It’s been over a year since we saw a Lato Inquisitor, so it’s good to get another one.
The preamble told us that nine unclued entries (three groups of three) suggest three other words, not themselves in the grid, one group by definition, one by association and one (as a group rather than individually) by exemplification. Solvers must deduce the relationship between the suggested words and highlight in the completed grid the star (11 letters) of a film whose title is similarly related. Corrected single letter misprints in the definitions of 11 clues spell out the co-star. Two unclued entries are two words.
I made fairly steady progress solving the untreated clues and found myself beginning to wonder where all the clues with misprints were. I noticed that I filled well over half the grid and had only found two of the misprints. At this stage a few of the unclued words were becoming apparent. CONTINUE fell quite quickly, as did ROYAL Realising LINDBERGH was an unclued word helped deduce BADER and RED BARON which gave me my first group which I initially termed PILOTS or AVIATORS. I reckoned STAY could go with CONTINUE to be definitions of REMAIN. I could see ULTRA as a possible unclued word That left me with B_L FT and HO_SE. The latter could have been HORSE or HOUSE. The penny drop moment came when I thought of ULTRAMARINE and then realised we could have ROYAL MARINE. So we had REMAIN and MARINE which were anagrams of each other. Ah!, the flyers could be AIRMEN, another anagram. A little bit more research yielded the splendid HORSE MARINE that describes a person quite out of his element; The preamble said two of the unclued entries were of two words, so the final one could be BY LEFT or BE LEFT with the latter being a definition for REMAIN
The three groups of unclued words therefore are:
CONTINUE, STAY and BE LEFT leading to REMAIN – definition
HORSE, ROYAL and ULTRA generating MARINE by association; and
BADER, LINDBERGH and the RED BARON all members of AIRMEN group by exemplification.
Eventually the misprints began to appear. Once I had something like SE_NCON_E__ I was able to deduce SEAN CONNERY, which in turn helped identify the remaining misprints. Films are not my strength but given that the title was going to be an anagram of REMAIN, I was able to dredge up MARNIE from somewhere. Fortunately SEAN CONNERY was the co-star and I discovered that the star was TIPPI HEDREN who I believe is well known as an associate of Alfred Hitchcock who directed the film. It wasn’t too difficult to identify TIPPI (across – row 5) and HEDREN (down- column 1)
With a bit of highlighting that completed the puzzle.
Looking back at the clues when writing the blog, the wordplay was very clear. I was aware of the star DENEB. It took me a while to work out that ‘essence for’ was cluing the central letter O of ‘for’ in 15 across. County LAOIS is not one that came to mind readily but it really couldn’t be anything else given the crossing letters. THALAMI was a new word for me. ELLOPS is a word I have seen before, but only in crosswords. Having worked in West Africa, the African references were not too difficult.
I’d noticed fairly early on that were a lot of three and four letter words in the grid. I assume these were forced on Lato by the need to fit the nine unclued entries into a symmetric grid. I always have a fear of someone creating a puzzle comprising only 4 letter words of the form blank A blank E.
This was an enjoyable puzzle that looked easier when it was finished than it seemed whilst I was solving it, but’s that’s often the case with Inquisitors when you realise that really they are not as fearsome as they sometimes look.
The final grid looked like this:
The reason for the title FILM is fairly obvious.
