What does it all ‘mean’? Do I have the ‘means’ to solve this puzzle? The preamble is fairly clear to start with – 1A and 41A are thematic, with 41A being a description of what 1A’s ‘work’ means to ‘her’, which helpfully cuts out about 50% of the possible entries for 1A! This 41A should help fill the three barred off central cells. But then we are told there is a ‘cryptic representation’ of this ‘meaning’ in the grid, with 22 cells to be highlighted.
So, working on the down clues seemed a sensible place to start, to get some crossing letters in those top and bottom rows. I have to admit that it is nearly three weeks since I solved the bulk of this, and I don’t particularly remember the ins-and-outs of the early stages. Some generally accessible clues, with no extra/missing letters to complicate matters…
Pick of the bunch, with a laugh-out-loud moment, was IAMBI/’I AM BI’ at 5D, and some relatively obscure/new-to-me terms like FIMBRIA, MAGNON, DVANDVA and NAM PLA. I did wonder about 10D (T-STRAP) not being indicated as hyphenated, but reading the comments of the blog of EV 1083 today I learned that indications of hyphenation are being ‘phased out’, to be consistent with other barred/thematics. Ho hum. My feeling is that (6, hyphenated) would have been helpful – it doesn’t give the game away as much as (1-5), but is a bit more useful than (6).
Suffice to say that it soon became clear that 41A was ‘CLARIFICATION’, and 1A began with GEOR… and ended …EEF?. The O of OILED triggered something in my subconscious and I guessed at GEORGIA O’KEEFE – a name I knew of, vaguely, although I assumed she was Irish, when a little e-research corrected me – American – but also suggested the usual spelling of her name is two FFs…maybe it was easier to fit with one F, but it seems a strange compromise, especially with no explanation or warning of the alternative spelling?
So, what of this cryptic/thematic representation? My lack of an appropriate ODQ hampered me here – I have a small paperback version, but Ms O’Keeffe did not feature. For some time I was fixated on the words SMALL IS, in the third row and BEAUTIFUL in the 6th – maybe she worked in miniatures? But these did not add up to the required 22 characters to be highlighted (highlit?).
As so often before, I was ignoring symmetry and those central rows (having discounted the diagonals) – and the answer eventually became clear, with a lucky hit on a quotation website. The quotation (clarification) is: ‘THE FUNCTION OF ART IS TO FILL A SPACE IN A BEAUTIFUL WAY‘ – so those three central letters are ART, set inside ‘A SPACE’ on the central row, with ‘A BEAUTIFUL WAY’ surrounding this in the preceding and following rows:
All in all, this was a work of art in itself, and a nice tribute to someone who sounds like quite a formidable woman, and who reached the fine old age of 98 (Nov 1887 to March 1986).
To paraphrase, you could say ‘The function of crosswords is to fill a space (of time) in an interesting/challenging way’, and Chalicea has certainly done so here.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Entry | Clue (definition in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 11A | APIARIAN | One born in spring’s following a Greek character concerned with hives (8) / A + PI (Greek character) + ARIAN (one born in Spring, under the sign of Aries) |
| 14A | SING SMALL | Redesigned mall signs adopt a humble tone (9, two words) / anag (i.e. redesigned) of MALL SIGNS |
| 15A | ICES | Circle intermittently before start of severe frosts (4) / ICE (intermittent letters of cIrClE, plus S (first letter of Severe) |
| 17A | EOCENE | From beginnings of epoch over 100 years before end of ice age? (6) / EO (first letters of Epoch Over) + CEN (100 years) + E (last letter of icE) |
| 18A | FIMBRIA | Fringe display by British Museum if in recession (7) / AIR (display) + BM (British Museum) + IF – all reversed, ‘in recession’ |
| 21A | LAV | Can cut short volcanic outpouring (3) / LAV(A) – volcanic output, cut short |
| 22A | BEAUTIFUL | Attractive British river in good condition going west to centre of Hull (9) / B (British) + EA (river, running water) + TIF (fit, in good condition, reversed, ‘going west) + UL (centre of Hull) |
