This blog is for a puzzle by Ouroboros, who I thought was a debut setter, but I note he had an Independent puzzle published in 2024, and, slightly embarrassingly in terms of memory, I also note that I blogged it.
Ouruboros means a representation of a serpent with its tail in its mouth, symbolising completion, totality, endlessness, etc.
The preamble to this puzzle states that “Two entries are entirely thematic. Fourteen further entries are not thematic in themselves, but instead each contains a continuous letter string which is itself thematic.
Knowledge of the theme is not required for solving – all clues are standard cryptic offerings with definitions supplied.”
I didn’t find this puzzle as tricky as the earlier one in the Independent, but I enjoyed solving it. The theme wasn’t obvious to me, and I admit I got some help from the associated material Ouroboros provided when submitting the puzzle.
The theme is rivers that flow through Yorkshire or flow entirely within Yorkshire. With a bit of help from Wikipedia, I have summarised the sixteen rivers below, although I think there may be a seventeenth in that there is also a River WENT (subsumed in the crossword within the more well-known DERWENT river) rising in Low Ackforth and flowing for 26.7 K into the River DON near Snaith.
| Entry | River | Source |
Length in Yorkshire |
Flows Into |
| 1a | FOULNESS | Shiptonthorpe | 25.5 K | Market Weighton Canal |
| 10a part | COVER | Great Hunters Sleets near Woodale | 22 K | River Ure at Middleham |
| 14a | TEES | Enters at Gainford (part of the Tees forms part of the traditional boundary between County Durham and Yorkshire) | 88.4 K | North Sea at Redcar |
| 22 part | DOE | God’s Bridge near Chapel-le-Dale | 5.9 K | At the confluence with the River Twiss at Ingleton, where it becomes the River Greta |
| 28a part | SPEN | Confluence of Hunsworth Beck and Nann Hall Beck at Cleckheaton | 8 K | River Calder at Dewsbury |
| 29a part | LAVER | Confluence of North and South Gill Becks at Dallowgill | 15 K | River Skell near Ripon |
| 31a part | ROTHER | Enters at Eckington | 16.8 K | River Don at Rotherham |
| 1d part | FOSS | Near Oulston reservoir, Yearsley | 31 K | River Ouse at York |
| 2d part | AIRE | Malham Tarn | 114 K | River Ouse near Airmyn |
| 4d part | SEVEN | Denby High Moor near Rosedale Abbey | 34.9 K | River Rye near Brawby |
| 6d part | RYE | Rye Head near Osmotherley | 61.5 K | River Derwent near Malton |
| 8d part | OUSE | River Ure at Cuddy Shaw Reach | 84 K | Trent Falls |
| 9d part | URE | Ure Head near Abbotside | 118 K | Renamed the River Ouse at Cuddy Shaw Reach |
| 16d part | DERWENT | Derwent Head near RAF Fylingdales | 115.1 K | River Ouse at Barmby on the Marsh |
| 18d part | ESK | The Esklets near Westerdale | 45 Km | North Sea at Whitby |
| 26d part | DON | Confluence of Great Grains Clough and Black Grough near Winscar reservoir, Dunsford Bridge | 114.1 K | River Ouse at Goole |
There was a good mix of clue types with smooth surfaces in most parts, but I also thought a couple of surfaces didn’t read very well. I didn’t really understand the surfaces for TROUSERS (8d) and DREAMLIKE (17d).
Thanks to Ouroboros for creating a puzzle for this year’s Sloggers & Betters.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Ordinary fellow’s taken back uniform and left cape in filth (8)
FOULNESS (filth) (O [Ordinary] + F [fellow]) reversed (taken back) + U (uniform) + L (left) + NESS (headland; cape) (F O)< U L NESS |
| 5 | Iron Curtain fundamentally cutting back influence (6)
AFFECT (influence) (FE [chemical symbol for iron] + C [first letter of {fundamentally} Curtain) contained in (cutting) AFT (towards the stern; back) AF (FE C) T |
| 10 | Frequently appearing in Second Skin paperback (9)
SOFTCOVER (description of a paperback book) OFT (frequently) contained in (appearing in) (S [second] + COVER [skin]) S (OFT) COVER |
| 11 | Hooray, hooray, corrupt Republican ousted (5)
YAHOO (an exclamation of joy or excitement, such as ‘hooray’) Anagram of (corrupt) HOOrAY excluding (ousted) R (Republican) YAHOO* |
| 12 | Fictional Spanish swordsman‘s statement of entry? (5)
INIGO (INIGO Montaya is a fictional swordsman in the novel The Princess Bride by William Goldman [1931 – 2018], American novelist) IN I GO (a phrase some might use when entering somewhere) IN I GO |
| 13 | Endorses false assertion (9)
NOTARISES (authorises; endorses) Anagram of (false) ASSERTION NOTARISES* |
| 14 | Clothes pegs (4)
TEES (tee-shirts; clothes) TEES (pegs for golf balls when driving) double definition TEES |
| 15 | “That woman’s rent almost due” scribbled below in text (9)
HEREUNDER (below in the text) HER (that woman) + an anagram of (scribbled) RENt excluding the final letter T [almost] and DUE HER EUNDER* |
| 19 | Function has a player in bed with man (9)
