Today’s cruciverbal challenge has been provided by Knut, a setter whose work I have only limited experience of.
Perhaps due to that limited experience, I didn’t feel that I was really on Knut’s wavelength today, having really had to plug away at this one. Was I just making heavy weather of it, or was the wordplay today particularly fiendish? In any case, I think that I have arrived at a correct solution, but I have not parsed all the clues to my satisfaction. As such, I would appreciate help with 16 and 24 in particular, but there may well be others, e.g. 1A, where I couldn’t quite pin down what Knut had in mind.
As for my clues of the day, I rather like 21 and 29, both for smoothness of surface, and I also rather liked the somewhat incongruous juxtaposition of smuttiness and references to classical mythology among the clues!
(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | BUSTLED | Brief profile of Jayne Mansfield hurriedly worked?
Jayne Mansfield was known for her generous bust, hence her profile was “bust-led”, cryptically |
| 05 | JUPITER | Gas rings here only half cooked tripe
JU<st> (=only; “half” means 2 of 4 letters only are used) + *(TRIPE); “cooked” is anagram indicator; there are gaseous rings around the planet Jupiter |
| 09 | GUITARS | Axes chopped it with 15D
*(IT + ARGUS (=entry at 15D)); “chopped” is anagram indicator; axe is a slang word for guitar, especially in rock music |
| 10 | ILL-BRED | Churlish doctor involved with wicked libel
*(DR (=doctor) + LIBEL); “involved” and “wicked” are anagram indicators |
| 11 | TWIN | Couple get stuck into dessert wine
Hidden (“get stuck in”) in “desserT WINe” |
| 12 | HAMBURGERS | Some Germans // enrolled next to The Gherkin?
Double (cryptic) definition: Hamburger is the German word for a citizen of Hamburg, while a hamburger is placed in a bread roll (“enrolled”) alongside a piece of gherkin! |
| 15 | AMUSED | Morning spent in a happy frame of mind
AM (=morning) + USED (=spent) |
| 16 | WIGMAKER | In Chambers, he adds definition: “one cutting the rug”
Cryptically, “one cutting the rug (=toupee)” is a wigmaker; “chambers” could refer to place of work of wig-wearing judges? |
| 19 | GALOSHES | Young woman hoses off protective clothing
GAL (=young woman) + *(HOSES); “off” is anagram indicator |
| 20 | EGG CUP | Support vessel taking shell being evacuated?
Cryptic definition: the shell in question is an eggshell, being emptied (“evacuated”) while standing in egg cup (“support vessel”) |
| 22 | SCRIPTURES | Christ’s pure suffering having taken an hour, as recorded here?
*(C<h>RIST’S PURE); “having taken an hour (=H)” means letter “h” is dropped; “suffering” is anagram indicator |
| 24 | WISH | Want to be like Bush Jr?
George W Bush is “Bush Jr”; -ish = like, similar to? |
| 27 | ARIZONA | I hear Redknapp’s proprietor, 30, is in administration here
(Near) homophone (“I hear”) of “Harry’s (=Rednapp’s, i.e. football manager) + owner” (=proprietor); Phoenix (=entry at 30) is the state capital (“in administration”) of Arizona |
| 28 | HAIR GEL | It can give stuck-up appearance to musical girl (probably not 10)
HAIR (=musical, from 1960s) + GEL (=girl; “probably not ill-bred (=entry at 10)” implies upper class pronunciation”) |
| 29 | BESEECH | Ask for melted cheese on top of burger
B<urger> (“top of” means first letter only) + *(CHEESE); “melted” is anagram indicator |
| 30 | PHOENIX | State capital city’s // celebrated hot chick?
Double (cryptic) definition: Phoenix is the state capital of Arizona AND the mythical bird that rose from the ashes, hence “celebrated hot chick”! |
| Down | ||
| 01 | BEGET | Produce 29 Spielberg blockbuster
BEG (=beseech, entry at 29) + ET (=Spielberg blockbuster) |
| 02 | SPIRITUAL | Religious song, something like 25, entertains me and you in 23
[I (=me) + TU (=you in Reims, entry at 23)] in SPIRAL (=something like helix, entry at 25); a spiritual is a black American religious song |
| 03 | LEAD | Head boy securing a point
E (=point, i.e. east) in LAD (=boy) |
| 04 | DISMAL | Make telephone call about kinky sex; how depressing
SM (=kinky sex, i.e. sadomasochism) in DIAL (=make telephone call) |
| 05 | JAILBAIT | Lolita gives Jack a tibial fracture
J (=jack, in cards) + A + *(TIBIAL); “fracture” is anagram indicator; Lolita is the nickname of 12-year old Dolores Haze who has a sexual relationship (hence “jailbait”) with her stepfather in the 1955 novel by Nabokov |
| 06 | PILGRIMAGE | Carving “RIP Maggie”, Labour leader welcomes this pious duty
L<abour> (“leader” means first letter only) in *(RIP MAGGIE); “carving” is anagram indicator |
| 07 | TERSE | In Leeds, the language is abrupt
T’ (=in Leeds, the, i.e. N English pronunciation) + ERSE (=language) |
| 08 | ROD | Pole // used to catch perch
Double definition: a rod is an e.g. metal pole, bar AND a fishing rod |
| 13 | STRAP | Street music beat
ST (=street) + RAP (=music) |
| 14 | PERSEPHONE | Corrupt peers contact underworld figure
*(PEERS) + PHONE (=contact, as verb); “corrupt” is anagram indicator; Persephone is the queen of the Underworld in Greek mythology |
| 15 | ARGUS | Disputes Earl sacked one giving the eyes to gorgeous bird?