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. |
Clue Amended Clue |
Letter |
Wordplay | Entry |
| 7 | A Star is Born in twist to plot (5) |
|
NÉ (of a man, born) contained in (in) BED (plot for flowers in the garden) reversed (twist) DE (NE) B< |
DENEB (brightest star in the constellation Cygnus)
|
| 11 | Join old queen entertaining king (5) |
|
MARY (reference one of the Queens MARY of old) containing (entertaining) R (Rex; king) MAR (R) Y – either R could be the one contained |
MARRY (join) |
| 13 | River in the countryside’s hidden source (4) |
|
RURAL (of, relating to or suggesting the country or countryside) excluding (hidden) the first letter (source) R URAL |
URAL (reference the URAL river which flows through Russia and Kazakhstan) |
| 14 | Really underhand after euro is abandoned (9) |
|
Anagram of (abandoned) EURO IS + SLY (cunning; underhand) SERIOU* SLY |
SERIOUSLY (extremely; really) |
| 15 |
Atone in essence for mate (4) Stone in essence for mate (4) |
S |
O (middle letter of [essence] FOR + PAL (mate) O PAL |
OPAL (mineral used a gemstone) |
| 16 |
One’s involved with country and county (5)
|
|
I (Roman numeral for one) contained in (involved with) LAOS (country in South East Asia) LAO (I) S |
LAOIS (Irish county)
|
| 17 | Africans and Chinese into white wine (7) |
|
HAN (native Chinese people) contained in (into) ASTI (Italian white wine) AS (HAN) TI |
ASHANTI (Ghanaian people [African people]) |
| 20 |
Dish with rich sauce returned – nothing revolutionary (5) Dish with rice sauce returned – nothing revolutionary (5) |
E |
LIP (insolence; sauce) reversed (returned) + FA (Fanny Adams – nothing) reversed (revolutionary) PIL< AF< |
PILAF (highly spiced Asian dish of rice with a fowl or other meat, or fish, boiled together) |
| 24 | Hurt by faulty pistol (6) |
|
Anagram of (faulty) PISTOL SPOILT* |
SPOILT (harmed; hurt) |
| 26 | Those people briefly get lost in wood (3) |
|
‘EM (abbreviation for THEM [those people]) containing (get) L (lost in sports results terminology, won [w], lost [l] etc…) E (L) M |
ELM (type of wood or tree) |
| 28 | Endlessly obsessive gossip (3) |
|
ANAL (obsessive) excluding the final letter (endlessly) L ANA |
ANA (a collection of gossip)
|
| 30 | Best bet’s to go back (3) |
|
POT (large stake or bet) reversed (to go back) TOP< |
TOP (best) |
| 31 |
Luck or skill? He’d backtracked about it (6) Lack or skill? He’d backtracked about it (6) |
A |
HE’D reversed (backtracked) containing (about) ART (skill) DE (ART) H< |
DEARTH (scarcity; lack) |
| 35 | Starts to look at the Hebrew alphabet in my new Chambers (7) |
|
Anagram of (new) LATHAIM (first letters of [starts to] each of LOOK, AT, THE, HEBREW, ALPHABET, IN and MY) THALAMI* |
THALAMI (inner rooms in ancient Greece) |
| 39 | TV showman grabs old cow (5) |
|
KYLE (reference Jeremy KYLE [born 1965], host of a TV tabloid talk show) containing (grabs) O (old) KYL (O) E |
KYLOE (small long-haired cow of the Scottish Highlands and Hebrides)
|
| 43 | Boatman tricked over missing diamonds (4) |
|
HAD ON (tricked) all reversed (over) excluding (missing) D (diamonds) (NO AH)< |
NOAH (reference the biblical story about NOAH [boatman] and his ark) |
| 44 | Veil‘s very hot – mostly rejected (5) |
|
BAKING (very hot) excluding the final letter (mostly) G reversed (rejected) NIKAB< |
