This is Skylark’s tenth Inquisitor puzzle since her debut in this series in 2019.
We were given a fairly short preamble this week, where we learnt that an extra letter, which has made a shock appearance in each clue, should be removed before solving. In clue order, the extra letters spell what should be highlighted (32 cells in total), and the work’s creator.
Before I started solving, I noted that there were 25 across clues and 18 down clues, which is a bit of an imbalance. This implied to me that there may be more thematic material along the rows rather than down the columns.
I made fairly steady progress solving the clues, but not in any particular order. Whenever I solved a clue without crossing letters, I immediately homed in on its intersecting clues to benefit from the letters I had just entered. Gradually, the message from the letters removed from the clues built up to a point where I could deduce the full message.
This message was TWO STARS OF A FILM PLUS ITS TITLE ANTHONY MINGHELLA
A bit of research revealed that MINGHELLA directed the film TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY. Knowing that TRULY was an across entry, it didn’t take too long to spot MADLY and the likely location of DEEPLY. A little more research told me that the film’s stars were Alan RICKMAN and Juliet STEVENSON whose surnames could be found in rows 1 (to) and 13 (bottom) of the grid.
The final grid with highlighting is shown immediately below.
The clues, before and after removal of the extra letters and the wordplay is shown further below. For me, the most difficult part of the crossword was identifying the letters to be removed from the clues. The clues themselves were, I thought, towards the easier end of the Inquisitor difficulty spectrum. There were though, a couple of answers with complex wordplay, such as DISTINGUISHES and DOORNAIL. New words for me were DONET and AGNISED.
Knowledge of films is not one of my strengths, so I was not sure what the relevance of the word ‘shock’ was in the title. I asked Gemeni, Google’s Artificial Intelligence engine, to help me and was given this response:
Many people go into it expecting a schmaltzy, supernatural ghost story like the film Ghost. Instead, it’s a deeply raw, gritty, and surprisingly funny meditation on grief. The “shock” is how authentically and messily it portrays the mourning process, along with the unexpected frustration of ghost Jamie returning and bringing his friends to hang out.
Thanks to Skylark for an enjoyable crossword.
| No | Detail |
Letter |
| Across | ||
| 1 |
Maybe trust back: stack tower over borehole (7) Maybe rust back: stack tower over borehole (7) DERRICK (a framework or tower over a borehole or the like) RED (rust is a reddish-brown colour; maybe rust) reversed (back) + RICK (a stack, of hay, for example) DER< RICK |
T |
| 6 |
Leader of women interrupts wild meal (6) Leader of omen interrupts wild meal (6) MANIOC (meal obtained from the root of cassava) O (first letter of [leader of] Omen) contained in (interrupts) MANIC (wild) MANI (O) C |
W |
| 10 |
Lizard, one bird and toad in centre (6) Lizard, one bird and tad in centre (6) IGUANA (a large lizard) I (Roman numeral for one) + GUAN (a large noisy American arboreal game bird) + A (middle letter of [in the centre] tAd) I GUAN A |
O |
| 11 |
Scottish island’s sedge (4) Scottish island’s edge (4) INCH (Scottish term for an island) INCH (to edge or move by slow degrees) double definition INCH |
S |
| 13 |
Mostly print covers front of shirt, trim part of sleeve (9) Mostly print covers front of shirt, rim part of sleeve (9) WRISTBAND (part of a sleeve covering the wrist) (WRITe [print] excluding the final letter [mostly] E containing [covers] S [first letter of [front of Shirt]) + BAND (rim [encircling BAND]) WRI (S) T BAND |
T |
| 14 |
Really turning tent hiding Angela’s rear (5) Really turning tent hiding Angel’s rear (5) TRULY (really) YURT (a light conical tent of skins etc) reversed (turning) containing (hiding) L (last letter of [‘s rear] angeL) TRU (L) Y< |
A |
| 15 |
Mostly reliable tuners for one pianist? (4) Mostly reliable tunes for one pianist? (4) SOLI (tunes for one player, such as a pianist) SOLId (reliable) excluding the final letter (mostly) D SOLI |
R |
| 16 |
