A pretty complicated preamble, and a pretty complicated solve! Could ‘PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE’ be a (wishful) reference to lockdown life for many of us?!
The preamble states that:
“18 clues contain a redundant word, the first letters of which spell the name of the alleged subject of a short piece involving seven items. An interpretation of each is required: the first six (one of two words) must be entered clockwise, in order, in the shaded cells. The last letters of the redundant words spell a second name, suggesting a novel two-word interpretation of the seventh to be depicted in the grid by a trace of eight straight lines through 11 cells. Answers to four normal clues are too short, leading to three empty cells. Solvers must insert a letter into these blanks (producing non-words) and trace three crooked lines to illustrate a PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE. Unchecked letters in the shaded cells could spell NICE CANTO IN RHYME. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is an abbreviation.”
Well, this colour-blind, or at least ‘colour-ignorant’, solver could at least let out a sigh of relief that there is no colouring in to do! An ‘alleged’ subject, a short piece, a ‘novel’ interpretation and some crooked lines. Nothing to see here, so move along to trying to solve some clues (and finding those redundant words)
After about 30 minutes I had most of the top half solved, including the wonderful STIMPMETERS, which needed looking up after narrowing down the possible permutations. I also had about ten spare words, but nothing obvious forming from their first/last letters.
So, on I pressed – and at some point I got excited when I realised that the Telegraph had reinstated their prize puzzles (I realise now I was a week late, but I obviously haven’t read that far down the page for the last 12 weeks!) OK, it isn’t a fountain pen, but a virtual book token might help buy some virtual books…
After an hour or so, I had kind of got through most of the bottom half, with some gaps around MASCAGNI and REAL, which came in to focus after SECRETA and CARIBOU.
The redundant words had started to form something looking like SIR ALEXANDER LESLIE, and I had to give in and Wiki-oogle him, to discover what a varied and interesting life he led… I should really have read to the bottom of his Wikipedia page the first time as well, because (about the third time I returned to it) there in plain sight is a short work:
“The nursery rhyme “There Was a Crooked Man” is allegedly about Sir Alexander Leslie:
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse. And they all lived together in a little crooked house.”
This took me round the perimeter – a crooked man – SHEPHERD, a man with a crook! A KNOT is ‘loosely’ a nautical mile. A TANNER is ‘slang’ for a sixpence. a ‘crooked’ stile could be ISTLE. The last two took some teasing out – MACAVITY is a ‘crooked’/criminal cat from T.S. Eliot’s ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.’ And HUNCA MUNCA is a ‘crooked’ mouse from Beatrix Potter’s ‘The Tale Of Two Bad Mice‘.
But it doesn’t stop there – what about the house? The end letters of the extra words turned out to be DAME AGATHA CHRISTIE – and it wasn’t a huge leap to her ‘CROOKED HOUSE’ – which seems to be referenced by ASKANCE and ARIES, but this isn’t mentioned in the preamble or part of the requirement for submission(?). The house in question was called THREE GABLES – which eventually became 8 lines through 11 cells at the bottom of the grid – and the three ‘eaves’ were the blank letters.
After some further brain crunching – and a little external nudge – I eventually worked out that there could be a (crooked) MAN, CAT and MOUSE living together in the house, in a PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE:
Wow – layers upon layers and complication upon complication! A nursery riddle wrapped in an Agatha Christie mystery inside an ENIGMATIC VARIATIONS puzzle, to paraphrase Sir Covid Johnson, sorry, Sir Winston Churchill. (I was getting my crooked politicians mixed up there!)
Many thanks to Wickball for an entertaining and educational solve, which took some wheedling out in the end. I’m still none-the-wiser as to why Sir Alexander ended up with a nursery rhyme about him, but at least I now know who it is about!
