This is Ferret’s tenth appearance as an Inquisitor setter. The preamble was fairly short and stated "A name concealed in the grid, is 7 of the domain at 3. With the help of 4 30, the name moves across the grid (leaving empty cells, replacing the contents of others and, ignoring spaces, always forming real words) completing a form of address for the name, 13 cells to be highlighted.
What a surprise – no missing letters in the clues, no extra letters, no words or letters jumping from one clue to another, no misprints, no blank grids. no clues in alphabetical order, nothing odd in the clues, zilch, zippo…. just a set of ordinary clues. There is though a endgame that needs solving before the puzzle is complete.
As one would expect in a barred crossword there were quite a few obscure words in the wordplay or the entries themselves.
I solved this fairly steadily but the penny didn’t drop till quite late on the piece when I realised that 3 across was going to be JUNGLE and 30 down was going to be LIANAS
I succumbed to the Internet misdirection for a while with domain and URL occupying my mind, especially given that URL was the answer to clue 4. However I finally saw that 4 was simply a number telling us how many LIANAS (30 down) came into play. By this time I had also discovered TARZAN (the name) in the grid. To clear everything up, TARZAN (name; characters 1 to 6 of row 10) is LORD (7 down) of the JUNGLE (domain; 3 across).
The original grid looks like this:
When I first started on the endgame I though it was going to be far more difficult than it actually was. I feared we were looking for four specific types of LIANAS or climbing shrubs rather than just four occurrences of LIANA. I also had visions of TARZAN having to fly through the grid in different directions between each climbing shrub. In the end TARZAN moves gently across the grid at the same level before coming to rest six cells to the right of where he started. In the final position the T of TARZAN intersects with the central column to spell LORD GREYSTOKE down that column. Students of the Edgar Rice-Burroughs stories about TARZAN will know that he was born into an aristocratic family and was known as LORD GREYSTOKE when not living with apes.
Once TARZAN has moved across the grid and his original position is just spaces we have a number of new Down words, as follows: 31 down SABS, 33 down NAN, 18 down CALENDER, 28 down LIARD, 29 down ANNAS, 35 down TOKE, and 27 down OUTRIDE. There is one new across entry, ZANY at 36 across. All off these words, or their roots are in Chambers.
The final grid looks like this. Only LORD GREYSTOKEneed be highlighted.
This was a puzzle that I thought wasn’t too difficult and provided a pleasant break after the many challenges of Christmas and New Year. Ferret has compiled ten Inquisitor puzzles and usually comes up with interesting and different themes. Ferret can also be found in quite a few editions of The Magpie. Indeed after writing this blog, I have just a few days left to try and solve the Ferret puzzle in January’s Magpie.
The title DOMAIN NAME has been explained above..
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
3
|
See preamble (6)
|
|
JUNGLE
|
|
8
|
Top hat returned before end of hire (5) |
TILE (slang for a hat) reversed (returned) + E (last letter of [end of] HIRE) ELIT< E |
ELITE (pick or best of anything; top)
|
|
12
|
Loudly encourage Rotherham’s front row (4)
|
R (first letter of [front] ROTHERHAM) + OAR (as a verb, row)
|
ROAR (shout [loudly] encourage)
|
|
13
|
Gradual assimilation is modus operandi among former GDR men (7)
|
MO (modus operandi) contained in (among) OSSIS (citizens of the former German Democratic Republic [GDR]) OS (MO) SIS |
OSMOSIS (gradual assimilation)
|
|
15
|
Ruined meal with granular type of wheat (8)
|
Anagram of (ruined) MEAL + CORN (as a verb, to make granular. Chambers gives this as an archaic term, but there is no reference to ‘old’ or ‘obsolete’ in the clue) AMEL* CORN |
AMELCORN (type of wheat)
|
|
16
|
Geneva’s not good for old fashioned pubs (3)
|
GIN’S (Geneva’s; Geneva is a gin made chiefly in the Netherlands) excluding (not) G (good)
|
INS (obsolete spelling [old-fashioned] of INNS [pub])
|
|
17
|
What finally passes for money in a great deal (4)
|
MUCH (a great deal) with S (last letter of [finally] PASSES] replacing (for) M (money) SUCH |
