Firstly, my apologies for having this blog up so late. I have finals starting soon and I misjudged my workload. I’m sorry for making you all wait.
Secondly, as you’ll see, the explanations aren’t quite complete. I’m afraid that I found this quite a slog. What slowed me down was being unable to parse clues even after I had guessed the correct answer from what I took to be the definition and the crossing letters. Even with the solution in front of me, I’m still unable to parse a record number of clues – six in total, namely 10ac, 12ac, 16ac, 1dn, 4dn, 5dn.
As the preamble stated, 12 clues were to be ‘topped’, 12 ‘tailed’. The third set were to be entered as an anagram. The clued lights were unrelated to the theme, but the anagrams which were to be entered all formed words or phrases when either ‘TOP’ or ‘TAIL’ was added. What is more, the twelve anagrammed clues were arranged in top/tail pairs in the grid (I missed that, but the published solution pointed it out. In fact, to level with you, I missed the whole top/tail connection in these 12 clues – understandably enough, given that only about half of them are in common usage).
[EDIT: Thanks greatly to Jaguar and to Wan for the parsing pointers.
As Wan points out below, all of the clues were arranged in top/tail pairs in the grid. Blimey!]
The six pairs were as follows:
TAILRACE/TOPLINE
SILVERTAIL/TOP DRAWER
TAIL COVERT/TOP SECRET
TAILPLANE/TABLE TOP
TAILGATE/OPEN-TOP
HORSETAIL/SCREWTOP
Apologies to Wan, because I feel that I really haven’t been able to do justice to this puzzle. I do really like the way that the title was tied into all three sets of 12, but the level of the cluing was, for me, too hard. That said, I do know that there are quite a number of hardened solvers who appreciate the addition mental exertion that this puzzle required.
(For better or for worse, my exams will be finished by the time my next slot comes around, so I hope not to let you down again. For the moment, please do comment and put me out of my parseless misery.)
Notation
(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
XXX = unused letter(s)
Amount=letter to be topped/tailed
RACE (CARE) = thematic anagram (original light)
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | TAKE HORSE | Amount of post unopened outside Spain (9, two words) | mount: |
| 10 | RACE (CARE) | Charge one rupee leaving trading vessel (4) | charge: R (one rupee) leaving C |
| 11 | OPACOUS | Shady old menu in South Africa includes llama-like animal (7) | shady old: OUS (men in South Africa) [includes] PACO (llama-like animal) |
| 12 | CEREBRATE | Think worn out planet holds barley in retrospect (9) | think: CRATE (plane) [holds] <BERE (barley) [in retrospect] |
| 13 | ALUM | Compound of potato and millet (4) | compound: ALU (potato) M (mille) |
| 15 | EVEN | A memorable incident removing Eton uniform (4) | uniform: EVENT (memorable incident) [removing] T (ton) |
| 16 | ZERO HOUR | Not many respect taking off no time to strike (8, two words) | time to strike: ZERO (not many) HONOUR (respect) [taking off] NO |
| 18 | DRAWER (REWARD) | Lift up daughter clutching woman’s prize (6) | prize: REAR (lift up) D (daughter) [clutching] W (woman) |
| 19 | COVERT (VECTOR) | US navigation aid over East Connecticut to direct traffic (6) | to direct traffic: VOR (US navigation aid) [over] E (east) CT (Connecticut) |
| 20 | SECRET (CERTES) | Truly archaic goddess protects Troy (6) | truly archaic: CERES (goddess) [protects] T (Troy) |
| 22 | SILVER (LIVRES) | Old French coins almost controlled after revolution (6) | old French coins: <SERVIL |
| 25 | SEA SNIPE | Waders learnt to catch a scrap (8, 2 words) | waders: SEE (learn) [to catch] A SNIP (scrap) |
| 27 | YO-YO | Two louts both British withheld as fools in America (4, hyphenated) | fool in America: YO |
| 29 | OLLA | Turn over completely the wrong way around (4) | urn: O (over) <ALL (completely) [the wrong way around) |
| 30 | THERIACAL | Bring back resin and spread on the table to counteract poison (9) | able to counteract poison: <[bring back] LAC (resin) AIR (spread) [on] THE |
| 31 | HIRSUTE | Rough cuts roughly splitting wages for service (7) | rough: UTS* [roughly] [splitting] HIRE (wages for service) |
