This is Arcadia’s fourth Inquisitor. Puzzles by Arcadia appear about once a year.
I read through the blogs of Arcadia’s previous Inquisitors and found they were all challenging puzzles, so I felt this one would be as well. I was not mistaken.
The preamble infoirmed us that the unclued individual, recorded by another (three cell-pairs, linked at corners), under whose name the quotation appears (with the first individual’s name mis-spelled) in the latest (eighth) edition of ODQ. Solvers must highlight the representation and the recorder.
The clues this week were normal; no missing letters, no extra words and no other devices. The challenge came with the end game.
I started well in the top left hand corner of the grid and gradually filled the rest. The clues were fair, although there were a couple which I couldn’t parse until I was writing the blog.
The name in the bottom row of the grid was deducable about 75% into my solving. I say deducable in that the name looked like RALPH KETTELL, but it meant nothing to me until I searched for him on the world-wide web. I learned that he lived from 1563 to 1643 and was an English college head, the third President of Trinity College, Oxford. In a long tenure he built up the college both in terms of architecture and its academic reputation. He rebuilt the college hall, and added attics or ‘cocklofts ‘ to the old Durham College quadrangle.
Looking at the grid I could see THE COLLEGE spelt out in row 3 turning into column 10. The following letters didn’t seem to mean anything until I realised that I could read them in the other direction as QUADRANGLE. This gave me a rectangle of 20 cells, so I was still 8 letters short of the first highlighting requirement.
A bit more research showed that KETTELL was one of the subjects of a book by John AUBREY [1626 – 1697] who studied as a student under KETTELL. AUBREY published Brief Lives in the late 17th century with one of the subjects being KETTELL, An extract from the book is listed in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (ODQ) with a label referring to KETTEL, rather than the correct spelling of KETTELL. I only have ODQ 7 at home, but found the mis-spelling there as well. The quotation is as follows.
“As they were reading of inscribing and circumscribing figures, said he, I will show you how to inscribe a triangle in a quadrangle. Bring a PIG into the QUADRANGLE and I will set the college DOG at him, and he will take the pig by the ear, then I come and take the dog by the tail and the hog by the tail, and so there you have a triangle in a quadrangle; quod erat faciendum.
Brief Lives ‘Ralph Kettel’ – John Aubrey”
Note that quod erat faciendum can be abbreviated to QEF, the title of the puzzle.
Initially I drew a triangle within the quadrangle with a point on the A of TUPMAN, before I noticed that if I drew the triangle the other way up I would have PIG, DOG and MAN incorporated in the eight cells that form the triangle. We now have 28 cels hughlighted.
The last task was to find AUBREY in the grid. He appears as three pairs of letters joined at the corners in the South West corner of the grid.
The grid below shows the solution with all the necessary highlighting.
The clues were clear. There were a couple of unusual anagram indicators – firing and boss – but overall the clues were typical Inquisitor fare.
