For me at least, this puzzle took longer to solve than the average Scorpion, and I will need some input from fellow solvers to explain one or two clues.
Having seen the grid, I wondered if there would be a Nina around the perimeter, and given that today is Valentineβs Day, I also looked hard for a love-related theme: I found neither. However, a theme is provided by the high frequency of French words in the wordplay and the variety of ways in which they are alluded to, which I rather appreciated.
The clues that have partially stumped me are the wordplay at 19 and the definition at 24: help, please! I was wondering if there was an & lit. element to one or both of them. I am also not sure how the βandβ in 11/15/12 is covered in the wordplay – thanks for input!
My clue of the day is 25A without a shadow of a doubt, for its clever construction around drugs and its smooth and wholly misleading surface.
*(β¦) indicates an anagram
| Across | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 6 | Β | ORIENT | Β | RIEN (=nothing Β from Claude, i.e. in French) in OT (=books, i.e. Old Testament); the Β definition is βEastern poeticβ, since βorientβ is an adjective meaning Β eastern in poetry |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 8 | Β | AMBIENT | Β | BIEN (=well Β in Paris, i.e. in French) in <m>A<r>M<i>T<e> (βoccasionallyβ here means alternate letters) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 10 | Β | APPETITE | Β | A + [PETIT (=Frenchmanβs small, i.e. in French) in PE (=training)] |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 11/15/12 | Β | TONGUE AND GROOVE | Β | TONGUE (=language) AND GROOVE (=channel);Β “and” would appear to be implicit in the wordplay; tongue-and-groove (hyphenated in Chambers) is a type of joint for boards in which a projection (tongue) of one isΒ slotted in to a groove in the other; |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 13 | Β | GODβS GIFT | Β | GO (=travel) + DS (=surgeon, i.e. Doctor of Surgery) Β + GI (=soldier) + FT (=foot); the definition is βbombshellβ, i.e. stunninglyΒ attractive person and, by extension, someone greatly desired because of beingΒ perfect |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 16 | Β | T-BONE | Β | BON (=good ProvenΓ§al, i.e. in French) in T<yron>E (βoutsideβ means first and lastΒ letters only) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 18 | Β | ORE | Β | Double definition: ORE is βdeposit of mineβ, i.e. Β mineral AND βforeign moneyβ, i.e. in Scandinavia, officially spelled ΓΆre or ΓΈre |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 19 | Β | HEADSPIN | Β | Headspin is a move popular in breakdancing; see ideas for the wordplay below |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 21 | Β | CON MAN | Β | CON MAN is a cryptic definition for right-winger Β where con means conservative; a con man is a trickster, hence βwhoβs full of tricksβ |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 23 | Β | MODEST | Β | DES (=some (in) French) in MOT (=test, i.e. annual test of roadworthiness) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 25 | Β | SCISSURE | Β | [C (=Charlie, i.e. code word for letter βcβ in radioΒ telecommunications) in SIS (=relative, i.e. sister)] + [SUR (=Pierreβs on, i.e. in French) + E (=drug, i.e.Β Ecstasy)]; the definition is βcrackβ, as in cleft, fissure, rather than drug |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 26 | Β | GALLERY | Β | ALLER (=Claude says, go, i.e. in French) in <ar>GY<le> (βessentiallyβ means middle letters only) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 27 | Β | GDANSK | Β | G (=good) + DANS (=Roquefortβs in, i.e. in French) + K<itchen> (βfar left ofβ means first letter only); the definition is βportβ, in Poland |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| Down | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 1 | Β | DRAPER | Β | PAR (=mean, i.e. average) in RED (=wine); βwhenΒ retiredβ indicates reversal; the definition is βmaterial businessmanβ, i.e. cloth trader |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 2 | Β | RERECORDED | Β | [ERE (=before) + CORD (=cable)] in RED (=rosy) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 