NB. In a topsy-turvy week since solving this puzzle, the future of the EV series was thrown in doubt and then a reprieve issued by the powers-that-be at the Telegraph. So all’s well that ends well, for the time being…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Extra word | Entry | Clue (definition underlined, extra word in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
|
| 8 | S-acre-D | ALL-IN | Everything sacred included nothing to see on reflection (5) / NIL (nothing) + LA (interjection – see! Behold) – all reflected = ALL-IN |
|
| 10 | KIROV | Alcoholic drink nothing very revolutionary (5) / KIR (alcoholic drink) + O (nothing) + V (very) |
||
| 12 | SHEA NUT | The sun moving around a source of oil (7, two words) / SHE_ NUT (anag, i.e. moving, of THE SUN) around A |
||
| 13 | I-nsigni-A | TACHE | A Catholic insignia in the ancient clasp (5) / T_HE around A + C (Catholic) |
|
| 14 | R-oo-M | ELI | Old teacher entered into room silently from the east (3) / reversd hidden word, i.e. ‘entered into’ and ‘from the East’, in ‘sILEntly’ |
|
| 15 | GROAT | A very small sum earned around isolated outskirts of Riga (5) / G_O_T (got, earned) around R and A (outer letters of RigA, isolated from each other) |
||
| 16 | A-cr-E | STIMPMETERS | Devices used on green acre permit the mess to be cleared up after he’s gone (11) / subtractive anag, i.e. to be cleared up, of PERMIT T( |
|
| 18 | NEB | State bill for McDonald’s? (3) / double defn. NEB = Nebraska, US state; and a NEB is a Scottish word, i.e. for McDonald’s, for the beak, or bill of a bird |
||
| 20 | ASKANCE | Sceptically question article against church (7) / ASK (question) + AN (article) + CE (Church of England) |
||
| 23 | L-ouisian-A | BAH | Louisiana graduate initially hearing cry of contempt (3) / BA (Bachelor of Arts, graduate) + H (initial letter of Hearing) |
|
| 24 | KHOR | A thousand hard men in ravine (4) / K (a thousand) + H (hard) + OR (army, Other Ranks, the men) |
||
| 26 | EST | Awareness programme is in French (3) / double defn. EST is a Californian philosophical awareness programme, Erhard Seminars Training; and EST means ‘is’ in French, third person singular present indicative of ‘etre’ |
||
| 27 | MUSA | A Sumo not finishing off Japanese swimmer (4) / anag, i.e. off, of A + SUM( |
||
| 29 | DARIC | Old Persian capital’s classical style – advanced instead of old (5) / If you change the O (old) of D(O)RIC (classical architectural style) to an A (advanced) you get DARIC (an old Persian coin, or capital!) |
||
| 30 | E-xtollin-G | RISEN | New rule extolling English is muddled up (5) / anag, i.e. muddled up, of N (new) + R (rule) + E (English) + IS |
|
| 31 | X-hos-A | AERIALIST | Dish, perhaps, is accompanying tenor, top Xhosa performer (9) / AERIAL (dish, perhaps) + IS + T (tenor) |
|
| 34 | A-bjec-T | EASSEL | Devious type harbouring abject idiot eastward of Perth (6) / E_EL (devious type) around (harbouring) ASS (idiot) |
|
| 36 | N-ightmaris-H | EBITDA | A nightmarish debit affected earnings before deductions (6) / anag, i.e. affected, of A DEBIT |
|
| 38 | R-E-A-L | Once royal king who went mad after switching sides (7) / LEAR – a king who went mad! – switching sides – either ‘side letters’ swapped, or just swapping Left to Right and vice versa(?) = REAL |
||
| 39 | PATH | Way bathroom fitting turns? (4) / A bathroom fitting might be a H(ot) TAP – turned to give PATH! |
||
| 40 | ESAU | Rough twin’s son imbibing Evian? Au contraire (4) / E_AU (French, i,e, Evian, for water) around (imbibing) S (son), au contraire, as the clue initially suggests the son is imbibing the water… |
||
| 41 | D-ram-A | TACITUS | Historian’s silent drama, as above (7) / TACIT (silent) + US (ut supra, Latin, as above) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Extra word | Entry | Clue (definition underlined, extra word in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
