It has been a while since it has fallen to me to blog a Punk crossword, so I was rather looking forward to getting stuck into this one.
And Punk certainly did not disappoint. I was immediately struck by the fact that there was clearly a theme to this puzzle, villains – from film and literature, as it turned out. Many of these were longer, multiple entries, and it took me a while to crack any of them and really start to fill the grid: 10 was the first themed entry I cracked, to be followed by 24/25, which I worked out from the wordplay, despite not knowing the film or its character. In the end, I was able to complete the grid using the wordplay to find the other entries that I was unfamiliar with, which is exactly how a cryptic crossword should be, in my opinion.
There is much in this puzzle that rather tickles my fancy, but if pressed to nominate some favourite clues, I would plump for 1, for making me smile when I realised what kinds of “lines” we were talking about; 10, for its quirkiness; and above all 6, for its multiple references to feet!
(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 07 | THESIS | Exasperated student initially absorbed by this academic work
E<xasperated> S<tudent> (“initially” means first letters only) in THIS |
| 08 | THWART | Foil that lacks a wrapping action
WAR (=action, i.e. military) in TH<a>T (“lacks a” means letter “a” dropped) |
| 09 | ENTRANCED | Passing through border, new packing crate rattling as transported
[N (=new) in *(CRATE)] in END (=border); “rattling” is anagram indicator |
| 11 | NYLON | Material in ninety skirts, fifty being worn
N<inet>Y (“skirts” means first and last letters) + L (=fifty, in Roman numerals) + ON (=being worn) |
| 13 | CARIBOU | Ungulate from Haiti possibly without a pulse, almost unconscious
CARIB<bean> (=from Haiti possibly; “without a pulse (=BEAN)” means letters “bean” are dropped) + OU<t> (=unconscious; “almost” means last letter dropped) |
| 14 | WEBSTER | American scholar of linguistics, internet domain doesn’t need one, right?
WEBS<i>TE (=internet domain: “doesn’t need one (=I)” means letter “i” dropped) + R (=right); the reference is to American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843), famous for the Merriam-Webster dictionary |
| 15 | MICHAEL CORLEONE | Villain’s failure of cochlear implants in start of long journey?
*(COCHLEAR) in MILE ONE (=start of long journey); “failure of” is anagram indicator; the reference is to the villain in the trilogy of Godfather films, played by Al Pacino |
| 18 | REBECCA | Film Charley’s Aunt, its leading characters on the fiddle
REBEC (=fiddle, i.e. medieval stringed instrument) C<harley’s> A<unt> (“its leading characters” means first letters only); the reference is to e.g. the 1940 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
| 19 | IMPERIA | Spirit required to enter capital while premier away, as authorities in total command
PERI (=spirit, in Persian mythology) in <l>IMA (=capital, i.e. of Peru; “while premier away” means first letter dropped) |
| 22 | SPRAT | Fish last of four in a row
<fou>R (“last of” means last letter only) in SPAT (=row, argument) |
| 23 | ERGONOMIC | Efficient energy coming, or dispersing
E (=energy) + *(COMING OR); “dispersing” is anagram indicator |
| 24/25 | TRAVIS BICKLE | Villain is after a vibe, primarily, with Beethoven’s first in slow movement
[A + V<ibe> (“primarily” means first letter only) + IS + B<eethoven> (“first” means first letter only)] in TRICKLE (=slow movement, of e.g. water); the reference is to the villain in the 1976 film Taxi Driver, played by Robert De Niro |
| Down | ||
| 01 | STRETCH MARKS | Time communist voiced those undesirable lines?
STRETCH (=time, period) + homophone (“voiced”) of “Marx” (=communist) |
| 03 | BICARB | Vehicle lapped by Tucker’s best mate, a fizzer
CAR (=vehicle) in BIB (=Tucker’s best mate, as in the expression “best bib and tucker”, meaning “one’s best clothes”) |
| 04 | SHADOW-BOXING | Avoiding decisive action, opposition giving ground to secure vote, elected
SHADOW (=opposition, as in shadow cabinet) + {[X (=vote, i.e. cross) + IN (=elected, of e.g. an MP)] in BOG (= “giving”, i.e. not firm, ground)} |
| 05/02 | HANNIBAL LECTER | Local standing with party and community to break hostile type, villain
[NNI (INN=local, pub; “standing” indicates vertical reversal) + BALL (=party) + EC (=community, i.e. European Community)] in HATER (=hostile type); the reference is to the villain in a series of novels by Thomas Harris, played by Anthony Hopkins in the films |
| 06 | STILETTO | Shoe thus covering heel, the foot ends in it!
