This week’s Guardian prize puzzle is set by Boatman, so we can be assured of some quirky clues.
There is a clear theme running through the grid and also a few of the clues. The grid below highlights eleven types of saws or cutting tools:
RIPsaw, BENCH saw, BAND-saw, COPING saw, CIRCULAR saw, WHIPsaw, CHAINsaw, CUTTER, HACKsaw, FRETsaw and HANDsaw. In the clues, tjhe word SAW occurs three times and there is a CUT and a CUTTING.
I liked the wordplay for CIRCULAR using just the outer letters [dis-contented] of four words in the clue.
The clue for NORMA struck me as one where the answer could be either MANOR or NORMA depending on how you read the clue. For this puzzle, the crossing letters forced the answer to NORMA.
I wondered whether TRICE in the wordplay for COCKATRICE was too short for a ‘minute’ as the dictionaries say ‘moment’, but it was very clear what was required to complete the COCKA.…. part of the entry.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 9 | One cool about cut-down tree to show regret (9)
APOLOGISE (show regret) A (one) + (POISE [cool – Bradfords gives POISE as a synonym for cool and Chambers Thesaurus has POISE as a colloquial term for cool] containing [about] LOG [piece of wood derived from a cut-down or fallen tree]) A PO (LOG) ISE |
| 10 | Forger correcting mismatch without using Mac? (5)
SMITH (person who forges metal; forger) Anagram of (correcting) mISMaTcH excluding (without using) MAC SMITH* |
| 11 | At last melted ice to make liquid (5)
DRINK (a liquid) D (final letter of [at last] melteD + RINK (ice as in skating or curling RINK) D RINK |
| 12 | Clue to depth: symbolically, the mark of a fool (6,3)
DUNCE’S CAP (a tall conical hat, formerly worn at school to indicate stupidity; the mark of a fool) DUNCE’S CAP (could be a clue to the letter D, an abbreviation for depth, where D is the first letter (cap) of Dunce’s) DUNCE’S CAP |
| 13 | Saw rowing crews swapping sides before end of pond (7)
SIGHTED (spied; saw) EIGHTS (rowing crews) with the outer letters E and S swapped to form SIGHTE + D (last letter of [end of] ponD SIGHTE D |
| 14 | Heavenly confection of glacé nuts and ices, principally (7)
ANGELIC (heavenly) Anagram of (confection of) GLACE and NI (first letters of [principally] each of Nuts and Ices) ANGELIC* |
| 17 | It tastes distinctively yummy, even with a half of mild (5)
UMAMI (a savoury, satisfying taste; it tastes distinctively) UM (letters 2 and 4 [even] of yUmMy) + A + MI (first two of 4 letters [half] of MIld) UM A MI |
| 19 | Tear often expressed in epitaph (3)
RIP (slash or tear) RIP (Rest in Peace, a sentiment often expressed in an epitaph) double definition RIP |
| 20 | Girl cycling round country house (5)
NORMA (name of a girl) MANOR (country house) with the letters cycled two places to the left and first going to last each time, to form NORMA NORMA |
| 21 | Primarily, anyone trying hurdles, lifting, endurance training etc (7)
ATHLETE (a person most likely to [primarily] try hurdles, lifting endurance …) ATHLETE (first letters [primarily] of each of Anyone, Trying, Hurdles, Lifting, Endurance, Training, Etc) A T H L E T E |
| 22 | Drop price of bundle, cutting $0.0075 (7)
CHEAPEN (drop price of) HEAP (bundle) contained in (cutting) CEN (three of the four letters of [75%] of CENt [one hundredth of a dollar, $0.01] – interpreted as $0.0075) C (HEAP) EN |
| 24 | Tough interviewer of disgraced president could show what’s generally evident in Greenland (4,5)
HARD FROST (a severe freezing event, frequently seen [generally evident] in Greenland) HARD (tough) + FROST (reference David FROST [1939 – 2013], English television host and journalist who interviewed disgraced US President Richard Nixon [1913 – 1994] in March and April 1977. The most-remembered part of the interview about the Watergate scandal was broadcast on 5th May 1977) HARD FROST |
