My first blog of spring brings a battle with Nimrod.
And quite a battle it proved to be with many novel devices in play in this puzzle especially in the construction of the letters to anagram:
9 across – a g from (gets shot of aliens)
12 across – swapping an I and an f (sections of if exchanged)
19 across – anagram plus use (to cash in on)
3 down – an a from adult
4 down – wet from (water-logged)
Further novel devices in 11 down, 17 down and 18 down. 10 across was very neat, though 13ac was a little geographically obscure for my liking.
6 down still has me baffled.
1 down was my favourite for the misdirection contained within it
It’s nice to see the boundaries pushed in clue construction, especially when the answer seems quite obvious but the wordplay takes a while to explain itself. Thanks Nimrod
Key;
Underline – Definition; * Anagram; DD Double definition
ACROSS
1 What anglers buy from maggotorium will make it viable (4,4)
(it viable)* = LIVE BAIT
5 The terms of economics need including the present essay (6)
Es (terms (ends) of economics) in this (the present) = THESIS
9 Doctor gets shot of aliens in Harley Street’s latest reluctance to take action (8)
(Harley + gets – ets (shot of aliens) + t (street’s latest))* = LETHARGY
10 Corrupt court judge has made a switch (6)
Umpire (court judge) switched to IMPURE
12 Paradise regained he noted, in composition with sections of if exchanged (3, 6, 2, 4)
(regained he noted – i + f)* {i and f are sections of if} = THE GARDEN OF EDEN
13 Writer’s Block great display at Sandown Park (5,7)
Jam (block) + Esher riot (Esher is where Sandown is) = JAMES HERRIOT
16 England, Wales and Scotland Quiz Champion has it covered (5, 7)
Great brain (quiz champion) around it = GREAT BRITAIN
19 Conscious he’s resolved to cash in on nursery’s hotbed (10, 5)
(conscious he’s)* + use (cash in on) = SUCCESSION HOUSE
20 I say nothing, having killed old fox (6)
Gee (I say) + zero (nothing) – o (old) = GEEZER
21 Armadillos etc discovered so long after Oriental study (8)
E (oriental) + den (study) + to-ta (so long) = EDENTATA
22 Place in N Yorkshire to set up home (6)
DD = SETTLE
23 Shakespearean flourish at either end of Othello (8)
Prosper (flourish) + o (either end of Othello) = PROSPERO
DOWN
1 One being instructed to display this record and others ring up (1-5)
LP (record)+ rev (et al(and others)) = L-PLATE
2 Hours one spent in e.g. meat wagon investigating officers (6)
Time (hours) – I (one) in van (e.g. meat wagon) = VATMEN
3 Lead (molten, what adult needs developing a beer belly!) (4, 4, 3, 4)
(what a(adult) + a beer belly)* = BEAR AWAY THE BELL
4 Uncle Sam’s saying water-logged ground is unfit (that’s final) (2, 3, 2, 5)
(Wet(water-logged) + ground is)* + t (that’s final) = IN GOD WE TRUST
6 In effect, more than one? (4, 11)
Home (In) + furnishings (effect more than one?) = HOME FURNISHINGS
7 Private side that’s unusually revealed outside court (8)
(side)* around quad (court) = SQUADDIE
8 Dealing with main symptoms of diplopia according to report? (6, 2)
Homonym of Seeing two (Diplopia) = SEEING TO
11 Completion of quick pass thwarted by block, player’s single success?? (3-3, 6)
One two (quick pass) mixed with hinder (block) = ONE-HIT WONDER
14 Popular novels – former tennis champ almost has the range (3, 5)
Agassi (former tennis champ) – I (almost) around aga (range) = AGA SAGAS
15 A head discovered in international shipping crate (3, 5)
Test (international) around each (a head) = TEA CHEST
17 Minister has no friend in Q (6)
Cue (q) around rat (no friend) = CURATE
18 Small vessel accelerated repeatedly out of street (6)
Sped a lot (accelerated completely) – st = PEDALO
Hurrah, I got it all right.
One more Nimrod puzzle cracked.
One more very clever Nimrod puzzle cracked.
Cracked?
Not 20ac, 6d, 11d, 17d.
