What a treat to end the week! – Araucaria in great form, in a puzzle with one of his own favourite themes.
It was something of a puzzle of two halves for me. I got the theme [the films of Sir Alfred [‘Hitch’] Hitchcock] immediately, from the word count of 12,22, and the rest of the themed answers followed without much difficulty – but there was some tricksy cluing among the remainder and I learned a couple of new things, which is always good. Many thanks, as ever, to Araucaria.
Across
1 I turn green in front of 25’s work
VERTIGO
VERT [green] before I GO [turn]
5 Riotous work of 25
REBECCA
Cryptic definition, referring to the 19th century Rebecca Riots in Wales, in which farmers protested against unfair taxation.
9 Close time?
NIGHT
NIGH [close] + T [time] – and night is a time when things close
10 Inevitable about turn by Russian aircraft getting debugged
FUMIGATED
FATED [inevitable] round U [turn] + MIG [Russian aircraft]
11 Write letters in spring for 25’s work
SPELLBOUND
SPELL [write letters] + BOUND [spring] – this must be one of the easiest Araucaria clues ever!
12,22 Face erratic form by returning legendary horse in 25’s work
DIAL M FOR MURDER
DIAL [face] + an anagram [erratic] of FORM + a reversal [returning] of RED RUM [legendary horse]: I have often wondered whether Red Rum’s breeder spotted this reversal before crossword setters did, so I was moved today to do some research and found “His sire was Quorum (1954-?), and his dam Mared. McEnery gave Red Rum his name by taking the last three letters of the names of his dam and sire respectively.” I also found out that Lee Mack, then a stable boy, had his first riding lesson on Red Rum. Fascinating…
14 It is a language in support of the Raj
BRITISH INDIA
IT IS HINDI [a language] in BRA [support] – one of my favourite clues
18,26 25’s work chimed with treason wrought amid stress
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN
RANG [chimed] + an anagram [wrought] of TREASON in STRAIN [stress]
21 Stop rowing on the street
EASY
double / cryptic definition: ‘Easy’ [or ‘Easy oars’] is a command to stop rowing and there’s a reference to Easy Street, a state of affluence
25 Hitch in exposure of RAF doctor’s lie
SIR ALFRED
An anagram [exposure] of RAF DR’S LIE – a rather subtle clue for the theme answer
27 Plains heard after 12 more in 25’s work
STEPPES
Sounds like [heard] STEPS: add 12 to 27, the number of the clue, and you get ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’: I think there may be protests re ambiguity here but the clue does work if you read it the right way and, in any case, the word count rules out any confusion
28 Precis a game
ABRIDGE
A BRIDGE [game]
Down
1 Transport is here, not before what 25’s lady contrived to do
VANISH
VAN [transport] + IS + H[ere] [not ere, before] referring to the film ‘The Lady Vanishes’
2 Rough as a partially covered floor?
RUGGED
Double definition
3 Unable to bear work with rotten nail
INTOLERANT
An anagram [work] of ROTTEN NAIL
4 Goldfish love opera
ORFEO
ORFE [goldfish] + O [love]: my immediate thought was that this was an incomplete title but found that it referred to an opera by Luigi Rossi and not the more well-known [to me, anyway] ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’ by Gluck
5 They put a bit of ritual into Mass characteristically
ROMANISTS
An anagram [characteristically – an ingenious indicator] of R[itual] INTO MASS – another favourite for its & littish surface
6 Good lad goes round with frightener
BOGY
BOY [lad] round G [good]
7 American fliers act out 25’s work
CATBIRDS
An anagram [out] of ACT + [The] BIRDS [Hitchcock film]
8 A contemptuous remark about boring Arab king
ABDULLAH
A BAH [a contemptuous word] round DULL [boring]
13 Eatanswill’s Mrs Leo after big game?
LION HUNTER
A cryptic reference to Mrs Leo Hunter, a character in ‘The Pickwick Papers’, who lived in the pocket borough of Eatanswill
15 Plants model on joint poles
TREE FERNS
T [model] + REEFER [joint] + NS [poles]
16 Rates for female quadrupeds?
ASSESSES
A whimsical double definition
17 One’s own business in a jam?
PRESERVE
Double definition
20,19 Wessex island?
PRINCE EDWARD
Yet another double definition, Prince Edward being the Earl of Wessex, and another favourite clue
23 Nearly 12 again, which would be a fluke
REDIA
REDIA[l] [nearly DIAL again] for ‘an asexual stage in some trematodes, as the liver-fluke, hatched from eggs formed within the sporocyst, and in turn developing into cercaria’
24 Cut part of 25’s work?
CLIP
Doublish definition
A pleasant solve, made easier by the theme of Hitchcock movies. I liked a lot of the clues including 4d, 10a, 25a, 12/22, 1a, 1d, 20/19 & 18/26 and my favourites were 15d TREE FERNS, 16d ASSESSES & 27a STEPPES.
New words for me were REDIA & CATBIRDS.
