[If you’re attending York S&B please see comments 32&33] - here
So the perimter contains the opening shot of a pamphleteer though it has been changed from the Oxford dictinary of quotations. This leads to the removal of words from 15 solutions indicating the pampleteer’s prejudice. the pamphleteer then needs to be highlighted. UKIP immediatley sprang to mind ! I have a strange mind obviously.
Certainly nothing to do with Mr Farage and his cohorts.
Whilst the amended solutions were obvious from the answer lengths when compared with the grid spaces, it took a while for the penny to drop as to how they were connected. Quite a motley crew of missing words too – GAL and CHERIE were my first 2 then GIN, WITCH and BRIDE. Eventually I realised they were all references to the female of the species. Almost at the same time I spotted KNOX in the middle of the grid – a reference to John Knox who has 2 entries in the ODQ – the second of which is
“The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women.”
Title of Pamphlet (1558)
The poetic license alluded to in the preamble transformed this to “FIRST TRUMPET BLAST AGAINST MONSTROUS REGIMENT OF WOMEN” visible clockwise in the perimter of the grid starting in the top left hand corner – a historical viewpoint that belongs in history from a leader of the Protestant reformation no less!
The female references removed are all indicated below. All the removals resulted in new words appearing in the grid which avoids a pet hate of mine where the final grid does not contain real words. Thanks Chalicea for a fun puzzle and an education into the thoughts of John Knox – I do wonder what his wife thought of his viewpoint.
Key * (anagram); DD double definition; Underline definition; Rev. reverse; Italics in answer removed word
ACROSS
| 9 African currency cut back for the festive season (4) Rev. Leone (African currency) – e = NOEL |
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| 10 Book from European gulag internee that is finally political (7) E (European) + zek (Gulag internee) + i.e. *that is) + l (finally political) = EZEKIEL |
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| 11 Literally first class money (5) Lit (literally) + ai (first class) = LITAI |
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| 12 One time landmass stuffed in Scots river locally (6) Pang (Scots stiffed) + ea (river dialect) = PANGEA |
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| 13 Soviet aircraft designers – not small and dainty! (6) Mig (Soviet aircraft designers) + non (not) = MIGNON |
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| WITCH | 14 Diverting to be lively including rumpy-pumpy before church … (9) Swing (to be lively) around it (rumpy-pumpy) + ch (church) = SWITCHING |
| 18 … passion! She’s topless with stripped mate (4) He (topless she) + at (mate – me – stripped) = HEAT |
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| 19 Glasgow infant, lacking colour, taking in energy (4) Wan (lacking colour) around e(energy) = WEAN |
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| 21 Concerning part of chain reaction (4, two words) Hidden chaIN Reaction = IN RE |
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| 22 Arabs curiously native?born in Israel (5) (arabs)* = SABRA |
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| SHE | 24 Fellow is woman’s weaselly relative … (6) F (fellow) + is + her (woman’s) = FISHER |
| 25 … Another such in Greek porch gets rat at last (5) Stoa( Greek porch) + t (rat at last) = STOAT (as in previous clue definition) |
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| GIN | 26 Exposed thick tights, adding an ingredient to the mix (6) Leggings (thick tights) – ls (exposed) = EGGING |
| 27 A violent attack when filming (5) DD ONSET |
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| 28 Surround wife with the French sumptuous comfort (4) Ux(wife) in le (the French) = LUXE |
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| 30 Impertinent talk in the US losing hint of strength for a sporting exclamation (4, two words) Sass(impertinent talk (us)) – s (hint of strength) + a = SA SA |
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| 32 Scots strap gives a heavy blow from behind (4) Rev (Swat – heavy blow) = TAWS |
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| MOT | 37 Rodents modus operandi in places of trade (7) Mo (modus operandi) in marts (places of trade) = MARMOTS |
| 38 The A Team kilns intermittently producing a chloride (6) tHe A tEaM kIlNs = HAEMIN |
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| 39 Headless bloater going wide of the mark (6) Herring (Bloater) – h = ERRING |
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| RIB | 40 In the manner of a group, bilaterally functioning without legislative assembly and with no English (8) (bilaterally – la- e)* = TRIBALLY |
| 41 Watchtower’s encircling band put back with repaired road (7) Rev. (Rim(band)) + (road)* = MIRADOR |
