I think the speed of solving today’s Scorpion puzzle will depend a lot on your knowledge of the TV show that forms the theme.
It is quite likely that Countdown is well known to many solvers given its focus on words and numbers. The programme has been going for many years and in its heyday attracted several million viewers. Audience numbers seem now to be below the 500,000 mark, dipping as low as 260,000 recently. The puzzle focused on the presenters and key assistants in the programme over the years, but slightly surprisingly , the surname of the current presenter, Nick Hewer, does not feature.
I’m not sure why the theme is being used in the puzzle today as I can’t find any special anniversary or reference to the broadcast of a landmark edition. Perhaps a solver can enlighten me.
The top and bottom rows of the grid spell out VOWEL CONSONANT, both of which are words that occur frequently in a broadcast of Countdown.
Once the theme was evident, I was able to write in all the thematic entries. The crossing letters these produced helped me to solve other clues quicker than I would have done normally.
I note that only two of the entries are longer than eight letters. Contestants in Countdown try to form words from a selection of nine letters, but very rarely achieve a nine-letter word. The exception is the final round where the challenge is always to find the nine-letter word presented as a jumble of letters.
Favourite clue today was that for ON THE SPOT (7 down)
The clues were not too difficult with few complex constructions. I have queries on a couple of clues. Does ‘belly’ uniquely define only the middle letter of a word (see 11 across where we ghet the middle D from PADDY)? I can’t see why the R from Relief in 28 across is clued by ‘in principle’.
Finally, I can’t let the clue to 24 down pass without some comment. I was based in Ordnance Survey headquarters in Southampton for much of my working life and I took part in many discussions relating to branding and product marketing. The letters OS were never used within the business as a synonym for map. The letters are used as part of a product name as in OS MasterMap, OS Explorer Map etc
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Across |
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| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
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8
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Party song and dance about husband’s thingumajig (6)
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DO (party) + (ADO [fuss; song and dance] reversed [about]) + H (husband) DO ODA< H |
DOODAH (thingumajig)
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9
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Heather defending expletive causes hatred (8)
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LING (heather) containing (defending) OATH (expletive) L (OATH) ING |
LOATHING (hatred)
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10
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Ringing pub found in new book (8)
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INN (pub) contained in (found in) TITUS (book in the New Testament of the Bible; new book) T (INN) ITUS |
TINNITUS (medical condition in which there is constant ringing or other noise in the ears)
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11
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Get rid of Paddy’s belly ache (5)
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D (middle letter of [innards; gut; belly] PADDY) + ITCH (ache)
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DITCH (get rid of)
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12
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Carol perhaps includes recount for 22/26 presenter (8)
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SING (carol [as a verb]) containing (includes) TELL (recount) [the clue alludes to Carol Vorderman, the longest serving numbers guru on COUNTDOWN) S (TELL) ING |
STELLING (reference Jeff STELLING, the fourth presenter of COUNTDOWN (22/26) from 2009-2011)
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14
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End part of Oxford’s restoration with this? (4)
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LAST (shoemaker’s model of the foot on which boots and shoes are made or repaired. An Oxford is a low-heeled laced shoe; part of Oxford’s restoration with this)
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LAST (end)
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16
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Danseuse still overcome by news of back (7)
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(YET [still] contained in [overcome by] [N {new} + N {new} together giving news + OF]) all reversed (back) (FO N (TEY) N)< |
FONTEYN (reference Margot FONTEYN [1919-1991], ballerina; danseuse)
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17
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22/26 presenter, fool to interrupt another presenter, heading off (7)
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CON (fool) contained in (to interrupt) DONOR (presenter) excluding the first letter (heading off) D O (CON) NOR |
O’CONNOR (reference Des O’CONNOR, the third presenter of COUNTDOWN (22/26) from 2007-2008)
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20
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A 22/26 wordsmith briefly somewhere on the Arabian peninsula (4)
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A + DENT (reference Susie DENT, the resident wordsmith in dictionary corner in COUNTDOWN [22/26])
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ADEN (port city in the Republic of Yemen, part of the Arabian peninsula)
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21
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Bit of ketchup enriches meat pie, ordered when cafe’s busiest? (4,4)
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K (first letter of [bit of] KETCHUP) contained in (enriches) an anagram of (ordered) MEAT PIE PEA (K) TIME* |
PEAK TIME (the time when something [e.g. a cafe] is at its busiest)
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23
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22/26 number-cruncher regularly dialled when in trains (4)
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ILE (letters 2, 4 and 6 [regularly] of DIALLED) contained in (in) RY (railway; trains) R (ILE) Y |
RILEY (reference Rachel RILEY, current numbers person on COUNTDOWN [22/26])
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25
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Munching dates with variable stones in the middle? Take it easy (6,2) |
Anagram of (munching) DATES + Y (letter symbolising a variable in mathematical equations) + ON (centre letters of [in the middle] STONES) STEAD* Y ON |
STEADY ON (take it easy)
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27
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Equine mate threatening to abandon us (8)
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PAL (mate) + OMINOUS (threatening) excluding (to abandon) US
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PALOMINO (horse of largely Arab blood; equine)
