[New comment layout] - details here
Phew! What a scorcher…and I don’t mean the actual summer heatwave we are enjoying (enduring?) here in the UK, I mean the tough mental workout this week, from a man at the top of his game: the Jimmy Anderson of the reverse-swinging clue, reducing my initial attempts to Ashes. By the end of the first day I was 30 for 3 (30-odd minutes spent, 3-ish clues solved), I was quivering like a jelly (Ashton Agar?!), and it took a sustained spell of Ian Bell-like concentration to get me anywhere near a result…
(Apologies to non-cricket fans, but we English (and occasionally Welsh, and even the odd token Irishman, OK, OK, plus a few pseudo-Saffies and the odd poached semi-Aussie) are in one of our periodic cricketing jousts with the descendants of a bunch of neer-do-goods who we sent half way across the world a couple of hundred years ago to try and get rid of them – and all they did was come back and whup our backsides at cricket for as long as my childhood memories last…so we need to make the most of it while we have a semblance of superiority for the current while…)
This was a ‘test’ by any stretch of the imagination. I scratched around for a while and only got SRI from the well-signposted odd letters at 4D, and ON BAIL from the wonderfully clued ‘perfidious Albion’ at 21D. WASP just buzzed in on a whim – nice surface reading. I am wary of entering the ‘&lit’ vs. ‘cryptic definition’ vs. ‘charade’ type of clues, after the ‘divagate-gate’ near-controversy from my last Indy blog, but there are a number of examples of what I am going to call the ‘#vcc’ from now on (‘very clever clue’)…e.g. 1A, 27A…and the lesser-spotted quadruple definition at 25D.
I hadn’t encountered TWIGLOO before, and I enjoyed the homonym for the A14 – A ONE FOR – at 2D, when I eventually ‘twig’ged it. Last in was PERV – short and sweet!.
27A refers to ‘theme’, as in ‘tune’ for the clue itself, which set me looking for an overall theme or Nina but, if there is one there, it bounced way over my head.
I was tempted to declare a few runs short, and had to revert to the DRS (Definition Revealing System – electronic version of Chambers with wildcard search) for a couple of clues – but I got there in the end, although I was nearly blubbing like Kim Hughes along the way.
Thanks to Bannsider for nearly stumping me with this one…
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 1A | TEA AND SYMPATHY | Understanding when there’s trouble also brewing? (3,3,8) | understanding / brewing – tea, also – and, understanding – sympathy…I’ll say no more |
| 9A | RINKY-DINK | Old-fashioned sporting arena’s fencing in both kilometres and yards (5-4) | old-fashioned / R INK (sporting arena) around IN + K (kilometres) + YD (yards) |
| 10A | INTRO | Launch fortnightly shows in retirement (5) | launch / reversed hidden word (shown by, in retirement) in fORTNIghtly |
| 11A | ELFLAND | Cockney considered taking tart in place of fantasies (7) | place of fantasies / ELD (‘held’, considered, with the aitch dropped, a lá Cockney) around (taking) FLAN (tart) |
| 13A | OPTICAL | Coal pit is out of sight (7) | of sight / anag (i.e. ‘is out) of COAL PIT |
| 14A | PERV | A verse for Kinks fan (4) | Kinks fan (someone a bit ‘kinky’) / PER (a, as in each) + V (verse) |
| 15A | EARBASHING | A group holding party after English lecture (10) | lecture/ E (English) + A + RING (group) arund (holding) BASH (party) |
| 17A | ATTRIBUTES | Scottish isle around which artist renovated properties (10) | properties / ATTRI S – anag (i.e. renovated) of ARTIST – around BUTE (Scottish isle) |
| 19A | WASP | Buzzer that’s now loud? (4) | buzzer (insect) / if something is ‘now loud’, then maybe it WAS P (p – piano, musical direction, quiet) |
