A delightful puzzle from Kruger, whose monicker is reminiscent of a famous ‘park’ in South Africa…
The preamble states that:
‘One of the unclued entries conceived of a way of uniting the other two and this way must be highlighted (12 contiguous cells) in the completed grid. Each clue contains an extra word of at least 3 letters that must be removed before solving. In clue order the first, middle or last letters (approximately equal numbers of each) of these words together with three letters not provided by the unclued entries give what, for this puzzle, could be deemed to be THEME PARKS. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.’
Fairly complicated, requiring a couple of reads, and a 12 x 13 grid, which may hint at some asymmetry or have been required to squeeze in some thematic material…but at least it isn’t going to be a carte blanche BBC test card!
And ‘theme parks’ – could this be Alton Towers, Longleat, Thorpe Park, Legoland, some sort of summer holiday kids’ tour?
Only one way to find out – dive in and solve a few clues! And so I did – with 1A quickly suggesting APE+GOES = APOGEES (PEAKS), leaving ‘usually’ as the extra word…so U, A or Y as the first letter of the extra information.
I made fairly quick progress on the grid fill – in fact I don’t seem to have made any solving notes as I went along, so I must have been fully engaged and motoring along!
It became a bit of a mess trying to write the first, middle (where relevant) and last letters of extra words on my printed copy, so I reverted to Excel, pasting in the clues from the PDF (which I had to do for the blog anyway), and then setting a simple formula to work out the said letters in three columns next to the extra word…in the end they were approximately equal, with 12 firsts, 13 middles and 12 lasts.
In the meantime, I had most of the crossers for the top row, and deduced that it was probably going to be WAINWRIGHT – the most famous of which that I know is Alfred, the renowned fell-walker. And, soon enough, I managed to find Robin Hood’s Bay in the rightmost column, and St Bee’s Head in the leftmost – both ends of his famous COAST-TO-COAST walk!
As things FELL into place, the extra letters started making some sort of sense, and snaking down my Excel columns I could see the outlines of what would become ?AKE DISTRICT, YORKSHIRE D?LES, NOR?H YORK MOORS…the three thematic NATIONAL PARKS! And then the ‘uniting way’ could be found in the 6th, 7th and 8th rows – CO+AST+TO+COA+ST (with a minor detour down the ST of STARR…did anyone else get loST there?):
This had some lovely personal resonances – my parents are both Yorkshire born-and-bred, and they now live in the Dales (in fact I will be visiting there next week), and last year my siblings and I did a coast-to-coast with our father – on bikes, rather than walking, 180-odd miles along the ‘Way of the Roses’, from Morecambe Bay to Bridlington – where my sister went to school many years ago! (My mother wasn’t up for the ride, but she made an excellent ‘domestique’, ferrying our bags to the next stop and meeting us along the way for some delightful café lunches!…)
I haven’t done the Wainwright coast-to-coast myself (yet), but I did do a ‘Hadrian’s Wall walk’ many years ago with a bunch of lads and a couple of tents, starting from Newcastle and not quite making it to the other coast (due in no small part to excessive alcohol consumption!), taking a train back to Newcastle with our tails between our legs…
Back to the puzzle – I did make fairly quick progress, and had the bulk of it complete in a couple of sittings, plus a bit of wrapping up, so maybe an hour or so in total. I didn’t find the clues too arduous – hence the lack of notes – but what I remember of solving it nearly two weeks ago was all pleasant! I didn’t note a LOI (last one in), but my LOP (last one parsed, while writing up the blog) was when I realised that (Ringo) STARR was a user of ‘skins’ at 33D…
Many thanks to Kruger for a wonderfully constructed puzzle – fun to solve and a pleasure to blog.