I enjoyed solving this and, as usual, learnt about a topic and people I had not come across before. Thanks to Arcadia for the introduction to the subject.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Stale Indian bread – could be naan (4)
ANNA (a former [stale] coin [money; bread] of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) Anagram of (could be) NAAN ANNA |
| 5 | Caste member very chary on introduction to serving-maid (7)
VAISHYA (a member of the third caste among the Hindus) V (very) + (SHY [chary] contained in [on introduction to] AIA [a serving maid in India and other former British territories]) V AI (SHY) A |
| 10 | Film dog caught in tall grass (6)
TOETOE (any of several tall reedlike grasses native to New Zealand) TOETOE (sounds like [caught] TOTO, Dorthy’s dog in the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’) TOETOE |
| 11 | Course round a hill (4)
ROTA (a course) (A + TOR [hill]) reversed (round) (ROT A)< |
| 13 | Country artist’s penetrating measure of intelligence (4)
IRAQ (country in the Middle East) RA (Royal Academician) contained in (penetrating) IQ (intelligence quotient; a measure of intelligence) I (RA) Q |
| 14 | Drawing room counter to make new cold soft drinks (5)
COLAS (soft drinks) SALON (a drawing room) reversed (counter) with the N (new) replaced by (to make) C (cold) COLAS< |
| 15 | Monkey accompanying fellow Pickwickian (6)
TUPMAN (reference the fictional character Tracy TUPMAN, who is a member of the Pickwick Club described in Dickens’ novel The Pickwick Papers) TUP (a pile-driving monkey) + MAN (fellow) TUP MAN |
| 17 | Hairstreaks skipping over Sri Lanka evergreens (4)
THEA (the tea genus of evergreen plants) THEclA (the hair-streak genus of butterflies) excluding (skipping over) CL (International Vehicle Registration for Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon) THEA |
| 18 | What identical twins have is self-confidence, reflecting environs of nursery (7)
ISOGENY (likeness of origin; what identical twins have) IS + EGO (self-confidence) reversed (reflecting) + NY (outside letters of [environs of] NurserY IS OGE< NY |
| 19 | Before time, runs out of sublime cocktail (5, 3 words)
G AND T (Gin and Tonic, a cocktail) GrAND (sublime) excluding (out of) R (runs) + T (time) G AND T |
| 21 | Horse from nursery in Ayr fit to go to Saratoga (6)
GEEGEE (child’s [nursey] term for a horse) GEE [Scottish [Ayr] word for a fit of perversity) + GEE (American [Saratoga] word for to go, suit or get on well) Saratoga is also known for thoroughbred horse racing GEE GEE |
| 22 | Exceeded time set in firing most of a round (6)
OUTRAN (exceeded) T (time) contained in (set in) an anagram of (firing) A ROUNd excluding the final letter (most of) D OU (T) RAN* |
| 24 | Glaswegian squint-eyed from gluttony, changing sides (5)
GLEED (Scottish [Glaswegian] word for squint-eyed) GREED (gluttony) with the R (right [side]) replaced by (changing) L (left [side]), hence changing sides GLEED |
| 25 | Arranged as cover for smart judge (7)
ARBITER (judge) ARR (arranged) containing (cover for) BITE (sting; smart) AR (BITE) R |
| 27 | On Sabbath, long for some directions (5)
SIDES (directions) SIDE (Shakespearean and dialect term for long) + S (Sabbath) SIDE S |
| 29 | Boss all but torching former brothel (7)
CORINTH (In the ancient world, “Corinth” was famously associated with brothels and institutionalized sex, specifically through the Temple of Aphrodite located on the steep Acrocorinth) Anagram of (boss) TORCHINg excluding the final letter (all but) G CORINTH* |
| 33 | Offensive anonymous story spreads (5)
ALIEN (repugnant or offensive) LIE (story) contained in (spreads) AN (anonymous) A (LIE) N |
| 35 | Kid’s computer image largely entertaining adult (4)
JAPE (to trick; to kid) JPEg (Joint Photographic Experts Group, a standard image file format) excluding the final letter (largely) G containing (entertaining) A (adult) J (A) PE |
| 36 | Coat of livery assigned to herald (4)
LYON (the chief herald of Scotland) LY (outer letters of [coat of] LiverY) + ON (assigned to) LY ON |
| 37 | Reckon to break discarded snail shell (6)
CONKER (formerly [discarded] a snail shell) Anagram of (to break) RECKON CONKER* |
| Down | |
| 1 | “Up to no good” encapsulating left inclined? (5)
ATILT (at an angle; inclined) AT IT (up to some criminal activity; up to no good) containing (encapsulating) L (left) AT I (L) T |
| 2 | Former PM could be Rt. Hon (5)
NORTH (reference Lord NORTH [1732 – 1792], former Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782) Anagram of (could be) RT HON NORTH* |
| 3 | Tidy in places below decks last, covering hull from examination (6)
NEATEN (tidy) NEATh (in places below) excluding (decks) the final letter (last) H + EN (outer letters of [the husk or hull of {covering of}] ExaminationN) NEAT EN |
