The preamble for this puzzle by Nimrod (John Henderson, editor of the Inquisitor series and prolific crossword compiler for all of the cream of the national dailies and many other publications) stated "To celebrate a personal milestone, I plan to "sample" "a few" ales today. In the grid, each of four answers describes a pair of others and the four pairs must be used in conjunction with the title of the puzzle to deduce an alternative four-word title (18 letters) to be written under the grid. Wordplay in half of the clues generates a single extra letter not to be entered in the grid. Taken in order, these letters spell a relevant rhetorical question."
My usual plan with Inquisitors is to solve as many clues as I can and then see how the messages in the preamble interact with what I have found after solving a few clues. I started off with SAUNTER, AMERICAN, ROTAS and KOI in the acrosses. My first downs were DORY, YOURT and SUITS in the downs. You will notice that few of these intersected, so I had still had some significant work to do to get a real foothold in the puzzle. Eventually though I did, and the grid fill proceeded reasonably quickly, at least for the first half of the puzzle. There was then abit of a slow patch followed by another surge to the end.
The phrase comprising the extra letters in the word play was the first to fall when I deduced WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG after I had about 60% of the letters.
I will admit to knowing that John Henderson planned to celebrate his 50th birthday in the SHEFFIELD Tap pub adjacent to SHEFFIELD railway station along with solvers, bloggers and setters, or Sloggers & Betters as they tend to be known. There had been ‘adverts’ on Fifteensquared and the Crossword Centre Message Board. I regret that I was unable to be present as I was committed to supporting my wife and a friend from my old running club Southampton in the Jedburgh Half Marathon on that day. I understand that the day in SHEFFIELD went well – Happy Birthday John! With this prior information, the entry of SHEFFIELD was no surprise and the knowledge of SHEFFIELD helped with ST PANCRAS long before I worked out the word play for the station.
As is often the case with additional letters, I had to do a bit of reverse engineering from some answers to clearly identify all the clues with additional letters in the wordplay. The last two to yield thrir extra letters were the clues for ST PANCRAS and EWE. For a long time I had EVE as the entry for 15m down with it’s link to New Year. I was convinced that the Y had to be in that clue and it was only when writing the blog that the penny dropped and it struck me that EWE was the answer to a hidden word clue. I’ll also admit to finding hidden word clues surprisingly difficult. In fact one of my mantras is ‘if you can’t solve it by other means try a hidden word as the last resort’. It’s surprising how often that it is a hidden word. The use of ‘busy’ as an anagram indicator in 42 across took me a ridiculous amount of time to realise. I think it was noticing that ‘ACROSS‘ had many of the letters of ST PANCRAS and also an O that helped me there.
When the grid was full there seemed to me to be four obvious pairs –
AMERICAN/EUROPEAN going with definition CONTINENTAL,
IODINE and SULPHUR going with definition ELEMENTS,
DIAMONDS and SPADES going with definition SUITS and
DORY and KOI asa fishes, but no suitable definition.
I had noticed that AMERICAN through to SPADES could all be represented as one letter abbreviations (A, E, I, S, D and S) so further study of the grid yielded another set of definition and pair in respect of RHYMES and RUNS/TONS. RUNS and TONS generated two more single letter abbreviations, R and T. We therefore had 8 letters that could be rearranged to spell DISASTER. The title of the puzzle is TAKE which can be represented itself as a single letter R. R can also mean RECIPE. So, in true crossword cryptic fashion, the 8 letters could be seen as A RECIPE FOR DISASTER (18 letters) which is the phrase to be entered under the grid. This phrase clearly fits well with the associated phrase from the extra letters in wordplay.
I did wonder if there was something clever in the grid linking ST PANCRAS and SHEFFIELD given that you board a main line train for SHEFFIELD at ST PANCRAS and the two entries were placed symmetrically in the grid, but I casn’t see anything obvious and I guiess that would be a step too far in terms of grid filling on top of the thematic material already included!.