{[<th>E <foo>T (“ends” means last letters only)] in TILT (=heel, lean, as verb)} in SO (=thus) |
| 10 | CRUELLA DE VIL | Note in villainous villain, a villain
LA (=note, in music) in [CRUEL (=villainous) + DEVIL (=villain)]; the reference is to the villain in Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel 101 Dalmatians |
| 12 | NURSE RATCHED | Criminal under archest villain
*(UNDER ARCHEST); “criminal” is anagram indicator; the reference is to Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest |
| 16 | CABARETS | Nude in musical shows
BARE (=nude) in CATS (=musical, by Andrew Lloyd Webber) |
| 17 | ALCATRAZ | A cat burglar, ultimately in a state, last character in old prison
A + {[CAT + <burgla>R (“ultimately” means last letter only)] in LA (=state, i.e. Louisiana)} + Z (=last character, of alphabet) |
| 20 | PINKIE | Finger // a villain called Brown
Double definition: pinkie is a slang word for (a) finger AND Pinkie Brown is the villain in Graham Greene’s 1938 novel Brighton Rock |
| 21 | REMAKE | Upcoming clip from Shrek, American film that’s unoriginal
Vertically reversed (“upcoming”) and hidden (“clip from”) in “shrEK AMERican” |
Some of these villains were too obscure for me. Although I managed to work out most of them, including some I’d never heard of, I opted for NURSE DATCHER, and I can’t see that it was soluble without some pretty advanced general knowledge.
I had DATCHER as well but you’re allowed to Google, you know. No idea what other solvers etiquettes may be but the house rule here is that you can look up but not ‘trawl’, if you take the distinction. But I enjoyed this one. Thanks, Punk, you went ahead and made my day.
Really good fun. Took a long time to get started but eventually things started to fall into place. Had to dredge the memory banks to remember a few of the (for me screen rather than book) baddies such as TRAVIS BICKLE. “Brighton Rock” (the original – excellent film) was shown on the TV here on a Saturday morning only a few months ago so that helped with 20. “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” is also more familiar to me as the classic 1975 film – Nurse Ratched was a memorable character, along with Jack Nicholson’s McMurphy of course. Didn’t know IMPERIA, though easily guessed once the crossers were in, and didn’t get the parsing of SHADOW BOXING – thanks for the explanation. Lots of good clues – my favourite baddie one was MICHAEL CORLEONE and of the rest, liked STRETCH MARKS and CARIBOU.
Thanks to Punk and RatkojaRiku.
I was inhibited by lack of GK here.I’d read Brighton Rock and seen THE film with Dickie boy playing Pinkie but never remembered the surname.Never heard of Cruella-or Travis Bickle.So ,poorly wquipped i found this a difficult Punk with many checks and one cheat.Doesnt normally happen with a paul or Mudd.
But excellent puzzle- any fault is entirely mine.
This one suited me since I’m a film fan, although one or two of the characters wouldn’t fit my definition of a villain. Travis Bickle seems more like a mentally disturbed attention-seeker rather than an out-and-out villain. Rebecca may or may not be a villain, depending on your reading of the novel.
Like WordPlodder I liked the MICHAEL CORLEONE clue tho’ confessing I spent a good few mins trying to cast Michael Portillo as the baddy (oops bit of politics there).
I think Michael Portillo is a reformed character these days who spends his time presenting programmes about train journeys and sitting on sofas with Diane Abbott.
I spent a few minutes wondering why Punk considers Travis Barker, the drummer from Blink-182, to be a villain. Perhaps he got dissed in front of his posse? Anyway, thanks Punk and RR.
All very entertaining and a little tougher than most of his Paul puzzles – surprised myself by knowing all of the villains – last in was PINKIE.
Thanks to Punk and RR
Tough, but I did finish it (although I needed a word search for 8ac – just couldn’t see it). I sort of knew all the villains. 12dn was the first themed answer in, although I wasn’t sure about the spelling, and I knew the surname at 15ac but not the first name and for 20dn, I knew there was a character called Pinkie in Brighton Rock so I googled it to check the surname. And there were several I couldn’t fully parse so thanks for explaining them.
I do The Times, FT, Independent and Guardian crossword most days. That’s over 1000 crosswords a year. Sad as it may seem, I record the difficulty and the enjoyability of each puzzle and calculate the statistics for the whole year. In 2015, Punk came in at No 3. At No 4 there was Mudd and at No 8 there was Paul. It does not leave much room for other setters in my pantheon
This crossword typifies why Punk, in his various guises is so enjoyable. Halfway through I felt that I could not get any further but, with the clear wordpay, I was able to finish it without reference to Google. I have had similar experiences with Mr Halpern’s themed crosswords on subjects that I have no knowledge of, such as heavyweight boxers or F1 drivers. I did think that his crossword themed on Spongebob Squarepants was a bridge too far, but I forgive him that lapse.
I agree with practically everything that has been said about the excellence of this crossword. But two things occurred: are all these people actually villains? Not very pleasant people perhaps, but the fact that Nurse Ratched (I unwittingly spelled it Ratchet) is a pain doesn’t really make her a villain, or does it somehow? And is a bib the best mate of a tucker?
Thanks Punk and RR
Wil Ransome @ 12: in the phrase “best bib and tucker” they are mates in the context of best, but not necessarily best mates.