NIKAB (variant spelling of NIQAB [veil covering the face, worn by Muslim women]) |
| 45 | Drive round American resort (5) |
|
HUNT (hound or drive) containing (round) A (American) H (A) UNT |
HAUNT (resort)
|
| Down | ||||
| 1 | British are ready outside fortress (6) |
|
CASH (money; ready) containing (outside) (B [British] + A [are; metric measure of area]) CAS (B A) H |
CASBAH (variant spelling of KASBAH [castle or fortress in a N African town or the area round it])
|
| 2 |
Sigh over servants (4) Sign over servants (4) |
N |
O (over) + MEN (servants) O MEN |
OMEN (sign of some future event) |
|
3
|
Journey‘s end, rector admitted (4)
|
|
R (rector) contained in (admitted) TIP (end) T (R) IP |
TRIP (journey)
|
| 4 |
Blub – working to support taxman, as was (4) Club – working to support taxman, as was (4) |
C |
IR (Inland Revenue [name for the tax department] before it became [as was] HMRC [Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs]) + ON (working) As this is a Down entry, the letters ON are supporting the letters IR. IR ON |
IRON (type of golf club) |
| 5 | Round North America charity withdrawn (6) |
|
(US [United States; America] containing [around] N [north]) + AID (charity) U (N) S AID |
UNSAID (retracted words; words taken back or withdrawn) |
| 6 | Sturgeon‘s arrangement for fifty Poles (6) |
|
Anagram of (arrangement for) L (Roman numeral for fifty) and POLES ELLOPS* |
ELLOPS (kind of sturgeon)
|
| 8 | 4,22’s worried about wearing away (9) |
|
Anagram of (worried) IRON (entry at 4’down) and ALOE‘S [ALOE is the entry at 22 down, the clue refers to the possessive ‘s) EROSIONAL* |
EROSIONAL (wearing away) |
| 9 | Best bet one’s leather (4) |
|
NAP (racing tip that professes to be a certainty; best bet) + A (one) NAP A |
NAPA (a soft leather)
|
| 10 |
Brit from Morecambe, Lancashire (4)
Brio from Morecambe, Lancashire (4) |
O |
ELAN (hidden word in [from] MORECAMBE LANCASHIRE) ELAN |
ELAN (vigour and style; brio)
|
| 12 | Hunt’s totally pointless chief (4) |
|
SEARCH (hunt) excluding all points of the compass (totally pointless) S [South] and E [East]) ARCH |
ARCH (chief) |
| 15 | One Vauxhall chief’s material (9) |
|
ASTRA (model of car made by Vauxhall Motors) + KHAN (title for a prince or chief in Central Asia) ASTRA KHAN |
ASTRAKHAN (lambskin with curled wool from the Middle East; a rough fabric made in imitation of it) |
| 19 |
10 in clear for them (4) 10 in clear for then (4) |
N |
X (Roman numeral for 10) contained in (in) NET (clear of all charges or deductions) NE (X) T |
NEXT (after that time; then) |
| 21 |
Made to bury computer stuff at bottom of lake (3) Made to burn computer stuff at bottom of lake (3) |
N |
L (lake) + IT (Information Technology) L IT As this is a Down entry, the letters IT are below [at the bottom of] the letters L. |
LIT (set alight; made to burn) |
| 22 | Plant talking in Eastenders? I’m surprised! (4) |
|
ALOE (sounds like [taking in] ‘ALLO [Cockney {Eastenders] way of indicating surprise]) ALOE |
ALOE (any member of a mainly South African genus ALOE, consisting mostly of trees and shrubs of the lily family; plant
|
| 23 | Print round sign (4) |
|
O (round shape) + LEO (sign of the Zodiac) O LEO |
OLEO (OLEOgraph [print in oil colours to imitate an oil painting.])