There were many good clues in the puzzle, a number of which I had to return to a couple of times after seeing what the entry had to be. In clue order, I liked the clues for RUNS, CREAM, EUROPEAN, SEE YOU, SPADES, ELEMENTS, PARPEN and YOURT.
Thank you John for the many years of solving pleasure you have given me under a wide range of nom de plumes in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. I look forward to many more years of challenge via your puzzles.
The final grid looked like this:
A RECIPE FOR DISASTER
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Across |
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| No | Clue | Wordplay | Letter | Entry |
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1
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Is managing "Sport" (Sydney’s place) (4)
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RU (Rugby Union [sport] + NSW [New South Wales; location of Sydney, Australia])
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W
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RUNS (manages)
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4
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Regular associate for blind invested in something to protect city (9)
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EFF (reference ‘EFFing and blinding’ as a phrase describing swearing; associate for blind) contained in (invested in) SHIELD (something to protect) SH (EFF) IELD |
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SHEFFIELD (City – the reference is to the one in England as that is where Nimrod celebrated his 50th birthday along with a number of Sloggers & Betters)
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10
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Directly opposite an upset in front of Gap (8)
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AN + TIP (upset) + HOLE (gap)
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H
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ANTIPOLE (direct opposite)
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| 11 | Get back on providing intermezzi for Nimrod’s conclusive section? (5) |
I’m struggling a bit here, but I think the word play has the two letters of ON, O and N acting as intermediate (intermezzo) letters between I, V and E, possibly representing I’VE (I have [Nimrod has]) to form (I (O) V (N) E) The result is then reversed (get back) to give ENVOI.
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ENVOI (the concluding part of a poem or a book) |
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12
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Shoot old mischief-maker (3)
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IMP (obsolete [old] word for shoot, scion, graft)
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IMP (mischief-maker) double definition
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13
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Leisurely walk or daft run at sea (7)
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Anagram of (daft) RUN AT SEA
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A
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SAUNTER (leisurely walk)
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14
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I make it over with one deoxygenated tincture (6)
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(I + DO [make] + IT) reversed (over) + (ONE excluding [deoxygenated] O [chemical symbol for oxygen])
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T
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IODINE (reference tincture of IODINE, an antiseptic))
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16
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Heads rolling, new leaders of scouting group teams can impress the best (5)
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CREAM (the second letters of [the new leaders of, after the original first letters {heads} roll from each of SCOUTING GROUP TEAMS CAN IMPRESS)
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CREAM (the best)
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17
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Aged counsel is wedged in hole (5)
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IS contained in (wedged in) CAVE (hole) AV (IS) E |
C
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AVISE (obsolete [aged] form of ADVISE [counsel])
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19
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First of exam papers rating intellectual character (5)
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E (first letter of [first of] EXAM) + ID (identity [papers]) + OS (ordinary seaman; rating])
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EIDOS (the distinctive expression of the cognitive or intellectual character of a culture or social group)
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21
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One has to grumble about fine Statesman (8)
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(A + MOAN [grumble]) containing (about) ERIC (the blood-fine paid by a murderer to his victim’s family in old Irish law) A M (ERIC) AN
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O
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AMERICAN (a person from the United STATES of AMERICA)
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23
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Number nine scribbled by lecturer on thank-you note (11)
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COUNT (number) + an anagram of (scribbled) NINE + TA (thank-you) + L (lecturer) CONT INEN* TA L |
U
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CONTINENTAL (a currency note of the CONTINENTAL congress)
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27
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Regret reversing with acceleration into Frank French? (8)
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RUE (regret) reversed + (A [acceleration] contained in [into] OPEN [frank]) EUR< OPE (A) N |
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EUROPEAN (a French person is a EUROPEAN)
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30
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Canons doing the rounds in tears at Orleans (5)
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ROTAS (hidden word in [in] reversed [doing the rounds] TEARS AT ORLEANS) ROTAS< |
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ROTAS (rounds,canons)
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33
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Syringes discovered by Yard power drilling small recess (5)
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(Y [yard] + P [power]) contained in (drilling) HOLS (abbreviation for [small] HOLIDAYS [recess]) H (Y P) OS |
L
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HYPOS (hypodermic syringes)
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36
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Mathematician returns to baffle king (5)
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(ELUDE [baffle] reversed [reurns to]) + R (rex; king) EULE< R |
D
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EULER (reference Leonhard EULER [1707 – 1783] a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist
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37
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What develops when keeping eye out for so long (6, 2 words)
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SOUP (informal term for photographic developer; what develops) containing (keeping) an anagram of (out) EYE S (EE Y*) OU |
P
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SEE YOU (goodbye; so long)
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38
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In advance of time, loveless – and also turning yellow (7)
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(PLUS [also] reversed [turning]) + (HOUR [time] excluding [less] O [love, in tennis scoring terminaology]) SULP< HUR |
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SULPHUR (bright yellow colour)
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39
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On reel’s one fine fish! (3)
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(I [one] + OK (okay; fine]) all reversed (on reel) (KO I)< |
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KOI (japanese carp; fish)
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40
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Take… the championship! (5)
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TITLE (the TITLE of this puzzle is ‘TAKE...’)
