This was an oddly coincidental puzzle for me. I bought the paper on my way to Nottingham for an Open University residential school. I spent the week studying mathematical modelling and, in particular, I opted for an assignment looking at the design of louvres for shading windows. I didn’t, though, do the puzzle until after the week of study.
One I got around to solving it was, luckily, a fairly easy puzzle from Phi, very similar in structure to my last blogged puzzle by Quixote. Extra letters in the wordplay of otherwise normal clues spelt out most of a quotation. The quotation suggested a way of completing the three unclued down lights. So, the quotation was:
(‘TIS THE) TIME’S PLAGUE WHEN MADMEN LEAD THE BLIND
This Shakespearean quote led to three entries where a word for madmen preceded a word for blind. In this instance blind referred to a window blind, a louvre!
For the clues I have given the wordplay including the extra letter is given below. I’ve not provided much commentary but I’ll respond to any comments if further explanation is needed.
| Theme words | |
|---|---|
| 1 | COOTS JALOUSIE |
| 5 | LOONIES ROLLER |
| 8 | CUPCAKES SHADE |
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CROTALA | ROT in CAT + LA | |
| 6 | EPIC | IE + PIC | |
| 9 | OUT OF ORDER | (MORE OF TUDOR)* | |
| 11 | SET-UP | SEE + PUT< | |
| 13 | TENSON | TENS(e)+SON | |
| 15 | SETT | (p)ET in ST | |
| 16 | OSTIA | LOST+I+A | A from ‘admit’. |
| 17 | JOINDER | JO+IN+DEAR | |
| 18 | LENK | LEG+NK | NK = not known. See the comments below. PENK PEG+NK |
| 19 | RECASTING | (URGE ACTS IN)* | |
| 21 | LION | LIE+ON | |
| 23 | BRAVOES | BRAW+VOES | |
| 24 | OFFAL | OFF+HALE | |
| 25 | DUOS | SOU(r)ED< | the ‘r’ is a ‘hint of reluctance’ |
| 28 | LAUNCH | AN(y) in LUNCH | |
| 30 | SECAM | ACES< + MM | a broadcasting system similar to PAL or NTSC. |
| 31 | OUTWEIGHED | (THE WAGE I)* in DUO< | |
| 32 | EATH | (d)EATH | |
| 33 | ORNETTE | NETT in MORE | Ornette Coleman is a jazz musician. |
| Down | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | RUPEE | RUE+PEE | |
| 3 | TOSS | TONS+S | |
| 4 | AFFORDABLE | LORD in AFFABLE | |
| 6 | EDEN | NEEDE(d)< | |
| 7 | PETITE | AIT in PETE | AIT is an island |
| 10 | UNTIE | IT< in DUNE | |
| 12 | USING | (r)USTING | I think this is right though I got the answer from the definition and checking letters. |
| 14 | PORTAKABIN | PORT+A+HK+A BIN | brand name for a temporary portable building system. Often used for temporary extensions or building site offices. |
| 19 | RIFLE | R+I FLEE | |
| 20 | NOUNY | O in BUNNY* | |
| 22 | OFFCUT | O+FF+CULT | |
| 26 | OCTET | beriOCITETroubles | |
| 29 | MATH | MAN+TH(e) | US spelling indicated. |
| 29 | URGE | RG in DUE | Really Gross. |
I had PENK for 18 across, from PEG for LEG as I couldn’t find LENK in any dictionary (Chambers, SOED or Collins). PENK is in Chambers as equivalent to the 8th meaning of PINK (a minnow or samlet).
Duncan, thanks for the correction. It’s lucky I don’t submit these things! I did know that LENK was wrong and PENK was right but I left the L in the grid from an initial bad guess. That got penned in when I tidied up the grid and then as it fitted the wordplay I managed to write it up with no problems!
Did this on the plane to Delhi, and managed all except PENK.
OSTIA is plural of OSTIUM but as the clue was singular I assume that the reference is to the old Roman port.
Sorry, I can’t help any further with OSTIA as I no longer have the hard copy and I don’t recall the clue.