3 | Β | PACE | Β | PA (=relative) + C<leavag>E; theΒ definition is βrateβ as a noun, i.e. speed. |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 4 | Β | ABATED | Β | <r>ABAT (=Moroccan place; βignoring starterβΒ means first letter is dropped) + ED (=editor) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 5 | Β | KEEN | Β | <audienc>E Β (βfinale forβ means last letter only) in KEN (=Dodd, i.e. the BritishΒ comedian) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 7 | Β | TRIDENT | Β | RID (=cleansed) in TENT (=when camping, i.e. βin tentβ) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 9 | Β | TRUFFLE | Β | <patien>T Β (βlatestβ means last letter only) + RUFFLE (=upset, as a verb) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 13 | Β | GROIN | Β | ROI (=Louis XVI, say; i.e. French for king) in <co>GN<ac> (βessentiallyβ meansΒ middle letters only) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 14 | Β | GROUNDSMAN | Β | GROUND (=had a scrape, i.e. from verb to grind) + [M (=motorway) in SANΒ (=hospital, i.e. sanatorium)]; the definition is βchap with rollerβ, e.g. atΒ a cricket ground |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 15 | Β | AGE-LONG | Β | <sham>E (βendingβ means last letter only) in *(GAOL) + NG (=no good); βsadlyβ isΒ anagram indicator |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 17 | Β | ETCHING | Β | <f>ETCHING (=selling for; βfellow (=F)βs thrownβ means the letter βfβ is dropped) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 20 | Β | PETREL | Β | ETRE (=from Chamonix to be, i.e. in French) in PL (<a>LP<s>; βcentralβΒ means middle letters only; βclimbingβ indicates vertical reversal) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 22 | Β | AT REST | Β | A<round> (βinitiallyβ means first letter only)Β + TRES (=Alainβs very, i.e. in Β French) + T (=tense, in grammar) |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 24 | Β | EELS | Β | L<owland-dwellers> (βoriginallyβ means firstΒ letter only) in SEE (=Ely, i.e. diocese); βtwisting and turningβ indicates reversal; & lit. since Ely in Cambridgeshire is famous for eels,Β a traditionalΒ featureΒ of the local cuisine |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
| 25 | Β | STYX | Β | Homophone (βreportedβ) of βsticksβ (=country), as in to live in the sticks |
| Β | Β | Β | Β | Β |
Thanks – I enjoyed this.
I think 24 is an &lit. Ely was famous as a source, naturally and commercially, of Eels, hence its name. Excellent clue!
I took 19 as a DD, though your comment has sown doubt…
Thanks RatkojaRiku
I read 19ac as a pun. When doing a headspin whilst breakdancing you might crack your nut (head).
Thanks RR. I found this not-too-difficult as the French words were a bit of a giveaway. I think I might have been not so happy if the same exercise had been tried in German, say.
I have to admit I had Eely at 24, from the presumed definition. Seeing that the answer is Eels, I imagine that it is L in SEE turning, with the whole thing being a semi&lit. It makes a change from See being used to define Ely.
Tres bien Scorpion, must admit headspin was a very tentative entry, and still don’t really get the cracker bit of it. Eels delayed me too, the word dwellers causing some doubt in my mind.
Was a teensy bit surprised that no Valentine bits are present (except of course that the French are the greatest lovers π )
Ta RR agree with you about 25a.
Thanks, Scorpion, and RatkojaRiku. As just happening through luck to be familiar with French, this turned out to be fairly easy but Scorpion very fairly stuck with words that I think would be well-known even to those not knowing much French. While it is a little unusual perhaps, I thought the ‘and’ in TONGUE AND GROOVE was implicit with the two words (language channel – which gave misleading context) appearing together. I guessed HEADSPIN without knowing why apart from nut = head.
We had the same queries with19a and 24d. We think 19a is probably a pun as Gaufrid suggests but we are still not totally convinced about 24d as there is no reference (as far as we can see) to ‘see’ being reversed unless ‘twisting and turning’ is serving two purposes.
