Another poignant moment, as the preamble informs us that this is the very last EV from Rustic (James Leonard) – instigator of the EV series and its editor for 20-odd years – who died just over a year ago. This puzzle was compiled shortly before his death, and has been prepared for publication with the assistance of James’ friend and fellow setter Warbler (Sylvia Jordan), which is a wonderful tribute, but must have been an emotionally difficult task.
So on to the nuts and bolts – ALL answers are affected before entry by a CURIOUS COCKTAIL – the ingredients of which can be obtained from letters in the eight asterisked cells. The effect of the cocktail is to give mostly ‘non-words’ (which ish what ushually happensh to me after a few cocktailsh!) and numbers in brackets give lengths of grid entries.
My first thought was that ‘cocktail’ and ‘non-words’ referred to a jumbling of letters – it would be some achievement to have EVERY entry jumbled! But that last reference to ‘lengths of grid entries’, and by inference not length of solutions, also suggests some sort of gain/loss of letters, and/or substitution.
I put this down and picked it up a few times before getting a small foothold, appropriately enough with 32A SEVEREST and its mountaineering connotations! This is one letter too long for entry, so that suspicion started to be confirmed. This was followed by LUSTY at 29D and PIASTRE at 22A (for me a word that always conjures up memories of the Billy Bunter stories, with him trying to cadge a few piastres from his school chums on a trip to Egypt, usually so he can buy some extra snacks…crikey!).
Then with the G of AUGUSTINE not quite crossing the S or T of PIASTRE, and the G of ELEGIASTS not quite crossing the S or T of AUGUSTINE I hit upon the likely mechanics of the puzzle – it looked like all the solutions contained the letters ‘ST’ and these needed to be replaced by ‘something’ – in these cases (but maybe not always?) a ‘G’.
All these STs and Gs and the cocktail theme got me thinking it might be something to do with ‘Stinger’ (Brandy and Creme de Menthe), or Stengah (Whisky and Soda), which Chambers gives as from the Malay ‘se tengah’, meaning ‘a half’. I resisted the temptation to do too much practical research on these …(;+>)
The idea that all answers might contain ‘ST’ did help accelerate the remaining parsing and solving, and I enjoyed the double occurrence of ST in SYSTEMS ANALYST at 35 across – mainly because I is one, in IT!
And eventually, as those asterisks started to be filled in, the penny dropped as ‘STOUT and GIN’ or, more cryptically, ‘ST’ out and ‘G’ in:
‘Such fun!’, as Patricia Hodge might say, as Miranda Hart’s TV mother – and I think she probably knows a thing or two about cocktails… I have tried to find out if there is a name for this curious cocktail, but no amount of Wiki-oogling has thrown up this particular combination, so I propose that we coin a new one and call it a ‘Rustic’, (or should that be a ‘Rugic’?) and raise one in honour of the great man!
Many thanks also to Warbler for applying the finishing touches to this – much appreciated, and I hope I have done it justice jugice…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Length | Solution | Entry | Clue (definition in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 1 | (12) | CARTOPHILISTS | CARTOPHILIGS | Croat composed classical letter on catalogues for collectors (12) / CARTO (anag, i.e. composed, of CROAT) + PHI (classical, Greek, letter) + LISTS (catalogues) |
| 9 | (4) | OSTIA | OGIA | Ugrian finally lost in river mouths (4) / OSTIA(N) – member of Siberian Ugrian people – losing last letter (finally lost) |
| 10 | (6) | ZIONIST | ZIONIG | Supporter of Jewish faith is unknown speaker of a Greek dialect (6) / Z (unknown, algebra) + IONIST (speaker of Greek Ionic dialect) |
| 12 | (7) | STODGING | SGODGING | Incitement to eat dog cooked as stuffing (7) / ST_ING (incitement) around (eating) ODG (anag, i.e. cooked, of DOG) |
| 13 | (5) | OSTMEN | OGMEN | Danish settlers in Ireland liberate most space (5) / OSTM (anag, i.e. liberate, of MOST) + EN (space, printing) |
| 15 | (8, two words) | FIRST HAND | FIRG HAND | Trees on top of tor need help obtained directly (8, two words) / FIRS (trees) + T (top letter of Tor) + HAND (help) |
| 17 | (6) | MISTAKE | MIGAKE | Note post error (6) / MI (note, as in DO-RE-MI) + STAKE (post) |
| 20 | (4) | STRUM | GRUM | Inconstant favourite leaves to play the guitar in a particular manner (4) / STRUM(PET) – inconstant, with PET (favourite) leaving |
| 21 | (6) | STIFFEN | GIFFEN | Become inflexible in argument about money? Just the opposite (6) / S_EN (money in various Asian countries) about TIFF (argument) |
| 22 | (6) | PIASTRE | PIAGRE | Parties forged coin (6) / anag (i.e. forged) of PARTIES – coin of various N African and M Eastern countries this time! |
| 25 | (4) | WAIST | WAIG | Was it terribly narrow? (4) / anag (i.e. terribly) of WAS IT |