Thanks for the blog, Eileen. I needed your help to parse 5a, 5d, 8d, 21a. And although I solved it, I had not realised the brilliance of 14a BRITISH INDIA.
I think there is a small typo @ 15d where it should read T + REEFER + NS.
14ac – brilliant! I usually struggle to spot answers hidden in the clue, so what chance could I have to spot the clue hidden in the answer?
Yes, 25a was a bit subtle, and it took a while to fall, but it was clear from the outset whom it would refer to as 1a was so obvious. Even then, the themed clues still provided a surprising challenge. Great stuff. Thanks as always, Araucaria and Eileen.
Thanks, Michelle: Gaufrid had already spotted the typo [plus a few others :-(], so it was amended before you posted your comment.
Thanks for the blog. I’d never heard of the rebecca riots, so that didn’t makes sense, although it couldn’t be anything else. Also I had REST (RE = about, or on + ST) for 21a so that didn’t help! And, as a republican, I don’t think I’d ever have thought of Wessex as a duke. But still, great fun!
Thanks, Eileen
‘Hitch’ as Hitchcock hit me immediately as a possibility, but it took a wee bit longer to spot that 25a was SIR ALFRED. However, once that was settled the rest was plain sailing, as it usually is in these list thematics.
Fun though, with some good clues: my favourites were 14a (great construction and surface) and the arithmetical homophone at 27a.
11a troubled me a little: ‘in’ doesn’t work as a simple link word – it implies containment. I rationalised the parsing as ‘Write letters in’ = SPELL etc.
BTW I think the ORFEO that Araucaria had in mind was almost certainly by Monteverdi – not quite the first, but definitely the first great opera. Strictly ‘L’Orfeo’, but the article is commonly dropped (unlike THE Birds in 7d!).
Hi Gervase
Yes, I thought initially it must be the Monteverdi opera, then rejected it, because of the missing article, in favour of the one I hadn’t heard of. However, as you say, in view of [the] BIRDS in the same puzzle, perhaps I should have stayed with it!
Thanks for the blog, Eileen. This was a lovely treat. Like you, my entry to the theme was 12,22 when I realised that ‘face’ could be ‘dial’. The other films and references came fairly smoothly after that, although it was a while before I got SIR ALFRED.
I came across a reference to the Rebecca Riots just the other day when I was looking up Narberth in Pembrokeshire — but I failed to make the connection today.
Didn’t stop to fully parse 14ac — great clue! I also liked 15dn. But I failed to see exactly what was going on at 27ac.
Spent a summer on Prince Edward Island once, which is a beautiful place…
Thanks Eileen
Regarding 4dn, you’ve mentioned the opera by Rossi, and Gervase has added Monteverdi, but what about the one composed by Antonio Sartorio?
Neat setting to get all the theme words in.
I found it difficult to get into this one because the crossers for 25 seemed either to refer back to 25 or were dds.
I did like the misdirection in STEPPES. I also particularly liked BRITISH INDIA and ASSESSES.
Thanks, Gaufrid @9 – I hadn’t heard of that one, either!
Thanks Eileen and Araucaria
Very enjoyable. I kept getting the film titles but could not make much sense of 25a till towards the end! I had to check up ‘lion hunter’, since I did not know the Pickwick reference, though it was clearly the answer. I was reminded that I once participated as a young man in a lion hunt when the animal in question had been taking villagers’ cows – but that was in another country, and besides the beast is dead.
The usual witty cluing. I ticked 10a, 14a (brilliant), 25a, 27a, and 16d (!).
Thanks Araucaria and Eileen.
My first in was DIAL ‘M’ FOR MURDER so the theme was a gimme, but like others I didn’t get SIR ALFRED immediately. I had never heard of the riots referred to at 5, so paused a while before entering REBECCA even though the crossers demanded it. I fancy that both ORFEO and REDIA were forced upon A as the only possibilities that would fit having crammed in an impressive number of theme related solutions – the latter was pretty obvious and quickly confirmed, but I struggled with the former – would never have got it without messers Google and Wiki. My favourite (simply because it made me smile when I twigged) was ASSESSES.
Thanks to Eileen for the blog. I had worked out that 5a had to be REBECCA but I had never heard of the riots.
Like others my way into the theme was 1a but it took an age to get 25!
It has been a long time since I read Pickwick Papers (50 years perhaps) so the person just did not pop into my mind even though the answer was obvious. 🙁
Mitz @13: Words may be uncommon, but they’re only ‘obscure’ if you don’t know them. ORFEO was one of my first entries: it had to be an opera ending in O and it came to mind within seconds – I’ve seen performances of the Monteverdi one several times, and enjoyed them a lot. I’m pleased to say that REDIA was new to me; it sounds like something only a parasitologist could love.
A Wonderful Puzzle!
Many thanks Araucaria and Eileen for explaining REBECCA in particular.
Nicely challenging.
Like Mitz, DIAL M FOR MURDER was the way in for me. By then had already chuckled at ASSESSES and there was plenty more top-class stuff to follow. The 27+12 STEPPES would be high on that list.