SUCH (what, exclamatorily)
|
|
19
|
Pesticide spoilt dinner (6)
|
Anagram of (spoilt) DINNER ENDRIN* |
ENDRIN (an organic pesticide)
|
|
20
|
Slowly move 30 wheels after endmost one is taken away (5)
|
LIANAS (entry at 30 down) reversed (wheels) excluding (is taken away) A (first letter [endmost] of the alphabet) SNAIL< |
SNAIL (as a verb, to crawl or go very slowly)
|
|
21
|
Aborigine’s crayfish left in boat that is heading to Sydney (7)
|
(L [left] contained in[(in] GIG [long light boat]) + IE (id est; that is) + S (first letter of [heading of] SYDNEY) GI (L) G IE S |
GILGIES (Australian [Aborigine] term for a small freshwater crayfish)
|
|
23
|
Former PM’s on the radio making loud noises … (6)
|
BLARES (sounds like [on the radio] BLAIR‘s [reference former British Prime Minister Tony BLAIR])
|
BLARES (if someone BLARES they are making lound noises)
|
|
25
|
… about syphilis returning" to quote university lecturer (6)
|
(CITE [quote] + U [university] + L [lecturer]) all reversed (returning) (L U ETIC)< |
LUETIC (pestilential, now syphilitic or referring to syphilis) Chambers describes the word LUETIC as an etymologically unjustifiable formation, but it still lists the word so that means it is fair game for crossword setters..
|
|
26
|
Travelling round it is circled by satellite (6)
|
IT reversed (round) contained in (circled by) MOON (satellite) MO (TI)< ON |
MOTION (travelling)
|
|
29
|
A mother coats ends of curly lapel in starch (6)
|
A + (MUM [mother] containing [coats] YL (last letters of [end] each of CURLY and LAPEL) A M (YL) UM |
AMYLUM (starch)
|
|
31
|
Tip off news after Soprano’s lies (7)
|
S (soprano) + (TIDINGS [news] excluding [off] the first letter [tip] T)
|
SIDINGS (short railway tracks for shunting or lying by; lies)
|
|
32
|
Spread around on the spot with prongs (5)
|
TED (spread new-mown grass for drying) containing (around) IN (on the spot) T (IN) ED |
TINED (with spikes; with prongs)
|
|
34
|
Anonymous judge invested in South Africa’s canals (6)
|
(AN [anonymous] + J [judge]) contained in (invested in (ZA [international vehicle registration for South Africa)] + ‘S) Z (AN J) AS |
ZANJAS (irrigation canals in Latin America)
|
|
36
|
Mass in front of some great number of people (4)
|
M (mass) + ANY (some)
|
MANY (great number of people)
|
|
37
|
A certain Scottish channel, not loch (3)
|
LANE (channel) excluding (not) L (loch)
|
ANE (Scottish word for one ; a certain)
|
|
38
|
Application to court to accept nickel warning notice (8)
|
MOTION (application to a court) containing (to accept) NI (chemical symbol for nickel) MO (NI) TION |
MONITION (warning; notice)
|
|
40
|
Obama maybe restricting right to make a demonstration (7)
|
BARACK (Christian name of President Obama) containing (restricting) R (right) BAR (R) ACK |
BARRACK (make a hostile demonstration)
|
|
41
|
Epidemic excludes case of potential malaria (4) |
PLAGUE (deadly epidemic) excluding (excludes) PL (two outside letters of [case of] POTENTIAL)
|
AGUE (malaria)
|
|
42
|
Cuts scythe handles (5)
|
SNEDS (cuts)
|
SNEDS (curved handles or shafts of a scythe.) double definition
|
|
43
|
Leave 500 trees in pieces (6)
|
D (Roman numeral for 500) + an anagram of (in pieces) TREES D ESERT* |
DESERT (leave)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Prince cuts Sibyl off in a showy way (8)
|
RAS (Ethiopian prince) contained in (cuts) an anagram of (off) SYBIL B (RAS) SILY* |
BRASSILY (in a showy way)
|
|
2
|
Humorous client could make kinky store with these manikins (9)
|
HUMOROUS CLIENT is an anagram of (kinky) STORE and HOMUNCULI
|
HOMUNCULI (manikins)
|
|
4
|
Domain name forms part of this piece of your login (3)
|
URL (hidden word in [piece of] YOUR LOGIN
|
URL (uniform resource locator [system of addresses for the world wide web. In an Internet address, the domain name forms part of the longer url) |
|
5
|
Mounted espadrille cunningly stuffed with masses of tissue (7)
|
NUCELLI (reversed [mounted; down clue] hidden word [stuffed] in ESPADRILLE CUNNINGLY) NUCELLI< |
NUCELLI (mass of tissue within the integuments of a plant’s ovule)
|
|
6
|
Hired thug drops duke in well and goes off (6)
|
GOOD (well) excluding (drops) D (duke) + an anagram of (goes off) AND GOO NDA* |
GOONDA (in India and Pakistan a hired thug, especially one in the pay of a political party).