Interesting use of french words although one of us doesn’t agree with flashling’s comment!
Thanks RR and Scorpion.
I think B&J at #6 that the whole clue can be read as an &lit ie the whole clue defines EELS and also the whole clue gives the wordplay.
@B&J well twas a joke but there was this French girl I “knew” at university…
Re headspin, it’s the cracker bit I just don’t get spin doesn’t mean crack and breakdancers put their head on the floor, where’s the crack bit, perhaps I’m being a bit dumb here
In 19a; someone who’d just had a blow on the head (= a crack on the nut) might complain their head was spinning. And as Gaufrid points out headspin is a move in breakdancing – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headspin – also, the clue does have a question mark at the end.
Thanks, RatkojaRiku and Scorpion. I liked this very much, with most of it falling out steadily and only the last few holding me up (same old, same old …) The French theme became apparent early, which helped. TRUFFLE had a good surface, and I liked GROIN as well. I took HEADSPIN as Allan has described.
I think I’d go so far as to say that French can be a romantic language, but as for the best lovers … I’m with either B or J.
Twisting and turning lowland-dwellers originally inhabiting Ely? (4) EE(L)S <
does seem to be taking the form of an &lit, since 'twisting and turning' doesn't define and is in the wrong part of speech for EELS, plus there ain't no definition otherwise. If so then 'twisting and turning' has to be the reversal indicator, which (although obviously modified to help with the sense) might not be the purist's cup of tea, with Ely DBE for SEE (the fact that Ely usually signifies, or has come to signify SEE helps a lot with that, of course).
There is a debate, apparently, about the place-name Ely, within which one camp thinks the word derives from EEL. I don't know whether that helps or hinders the clue to be honest, but Ely itself is actually high (85 feet) compared to the surrounding low land.
Bien, Γ©videmment this was going to be right up ma rue. I agree with K’sD about the puzzle, but just wanted to add that I have instructed my legal team to pursue Scorpion over the wholly unfounded and scurrilous suggestion in the surface of 25ac.
Thanks to one and all for the explanations: we live and learn! I certainly had never heard of any association between “Ely” and “eels” until today.
I’m still not sure about 19: perhaps Scorpion will drop in later and enlighten us? That clue really has made our heads spin today π
I think a ‘nutcracker’, in the world of Scorpion, is a heads, or head’s pin, where the pin (a club) is of a rolling variety. In comes Scorpion, the worse for wear, and up jumps the missus with the old rolling pin to give him one round the ears for his trouble.
No?
Maybe I’m being overly naive, but for me the HEADSPIN clue simply works with definition = dance move, and it’s a dance move that could possibly (question mark) crack your ‘nut’ or head because you’re spinning around on your head on a solid surface. Anyway, it worked for me.
I find Scorpion’s clues don’t have quite the precision of compilers like Dac and Quixote, which makes it quite tricky sometimes. Examples here were 17, 25 and of course 19. In 17, what exactly is the ellipsis for? That had me thinking for ages that the answer was going to be ellipse or elipsis or some variant form of the word. For 25, I wasn’t convinced about while as a linking word between the two parts of the charade – I was tending to think that it was a containment indicator. For 24, my thought was that it was an &lit because Ely would at one time have been underwater and hence the home of eels. As I understand it, most of that area is land reclaimed from the sea.
On #16, re 17D, my guess is that the ellipsis was intended as a slight misdirection esp as it wasn’t followed by the usual ellipsis in the following clue.
I think it’s meant to mean “selling for (how much it did sell for)” ie “fetching” which would in that context normally be followed by an amount of money.
Well I’d not finished a Scorpion before in 3 years of doing the indy, so I liked this for that reason, and also because I have at least one cycle tour in France each year. I thought 13 ac was the only iffy clue as I usually come across god’s gift as in “god’s gift to women” , a fellow who rather fancies himself as a ladies’ man, but presumably it has a wider context.