I trust all is clear below:
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Extra word/letter | Entry | Clue (definition underlined, extraneous word in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
|
| 2 | L | WAINWRIGHT | Unclued (10) / Thematic deduction – Alfred Wainright, fellwalker and ‘founder’ of the Coast-to-Coast walk |
|
| 10 | usuAlly | APOGEES | Ape usually goes wandering around peaks (7) / anag, i.e. wandering, of APE GOES |
|
| 12 | poKer | FARO | Confused group of people shunning paper money in poker game (4) / FAR( |
|
| 13 | rhymE | ODIC | Poetic rhyme of force (4) / double def’n. ODIC can mean poetic, as in ‘of an ode’; and ODIC can be an adjective relating to Reichenbach’s metaphysical life force, ‘od’. |
|
| 14 | weirD | TWIN-TUB | Scots separate merely over weird means of cleaning (7) / TWIN (Scottish, to separate, or part) + TUB (but, or merely, over) |
|
| 15 | Implausible | NOAH | Arkwright’s denial implausible – what a surprise! (4) / NO (denial) + AH (interjection, what a surprise!) |
|
| 16 | haSty | PERITI | Church consultants, in dangerous situation, not finishing hasty note (6) / PERI( |
|
| 18 | bayoneT | TOLEDO | Sword and bayonet conveyed inside (6) / TO_O (and) around LED (conveyed) |
|
| 19 | Records | BAA | British rock records create beastly noise (3) / B (British) + AA (volcanic rock) |
|
| 21 | Into | ALENGTH | At full stretch, starts to go into labour and then relaxes (7) / ?anag, i.e. relaxes, of THEN + GLA (starting letters of Go, labour, And)? |
|
| 24 | Curiously | E-COLI | Bacterium that is curiously returning to infect Colorado? On the contrary (5, two words) / E_I (i.e., that is, returning) around (infected by) COL (Colorado) – on the contrary, because the clue implies the othe way round! |
|
| 25 | gianT | MESTO | Sad giant appearing in bedtime story (5) / hidden word in, i.e. appearing in, ‘bedtiME STOry’ |
|
| 27 | librarY | ENTICER | One’s appealing to read aloud rare back number library received (7) / RECIT_E (read aloud, rare usage) back = E_TICER, around, or receiving, N – number |
|
| 29 | devOurs | AVO | Australian devours very ordinary bread abroad (3) / A (Australian) + V (very) + O (ordinary) |
|
| 31 | Racecourse | ETUDES | Exercises unfit steed outside entrance to unused racecourse (6) / ET_DES (anag, i.e. unfit, of STEEDS) around U (first letter, or entrance, of Unused) |
|
| 34 | drunK | HARRIS | Hebridean location accepts entertaining bishop with face of drunk idiot (6) / HA_S (accepts) around (entertaining) RR (Right Reverend, bishop) + I (first letter, or face, of Idiot) |
|
| 35 | Sacking | ETAS | Letters sacking menial workers (4) / double def’n.: ETA can be a Greek letter; and an ETA can be a Japanese menial worker |
|
| 36 | Had | ERASMUS | Dutch scholar had plan to aid student mobility (7) / another double def’n.: Desiderius ERASMUS was a Dutch scholar; and the ERASMUS scheme (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) is related to student mobility. |
|
| 37 | Idiotic | IMAM | Muslim’s idiotic title beginning to irritate mother (4) / I (beginning letter of Irritate) + MAM (mother) |
|
| 38 | tRy | AESC | Try accepted key ligature (4) / A (accepted) + ESC (the Escape key on a computer keyboard!) |
|
| 39 | creatE | CINEREA | Arab and I create desert places to deposit ashes over earth (grey matter) (7) / CINER( |
|
| 40 | Dog | CHORUS GIRL | Stage entertainer hurls corgi dog around (10, two words) / anag, i.e. around, of HURLS CORGI |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Extra word/letter | Entry | Clue (definition underlined, extraneous word in bold) / Logic/Parsing |
|
| 1 | A | SAINT BEES HEAD | Unclued (13, three words) / Thematic deduction – Western end of the Coast-to-Coast walk! |
|
| 3 | excLaim | AO DAI | Tunic was old tat, I regularly exclaim (5, two words) / regular letters from ‘wAs OlD tAt I’ |