| 26 | Maybe settle in Switzerland, behind a mountain (5)
BENCH (a settle is a long high-backed BENCH) BEN (mountain peak) + CH (International Vehicle Registration for Switzerland) BEN CH |
| 28 | Class division: a problem to be investigated, taking time (5)
CASTE (social class; class division) CASE (a problem to be investigated) containing (taking) T (time) CAS (T) E |
| 29 | Laa-Laa etc skipping every repeat (9)
ITERATION (a repeat) allITERATION (Laa-Laa is an example of allIiteration [occurrence of the same initial sound]) excluding (skipping) ALL (every) ITERATION |
| Down | |
| 1 | Leader of Beatles and Wings? (4)
BAND (Wings, British rock band active between 1971 and 1981) B (first letter of [leader of] Beatles) + AND B AND |
| 2 | Managing to set peg in gearwheel (6)
COPING (managing) PIN (peg) contained in (set in) COG (gearwheel) CO (PIN) G |
| 3 | It stops water: a minute monster (10)
COCKATRICE (a fabulous monster, a serpent with the wings of a bird and the head of a cock) COCK (tap, a device that can be turned to stop water) + A + TRICE (a moment, a minute) COCK A TRICE |
| 4 | Halfway to catching bad end, paid attention (6)
MINDED (paid attention) MID (middle; halfway to) containing (catching) an anagram of (bad) END MI (NDE*) D |
| 5 | Red light flickering on panel across motorway (4,4)
NEON LAMP (an electric discharge LAMP containing NEON, giving a red glow) Anagram of (flickering) ON PANEL containing (across) M (motorway) – the clue could also be read as an &Lit as NEON LAMPs have been used as motorway information signs) NEON LA (M) P |
| 6 | Boatman will, you say, be here, surrounded by the sea (4)
ISLE (area of land surrounded by the sea) ISLE (sounds like [you say] I [Boatman, the setter] WILL) ISLE |
| 7 | Confetti: romantic, unusual after discontented multitudes contacted this way (8)
CIRCULAR (form of communication that can be delivered to many people [multitudes]) CI (letters remaining in ConfettI after the central letters onfett have been removed [dis-contented) + RC (similar treatment for RomantiC) + UL (similar treatment for UnusuaL) + AR (similar treatment for AfteR) CI RC UL AR |
| 8 | Thong placing little weight on top of thigh (4)
WHIP (a thong can be defined as the lash of a WHIP) W (abbreviation for [little] weight) + HIP (thigh) – as this is a down entry, the letter W is placed ‘on top’ of the letters HIP W HIP |
| 13 | Animals moving to sierra from top of forest where it’s hot (5)
SAUNA (Finnish form of steam bath; where it’s hot) fAUNA (animals) with S (Sierra is the international radio communication code for the letter S) replacing (moving to .. from) F (first letter of [top of] Forest) to form SAUNA SAUNA |
| 15 | Seeing prejudice toward men’s side, anger erupts around Britain (6,4)
GENDER BIAS (prejudice based on the state of being male or female) Anagram of (erupts) SIDE and ANGER containing (around) B (Britain) GENDER (B) IAS* |
| 16 | Part of dance, popular for group (5)
CHAIN (group, as in a supermarket CHAIN) CHA (first or second half of [part of] CHA-CHA [dance]) + IN (popular) CHA IN |
| 18 | Saw crash or mishap (8)
APHORISM (adage; saw) Anagram of (crash) OR MISHAP APHORISM* |
| 19 | Part of trivium occultum in myrrh et orichalco? (8)
RHETORIC (speech or discourse that pretends to significance but lacks true meaning. The Latin in the clue translates as ‘the hidden path of myrrh and gold’,which sounds good but is fairly meaningless) RHETORIC (hidden word in [part of] …..myrRH ET ORICalcho) RHETORIC |
| 22 | Perhaps saw Boatman’s craft (6)
CUTTER (a saw is a type of CUTTER) CUTTER (seafaring craft; boatman’s craft) double definition CUTTER |