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28
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Sport Relief in principle outstanding (6)
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R (first letter of [in principle]) + OWING (outstanding) I don’t think ‘in principle’ really works here for the first letter of Relief . Principal might have been better but there is no phrase ‘in principal”
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ROWING (sport)
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| Down | |||
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1
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"It’s a sign of illness" one doctor, probing small screen, reflected (5)
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([I {one} + MO {medical officer; doctor}] contained in [probing] TV [television; small screen]) all reversed (reflected; a reflection can be about the horizontal axis for a down clue) (V (OM I) T)< |
VOMIT (could be considered a sign of illness)
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2
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Sculptor originally shaved deity (4)
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RODIN (reference Auguste RODIN (1840-1917], French sculptor) excluding (shaved) the first letter (originally) R
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ODIN (Scandinavian God; deity)
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3
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22/26 presenter delivering immaculate line (8)
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WHITE (pure; immaculate) + LEY (any of the straight lines between features of the landscape, possibly pathways, or perhaps having scientific or magical significance in prehistoric times)
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WHITELEY (reference Richard WHITELEY, first and longest serving presenter of COUNTDOWN [22/26] from 1982 -2005)
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4
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Like some bands live and current in the London area (7)
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(LAST [survive; live] + I [symbol for electric current]) contained in (in) EC (the EC postcode covers an area of Central London) E (LAST I) C |
ELASTIC (reference ELASTIC bands)
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5
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One who’s worshipped friend to get a rise? (6)
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(GOD [one who’s worshipped] + PAL [friend]) all reversed (to get a rise; down clue) (LAP DOG)< |
LAPDOG (a devoted, docile, dependent person) I’m not sure how ‘to get a rise’ fits the overall definition, but I think this is an &Lit clue where the whole clue serves as the definition as well as indicating the wordplay
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6
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Bird‘s tea time (4)
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CHA (tea) + T (time)
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CHAT (any small songbird of a subfamily of thrushes; example of a bird)
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7
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Heston cooked hash there and then (2,3,4)
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Anagram of (cooked) HESTON + POT (the drug cannabis in any of its forms, incl marijuana and hashish; hash) ON THE S* POT |
ON THE SPOT (there and then)
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13
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Satellite broadcast in that hospital’s useless (5)
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Anagram of (broadcast) IN THAT excluding (useless) H (hospital)
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TITAN (the largest satellite of the planet Saturn)
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14
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22/26 presenter left lots upset (5)
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L (left) + (MANY [lots] reversed [upset; down clue]) L YNAM< |
LYNAM (reference Des LYNAM, second presenter of COUNTDOWN [22/26] from 2005 to the end of 2006)
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15
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22/26 number-cruncher playing chesspiece under instruction (9)
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V (versus; against; playing) + ORDER (instruction) + MAN (chesspiece) As this is a down clue the component MAN is underneath the component ORDER
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VORDERMAN (reference Carol VORDERMAN, long serving numbers person on COUNTDOWN [22/26]
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18
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Rogue soldier seizing the throne (8)
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(CAD [rogue] + RA [Royal Artillery serviceman; soldier]) containing (seizing) THE CA (THE) D RA |
CATHEDRA (bishop’s throne)
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19
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Our source of income – running large residence (7)
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MAN’S (belonging to the human race; our) + I (first letter of [source of] INCOME) + ON (running)
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MANSION (large residence)
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21
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Pub turned loud, alienating new manual worker (6)
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PH (Public house; pub) + ([NOISY {loud} excluding {alienating} N {new} reversed [turned]) PH YSIO< |
PHYSIO (one who treats ailments by massage; manual worker)
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22/26
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TV show featuring big cheese (blue) (9)
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COUNT (nobleman; important person; big cheese) + DOWN (sad; blue)
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COUNTDOWN (TV show featuring words and numbers)
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24
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The French map extended here once? (4)
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LA (one of the French words for ‘the’) + OS (Ordnance Survey, being used here as a synonym for map)
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LAOS (Asian country, a French protectorate from 1893 to the middle of the 20th century; almost ceratinly it was mapped by the French during their period of influence)
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I’m afraid I slightly lost the will to live with this one and gave up with a few left. Why? Unfriendly grid, random theme with surnames as themed answers, less than 50% checking letters, yada yada yada …
And COUNT DOWN was my first answer in.
Thanks to S&B.
I think ‘middle’ can mean any middle part eg could be either ELL or L from ‘belly’. Choice should become clear by looking at a clue as a whole and perhaps in some cases crossing letters. Seeing the Nina helped me finish this more quickly than I would have otherwise.