COTANGENT (trigonometrical function) (A + N [North, a player in the game of bridge]) contained in (in) (COT [bed] + GENT [man]) COT (A N) GENT |
| 22 | Executes earl’s son after party (4)
DOES (carries out; executes) DO (party) + E (earl) + S (son) DO E S |
| 24 | Confront inane sadist with grotesque pout (5,2,2)
STAND UP TO (confront) ST (letters remaining in SadisT when the central letters adis are removed [empty, one of the definitions of inane is empty]) + AND (with) + an anagram of (grotesque) POUT ST AND UP TO* |
| 27 | He loved Ouroboros wearing jumper (5)
ROMEO (name of person who loved someone, or a generic lover) ME (Ouroboros, the puzzle setter) contained in (wearing) ROO (kangaroo; jumper) RO (ME) O |
| 28 | Affluent ski partners initially entertain on vacation here? (5)
ASPEN (an American ski resort favoured by the rich and famous; here – could be an &Lit clue ASP (first letters of [initially] each of Affluent, Ski and Partners) + EN (letters remaining in EntertainN when the central letters ntertain are removed [on vacation]) A S P E N |
| 29 | Sign of hunger from group of servants? (9)
SLAVERING (anticipating food; sign of hunger) SLAVE (servant) + RING (group) – a SLAVE RING would be a group of servants SLAVE RING |
| 30 | See revolutionary talent in covers of Wings (6)
ELYTRA (beetle’s forewings modified to form cases for the hindwing; covers of wings) ELY (reference the diocese [see] of ELY) + ART (skill; talent) reversed (revolutionary) ELY TRA< |
| 31 | Siblings have problems admitting mother’s stern (8)
BROTHERS (siblings) BOTHERS (problems) containing (admitting) R (back [stern] letter of moptheR) B (R) OTHERS |
| Down | |
| 1 | Relic of ship coated in aluminium sheeting (6)
FOSSIL (a relic or trace of a former living thing preserved in rock) SS ([steam]ship) contained in (coated in) FOIL (aluminium sheeting) FO (SS) IL |
| 2 | Opening late, carnival set up to be more rigged than any other (9)
UNFAIREST (more rigged than any other) fUNFAIR (carnival) excluding the initial letter F (opening late) + an anagram of (up) SET UNFAIR EST* |
| 3 | Actor Jack chose one line to be rewritten, completely lacking energy (9)
NICHOLSON (reference Jack NICHOLSON [born 1937], American actor and filmmaker) Anagram of (to be rewritten) CHOSe ONe LINe omitting all occurrences of (completely lacking) the letter E (energy) NICHOLSON* |
| 4 | Incident interrupts quiet interval (7)
SEVENTH (the interval between one note and another seven notes away from it counting inclusively along the diatonic scale) EVENT (incident) contained in (interrupts) SH (quiet!) S (EVENT) H |
| 6 | Brother picked up cooking appliance (5)
FRYER (a cooking appliance) FRYER (sounds like [picked up] FRIAR [brother]) FRYER |
| 7 | Mindset of the drunken sailor (5)
ETHOS (the distinctive habitual character and disposition of an individual, group, race, etc; mindset) Anagram of (drunken) THE + OS (Ordinary Seaman; sailor) ETH* OS |
| 8 | Stimulate – regularly starts outside clothing (8)
TROUSERS (an item of clothing) TRS (letters 2, 4 and 6 [evenly [?] of sTaRtS) containing (outside) ROUSE (stimulate) T (ROUSE) R S |
| 9 | You’re terrified, exhibiting some waterworks? (6)
URETER (a duct that conveys urine from the kidneys to the bladder or cloaca; some waterworks) URETER (hidden word in [exhibiting] yoURE TERrified) URETER |
| 16 | Stood and modelled nude, then peed under photographer’s heel (9)
UNDERWENT (tendured; stood) Anagram of (modelled) NUDE + R (last letter of {‘s heel] photographeR) + WENT (peed) UNDE R WENT |
| 17 | Surreal Doctor of Music resembling bones before noon (9)
DREAMLIKE (surreal) DRE (reference DR DRE [born 1965], American rapper; doctor of music) + AM (ante meridiem; before noon) + LIKE (resembling) – I’m assuming that DRE LIKE is interpreted as resembling the DR [doctor; bones [slang term for doctor] part of DR DRE DRE AM LIKE |
| 18 | Bladed object kills princess (3,5)
ICE SKATE (a bladed object) ICES (American slang term for kills) + KATE (reference KATE Middleton [born 1982], Princess of Wales) ICE S KATE |
| 20 | Reveal old one’s out of balance (6)
EXPOSE (reveal) EX– (old) + POiSE (balance) excluding (out of) I [Roman numeral for one) EX POSE |
| 21 | Couple to join in hand (3,4)
TWO PAIR (a term descriptive of a hand in the game of poker) TWO (couple) + PAIR (join) TWO PAIR |
| 23 | Bolts ultimately stabbing through Pierce Brosnan’s heart (6)
GORGES (swallows greedily; eats fast; bolts) (G [final letter of {ultimately} contained in {stabbing} GORE [to pierce]) + S (central letter of [heart] broSnan) GOR (G) E S |
| 25 | Sufficiently expand provided retreats (5)
AMPLY (sufficiently) AMPLifY (increase; expand) excluding (retreats) IF (provided) AMPLY |
| 26 | Opportunity to retain foundation’s last benefactor (5)
DONOR (benefactor) DOOR (opportunity) containing (to retain) N (final letter of [last] foundatioN) DO (N) OR |