Geographically themed cruciverbal fun from Sleuth, available to solve online or download and print at ft.com/crossword
The usual preamble:
A cryptic puzzle themed on one particular place in the world. Its name should be inserted at 29. Work out the place by solving the * asterisked clues, all undefined. Their solutions have some relevance to the place, such as famous people, locations and culture
An enjoyable puzzle as ever from Sleuth. Have to admit it took me a while to crack the theme but it was reasonably plain sailing once I got SIMENON. I didn’t think any of the thematic solutions were too obscure, though as is often the case with a Sleuth puzzle, there were tests of your general knowledge elsewhere – old musical instruments, ancient religious sects… and I suspect there’s a reference that’s passing me by in 17d – any suggestions welcome.
Thanks, Sleuth!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. Thematic clues are marked with an asterisk and have no further definition.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | HEPBURN |
* Fashionable poet snubbed (7)
|
| HEP (fashionable) + BURN[s] (poet) with last letter removed (snubbed)
The actor Audrey Hepburn was born in Ixelles, Belgium, and spent some of her childhood there, though she was a British national |
||
| 10 | SIMENON |
* Computer game linked to musical pioneer close to Britain (7)
|
| SIM (computer game – short for simulator) + ENO (Brian Eno, musical pioneer) + last letter of (close to) britaiN
Georges Simenon, Belgian writer, most famous for creating the detective Jules Maigret, who appeared in 75 novels and 28 short stories |
||
| 11 | SCIFO |
* Literary genre with love for Italy (5)
|
| SCI-F[i] (literary genre) with O (zero, love) replacing I (Italy)
Enzo Scifo, legendary Belgian footballer, who played in four World Cups from 1986 to 1998 |
||
| 12 | CHARLEROI |
*Daily role altered first person (9)
|
| CHAR (daily) + anagram (altered) of ROLE + I (first person)
City in southwest Belgium, in the Hainaut province |
||
| 13 | LEMAITRE |
* Sue’s partner in retirement has time in Yorkshire river (8)
|
| MEL (Sue’s partner) reversed (in retirement) + T (time) in AIRE (Yorkshire river)
Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), Belgian priest, theoretical physicist and mathematician, whose work was instrumental in forming the Big Bang Theory |
||
| 14 | BORDET |
* Two guys shortly from the East (6)
|
| TED + ROB (two guys, shortly) reversed (from the East)
Jules Bordet (1870-1961), Belgian scientist awarded the Nobel prize in 1917 for his work in microbiology and discoveries relating to immunity |
||
| 16 | ROUT |
Republican dismissed rabble (4)
|
| R (Republican) + OUT (dismissed) | ||
| 18 | DEBUT |
Financial problem around university gets first appearance (5)
|
| DEBT (financial problem) around U (university) | ||
| 19 | URGE |
Impulse shown within hour, generally (4)
|
| Hidden within hoUR GEnerally | ||
| 23 | RUBENS |
* Problem with standard (not half) (6)
|
| RUB (problem) + ENS[ign] (standard) less half its letters
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Flemish artist and diplomat – there was no such thing as Belgium in those days, but he grew up in Antwerp, which is in modern-day Belgium |
||
| 24 | MAGRITTE |
* Partner accepting determination (8)
|
| MATE (partner) containing (accepting) GRIT (determination)
René Magritte (1898-1967), Belgian surrealist artist |
||
| 26 | BAEKELAND |
* Group protecting English lake unexpectedly (9)
|
| BAND (group) containing (protecting) E (English) + anagram (unexpectedly) of LAKE
Leo Baekeland (1863-1944), Belgian chemist, best known as the inventor of Bakelite plastic and Velox photographic paper |
||
| 28 | ENSOR |
* Element in children’s ornaments (5)
|
| Selection from (element in) childrEN’S ORnaments
James Ensor (1860-1949), Belgian painter associated with the Les XX artistic group |
||
| 29 | BELGIUM |
[See Notes] (7)
|
| The country to which the solutions to asterisked clues are related | ||
| 30 | ANTWERP |
* Name adopted by a fool (7)
|
| N (name) inserted in (adopted by) A TWERP (fool)
City in the Flemish region of Belgium |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | WHISTLER |
Maybe, official artist (8)
|
| Double/cryptic definition
The official is a football referee, the artist James McNeill Whistler |
||
| 2 | OPHISM |
Greek character in very large mass has Gnostic creed (6)
|
| PHI (Greek character) in OS (very large) + M (mass)
The Ophites were a religious sect that worshipped the serpent, from the Greek ‘ophis’ meaning serpent |
||
| 3 | BUCOLIC |
Rural hobo lacking money gets severe spasmodic pain (7)
|
| BU[m] (hobo) lacking M (money) + COLIC (severe spasmodic pain) | ||
| 4 | IN A CORNER |
Awkwardly placed, like a footballer taking a set piece? (2,1,6)
|
| Double/cryptic-ish definition | ||
| 5 | ASIA |
Pass rival on and off in large land area (4)
|
| Alternate letters (on and off) of pAsS rIvAl | ||
| 6 | SMILE ON |
Show favour to Bob over distance at work (5,2)
|
| S (shilling = bob) + MILE (distance) + ON (at work) | ||
| 7 | INTRUDER |
Unwelcome figure with drink, not quiet and less courteous (8)
|
| [p]INT (drink), not P (quiet) + RUDER (less courteous) | ||
| 8 | ENLIST |
Recruit sent off to grab clip essentially (6)
|
| Anagram (off) of SENT containing (to grab) middle letters (essentially) of cLIp | ||
| 15 | RURAL DEAN |
Cleric and artist in a blunder mistakenly ignoring bishop (5,4)
|
| RA (artist) in anagram (mistakenly) of A [b]LUNDER ignoring B (bishop) | ||
| 17 | UMBRELLA |
Gloria contributes to this protection (8)
|
| Can’t fathom the wordplay here but I note that the solution contains Jacques BREL, the legendary Belgian chansonnier | ||
| 20 | EYE DROPS |
Writer, we hear, leaves out liquid medicine (3,5)
|
| EYE sounds like (we hear) “I” (writer) + DROPS (leaves out) | ||
| 21 | INTERIM |
Provisional minister after disorder with no end of problems (7)
|
| Anagram (after disorder) of MINI[s]TER with no S (end of problemS) | ||
| 22 | CRUELTY |
Inhuman treatment left amid violation of truce over year (7)
|
| L (left) amid anagram (violation) of TRUCE + Y (year) | ||
| 23 | RIBIBE |
Bribe I planned to get old string instrument (6)
|
| Anagram (planned) of BRIBE I | ||
| 25 | TESTER |
One trying out some dilettante’s terminology (6)
|
| Some [letters from] dilettanTE’S TERminology | ||
| 27 | AIMS |
Objectives from man in mess regularly (4)
|
| Alternate letters (regularly) of mAn In MeSs |
UMBRELLA
Googling threw up this
The Gloria brand of outdoor garden umbrellas and parasols…
Is the setter referring to this?
Excellent puzzle. Superb blog.
Thanks Sleuth and Widdersbel.
I am also bemused by the Gloria umbrella connection. Googling gave me a snooty duck called Gloria in Animal Crossing who had an umbrella, but could find no Gloria connected to the Umbrella Corporation in Resident Evil. No sign of a Gloria connection to the Rihanna song. Would like to know the answer to this.
I enjoyed the rest of the puzzle, although I was disappointed that Plastique Bertrand was yet again missed out in the “famous Belgians” stakes. Two of my go to Belgians were there – Simenon and Magritte.