|
| 25 | Old man holds up live armadillo (4) |
|
PA (father; old man) containing (holds) BE (live) reversed (up; down clue) P (EB<) A |
PEBA (a South American armadillo)
|
| 27 | Politician‘s early life (3) |
|
MAY (reference Theresa MAY [born 1956], currently United Kingdom Prime Minister; politician) MAY |
MAY ([with a capital letter] the early or gay [used here in it’s more traditional definition] part of life) Double definition
|
| 29 |
Did pint,one Henry’s drunk initially disappoint? (5) Did pine,one Henry’s drunk initially disappoint? (5) |
E |
ACE (one) containing (drunk) H (Henry [unit of inductance]) + D (first letter of [initially] DISAPPOINT) AC (H) E D |
ACHED (yearned; did pine)
|
| 31 | Actress’s right in draught (6) |
|
R (right) contained in (in) DENCH (reference Dame Judi DENCH [born 1934], English actress) D (R) ENCH |
DRENCH (draught)
|
| 32 | Hindu festival, I’m thinking, is more religious (6) |
|
HOLI (Hindu spring festival characterized by boisterous revelry) + ER (expressing hesitation whilst thinking) HOLI ER |
HOLIER (more religious)
|
|
33
|
Without delay agreed to carry clubs (6, 2 words)
|
|
AT ONE (in agreement) containing (to carry) C (clubs) AT ON (C) E |
AT ONCE (immediately)
|
| 34 | Become better off as Friedrich Engels shows (6) |
|
RICHEN (hidden word in [as … shows] FRIEDRICH ENGELS) RICHEN |
RICHEN (become better off)
|
| 36 | Feeling maybe Ashley’s left out (4) |
|
LAURA (reference LAURA Ashley [1925 – 1985], English fashion designer and founder of a chain of shops under her name) excluding (out) L (left) AURA |
AURA (ambience, atmosphere, feeling) |
| 37 |
Combative banker turned up in a boozer (4) Combative barker turned up in a boozer (4) |
R |
(A + SOT [drunkard; boozer]) all reversed (turned up; down clue) (TOS A)< |
TOSA (heavily built, smooth-haired dog, the adult of which weighs approx 7 stone, bred for fighting; combative barker) |
| 38 |
See painting without centrepiece – you said Monet (4) See painting without centrepiece – you said Money (4) |
Y |
V (vide [Latin for ‘see’]) + ART (painting) excluding the middle letter (without centrepiece) ] R + U (sounds like [said] you) V AT U |
VATU (standard monetary unit of Vanuatu; money)
|
| 40 | Sailor’s in the same place for a month (4) |
|
AB (able seaman) + IB (ibid [latin for ibidem, in the same place]) AB IB |
ABIB (earlier name for the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar)
|
| 41 | Rail‘s weak under pressure (4) |
|
Anagram of (under pressure) WEAK) WEKA* |
WEKA (any of the flightless rails of the genus Ocydromus or Gallirallus of New Zealand) |
| 42 | Nigerian writer announcing departure over book (4) |
|
I GO (statement from the author [writer] announcing departure) containing (over) B (book) I G (B) O |
IGBO (member of a tribe in Eastern Nigeria) |
I too enjoyed this puzzle very much. My way into the theme was similar to but not the same as yours, duncanshiell. I got all three aviators and had ‘airmen’ as an equally good alternative group name. I guessed Sean Connery from the two pairs of consecutive letters NC and NN, and my break eventually came when I thought of ‘remain’, which I should have thought of much earlier. Marnie (which I knew and have seen) then fell into place, and the rest was straightforward.
A good puzzle with a satisfying endgame.
Many thanks to Lato and duncanshiell.
We don’t see Theme and Variations puzzles very often these days, so this one was very welcome. It took me far longer than it should have done to twig the AIRMEN/REMAIN/MARINE connection – in fact I didn’t get it until I found MARNIE in a list of Sean Connery films. Great stuff.
I have to ask – is the IQ becoming the films and TV crossword for advanced solvers?
Fine puzzle, which I filled in correctly, found the co-star, and highlighted Tippi Hedren without ever twigging that the three groups could be used to define anagrams of the film title. That’ll stilll go down as a solve, though.
I saw Sean Connery but I was confusing co-star with supporting actor so i was on a wold goose chase with The Rock and Nicolas Cage!
Instructions have never been my forte. Good puzzle.and blog.
As a film buff, I was determined not to use imdb (film google), especially when Sean Connery turned up. But which of his films involved marines and aviators? I found this a long, hard solve (but never a slog), and it was very late in the day when Tippi tipped her hat. Since that could only mean Marnie, the airmen and the odd third group suddenly flew into focus.