| 22A | TWIN-TUB | With extra drum, get to stop barrel revolving (4-3) | with extra drum (of a washing machine) / T TUB (butt, barrel, revolving) around (stopped by) WIN (get) |
| 23A | KINDRED | Like warm wine? (7) | like (similarity) / KIND (warm) + RED (wine) |
| 24A | CALVE | Drop New Jersey, perhaps, having Luxembourg in mind (5) | drop (give birth to) New Jersey (type of cow) / CAVE (beware, mind out) around L (Luxembourg) |
| 25A | RAS TAFARI | Tax collectors once initially acting with zero authority turned to old emperor (3,6) | old emperor (of Ethiopia) / IR (Inland Revenue, now HMRC, tax collectors) + A (acting) + FA (zero, sweet FA) + TSAR (authority – all reversed |
| 27A | FORTUNE TELLING | As theme, effective: revealing lots (7,7) | revealing lots (fates, fortunes)/ FOR (as) + TUNE (theme) + TELLING (revealing) |
| Down | |||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 1D | TARGET PRACTICE | Working on aim of Jack to become GP? (6,8) | working on aim / TAR (Jack, sailor) + GET (to become) + PRACTICE (GP, General Practice) |
| 2D | A ONE FOR | Loving ‘The Way to Felixstowe’ on the radio (1,3,3) | loving (being enthusiastic about) / homophone – to get to Felixstoe, take the A14 – or ‘A ONE-FOUR’ |
| 3D | NAYSAY | Busy, as Yankee gathering up refuse (6) | refuse (deny) / reversed hidden word (‘gathered up’ by) ‘busY AS YANkee’ |
| 4D | SRI | The odds of surfie securing Indian title (3) | Indian title / alternate letters (the odds) of SuRfIe |
| 5D | MAKE-OR-BREAK | Deciding to oblige the men with time off (4-2-5) | deciding (decisive) / MAKE (oblige) OR (the men, soldiers, Other Ranks) BREAK (have time off) |
| 6D | ACID TEST | Fashion dictates that one should run for gold? (4,4) | (test) that one should run for gold / anag (i.e. fashion) of DICTATES |
| 7D | HITACHI | Pound superior to yen, briefly: one concern of Japan (7) | concern (business) of (from) Japan / HIT (pound) above (superior to) ACH (ache, or yen, briefly) + I (one) |
| 8D | COLLEGE PUDDING | Row in university squat almost leading to afters (7,7) | afters / COLLEGE (university) + PUDG (almost pudgy, or squat), around DIN (row) |
| 12D | DO A NUMBER ON | Sing about crush (2,1,6,2) | double defn. / a number, as in a song; ‘do a number on’ as in beat, conquer, crush |
| 16D | LITTLEST | Army officer carries it in case, very small (8) | very small / LT (lieutenant, army officer) around (carrying) IT, plus LEST (in case) |
| 18D | TWIGLOO | Catch on toilet cabin raised in protest? (7) | cabin raised in (e.g. eco) protest / TWIG (catch on) + LOO (toilet) |
| 20D | AIR TAXI | A team after Test finished early going up in this? (3,4) | (one could be ) ‘going up’ in this? / AIR T (trial, or test, ‘finished’ early and going up) + A + XI (eleven, team or side) |
| 21D | ON BAIL | Free at a price – perfidious Albion! (2,4) | free – at a price / anag (i.e. perfidious) of ALBION |
| 26D | SET | Cake, plonk, something served for exclusive party (3) | quadruple definition! / SET can be to cake (dry out/solidify); to plonk something down; something served (in tennis); an exclusive party or group – e.g. the ‘jet set’ |
Great puzzle – quite a test and some superb clues.
Agree with your preamble McR and thanks for the excellent blog.
Hadn’t done the one you linked with the &lit stuff but please don’t be fooled by those who adopt a know-all posture (usual suspects) – as you see, even there, they are so very very frequently completely wrong.
Suggest that normal English would suggest that if a clue had some but not all of the attributes of an &lit then &littish would be an accurate description.
I’ll stick my neck out for you on 19a. It’s just a charade (ie the bits come in the required order):
Buzzer: def
that’s now loud: WAS P(iano) [or “that’s” a link might be better]
It’s not really an &lit because a wasp is not necessarily “now loud”.
