This crossword can be found at https://spectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/crossword-10012026.pdf
Another offering from Doc with the customary unclued entries, some of which took me several days to nail. The rubric tells us: the unclued Across and Down clues are of two kinds, entered accordingly: five are of two or three words.
It transpired quite quickly that the across clues weren’t going to fit straightforwardly, so, to comply with the title, if the across clues were to go “back”, then the down clues must go “up”. One then discovered that the across clues have some synonymic connection with “back”, as the down clues do with “up”. Some were relatively easy to crack but there were at least two (14d and 39a) on which I was stuck for several days and eventually had to ask for help. It feels a stretch for some of them to fit the required Back-Up definitions but one has to admire the skill with which a large number of long words have been fitted into the grid.
The reversed unclued entries are:
across: 12 ESUOHNI (IN HOUSE) If you’re “in house” you’re back
27 NGISRETNUOC (COUNTERSIGN) You back something up when you …
30 KCEHCNI (IN CHECK) You’re pushed back when ….
39 TAVEGRAL (LARGE VAT) If you minutely search Chambers (but mine is in France) or Collins, you find under American English that a “back” is a large vat. I spent a long time trying to justify BARGEMAN – the only single word that would fit the crossers.
Down: 6 DNENATA (AT AN END) Things are up when you’re at an end
8 SSIMA (AMISS) Something’s “up” when things are amiss
14 LATOTAOT (TO A TOTAL) I take it this is a reference to summing up. I kept trying to get TOE TO something work for going upwards …
29 TRUOCNI (IN COURT) When you’re in court you’re “up” (before the judge)
34 ESIAR (RAISE) To move something up
I’m reasonably confident the completed grid looks like this:
Across
3 Old flower and bitter vetch by village plot in NW London (7,5)
GOLDERS GREEN
GOLD (Spenserian term for marigold) + ERS (alternative term for bitter vetch) + GREEN (village plot)
11 Row following right bluster (4)
ROAR
OAR (row) after (following) R (right)
13 One silk tie crumpled, no matter how unpleasant (4,2,2)
LIKE IT IS
Anagram (crumpled) of I (one) + SILK TIE
16 Storey having display-stand with note missing (5)
ETAGE
ETAGERE – display stand – commonly used in crossword clues – minus (missing) RE (note)
18 African country’s note covering one rule (6)
MALAWI
MI (note) outside (covering) A LAW (one rule)
20 Savoury rice is capital in India (5)
PATNA
Double definition: Patna is a savoury rice and the capital of the Indian state of Bihar
22 Unfinished detailed examination of breeding establishment (4)
STUD
STUDY (detailed examination) without last letter (unfinished)
23 Addict at the bar (5)
HOUND
Double definition – hound = addict (as in newshound) and according to Dictoionary.com is also a horizontal bar or brace, usually one of a pair, for strengthening the running gear of a horse-drawn wagon or the like
25 Sly US filmstar remove bit of soil from Italy’s heel (7)
TALLONE
STALLONE (Silvester, commonly known as Sly) minus S (remove bit of soil). Tallone is the Italian for heel and is used to describe the “heel” of Italy, or Puglia
26 Pair of notes arranged for instruments (11)
PIANOFORTES
Both piano and forte are descriptions of how to play a note.
31 Sculptor’s encore, we hear (5)
MOORE
Henry Moore (1898-1986) was a famous British sculptor. I once had to sleep on a camp bed guarding a collection of his work exhibited at the Little Missenden Festival … the homonym (more) seems to be stretching a bit.
33 Four points for slave (4)
ESNE
E S N and E are points of the compass. An esne, in Anglo-Saxon was a labourer of the lowest class, or slave.
35 Isla and Audrey together regularly (5)
SAURY
Alternate letters (regularly) of iSlA + aUdReY. A saury is a long slender-bodied edible marine fish with an elongated snout.
36 Arrives hurriedly and gets into debt? (6)
RUNS UP
Double definition: should surely be enumerated (4,2)
38 Jazz genre – bass involved in live work (5)
BEBOP
B (bass) inside BE (live) and OP (work – short for opus)
40 Country from Central Europe. That’s madness! (7)
ROMANIA
RO (the central letters of Europe) + MANIA (madness)
41 RSC artistic director Trevor with nothing, we’re told (4)
NUNN
Trevor Nunn was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company 1968-1986. Homonym (we’re told) of NONE = nothing
42 Way in to match and exam (8,4)
ENTRANCE TEST
ENTRANCE (way in) + TEST (match). I had to do one in 1952 – I expect they still exist for some schools and other organisations.
Down
1 Rationalists are fine out there with print-workers (12)
FREETHINKERS
F (fine) + REETH -anagram (out) of there + INKERS (print-workers)
2 Game of bridge (7)
PONTOON
Double definition: the game of cards and a bridge made from floating uprights
4 Love outfit that’s fashionable – where’s it from? (6)
ORIGIN
O (love) + RIG (outfit) + IN fashionable).
5 Reportedly, Geordie’s view of gospeller (4)
LUKE
Supposedly how a Geordie (North-Easterner) would pronounce “look” (view)
7 16 Latin translations (not new) reflecting Camus’ work (11)
EXISTENTIAL
Anagram (translations) of SIXTEEN + LATIn (having dropped an N (not new). Camus’s work is generally described as “existential”, meaning to do with existence
9 Lists of items needed for a picnic? (5)
ROLLS
Double definition: ROLLS = lists and also items one might take on a picnic
10 Number turned up having won not long ago in Glasgow (4)
ENOW
E (E-numbers are food addictive codes) + NOW having WON turned up). I always think of this as a Shakespearean term for enough but it seems it also means recently in Scottish.
15 Avoiding the short minor road by forest (12)
SIDESTEPPING
SIDE ST(reet) – short minor road + EPPING (forest)
17 Strictly judge and dancer having banknote due to be re-issued (5,2,4)
ANTON DU BEKE
Anagram ( to be re-issued) of BANKNOTE + DUE. AdB is a former dancer, now judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
19 Actress Walters receives three points for cutting into thin strips (8)
JULIENNE
JULIE (Walters) + N+N+E (three points of the compass). Vegetables Julienne are cut into thin strips.
21 Bravo, gents, maybe May’s first flower (5)
BLOOM
B (bravo) + LOO (gents) + M (maybe May’s first)
24 Queen of Thebes cried out (5)
DIRCE
Anagram (out) of CRIED. Dirce was the wife of Lycus, King of Thebes. According to Euripides, she was killed by being tied to the horns of a bull.
28 One of the 26 not breaking the law (7)
UPRIGHT
Double definition: noun – one of the 26 (pianofortes) and verb – not breaking the law
32 Lots of containers storing energy (6)
OCEANS
O’ (short for OF) + CANS (containers) outside (containing) E = energy
35 In the country, takes a turn outside (5)
SPAIN
A with SPIN (a turn) outside
37 Company left coupon on top (4)
UPON
COUPON minus (left) CO (company
38 Short set of instructions to make cheese (4)
BRIE
BRIEF (set of instructions) without last letter (short)
Hi Prospero,
I had ENDORSE for 12a meaning “back” (seems better to me).
And for 29d ON BOARD meaning “up” (but you may be right with IN COURT on that one!).
Let’s see who’s right on Thursday 🙂
Jay (aka Jono)