Guardian Genius 144 by Puck

by

The preamble states that:

Each clue contains a one word surplus to requirements. The initial letters of these words, in clue order spell out a group, followed by the title of one of its works. This title is taken from someone else’s work; both title and author should become apparent as you solve the puzzle. The unclued solution required at 14across performs the central role in this second work.

Many thanks to Puck – This was such an enjoyable puzzle.

Fairly early on we saw the possibility of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS across the centre and also we had enough letters to guess at PINK FLOYD. It wasn’t until we searched on-line that we found the link between the two. Piper at the Gates of Dawn was the debut studio album by Pink Floyd and also Chapter 7 in Kenneth Grahame’s children’s novel.

The surface readings of nearly all the clues was excellent – 29ac was probably our favourite.

We are great fans of Pink Floyd and one of our all-time favourite plays is Wind in the Willows. We took our son to see it at the National Theatre many years ago and it is the only time that we have experienced a standing ovation for the set. It deserved it too!

Kenmac – If you are reading this blog, Joyce sends her apologies! She really tried to add grid lines in the table for you but these were removed when she pasted the table into the blog!

wpid-Genius.png

 

Across  
8 P   As head of family, I sit paternally where tales are told
  FIRESIDE F (first letter or ‘head’ of Family) I RESIDE (sit)
9 I   Weasel’s close relative ingests rat, cut up into pieces
  MARTEN An anagram of RAT (anagrind is ‘cut up’) in MEN (pieces)
10 N   Item never left in car
  COUPLE L (left) in COUPE (car)
11 K   Temperature in parts of kitchen stove not showing a little wear?
  G-STRINGS T (temperature) in GaSRINGS (parts of stove) without or ‘not showing’ A
12 F   Spy married topless female 30 (24, perhaps)
  MOLE M (married) vOLE (rodent – 30ac) without first letter or ‘topless’
14     See instructions
16 L   Veg cooked dry? Pan’s leaked essential ingredient
  OKRA Middle letters or ‘essential ingredients’ in coOKed dRy pAn
17 O   Can director accept one cut in silent film?
  THE WIND TIN (can) D (director) around or ‘accepting’ HEW (cut)
20 Y   Bats found in yew trees
  WILLOWS A play on the fact that cricket bats are made from WILLOWS
23 D   Blue-eyed boy of Democratic party in Illinois
  IDOL DO (party) in IL (Illinois)
24 T   Crossbeam containing dry timber
  RATTY A ‘lift and separate’ clue! RAY (beam) around or ‘containing’ TT (dry)
25 H   Contemptible person pulled heartstrings over the phone
  TOAD Sounds like TOWED (pulled) or ‘over the phone’
27 E   Monumental capital returns envisaged in African country, one somewhat to the west
  MEMORIAL ROME (capital) returning in MALI (African country) with I moving to the right or ‘westwards’
29 P   Prince Harry “born a bum”? Off with his head!
  BADGER B (born)  cADGER (a bum) with first letter missing or ‘off with his head’
30 I   Animal lair found in garbage incinerator
  RODENT DEN (lair) in ROT (garbage)
31 P   Plastic surgeon takes credit at first for perfect bum
  SCROUNGE An anagram of SURGEON (anagrind is ‘plastic’) around or ‘taking’ C (first letter in credit)
Down  
1 E   Get leg-over after girl exits robe
  KIMONO ON (leg – as used in the game of cricket) O (over) after KIM (girl)
2 R   Dish from contents of creel on Ramsgate pier
  EEL PIE Hidden in crEEL PIEr. ‘On’ is used to indicate that you put the two words together.
3 A   Home within New England’s top affluent square
  NINE IN (home) within NE (New England)
4 T   Get a text from this prison
  NEWGATE A play on the fact that an anagram of GET A is GATE with NEW being the anagrind
5 T   Magazine raised topical issue
  EMIT TIME (magazine) reversed or ‘raised’
6 H   Right whale blubber can provide this high school with fuel
  TRAIN OIL TRAIN (school) OIL (fuel). We weren’t sure about the use of ‘right’ in the clue at first but the right whale apparently is a genus of whale found especially in Greenland.
7 E   The way in which greed’s mixed up in economic growth, along the way?
  HEDGEROW An anagram of GREED (anagrind is ‘mixed up’) in HOW (the way in which)
13 G   Animal lair in gripping story
  LIE Double definition
14 A   The Queen Anne pub’s leading target sector
  INNER ER (The Queen) with INN (bar) first or ‘leading’
15 T   Girl our group has playing triangle
  EMILY A play on the fact that Pink Floyd (the group in this themed puzzle) had a single entitled ‘See EMILY Play’
18 E   Nocturnal type into roll-ups? He’d eat scrambled egg outside house
  HEDGEHOG An anagram of HE’D EGG (anagrind is ‘scrambled’) outside HO (house)
19 S   A 20km sailing race event ended in easy win
  WALKOVER A play on the fact that if the race has ended then the WALK is OVER
21 O   Experimental artist performing overture from original oeuvre
  ONO ON (performing) O (first letter or ‘overture’ from original)
22 F   Fashionably smart fountain pen is in left hand
  STYLISH STY (pen) + IS inside LH (left hand)
25 D   Song of praise in form of duet disappointed me
  TE DEUM An anagram of DUET ME (anagrind is ‘form of’)
26 A   Somehow get even although not even very angry initially?
  AVENGE A cryptic definition – the answer is an anagram of Get Even Not Even Very Angry (initial letters only)
28 W   Letter asking for ten willing volunteers
  IOTA IO (ten) TA (volunteers)
29 N   Travelling north some fear nothing, observing 17 squalling in the Adriatic
  BORA Hidden and reversed or ‘travelling north’ in the clue feAR Observing. 17 refers to The Wind in 17ac

