There was quite a long preamble to this seasonal offering from Nudd. The preamble stated " Along with a riddle-like motto reading HI HI HI – IN BAD TRAFFIC I FLY, my Christmas cracker contained this shoddily produced crossword. I found that two answers exceed their allotted space (letter count is entry length), so had to find a way to accommodate them. Furthermore, a lost letter from each of 24 clues had to be reinstated before solving – though these letters did generate an instruction which allowed me to complete the puzzle."
56 clues and a non-symmetric grid indicated to me that there was plenty of work to do, so I just dived in to see what I could solve before thinking about the finer points of the preamble. I got a foothold in the South West corner with ETCH (50a), BRACT (39d) and COGNAC (33d) and started to build from there. Often, it was the definition that helped me solve the clue rather than the wordplay. There was then a bit of reverse engineering to understand the parsing and, sometimes, identify the missing letter. A few years of experience of hidden messages helped me to see the words SHADE, LETTERS and BROWN beginning to appear. With about half the missing letters identified, there were enough to deduce the full message as SHADE LETTERS OF MOTTO BROWN giving the requisite 24 letters. I had a completed grid before I had identified the location of all the missing letters, but further research yielded all but one without too much effort. The last missing letter to be found was the E which had to be in 17 across. I finally decided it had to be in YUK to give YEUK or YUKE both of which are alternative spellings of the entry EWK.
The entries that didn’t fit were STARED at 37 across and DREDGES UP at 31 down where the 3 letters RED shared the crossing cell.
I enjoyed the clues and was impressed by the way the missing letters were shared through different elements of the various clues. In the detail below, the corrected word is used in the description of all clues where the missing letter device was used. Once the location of the missing letter was deduced, the wordplay seems fairly obvious, but the good flowing prose of many of the clues before adjustment made it quite hard to decide just where the missing letter should go. I note that John Henderson has described this puzzle as ‘medium difficulty in his review of the Inquisitor year published elsewhere on this site. I think that is a fair assessment balancing the deduction of the missing letters with the level of difficulty of the full clue.
My favourite clues are too numerous to mention so I’ll just pick out a couple. I liked ADIEU at 49a with the change of ban to Oban and EDDA at 44d with omen changing to women. I got most satisfaction from solving the clues with the missing letters, but that does not detract from the quality of many of the standard clues. This was a very enjoyable puzzle for the festive season.
The completed grid looked like this:
It was then a question of getting out the crayons and shading in all the letters that appeared in the motto. These were ABCDFHILNRTY. Also the cell with RED had to be coloured RED. Once coloured in we had the pixellated image of Rudolf the RED-nosed Reindeer. Like all pixellated images, it looks far better when viewed from afar.
The title of the puzzle, Leading Light obviously refers to Rudolf’s nose ‘leading the sleigh tonight’
Finally, I join with others on this site in wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous 2014. I look forward to another excellent year of Inquisitor crosswords.
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Across |
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| No | Clue | Letter and Change | Wordplay | Entry |
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1
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Return hot drink to promote ale (4)
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S ale – sale
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(H [hot] + SUP [drink]) all reversed (return) (PUS H)< |
PUSH (promote sale)
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4
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Alter cambers in Dundee passageway (9)
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H cambers – chambers
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POS (chamber pots; chambers) contained in (in) TRANSE (Scottish [Dundee] word for a through passage) TRANS (POS) E |
TRANSPOSE (alter)
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10
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Regularly take trick without resistance (3)
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RUSE (trick) excluding (without) R (resistance)
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USE (take regularly)
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12
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Skunk eats gutted worm parts (6)
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ATOK (species of skunk) + ES (first and last letters only (gutted) of EATS)
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ATOKES (sexless parts in certain polychaete worms)
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15
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Boer’s mount led from Macedonia city (5)
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A led – lead
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SKOPJE (capital of and largest city in Macedonia) excluding the first letter (lead from) S
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KOPJE (South African [Boer] hill)
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16
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Alliance in southern harber (5)
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D alliance – dalliance
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S (southern) + PORT (harbour)
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SPORT (dalliance)
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17
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Sample from New Kids on the Block – yuk! (3)
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E yuk – yeuk or yuk – yuke
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EWK (hidden word in NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK [an American boy band first formed in 1984])
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EWK (variant spelling of YEUK and YUKE which both mean ‘itch’. I don’t think the unaltered YUK means the same, although some may feel it a more appropriate repsonse to the music of New Kids on the Block)
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18
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Sound from ure perhaps – or tenor pan-pipes (7)
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L ure – lure
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T (tenor) + ANTARA (type of Andean pan-pipes)
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TANTARA (a blast on the trumpet. A LURE is a long curved Bronze Age trumpet of a style still used in Scandinavian countries for calling cattle, etc)
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19
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Army regulation garment sourced from goat trap (5)
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AR (army regulation) + ABA ( Syrian cloth of goat’s or camel’s hair, usually striped; an outer garment made of it; a covering outer garment, usually black, worn by women in some Arab countries)
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ARABA (Central Asian wheeled carriage; trap)
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20
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Fuel from Christmas tree by riverside meadow (6)
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FIR (Christmas tree) + ING (riverside meadow)
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FIRING (firewood; fuel)
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22
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Before food gets parched in a tick (6)
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AC (ante cibum [Latin], before food) + ARID (parched)
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ACARID (one of the ACHARIDA to which mites and ticks belong)
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24
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Volcanic rocks protecting gar for dogs (6)
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E gar – gear
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AAS (volcanic rocks) containing (protecting) KIT (gear) A (KIT) AS |
AKITAS (large, powerful breed of Japanese dogs)
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27
