A word ladder and crossword combined.
I found this one tough to complete – not because of the clued entries which were generally straightforward, but because I just couldn’t see the word ladder. That’s because I was approaching it wrong thinking that I had to create a portmanteau word or phrase. A little help from the blogging community helped me see the error of my ways, and that the word ladder was the type where you change a letter in each step to get a new word, so in this case BLACK – FLACK – FLICK- FLICS – FLIES – FLIER – FRIER – FRIAR.
Thanks, Mike for the heads up, and of course to Eumolpus for the mental workout.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BATHROBE |
Good-looker going about clear of towelling thing? (8)
|
| BABE (“good-looker”) going about THRO’ (“clear of”) | ||
| 5 | OSSIFY |
Early spy group whenever near hostel harden (6)
|
| OSS (Office of Strategic Services, which became the CIA, so “early spy group”) + IF (“whenever”) + Y (a YMCA (or YWCA) youth “hostel”) | ||
| 9 | ICONOCLAST |
I know line in rocky coast – one that smashes stuff up (10)
|
| I + CON (“know”) + L (line) in *(coast) [anag:rocky] | ||
| 14 | TOT |
Little ’un to try these first three steps (3)
|
| First three steps of “TO Try” | ||
| 16 | BRIDLE |
Check unedifying bedroom first (6)
|
| IDLE (“unedifying”) with BR (bedroom) first | ||
| 17 | AGENT |
Theme word
|
| Second word in word ladder is FLACK (a press AGENT) | ||
| 18 | ICENI |
Revolting tribe? One unusually nice (5)
|
| I (one) + *(nice) [anag:unusually] | ||
| 20 | COPPERS |
Theme word
|
| The fourth word in the word ladder is FLICS (French word for COPPERS, as in policemen) | ||
| 22 | ASSORTS |
Classifies associated fragments (7)
|
| Ass. (assorted) + ORTS (“fragments”) | ||
| 24 | EMPEROR |
Eg, Nero, person in twisted city (7)
|
| per. (person) in [twisted] <=ROME (“city”) | ||
| 25 | YOKED |
Here! Fly United (5)
|
| YO (“here!!) + KED (“fly”) | ||
| 26 | EERIE |
Back of Scot’s coal yard, say, that is spooky (5)
|
| [back] <=REE (an enclosure for keeping coal or livestock, so “Scot’s coal yard”) + i.e. (that is) | ||
| 28 | REBUFFS |
Reservation about fan causes checks (7)
|
| Res. (reservation) about BUFF (“fan”) | ||
| 31 | AD FINEM |
Amend if incorrect Latin at the end (2,5)
|
| *(amend if) [anag:incorrect] | ||
| 33 | ASPIRIN |
Most aim for popular number? (7)
|
| [most] ASPIR(e) (“aim for”) + IN (“popular”) | ||
| 37 | FRIAR |
Last word in word ladder (5)
|
| 38 | DEIGN |
Consent to lose strangeness from plan (5)
|
| Lose the S (strangeness, in physics) from DE(s)IGN (“plan”) | ||
| 39 | CORALS |
Necklace is cloudy ahead of tests (6)
|
| C (cloudy) ahead of ORALS (“tests”) | ||
| 40 | OCH |
Expression of regret from lecturer leaving Leven, say (3)
|
| L (lecturer) leaving (L)OCH (Leven, say) | ||
| 41 | AGGRANDISE |
A German garden is transformed to make greater (10)
|
| A + G (German) + *(garden is) [anag:transformed] | ||
| 42 | SKELPS |
Slaps son with more than one seaweed (6)
|
| S (son) + KELPS (“more than one seaweed”) | ||
| 43 | CIRCULAR |
Theme word
|
| The sixth word in the word ladder is FLIER (a CIRCULAR) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BIGARADE SAUCE |
New bride with Aga to make pleasant fruity dressing (8,5)
|
| *(bride aga) [anag:new] + SAUCE (“to make pleasant”)
Bigarade sauce is made with oranges. |
||
| 2 | TOTES |
Adds up completely (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | ROTTER |
Rogue such as Del Boy wasting tons (6)
|
| (t)ROTTER (“such as Del Boy”) wasting T (tons) | ||
| 4 | BLACK |
First word in ladder (5)
|
| 6 | STRIPEY |