While 20ac and 11d were obvious with hindsight, 6d was not [just like for you, twenceslas] and it still is not. And I am not sure why in 17d Q = cue without any indication.
But as I said on earlier occasions: Nimrod, he’s clever isn’t he?
He’s very clever indeed and he beat me this time, despite returning to it several times, three solutions eluded me, not helped by the fact that they were all in the same corner.
thanks to Nimrod for the challenge – lots to enjoy, and to twencelas for the excellent and helpful explanations.
Certainly had me beat. Started this on a train journey last Saturday morning, and by the time I had arrived at my destination I had 1ac and 1dn and that was it. Returned to it several times during in the week and still never got 20ac and 3dn. The latter is a phrase I’ve never heard and didn’t turn up in any electronic search I tried. I’d never heard of 19ac, either, and it’s not in Chambers, although I guessed the answer correctly. And I see that an awful lot of answers I’d pencilled in very lightly, a sure sign I had no idea if that was the right answer.
Thanks twencelas and Nimrod,
I saw 6d as “home furnishing” = “in effect”, then the “more than one” bit explains why the answer to be entered is pluralised.
I can’t recall doing a more difficult “normal” crossword.
I imagine in 6d ‘effect’, as in ‘personal effects’ = ‘furnishing(s)’. I don’t get why ‘fox’ = ‘geezer’.
endwether – a geezer is “a crafty or unscrupulous person” according to Chambers and hence fox is a fair definition (albeit an obscure one)
There are some very loose definitions here. For instance a SUCCESSION HOUSE is one of a series of forcing-houses having regularly graded temperatures into which plants are moved in succession which I don’t think is very near “nursery’s hotbed”.
BEAR AWAY THE BELL means to win, BEAR THE BELL means to lead. The former is from a prize in athletics, the latter refers to the bell worn by the leading cow or sheep. Hardly interchangeable.
re 17d “Cue (3) – the seventeenth letter of the modern English alphabet (Q or q)” – Chambers
re 3d “Bear (or carry) off (or away) the bell – to have or gain the first place” – Chambers (Websters also has both meanings). Also NB the logic @7 above – the (correct) attribution of specific definitions to a phrase has no bearing on whether the definition used by Nimrod in the puzzle is also correct.
Thanks Nimrod and twencelas.
Sil @1 re 17dn: “cue” is the name of the letter Q, just like “aitch” for H.
Crossed with Herb @8.
This was a beast of a puzzle that I was extremely happy to have been able to solve without recourse to aids. I really needed the wordplay for SUCCESSION HOUSE and BEAR AWAY THE BELL (my LOI) because neither were familiar, and VATMEN took a long time to tease out. Although I enjoyed the challenge I sometimes wish the Nimrod/Enigmatist puzzles were a little more fun.
Nearly finished this one…probably as close as I’ve ever got with a Nimrod at least.
Hadn’t heard of 3 down and the clue doesn’t really work anyway, so no hope there. Not sure 19 down is at all fair, though it was obvious what the answer was.
Got the right letters in all the right spaces but a few whys and wherefores to be cleared up – which you did brilliantly – many thanks T – and N for the fun (and the agony).
Thanks t and N. Agreed, very tough. Only started this last night. Just about completed but I had no idea how to parse 18d. Still a good challenge!
Since we completed it (albeit only in midweek), I guess we liked this crossword, though I am with those who found the clueing obscure (to the ones already mentioned I would add “van” in 2D – “wagon” is fine, what is “meat” doing in the clue?). I’d repeat a complaint I have made before – if the clues rely so heavily on people having a specific dictionary (Chambers) then that ought to be stated somewhere – otherwise this just becomes a hobby for those in the clique.
Monday lunchtime (the last to visit?). Entirely echo Jolly Swagman’s view.
I think it’s great to have the odd puzzle that has to spend a good few nights by the bed (one almost grows fond….!) It balances out those which are all over too soon (though the “early week ones” nice in their own way!)
As for this from Nimrod – in the end, very satisfying. My odd, only slight, reservations mostly dispelled. For example, thought 6ac at one point a little weak, but now think it to be just lovely, lovely, lovely! Maybe even clue of the puzzle? 20ac is superb (how could anyone pooh-pooh it?) and so on and so on…..
Thanks to Nimrod (a definite favourite!)