|
| 7 | See preamble (4) | LORD | |
|
8
|
Melissa’s mobile rejecting first of spam messages (6)
|
Anagram of (mobile) MELISSA excluding (rejecting) S (first letter of [first of] SPAM) E-MAILS* |
E-MAILS (messages)
|
|
9
|
Lie about hole in rope (6)
|
O (hole shape) contained in (in) LUNGE (long rope used in horse-training) L (O) UNGE |
LOUNGE (lie in a relaxed way; lie about)
|
|
10
|
Paisley’s lost colour (4)
|
TINT (Scottish [Paisley] word for lost)
|
TINT (colour)
|
|
11
|
Characters appearing in timeless escapism (5)
|
ESSES (hidden word in [appearing in] TIMELESS ESCAPISM)
|
ESSES (characters; multiple letters S)
|
|
14
|
Thus I lifted a pin in rustic dance (9)
|
SIC (thus [ often printed within brackets in quoted matter to show that the original is being faithfully reproduced even though incorrect or apparently so]) + I + ([A + NAIL {pin}] all reversed [lifted]) SIC I (LIAN A)< |
SICILIANA (variant spelling of SICILIANO [Sicilian rustic dance])
|
|
18
|
He presses paper‘s sub in anxiety over Queen (9)
|
(LEND [sub money] contained in [in] CARE [anxiety]) + R (Regina; Queen) CA (LEND) RE R |
CALENDRER (one who operates a machine with rollers for finishing or glazing the surface of cloth, paper, etc, using a combination of moisture, heat, and pressure; he presses paper)
|
|
21
|
Old people from Greece upset – yes! (5)
|
GR (Greece) + an anagram of (upset) YES GR EYS* |
GREYS (slang term for middle-aged or old people)
|
|
22
|
Go and use oxen originally coming from outside (9
|
Anagram of (originally) GO USE OXEN EXOGENOUS* |
EXOGENOUS (developing externally; coming from outside)
|
|
24
|
Pain-killers dispensed – yes and no (8)
|
Anagram of (dispensed) YES AND NO ANODYNES* |
ANODYNES (painkillers)
|
|
27
|
Tedious, silly and superficial (7)
|
Anagram of (silly) TEDIOUS OUTSIDE* |
OUTSIDE (superficial)
|
|
28
|
This reptile is unknown to occur in grey (6)
|
Z (symbol frequently used for an unknown value in mathematics) contained in (to occur) LIARD (grey) LI (Z) ARD |
LIZARD (reptile)
|
|
29
|
Bats ignoring black tropical fruit (6)
|
BANANAS (crazy; bats) excluding B (black [pencil lead])
|
ANANAS (pineapple; tropical fruit)
|
|
30
|
See preamble (6)
|
|
LIANAS
|
|
31
|
Tries special pills (5)
|
S (special) + TABS (tablets; pills)
|
STABS (reference have a STAB at [try])
|
|
32
|
Two articles it was said, expressing a lack of understanding (4)
|
AN (indefinite article] + AN [indefinite article] giving twp articles
|
ANAN (expressing failure to understand)
|
|
35
|
Crack certainly appearing under joint (4)
|
J (joint [of marijuana]) + OKE (okay; certainly)
|
JOKE (quip; crack)
|
|
39
|
Sailor held up by pirate (3)
|
TAR (reversed [up] hidden word in [held … by] PIRATE) TAR< |
TAR (sailor)
|
Yes, nicely challenging without too many extra things to do, and so lucidly blogged.