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But offers resistance without bounds (3)
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T but – butt
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FENDS (offers resistance) excluding the first and last letters (without bounds)
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END (a butt is a thick and heavy END)
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28
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Making Nigerian put in appearance (7)
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TIV (a member of a people living in South East Nigeria) contained in (put in) FACE (appearance) FAC (TIV) E |
FACTIVE (making)
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30
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Something added to lead when hydrogen’s lost (3)
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HAND (lead with the HAND, one of Chambers somewhat circular definitions) excluding (lost) H (hydrogen)
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AND (an indication of something added)
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32
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Magpie eating rook for purgative (5)
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PICA (the magpie genus) containing (eating) R (rook in chess notation) PIC (R) A |
PICRA (short for HIERA-PICRA, a purgative drug made from aloes and canella bark)
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35
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Bum around in waterproof cloth (4)
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PRAT (buttocks; bum) reversed (around) TARP< |
TARP (short for TARPAULIN [waterproof cloth])
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37
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Ailing celebrity newsman was all too obvious (4)
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T ailing – tailing
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STAR (celebrity) + [tailing] ED (editor;newsman)
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STARED (was all too obvious) the letters RED occupy one cell in the entry, shared with DREDGES UP (31 down) |
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38
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Stops vessel carrying oil with bulk or alongside einsteinium (5)
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E or – ore
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OBO (a vessel designed to carry oil and bulk ore, together or separately) + ES (chemcial symbol for einsteinium)
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OBOES (organ stops that sound like the instrument OBOE)
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40
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Australian falls from swing in his game (3)
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SWAY (swing) excluding (falls from) A (Australian)
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SWY (the Australian game of two-up)
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41
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Two characters from Skiathos mine part of boat (5)
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SK (first two letters of [two characters from]) + EGG (bomb or mine)
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SKEGG ([in early sailing vessels] a short length of keel projecting aft beyond the sternpost to protect the rudder; [in steamships] an extension or projection from the keel to protect the propellers; [in modern yachts] a short keel used in conjunction with a fin keel;; part of a boat)
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42
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Dives succeeded reaching end of wave (5)
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R dives – drives
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SURGE (great wave) with the S (succeeded) moving to the end (reaching end) URGES |
URGES (drives)
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43
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Liberal loses fruit (5)
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Anagram of (liberal) LOSES
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SLOES (fruit of the blackthorn)
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45
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Bushman discarded letter (3)
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SAN (a member of an almost-extinct nomadic race of huntsmen in S Africa)
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SAN (a discarded letter of the Greek alphabet) double definition
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46
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Extremely tense wool for cot (3)
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S cot – Scot
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T (tense) + OO (a Scot’s word for wool)
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TOO (to a greater extent than is required, extremely)
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47
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Old warriors ploughs through Aussie grub on Sabbath (7)
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(ARD [primitive type of plough] contained in [through] WOG (Australian term for insect or grub) + S (Sabbath) W (ARD) OG S |
WARDOGS (old warriors)
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48
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Charles gets camel cycling in satirical sketch (7)
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CAR (Charles) + (OONT [a camel in India] with the final letter T cycling to the front) CAR TOON |
CARTOON (satirical sketch)
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49
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Ban porter once losing clubs before middle of round – this means goodbye (5) |
O ban – Oban
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CADIE (old [once] Scots [Oban] word for caddie [one who carries clubs for a golfer] excluding [losing] C [clubs]) + U (middle letter of [middle of] ROUND)
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ADIEU (goodbye)
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50
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Go and get missing olio to eat out (5)
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F olio – folio
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FETCH (go and get) excluding (missing) F (folio)
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ETCH (eat out)
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51
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Fly before mad dash where jumbos are caught (7)
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KED (wingless fly) + an anagram of (mad) DASH KED DAHS* |
KEDDAHS (an enclosure for catching wild elephants [jumbos])
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| Down |
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| No | Clue | Letter and Change | Wordplay | Entry |
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1
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Solidly built piano with contents of Jewish hut (5)
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P (piano) + (SUKKAH [a hut or shelter roofed with branches, used by the orthodox Jews as temporary living accommodation during the festival of Sukkoth] excluding the first and last letters S and H, leaving only the middle letters [content])
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PUKKA (solidly built)
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2
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Tribal division accepted partitions (5)
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SEPT (tribal division in Ireland) + A (accepted)
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SEPTA (partitions or dividing structures in a cavity, tissue, etc)
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3
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Male’s to punch head protection (5)
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HE (male) + JAB (punch)
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HEJAB (a covering for a Muslim woman’s head and face, sometimes reaching the ground)
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4
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Pal’s nut eaten by Himalayan antelope (6)
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M pal – palm