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TITLE (championship)
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41
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Having to pussy-foot around soak, tipped over vessel of liquid (8, 2 words)
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([TO + PAW [{he foot of a pussycat is a PAW}] containing (around) [RET {soak}]) all reversed {tipped over} (WA (TER) P OT)< |
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WATER POT (vessel of liquid)
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42
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The hole in the ground the man’s missed cutting across busy station (9, 2 words)
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([THE + PAN [hollow {hole} in the ground] excluding [missed] HE [the man]) contained in (cutting) (an anagram of [busy] ACROSS) S (T PAN) CRAS* |
O
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ST PANCRAS ([London] main line station where you board for SHEFFIELD [4 across])
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43
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Contemptible person upset this many (4)
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SNOT (contemptible person) reversed (upset) TONS< |
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TONS lots of; (many)
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| Down |
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| No | Clue | Wordplay |
Letter |
Entry |
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1
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One the move northbound, grabbing a vegetable dish (5)
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(ASTIR [on the move] reversed [northbound; down clue]) containing (grabbing) A R (A) ITA< |
S
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RAITA (an Indian dish of chopped vegetables, especially cucumber, in yoghurt.)
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2
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Big star’s film not the last chapter internationally, they’ll verify (7)
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SUN (big star) + (MOVIE [film] excluding the final letter [not the last] E) + C (Chapter)
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S
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UNMOVIC (United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission; internationally they’ll verify)
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3
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Initially, solver is having look in Chambers (5)
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S (first letter of [initially] SOLVER) + (IS containing [having … inside] LO [look]) S I (LO) S |
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SILOS (chambers)
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4
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For one in MI6, get Bill’s old dear, so to speak (6)
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SPIES (descriptive of the members of MI6) with AD (advertisment [bill] replacing (for) I (one) SPADES |
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SPADES (obsolete [old] term for male deer in their third year)
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5
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South African native caught out in North 27 country (5)
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ICELAND (North EUROPEAN [27 across] country) excluding (out) C [(caught, in cricket scoring notation)
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I
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ELAND (antelope native to South Africa)
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6
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Evasive disputant following Descartes up comprehends chapter (6)
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(RENE [reference RENÉ Descartes {1596 – 1650}, French philosopher, mathematician and writer] + F [following]) reversed (up; down clue) containing (comprehends) C (chapter) (F EN (C) ER)< |
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FENCER (evasive disputant)
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7
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For a start, it’s sung during trustee’s funeral rites (7)
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IN (during) + TR (trustee) + OBIT (obituary; funeral rites [?])
