Posted by neildubya on 2nd December 2006
Typically Araucarian puzzle with a theme of coloured butterflys. There was a nice bit of deception in the note above the puzzle which said that the four undefined clues “were connected with a comma”. At first I thought this meant that the answers could be paired together in some way form a phrase or phrases but the penny dropped once I’d solved a couple - a “comma” is also a butterfly.
| Across |
| 1 |
RINGLETS - a ringlet is also a type of butterfly but it’s not brightly coloured, which is why I think it’s only “less closely connected” with the others. |
| 9 |
MOUSETRAP - I guess this is a reference to the long running West End play. |
| 12 |
LABOUR LEADER - very good &lit clue. |
| 15 |
A,XI’S - team is (e.g.) “first XI”. |
| 16 |
(tum lips are)* - the third division of a ruminant’s stomach. You never know when that piece of knowledge might come in handy. |
| 19,2D |
RAVE,NOUS - I like “party sense” for RAVE and NOUS but the surface doesn’t really do it for me. How can you be “starving in the party sense”? |
| 21 |
(marple’s mento)* - we’re being asked to accept “miss” as an anagram indicator but I’m struggling to see how it could be. |
| 25 |
PURR in LAING - I loved “purr” for “satisfaction voiced”. RD Laing was a Scottish psychiatrist, famous for his unorthodox views on the causes and treatment of mental illness. |
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| Down |
| 1,23 |
RAM,PAGED |
| 4 |
TORTOISESHELL - the first undefined thematic clue. Lots of elements to put together here: TORT (wrong)+O(love)+IS+ES (two compass points)+HELL(DAMNATION) - but again, what’s the surface reading doing? |
| 6 |
(seem)* in HORN |
| 7 |
RED ADMIRAL - DAD,MIR in REAL |
| 8 |
(h)EART RUM PET - hmm. “Funny” is “rum” - fair enough. But that means “one” is meant to be “pet”. I think we’re supposed to assume that “one” refers back to “endearment” so rum pet is a funny endearment. Some people might not like that. |
| 10 |
PURPLE EMPEROR - another thematic clue. Purple is associated with kings and emperors. |
| 13,20 |
CAMBERWELL BEAUTY - the last thematic clue. SE5 is the postcode for the area in London. |
| 14 |
(politic mad)* |
| 22 |
CITY - from the capital letters of those cities. Sort of leapt out at you really. |
Posted in Guardian | 1 Comment »
Posted by neildubya on 2nd December 2006
This puzzle was deliberately scheduled to appear on the 25th and it became apparent why as the grid was filled in. Unchecked letters at the top and bottom and left and right read out “EYE FOR (I4) SUMMIT, ILKLEY, BAR TAT” a reference to the get-together of crossword setters and solvers that was held on this day. We trust that a splendid time was had by all.
| Across |
| 7 |
FA in INN, T - “pub” is often “inn” or “bar” in a crossword. |
| 10 |
SPAR,TA - I got JUNTA into my head, despite it being a letter short and it took a while to get past that. |
| 11 |
ROSE in KEN, E |
| 13 |
SIX, S, HOOTERS - nice clue. I thought at first that the definition was “a number” but when I couldn’t make SIX-THOUSAND work with clue I had to re-think. |
| 18 |
(g)LAZIER |
| 20 |
anag of O,WAS,KEPT - nice smooth surface reading to this clue. |
| 22 |
shENanIGan MAde - took a while to work out the “braces cut” device, which I’ve never seen used before. Clever though and perfectly fair I thought. |
| 24 |
YOU, SIGN (rev), H - “you” is us, if you see what I mean, “twins” is a ref to Gemini, a sign of the Zodiac. |
| 25 |
(s)EXTANT |
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| Down |
| 2 |
YAK,I,TOR,I - this word appeared in Bunthorne’s last crossword a few weeks ago and I remember remarking that it doesn’t look like an easy word to clue. I think Monk handles it well here. [Edit: it was TERIYAKI that appeared in the Bunthorne crossword. Thanks to Fletch for pointing that out. Make that two difficult words to clue.] |
| 5 |
anag of CAST ON - a new one on me. It’s apparently a constellation notable for it’s location as the sout celestial pole. |
| 9 |
RUST,LED - corrosion is “rust” but I don’t get “got to the van” as LED. Anyone? |
| 8 |
GRAPES OF WRATH - anag of SOFTWARE, GRAPH. If you see the word “novel” in a crossword you’re either looking for the title of an actual novel or it’s an anagram indicator. |
| 15 |
SET in ROSTI - I’ve had rosti a few times but never really thought of it as a pancake. |
| 16 |
BAGNIOS - anothew word to me. SIN, GAB around O, all reversed. Nice surface and a well-constructed clue. |
| 19 |
EG(up)in INN, U - technically the third “pub”in the crossword as an actual pub, “BAR TAT”, also makes an appearance as the venue of the day’s revelries. |
| 21 |
anag of (d)EAD MAN |
Posted in Independent | 3 Comments »