Skinny provides the Tuesday challenge.
Ah! I thought; this grid will have a message round the outside. Wrong!
There was a theme though which I spotted towards the end of the solve. There are entries which can be put together to form the title of six Beatles Albums released between 1965 and 1969
HELP (August 1965);
RUBBER SOUL (December 1965);
REVOLVER (August 1966);
SERGEANT PEPPER’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (May 1967);
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (December 1967); and
ABBEY ROAD (September 1969)
All the titles come from Across entries.
Often crosswords built like this generate some obscure crossing words, but apart from EMOS at 27 down, I don’t think that was the case with this puzzle. Most solvers will have come across ASGARD in a crossword before.
There were quite a few double definitions in the across clues today. I counted three.
I think I am more at home with Beatles music than the music described the word EMO.
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| Across | |||
| 8 | Feeling like this bully, oddly overlooked (4) |
SO (like this) + UL (letters 2 and 4 [omitting the odd letters; oddly overlooked of BULLY) SO UL |
SOUL (sensitivity, tenderness; feeling) |
| 9 | Fountains perhaps originally assembled by builders each year (5) |
ABBEY (first letters of [originally] each of ASSEMBLED, BY, BUILDERS, EACH and YEAR) ABBEY |
ABBEY (reference Fountains ABBEY, well preserved ruined Cistercian monastery located approximately 3 miles south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire) |
| 10 | Guidance for small dog without lead (4) |
HELP |
HELP (assistance; guidance) |
| 11 | Deal with most important territory (4) |
DO (work at; deal with) + MAIN (most important) DO MAIN |
DOMAIN (territory) |
| 12 | Lawrence is entertained by kind of party food (8) |
TE (reference T E Lawrence [1888 – 1935], British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer, also known as Lawrence of Arabia) contained in (entertained by) CARING (kind) CA (TE) RING |
CATERING (descriptive of part food) |
| 13 | Piece churchman and partner rejected (8) |
(REV [REVerend {churchman} + LOVER [partner]) all reversed (rejected) (REVOL VER)< |
REVOLVER (gun; piece) |
| 15 | Masseur, one that will obliterate your boobs (6) |
RUBBER (one who RUBs, such as a masseur) RUBBER |
RUBBER (eraser; something that will obliterate errors [boobs]) double definition |
| 17 | The secret of Skinny’s biography – nothing’s replaced by gibberish essentially (7) |
MY (Skinny’s) + ST MY STERY |
MYSTERY (secret) |
| 19 | Part of Vietnam a GI called enchanting (7) |
MAGICAL (hidden word in [part of] VIETNAM A GI CALLED) MAGICAL |
MAGICAL (enchanting) |
| 22 | Run aground on a beach (6) |
STRAND (run aground) STRAND |
STRAND (beach) double definition |
| 24 | It bites animals, fleshy or otherwise (8) |
Anagram of (otherwise) FLESHY OR HORSEFLY* |
HORSEFLY (the forest-fly or other large FLY that stings or bites HORSEs) |
| 26 | Militaryman posted guarding explosive gear (8) |
SENT (posted) containing (guarding) an anagram of (explosive) GEAR SE (RGEA*) NT |
SERGEANT (rank in the army; militaryman) |
| 28 | Sprinkle with chilli? (6) |
PEPPER (sprinkle) PEPPER |
PEPPER (reference a chilli PEPPER) double definition |
| 30 | Expedition into urban houses (4) |
TOUR (hidden word in [houses] INTO URBAN) TOUR |
TOUR (expedition) |
| 31 | Ex-Viennese? What are the odds of that? |
EVENS (letters 1, 3 5 and 7 [the odds] of EX-VIENNESE) EVENS |
EVENS (example of betting odds) |
| 32 | Way one’s embraced by staff (4) |
A (one) contained in (embraced by) ROD RO (A) D |
ROAD (way) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Country takeaway (4) |
TO GO (descriptive of food or drink from a restaurant or cafe to be consumed off the premises; takeaway) TOGO |
TOGO (TOGOlese Republic; country in West Africa) |
| 2 | Win every last penny from Lance, cryptically (5,3) |
LANCE can be formed cryptically from the wordplay indication CLEAN (anagram fodder) OUT (anagram indicator) CLEAN OUT |
CLEAN OUT (leave with no money; in a game for instance, win every last penny from) |
| 3 | Vehicle on unfinished mission travelling northward, aided by this? (3-3) |
