Wiglaf fills the Tuesday slot this week – we’re on the look-out for a theme
…. but we needed a fair bit of electronic help to find it!
Because 34ac is, in our opinion, an obscure double definition, we decided it must be part of the theme that we have come to expect from a Tuesday Indy.
After some googling Joyce came up with ’28/33 in the 34′, a song by 7/8, which we really wish we had heard of before, given our love of 33.
Further googling of songs by 7/8 revealed 1ac 24 and 10 15ac.
Many thanks to Wiglaf for leading us to 7/8 – his ‘Elements’ song (which is the one we know best) is absolutely brilliant!
MM (2000) round or ‘guarding’ AS (like) round SOCHI (Black Sea spa)
LOTS (large numbers) reversed or ‘returned’ – STOL is an acronym for Short Take-Off and Landing
I (the author) in or ‘loading’ VAT and CAN (two containers)
I (first letter or ‘leader’ of Israel) in or ‘contributing to’ TRUMP (president) H (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of Bush)
Hidden in PaRIS Eiffel
An anagram of REACTIONS – anagrind is ‘unexpected’
Double definition
Double definition. We remembered the film from 1967 about Bonnie and Clyde the American criminal couple who travelled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression.
An anagram of ERRORS (anagrind is ‘corrected’) round or ‘checking’ C (compliance) E (English)
ON (working) OK (fair) in or ‘wearing’ MINI (skimpy skirt)
TAN (beat) G (grand) O (ball)
‘Alternative’ letters of EnErGy reversed or ‘in hindsight’
An anagram of OPINIONS (anagrind is ‘various’) + G (government)
IS reversed or ‘backing’ + A L (Liberal). Bert remembered this as a constituent of the earth’s crust in his Geography lessons in the early 1960s.
DIG (love) A M (married) MA (Master of Arts – ‘postgraduate’) – a new word for us
We were puzzled by this one, but it turns out that PIGEON can mean ‘business’ (apparently more usually spelt ‘pidgin’ with this meaning) + S (succeeded). Not our favourite clue, particularly as they are our least favourite birds by a very long way – and ‘high-flyers’ is the least likely way we would describe them.
Double definition – our last one in, but the entry that gave away the theme (but only with electronic assistance) – we would be seriously critical of this clue if it were not part of the theme as both definitions are, in our opinion, very obscure. Park is apparently the third most common family name in Korea, and the second definition refers to the explorer Mungo Park – of whom we had heard but were not really aware that he was an explorer – still, we learn something every day with cryptics.
EX (old) PERT (forward) IS E (last letter or ‘back’ of style)
MICK (Michael) round or ‘nursing’ A VERy without the last letter or ‘stunted’
SAY (speak) round or ‘without’ an anagram of FIST – anagrind is ‘shaking’
CO (company) CA (chartered accountant)
wINNINGS (spoils) without the first letter of ‘getting off to a late start’
RU (Rugby Union – ‘game’) reversed or ‘about’ in or ‘curbed by’ MATER (Latin for ‘mother’, as might be used by Etonians)
An anagram of L R (first and last letters or ‘limits’ of Lasker-Noether) and THEOREM – anagrind is ‘formulated’
An anagram of I PETER OUT – anagrind is ‘perfromomg’ ‘performing’ – thanks to K’sD for pointing out the typo
fIRE (cashier, as in sack from the armed forces) without the first letter or ‘blowing top’
HOBO (tramp) in or ‘filling’ REAMS (lots of paper)
ON (about) round or ‘screening’ W (Oliver Stone film about President George W Bush)
O (‘of’ in Irish surnames) ALES (drinks) in or ‘bottled by’ C (Catholic) CE (church)
A play on the fact that OUI being French for ‘yes’ (agreement) is hidden in LOUIsiana – a US state with many historical connections to France
IT (Italian) in or ‘visiting’ I (India in the phonetic alphabet) MATE (china)
I (current) GOP (Grand Old Party – the US Republicans) round or ‘entertaining’ GYP (torture)
An anagram of A ROBIN (anagrind is ‘flies around’) + I (island)
StooD UP (rose) with ‘too’ (also) replaced by PE (gym instruction)
A GAR (answer to 32d)
RAG (15ac) reversed or ‘hauled up’
Thanks for blogging, both, and to Wiglaf for the puzzle.