Yes, a really pleasant solve. I thought this was a puzzle that was more revealing/ interesting than appeared at first sight…it’s really well constructed. I really liked the different LIANAS, with Tarzan hanging off the bottom of the last one on the right ! Many thanks Duncan, super blog !
This was a surprise. I hadn’t completed an Inquisitor in months, and the last couple of weeks I’d failed to get a single clue (although that was partly due to lack of time). I finished this Saturday night and even worked out the sliding Tarzan. My only mistake (later corrected) was that seeing LORD and GREYS in the down column, I at first assumed that 35dn must be TOKE which is, after all, a joint.
Thanks Duncan for the blog. As you say, enjoyable but not too difficult. my only concern was whether the two leftmost lianas should be left intact after Tarzan uses them to swing to the right, rather than cut as shown.
I’m with MalcomA@4 in leaving the lianas intact. I wonder what Ferret intended and whether both solutions will be acceptable.
Perhaps the broken bits of liana should be dropped to the forest floor – maybe 42A should become SANDS 🙂
A gentle and pleasant puzzle (which almost sounds like an insult, but it really isn’t).
MalcolmA @ 4 and Howard L @ 5
I must admit that once I had seen that NAN and ANNAS were real words at 33 down and 29 down I never thought about whether the LIANAS should remain untouched. I just focused on moving TARZAN across the grid. I don’t enter the competitions, but like you I will now be interested to see whether the two As should remain in the two left hand LIANAS.
OPatrick @ 6
I worked in the jungles of Sabah many years ago and would be very surprised if LIANAS would break as a result of someone swinging from them. I did a few months of Land Surveying where we had to build platforms in the trees in order to take observations. We used LIANAS to help build the ladders and platforms. They are remarkably strong plants.
Lovely puzzle. Great misdirection with 4d URL. And a nice gentle start to Duncan’s 2016 blogs.
Thanks to Slogger and Better.
Many thanks Ferret, I really enjoyed this. Always good to notch up my first completed puzzle of the year 🙂
I too spent a lot of time scratching my head over the significance of URL which led to a satisfying PDM when the genuine solution clicked.
For what it’s worth, I did the same as Duncan (thanks for the blog) and left the original TARZAN cells blank. To me at least, the instructions don’t suggest that any of the letters should remain in place.
Yes, I did think briefly about whether LIANA 1 & 2 should remain intact … but like Duncan @7, when I saw real words would be left after TARZAN moved across, coupled with the bit in the rubric about “leaving empty cells”, I felt confident that all 6 cells should be blank just as Duncan has in the blog (for which thanks). And thanks too to Ferret for another interesting puzzle (albeit on the easy side).
PS for Duncan –
15a: Chambers does indeed have CORN (verb) “to make granular (archaic)”, but it also has CORN (adj) “granular”, so there is no need for ‘old’ or ‘obsolete’ in the clue.
20a: I reckon that in the wordplay, “endmost one” refers to the last A in LIANAS (as opposed to the first A, or indeed the I) as being the one to remove; I don’t think “endmost” refers to the first letter of the alphabet.
We thought this was an excellent construction. We didn’t notice the LIANAS during the solve – brought a smile as we realised how TARZAN moved across the grid.
We agree with HolyGhost anout the ‘endmost one’ in 20ac. We left the cells blank but as we never submit the completed grid it makes little difference.
Thanks Duncan for the BLO (‘detailed’ BLOG).
Thanks Ferret for a very pleasant Saturday solve.
We really enjoyed this one and enjoyed it even more when we discovered today that we had won the prosecco on Mrs Terrier’s birthday (only my name appears in the paper although both were submitted). It’s nice to have a win after drawing a blank in 2015 despite solving virtually every one. Thanks to Ferret for proving once again that a puzzle does not have to be hugely difficult to be hugely enjoyable. Congratulations to Kippax on getting off the mark for the year!
Excellent! Thanks to Duncan and Ferret. I missed the 4 LIANAs hanging down the grid. I was looking for names of vines or something more complex and so missed the obvious.