| 23 | Controversially doping chimp? (6)
PONGID (a monkey; chimp) Anagram of (controversially) DOPING PONGID* |
| 24 | Journalist’s unauthorised access (4)
HACK (a mediocre journalist) HACK (an unauthorised access to a computer system) double definition HACK |
| 25 | Worry reflecting one taking part in the culture wars (4)
FRET (worry) TERF (a derogatory term for a person whose views on gender identity are considered hostile to transgender people, or who opposes social and political policies designed to be inclusive of transgender people; one taking part in culture wars. The acronym TERF represents Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) reversed (rejecting) FRET< |
| 27 | Help remove packaging from fizzy beverage (4)
HAND (assistance; help) sHANDy (fizzy beverage of beer and lemonade) excluding the outer letters S and Y (remove packaging from) HAND |
Thanks duncanshiell. I enjoyed this, it was one of those where you come to a grinding halt, walk away and come back a bit later to find a number just write themselves in. I could see there was a theme of cutting but failed to identify many of the associations with ‘saw’. Not too sure about ‘Red’ in 5d, a neon light can be any colour surely.
Happy pi day
The clue for 19d is a bit deeper than that. The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
Hi Duncanshiell, you have underlined the wrong part of 7D; the definition is “multitudes contacted this way”.
And, as noted by mac089@3, in 19D I think the definition is just “part of trivium”, with “occultum” (Latin for secret, hidden) as the indicator of the hidden word.
Thanks for the blog.
[Jerry@2 in the UK pi day is not until July (22/7).]
Lots to like here; I missed the theme even though I noted (and liked) the three different meanings of “saw” in the clues. Had to google DUNCE’S CAP; while it may be a clue to D, it can hardly be a clue to the word “depth” I think. Agree with Mac@3 and Graham@4 on RHETORIC.
My favourites were ITERATION, BAND, HARD FROST, SIGHTED, CUTTER and CHEAPEN. Thanks Boatman and Duncan!
Fun puzzle, particularly liked BAND.
To BigglesA@1: my understanding is that a neon sign is red if it has neon gas in it, but other colours if it has other gases or phosphors (but it still may be called a neon sign/lamp).
Coupla newies in this — pretty sure I’ve never seen pongid (weird sort of word). And terf meaning anti-woke is new too. All part of the fun, thx Boaty and duncan.
My grinding halt came with just one unsolved, and that was PONGID. For some reason I failed in basic letter counting and anagrind spotting. Two days later I tried again and finally got it. In my defence, it was, as grantinfreo@8 says, a ‘weird’ word. Other than that, another unspotted theme, but some very nice clues – in particular, CHEAPEN, once I did the maths, and BAND, and RHETORIC, just for being so much easier than it looked! (Although having re-read blog and comments, I realise I simply saw ‘Part of’, looked for a hidden word, and missed the role played by ‘occultum’ – OK, also more subtle than it looked…) Thanks Boatman and Duncan
Catching the theme midway through the solve helped with some of the solutions. If it’s a saw, it’s right. Could 13d SAUNA be added as a soundalike? I was wondering about “BENCH saw” — the references seem vague. Is it an Australian thing?
As described by duncanshiell, 20a NORMA held me up for a while as I confidently entered MANOR. Last three in the NW took a while, but finally ceded. LOI 4d MINDED finally fell when I figured out that “bad end” didn’t stand for D but NDE.
Very enjoyable puzzle. Favourites 11a DRINK (“ice” = RINK), 22a CHEAPEN ($0.0075 = CEN — diabolical!), 26a BENCH (surface), 1d BAND (good one, Boatman!), and others. NHO 23d PONGID, “Terf” in 25d FRET