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B
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INTROIT (the anthem sung at the beginning of Mass, immediately after the Confiteor, and when the priest has ascended to the altar; in other churches, an introductory hymn, psalm or anthem; for a start, it’s sung)
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8
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Lost without a navigation system (5)
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LORN (lost) containing (outside; without) A LOR (A) N |
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LORAN (a long-range radio navigation system)
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9
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Ice top of Danish along with one marzipan flavouring (8)
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D (first letter of [top of] DANISH) + I (one) + ALMONDS (flavouring for marzipan)
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L
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DIAMONDS (ice)
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13
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Where lawgiver was instructed to commit sloth (5)
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SIN (commit [SIN]) + AI (three-toed sloth)
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SINAI (Moses received instructiuons from God on Mount SINAI)
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15
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Female who’s given to following in New Year (3)
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EWE (hidden word in [in] NEW YEAR)
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Y
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EWE (female sheep; sheep are rferenced in the phrase ‘to follow like sheep’; female who’s given to following)
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18
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Singer’s use of nonsense syllables also dropping (4)
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SCAT (the use of nonsense syllables and other wordless effects in singing)
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SCAT (animal-dropping) double definition
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19
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Rising affray cut short by John’s principles (8)
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(MÊLÉE [affray] excluding the final letter [cut short] E) reversed rising; down clue) + GENTS (lavatory; John) ELEM< ENTS |
G
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ELEMENTS (principles)
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20
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Boat out of water, duck comes aboard (4)
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O (duck; cricket score of zero) contained in (comes aboard) DRY (out of water) D (O) RY |
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DORY (a golden-yellow fish [Zeus faber] of the mackerel family)
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22
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Chap only partially raised 50 shekels, on balance (3)
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MAN (chap) with two out of three (only partly) letters AN reversed (raised; down clue) M NA< |
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MNA (a weight of money valued at fifty, or sometimes sixty, shekels)
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24
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Welsh writer’s sitting on a short story (7)
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NOVELLO (reference Ivor NOVELLO [1893 – 1951], Welsh composer and actor) + A
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O
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NOVELLA (short story)
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25
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Go into chippy not wanting fish (5)
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CARPENTER (chippy) excluding (not wanting) CARP (fish)
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ENTER (go into)
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26
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A now ‘cool’ fevered priest who warned of treachery (7)
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Anagram of (fevered) A NOW COOL
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W
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LAOCOON (A Trojan priest who warned in vain against accepting the [Trojan] Horse from the Greeks)
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28
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Author’s clearly run-down wall (6)
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This is a down clue so the entry PARPEN displays PEN (author) as being below/under PAR (run-down)
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PARPEN (a stone passing through a wall from face to face; a wall of such stones)
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29
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Being Poles, originating in east end of Europe (3)
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E (rightmost letter of [east end of ] EUROPE) + N (north [pole]) + S (south [pole]) (poles)
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ENS (being or existence)
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30
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Verse and abridged song kept in reserve (6)
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HYMN (song) excluding the final letter [abridged] N contained in (kept in) RES (reserve) R (HYM) ES |
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RHYMES (verse)
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31
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It is strange having to put up barrier with gap in it for bard (5)
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(‘TIS [contraction of ‘it is’] + RUM [strange]) all reversed (put up; down clue) (MU SIT)< |
R
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MUSIT (Shakespearean [bard] term for a gap in a fence or thicket through which an animal passes.
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32
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Possessor of estate car college expelled after rival introduces union (5)
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FOE (rival) + U (first letter of [introduces] UNION) + (CAR excluding C [college])
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O
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FEUAR (a person who holds real estate in return for payment of feu-duty.; possessor of estate)
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34
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Tent that Scots husband’s left damaged (5)
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YON (Scottish word for ‘that’) + (HURT [damaged] excluding [left] H [husband])
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N
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YOURT ( light conical tent of skins etc, supported by posts, used by nomads in Siberia and Mongolia)
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35
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City types – regularly smug bastards (5)
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SU (letters 1 and 3 [regularly] of SMUG) + GITS (bastards)
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G
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SUITS (informal term for a business managers or accounts executives [as contrasted with ordinary workers or creative individuals]; city types)
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Excellent crossword, but we (Hihoba) failed to take the final step, despite having found DISASTER and thought of R. for “TAKE”. Doh!!
Where did you get the definition for EIDOS? It is not in my Chambers or Collins. [I used to work in the same building as EIDOS – a computer games programming company!]
Hi
It’s not in the Shorter Oxford either, so I just typed ‘eidos definition‘ into Google and took the first response.