ARGU<e>S (=disputes); “Earl (=E) sacked” means letter “e” is dropped; Argus was the 100-eyed giant in Greek mythology, whose eyes were preserved forever in the tail of peacock, hence “gorgeous bird” |
| 17 | KICKING IN | Thrill from Geneva beginning to take effect?
Cryptically, the “kick in gin” would be the “thrill from geneva (=Dutch gin)” |
| 18 | BEAU NASH | Dandy, Beano mostly getting universal acceptance as source of happiness
[U (=universal acceptance, in film classification) in BEAN<o> (“mostly” means last letter dropped)] + AS + H<appiness> (“source of” means first letter only); Beau Nash (1674-1761) was a celebrated dandy and leader of fashion in 18th-century Britain |
| 21 | BED-HOP | Swing band leader introduced Ed to dance
B<and> (“leader” means first letter only) + ED + HOP; swingers engage in casual sexual relationships, hence bed-hop |
| 23 | REIMS | I’m taking notes about French city
I’M in REs (notes, in music) |
| 25 | HELIX | I say! He tongues the rim of my ear!
Homophone (“I say”) of “he + licks (=tongues)” |
| 26 | LIMO | Alfie Moon regularly reveals flash motor
<a>L<f>I<e> M<o>O<n>; “regularly” means alternate letters only |
| 27 | ALB | White robe for a pound
A + LB (=pound, in weight) |
Excellent puzzle(and blog) Ta,
It’s funny how we’re all different when it comes to crosswords. I must have been right on Knut’s wavelength, because this one went in steadily, with no real hold-ups. I thought it was an excellent puzzle: good mixture of clue types, cleverly-constructed surfaces, and a healthy dose of smut. What’s not to like? Too many good clues to pick a favourite, but if you twisted my arm very hard behind my back, I’d go for JAILBAIT.
I can’t help with parsing WIGMAKER, but with WISH, I think Knut is referring to the fact that Bush senior was George H Bush, and Bush junior was George W Bush. So W is H. Or maybe not.
ARIZONA is slightly more subtle than perhaps you’ve indicated. Footie followers will know that Harry Rednapp is know in the trade as ‘Arry’, because of his East End accent. So someone from that part of the world would use a homophone of ARIZONA to say ‘Harry’s owner’.
Fine puzzle and blog. Thanks both.
Oh, and I meant to add that for the clue for KICKING IN, I’d always spell the Dutch spirit GENEVER, or JENEVER. Can you spell it GENEVA? Our resident Dutchman Sil van den Hoek is your man to tell us, if he drops in today.
24dn I parsed as w-ish, i.e. like Dubya
Thanks S&B.
K’s D, I am looking at a bottle of 42% Bols Genever as I write. (I learned to drink the stuff – particularly Bokma – when I worked briefly in Rotterdam.) My spirits dealer spells it all sorts of ways, including geneva.
It is now my pre-lunch tipple
I read WIGMAKER as a homage to the type of whimsical definition that Chambers sometimes includes for words
For 8d, in my long-distant schooldays, I learnt that a rod, pole or perch was equal to a quarter of a chain. I have never had to use that information since.
Well done with the blog – I had to use a lot of guesswork to get me there today
Nothing too difficult today, and a good mix of cultural references in the clues. I especially liked the reference to 25dn in 2dn. But, btw, the last part of your explanation of 2dn has somehow got attached to 5dn.
Thanks, Knut and RatkojaRiku
I had quite some trouble with Knut’s previous puzzles, not with this one though.
Kathryn’s Dad asked me to make an appearance on the subject of ‘Dutch gin’.
I am afraid, I cannot add anything new.
As said @3, in Holland the drink is called jenever or genever and nothing else.
But Chambers gives ‘geneva’ as an alternative, my hard copy of Collins doesn’t.
And if Conrad’s spirit dealer uses it, well, who can object?