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 comments on “Guardian Genius 144 by Puck”

  1. kenmac
    #1 - Mon 6th Jul 15, 08:09

    Thanks for the blog, B&J – nice use of colour. I’ve emailed you separately about the table borders.

    I enjoyed this puzzle – my favourite Genius so far. There was a lot of unreferenced thematic material, which you’ve highlighted, I can’t help thinking that HEDGEHOG and EEL PIE are significant too.

  2. Paul8hours
    #2 - Mon 6th Jul 15, 15:11

    An excellent challenge, thanks Puck and B&J. I picked up PF quickly but went down the Dark Side briefly before the correct work became apparent. 4D was clever and 31A made me laugh.

  3. Paul8hours
    #3 - Mon 6th Jul 15, 17:00

    Having had another look at the completed grid (and in the apparent absence of any other comments), l must express my admiration of Puck’s design skills.

  4. DuncT
    #4 - Mon 6th Jul 15, 22:48

    Thanks Bertandjoyce, and Puck for another great puzzle. (Looks
    like it has left everyone speechless.)

    Kenmac @1 – I thought marten, rodent and hedgerow all added to the genetal theme as well, but there may well be something more specific going on.

  5. Gordon
    #5 - Tue 7th Jul 15, 17:35

    I was away for most of the month, so did not finish this.

    Hedgehog and Eel are both in the book, the former more than once I recall.

    I can remember buying this Pink Floyd LP nearly 50 years ago. Scarey [the time lapse not the music!].

    Thanks for Puck and Bertandjoyce

  6. Mr Beaver
    #6 - Tue 7th Jul 15, 21:59

    It usually takes us a couple of weeks to finish a Genius, if at all, but this yielded in only a couple of days. Not complaining, though – we enjoyed finding the connections

  7. ILAN CARON
    #7 - Mon 18th Feb 19, 16:00

    (don’t mind me — just doing a backlog of Geniuses).  Anyway an enjoyable puzzle indeed — minor quibble on wp for 21D: I had parsed it as: “Experimental artist performing overture from original oeuvre (3)” with “original” extra thinking that the resultant surface made slightly more sense: “Experimental artist performing overfrom oeuvre”.

  8. ILAN CARON
    #8 - Mon 18th Feb 19, 16:01

    whoops… Experimental artist performing overture from oeuvre (3)

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