“How did the constipated mathematician deal with his problem?”
“He worked it out with a pencil”!
If you haven’t heard this one before, you probably haven’t heard the follow-up either:
“It was a Number 2…”
Other than it being very funny, I include this as it relates to the only clue in this otherwise steady grid that I can’t parse. I’ll see what you lot can make of it in the comments!
Otherwise this was an enjoyable set of clues with some lovely surfaces and one beautiful misdirection (“Does”).
Thanks to Henri for the grid.
Definitions are underlined
ACROSS
Association cut short [CLUB] Seles playing [anag SELES = ELESS]
Does [DEER] travelling westwards [backwards] appeal [IT]
Double definition
Set out (twice) [anag SET x 2] covering [around] California [CA]
French article [LE] by avant-garde [anag of] theatre director [D]
Woman mostly [LADY] eating [around] duck [O]
Union commitment [“I DO”], lecturer [L] is [IS] principally exonerated [first letter = E]
Investigation [PROBE] encompassing [around] Luxembourg [L] millions [M]
Thus [SO], an honour [MBE] to welcome [around] queen [R]? Ultimately [last letters of] rather old [R O]
Translator [TR], each [A GO] second-rate [B], rejected [backwards]
Song [AIR] withdrawn [backwards] about American [US] south [S]
Anag [“up”] SAIL HUNG
DOWN
Essentially [middle letters of] coOLer breakDAncing subGEnre
Hidden word [“contribution from”] someoNE ON A TALkshow
Elite force [SAS] surrounding Rhone complex [anag RHONE]
Briefly to [TO] places [SETS] supported by El Salvador [ES]
Setter [I] gets up [RISE] on day [D]
Broadcasts [AIRS] speed [PACE]
The Parisian [DU] maestro will go touring, you decide finally [last letters of = O L O G U E]
Anag [“harry”] EATS BRAN
Blessed perhaps [BRIAN], having got rid of a [=BRIN] swelling [OUT]
My [COR] jar [OLLA]
King [K] & I [I] book half-finished [BOOK], such vacuous [SUCH]
Anag [“melting”] ICECAP
Bob [S] Ferguson [SARAH] possibly turning up [backwards]
Regarding 20a/22a/6d — “Laughable conclusion to educational health claim that’s going around?”
(stare at the grid for a moment…)
(oh, and an image of the completed grid may help other readers on this 😁)
I hadn’t done the puzzle, but reading Leedsclimber’s introduction and looking at the initial letters of 8a and 1-7d gave me an idea … then I scrolled down and saw #1 above.
I almost never see a Nina, which is a shame today, as it’s quite funny. I enjoyed the rest, too. Slight typo in the blog, I think. The swelling in BRING OUT is GOUT.
Well there I was expecting a lovely rainbow theme. But a funny nina nonetheless. TEST CASE, LETTERHEAD, LOAD, DUOLOGUE and KIBOSH were all particularly good. My favourite was the subtly hidden NEONATAL. BOGART was pretty tricky (each = A GO seemed tough to me, anyway!). Merci Henri and Leedsclimber
Helped a bit by the subheading but glad that I backparsed it and spotted the Nina.
Thought the hiddens OLD AGE and NEONATAL were really smooth in this one.
Thanks Henri and Leedsclimber
This was fun, thanks both. Favorites were KIBOSH, TEST CASE, NEONATAL, and TSETSES. Getting PENCIL (from the crossers) somehow unlocked the joke from childhood, and all fell quickly into place after that.
Great puzzle, as ever from Henri.
Nice to have a couple of words I didn’t know, but could work out from the wordplay and check afterwards.
Nina was a groaner, very fun and indicated nicely by the clue.
I particularly liked IDOLISE, OLD AGE, NEONATAL, and BRING OUT.
Thanks Henri and Leedsclimber.
Thanks all – as Leedsclimber didn’t parse it, for anyone still baffled by 20a/22a/6d it was a cryptic reference to the Nina “going round” the grid perimeter, which said CONSTIPATED MATHS TEACHERS WILL…
So he was close with the opening joke but didn’t spot the actual Nina 😁
Thanks Henri for the humour. I saw the Nina forming very early and I connected it with the key clue after I completed the grid. I had not heard that joke before so it was all new to me. Nice work.
Although I might not have solved this while eating my dinner if I’d known what was in store, I did really enjoy the nina and linked clue! Other favourites OLD AGE and NEONATAL. Thanks Henri and Leedsclimber.
Bravo Henri. I love your work as it always has that extra something and this did not disappoint. I got the ‘laughable’ answer from crossers without a clue as to why. I was staring blankly at the almost complete grid when the top line suddenly leapt out at me. Such a great idea, but then that’s what you do. Fab!!
I knew from the multipart clue that this was going to be a nina with that clue as the punchline. Bit like the same setter’s Russian dolls puzzle which was his first Featured back in April. But it took a while before I could make sense of the nina and the first word of the punchline caused me trouble – book, hook, look, lock … It didn’t help that I was unaware of the schoolboy joke. Very neat when it all came together and explains a few of the odd words encountered along the way: IPECAC and OLLA, I’m looking at you. The hidden for NEONATAL tops the bill for me.
Thanks both
Very good fun from Henri as always. I got wind that something was up (as it were) relatively early on but fathoming precisely what took a while longer. The construction stole the show but I agree with PM that NEOTATAL was COTD. Thanks Henri and Leedsclimber.