|
| 1 | E-pi-C | ELECT | Delectable entertaining epic chosen (5) / hidden word in, i.e. entertained by, ‘dELECTable’ |
|
| 2 | RISHI | Sage from Dublin perhaps cycling (5) / IRISH (from Dublin) with the first letter cycling to the end = RISHI |
||
| 3 | SHEEP KED | Fly cast about East Park with energy (8, two words) / SHE_D (cast) around E (East) + P (park-ing?) + KE (kinetic energy) |
||
| 4 | R-ic-H | TEAL | Duck pâté, rich almond-oil included (4) / hidden word in, i.e. included by, ‘paTE ALmond-rich’ |
|
| 5 | LENIENTS | Unhappy sentinel, one could have been soothed by these (8) / anag, i.e. unhappy, of SENTINEL |
||
| 6 | L-age-R | MITRE | Lager joint with German crew showing no constraints (5) / MIT (with, in german) + (C)RE(W) (crew, showing no constraints, or outer letters) |
|
| 7 | ARBOR | Twisted bar on gold spindle (5) / ARB (anag, i.e. twister, of BAR) + OR (gold, heraldic) |
||
| 9 | E-M-I | LEASE | After failing to start, EMI satisfy contract (5) / (P)LEASE (satisfy, failing to start) |
|
| 11 | OMASA | Ayrshire food-processors of odd scraps of meat and soya emptied (5) / O (of) + MA (odd letters, or scraps, from MeAt) + S(OY)A (soya, emptied) |
||
| 17 | MASCAG-NI | Composer, losing power, campaigns for change (9) / anag, i.e. for change, of CAM(P)AIGNS (losing P – power) |
||
| 19 | BORA | Wind up board, sacking director (4) / anag, i.e. up, of BOAR(D) (losing, or sacking, D – director) |
||
| 21 | SECRE-TA | Emissions from first classified item? (8) / The first classified item, or secret, might be SECRET A! |
||
| 22 | CARIB-OU | Beast caught out (almost) following a taunt (8) / C (caught) + A + RIB (taunt) + OU(T) (almost all of out) |
||
| 23 | S-crub-S | BAST | One in scrubs possessing special fibre (4) / BAT (batsman, cricket, one ‘in’) around (possessing) S (special) |
|
| 25 | L-ieutenan-T | HALAKAH | The French Lieutenant in Kiwi display primarily honouring Jewish law (7) / HA_KA (Kiwi display/war dance) around LA (the, French), plus H (primary letter of Honouring) |
|
| 28 | I-srael-I | SEED-LAC | EC deals about residues of Israeli resin (7) / anag, i.e. about, of EC DEALS |
|
| 32 | ILEAC | Trojan with heart becoming base of intestine (5) / ILIAC (of Troy, Trojan) with the middle letter, or heart, becoming E (logarithmic base, maths) = ILEAC! |
||
| 33 | LEAST | Sad tales of lowest degree (5) / anag, i.e. sad, of TALES |
||
| 35 | E-xtensiv-E | SITS | One with temperature on board has an extensive examination (4) / S_S (steamship) with I (one) + T (temperature) ‘aboard’ |
|
| 37 | TOSA | Drunk upset a dog (4) / TOS (sot, or drunkard, upset) + A |
||
Splendid puzzle with a wealth of thematic material that just kept on giving. I was unsure about the final stage. I went for the same letters in the empty cells and crooked lines as here, but was put off by the superfluous IT that appears with the house’s three inhabitants. Does that IT have any significance, or was it just a result of MAN, CAT and MOUSE having too few letters to entirely fill the three-gabled house?
I don’t quite get the title either. There’s nothing in the rhyme about the three living together peacefully, and being on top of each other like they are in the diagram, you’d think they’d be at each other’s throats! I suppose we can assume they all get on peacefully because nursery rhymes are generally happy affairs.
Excellent news that the series has had a reprieve.
An outstanding puzzle, and a clear demonstration of what we might have lost. I was particularly struck by the imagination behind SHEPHERD and ISTLE; and the other impressive feature is that the setter didn’t stop at the perimeter but asked himself “how can I develop the thematic idea further?” Many hanks to Wickball (and to the blogger for a thorough and entertaining exposition)
Do you really have to bring politics into this, mc? Keep your Guardian, leftie opinions to yourself.