Fast swapping diamonds for Italy’s money (4) Fat swapping diamonds for Italy’s money (4) LARI (the standard monetary unit of Georgia; money) LARD (fat) with the D (diamonds) replaced by (swapping) I (international vehicle registration for Italy) to form LARI LARI |
S |
| 19 |
Embassy fail international boy (7) Embassy fail international by (7) MISSION (embassy) MISS (fail) + I (international) + ON (against; close to; by) MISS I ON |
O |
| 20 |
Knob’s feast following dip (4) Knob’s East following dip (4) NODE (a knob or lump) NOD (dip one’s head) + E (East) NOD E |
F |
| 21 |
Cheat crossing island to forage (4) Cheat crossing island to forge (4) COIN (form or fashion; forge) CON (cheat) containing (crossing) I (island) CO (I) N |
A |
| 23 |
Flip last of bumf to incite outside (5, 2 words) Flip last of bum to incite outside (5, 2 words) GO MAD (flip) GOAD (incite) containing (outside) M (final letter of [last of] buM) GO (M) AD |
F |
| 25 |
Channel yield includes liquid for washing (3) Channel yeld includes liquid for washing (3) LYE (a liquid used for washing) LYE (hidden word in [includes] channeL YEld) LYE |
I |
| 26 |
Primer formerly balked Tesla (5) Primer formerly baked Tesla (5) DONET (obsolete [former] term for a grammar or primer) DONE (baked) + T (tesla, unit of magnetic flux density) DONE T |
L |
| 28 |
Run returning bore clutching spasm in the back (4) Run returning bore clutching spas in the back (4) DASH (run) HAD (past tense of have [bear]; bore) reversed (returning) containing (clutching) S (final letter of [in the back) spaS) DA (S) H< |
M |
| 30 |
Plant pink, initially behind tree (4) Plant ink, initially behind tree (4) BENI (sesame [a plant]) BEN (any of several tropical trees of the Moringa genus, especially the horseradish tree) + I (first letter of [initially] Ink) BEN I |
P |
| 31 |
Dye permanently trendy lace, parting smile (7) Dye permanently trendy ace, parting smile (7) INGRAIN (dye in a fast or lasting colour; dye permanently) IN (trendy) + A (ace) contained in (parting) GRIN (smile) IN GR (A) IN |
L |
| 33 |
Missing corpus sparing devout person (4) Missing corps sparing devout person (4) SANT (a devout person) ScANT (sparing) excluding (missing) C (corps) SANT |
U |
| 34 |
Slow to expire in Perth, pastor (4) Low to expire in Perth, pastor (4) DEEP (low in pitch) DEE (Scottish [Perth] word for die [expire]) + P (pastor) DEE P |
S |
| 36 |
Song lady outwardly ruins in charge (5) Song lady outwardly runs in charge (5) LYRIC (a song) LY (outer letters of [outwardly] LadY) + R (runs) + I/C (in charge) LY R IC |
I |
| 37 |
Checks overt British, translates into an action word (9) Checks over British, translates into an action word (9) VERBIFIES (convert [translate] into a verb [an action word]) VERIFIES (checks) containing (over) B (British) VER (B) IFIES |
T |
| 38 |
Gutless earl on borders steals young pigs (4) Gutless earl on borders teals young pigs (4) ELTS (young sows [pigs]) EL (letters remaining in EarL when the central letters ar are removed [gutless]) + TS (outer letters of [borders] TealS) EL TS |
S |
| 39 |
Secure wobbly stave (6) Secure wobbly save (6) RESCUE (save) Anagram of (wobbly) SECURE RESCUE* |
T |
| 40 |
Street pair local’s voice (6) Street par local’s voice (6) STEVEN (dialect [local] word for ‘voice’) ST (street) + EVEN (a word describing a par score for a round of golf, ‘She finished even’ meaning ‘She finished with a par score’) ST EVEN |
I |
| 41 |
Male society welcomes tan capes (7) Male society welcomes an capes (7) SONTAGS (women’s knitted cape) (STAG [male] + S [society]) containing (welcomes) ON (Chambers has one definition of ‘an’ as an obsolete form of ‘on’) S (ON) TAG S |
T |
| Down | ||
| 1 |
Identifies Henry’s in clover, son’s accepting money (13) Identifies Henry’s in cover, son’s accepting money (13) DISTINGUISHES (identifies) ([H {henry, derived SI unit of inductance} contained in {in} DISGUISE {conceal; cover}] + S [son]) containing (accep[ting) TIN (money) DIS (TIN) GUIS (H) E S |
L |
| 2 |
One French historic city’s raised Maori owls (5) On French historic city’s raised Maori owls (5) RURUS (Maori word for owls) (SUR [French for ‘on’] + UR [ancient [historic] city state in Mesopotamia]) all reversed (raised; down entry) (RU RUS)< |
E |
| 3 |
Spooner’s drag arose in Euston? (8) Spooner’s drag rose in Euston? (8) RAILHEAD (Euston station is a railhead or terminus) RAILHEAD (Reverend Spooner would pronounce RAILHEAD as HALE [drag] RED [a rose colour]) RAILHEAD |
A |
| 4 |