|
| 4 | stEak | NECROTIC | Anorectic adult leaving awful steak looking gangrenous (8) / anag, i.e. awful, of ( |
|
| 5 | waS | WET PLATE | Photographic equipment was ordered with palette (8, two words) / anag, i.e. ordered, of W (with) + PALETTE |
|
| 6 | mountaiN | IVIED | One reviewed video mostly covered by mountain climber (5) / I (one) + VIED (anag, i.e. reviewed, of VIDE()O) mostly) |
|
| 7 | croOked | HATING | Disliking headgear belonging to leader of crooked gang (6) / HAT (headgear) + IN (belonging to ) + G (leading letter of Gang) |
|
| 8 | woRst | TRUTH | The facts lead to terrible misfortune – worst in history (5) / T (leading letter of Terrible) + RUTH (obsoloete, ie. In history, for misfortune) |
|
| 9 | T | ROBIN HOODS BAY | Unclued (13, three words) / Thematic deduction – Eastern end of the Coast-to-Coast walk! |
|
| 11 | whicH | POONAC | Which capon stupidly eats old oil-cake? (6) / PO_NAC (anag, i.e. stupidly, of CAPON) around (eating) O (old) |
|
| 17 | stYle | RONEO | Copy style of lover having a change of heart (5) / RO( |
|
| 20 | alsO | SLIER | More cunning winter sportsman also left for far side of rink (5) / SKIER (winter sportsman) swapping L (left) for K (rightmost letter, or far side, of rinK) = SLIER |
|
| 22 | nuRse | LORDOSIS | Peer at asylum nurse overlooking a spinal condition (8) / LORD (peer) + O( |
|
| 23 | bleaK | EMCEEING | Compering opening stages of bleak Eurovision music-fest before referring to the audience (8) / EM (opening letters of Eurovision Music-fest) + CEEING (homophone, i.e. to the audience – CEEING could sound like SEEING, or referring) |
|
| 26 | Makers | TV GAME | Gave last of film makers time directing entertainment on set (6, two words) / anag, i.e. directing, of GAVE + M (last of filM) + T (time) |
|
| 28 | Outdoor | THRASH | Husband stops rubbish outdoor event (6) / T_RASH (rubbish) around (stopped by) H (husband) |
|
| 30 | stOrm | VAREC | Some fierce storm ravaged receding seaweed (5) / reversed, hidden word, i.e. ‘some’ and ‘receding’, in ‘fierCE RAVaged’ |
|
| 32 | contRalto | TIMER | Perhaps watch one contralto pretending to sing tenor for money (5) / ( |
|
| 33 | Signed | STARR | Someone using skins once signed deed (5) / double def’n.: Ringo STARR used to use skins, or drums; and STARR is a Jewish word for a deed, or a bond |
|
Nice to have a puzzle that celebrates the British countryside. Although I got Wainwright quite quickly, it took a fair bit of searching to find the exact entries for the two sides of the grid. I like the idea of specifying that the extra word contains at least 3 letters. It eliminates many false candidates like the indefinite article and certain prepositions. Great stuff.
I loved it, and not just because I did parts of the walk with a group last September, a reminder of better times. Thanks to Kruger and mc for the puzzle, blog and the memories they brought back.
I found the gridfill tricky in a few places, but with some perseverance I got all the answers and all the groups of letters. The last penny to drop was Ringo STARR and his skins.
I enjoyed the gradual revelation of the unclued entries. At the top I had just enough at one point to allow me to guess either MAINWARING or WAINWRIGHT, but neither of those names suggested anything thematic at that stage. On the right the letters clearly made ROBIN HOOD …, but I couldn’t think of anything to finish that except a road near where I live (Robin Hood Lane). I made nothing of the name on the left.
After managing to force the name WAINWRIGHT at the top I decided to resort to googling that name and ROBIN HOOD. Naturally, the search engine obliged, and with all three unclued lights now in place the grid was more easily filled. I looked for and found Coast to Coast and appreciated its symmetry and central placement.