It’s Tuesday, it’s theme day, TOM LEHRER is there for all to see, I know most of his songs. Theme, what theme? But that’s mainly me – I’m not massively motivated to go looking for one because I know some kind blogger on this site will point it out to me. And cleverly done it was too, although PIGEON was a ‘must be that but no idea why’ answer. On which note, gird your loins against the hate mail from bird lovers that’s coming your way.
PARK for ‘Korean’ wasn’t too much of a stretch if you know the beautiful game (I fear our bloggers will have it in the same category as pigeons, however). But SIAL and STOL were my learning experiences today (probably worth pointing out that the former comes from the two elements of silica (SI) and aluminium (AL).
[You have, btw, given us an interesting suggestion for the anagrind in 9dn.]
Thanks to K’s D for the warning (we don’t really classify pigeons as ‘birds’) and for pointing out the typo at 9d – now corrected. Joyce classifies pigeons as vermin as they attack her crops in the garden and this year they ate all the black currants.
Fairly gentle but themed puzzles usually are, I find. I only vaguely know Tom Lehrer’s songs but the theme was easy to spot. Never knew that ‘gee’ = turn right, have only heard as gee up i.e go faster. Following up on that, I learn that ‘haw’ = turn left; so why not ‘haw down’ as go slower? Thanks Wiglaf and B&J.
I enjoyed the TOM LEHRER theme, even if I had no idea about PIGEONS and had only vaguely heard of PARK the explorer. A few other unknowns in GEE, SIAL and DIGAMMA, so needed a bit of effort to solve, even with the theme to help.
Thanks to Wiglaf and B&J
Like Kathryn’s Dad, I got PARK because of the former Manchester United player from South Korea.
PIGEONS had to be the answer because of the theme but had no idea how it was the solution otherwise!
Thanks to Wiglaf and B&J
We were trying to figure out 7/8 when we noticed we’d already got MASOCHISM, TANGO and POISONING so then the penny dropped as to the theme and it wasn’t long before we located PIGEONS and PARK. But it was a little while before we remembered that VATICAN RAG was another of TL’s songs.
TL was, of course, a mathematician before he took to songwriting and he may well have had something to do with the Lasker-Noether theorem. We looked it up here but we’re none the wiser!
A couple of new words for us – SIAL and that particular meaning of GEE.
Thanks, Wiglaf and B&J
Always thought of STOL as an adjective for an aircraft rather than one in its own right.
Not knowing SIAL, DIGAMMA and meanings of GEE and PIGEON not helpful either.
Did know TL but didn’t spot the songs (of those present only knew PP in the Park – a great ditty).
Having watched Inbee Park in the Ladies Open at the week-end 34 came easily enough.
Thanks to Wiglaf and B&J (whose views on pigeons I share)
There was a time, forty-odd years ago, when I could recite most of Lehrer’s songs off by heart. (Not The Elements, though.) Once I got 7/8 I looked around and that helped me get 33 and 34ac.
It was the three-letter answers I seemed to have the most trouble with.
We were surprised to complete this despite an awful lot of obscure words and a (to us) very obscure theme.
What nobody has said so far as I can see is that this is rather a good puzzle (although Wiglaf had to work hard, producing 37 clues). The theme was comfortable, but it would be for someone of my age, and rather enjoyable. 12ac, 2dn and 26dn were excellent I thought.
Although I had heard of Iggy Pop, knowing that he or she was a punk singer was outside my knowledge. As was stol (have only heard of vtol and would have put that in with a shrug), and sial I was only very vaguely aware of.