Tyrus has given us an entertaining crossword and one that provides the usual Thursday challenge
There was a bit of geographical bent to clues and entries today with INDIANA (15 across), ALTDORF (17 across), Cumbernauld, Tahiti and PARIS (2 down) all getting a mention.
There was also a hint of theme that wasn’t actually there with One Direction getting a full mention and an abbreviated mention (1D song). There were however other musical references in the clues and entries.
The linking of PRECIPITATION (1 Down), RAINING (part of 10 down), reigning, and KINGS (12 across) was excellent.
You could say there was a moisture theme as well with OAR (16 across), PRECIPITATION (1 down), RAINIER (3 down), OF THE FIRST WATER (5 down), RAINING (part of 10 down) and WET WET WET (14 down)
The clues were well constructed with good misdirection. I couldn’t parse INSTITUTE (11 across) immediately but it all fell into place when writing the blog.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Go either way (3)
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PEP is a palindrome hence it means the same read either way from left to right or right to left
|
PEP (vigour; go)
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3
|
Macho youth almost gains entry to marquees – nasty (10)
|
BOY (youth) excluding the final letter (almost) Y contained in (gains entry to) an anagram of (nasty) MARQUEES RAM (BO) ESQUE* |
RAMBOESQUE (behaving like RAMBO, a male film character noted for mindless brutality; macho [aggressively male])
|
|
8
|
Attention to organ? Not against but it is previous (7)
|
EAR (attention) + (LIVER [an organ of the body] excluding [not] V [versus; against])
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EARLIER (previous)
|
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9
|
Can I go round … um … Waterloo and Paddington? (7)
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(TIN [can] + I) containing (ERM [um]) T (ERM) IN I |
TERMINI (Waterloo and Padding stations are both TERMINI of rail lines) |
|
11
|
Found strays having sex attractive? Not initially (9)
|
SINS (strays) + AT IT (having sex) + (CUTE [attractive]) with each element excluding [not] the first letter [initially] S, A and C)
|
INSTITUTE (found)
|
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12
|
College 10 announced (5)
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KINGS (the entry at 10 down is IT’S RAINING MEN which sounds like [announced] IT’S REIGNING MEN, i.e. KINGS)
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KINGS (reference KING’S college, a college at a number of Universities)
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13
|
Approaching the heart patients here (7)
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IN WARDS (places where you will find hospital patients)
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INWARDS (towards the centre; approaching the heart)
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15
|
Here’s Gary Jones, the screen hero (7)
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INDIANA (GARY is a city in Lake County, Indiana)
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INDIANA (reference screen hero INDIANA Jones, star of a number of films that feature his name)
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16
|
Directors in middle row (3)
|
OAR (reference a BOARD of Directors) taking only the middle three letters OAR
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OAR (row)
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17
|
Old fart settled in Swiss municipality (7)
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Anagram of (settled) OLD FART
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ALTDORF (town, municipality that is the capital of the Swiss canton of Uri)
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19
|
One Direction need space to relax (7)
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S (South [direction], one of the four cardinal points of the compass) + LACK (need) + EN (measurement unit of a space in printing terminology)
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SLACKEN (relax)
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21
|
The other writer’s held back –awkward (5)
|
(PEN [writer] reversed [back]) contained in [held] IT (sex; the other) I (NEP)< T |
INEPT (awkward)
|
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22
|
Run after changes in Times were modified by editor (9)
|
R (run, in cricket scoring notation) + (an anagram of [changes] IN and T [time] and T [time] and WERE) The two Ts represent ‘times’ R EWRITTEN* |
REWRITTEN (modified by editor)
|
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24
|
Cumbernauld, for one, won’t (3,4)
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NEW TOWN (WON’T is an anagram [NEW] of TOWN)
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NEW TOWN (Cumbernauld was created as a NEW TOWN in Scotland in 1956 to house overspill from Glasgow)
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25
|
Drop FA award in cafe (7)
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TEAR (drop) + O (FA, as in sweet Fanny Adams; nothing) + OM (Order of Merit; award)