Thanks to Kruger and mc_rapper67.
I enjoyed this (and the blog, of course – always the extra mile from MC) although I must confess to simply identifying the extra words without worrying about what the chosen letters might reveal, as there was no suggestion in the preamble that they affected the gridfill in any way. A quick check afterwards confirmed the hint given by the title. And I wonder whether I was the only solver to wander off-course in the early stages, accompanied by Captain MAINWARING? I am a stupid boy.
When I first met Kruger (probably more years ago than either of us care to remember) I asked him about the provenance of his pseudonym. I won’t say more other than that he indicated a lack of direct connection with anything South African.
I see I wasn’t, Alan. Evidently we crossed in the post.
Ifor
It happens!
Incidentally, I too picked up all the extra words and did nothing with them (although I saw YORKSHIRE there), as I was satisfied that my solution was complete once I had highlighted the walk.
Thanks for the various comments/feedback…
cruciverbophile at #1 – yes, the ‘three letters’ stipulation – from setter or editor? – was helpful, either way…
ub at #2 – yes, last year was, generally, better times (;+<)
Ifor at #4 – you may have gleaned from my comment that I ‘laid down and avoided’ the last EV, with a silent prayer of thanks to the gods of the blogging schedule…it was a busy week and my brain was full…
Alan B and Ifor – I see your point on the ‘superfluity’ of the extra words and their letter positions, in terms of puzzle completion (and submission)…I just went headlong in there as I had to include them in the blog, anyway…
As for Captain Mainwaring – I must have been lucky enough to have enough crossers not to be drawn down that particular rabbit-hole…
Great blog thanks mc_rapper
A gentle cross country ride this week, I didnt find this too tricky. I enjoyed the start/middle/end approaxh for the extra letters, something new for me there. Although it did hold me up for a wee while, in the assumption that the extra words must have an odd number of letters to allow a middle option. Not the case.
I’ve done plenty of walking in these parks over the years and on Friday did part of the Hadrian’s Wall route, but unlike the blogger managed to avoid the tempting pubs on Newcastle’s Quayside and finish the section alcohol free !
Thanks to Kruger for the workout. I couldn’t parse Starr so thanks again to mc for clearing that up.
Yes, Alan B and Ifor – we went down the Mainwaring road too and I should have known better as a Yorkshire Dales peson and one-time Lake District mountain guide when we walked our way through most of Wainwright’s guide to the Far Western Fells – but it was good to have a puzzle celebrating my part of the country, thanks, Kruger. We too completed the puzzle without really working out the point and message of the superfluous words – but that is becoming an EV habit for us. Thank you, as always, mc_rapper67.
Yes, Alan B and Ifor – we went down the Mainwaring road too and I should have known better as a Yorkshire Dales peson and one-time Lake District mountain guide when we walked our way through most of Wainwright\’s guide to the Far Western Fells – but it was good to have a puzzle celebrating my part of the country, thanks, Kruger. We too completed the puzzle without really working out the point and message of the superfluous words – but that is becoming an EV habit for us. Thank you, as always, mc_rapper67.
Sorry for the repetition!
Chalicea – thanks for boosting my comment stats (;+>)…Which dale? I will be (e)biking up and down Swaledale this week, based in Gunnerside…
A nice working of the theme and a clever title. The potential combinations of first, middle or end letters didn’t yield much to me and I backsolved the parks once I’d spotted Robin Hood’s Bay and Wainwright as likely unclued entries, giving me confirmation for a couple of entries I hadn’t parsed properly, though 33 still eluded me (thanks mc_rapper for clearing that up). So for me a challenging and entertaining puzzle. Not a theme familiar to me – all those who’ve made all or part of the route have my respect!
As I have walked the C2C and know it very well, for once there was no need to look up the theme. My early letters at the top suggested Malt Whisky for a while. Thank you to mc_wrapper67 for the blog which sorted out my unpaused clues 39ac and 8d. A very enjoyable solve, thank you Kruger.