Before I got to thinking what the theme might be about, I very much enjoyed my tussle with the quite challenging clues. Finding all the redundant words added to the fun of this phase, and I saw the name Agatha Christie forming before I saw the other one. A bit of research on Sir Alexander connected him to the rhyme that I know well, and I ‘solved’ the first four items in the perimeter in quite quick succession. SHEPHERD was a beaut!
I made good use of the unchecked letters in the perimeter, as they helped not only to confirm the first five items but also to solve the last one. Tracing the Three Gables was up next – a very neat part of the design.
I allowed myself to be put off for too long by the unclear instruction “Solvers must insert a letter into these blanks…” (implying it was the same letter that went into all three spaces). When I ignored that part of the instruction and thought only about what items might appear in the grid, and most likely wholly inside the house, I eventually got it.
I am full of admiration for the overall design and execution of the theme. I liked the ’empty cells’ device as well as the compacting of all that thematic material into just 24 cells at the bottom of the grid – leaving just IT spare (as pointed out already).
Many thanks to Wickball and mc_rapper67.
My thanks to mc_rapper and the 35 people who did this puzzle. What a wonderful inspired puzzle from the crooked mind of Wickball; my thanks to him for sending it to the EV. The EV’s popularity is judged on entries and I have no idea why they would use the space in a national newspaper for something which only 35 people do and which requires the cost of a separate editor, but it is to continue for now.
I also understand that the majority of entries for hard puzzles come from setters, so the EV compilers are setting for themselves. Perhaps the EV compilers could set for their aunts or uncles in future.
If you like the puzzle, please take the time to enter. If you hate the puzzle, please take the time to enter. If you want more EVs, please take the time to enter.
I thoroughly enjoyed this – just on the right side of taxing. And what a great grid constructio0n with so much thematic material involved. The outside was lovely – and agree with Alan B re: Shepherd – that raised a smile. I also needed the extra letters in order to complete the outside ring – I had never heard of Hunca Nunca before. Google was needed to confirm that as well as Three Gables.
My thanks to both Wickball and mc_rapper.
Very interesting to read proXimal’s note above re: entries. That does seem very low indeed – maybe the number of hard copies being purchased of all newspapers at the moment will have some impact. As well as the fact that entries have just been enabled again and many entrants haven’t picked up on that? It certainly doesn’t bear out on my win ratio – I have been entering for years and have only won once… Anyone have an idea on how many entries the EV ordinarily receives ?
As one of the 35 who entered (and who is not an EV setter) I am also surprised at my low win ratio! I thought this was a brilliant puzzle that unravelled layer by layer. Like Alan I saw Agatha Christie emerging first and despite having read ‘Crooked House’ I needed additional research to confirm the name of the house. I first started solving thematic crosswords with the EV series back in 2000 so I am really pleased that it has had a reprieve. I always read the blogs but don’t normally comment – so I’ll rectify this going forward. Thanks to Wickball and mc_rapper67.
I enjoyed the puzzle (thanks Wickball) but I took a different line for the residents – I had the mouse coming out of the wall… that’s where I’ve seen them in the past. Thanks for the very thorough blog mc_rapper (although I’m another who wouldn’t miss the party politics).
I have to disagree with proXimal. There will be very many more than 35 solvers who, like me, do all of the themed cryptics and never submit an entry (in much the same way as I wouldn’t enter a raffle). Please don’t conflate popularity with what gets written on online sites like this, and by how many people enjoy raffles. I was happy to email the Telegraph puzzles editor when it looked like the EV was to be pulled but this new call to arms smacks of manipulation. If EV folds it will not be because of any apathy on my part – I’ve been happy to buy the newspaper in the past and I now subscribe online (just to get the EV puzzle) that is commitment.
I agree with D Reynolds above. I always assumed that prizes were offered as an inducement to do the puzzle and thus generate more sales of the paper – it never occurred to me that it was a way of keeping tabs on the number of solvers! In any case it’s an inaccurate measure – as DR says there are plenty of solvers who attempt the puzzle for its own sake and never submit, and would continue to do so if a prize wasn’t offered. No doubt there are many more who attempt the puzzle but don’t finish – we’re not all solving geniuses, you know.