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TEAROOM (cafe)
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26
|
Weighing machines – new style – are extremely solid (10)
|
Anagram of (new) STYLE ARE and SD (first and last letters of [extremely] SOLID)
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STEELYARDS (weighing machines consisting of a lever with a short arm for the thing weighed and a long graduated arm on which a single weight moves)
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27
|
Where Cameron was out of town for a long time (3)
|
ETON (school where David CAMERON was educated) excluding (out of) T (town)
|
EON (a vast age; a long time)
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| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Suspect in Tahiti hotel checking out – copper makes haste (13)
|
Anagram of (suspect) IN and (TAHITI excluding [checking out] H [hotel]) and COPPER
|
PRECIPITATION (great hurry; haste)
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2
|
Flock endlessly to somewhere romantic (5)
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PARISH (church congregation; flock) excluding the final letter (endlessly)
|
PARIS (an example of a romantic city)
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3
|
British wanting more intelligent prince (7)
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BRAINIER (more intelligent) excluding (wanting) B (British)
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RAINIER (reference Prince RAINIER of Monaco [1923 – 2005])
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4
|
Quiz’s beginning – guys in bar from a different pub (7,2,6)
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Anagram of (different) (Q [first letter of {beginning} QUIZ] and GUYS IN BAR FROM A)
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MARQUIS OF GRANBY (a fairly common name for a pub. Google offers a number of pubs with this name in towns throughout the country)
|
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5
|
Stupidly reduced offer – that writer’s top quality (2,3,5,5)
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Anagram of (stupidly) ([OFFER excluding the final letter {reduced} R] and THAT WRITER’S)
|
OF THE FIRST WATER (top quality)
|
|
6
|
Showed affection to 16 and daughter (7)
|
STROKE (to row as the STROKE OAR [16 across]) + D (daughter)
|
STROKED (showed affection to)
|
| 7 |
Where one learns working man’s below standard (5,4)
|
UNI (university; where one learns) + ON (working) + JACK (man’s name)
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UNION JACK (flag; standard)
|
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10
|
Hymns reportedly in 1D song (3,7,3)
|
IT’S RAINING (there is PRECIPITATION [1 down]) + MEN (HIMS which sounds like [reportedly] HYMNS)
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IT’S RAINING MEN (a song originally recorded by The Weather Girls in 1982)
|
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14
|
Group points Specials out (3,3,3)
|
WEST WEST WEST (three [identical] points of the compass) each of which excludes (out) S (special). Three Ss represents specials
|
WET WET WET (Scottish soft rock band formed in the 1980s)
|
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18
|
Result of college stopping book for adult learners (7)
|
(OU [Open University; seat of learning for adults] + TOME [book]) containing (stopping) C (college) OU T (C) OME |
OUTCOME (results)
|
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20
|
Brutes hardly shut up after returned home (7)
|
A (one) + (IN [home] reversed [returned]) + (SLAM [shut] reversed [up; down clue]) A (NI)< (MALS)< |
ANIMALS (brutes)
|
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23
|
Pin – that’s primarily what golfer aims at (5)
|
T (first letter of [primarily] THAT) + HOLE (what a golfer aims at)
|
THOLE (a pin in the side of a boat to keep the oar in place)
|
Feeling quite chuffed, because Tyrus usually roughs me up with his Thursday puzzles and I don’t finish. But finish this one I did. Generous grid helped.
Plenty to enjoy here: I liked NEW TOWN partly because Cumbernauld is where Gregory’s Girl was filmed, and I really like the movie; KINGS is a rubbish pun, but it made me smile; and ALTDORF was a clever spot.
MARQUIS OF GRANBY seemed a bit random, and I put POP for 1ac, which works (I’m just going/popping to the shops). And I would be relieved to hear that someone else put OF THE FIRST ORDER in as the answer to 5dn before realising that it wouldn’t work.
Pleasing puzzle – thank you to Tyrus and Duncan.
Thanks Duncan
I too had POP for 1ac. In addition to KD’s verbal example it can also be a noun as in a pop = a go = a try.
MARQUIS OF GRANBY is one of those pub names that is/was statistically interesting. No idea why any more though, I’m sure it came up in pub quizzes at one time.
Another for POP at 1ac, I put 5d in correctly as it was an entry in a blog of mine a couple years ago now and didn’t know it at the time.
Thanks Duncan, there were one or two I couldn’t immediately parse fully today and Tyrus for a rather fun puzzle.
Superb blog, Duncan.
As for you, Tyrus, as I have said before, you are up with the greats. We all owe you.