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EN (NUT and EN are synonymous terms for a spacing measurement in printing) contained in (eaten by) THAR (the serow, a Himalayan goat like an antelope) TH (EN) AR |
THENAR (palm)
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5
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Confine wild critters (8)
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Anagram of (wild) CRITTERS
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RESTRICT (confine)
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6
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Apprentice on day shift was satisfied (6)
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APP (apprentice) + an anagram of (shift) DAY APP AYD* |
APPAYD (archaic [was] word for satisfied)
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7
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Partial cartwheel from saint taking on northern curse (6)
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O curse – course
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ST (saint) + RAIK (northern English and Scottish word for course)
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STRAIK (variant spelling of STRAKE [a section of a cartwheel rim]; a partial cartwheel)
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8
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Turkey’s weight and dimension sanctioned (4)
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OKE ( Turkish weight of about 1.3kg or 24/5lb) + D (dimension)
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OKED (okayed; sanctioned)
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9
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Wife stuffing spotted trout (5)
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W (wife) contained in (stuffing) SEEN (spotted) SE (W) EN |
SEWEN (the Welsh and Irish name for a sea-trout grilse)
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11
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Singers soaking before queen (7)
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SOP (soaking) + RANI (indian queen)
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SOPRANI (singers)
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13
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Officials certifying documents forge new seals (7)
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T forge – forget
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NOTARIES (officials certifying documents) excluding (forget) N (new)
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OTARIES (any of the eared seals)
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14
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Predatory gulls losing edge of appetite for good local squirrels (5)
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SKUAS (predatory gulls) with A (first letter of [edge of] APPETITE) replaced by (for) G (good) SKUGS |
SKUGS (dialect word for squirrels)
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20
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Fine year to plan enchanting place (9)
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T plan – plant
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FAIR (fine) + Y (year) + LAND (plant)
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FAIRYLAND (enchanting place)
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21
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After religious education, Spenser’s pulse hammered out (8)
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RE (religious education) + POUSSE (Spenserian form of pease, seeds of leguminous plant; pulse)
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REPOUSSĆ ([of metal] raised in relief by hammering from behind or within)
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23
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Administrative trainee consuming lavish spirit (6)
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AT (administrative trainee) containing (consuming) FREE (lavish) A (FREE) T |
AFREET (evil demon; spirit)
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25
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Cameron’s small portions lose taste (5)
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O lose – loose
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Anagram of (loose) TASTE
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TATES (Scottish [Cameron] word for small portions)
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26
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Mystical interpretations (old Scottish ones) welcomed in excited eagerness (8)
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ANES (Scottish form of ONES) containing (welcomed in) AGOG (in excited eagerness) AN (AGOG) ES |
ANAGOGES (mystical interpretations)
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29
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Plonkers one studying hard sent up (4)
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SWAT (one studying hard) reversed (up; down clue) TAWS< |
TAWS (a large or choice marble; plonker can be defined similarly)
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31
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Doctor creeps out of bed and recalls what’s best forgotten (7, 2 words)
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DR (doctor) + EDGES (creeps) + UP (out of bed)
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DREDGES UP (recalls what’s best forgotten) the letters RED occupy one cell, shared with STARED (37 across)
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33
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After kinky conga, Conservative’s randy (6)
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B randy – brandy
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Anagram of (kinky) CONGA + C (Conservative) COGNA* C |
COGNAC (brandy)
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34
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Poet’s infatuated to an excess by moon (6)
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R moon – moron
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ASS (moron) + OTT (over the top; to an excess)
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ASSOTT (Spenser’s [poet] word for infatuated)
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36
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Skin infection’s head of pustule on N American bird (5)
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P (first letter of [head of] PUSTULE) + SORA (N American short-billed rail; North American bird)
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PSORA (scabies; skin infection)
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39
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Bristol City supporter initially cloned this modified leaf (5)
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BRA (supporter of Bristol City [rhyming sland for titty {breast}]) + CT (first letters of [initially] each of CLONED and THIS)
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BRACT (a leaf [often modified] that bears a flower in its axil)
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40
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Agent parking in man’s marketplace (5)
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O man – Oman
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P (parking) contained in (in) SOOK (variant spelling of SOUK (marketplace in Muslim countries, e.g. Oman) S (P) OOK |
SPOOK (spy; agent)
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44
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Married US lawyer ignoring omen Scandinavian books (4)
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W omen – women
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WED (married) excluding (ignoring) W (women) + DA (District Attorney; US Lawyer)
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EDDA (Scandinavian books of ancient mythological and heroic songs)
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47
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Walkover precedes Easter misery (3)
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N Easter – Eastern
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WO (walkover) + E (eastern) | WOE (misery) |
Nope, this one was completely beyond me. I solved a double handful or so of clues, but far too many words in this that are way outside my vocabulary. Yes, there were some more obvious ones I missed, but reading the analysis I realise I would never have been able to complete this.