| 4 | Stolen liquor, nicked to avoid one tricky problem (9, 2 words)
HOT POTATO (tricky problem) HOT (stolen) + POTATiOn (liquor) excluding the final letter (nicked) N and also excluding (avoiding) I (Roman numeral for one) HOT POTATO |
| 5 | See European king’s in command of medieval court (6)
VEHMIC (of a medieval Ferman court) V (Latin for see) + E (European) + HM (His Majesty, a form of address for a king) + I/C (in charge; in command) V E HM IC |
| 6 | Pieces of ground husked bread filling middle of roasts (5)
AREAS (pieces of ground) REA (letters remaining in bREAd when the outer letters B and D are removed [husked]) contained in (filling) AS (the central two letters of [middle of] roASts) A (REA) S |
| 7 | Principle of spotted dick recipe avoids heavy food (6)
STODGE (heavy food) S (principle [beginning, obsolete definition] of Spotted) + TODGEr (penis; dick) excluding (avoids) R (recipe) S TODGE |
| 8 | Acquired ancient, ramshackle deanery (7)
YEARNED (obsolete [ancient] term for EARNED [acquired]) Anagram of (ramshackle) DEANERY YEARNED* |
| 9 | Judges conducting trial in the manner of crime novelist (8)
ASSAYERS (people who test or judge metals; judge) AS (in the manner of) + SAYERS (reference Dorothy L SAYERS [1893 – 1957], English crime novelist) AS SAYERS |
| 12 | Quoted revolutionary measure adopted by curt impressionist (7)
ALLEGED (cited or quoted in discussion) ([ELL {a varying measure of length}] contained in [adopted by] [DEGAs [reference Edgar Degas [1834 – 1917], French impressionist artist)] excluding the final letter [curt] E) all reversed (revolutionary) (A (LLE) GED)< |
| 16 | Christmas absence of New York train service? (4)
NOEL (Christmas) NO (absence of) + EL (an elevated railroad in America [New York]) NO EL |
| 19 | Leave scope to track gazelle (6, 2 words)
GO AWAY (leave) GOA (a grey-brown gazelle of Tibet, with backward-curving horns) + WAY (scope) GO A WAY – I think ‘to track’is indicating that WAY follows [tracks] GOA and has been used to improve the surface of the clue |
| 20 | Sort of bend in retracting flap missing on Australian jellyfish (7)
AURELIA (a jellyfish of the large Aurelia genus of common jellyfishes) U (type of bend [U-bend]) contained in (in) (AILERon [flap on an aeroplane wing tip for lateral balancing] excluding [missing] ON + A [Australian]) reversed (retracting) (A (U) RELIA)< |
| 23 | Returning Irish and English visiting Cyprus like pilau? (5)
RICEY (pilau is a highly spiced Asian dish of rice with a fowl or other meat, so it is RICEY in content) IR (Irish) reversed (returning) + (E {English] contained in [visiting] CY [international vehicle registration for Cyprus]) RI< C (E) Y |
| 24 | Lubrication delivered for local flight (6)
GRIECE (local term for a flight of steps) GRIECE (sounds like [delivered] GREASE [lubrication]) GRIECE |
| 26 | Fab Beatles’ first routine lacking depth (5)
BRILL (fabulous; fab) B (initial letter of [first] Beatles) + dRILL (a routine) excluding the D (depth) B RILL |
| 27 | Conk out on brief stop (5)
SNOOT (a slang term for the nose, as is conk) Anagram of (out) ON and STOp excluding the final letter (brief) P SNOOT* |
| 28 | Eliminate local fragment arising from outside fuel discharge (5)
EXPEL (discharge) EX– (outside, as in EX-directory) + PEtroL (fuel) excluding the reverse of [rising; down entry] ORT [a fragment]) EX PEL |
| 30 | Uncovered Swallows Racing course (4)
RINK (a course for tilting or racing) dRINKs (swallows) excluding the outer letters D and S (uncovered) RINK |
| 31 | Finally catch long old fish (4)
HAKE (a fish) H (last letter of [finally] catcH + AKE (old spelling of [old] ACHE [long for]) H AKE |
| 32 | Highland ouzel, concerned with avoiding falcon (4)
MERL (European blackbird. OUZEL is an archaic name for the blackbird, but dictionaries give it as a Shakespearean reference rather than a Scottish or highland one) MERLin (small falcon) excluding (avoiding) IN (concerned or involved with) MERL |
| 34 | Drama sweetheart served up (3)
NOH (Japanese classic drama) HON (abbreviation for HONey [sweetheart]) reversed (served up; down entry) NOH< |
With my grid almost complete, having tried and failed to find the name along the bottom, I resorted to trying to find the other name so that I would have an endgame to enjoy. The only reasonable combination I could find was AU-BR-EY, and I was fortunate in then being able to resolve the theme completely with the help of my ODQ eighth edition. (Incidentally, Duncan, I think the setter intended the A of AUBREY to come from G AND T, not from GO AWAY.) The way that the triangle formed by MAN-PIG-DOG fitted inside THE COLLEGE QUADRANGLE was very neat indeed, and I liked the whole idea of this original theme.
