Anarche has stopped running dressed as a bottle for charity for long enough to weave more trickery for the unwary, indeed there’s at least one I just can’t see the wordplay to.
I believe this is only Anarche’s second appearance at the Indy. And yes it’s a pangram, but no other themes or Ninas that I can see.
Across:
| 9 | ETHER | THREE* Nice misdirection on 3 |
| 10 | ARABESQUE | ABE in SQUARE* Ballet pose [Edit thanks K’sD well spotted] |
| 11 | TALL ORDER | Hidden in capiTAL LORD ERleigh |
| 12 | TAINT | T + AINT (isn’t) |
| 13 | CHIMERA | CHIMER + A. Big Ben is really just one bell so it can’t chime as such but we know what she means. |
| 15 | WEEKEND | KEEN* in WED |
| 17 | ANGST | GNATS* |
| 18 | DUD | DUD(e) Cat with no tail, bum as in DUD/bum note |
| 20 | MACHO | Mach zero so not very quickly. |
| 22 | EGG HEAD | E is Egg’s head… reminiscent of B? (6,6) = Bottle Opener? |
| 25 | BONKERS | Double definition, seen this before methinks or nearest offer in Nimrod’s interview last week |
| 26 | HAVOC | (t)HA(t) + VOC(ative) |
| 27 | MANIFESTO | [AIMS OFTEN]* |
| 30 | MORSE CODE | No p in [RECOM(p)OSED]* |
| 31 | CRAZY | Hom of KRAYS + Y the shape of a catapult. Is Y=catapult a valid dictionary entry? |
| Down: | ||
| 1 | JEST | S(atirist) in JET |
| 2 | SHILLING | HILL (how) in SING. Saw how = hill in a puzzle a few weeks ago, but never really understood it. |
| 3 | TRIO | It’s a group but I’ve been staring at this for a while and can’t see this. Help! |
| 4 | LANDWARD | LAND (Get) + WARD large room |
| 5 | FARROW | FAR (much) + ROW (din) |
| 6 | WEATHERMAN | [HEAT WARN ME]* Semi &lit I guess |
| 7 | SQUIRE | S(on) + QUIRE (quantity of paper) |
| 8 | LENT | aLtErNaTe letters of aLtErNaTe. Self-referential.. a nice smile |
| 13 | CRAVE | R(omeo) in CAVE(warning) |
| 14 | ENTRENCHED | [TREND HENCE]* |
| 16 | DROPS | Double def |
| 19 | DEBUNKED | No longer in BUNK hence… |
| 21 | CHESSMAN | SS(bodyguard) in C (many) + HE-MAN. Why is the Queen a chessMAN? |
| 23 | GIVERS | Hidden in terGIVERSators |
| 24 | DUMBOS | M+B in DUOS |
| 26 | HYMN | No E(scaped) in HYM(e)N (maidenhead) |
| 28 | FACE | No URN in F(urn)ACE |
| 29 | ONYX | O + (rui)N + YX (Axes) |
Thanks for the blog, flashling.
I was waiting for you to explain TRIO, which still has me foxed! But thanks for 31ac – I didn’t see the catapult [but I think it’s OK].
I can help with ‘how’ = HILL, though: how is a dialect word for a low hill – it’s in Chambers but not Collins – and it’s caught me out before!
I have ticks all over the place, which I won’t list because it’s too invidious – superb surfaces and cluing throughout. Perhaps the brilliant &lit at 27ac has the edge – but it’s a close call.
[CHIMERA was in Gordius’ Guardian puzzle yesterday: ‘Fancy having accord with soldiers!’]
Many thanks to the anarchic spiderwoman for the usual wit and entertainment – and congratulations again on the record!
Many thanks, flashling.
Good to see that Anarche’s previous Indy puzzle wasn’t a one-off – this one was just as good, I thought. Started a bit slowly, but then it all came together until the last three or four, which I struggled with. Can’t see TRIO either!