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| 42 Bring back weapon for plunder (4) Rev (Tool – weapon) = LOOT |
DOWN
| 1 Element wrongly ionized dropping atomic number (6) (inoized – z (atomic number))* = IODINE |
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| TART | 2 Surprising protective piling includes a bit of timber (9) Starling(protective piling) around (t – bit of timber) = STARTLING |
| 3 Tree is all right wrapped around another tree. On the contrary! (6) Ok (all right) in Titi (tree) = TITOKI |
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| HER | 4 Asian city’s curtailed expression of derision recurred repeatedly (7) Tehee – e + rant – t (expressions of derision) = TEHERAN |
| GAL | 5 Mad Lear, embracing Goneril at first, is, with time, one favouring royalism (8) (lear)* around g(goneril at first) + is + t (time) = REGALIST |
| 6 Design rickety set, most shabby (7) Mean (design) + (set)* = MEANEST |
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| 7 Oldest historical piece of machinery coming back without number (5) Rev(engine(piece of machinery)) – n(number) = EIGNE |
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| GRAN | 8 Receivers of gifts, men of high rank with taste primarily for diamonds (8) Grandees with t(taste primarily) for d (diamonds) = GRANTEES |
| 15 Bags under the eyes we’re told! This will dig deeper holes (6, two words) Homonym eye sacks = ICE AXE |
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| HEN | 16 Newly formed islands in India keeping space for trees (7) Chars(trees) around en(space) = CHENARS |
| 17 Bard’s caterer trimmed top branch (6) Pantler (Bard’s caterer) – p (trimmed top) = ANTLER |
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| CHERIE | 18 His teacher constructed places to develop young (10) (his teacher)* = HATCHERIES |
| NAG | 20 Minorities, not mature society (7) DD NONAGES (see note from mc_rapper non(not) + age(mature) + s (society)) |
| 23 Base, involved in evil old prayer (4) Bad(evil) around e (base) = BEAD |
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| 25 Is steadfast embracing right elements (7) Stands (is steadfast) around r(right) = STRANDS |
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| 29 Support rising surrounding returning set in foreign province (6) Rev (tee (support) around lay(set)) = EYALET |
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| 31 Noisy Oz event, knife casually used by hood with no limits (6) Shiv(knife) + hodd – hd (no limits) = SHIVOO |
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| 33 Open conflict with engineers is worse for poet (5) War(open conflict) + re (engineers) = WARRE |
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| MA | 34 Eminent composer orates confusedly after a modicum of malt (7) M(modicum of malt) + (orates)* = MAESTRO |
| BRIDE | 35 Centres of correction reform wild rebels (10) (wild rebels) = BRIDEWELLS |
| 36 Regularly spurning old tinker (4) sPuRnInG = PRIG |
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| MAIDEN | 38 Deviously hid a marine plant (10) (hid a marine)* = MAIDENHAIR |
Thanks, Twencelas and Chalicea – I enjoyed this, although not sure how many male setters would have dared approach this subject – the quote, and the various references to women as ‘tart’, ‘nag’ and ‘witch’ etc.!
I had 20D as NON (not) + AGE (mature) + S (society) – definition ‘Minorities’, rather than a double definition?
mc_rapper67 – I would agree with you for 20D my take was very much “non ages” were “not a mature society” if that makes sense
456 years later is perhaps a bit late to be angry about this sort of thing… thanks to Chalicea for raising the theme, I guess. Sometimes you wonder what is wrong with people that they could write something like this.
The crossword was well-constructed, as usual for Chalicea — lots going on in the grid. Lovely to have all real words, for example, once the removals were made!
I thought this better than some of Chalicea’s other offerings, which are normally all “wordplay leads to additional letter, these tell you what to highlight”. Nice to have all real words after the removals.
Many thanks, Twencelas for another enjoyable blog. Indeed, we tarts, nags and witches have one small advantage in the crossword world – that we can broach such subjects with relative impunity (I even get away with the occasional Cyclops-like clue). Yes, Jaguar, Knox reflected the way most Scottish women were regarded in his day but just look at your own recent alma mater – they wouldn’t award my mother-in-law her degree or doctorate in 1937 because she was a woman! Sorry Mike for my ‘normal other offerings’. This one and most of the previous EVs you are speaking of (I think) were set nearly four years ago when the last editor, Mr Leonard, actually encouraged me to use that format as much easier than attempting to put a misprint into every clue (and the like) which I was attempting up to then. These days I am trying to vary my devices (but they will see publication in about 2018!)