For me this was one of those where, with hindsight, it all looks so easy, but it actually took me ages to make the final leap to ‘A recipe for disaster’. I didn’t register ‘rhymes’ at first….I thought Sheffield and St Pancras was the fourth pairing, and was looking for ‘stations’ or ‘hospitals’ somewhere…I then thought that ‘Antipole’ could describe them somehow (as in opposite ends of a journey).
I guess it’s the sign of a real expert setter to walk the line between too easy and too hard.
When I finally got there, it really made me laugh! A perfect cryptic description of a birthday celebration! I wonder if anything did actually go wrong?…surely not with such a sound plan!
Thanks to duncanshiell and Nimrod.
I found this puzzle tough going. Having completed the grid, found the rhetorical question, correctly identified the four pairs, I then completely failed to deduce the alternative 18-word title. I think I was distracted by knowing about Nimrod’s celebrations in Sheffield and by the presence in the grid of the two stations which could be connected to it. Duncanshiell’s explanation seems reasonable enough in retrospect, but I’m not kicking myself for not being able to deduce it.
I couldn’t parse 11a, 40a, 42a (not helped by erroneously finding the “O” in an earlier clue) and 28d, so thanks to duncanshiell for sorting these out for me. Thanks to Nimrod too for such a challenging puzzle, even if he did use a word (EIDOS) which isn’t in Chambers.
Really enjoyed this puzzle, thanks Nimrod amd of course to Duncan for the excellent blog.
I was in Paris for a long weekend but took the puzzle with me and decided to do it ‘blind’ i.e. without Google, Chambers etc. Don’t know whether it’s a sign of a really good puzzle that I managed to complete the grid ‘unaided’ after several lengthy sessions of staring into space, head-scratching and ‘flane-ing’ by the Seine. The wordplay led unambiguously to the solutions, despite the unfamiliarity of many words. I even got ‘eidos’ from some chipped nugget of a memory of Greek philsophy (or was it a recent University Chellenge question ?)
I have to say that, despite not making the final leap to the 18-word alternative by the end of the long weelend I did get all the linked words and ‘disaster’ so, like Howard L @6 I’m not too bothered.
My best puzzling experience for ages, so thanks to Nimrod and a happy birthday to you !
Eidos is the the Concise OED and also in ODE.
Quite a tough workout. Three of the four pair-indicators were quite clear, but the fourth was elusive. I too toyed with KOI-DORY-fish and searched for two RHYMES but somehow missed them for ages. It was pursuing the single-letter abbreviations for Diamonds, Spades, Iodine etc. that led me to look for other answers that fitted the pattern and come up with RUNS & TONS; from then on DISASTER arrived quickly, and not long after A RECIPE FOR …
Thanks to Duncan for the blog and to Nimrod for the challenge – tough, but enjoyable & satisfying. I hope the Sheffield bash was memorable and I echo D’s “Happy Birthday”. Cheers!
PS I concur with Duncan’s parsing of ENVOI at 11a.
But I don’t like the wordplay for 28d where “run-down” = under PAR, a second-level indicator. (A similar construction appeared in Inquisitor 1290 & I didn’t like that either. As I commented at the time, are we to see “confidant” = alter EGO to indicate an anagram of EGO as part of the wordplay?)
We really enjoyed this one despite (or perhaps because) it took us so long to complete. We were so pleased to complete the whole puzzle that we toyed with sending it in with a Happy Birthday message to John! It would have been our first competition entry but decided against it …….. as usual!! The fun is in the completion not in the chance of winning so many thanks to Nimrod/John for all your contributions, especially this one.
Thanks also to Duncan for the blog.
How legitimate is “it invites a disaster” for the title? This arises from missing that take = r and reading take in the sense of ” take one” when for example proffering a box of chocolates. Clearly no where as near as appropriate as ” a recipe for disaster” but maybe not wrong.
We were fortunate to win the Champagne this week – which will enable us to toast Nimrod’s Milestone! Thanks to him for the crossword and to Duncan for the blog.