Plenty to smile about here, especially HYMN, and I liked CHIMERA too. I was fine with the Y for ‘catapult’; I’m sure I’ve seen letter shapes used before in this way. Why the Queen is a chessman will remain a mystery, flashling.
Fine puzzle, thank you to the setter and congratulations on the world record and fundraising.
Sorry, flashling, meant to add that to make ARABESQUE work, our boy needs to be ABE and not RAB, no?
3dn: “What’s left” of the clue is the figure 3
21dn: chessman any of the sixteen figures used by each player in a game of chess (Chambers 1998 p.282) – that definition certainly includes the Queen.
@Pelham #4 Damn damn damn, so obvious when you see it, thank you.
I’m amazed that contributors to this site don’t know that the queen is a “chessman” – also sometimes clued as “man” on its own, “man on board” etc. It can’t be the first time you’ve come across it in a crossword. It certainly isn’t for me and I’ve only been doing crosswords regularly for just over a year.
I didn’t express myself very well, Thomas. I’ve no problem with the clue at all – I’ve seen it many times before. Following the blogger’s comment, I was just having a muse about the incongruity of the term.
Thanks to Pelham for putting us out of our misery.
Re chessMAN yes I know, just seems a bit odd to call the Queen a man, just a mild muse on my part, not meant to be serious.
Are we ignoring pangrams these days?
There are a fair few places with How in their names, How Hill springs to mind.
The OED entry on chessmEn is interesting.
Very pleasant puzzle.
Thanks flashling and Anarche. Very pleasing puzzle – my favourites were MANIFESTO and ANGST but there was much else to savour. BTW, I think chime is fine – it just means sound like a bell I think so even if it is just one bell (which I did not know) it is fine, I’d say.
sidey-
Are we ignoring the blogger’s observation that it’s a pangram these days?
Anarche, in all her disguises (including the beer bottle) keeps getting more imaginative and trickier. I struggled with some of this ending, like many others with Trio. I could not justify it but when I looked back at the clue a few seconds later the answer was staring me in the face. Dud also held me up for a long time as I worked through a mental list of 4-letter cats knocking the last letter off. I loved bonkers, hymn and many others. I was not sure about Crazy but then I realised that I always write y with two strokes in a crossword to save time and a capital Y is fine as a catapult.
Thomas99, d’oh, and I thought I’d checked so carefully. I’m off to the opticians now.
Thanks all, so how do we pronounce Anarche, an arch, an arsh, anarchy or other? whichever thanks Arachne/Anarche.
Hi flashling
Nothing other than anarchy ever entered my mind!
sidey @9 – huge thanks for that! I almost mentioned in my comment that, as a child, many decades ago, I lived within a mile of a [very secluded] house called How Hill. I was amazed when I googled it, as a result of your blog, to find that it’s now quite notable!
http://www.how-hill.org.uk/
@NMS I checked up on chime, it means a peal of several bells rather than one bell although english being what it is, the bell chimed will be understood even if it’s nonsense. Big Ben is the bell that rings the hour and chimes with the rest, yes OK I know many people think that the clock tower is called big ben.
Still annoyed I didn’t see TRIO though.
Thanks for the post, flashling, and particularly for explaining MACH 0 and EGGHEAD, both of which I’m frustrated at not seeing. I thought this was pretty tough (particularly the top half) but lots of very enjoyable clues. I like LENT and the catapult 🙂 Thanks, Anarche.
flashling@16. I’m sure you’re right about the peal of bells but it doesn’t just mean that, I think. Just had a peep in Collins which has ‘chime’ – to sound (a bell) or (of a bell) to be sounded… , with an associated noun chimer so I think Anarche is quite right.
Hi flashling. Re your invitation on the “Phi blog”. I emailed Indy about archived puzzles, no reply. Managed to scroll down averting gaze from solutions!
How do I access archived Indy cryptics?