Whether it’s fair to say that it’s &littish cos it possibly could be I will leave in the air – but had you said so yourself I would have deferred to the umpire’s decision and said “Fine – near enough.”
Too tough for me. Managed only a handful of clues all week. I did eventually work out RINKY DINK fitted the answer for 9ac, but I thought it meant something different and didn’t by then (Wednesday, I think) have the enthusiasm to look it up.
This was indeed a tough workout, but I managed to finish it without recourse to aids. The RHS went in quicker than the LHS. It took me a long time to see PERV, and CALVE was my LOI after I decided to trust the wordplay for the previously unknown TWIGLOO.
I agree that this was a scorcher! I didn’t do too well with this puzzle, and this was with the assistance of the “check” button as I do it online on Saturdays. Even so, I failed to solve 24a, 14a, 25a, 19a, and of the ones that I did solve I could not parse 20d, 22a, 8d, 26d.
I liked 1d, 15a, 12d, 2d and my favourite was 11a ELFLAND.
New words for me were RINKY-DINK, TWIGLOO, Bute Island.
Thanks for the blog, mc_rapper67.
Last time Eileen and I dared to whisper that we were getting on Bannsider’s wavelength, the next one of his was a beast, so I am slightly reluctant to say that I got on really well with solving this one, my only real holdup being the emperor in 25a.
THanks to Bannside for an entertaining brain stretching and to mc_rapper for the explanations.
Hi Sue
This time it’s more of a whimper than a whisper from me – I didn’t even get started on this one. 🙁 Seems as if I missed a treat.
After completing the Inquisitor in reasonably good time, Bannsider brought me down to earth with a bump. After completing only four clues in as many hours I found something more worthwhile to do. Thanks for the blog, mc_rapper67. All the clues were fair so no complaints on that score. One day I’ll complete a Bannsider puzzle – but not just yet.
I’m with Crypticsue on this one. Perv was my last entry after toying with perm for a while, but with TWIGLOO being so fairly clued I found this a very entertaining and accessible puzzle. Thanks Bannsider and mc_rapper.
Thanks for all the feedback – especially the Jolly Swagman for some excellent analysis.
Looks like the general consensus is that this was a fairly challenging puzzle – glad I wasn’t alone there!
Not sure that I buy the concept of a New Jersey cow- I think he’s offside
If it’s an &lit then parse it, Jolly Trolly: let’s hear it! Why so … trepid?
Good Lord, how the Swaggers is hiding it all under a bushel of late. What could be the reason? A sudden attack of integrity? That seems very unlikely, but folks do change. A bit. Sometimes.
Thank you RR for a gorgeous one. And a nice puzzle too.
Thanks to mc_rapper67 for a highly entertaining blog. I’m not sure about the comparison with James Anderson though. I’ve always liked to think of myself as more in the Shane Warne mould if only because we are both slow left-arm spinners. Although that’s a bit like saying that William Shakespeare and Ernie Wise were both playwrights.
I normally use the TEA and SYMPATHY software to produce and interactively fill my grids: on this occasion I was “reduced” to pen and ruler and the Chambers App word search facility, so one across was a deliberately ironic choice of answer.
No, WASP is not ‘& lit@. Definition that’s ‘playful’ plus wordplay that’s also ‘playfil’!! A reall y nice combination.
Ah Rowland – so nice to see you back here, agreeing with Paul B again, as usual.
Why it’s only a year ago that you first started posting here introducing yourself as:
“I usually complete the Guardian each day, while the Indy and Times very often beat me, or take a long time.”
You seem to have become quite a technical expert in the meantime and what a coincidence that you’re agreeing with your pal Paul B (yet again) and setting up exactly the same straw man as he does.
You see nobody on this thread has called that clue an &lit. Did you not notice the -ish suffix.
Here’s what that does to a word:
http://www.chambers.co.uk/search.php?query=ish&title=21st
“slightly; fairly; having a trace of something specified”
Do you see the difference now?