Hi all.
The preamble:
Read clockwise from 1, the perimeter gives relevant subjects and part of a quotation; unchecked letters could form HOLY ANTHEM FLEW. Applying the full quotation, solvers must replace a name featured in six contiguous cells with another, leaving only real words or names. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
Often in puzzles like these I will avert my gaze from the perimeter until the very end. Not so this time. I used some of the outer words to help with a few straggling answers as I pieced together the partial quotation:
ANGELS … WHEN THEY ARE TOGETHER EN FAMILLE, THEY PLAY …
The full quote comes from the Swiss theologian Karl Barth. From Oxford Reference:
“It may be that when the angels go about their task of praising God, they play only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille, they play Mozart.”
It was then just a matter of “applying the quotation” by finding in the grid JS BACH and replacing him with MOZART. Divine, thanks Raffles!
If there is a setter’s blog for this puzzle it will be available after 9am here.
Initial grid:
Final grid:
.
| # | ANSWER | Clue with definition underlined |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps | ||
| Across | ||
| 8a | YUKO | Japanese award or American present around here? (4) |
| YO (American present) around UK (here) | ||
| 9a | PESAH | Feast in drunken heaps (5) |
| An anagram of (drunken) HEAPS | ||
| 10a | AGRAPHIA | Silver palms causing writer’s block, perhaps? (8) |
| AG (silver) + RAPHIA (palms) | ||
| 11a | HONE | Love European edge (4) |
| HON (love) + E (European) | ||
| 12a | ULNAR | Powerful narcotics cutting outer segments of bone (5) |
| PowerfUL NARcotics removing letters from each end (cutting outer segments) | ||
| 13a | EDDY | Current in Jordan, perhaps, we hear? (4) |
| Sounds like (… we hear) EDDIE (Jordan, perhaps) | ||
| 14a | PRESSFAT | Old vintner’s pot of jam and cream (8) |
| PRESS (jam) and FAT (cream) | ||
| 17a | GLOBE | Bowl, possibly to toss spreads over, for example (5) |
| LOB (to toss) goes between (spreads) the reversal of (over) EG (for example) | ||
| 19a | FLOR | What’s grown on wine bed less ordinary (4) |
| FLO[o]R (bed) less O (ordinary) | ||
| 20a | EDIT | Modified version of retro trend (4) |
| Reversed (retro) TIDE (trend) | ||
| 23a | IAMBI | One film character losing head and feet (5) |
| I (one) + bAMBI (film character) missing its first letter (losing head) | ||
| 27a | PLAINEST | Most basic staple replaced to keep fashionable (8) |
| STAPLE anagrammed (replaced) holding (to keep) IN (fashionable) | ||
| 28a | TOSA | A boozer backing a dog (4) |
| A plus SOT (boozer) reversed (backing) | ||
| 29a | AMAZE | Stagger through a network (5) |
| A + MAZE (network) | ||
| 31a | EMIR | Show of hesitation about note for ruler (4) |
| ER (show of hesitation) around (about) MI (note) | ||
| 32a | NIBBLING | Bill with jewellery is showing interest (8) |
| NIB (bill) with BLING (jewellery) | ||
| 33a | LOSTE | The Spanish and the English leaving centre once let go (5) |
| LOS (the Spanish) and ThE (the English) omitting the middle (leaving centre) | ||
| 34a | MZEE | African elder marks Letter from America (4) |
| M (marks) + ZEE (letter from America) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1d | AUGURY | A caveman for all to see on railway sign? (6) |
| A + UG (caveman) + U (for all to see) + RY (railway) | ||
| 2d | GOAN | Wee and short Indian (4) |
| GO (wee) + ANd short | ||
| 3d | EL PASO | Help a soldier to hold a city in US (6, 2 words) |
| hELP A SOldier going around (to hold) to the answer | ||
| 4d | LEHR | What’s held in both hands where glass is heated (4) |
| EH (what) is inside (held in) L R (both hands) | ||
| 5d | SPIRAEA | Hope lowering top nets a bush (7) |
| ASPIRE (hope) shifting its first letter downward (lowering top) goes around (nets) A | ||
| 6d | HE-HES | One man with more chuckles? (5) |
| HE (one man) with HES (more [men]) | ||
| 7d | NANDOO | Grandma – social old bird (6) |
| NAN (grandma) + DO (social) + O (old) | ||
| 9d | PACTS | Plurality of agreement in quiet book (5) |
| P (quiet) + ACTS (book) | ||
| 15d | EGIS | English competing outfits getting protection (4) |
| E (English) + GIS (competing outfits) | ||
| 16d | PLIÉ | Bend left in confused state (4) |
| L (left) in PIE (confused state) | ||
| 18d | BILLION | Large amount of gold one’s taken for university (7) |
| B[u]LLION (gold); I (one) is selected in place of (taken for) U (university) | ||
| 21d | DROMOI | Passages one translated into French following note about take (6) |
| MOI (one translated into French) following DO (note) around (about) R (take) | ||
| 22d | SPINE | Special long will (5) |
| S (special) + PINE (long) | ||
| 24d | MIMBAR | Modest local pub where sermons are given (6) |
| MIM (modest local) + BAR (pub) | ||
| 25d | USENET | Web’s connections do round bread from Polynesia? (6) |
| UT (do) round SENE (bread from Polynesia) | ||
| 26d | JARTA | Islander’s beloved beer, the ale for beginners (5) |
| JAR (beer) + the first letters of (… for beginners) The Ale | ||
| 29d | ABYE | To pay penalty once is an extra? (4) |
| A BYE (an extra?) | ||
| 30d | ALME | More relaxed following trim dancer (4) |
| After removing outer letters (… following trim), cALMEr (more relaxed) | ||
I enjoyed this very much, both for its clues and for its interesting and unfamiliar theme. The clues were generally quite challenging, mainly because several of them needed to be solved intuitively and then confirmed by back-solving the wordplay. (I was held up in the SW corner by four clues that I would describe as being of this type. Intuitive solving is not my strong suit!) There were also several new words and meanings to contend with, although that is to be expected with these puzzles.
Before the SW corner was filled I managed to guess the ‘relevant subjects’ from the checked letters. When my grid was complete it became easier to work out the incomplete quotation, helped also by the six remaining unchecked letters. The change of name was especially neat, depending on the fact that ‘Bach’ in the quotation almost certainly meant J S Bach and not any other member of that very musical family.
Thanks to Raffles, and to Kitty for the blog.