Tougher, I think, than the recent run, perhaps because of all the unclued entries, but a really good puzzle. Thanks to Lato and duncanshiell – the horse marine was news to me.
A nice mix of some easy clues to get one started and some more demanding ones to keep us thinking. It took me a while to spot the AEIMNR anags but I enjoyed the PDM. Then I misunderstood the preamble and started searching for a Sean Connery film for which the title was three anagrams – hardly likely but you never know what oddities IQ compilers find. I could not believe my stupidity when I spotted MARNIE.
So thanks to Lato for an enjoyable few hours and to Duncan for his usual thorough job.
PS: That’s five excellent IQs in a row. I think our editor is trying to make amends for no 1548!
DaveW
I had a similar thought to yours in your PS. 1548 was unique, to judge from my own experience of it and from others’ comments.
Can’t let the comment about 1548 pass without comment- I thought it was superb, personally
Rather a lot of proper nouns: LAURA Ashley, Judi DENCH, Jeremy KYLE, Vauxhall ASTRA, not to mention LAOIS, DENEB, URAL. Hmm. Found Sean Connery early without a problem and spotted the three anagrams, but took a while to get to MARNIE & the co-star.
Thanks to all. (And I agree that the editor has no need to make amends for no 1548.)
PS I do wish that preambles wouldn’t refer to “corrected misprints” when they mean the corrections to misprints, rather than the misprints themselves,
HolyGhost @9
Your PS makes a good point about preambles in general. All IQ puzzles need them, and they are often written with a minimum of words. The phrasing you pointed out in the preamble to this puzzle would not mislead us: it’s only when a key point is omitted or unclear that we need to worry.
Many thanks to Duncan for an excellent blog and to others for their comments.
Can’t really understand the PS @9. A corrected proof would surely refer to the new version rather than the previous uncorrected one.
Another very enjoyable puzzle. I got Sean Connery first and then enlisted Wikipedia’s help to get Marnie, Tippi et al who I had not heard of.
I understand HG’s point about it being the new letters being the thing required: the misprints are mistakes in the printing and a “corrected misprint” is something of a contradiction in terms. “Corrections to misprints” puts the corrections firmly as the subject of the phrase (rather than the misprints) and sidesteps the self-contradiction.
Thank you Lato.
Just back from a couple of weeks away and surprised by the negative comments about 1548 (Round Robbin’ by Ifor). It scored 8.5/10 on my (admittedly rather idiosyncratic) marking system. Only three puzzles so far this year have scored 9.
So HG@9 and I seem to be agreed on that, but I’m puzzled by his unhappiness over the higher proportion of proper nouns in this one. Are there rules about this? Personally, I welcome proper nouns in clues and answers and think it’s reasonable for setters to assume that we strange people who tackle advanced thematic crosswords have a wide range of knowledge and interests. The ones mentioned cover fashion, theatre, television, cars, astronomy and geography.
I was clearly on the right wavelength for this one, initially at least. I’d pencilled in LINDBERGH and RED BARRON early on, immediately thought AIRMEN and jumbled it to get MARINE (so maybe that was ULTRA and a ROYAL could fit over there…), REMAIN (perhaps those 4 blank cells could be STAY?) and MARNIE – yup, everything wrapped up in a matter of minutes, not the usual hours…. But then things started to get tricky. All I knew about Marnie was that it was a Hitchcock film so it took me a good while to work out that Sean Connery was the star and search as I might, I couldn’t find his co-star in the grid. I feel I should have recognised Tippi and perhaps would have done had the Hedren been connected, so I’m marginally disappointed with myself for that. I also made a mistake with the 3rd airman, plumping for Laker (as in Freddie) before getting 25D, which I then failed to recover, guessing that a Pila was a thing, and li and abbreviation for live. Hmmm.
A pleasant and accessible holiday challenge, so thanks to Lato.