A challenging and entertaining puzzle. Count me as another POP, and for the reasons already given above it is definitely a valid alternative. I was only thinking this morning that it has been a while since we had a Tyrus puzzle, and lo and behold ……. The THOLE/EON crossers were my last ones in.
K’s D – yes, I initially typed in an unparsed OF THE FIRST ORDER from definition and checkers and only revisited it when I couldn’t make the SE corner work.
I’m guessing that today was a difficult one for all of us from the antipodes! There were quite a few new words for me here: THOLE, STEELYARD, OF THE FIRST WATER as well as WET WET WET and the MARQUIS OF GRANBY – I must go there next time I am in London.
I failed to finish this puzzle, giving up on 3a and 7d and I needed help to parse 8a, 18d, 11a, 12a, 25a, 27a.
My favourites were 10d & 3d.
Thanks Tyrus and duncanshiell.
I got more of this puzzle out than usual with Tyrus but really needed the blog for full pleasure. I believe ‘of the first water’ used to refer to the colour of the best diamonds. Can anyone confirm/correct?
POP was my first thought too. PEP seems a better solution, but POP also seems valid.
I was also one of the OF THE FIRST ORDERers thought couldn’t obviously, parse it.
Heather @8
it was a new phrase for me, but the definiiton that I found in my online dictionary was:
of the first water (of a diamond or pearl) of the greatest brilliance and transparency. • used to refer to a person or thing that is unsurpassed of their kind, typically in an undesirable way: she was a bore of the first water.
A superb crossword which has a lot to admire.
Excellent blog, Duncan. I would make a tiny addition to the parsing of 20d; the word ‘hardly’ is not redundant but goes with ‘shut’ in as much as to ‘shut hardly’ = SLAM.
Too many favourites to enumerate.
I’ve been solving Indy crosswords for years, with varying degrees of success. I found yesterday’s Dac relatively straight forward, but I felt like a complete beginner today. I couldn’t even find a way in.
But I see from the excellent blog that it was all logical and fair. Looks like I need a lot more practice!
Thanks to Tyrus and duncanshiell
I had to go out early this morning and have only just got back to see the comments on the blog and the puzzle.
I debated between PEP and POP at 1 across but decided PEP had more zing about it – and it brought up the congratulation message on the online version.
I too had OF THE FIRST ORDER initially without being able to parse it until I got REWRITTEN and TEAROOM as crossers and therefore had to rethink the last word in 5 down.
PenelopeIII @ 11
Thanks for pointing out the relevance of the word ‘hardly’ in the wordplay at 20 down. I just conveniently ignored it in the blog which I shouldn’t have done.
Thanks for the blog. Another Pop here.
duncan@13. I wasn’t able to download another puzzle to check, using Crossword Solver, so I may be wrong, but I think that you get the congratulations when you’ve filled in all the squares, correctly or not.
Another pop here, but apart from that I did finish and without aids (although I googled ALTDORF to make sure it existed). Didn’t think I was going to at first as there was a lot still unfilled after lunch. And there was a lot I couldn’t parse, so thanks for the explanations.
I walked past a Marquis of Granby pub yesterday and I was thinking at the time I’d heard some story about he introduced some legislation that helped some group of people so they started naming pubs after him. Lot of blanks in that explanation. 🙂
We started this earlier than usual knowing that it could be a Thursday toughie. Count us as another one (or two in our case) who had POP for 1ac!
A good puzzle with some inventive clueing although we could have done without reference to the awful song at 10 down. It did work well though with the links to other clues so we will forgive Tyrus.
Thanks to Duncan and Tyrus.
Another cracker from Tyrus. I sometimes test-solve his puzzles but this was a new one for me. So much to admire (I have ticks next to most clues) but I think 10d is my favourite. Great blog and marvellous crossword.
Thanks to Duncan for the excellent blog and to others for their comments.
Sorry about PEP/POP.
The Marquis of Granby gave his name to many pubs because a) he was very popular with his men and b) he helped many of them to start in the pub business, financially.
He also gave us the expression ‘going at it bald-headed’, having lost his hat and wig in a cavalry charge at the Battle of Warburg in the Seven Years’ War. Troopers and NCOs of the Blues and Royals are still allowed to salute without headgear as a result.