(VAN [vehicle] + TAS (SAT NAV)< |
SAT-NAV (SATellite NAVigation, help when travelling, not just northward) I suppose the definition could simply be THIS, but the whole clue also reads well as a definition. |
| 4 | Former student caught in unmistakable disguise (7) |
OB (old boy; former student) + (C [caught] contained in SURE [unmistakable]) OB S (C) URE |
OBSCURE (disguise) |
| 5 | Fancy hairstyle wanting a touch of lacquer? Madness! (8) |
Anagram of (fancy) HAIRSTY HYSTERIA* |
HYSTERIA (madness) |
| 6 | Sweet child‘s revolutionary problem (6) |
CHE (reference CHE Guevara [1928 – 1967], Argentinian Marxist revolutionary) + RUB (problem) CHE RUB |
CHERUB (sweet child) |
| 7 | Make arrangements for alien to leave Mars, perhaps (4) |
PLAN PLAN |
PLAN (make arrangements for) |
| 14 | Drug cheat heading for temperate country (5) |
E (ecstasy; drug) + GYP (a cheat) + T (first letter of [heading for] TEMPERATURE) E GYP T |
EGYPT (country in North Africa) |
| 16 | Message one’s hidden in fruit turnover (1-4) |
A (one) contained in (hidden in) LIME (a fruit) reversed (turnover) E M (A) IL< |
E-MAIL(message) |
| 18 | Sheeran, flustered at first, ran about blushing (3-5) |
RACED (ran) containing (ED [reference ED Sheeran {born 1991}, British singer songwriter] + F [first letter of {at first} FLUSTERED]) R (ED F) ACED |
RED-FACED (blushing) |
| 20 | Bungling former cop ultimately still around (8) |
INERT (still) containing (around) (EX [former] + P [last letter of {ultimately} COP]) IN (EX P) ERT |
INEXPERT (unskilled; perhaps bungling if hopelessly unskilled) |
| 21 | Quiet voice – security feature of Windows? (7) |
SH (quiet) + UTTER (say; voice) SH UTTER |
SHUTTER (a feature found on some windows) |
| 23 | One pulls up to mythical realm (6) |
A (one) + DRAGS (pulls) reversed (up; down clue) A SGARD< |
ASGARD (a location associated with gods. It is depicted in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts; mythical realm) |
| 25 | Once again model’s calm (6) |
RE– (again or once again) + POSE (model) RE POSE |
REPOSE (rest) |
| 27 | A few brought up broody teens (4) |
SOME (a few) reversed (brought up; down clue) EMOS< |
EMOS (admirers of EMO music [a type of guitar-based popular music featuring brooding and introspective lyrics] and its associated subculture; could well apply to broody teenagers) |
| 29 | Style at the heart of native language (4) |
ELAN (hidden word [at the heart of] NATIVE LANGUAGE) ELAN |
ÉLAN (vigour and style) |
number nine number nine…..
Highly impressed with how unforced the grid construction seemed despite so many themed answers. Spotted it early enough to assist my solve. Glad to avoid the extremely obscure words on a Tuesday. Emos or Eros would have fitted and emos were rather more fun and less hackneyed.
Have to agree, 9 was a wonderful clue and so satisfying when they penny dropped
I’m big enough to admit that I missed the theme. Setters must get frustrated with folk like me who seldom spot them during the solve and cba to go looking for them afterwards. And I’ve been doing the Indy crosswords for ever, so am not unaware that Tuesday is theme day; and the Fab Four references were all acrosses which were leaping off the page and slapping you in the face … But I didn’t know about the Number Nine reference, so thank you to copmus for that.
That aside, it was a pleasing puzzle with some carefully constructed surfaces and the inclusion of the tone-lowering boobs to go with yesterday’s VD. So bravo, Skinny and thanks to Duncan for the early and as always comprehensive blog.
I spotted the theme as soon as Pepper followed Sergeant! Though I very much liked the Beatles’ fabulous hit songs, I was not such a fan as to know much about their albums, but the names rang a bell. I had to look up EMOs. Thanks Skinny and Duncan.
This took me longer than it should have, but seeing the theme helped with SOUL and one of my last in REVOLVER. I was held up by the two countries and ‘territory’, not helped by being unfamiliar with GYP for ‘cheat’. I liked the ‘broody teens’ and was pleased to remember ASGARD from previous appearances.
Sorry, I’m being v. thick, but, apart from being a good clue, what is the significance of Number Nine? Nothing to do with ‘Love Potion’ I presume.