I understand the argument for submitting more often if it keeps the paper happy. But if the survival of the EV depends on the number of entries sent in, I can see a situation where complete solutions are traded online the gentle hints, for fear that failure to finish and submit could lead to closure of the EV. Maybe that’s a reductio ad absurdum, but in any case I’d have thought that the dismay shown by so many solvers at the thought of the EV closing was evidence enough that the series is worthwhile.
“…traded online rather than gentle hints…” Sorry.
Well, submissions don’t need to be correct to be counted as an entry. The fact is that the Telegraph gets a statistic by virtue of having a prize and that statistic is translated into popularity. They can’t tell from newspaper sales or puzzle site subscriptions how popular the EV is, but they do it by looking at the entry number. Whether anyone thinks it right or wrong is beside the point, that is what happens. A handful of people saying they might not buy the paper if EV goes did not do anything to change the perception of the EV’s unpopularity. The number one positive thing solvers could do to support the EV is to enter, otherwise it will continue to be under threat. Fine, I can’t make anyone enter and you are free to continue to not do so, I didn’t expect everyone to agree with me.
Just out of interest, does anyone know if the Times evaluates the popularity of the Listener puzzle on the same basis?
I note that it is possible (mandatory actually!) to enter the EV electronically, so it won’t even cost a stamp. I suspect many entries on my part will be judged to be incorrect, though. 😉
cruciverbophile@12 – No idea about the Listener, but if its popularity is judged by the number of entries, then its continuance is guaranteed by average entries hovering around the 450 mark (the latest published statistics are for 2018, but the numbers seem to have remained pretty steady in recent years, as has the average error rate of around 15%).
Many thanks to mc-r for his thorough analysis of my puzzle and for his very generous comments. Thanks also to the responders with their equally generous remarks. I am delighted that they enjoyed solving it as much as I did compiling it.
Cruciverbophile @1: I am afraid IT had no significance “IT” was just the leftovers which I could not avoid. Regarding the title, I agree the triple occupancy seems unlikely, hence the question mark. Also, if you Wiki the story of Sir Alex and his involvement in border issues, you may suspect an additional inference.
Well, this was the first EV to have a double digit response for over a year. Most of these relate to the popularity of EV itself. I would urge more solvers to respond in future to confirm that EV is appreciated by many who do not bother to enter the competition. (I am one of them – like D Reynolds, I don’t do raffles)
Apologies for late response, but I have been out/off grid most of the day. Wow – many more comments than I am used to, although most of them are generic re. the EV series, rather than this puzzle, which seems to have been pretty well received all round.
Thanks to Wickball at #15 for your kind words, and for confirming the house occupancy and the spare ‘IT’.
Alan B at #4 – I did wonder about that slightly ambiguous instruction (‘a letter’) but forgot to mention it in the blog – it did seem to imply that it might be the same letter in all three cells.
Finally, apologies to those who were offended by my off-the-cuff remark towards the end of the blog – I had had a couple of glasses last night, and I must have thought I was in in Cyclops/Private Eye-mode, rather than Telegraph-mode (;+>)
> Well, submissions don’t need to be correct to be counted as an entry.
I attempt the EV most weeks and finish it rather rarely (but I still enjoy the challenge and am improving), but when I do manage to finish I always submit. Sounds like you are saying I should be sending a DNF (Did Not Finish) notification to the puzzles people to let them know I tried? Happy to do that.There is surely no point in submitting an incomplete grid though so I won’t do that.
I can’t believe only 35 entries….suppose it’s normally around that number each week if that is why EV was going to be finished…….i enter every week (have never won) and on seeing the winners names , i can’t recall seeing the same names again and again???
It was a pleasure to be reminded of this rhyme after about 50 years. Does anyone remember the song “Don’t let the rain come down” from the 1960s? Looking at the solution published today it seems we didn’t need to spot ARIES and ASKANCE. Thanks, mc-rapper67.
@17, if you email to the prize puzzles address with the EV number, it is an entry. If you don’t have a correct solution, you just won’t win a prize. Thanks for supporting the EV.
As another of the 35, are we allowed to ask what the average entry was back in the old times before lockdown?
