A smaller than normal 10×10 grid this week, so do I expect easier than normal clues or a toughie?
I wasn’t really expecting the theme of this puzzle this week, but assumed that the following weekend would provide one or more based on it. However, the first and last sentences of the preamble gave it away. “An old character appears in an area of the grid…” and “The four unclued entries must be completed to show the character’s first and most recent associates, and two enemies” positively shouted out Doctor Who, its much-trumpeted 50th anniversary being on 23rd November.
A number of clues had answers longer than their grid entries. The puzzle would have been harder if the numbers in brackets just gave us entry lengths, but I’m not really complaining. It seemed likely therefore that certain cells would hold two letters. I suppose cells could have contained more than two, but I felt that unlikely. And so it turned out, with cells in the central 4×4 block each containing two letters and representing the inside of the TARDIS. The correct letters of misprints in the clues describes this: more spacious inside than from the outside. The four walls of this central area each spell TARDIS.
Finally, THE DOCTOR could be seen in the main NW-SE diagonal, with two ‘associates’ CLARA and SUSAN, and two enemies, a DALEK and a ZYGON, in the four unclued entries. How did Stick Insect know that those two enemies would indeed appear in the anniversary special?! Scattered through the clues were a handful of the Doctor’s other associates: Rose, Ace, Peri, Donna, Melanie, Liz, Grace and Zoe. I didn’t see any other enemies in the clues though.
A nice bit of fun this week from Stick Insect.
Legend:
Definition in clue
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Correct Letter |
Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | CLARA | Unclued; the current, eleventh Doctor’s assistant | |
| – | DALEK | Unclued; the enemy of pretty much every Doctor | |
| 9 | SIBYL | M | SI* + BY (through) + L (Latin) |
| 10 | SITAR | O | Bear a rupee for SIT (bear) A R (rupee) |
| 11 | DISAS | R | Ace is surrounded by grass and A (ace) surrounded by DISS (grass, verb) |
| 12 | ANAHEIM | E | Maine has curtailed playing Californian (MAINE HA[s])* |
| 14 | COINS | S | in fiasCO IN Seville |
| 16 | DOLENT | P | Day of religious fasting was affected by D (day) + O (of) + LENT (religious fasting) |
| 17 | DEB | A | In retirement, sleep with presentable young BED< (sleep) |
| 19 | AID | C | A (one) + ID (mass of primitive urges in psychoanalysis) |
| 20 | MONACT | I | Single- CONTAM[inated]* |
| 22 | PLINY | O | P (Peri’s first) LINY (of course); Pliny was born in Como, Italy |
| 23 | WOORALI | U | Court liar’s fabricated plant providing WOO (court) + LIAR* |
| 25 | HASID | S | Religiously H (Harp, originally, ie beginning) + AS (in the character of) + I (one) + D(god) |
| 28 | RATAN | I | Donna tardily recalled holding revresed in donNA TARdily |
| 30 | BODLE | N | Part of D(died) in BOLE(earthy clay) |
| – | ZYGON | Unclued; an enemy of the third Doctor, and appearing in the 50th anniversary programme | |
| – | SUSAN | Unclued; the first Doctor’s granddaughter | |
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Correct Letter |
Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | CASABA | S | in ironiC AS A BAnana |
| 2 | LAIN | I | (MELANI[e] – ME (setter))* |
| 3 | RIA | D | Rising publicity AIR< (publicity) |
| 4 | ABRIM | E | A (atomic weight) + BR (bromine) I (independent) M (mass) |
| 5 | ALI | T | Great in itALIans |
| 6 | LIS | H | Liz cut Sweden and more than 10,500 LI[z] + S (Sweden); 2 lis is about 2/3 mile or about 10,600 hands (4 inches); shouldn’t the clue have ‘about’ in it somewhere? |
| 7 | ELANET | A | EL (railroad) + TE[g]AN* |
| 8 | KISS | N | KI[ck a]SS (two letters from each end) |
| 9 | STAR | F | Is sailor marine creature with S (is) + TAR (sailor) |
| 11 | DEFLECT | R | Celebrated agent’s set up with time for (CEL (celebrated) FED (agent))< + T (time) |
| 13 | HEGEMONY | O | Grace initially cooking with English honey and a bit of mouldy (G (Grace, initially) + E (English) HONEY + M (bit of Mouldy))* |
| 14 | CONTADOR | M | CON (trick) T (the, northern) ROAD*; Alberto Contador is a spanish cyclist |
| 15 | MILADY | T | Blimey, institute boy’s absorbed giving MY (blimey) containing I (institute) LAD (boy) |
| 16 | DONATED | H | Academic troubled by hint of doubt is given to DON (academic) + ATE (troubled) + D (hint of Doubt) |
| 18 | BAININ | E | B (book) A(accepted) IN (as an addition) IN (that is fashionable) |
| 21 | RATE | O | ARTE[x]* |
| 22 | PHIZ | U | Letter Zoe’s beginning for PHI (letter) + Z (Zoe’s beginning) |
| 23 | WORDS | T | Roe’s heard coming back with disheartened does and ROW< (homophone for Roe) + DS (disheartened DoeS) |
| 24 | LAMA | S | Religious (A MAL (pain))< |
| 26 | SAG | I | Part of Indian S (soprano) + A (acting) + G (grand) |
| 27 | IBO | D | One chap from Kentucky is language I (one) BO (chap from Kentucky, ie USA) |
| 29 | ALU | E | American left University for Asian A (American) L (left) U (University) |
Thanks for the blog, Dave H (and Stick Insect for the puzzle).
I am ashamed to say I ‘solved’ this, with the double letters and the ‘more spacious’ misprints and the Dr and his enemies/assistants, and even submitted an entry – BUT completely failed to spot the TARDIS/SIDRAT around the edges of the distortion field…doh!
(Having said that, I’ve never really been a fan, having missed much of it during my childhood by living abroad, and not embracing the recent renaissance – I may be one of the few people not overwhelmed by the recent anniversary shenanigans…)
Also, there was a similar treatment not too long ago in June this year – EV 1072 ‘Companions’ by Wiglaf – with a similar quotation, a blue box for the Tardis, and several of the Doctor’s companions disported around the grid – I should remember, as I blogged that one!…
Those solvers who are not fans of Doctor Who will have presumably not had the most pleasant of anniversary weekends!
The “multiple letters per cell” device has been used rather a lot this year, but that aside this was an enjoyable puzzle and a good representation of the theme so thanks Nutmeg!
Nutmeg?!?
Erm… Oops?
Thanks Stick Insect, even. And apologies for confusing Stick Insect with Mutmeg — I must have had the Magpie puzzle of Nutmeg’s on the brain for some reason.