allowing this monstrosity does feel a bit like two fingers to the solver.
Thank you Omnibus for the bits I enjoyed and loonapick for conscientiously explaining the (numerous) bits I didn’t.
Well this should please our American friends. We have a plethora of US usages & US related references: ‘hood, Joe, Jack, spook, Democrats, Republicans, War on Drugs, DEA, Eisenberg and possibly others. Just saying 😉
I’m assuming that Omnibus is a compilation of setters, as previously, which would explain the rather imo disjointed and clunky overall feel to the clueing.
Thanks to loonapick for the helpful blog.
TassieTim@16 – I think that ‘hood and ‘street’ are meant as roughly equivalent slang words for one’s neighbourhood, street in this sense referring to a roughish area e.g. ‘street cred/ street smarts’ and the use of ‘hood rather than the full ‘neighbourhood’.
You could almost hear my fingernails scraping on the pavement as this crossword tried to drag me, muttering and cursing, into the 21st century.
NHO the author, books, TV show or protagonist, so I think I did quite well in finishing it without recourse to reveals. I did have to do a Web search to check that my guesses from the wordplay were actual / fictional people. So JACKSON LAMB was LOI, guessed from having – A-KSON LAM-.
I knew of the physicist but not the actor: another one to look up for checking.
So, for me anyway, a bit unsatisfactory. If I’d been au fait with the theme, it would been fun, I’m sure, as various others have found. But hey ho, a decent workout anyway.
Thanks both!
The usual mixed bag – my son was given a set of Mick Herron books just yesterday, for Christmas, though I did not look at the titles which might’ve helped! I only got “Jackson Lamb” because I had heard of the protagonist.
I think a few of the clues are a bit better in definition than people are giving credit for. “Tigers” need not refer to a specific group as the term also means people who are feisty or who fight hard for what they want according to several dictionaries. I read the definition of “street” as being “from the ‘hood” as “street” is also used as an adjective by the “yoof”. However, I don’t think “to pieces” works as an anagrind (it is neither an instruction to the solver nor a description of what to do: “in pieces” would work).
Looking back I also note that many of the surfaces are rather meaningless word salads, a sign, perhaps, of a setter still learning their trade.
I had a slightly different take on 5D. I assumed KP was the Korean Peninsula which is the domain for Pyongyang. The (INTO) anagram remains.
Bring back Vulcan
I also thought 18D was too wordy—better “Buff dilettante”
For 14d the team reference that came to my mind was the British Lions rugby team.
[Tassie Tim @16: If I saw a book by Piss Herron on the library shelves, I wouldn’t be able to resist borrowing it, whatever it was about! ]
Was staying with my brother over Christmas. Wanted something to read and saw Slow Horses on his bookshelf. Having heard of but not seen the TV series I thought I would read it – what a coincidence. I did enjoy the book.
Till now, I was under the impression that Omnibus crosswords were a compilation of reader submitted clues but surely today’s puzzle gives the lie to that. A puzzle with such a complex theme (which meant nothing to me) could not have been constructed from random clues.
What a (genuinely) refreshing change of pace to see some contemporary cultural references in a crossword! More, more, more of this, please
All the oldheads in the comment sections growling about it, how do they think I feel when a crossword requires you to know obscure cricket terminology from the 50s, or specific anagrams used only by Oxford professors or whatever? GK for a very popular book/tv series is much more agreeable to me.
Never heard of any of the references and thus had to reveal Herron (and Joe) but otherwise really enjoyed this. It was very doable, which is not something I’ve felt recently!
Rev Marjorie@43 I think it’s perfectly feasible to fill a grid with themed solutions, and then let a random selection of setters provide the clues.
[MrEko@44: only very minor growling, if that, from me (retired Oxford professor!) @35… 😁]
The mystery of Omnibus continues. As previously discussed, the original Omnibus puzzle appeared over 20 years ago on 29 August 2005 (23,545). It had its origins in Sandy Balfour’s X-Philes column in the Guardian and was compiled from clues submitted by readers. I think today’s is the fourth of the recent Omnibuses which started with 29,514 on 15 October 2024. (Interestingly that puzzle contained a reference to “Balfour”.)
I did find this one a bit mixed (which could indicate more than one setter). But I had a few ticks, and the wordplay of COUNTRY (CO-UN-TRY) was so quirky that it made me smile.
Thanks Omnibus and loonapick.
This can’t be a random selection of submitted clues. It feels like the method Crossbar @46 suggested: a themed grid generated by one party and then passed to a.n.other or others to do the wordplay. The famous monkey/puzzle grid for Araucaria a few years ago was done by Enigmatist and Soup on that basis.
Completed today, mostly without trouble, but a couple of nudges here and there helped. The theme was not overbearing, and the addition of Herron and Lamb to the mix entertaining.
Some of the clues were a little strained, for which I thank loonapick for the excellent explanations. I’m not in a hurry to ride that Omnibus again!
14D is England’s second cricket team – the Lions.
Big fan of the Slow Horses books
Thanks both. Loved it. Can we have a Ben Aaronovitch Rivers of London themed puzzle, please?
Can someone please explain what ‘unch’ means, as referenced by Jay@3 and NeilH@32?