This week we have a puzzle entitled ‘Call the NHS ‘, set by Dash
The preamble tells us that “A famous person’s message runs round the perimeter and his name (incorporating 10 contiguous cells, to be highlighted), plus alternative outcomes, appear in the grid, all unclued. Three related words in the grid form the representation of a numeral (9 cells), all of which are thematic. Single letters removed from each down clue before solving instruct solvers what to do with aspects of the numeral.
I noted that the grid was not square and there was no symmetry within the grid. This is usually an indication that there is a lot of material in the grid.
After completion of the puzzle, starting from the top left-hand cell and reading clockwise round the perimeter of the grid, we have the message:
ENGLAND EXPECTS THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY HORATIO
Then, continuing diagonally southeast from the O of HORATIO, we have LORD NELSON.
The message relates to NELSON‘s exhortation to his sailors before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The two unclued lights are ABBEY, reading down from the A of MEGA (17 across), and PEERAGE, reading down from the P of RAPIDS (18 across).
These two words relate to a quote attributed to NELSON before the Battle of the Nile, which read
“Before this time tomorrow, I shall have gained a PEERAGE or Westminster ABBEY“, indicating that he believed that he would gain a PEERAGE if he performed well in battle, or he would die and be buried in Westminster ABBEY.
NELSON was created a Peer of the Realm in 1798. After the Battle of Trafalgar, NELSON was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral. In 1795, Parliament ruled that Westminster Abbey was too crowded and that national heroes in future should be buried in St Paul’s.
The message spelt out by the redundant letters in the Down clues reads:
SHADE THE TWO HE LOST
In the grid we have EYE, ARM and LEG in parallel in columns 5, 7 and 9, forming the number 111.
Folklore connects the number 111 to NELSON, based on the inaccurate legend that he lost one EYE, one ARM, and one LEG (the three digits representing 1-1-1). In reality, NELSON lost an ARM and his sight in one EYE,at the Siege of Calvi in 1794 but never lost a LEG. Another suggestion is that the number references NELSON‘s three major naval victories (Copenhagen, the Nile, and Trafalgar), sounding like “won, won, won”.
I have shaded EYE and ARM, even though he did not lose both. NELSON lost an ARM at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797.
Nowadays, the number 111 is also known in cricket as a NELSON, a score that superstitious batters and umpires treat with caution and are glad to move on from.
Finally, for the purposes of the puzzle’s title, Call the NHS, 111 is the number to call if you want medical help from the National Health Service (NHS) right now.
The final grid looked like this.
The detailed table below shows the amended Down clues and the letter omitted, as well as displaying the wordplay for all clues.
Inevitably, blogs of Inquisitor puzzles focus on the endgame rather than the clues and the parsing, but I enjoyed the clueing in this puzzle. Many clues had good surfaces. It was also good to see a triple definition clue for GREASE.
For the omitted letters in the Down clues, I had to do a bit of reverse engineering towards the completion of the grid to find all the letters that fitted the message I had deduced. The last one I found was the E in the clue for ENTOPLASTRON.
Thanks to Dash for an entertaining puzzle.
| No | Clue
Amended Clue [Downs only] |
Letter |
| Across | ||
| 9 | Limitless confidence passed on by word of mouth (4)
ORAL (spoken; passed on by word of mouth) mORALe (confidence) excluding the outer letters (limitless) M and E ORAL |
|
| 10 | Don’t possess place of retreat before start of tempest (6)
HAVEN’T (have not; do not have; do not possess) HAVEN (place of retreat) + T (first letter of [start of] Tempest) HAVEN T |
|
| 11 | The Hollies for example, regularly silly in these in France (6)
ILICES (plural of ilex [a shrub or tree of the genus Ilex, to which the holly belongs.]; the hollies, for example) ILI (letters 2, 4 and 6 [regularly] of sIlLy In) + CES (French for ‘these’) ILI CES |
|
| 13 | Weapon maker unknown in lady’s private room (6)
BOWYER (maker of bows for archery; weapon maker) Y (letter frequently used to represent an unknown value in mathematics) contained in (in) BOWER (a lady’s private room) BOW (Y) ER |
|
| 14 | Some Ayrshire potatoes put into new container (5)
REPOT (replant in a new container) REPOT (hidden word [come] in ayrshiRE POTatoes) REPOT |
|
| 15 | Barnstormers occasionally providing underground chambers for poets (6)
ANTRES (poetic word for caves [underground chambers]) ANTRES (letters 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 [occasionally] of bArNsToRmErS) A N T R E S |
|
| 17 | Great Trump slogan after Altman’s lead dropped for Elon’s (4)
MEGA (great) MAGA (Make America Great Again [Donald Trump’s slogan]) replacing (dropping for) A (first letter of [lead] Altman) with E (first letter of [lead] Elon) to form MEGA – Sam Altman is a pioneer of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Elon refers to Elon Musk, another supporter of AI. I liked the clue referencing Sam Altman and Elon Musk. I also liked the link between the NABLA symbol and the blackboard. MEGA |