A small typo in 22ac. Ticks and mites are ACARIDA not ACHARIDA.
This was delightful! Once we had completed the grid we spent ages looking for a hidden motto. It was the next day when we twigged that you took the instructions at their face value. We had guessed that it may involve Rudolph given the one square containing RED and the tiltle but were amazed as we shaded in the squares. Pure pleasure!
Thanks Nudd, a great Christmas solving treat.
Thanks Duncan for the blog and Seasonal Greetings to you too.
I was held up for quite a while thinking that in 20D the missing letter in plan was an i (plain).
Hugely enjoyable puzzle – and an incredibly thorough blog.
HNY to everyone.
Thanks Duncan for your typically thorough blog. And to Nudd for another of his extremely well constructed puzzles.
I found this hard at first – as MW#1 noted there were many words I hadn’t come across, necessitating many checks in Chambers. I got my first footholds at the bottom of the grid and slowly solved the whole grid working upwards. I still couldn’t see the message – missing quite a few letters & not helped by having got garB rather than gEar in 24ac – but working back through the clues did then yield all the missing letters. So at the end I could parse everything & what had seemed at first so hard all seemed perfectly fair.
All in all a really enjoyable puzzle.
Before putting pen to paper, I guessed we were looking for Rudolph but I managed to mislead myself several times on the way to completion.
Having guessed that
…oops!
… having guessed that 37a was STAR, without really knowing why, I wondered if we were looking for the wise men (following the star.) I then managed to mess up the instruction convinced that the second-last word was MOTION – this led to stomach-churning thoughts about “brown motions” š
Still, I got there in the end – thanks Nudd and Duncan
kenmac,
I think the little deposits left by deer and similar ‘nice ‘creatures are sometimes referred to euphemistically as ‘berries’.
So I trod the path of ‘motions’ too. Fortunately, reaching the end of the path clean shod.
Thank you Duncan for an astoundingly detailed blog – and thanks to all for your comments on this and my other puzzles during the year.
I hope that the silent majority also derived some kind of enjoyment from them … but even if you didn’t please speak up – we setters learn a lot from feedback and your input is always appreciated.
Thanks also to Gaufrid, plus the other three bloggers for their hard work throughout the year.
Here’s wishing a very happy and successful 2014 to all of you
I had the great joy of test-solving this one and thought it was one of the most delightful crosswords I have seen, mainly because of the sheer visual magic of the solution and the clever way it was engineered. Many thanks Nudd.
I agree with chalicea @10, and would like to add that I think the recent run of puzzles have been very high on the enjoyability index.
The blogs are consistently brilliant – especially in graphic presentation – and it’s always great to have a few niggles cleared up about the parsing, speaking personally. (Before I discovered Fifteensquared, looking at the published solutions often left me still in the dark.)
As an interface between setters and solvers this site is a wonderful idea – for both parties I would imagine.
Nudd @ 9 refers to the ‘silent majority’.
I talk to many people on TAB (is that considered cheating?)
Sometimes, Fifteensquared is a little – just a little – like ‘Mulliner Nights’.
” . . . said a small Irish whiskey”
I fell at the last hurdle once again, as I just could not work out what we were meant to shade. I was looking for words in the grid, rather than a pictorial representation. I should just have taken the preamble at face value.
A highly enjoyable puzzle, even without the satisfaction of revealing Rudolph unaided!