I’m with K’s D on this one.
Hmmmmmm……. I used the reveal button for all the Countdown answers except Vorderman, who stuck in my mind for some reason.
I’m with K’s D and Conrad Cork.
Maybe “Grumpy Old Men” would be a suitable choice for a TV programme theme….. not that I could ever be bothered to watch it of course.
Many thanks for the blog, comprehensive as ever and really useful to us unseeded players trying to move up the rankings.
Duncan, as ever, your blog is top quality.
I’m not a huge fan of Countdown and I’m afraid I found this puzzle less fun than most. I needed aids to get my last two answers, the O’CONNOR/CATHEDRA crossers. Although I had thought of “con” for fool I didn’t enter it because it didn’t look right, and I couldn’t see “(d)onor”. As far as CATHEDRA is concerned, I’m not a huge fan of “RA” being defined as an individual soldier. Although a soldier from the Royal Artillery will have RA after his name to me that denotes the regiment, and I would never call a soldier a RA, nor have I ever heard one referred to that way in conversation. For what it’s worth Chambers agrees with me.
Oh, and the NINA passed me by completely as well, which is something of a shame because although I didn’t enjoy the solve that much it was still very clever.
Although I have never seen or heard it, I managed to solve 22/26 and confirmed it as a TV show via Wikipedia. I then kept the page open to look at all the names of the presenters past and present. Of course this is my least favourite way of doing a puzzle, but I doubt I would have solved it otherwise.
My favourite clues were 11a, 27a, 8a.
New word for me was CATHEDRA.
I couldn’t parse 17a, 14a, 19d, and I failed to spot the NINA but to tell the truth it would have meant nothing to me anyway!
Thanks for the blog, Duncan.
Many thanks Duncan
I managed to guess COUNTDOWN but then I turned to Wiki for the names of the presenters. These therefore became write-ins.
Not my preferred way of solving a puzzle.
I never even looked for a Nina.
Unlike several other commenters, I enjoyed this one, despite only knowing the woman who advertises isme and the dead presenter, having not watched the show in years. (Well, I knew the bloke with the famous moustache, though I didn’t know he’d presented the show in question.)
As far as I was concerned, the wordplay was quite clear enough to get the surnames I didn’t know.
Nor do I have a problem with themed puzzles with no specific reason – but then I compose quite a lot of those myself, mostly because I find it quite difficult to start a puzzle without a bunch of words to stick into the grid to get me going.
A couple of minor quibbles:
– I’m with Duncan in finding “in principle” dubious as a first-letter indicator – I’d be happy with “principal”, though obviously that wouldn’t work in that clue.
– It’s a nice enough nina, but it’s led to a grid I don’t much like, so if it had been me, I’d have abandoned the nina idea – but then I’m not Scorpion, so obviously we have different tastes.
Not the greatest puzzle ever, perhaps, but I don’t regret the 20 minutes I spent on it in the least.
Thanks to both Scorpion and Duncan.
Thanks Duncan. I had not seen countdown since the days of Vorderman and Whiteley so had numerous guesses in the solution. I enjoyed the puzzle regardless.
I did notice a very recent news item about a female Countdown presenter who had just racked up her 1,000th appearance on the program. Apparently she had been a lifelong Manchester United fan so they got Ryan Giggs to surprise her with a bunch of flowers ‘live’ on the program.
Tried to do this on a Eurostar with no wi-fi, so although I got the theme, I had no way to look up the presenters, and as I rarely watch the show, I couldn’t remember who most of them were. Didn’t help that I’d correctly parsed 14dn, but then managed to misspell his name when entering it in the grid, which made 17ac a problem, not that I remembered he had been a presenter. So, all in all, I thought I did well to fail only on five.
Another morning when we had to finish the puzzle from the night before.
Some people are surprised that we don’t watch Countdown when we are so hooked on crosswords. Our son used to watch and we heard it was very popular amongst the student population. We didn’t use wiki given that we had no idea of the presenters apart from Whiteley and Vorderman. We checked one, once we had solved it and the only one we couldn’t get from the wordplay was O’Connor. Thanks Duncan, we needed your blog here.
Spotting the nina near the end helped solve a few clues.
We are on the fence as to the enjoyment level. Bert liked 7d which brought a smile when the penny dropped.
Thanks to Scorpion. We do like themes but this one wasn’t for us!
You can never predict what people are going to think of a crossword. I enjoyed this (despite one or two rather odd clues and a bad grid and the large amount of cross-referencing, something that normally irritates) yet several here have been rather lukewarm about it. Perhaps it’s because I enjoy Countdown so much.
Talking of which, why is it that a succession of young men (for some reason they’re always men) of superhuman abilities keep appearing on Countdown? If these young men are so brilliant with letters, why don’t we get a whole lot of young men succeeding at crosswords?