By the way, 17d was one of two solutions I couldn’t (fully) explain.
8d makes once more clear (to myself, that is) why I don’t like double definitions very much.
16ac: WIGMAKER is a slang word for ‘judge’, so in combination with Chambers (‘a judge’s room’) this wasn’t a problem for me.
I was a bit surprised to see a kind of indirect anagram in 10ac (‘doctor’ becoming DR first) but I guess it’s all right.
Just like ‘top of burger’ (for B) in an Across clue is acceptable?
That clue (29ac) was (agree, RR) one of the best.
As was 21d (agree once more, RR).
And I could add, for example, 25d (HELIX) which was my penultimate entry and which I needed to understand 2d.
Many thanks to Knut.
I enjoyed this puzzle. I wasn’t 100% convinced by the clue for WIGMAKER but it seemed the most likely answer. I also struggled in the SE, where my last three were WISH, HELIX and PHOENIX. I’d seen the reference to 25dn in the clue for 2dn but then promptly forgot about it for a while. Muppet. I thought the clues for JAILBAIT and BED-HOP were very good, and I’m sure it is coincidence that one is underneath the other …………
Thanks allan_c for pointing out the glitch at 5D, now corrected.
I still think that there should be some indication than an aitch has to be dropped at 27, e.g. some reference to the East End, from where Mr Redknapp appears to originate.
On 24, I just about see it now, although I am still puzzled by 16, perhaps because I’ve only ever heard “judges” referred to as “wigs”, not as “wigmakers”.
It’s so interesting to read how solvers react to the same clues in different ways …
Thanks for helping with the drink-related clue, Sil. It’s the fallback position for setters, I guess: it’s in the dictionary … But that doesn’t make it a bad clue (although I needed RR to parse it for me).
Conrad will be on his post-prandial tipple by now, no doubt, since 9:29am is quite early for a pre-prandial one.
Sil (and anyone else interested), try this. It is undeniably Dutch, n’est-ce pas?
http://www.drinkfinder.co.uk/van-wees-jonge-geneva-35-50cl.html?___SID=U
I thought this puzzle utterly delightful. I failed to understand Wigmaker or Wish, but there is so much humour in the clues that I kept coming back to find the next laugh. Bustled? Hamburgers? Bed-hop? Fantastic stuff, all of which brought a big smile when I found the solution. Thank you so much, Knut. And Thanks to RatkojaRiku for blogging quite a tough puzzle.
afternoon all,
many thanks for the fine blog RR and for the helpful and very kind comments. In case anyone is still at a loose end, the puzzle contains a (fairly obscure) ghost theme (10 solutions) which might be up the street of anyone who likes licks of Torquay rock, not to mention excruciating homophones.
warmest regards to all,
Knut
Is it anything to do with [a]MUSE[d]?
Found this entertaining but quite tough in places. Last in was BEAU NASH. Needless to say I missed the theme, but I’m not an expert…
Thanks to Knut & RR
for the overwhelming majority of people who were not wearing loon pants in 1972 and won’t have heard of them, this puzzle is a tribute of sorts to Wishbone Ash (WISH, BEAU NASH geddit?) who were one of the earliest bands to use TWIN LEAD GUITARS and whose albums include ARGUS and PILGRIMAGE. Songs include PERSEPHONE and they still play JAILBAIT and finish every set with PHOENIX to this very day (worth seeing they are too)
*ducks volley of rotting veg*
Knut
I did this without much difficulty on a train travelling through Sweden this morning. Embarrassingly, my LOI was 12ac, as my ultimate destination today was Hamburg (where I now am).
I can easily do without geneva in all its appearances (I find it undrinkable, just like vodka).
You may have mine, Conrad! 🙂
But how on earth could I have missed the ghost theme. 🙁
In the early 70s ‘Argus’ was one of my favourite album, with the folky Throw Down The Sword / Warrior as the unmistakable highlight.
A pity that this band’s vocals weren’t quite that good.
Ah those ‘twin lead guitars’, another example being Lou Reed in his ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal’ days.
I never saw Wishbone Ash but I was lucky enough to have seen the latter with Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter on lead guitar – row 4, Concertgebouw, must’ve been 1974.
Sorry folks, this has nothing to do with the puzzle.
Well, it has but not with the cryptic part of it.
Thanks again, Knut.
Also for bringing back memories.
Very enjoyable but totally missed the theme – even when I knew there was one.
Did not take anything away from, another, first rate puzzle.
Thanks Knut and RatkojaRiku for the blog.
…..”celebrated hot chick” ????
????
that was a smiley when it left me…
A superb, well-constructed and hugely enjoyable puzzle. I’m liking Knut!
To expand Pat’s point, and assuage Sil’s dislike, 8dn is a TRIPLE definition.
Thanks both.