Like Tigger’s lair – with a mighty whiff inside (7)
|
| STY (“lair”) with RIPE (“with a mighty whiff”) inside | ||
| 7 | INDEED |
Indian river rising? Yes (6)
|
| Ind. (Indian) + (River) <=DEE [rising] | ||
| 8 | FILM |
Theme word
|
| Third word in word ladder is FLICK (a FILM) | ||
| 10 | ALECTO |
Fury as a college reader gets cut short (6)
|
| A + LECTO(r) (“college reader”, cut short)
Alecto was one of three Furies of Greek mythology. |
||
| 11 | DISPROFIT |
Duke is for appropriate loss no longer (9)
|
| D (duke) + IS + PRO (“for”) + FIT (“appropriate”)
Disprofit is an archaic word for loss. |
||
| 12 | BEDSIDE MANNER |
Sine qua non of doctors outside of accepting day fashion (7,6)
|
| BESIDE (“outside of”) accepting D (day) + MANNER (“fashion”) | ||
| 13 | AGISTERS |
Grotesque satire’s about good cattle bosses (8)
|
| *(satires) [anag:grotesque] about G (good) | ||
| 15 | DIPTERA |
Theme word
|
| The fifth word in the word ladder is FLIES (DIPTERA) | ||
| 19 | DOMINICAN |
Definition of 4D 37A (9)
|
| 21 | RE-EMERGE |
Crop up again? Renewing mere impulse, as it’s said (2-6)
|
| *(mere) [anag:renewing] + homophone/pun/aural wordplay [as it’s said] of URGE (“impulse”) | ||
| 23 | PRUDERY |
Peer full of coarse stuffiness (7)
|
| PRY (“peer”) full of RUDE (“coarse”) | ||
| 27 | EARFLAP |
Lug fine friend around being bit of a deerstalker, perhaps (7)
|
| EAR (“lug”) + F (fine) + <=PAL (“friend”, around) | ||
| 29 | EANING |
Breeding no longer makes sense if short of money (6)
|
| (m)EANING (“sense”) if short of M (money)
Eaning is an old word for giving birth. |
||
| 30 | SPARRE |
Box on old-fashioned bar (6)
|
| SPAR (“box”) + RE (“on”) | ||
| 32 | FI DONC |
For shame! Trusting dog with name close to pathetic (2,4)
|
| FIDO (“trusting dog”, FIDO being Latin for faithful) with N (name) + [close to] (patheti)C | ||
| 34 | MAORI |
Pollsters getting round a foreign language (5)
|
| MORI (polling firm, so “pollsters”) getting round A | ||
| 35 | NIHIL |
Greeting Liberal after turning up wearing nothing (5)
|
| HI (“greeting”) + L (Liberal) after [turning up] <=IN (“wearing”) | ||
| 36 | COOK |
Theme word (4)
|
| The seventh word in the word ladder is FRIER (a COOK) |
Great fun, well constructed and a good challenge I thought.
I didn’t know what a word ladder was either to begin with, but a little research cleared that up. There are tools (I now know) which will construct the ladder for you based on the first and last words.
I noted that 36d could equally be WOCK, a type of frier, but as it’s an obsolete spelling of the more usual ‘wok’, I too went with COOK, the person doing the frying.
I liked that in 40a the use of Leven indirectly indicates that the expression itself is also Scots. That’s the sort of thing Azed does.
I believe this is Eumolpus’ second outing, the previous one being the Paradise Lost puzzle, also fun.
Thanks to loonapick for the blog and further thanks to the “legendary king of Thrace”!
Jay at #1 – I also considered WOCK, having found it in Chambers, but went for COOK – fingers crossed for the solution on Thursday!…
Thanks to Eumolpus and loonapick…
Complete failure on our part. Di got most of the straight answers while I struggle with a lot of those clues and looked forward to reading the parsings here. It took a long time for the meaning of the heading to become clear and after many attempts we still didn’t manage to find the 6 extra words needed to complete the chain and thereby give us the synonyms for the unclued lights where we had several possible answers.
I can understand the worry about wock as being an obsolete spelling in view of the others in the puzzle.