This puzzle had a very good set of clues too, although a couple of them needed the help of the unclued thematic name to solve them.
Thanks to Arcadia and Duncan.
This was a ‘not quite’ for me – I didn’t quite fill the grid and I couldn’t quite sort the endgame either. I had a few clues I simply couldn’t solve, and though from the blog I can see their constructions were fair, it’s also clear I would never have got some of them, 5a in particular.
As for the endgame, I got Ralph Kettell and found Aubrey, and then THE COLLEGE and QUADRANGLE, but then got no further, not having an ODQ to hand (must get a copy!) and being unable to find anything useful online.
Now that I’ve seen the full endgame, I do appreciate its construction though, very neat. Thanks to Arcadia for the puzzle and to Duncan for clearing up all my question marks!
Alan B @ 1
Yes, the other A would be more logical – I have updated the blog. Thanks
There should in my opinion be a balance between the solve/gridfill and the research needed for the endgame. The balance here was way off. A fairly swift gridfill followed by ages trawling the web for information about Mr Kettell which drew a blank and at some point I decided life was too short. I did manage to find the quadrangle, college and Aubrey but (and I may be wrong here) the other bit is simply not gettable without a copy of ODQ. Not a fan, sorry.
Like Bingy@4, we found Kettell, quadrangle, college and Aubrey. Investigoogling over an extended period got us nowhere and we don’t have a copy of ODQ either. We did work out QEF however.
We don’t know how others completed the puzzle but the final endgame is very neat.
This was our first DNF for a long time.
Thanks Duncan for sorting it all out and Arcadia for the challenge. Perhaps we’ll do better next time.
I didn’t find I needed the ODQ in any edition to solve this. Google rapidly produced the anecdote which seems the main thing that is remembered of Ralph Kettell, and it was then just a question of noticing the Quadrangle and looking for where the pig and dog might be. For a name such as Kettell in the early 17th century, I’m not sure it’s meaningful to talk about mis-spellings; there was no “right” version (Shakespeare is, I think, supposed to have spelled his own name differently in different documents). I harrumphed at 7D, with Principle being used to indicate a first letter; an obsolete usage, not indicated, and not making much contribution to the surface (why not Principal ingredient…..)? And I am impressed we are expected to know the word for the Hairstreak genus, in order to derive THEA. But overall an amusing little vignette, and thanks to Arcadia and Duncan.
Gosh, how very seventeenth-century-donnish! I doubt that I’d have finished without a searchable ODQ to hand. No luck with the mathematically promising QUADRIC, but then I saw QUADRANGLE and its companion words, and all was laid bare including the QEF.
My thanks to Arcadia and duncanshiell.
Like Sagittarius, I was able to Google the anecdote via Ralph Kettell, even if it required going into some depth of the Trinity College Oxford website – from memory it was contained in a PDF history of the college! But I don’t think I spent an unduly long time on it, so I came away from the experience quite content.
An amusing little vignette and a manageable gridfill so while the puzzle might not win any prizes, I thought it was very well done and enjoyable – thanks Arcadia and duncanshiell for the blog.