|
| 18 | Fast-moving section of river police swoops, detaining leader of perps (6)
RAPIDS (fast-moving section of river) RAIDS (police swoops) containing (detaining) P (first letter of [leader of] Perps) RA (P) IDS |
|
| 20 | Arizona blackboard displays mathematical symbol (5)
NABLA (in Cartesian co-ordinates, the symbol ∇, an inverted delta; mathematical symbol) NABLA (hidden word in [displays] arizoNA BLAckboard) NABLA |
|
| 21 | State of miserable no-goer (6)
OREGON (One of the 50 States of the United States of America) Anagram of (miserable) NO GOER OREGON* |
|
| 24 | Chance to hit anti-tank battalion (5)
AT-BAT (a payer’s turn to bat in a baseball match)_ AT (anti-tank) + BAT (abbreviation for battalion) AT BAT |
|
| 25 | Stratford’s winter timeshares receiving face-lift when new rates deducted (5)
HIEMS (Shakespearean [the bard of Stratford] term for winter) Anagram of (receiving face-lift) tIMESHares excluding (deducted) an anagram of (new) HIEMS* |
|
| 26 | Numpties hosting Japanese style of drama for some Italians (7)
GENOESE (inhabitants, citizens or natives of Genoa, Italy) GEESE (silly people; numpties) containing (hosting) NO (a Japanese style of drama) GE (NO) ESE |
|
| 27 | Freemen in trouble close ranks initially (6)
CEORLS (in England before the Norman Conquest, freemen of the lowest rank) Anagram of (in trouble) CLOSE and R (first letter of [initially] Ranks) CEORLS* |
|
| 30 | Pop-up food as scoffed by child (5)
TOAST (grilled bread that ‘pops up’ from the toaster when it is ready; pop-up food) AS contained in (scoffed by) TOT (child) TO (AS) T |
|
| 32 | Dry and withered diocese welcomes hint of rain (4)
SERE (alternative spelling of sear [dry and withered]) SEE (diocese) containing (welcomes) R (first letter of [hint of] Rain SE (R) E |
|
| 34 | Strong desire created by part of beefburger’s filling (4)
URGE (strong desire) URGE (hidden word in [part of … filling] beefbURGEr) URGE |
|
| 35 | NHS characters abandon dodgy sponsorship of awfully low standard (8)
PISS-POOR (vulgar slang meaning ‘of a contemptibly low standard’) Anagram of (dodgy) sPOnSORShIP* excluding (abandon) the characters NHS PISS-POOR* |
|
| 36 | Fat bribe to facilitate Summer Nights show (6)
GREASE (soft thick animal fat) GREASE (a bribe to facilitate an action) GREASE (film and show featuring the song Summer Nights) triple definition GREASE |
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | Gabon with striking display of colour for stale performer in Africa (5)
Gabon with striking display of colour for tale performer in Africa (5) GRIOT (in parts of Africa, especially West Africa, a tribal teller of legends and history; tale performer in Africa) G (International Vehicle Registration for Gabon) + RIOT (a striking display of colour) G RIOT |
S |
| 2 | Huge number of Pakistan openers in Lahore hate chapatis (3)
Huge number of Pakistan openers in Lahore ate chapatis (3) LAC (in India and Pakistan, an indefinitely large or huge umber) LAC (first letters [openers] of each of Lahore, Ate and Chapatis) L A C |
H |
| 3 | Early tempera using aluminium by mine entrance (5)
Early temper using aluminium by mine entrance (5) ALEYE (an early version of allay [toalloy or temper]) AL (chemical symbol for aluminium) + EYE (a mine entrance) AL EYE |
A |
| 4 | Informers in Paris dare to support revolutionary local man (5)
Informers in Paris are to support revolutionary local man (5) NOSES (part of body used to inform the brain about smells or aromas) SON (a familiar or local term of address for a boy or man) reversed (revolutionary) + ES (French [Paris] for ‘are’) NOS< ES – this being a down entry, the letters ES are below and support the letters NOS |
D |
| 5 | DEA involves injury; it’s the law (6)
DA involves injury; it’s the law (6) DHARMA (the law in Hinduism) DA containing (involves) HARM (injury) D (HARM) A |
E |
| 6 | Twin in countryside cycling round a rising tide (5)
Win in countryside cycling round a rising tide (5) EAGRE (a bore or sudden rise of the tide in a river; rising tide) GREE (dialect [in the countryside] term for victory or win) cycled one letter to the right to form EGRE and containing (round) A E (A) GRE |
T |
| 7 | Glimpse spot on out of date chard (4)
Glimpse spot on out of date card (4) PEEP (glimpse) PEEP (Shakespearean [old; out of date] word for the spot on dice, cards or dominoes) double definition PEEP |
H |
| 8 | Some turtle shell plate made mostly Portland stone (12)
Some turtle shell plate mad mostly Portland stone (12) ENTOPLASTRON (the unpaired plate behind the epiplastra in a turtle’s plastron [the ventral section of the shell of a tortoise or turtle]; some turtle shell) Anagram of (made) PORTLANd excluding the final letter (mostly) D and STONE ENTOPLASTRON |
E |
| 12 | Stage lot modified smooth passages (7)
Sage lot modified smooth passages (7) LEGATOS (musical passages performed smoothly) Anagram of (modified) SAGE LOT LEGATOS* |
T |
| 16 | Intermittently warming outfit (3)