| 27 | (6) | NOSTRIL | NOGRIL | Cat returns around straight passage for air (6) / NO_IL (lion, or cat, returning) around STR (straight) |
| 28 | (8) | ELEGIASTS | ELEGIAGS | Poets like Gray put directions round on island (8) / E_ASTS (directions) around LEG (on-side, in cricket) + I (island) |
| 31 | (5) | CUBIST | CUBIG | Apprentice is tried at first as a painter (5) / CUB (apprentice, as in reporter) + IS + T (tried, at first) |
| 32 | (7) | SEVEREST | SEVEREG | Start of storm on mountain is most harsh (7) / S (start of Storm) + EVEREST (mountain) |
| 33 | (6) | INSISTS | INSIGS | Takes no refusal during stays in Scotland (6) / IN (during) + SISTS (stays, Scottish legal term) |
| 34 | (4) | STYLI | GYLI | Filthy hovel has fifty-one durable needles (4) / STY (filthy hovel) + LI (fifty one, Latin numerals) |
| 35 | (12, two words) | SYSTEMS ANALYST | SYGEMSANALYG | Reported bag of diseased matter’s flipping mental says one seeking improved efficiency (12, two words) / SYST (homophone of CYST, bag of diseased matter) + EMS ANALYST (anag, i.e flipping, of MENTAL SAYS) |
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Length | Solution | Entry | Clue (definition in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
| 1 | (12, two words) | COSTUME PIECES | COGUME PIECES | Customer runs out distressed to get parts in plays acted in period dress (12, two words) / COSTUME (anag, i.e. distressed, of CUSTOME(R), without R – runs ‘out’) + PIECES (parts) |
| 2 | (8) | AGONISTIC | AGONIGIC | Combative gitanos poor in command (8) / AGONIST (anag, i.e. poor, of GITANOS) + IC (in charge) |
| 3 | (4) | TASTY | TAGY | Appetising hints of sage and tarragon in Irish drink (4) / TAY (Irish dialect, tea) around S & T (first letters, or ‘hints’, of Sage and Tarragon) |
| 4 | (6) | PINIEST | PINIEG | Most like some trees, thorniest need topping (6) / (S)PINIEST – thorniest, losing first letter, or being ‘topped’ |
| 5 | (5) | HOSTRY | HOGRY | The Spanish abandoned inn for Spenser’s lodging (5) / HOST(EL)RY – inn, with EL (the, in Spanish) abandoned |
| 6 | (8) | LIGHTFAST | LIGHTFAG | Not liable to fade in rough flight getting into final (8) / L_AST (final) around IGHT F (anag, i.e. rough, of FIGHT, not FLIGHT?) |
| 7 | (4) | STEEN | GEEN | Letter in tin’s lining (4) / S_N (Sn, chemical symbol for tin) around TEE (letter t) |
| 8 | (12) | SINDONOLOGIST | SINDONOLOGIG | One with knowledge of Chinese embraces fellow – one who studies the Shroud (12) / SIN_OLOGIST (expert on all things Chinese) around (embracing) DON (fellow) |
| 11 | (5) | NOSTOI | NOGOI | So into rambling poems about return journeys (5) / anag (i.e. rambling) of SO INTO |
| 14 | (6) | ESTRADE | EGRADE | Inspector’s left off low platform (6) / (L)ESTRADE – Police Inspector in Sherlock Holmes stories – losing L – left ‘off’ |
| 16 | (6, two words) | AT FIRST | AT FIRG | In the early stages artist carved round foot (6, two words) / AT_IRST (anag, i.e. carved, of ARTIST) around F (foot) |
| 18 | (8) | AUGUSTINE | AUGUGINE | A month ago in Spain for one type of friar (8) / AUGUST (a month, Ago being the abbreviation for Agosto, August, in Spanish) + IN + E (Espana, Spain) |
| 19 | (8) | RESTIVELY | REGIVELY | Rivets hammered by see obstinately (8) / RESTIV (anag, i.e. hammered, of RIVETS) + ELY (see, bishopric, in Cambridgeshire) |
| 23 | (5) | ROISTS | ROIGS | Blusters as corruption’s spread around Iceland and Sweden (5) / RO_TS (corruption is) spread around I & S (‘I’celand and ‘S’weden) |
| 24 | (6) | INGESTA | INGEGA | Nourishment absorbed in buffoon’s report (6) / IN + GESTA (homophone, i.e. report, of JESTER, buffoon) |
| 26 | (5) | STASIS | GASIS | Engineers assist in maintenance of equilibrium (5) / anag (i.e. engineers) of ASSIST |
| 29 | (4) | LUSTY | LUGY | Vigorous contribution from poilu’s typical (4) / hidden word, i.e. contribution from, ‘poiLU’S TYpical’ |
| 30 | (4) | VESTA | VEGA | Match a garment first (4) / VEST (garment) + A |
Rustic was a fan of setting these sorts of puzzle. In the Chambers Crossword Guide there’s a copy of his “ABout Sin”, that works on the same lines.
I think the crosswording world has been running out of things to say about Mr. Leonard, whose work has helped many a setter to establish themselves and understand better how to set barred puzzles. For myself, I only arrived on the scene six months or so before his death but it was enough to be able to thank him for accepting my first submission and getting me started. And indeed, it was his Listener “Inn Joke” that was the first barred thematic puzzle I solved, albeit with some help. So, as a solver and a setter, I owe a lot to Mr. Leonard. Thank you, James.
Yes, indeed, “Thank you James!” I am one of the setters whose learning curve suddenly became much steeper (is that a correct metaphor?) when James began to give me succinct but very clear messages about what was not acceptable. We owe him a lot and if he is watching up there or on some Paradisial bird-watching island, I hope he is happy with what all his setters are producing.