| 23A | GRASP | Most of marijuana police initially seize (5) / GRAS(S) (most of grass, or marihuana) + P (first letter of Police) |
| 24A | ACERS | Trees scare lunatic (5) / anag (i.e. lunatic) of SCARE |
| 27A | NORWAY RAT | Books about course adopted by odd Scottish rodent (9, two words) / NT (New Testament, books) around ORRA (Scottish, odd), itself around WAY (course) |
| 31A | AIA | Nurse practician regularly (3) / regular letters of prActIciAn |
| 33A | DVANDVA | Vehicle’s featuring in dodgy DVD, a tragicomedy, perhaps? (7) / VAN (vehicle) in D DVA (anag – i.e. dodgy – of DVD A) |
| 35A | UNMOOR | Cast off from a French low river (6) / UN (indefinite article, ‘a’, in French) + MOO (low, as in cattle) + R (river) |
| 37A | SKEG | Heartless obsessive enthusiasts returning for extension on board ship (4) / GE(E)KS – obsessive enthusiasts, without central letter (heartless) and ‘returning’ |
| 38A | SERRICORN | Press close picture containing ram’s head with notched horns (9) / SERR (press close) + ICON (picture) around R (first letter, or head, of Ram) |
| 40A | YULETIDE | Festive occasion eruditely riotous with no hint of restraint (8) / anag. (i.e. riotous) of E(R)UDITELY – less R – first letter, or ‘hint’, of Restraint |
| Down | ||
| Clue No | Entry | Clue (definition in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 1D | GASIFY | Using extremes of gauzy wrapping as if to convert to an airy state (6) / GY (extreme letters of GauzY) around AS IF |
| 2D | EPICIER | International recipe confused foreign shopkeeper (7) / anag (i.e. confused) of I (International) + RECIPE |
| 3D | OWN | Like in-house brands from shopping centre that doesn’t open (3) / (T)OWN – shopping centre, without first letter (doesn’t open) |
| 4D | RIGS | Sets up swindles (4) / double defn. to RIG can be to set up, or to con/swindle |
| 5D | IAMBI | Something Wilde or Bryon might have written? (5) / Defies categorisation – an &lit-ish double definition charade?! Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron were both writers/poets, so might have written IAMBI – a poetic term – but also, given their renowned lack of gender preference in their sexual proclivities, either might have declared ‘I am bi(-sexual)’ |
| 6D | OILED | Tipsy oldie rambling (5) / anag (i.e. rambling) of OLDIE |
| 7D | ERIC | Fine old glazed fabric used up (4) / sort of reversed double definition – CIRÉ is a glazed fabric; reversed ERIC is an archaic term for a fine/penalty |
| 8D | EISELL | East Indies persuade of the merits of forgotten condiment (6) / Ei (East Indies) + SELL (persuade of the merits of) |
| 9D | FAUNAL | Rural deity originally aided learning regarding animal life (6) / FAUN (rural deity) + AL (first letters of Aided Learning) |
| 10D | T-STRAP | Part of shoe, top of toe bits raised (6) / T (first letter – top – of Toe) + STRAP (parts, or bits, raised). |
| 12D | ALOOF | Principally, farm’s supporting Indian vegetable without participation (5) / ALOO (Indian vegetable, aloo/potato) plus (supported by) F (principal letter of Farm) |
| 13D | NAEVUS | Blemish no Scots see on one, putting it casually (6) / NAE (Scottish, ‘no’) + V (vide, Latin, ‘see’) + US (one, the royal we – ‘us’?) |
| 16D | BAT | Racket of informal foreign lingo (3) / double defn. BAT can be a racket, in sport; or the ‘lingo’ of a foreign language |
| 19D | BESOT | Make dull person with education degree begin to study occupational therapy (5) / BE (Bachelor of Education) + S (first letter of Study) + OT (Occupational Therapy) |
| 20D | LUCAN | Relating to gospel in elevated vernacular (5) / hidden (in) reversed (elevated) word in ‘verNACULar’ |
| 23D | GLAURY | Marshy in the north, shining harshly around heart of Cluny (6) / GLARY (shining harshly) around U (middle letter, heart, of ClUny) |
| 24D | ARABIC | Middle Eastern intelligence agency holding court up (6) / CIA (intelligence agency) around BAR (court) – all reversed (up) |
| 25D | REVERSO | Backhand stroke to a very great extent following rule (7) / R (rule) + EVER SO (to a very great extent) |
| 26D | SINFUL | Wicked strangeness without omission, almost (6) / S (strangeness, Physics) + IN FUL(L) – without omission, missing last letter (almost) |