Thanks to Skinny for an accessible theme – almost historical popular culture now – and to Duncan
I even started out by thinking ‘Tuesday, theme day’ but still managed to miss it until I’d completed the solve so don’t worry, Kathryn’s Dad, you were not alone!
I did have to look up EMOS but that was the only slightly obscure entry in this nicely constructed puzzle.
Thanks to Skinny and to Duncan for his usual clear and concise review.
We spotted the theme early on with Magical Mystery Tour, and when we got Pepper we thought Sergeant must be there as well. We’re not sure if they’re intentional or not but there could be some oblique references to the theme as well; from 4dn, Obscure, via Jude the Obscure to Hey Jude; and from 22ac, Strand, to Strand on the Green where a scene from Help! was shot? And of course Beatlemania ciuld be described as a form of Hysteria (5dn).
One minor grumble: ‘one’ has been used three times to clue the letter A.
Bu lots to enjoy, both themed and non-themed. We particularly liked ABBEY and ASGARD.
Thanks, Skinny and Duncan.
I commented yesterday about “one” being used to clue A twice, and now Skinny has used the same device today three times! That apart, this was a very enjoyable and well constructed puzzle using a theme close to my heart. As others have commented, EMOS was rather obscure but to have only one obscurity in a themed puzzle like this is quite an achievement.
Many thanks to Skinny and Duncan.
Many thanks to Duncan and all who’ve commented.
Guilty as charged on the A/One – it won’t happen again, Sir.
Already looking forward to the next one…
One more thing – I do believe Copmus @1 is referring to this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNdcFPjGsm8
Thanks Duncan and skinny. Spotted the Beatles as a probable theme early doors so was looking for them. Made it probably easier than it should have been.
Goodness knows what all that was about (Skinny’s link at 11). It sounded like Stockhausen to me. I’m still not really clear what number 9 means.
That was good fun. Pleased to have twigged the theme early enough to help with several. I’m betraying my youthful years here, but I knew EMOS but not ASGARD! Always a pleasure to learn (and file for future reference) something new. Thanks S & D.
Indeed, that was good fun.
I saw the Beatles albums only halfway but it did help me finish the crossword.
What I particularly liked about this puzzle is that the clueing almost seemed effortless.
With so many theme ‘words’, I think quite an achievement.
The late (and much missed) Dac would have been proud.
The, for some, obscure entry EMOS could, of course, easily have been avoided – EROS immediately springs to mind. Or EGOS. But I’m fine with it.
But, Number Nine Number Nine?
Let’s forget about that kind of nonsense.
Many thanks to duncanshiell & Skinny.
I got the clue for 27d the wrong way round so wrote in SOME and that threw me completely off solving SARGEANT and TOUR which went in immediately that I worked out my error.
Really really should learn to look for the themes. It’s barely believable that one wouldn’t get it even without looking for it, but I didn’t notice it at all. Same as Kathryn’s Dad, once the grid is filled in I’m done with it. Having said that I agree also with Flashling that it might have taken some of the fun out of it had I spotted it early on. One more agree is with EggCustard, I too knew EMOS but not ASGARD, and even if it was simple enough to work out I still had to check it.
Thanks to Skinny and to Duncan.
Very enjoyable today, all clued with three complete parsings missed, so a good result for me. I’m usually good with CDs and DDs so that helped, although the theme left me feeling like a fool on the hill, I got nowhere, man, I should have known better, I thought… I’m a loser, I’ll cry instead, but then all became clear with a little help from my friends on 15sq. I don’t want to spoil the party after all.
A quick question – I can’t remember coming across the device in 2dn before, very neat. In future, if I see the word cryptically, should I take it to mean that it is a sort of reverse clue where the answer is the cryptic operator on part of the clue?
Reading that last part back, I’m not sure it makes sense. What I meant to ask is whether this type of device is generally signalled by the word “cryptically” in the clue, or perhaps there are other ways to hint towards it? Thanks in advance for any advice you may have, much appreciation to Skinny and duncanshiell for a most enjoyable puzzle and blog.
Thanks to duncanshiell and Skinny
I didn’t see the theme and prefer not to.
I liked it but I can’t account for the “on” in 22a, nor equate “of party food” with “catering”.
EG@17/18: Clues like 2 down often have “cryptically” in the clue but not always. Sometimes you’ll see “clue for” or “suggested by” and occasionally no more than a question mark. But if you do see “cryptically” it’s a good sign that it is a clue in reverse, though “cryptically” can also be a plain old anagram indicator, of course!
@cruciverbophile most kind, thank you.