Our first thoughts when we saw the grid were not that favourable! The fact that each corner was somewhat isolated from the others is not something that we particularly like and also there seemed to be fewer clues than normal and more than the usual number of black squares!
We set off at a fast rate and the left hand side was quickly filled in. Just after making comments about how Tuesdays were becoming easier after a run of some very tricky puzzles, we ground to a halt! We started looking for a nina in the top and bottom row to give us some help but no joy!
Whilst Joyce was trying to work out the parsing of 3d and checking various definitions in Chambers, Bert suddenly spotted something! It was a lovely surprise and so apologies are in order for Raich – what a well-crafted puzzle with no less than thirteen themed answers! We are so glad though that we didn’t spot THIS link before the end of the solve!
THIS track was released in 1966, not long after we met. THIS one is the title track of one of the best albums ever produced in our opinion. We’ve seen one of the duo (1d) in concert on a couple of occasions in recent years and he has never disappointed.
If you want a bit of nostalgia while you read the blog, the last two links will provide it!
| Across | ||
| 6 | Seaman – by himself finding ear shell | |
| ABALONE | AB (seaman) + ALONE (by himself) | |
| 7 | Game reduced in length when outsiders leave | |
| BRIDGE | ||
| 9 | Excitement when veggies see some? | |
| PULSE | A play on the fact that Veggies are interested in pulses. The ? is probably there to allow for people like us who also like pulses but we’re not vegetarians! | |
| 10 | Upset as debut role cut in play | |
| TROUBLED | Anagram of DEBUT ROL |
|
| 11 | Girl got up before mother extremely rarely | |
| ROSEMARY | ROSE (got up) + MA (mother) +RY (first and last letters or ‘extremes’ of RarelY) | |
| 14 | Restaurant employee forgetting one drink | |
| WATER | WA |
|
| 16 | Skill and courage he’s wanting | |
| ART | ||
| 17 | Painter gads about full of energy | |
| DEGAS | Anagram of GADS (anagrind is ‘about’) around or ‘full of’ E (energy) | |
| 19 | Perhaps she’s first to marry rich suitor | |
| MRS | The first letters to Marry Rich Suitor | |
| 21 | A voting system in Channel Islands (and Italian island) | |
| CAPRI | A + PR (voting system) inside CI (Channel Islands) | |
| 23 | Fighter sweet and light to begin with? | |
| ROBINSON | A play on SUGAR (sweet) RAY (light) ROBINSON who was a boxer (a second rather tenuous link to the theme?) | |
| 25 | Official document disconcerted pop stars | |
| PASSPORT | Anagram of POP STARS (anagrind is ‘disconcerted’) | |
| 28 | Your old mate’s first oriental shrub | |
| THYME | THY (old version of ‘your’) + M (first letter of Mate) + E (oriental) | |
| 30 | Work hard at article that’s used to attract attention | |
| SLOGAN | SLOG (work hard at) + AN (article) | |
| 31 | Scottish town’s right to replace international plant | |
| PARSLEY | PA |
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | He’s become tiresome, we’re told | |
| PAUL | Sounds like PALL (tiresome) – the other half of the thematic duo | |
| 2 | On the way to being part of the in-crowd | |
| HOMEWARD | A play on the fact that if you are ‘in’ you may be HOME so if you are going in that direction you are HOMEWARD | |
| 3 | Calm Pole in Crucible | |
| REST | Our last one in and we’re still not sure. We think it’s a play on the fact that snooker players are seen at the Crucible in Sheffield each year and they sometimes use a long ‘pole’ called a REST | |
| 4 | Monk has a couple of books on Old Testament | |
| ABBOT | A + BB (couple of books) + OT (Old Testament) | |
| 5 | Money collected by Liberal Member? | |
| LIMB | LIB (Liberal) around or ‘collecting’ M (money) | |
| 6 | Wine jar in camp Horace used selectively | |
| AMPHORA | Hidden (‘used selectively’) within the clue cAMP HORAce | |
| 8 | Bird regularly seen in garden by European | |
| GREBE | Every other letter in GaRdEn By or ‘regularly’ + E (European) | |
| 12 | Go into middle of Washington, dropping Conservative off | |
| ENTER | ||
| 13 | Some envy a German huntsman | |
| YAGER | Hidden (‘some’) in the clue envY A GERman | |
| 15 | In morning staff spotted in Asian capital | |
| AMMAN | AM (in the morning) + MAN (staff) | |
| 20 | Like many British days, he demonstrates (variable) | |
| SHOWERY | SHOWER (he demonstrates) + Y (variable) | |
| 22 | Travelling via Los Angeles, be of use | |
| AVAIL | Anagram of VIA LA (Los Angeles) – anagrind is ‘travelling’ | |
| 24 | Place restrictions on upward jump | |
| BOUND | Double definition | |
| 27 | Ends extra payments | |
| TIPS | Double definition | |
| 29 | Shout “Awful place needs new leader” | |
| YELL | ||
Thanks, B and J, for the blog – and for the links [saved me getting out the CDs!]. You got me hunting for this one, too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnDnJIDdOEc – the link with The Boxer hadn’t occurred to me, so well spotted!
As you say, what a lovely surprise – and what a clever puzzle! It took a long time for the penny to drop here, too.
Huge thanks to Raich – I loved it!