Not knowing the rowing definition for EASY meant this answer was last in, but I had come across the REBECCA riots. No doubt the Rev would be pleased that many solvers found out more about them, as a result of his setting.
Thanks Araucaria and Eileen
Good end to the week with this offering from A. Started down in the SE – and was then able to get SIR ALFRED with 3rd or 4th answer – initially thinking that I seen my first smut from him with it. Needed help with some of the movies – smiling at the clever arithmetical 27a.
I got BRITISH INDIA but parsed it as BRITISH (language) IN AID (support – although no backwards indicator). Could only appreciate how good the clue was when seeing how it should have been parsed.
Last in was ABDULLAH to finish off a nice hour’s work.
Given recent news, I was initially thrown off by ‘Riotous’ in 5a and spent a while trying to make the (3,6) in 25a work with TOM SHARPE! (Even though ‘Assembly’ clearly didn’t fit in 5a.) However, I got the anagram in 25a and then I was in the catbird seat!. Good fun.
Great puzzle. Got the solution to 13d without being able to parse it. Had forgotten the fictional Mrs Hunter and where she lived, so thanks Eileen. Also thanks for the side info on Lee Mack’s riding association with Red Rum. Good stuff.
Thanks for the excellent post, Eileen, and Araucaria for a very enjoyable crossword.
For me this was particularly notable because of the large number of answers I put in without completely understanding the clue, although all but one turned out to be right. (The error was guessing for 21a that REST might be a rowing command and the cryptic part was RE = “on” + ST = “street” – obviously I realized that was wrong when I got ASSESSES.) The full breakdown of my embarrassingly ignroance-hampered solving was: REBECCA (hadn’t heard of the riots), ORFEO (hadn’t heard of the goldfish, although I had heard of the opera – I guessed that it was OR = “gold” + FE = some kind of fish?), CATBIRDS (never heard of them), ABDULLAH (the kind sounded familiar, but I couldn’t have said from where), LION HUNTER (didn’t know the literary reference) and REDIA (hadn’t heard of the organism).
Still, there’s something satisfying about completing a puzzle despite those gaps – perhaps my crossword instincts are very slowly getting better 🙂
I really enjoyed the cluing here, with my only quibble being the one already mentioned (BIRDS / THE BIRDS).
Thanks, Eileen.
rob @19, you weren’t alone! After the first scanning, though, I realised that it would be highly unlikely that a tribute would be organised so fast and that, anyway, wide-ranging as the rev’s tastes are, Tom Sharpe’s works would seem a little unlikely!
Thanks, Araucaria for your ray of sunshine in a cloudy morning!
Thanks to Eileen, too, for filling in the parsing blanks!
ORFEO flew in as it a favourite of mine (Monteverdi).
Like others, I got some of the films before SIR ALFRED but the puzzle was beautifully clued and a joy to solve.
Giovanna x
Could someone explain the female quadruped link to assesses please? I don’t understand!
Oh! penny just dropped with a thud….
Glad to hear it, NeilW @22! Yes, perhaps unlikely, although the two are linked by ‘Grantchester’!
Also, I missed the second part of the clever “doublish” definition in 24d. I concluded (wrongly!) that there must be a film named eCLIPse.
Hi Rob @19 and NeilW @22
As I said in the preamble, DIAL M FOR MURDER leapt out at me and so I never considered anyone else’s work [although, like others, I didn’t immediately see SIR ALFRED!] and I knew of the Rebecca Riots, so the Tom Sharpe connection never occurred to me – but it’s rather spooky, isn’t it?
When I saw ‘Riotous’ at the start of the clue for 5ac and then saw that 25ac was (3,6) I also thought of Tom Sharpe, but I obviously couldn’t make it work.
Of the themed clues STRANGERS ON A TRAIN was my first in, followed by DIAL M FOR MURDER, but it was a while before I realised that 25ac was SIR ALFRED. Like quite a few of you I had never heard of the Rebecca Riots, but from the crossers REBECCA had to be the answer. Like mhl@21 I had initially entered REST at 21ac because it fit both the presumed definition and the wordplay, and it was only when I realised 16dn had to be ASSESSES that I reconsidered it. I didn’t know EASY as a rowing term, but guessed correctly that the other part of the clue related to Easy Street.
All in all an excellent puzzle that I was extremely glad to be able to finish without aids.
I thought this was going to be too easy at first. Like Eileen “Dial M …” went straight in as the word count and the old chestnut of Red Rum backwards made it a write in.
So with the theme cracked in 2 minutes it looked like I was to be back to the Azed within the quarter hour 🙁 .
However the “old master” made it far from easy. His usual clever and witty cluing made it a joy. A good end to a good crossword week.
Thanks to Eileen and the big A.
Thanks for post Eileen – I had forgotten that I had heard of the Rebecca riots.
Twigged Hitch straight away, by solving VERTIGO first off, but then thought answer to 25a was his monicker ‘The Master (of suspense)’, but of course couldn’t parse it at all until penny dropped later.
Very satisfying puzzle all round from another Master.