As mc in the Blog, I had to research Sir Alexander Leslie and I had to look up Hunca Munca having constructed the name from the letters.
I was very glad to read of the reprieve of the crossword – just after reading that it was due to be cancelled.
I remember solving #1 and have attempted the majority of the series and now that I can submit entries by email, I always do that when I complete one.
Thanks to Wickball for the interesting challenge.
Thanks to mc for another comprehensive blog.
Especial thanks to anyone involved in ensuring the EV’s survival
@21, the answer is that I don’t know the average entry before lockdown, but it was significantly low enough to warrant the removal of the puzzle.
I have thought of another way in which solvers could visibly show their support for the EV; I am sometimes forwarded comments on puzzles received at the EV Editor email. The Puzzles Editor sees all these, as he sends them to me to send to the setter. It does, unfortunately, only happen rarely. So, if you want to show your appreciation to the setter and help the EV, you can send a mail to EVeditor@telegraph.co.uk after you’ve done the puzzle, while it is fresh in the mind. Even just a quick email as part of your EV routine would be great and I can assure you that setters are very happy to receive feedback on their puzzles.
I also remember tackling EV1 and most of the early ones and have continued ever since, so I am very pleased it will continue. I thought this crossword was very clever and I always enjoy ones that result in a picture or diagram. I drew the house incorrectly to start with as the bottom letters ‘t’ and ‘s’ are replicated nearby, also symmetrically. I then corrected this and deduced that there is only one way to represent the title by getting the three inhabitants entirely within the house.
I agree with your main points, pentomino – I think this is a very clever puzzle and I enjoy puzzles with imagery in their endgames.
But your final statement doesn’t tally well with the house that mc_rapper has ‘drawn’. You will clearly see that the letters for ‘mouSE’ are within the boundary lines of the house as drawn – and the preamble requirements are not compromised in any way by this depiction. I think a more peaceful coexistence is possible if the occupants all have their heads in one of the three initially blank squares, and the mouse’s tail is in the cavity wall. This would have been a more realistic outcome and a more comfortable/symmetrical arrangement, in my view – but I would have been happy to keep quiet about that (if you’d have been happy to enjoy your ‘victory’ in the same manner).
When crossword endgames become debatable it’s often because the Realists favour one approach and the Literalists another – and I think setters fall into the same two camps.
A Literalist might argue that mc_rapper’s (computer generated) lines go through more than 11 cells. A Realist would argue that this wouldn’t be the case if pen and ruler were employed.
Very deep and philosophical – D Reynolds at #24/25!
I offset the lines slightly, so that the letters could still be seen – but yes they should have gone through the middles of the cells (vertically) and the meeting points of the cells (diagonally) to only pass through 11 cells. The published solution has them that way, and the MOUSE wholly, really and literally within the walls.
Cap’n P’ng’n and Pentomino – very impressed that you have been around since the start. I don’t remember when I first solved an EV, but it seems like forever ago! And I am pleased it has survived in its current form and place…long may that continue!…
proXimal – thanks for the various suggestions – hopefully there will be an upward trend in EV communications and entries, to help to justify its continued existence…
I’m glad you appreciated the philosophical stuff, mc_rapper, it comes from years of experience translating crossword preambles. In this one I wondered – why make us draw lines when shaded cells (as you’ve initially provided) would do the job? This encouraged me to go with the cavity idea, I would have opted for the crushed version if I couldn’t have arranged for the inhabitants to be fully inside the boundary lines – easily achievable unless computers are involved.
This has been a special week for EV – and this couldn’t have been a better puzzle for the occasion, because the living arrangements for the occupants of the house drew quite a few comment on the crossword sites a couple of weeks back (although very little on this one!). I sometimes think controversy is manufactured – in much the same way as some advertisers make ads that irritate people so that the product sticks in the mind (not that anything irritated me with this puzzle – I really enjoyed it… I’d be wrong every week if they could all be this much fun).
…and, by the way, you miss a very important element of preamble-speak, because when a line has to be drawn through the centre of 11 cells, the preamble will always state ‘the CENTRE of 11…’, and this time it didn’t.