Matching heartless agent entering barn, cold (6, 2 words) Matching heartless agent entering bar, cold (6, 2 words) IN SYNC (matching) (SpY [agent] excluding the central letter [heartless] P contained in (entering) INN [a bar]) + C (cold) IN (SY) N C |
N |
| 5 |
Water-antelope beginning to touch African bread (4) Water-antelope beginning to ouch African bread (4) KOBO (a Nigerian monetary unit, 1/100 of a naira; African bread) KOB (any of various species of African water-antelope or waterbuck) + O (first letter of [beginning to] Ouch) KOB O |
T |
| 6 |
Start to have row cutting stew’s powdery quality (9) Start to ave row cutting stew’s powdery quality (9) MEALINESS (powdery quality) (A [first letter of {start to} Ave] + LINE [row]) contained in (cutting) MESS (stew) ME (A LINE) SS |
H |
| 7 |
Once confessed Ringo left expressing anguish (7) Once confessed ring left expressing anguish (7) AGNISED (archaic word meaning to acknowledge or confess) AGoNISED (if a person is agonised, he or she is expressing anguish) excluding (left) O (ring-shaped letter) AGNISED |
O |
| 8 |
Nicky’s head aboard trendy vessel hurting (6, 2 words) icky’s head aboard trendy vessel hurting (6, 2 words) IN PAIN (hurting) I (first letter of [head] Icky contained in (aboard) (IN [trendy] + PAN [vessel]) IN PA (I) N |
N |
| 9 |
Quirky catchiest shiny needlework (13) Quirky catchiest shin needlework (13) CHAINSTITCHES (STITCHES in knitting or sewing resembling the links of a CHAIN; embroidery) Anagram of (quirky) CATCHIEST SHIN CHAINSTITCHES* |
Y |
| 12 |
Rubbish them ultimately cutting wicker’s reddish-yellow pigment (8) Rubbish the ultimately cutting wicker’s reddish-yellow pigment (8) CAROTENE (a reddish-yellow pigment) (ROT [rubbish] + E [last letter of [ultimately] thE]) contained in (cutting) CANE (wicker) CA (ROT E) NE |
M |
| 17 |
Chair over bar contains navy stud (8) Char over bar contains navy stud (8) DOORNAIL (stud for a door) DO (char) + O (over) + (RAIL [bar] containing [contains] N [navy]) DO O R (N) AIL |
I |
| 18 |
Revising line, donors persevere (9, 2 words) Revising line, doors persevere (9, 2 words) SOLDIER ON (persevere) Anagram of (revising) LINE DOORS SOLDIER ON* |
N |
| 22 |
Campaigner’s falcon, not hot inside, glean (8) Campaigner’s falcon, not hot inside, lean (8) LOBBYIST (campaigner) (hOBBY [falcon] excluding [not] H [hot]) contained in (inside) LIST (lean) L (OBBY) IST |
G |
| 24 |
Almost blunt, hold the marksman (7) Almost blunt, old the marksman (7) DEAD-EYE (an unerring marksman) DEADEn (blunt) excluding the final letter (almost) N + YE (old term for ‘the’) DEADE YE |
H |
| 27 |
Topless poster White ignoring Marks set on fire (6) Topless poster Whit ignoring Marks set on fire (6) IGNITE (set on fire) sIGN (poster) excluding the first letter (topless) S + mITE (a very small amount; a whit) excluding the M (marks) IGN ITE |
E |
| 29 |
Flit hiding folio name, partial to Ed (6) Fit hiding folio name, partial to Ed (6) HALFEN (Edmund [Ed] Spenser’s word for half [one way of indicating partial]) (HALE [healthy; fit] containing [hiding] F [folio]) + N (name) HAL (F) E N |
L |
| 32 |
Halt, removing jacket, standing, plant tree (5) Hat, removing jacket, standing, plant tree (5) ARECA (a tree of the betel-nut genus) A (letter remaining in hAt when the outer letters H and T are removed [removing jacket]) + ACER (plant) reversed (standing [down entry]) A RECA< |
L |
| 35 |
Declines wife shunning neat bedrooms on vacation (4) Declines wife shunning net bedrooms on vacation (4) EBBS (declines) wEB (the world wide web; internet; net) excluding (shunning) W (wife) + BS (letters remaining in BedroomS when the central letters edroom are removed [on vacation]) EB BS |
A |
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, which I thought had an exemplary set of clues (all of which had an extra letter as per the setter’s instructions). I saw nothing of the theme while solving, but on completing the grid I happened to see RICKMAN along the top, and indeed when I looked up Anthony Minghella I found the title I needed and the other leading actor in that film.
Thanks to Skylark and Duncan.
Thanks Skylark. As soon as I spotted MINGHELLA and FILM appearing I thought, “The English Patient” so then spent too long trying and failing to locate FIENNES in the grid. It was only when I noticed RICKMAN that I realised I had been barking up the wrong tree.