| 27D | NAM PLA | Mountain fellow turns up for Thai dish (6, two words) / ALP (mountain) + MAN (fellow) – all ‘turning up’ |
| 28D | ROOST | Small marsupials must finally settle for the night (5) / ROOS (shortened kangaroos, marsupials) + T (last letter of musT) |
| 29D | ADD | Sum up two academics (3) / two abbreviations for ‘academic’ – A (Academician) + DD (Doctor of Divinity) |
| 30D | MAGNON | Wave energy goodbye at first in Massenet opera (6) / MANON (Massenet opera) around G (first letter of Goodbye) |
| 32D | PREIF | Proof once before an uncertainty (5) / PRE (before) + IF (uncertainty) |
| 34D | VAREC | Wrack and ruin of caver (5) / anag (i.e. ruin) of CARVE |
| 36D | ONER | Expert about royalty (4) / ON (about) + ER (Elizabeth Regina, royalty) |
| 37D | SCOT | Abolished tax for one from across the border (4) / double defn. ‘scot’ can be an obsolete tax; and capitalised, someone frae north of the border (looking from England, that is!) |
| 39D | OBI | Funereal religious office with no time for charm (3) / OBI (charm/fetish, in witchcraft) = OBIT (funereal religious office) minus T (time) |
Mc_rapper67, I’ve been looking forward to your blog. (Sorry, I am on my iPad which won’t let me give you a lower-case m) and appreciate it with the fine graphics and the usual clarity – many thanks. I need to apologise for the ‘alternative’ and unexplained spelling of O’Keeffe. I naively accepted the spelling that appeared in the ODQ, which is wrong. This crossword was one of those compiled and edited in the time of the late Mr Leonard so the new editor had the error passed on to him. So sorry that none of us picked it up but mea culpa. An apology will appear with the solution today. (And a lesson learned – check on Wiki!)
It was a fine finish to a fun puzzle, and unfortunate that there was a misspelling of the surname. One of those things that can happen, and as the solution notes ODQ is the primary reference so that was the spelling assumed. Not really Chalicea’s fault that ODQ got it wrong!!
I enjoyed the puzzle [it’s nice to get some art into these things]. My major quibble is with the highlighting of BEAUTIFUL. It appears directly as the answer to a clue and isn’t a word that ‘appears cryptically in the grid.’ Because an alternative highlighting is possible using the B above the E and the L above the U I opted for that. The preamble should have been more precise, or the grid-fill shouldn’t have offered the alternative in my opinion.
As usual there was a lot of fine detail in Chalicea’s puzzle. Thanks for an enjoyable solve [and the very detailed blog].
Chalicea at #1 – thanks for the your kind words – and also for the explanation on the spelling. And I guess we can’t complain too much, given that you might have found it a lot harder to construct as a 14×14?!
D Reynolds at #3 – I didn’t see the alternative possibility with BEAUTIFUL – maybe too distracted by ‘SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL’, and the symmetry. I guess the preamble could have said ‘a phrase’, rather than ‘words’, but as Chalicea points out this puzzle was part of the transition period between editors, so we should be understanding of the odd glitch slipping through.
I assume nobody was too exercised about the removal of hyphenation in enumerations – I’m just worried it is the thin end of the wedge – they’ll be banning my under_score next!…(;+>)
mc_rapper67 – your version of the preamble would have worked for me.
Dear D Reynolds,
There is always that niggling anxiety in a compiler that someone will find a viable alternative solution and I agree that yours is attractive and I hadn’t spotted it. You should consider it a moral victory. I imagine that you have probably already won a couple of Telegraph pens anyway and won’t miss one.
Yes, as Jaguar says, we have been instructed that we no longer need to indicate hyphens which brings the EV into line with the Listener, IQ, Magpie, and Crossword. Of course this allows us to be just a mite more devious occasionally. (Sorry!)
Thanks Chalicea – I’ll take the point and call it a draw.
Hope to see another of your puzzles very soon – maybe I’ll win the pen with that one.