| 32 | LINE (LIEN) | Press name property right (4) | property right: LIE (press) N (name) |
| 33 | NEMERTINE | Worm in tree men find not female sadly (9) | worm: TREEMEN |
| Down | |||
| 1 | ORMAZD | Almost confuse god for first lord of the universe (6) | lord of the universe: [almost] MAZ |
| 2 | TABLE (BLEAT) | Mostly dim types initially speak nonsense (5) | speak nonsense: BLEA |
| 3 | ACCURACY | Rightness about lover and employment of clergyman (8) | rightness: <CA (about) [over] CURACY (employment of clergyman) |
| 4 | EWE CHEESE | Cute college birds all topless making dairy product (9, hyphenated) | dairy product: HEW (cut) TECH (college) GEESE (birds) [topless] |
| 5 | HORROR | Grotesque man told to stop limitless wrongdoings (6) | grotesque man: HO (old to stop) + |
| 6 | OPEN (PEON) | Old Indian copper pot originally one fabricated (4) | old Indian copper: P (Pot originally) ONE* [fabricated] |
| 7 | SCREW (CREWS) | Triumphed over the first of seven teams (5) | teams: CREW (triumphed) [over] S (the first of Seven) |
| 8 | AUTEUR | Director’s arrogance loses shot (6) | director: HAUTEUR (arrogance) [loses] H (hot) |
| 9 | USENET | A collection of newsgroups ask about money in Samoa (6) | a collection of newsgroups: UT (as) [about] SENE (money in Samoa) |
| 14 | CROISSANT | Dishonest worker takes a bit of milk – something for breakfast perhaps (9) | something for breakfast perhaps: CROSS (dishonest) ANT (worker) [takes] I (a bit of Ilk) |
| 17 | DEVILKIN | Mischievous child escaped death upside down and bloody (8) | mischievous child: <LIVED (escaped death) [upside down] KIN (blood) |
| 20 | SCYTHE | Stool caught in time (6) | tool: C (caught) in SYTHE (time) |
| 21 | ELOHIM | One with poor eyesight arises possessing his god (6) | god: <MOLE (one with poor eyesight) [arises] [possessing] HI |
| 22 | SAUCER | Used car at sea as a vessel (6) | vessel: USECAR* [at sea] |
| 23 | READER | Look at public school holding education up for lecturer (6) | lecturer: REAR (loo at public school) [holding] <ED (education) [up] |
| 24 | HORSE (SHORE) | Scots offer of hospital accepted by wounded (5) | Scots offer: H (hospital) [accepted by] SORE (wounded) |
| 26 | PLANE (PENAL) | Very severe literary style indeed backward (5) | very severe: PEN (literary style) <LA (indeed) [backward] |
| 28 | GATE (GETA) | Grasp a sandal with a thong (4) | sandal with a thong: GET (grasp) A |
1 down: Almost confuse = Maze – E; God = D, and “or first” rather than For
4 down: Cute becomes Cut, and then it’s “Hew Tech Geese” all with their first letters removed.
5 down: told becomes Old, and then “top stop = Ho!” + [e]rror[s].
16ac: Not many should be Not any.
12ac: Planet becomes Plane, “Crate” being a plane.
Still can’t parse 10ac, though. This was very tough, and I only really appreciated the full puzzle when the solution was published
Hi Mister Sting, I am very sorry that you found it a slog, I knew that it would be a bit tough but I wanted solvers to enjoy it.
10a C[R]ARE
By the way, as well as the anagrams the clues were also symmetrical in that if one had a word topped its partner had one tailed, but I doubt that anyone will notice that.
Best wishes and I hope that you enjoy the next one more.
Wan
Hi Wan,
Your cluing was fiendishly difficult, but I don’t think a single clue was unfair. To take just one example, I was misled by the ‘one’ in 10a (I typed CAREAR/CAREIR into an anagram solver, but not CARER), but as there are two Rs in ‘CRARE’ it is not extraneous.
I don’t think that there’s a single level of difficulty that will please everyone. How are we going to get better if not by being challenged (or, in my case, defeated) by such as this.
I said that I hadn’t done the puzzle justice and I’m kicking myself for not noticing the universal top/tail pairing. It’s a very nice touch that ties the theme together in a way I hadn’t appreciated.
In short, I’m worried that my problems with the puzzle have caused you to be too hard on it.
Thanks for that, I do get concerned, in EVs so far it is Wan 2 Bloggers 0 which sounds good but probably isn’t what I should be aiming for!
Re comment #4, I’d trust the crossword editor’s judgment on that, Nick.