Intermittently arming outfit (3) RIG (outfit) RIG (letters 2, 4 and 6 [intermittently] of aRmInG) RIG |
W |
| 19 | Portion of station say does badly (4)
Portion of statin say does badly (4) DOSE (a portion of the drug statin, for example) Anagram of (badly) DOES DOSE* |
O |
| 22 | Reshaped Irish or primarily Italian muscles (7)
Reshaped Iris or primarily Italian muscles (7) RISORII (facial muscle situated at the corner of the mouth) Anagram of (reshaped) IRIS OR + I (first letter of [primarily] Italian) RISORI* I |
H |
| 23 | Scrutiny of South American estate: mostly marketing (7)
Scrutiny of South American state: mostly marketing (7) PERUSAL (scrutiny) PERU (South American state) + SALe (marketing) excluding the final letter (mostly) E PERU SAL |
E |
| 28 | Loire shimmering in bowl-shaped window (5)
Loire shimmering in bow-shaped window (5) ORIEL (a bay- or bow-shaped window) Anagram of (shimmering) LOIRE ORIEL* |
L |
| 29 | In France Theo is back after second yoghurt drink (5)
In France the is back after second yoghurt drink (5) LASSI (a sweet or savoury flavoured cold drink made with yoghurt or buttermilk) LA (French for ‘the’; the French) + S (second) + IS reversed (back) LA S SI< |
O |
| 31 | Witness broadcast success slily in New Mexico (4)
Witness broadcast success lily in New Mexico (4) SEGO (a showy lily plant of the western USA [New Mexico]) SE (sounds like [broadcast] SEE [witness]) + GO (a successful venture; success) SE GO |
S |
| 33 | Dawn’s told game accepted newcomers at first (4)
Dawn’s old game accepted newcomers at first (4) EOAN (of, or relating to the dawn) E O (a mid 18th century gambling game, depending on a ball falling into slots marked either E or O) + A (accepted) + N (initial letters of [at first] Newcomers) EO A N |
T |
After last week’s very time-consuming marathon, this one was a “dash” by comparison. I started with a scattering of fairly straightforward clues and LAND seemed to be emerging along the top. Then I got the G at1D and ENGLAND looked a certainty. Now, I could only think of one famous message and all my checked letters confirmed it. I quickly completed the perimeter, followed by the diagonal. This provided a great help with the remaining clues, some of which needed careful thought. I liked AT BAT at 24A. LOI, unsurprisingly, was 8D for which I needed some technical help. I spotted PEERAGE fairly early on but it was a while before the penny dropped with ABBEY. I thought the three body parts planted in the grid was a clever touch.
Thanks to Dash for an enjoyable puzzle and to Duncan for the usual comprehensive blog.
A very well-constructed crossword and themed puzzle, with an impressive thematic content (just over half of the completed grid ends up being shaded/highlighted). I had more than half of the grid filled before I worked out what the ‘message’ was round the perimeter, and soon after that I saw the significance of PEERAGE and ABBEY. LORD NELSON was easy to find, but (as the setter might have intended!) I visited Nelson’s ‘two losses’ in battle before remembering I had entered the unusual word ALEYE in the grid, pointing me to one of the Admiral’s two (not three) physical losses.
I too noted the quality of the clues – something I always appreciate in these puzzles.
Thanks to Dash, and to Duncan for the thorough blog.
Given the NHS theme, I did spend a while wondering about a quote beginning “My gland…”, but when Horatio became likely, I recalled something more famous. Really neat puzzle, and a good challenge; thanks to Dash, and to Duncan for the extra info on Nelson and 111.
I thought this was a superb puzzle. I even had some laugh out loud moments, one on seeing the 111 and others from some of the surfaces of the clues which were just sublime, especially 17ac, 26ac and 35ac.
Fully endorse the comments from others about the quality of the clueing.
Many thanks to Dash for an entertaining solve and to duncanshiell for the blog
This was a lot of fun to complete, with some cracking clues and an endgame that required a bit of thought. “England expects”, LORD NELSON and the unclued answers fell into place nicely, but as a former cricketer I was kicking myself with my remaining leg when I finally spotted the dreaded number – having spent a while looking for a hidden battle that Nelson lost. Thanks to Dash for the challenge and Duncan for spelling it all out so clearly.
This puzzle could appropriately have appeared around 21 October, when the message was sent 121 years ago I got the leg, arm and eye quite easily, though missed the significance of 111, both for Nelson and for the NHS. I would have said that the message around the perimeter leads straight on to the name Horatio Lord Nelson, which is therefore 17 characters rather than 10, but it doesn’t affect the basic solving. In an admirably thorough blog, I think the word ‘Rates’ is missing at the end of 25A. With thanks to Dash and Duncan.
Rather on the easy side – my only slight hiccup was when I found NOSE between EYE & ARM (reminiscent of Picasso maybe). After solving, I recalled that Dash is a combo that includes Chalicea & Vagans – so no surprise that the grid-fill wasn’t that much of a challenge. Thanks to all.