If proof were needed this puzzle demonstrated to me that once I solve a clue I immediately forget about and go on to the next one, and I only look for a theme or a nina if I’m stuck, and in this puzzle I was never stuck, except at the end when I took much longer than I should have done to decide that REST was the answer at 3dn. It isn’t as if I don’t like S&G, and I have several of their CDs!
I also was stuck at 3dn – – but enjoyed the rest (sorry!) of the puzzle. Also, although my brain kept throwing up Robinson for 23ac I took ages to accept it (even though old enough to remember his fights and headlines in Pathe News – I think) till the penny finally dropped. I was discounting it because of ‘Miss Fisher’s’ detective friend’s name.
Very good thematic puzzle. Really liked HOMEWARD clue and positioning of BRIDGE over TROUBLED and WATER.
A fine victory at the Stadium of Light on Sunday and my fellow Sunderland fan produces a themed puzzle about one of my favourite singer-songwriters (and his tousle-haired mate) on Tuesday. Life is seriously good.
I too was seduced (geddit?) into looking for a nina around the perimeter, and just had that nagging suspicion that there was something going on, but it was only when I thought to have one last look on completion that the penny dropped. Bravo to Raich – especially, as Jim T says, to get BRIDGE over TROUBLED and WATER. Nice touch.
S&G trivia factoid: MRS ROBINSON featured in The Graduate, but only as an initial melody and a few words. When the film had great success, Simon wrote the full song which featured on their next album. Which is why the lyrics have naff all to do with Mrs Robinson’s role in the film.
Bravo Raich and thanks to B&J for the blog.
Well, I hadn’t noticed the theme till I started to read the blog. Got as far as “Bert suddenly spotted something” so I turned back to the puzzle and there it was staring me in the face. Great Stuff! Must dig out the Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme LP – yes, I’ve still got it.
Got 3dn by supposing that ‘Pole’ indicated either N or S as the 3rd letter (the 2nd being E) then REST was fairly obvious. But I couldn’t parse it. I should have looked more closely at the clue and noticed that ‘Crucible’ was spelt with a capital C.
Thanks to Raich for a not-too-difficult puzzle and to B&J for the blog.
Thanks B&J and Raich. I enjoyed this but found it quite hard. Not helped by entering BAWD for 1d (“[ha]s become tiresome”). Ironic that the correct answer is PAUL (one of my favourite setters). Agree with others that the thematic weaving is excellent.
A lovely theme taking me right back to when a whole group of us from the 6th form went to see the Graduate at what we used to call ‘the pictures’. The whole audience sang all the songs as they arrived.
Thanks to Raich for a great puzzle and B&J for the explanations
A grid that definitely yells “NINA”. And not such a bad one either.
The theme came to me on account of “PARSLEY”, “SAGE” and “THYME” – strangely perhaps. But it took me ages to spot “ROBINSON” despite having MRS!
I really like clues like the “ROBINSON” one, with its demands on one’s lateral thinking capabilities. That and “ROSEMARY” were the only ones I pencilled in from the theme before working out the clue.
Many thanks to Raich, to whom congratulations on Sunday’s footie result!
Like Andy B, I totally failed to notice the theme, even though I’d actually heard of the pair and knew some of their songs. Would have helped with 23ac, where even when a word search showed that the only answer was ROBINSON, I was not convinced enough to actually fill it in. The boxer just didn’t come to mind.
I was a bit miffed by the clue to 1dn, as that’s my first name. 🙂
Many thanks, B&J, for the excellent blog. It was great to meet you both again (and many others) at Nimrod’s 50th in Sheffield last Saturday. Thanks to all who commented for the kind remarks. Yes, the grid reflected the difficulty of shoehorning thirteen themed entries in – so there were a few more black squares than normal and it took ages to construct. Funnily the numbers of clues (32) was actually a bit higher than usual but their average length quite a bit shorter. The reference to Boxer was not intentional. 3D (REST) which seems to have given some difficulty you have explained correctly as a double definition – the second one being any pole that can be used in snooker/billiards as support for the cue when it is not possible to use the hand as support – hence reference to Crucible (also in Sheffield of course). And, yes, a perfect weekend was completed with a win in the game of the season in those NE parts amid scenes of great pandemonium – well it was only the second such outcome on Wearside since 1980. Now, let’s hope the fixture will still be on the Premier League calendar next season…
Gosh you were at sheffield NMS? Didn’t see you at all. Was slightly put off seeing setters crucible and monk in consecutive clues and sent on a wild goose chase. Thanks B&J who I half met. Missed theme that was hitting hard between the eyes. D’ oh.
Thanks Raich for dropping in. It was good to see you in Sheffield.
We’re pleased we sorted out the parsing correctly for 3d. We used to go to the Snooker World Championships every year at the Crucible so were familiar with the link. It was also good to see a reference to Sheffield after the enjoyable birthday bash there for Nimrod on Saturday.
Thanks to everyone else for their comments too. It makes blogging so much more pleasurable.
Flashling at #12 – I left Sheffield a little earlier than some as I was going to the North East for the game.
Excellent crossword. All very easy until I became totally stuck on 1dn, 3dn and 9ac. The theme escaped me, which was silly really, since in the vinyl days my “Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits” was played more often than almost anything. Am very partial to them, yet I missed all the references.