The puzzle can be found here.
Hello and Happy Yorkshire Day! I hope you are well. In my last Indy blog I said the crossword kept me occupied for rather longer than most of the Indy puzzles I’ve blogged lately. Well, I can say the same today, and then some! Once again I fell short of my aim of one day managing a perfect Nimrod solve, but came tantalisingly close. I don’t quite understand all of 4d (TOT), and at 8d (DODDYPOLL) I made an “ass” of myself, inventing something which made sense to me but which I think I’ll decline to share! All part of the fun. Speaking of fun, I have to mention 20d (SAYER) for its wonderful surface. Many thanks to Nimrod for the challenge.
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
Across
1a China divided: the end is nigh (4,2,3)
MATE IN TWO
MATE (china) + IN TWO (divided). I’ve just learnt that this is known as Fool’s Mate
6a Put to work for paper in combat zone, my boss receives gong (5)
EMBED
ED (my boss, Nimrod’s boss, that is) contains (receives) MBE (gong)
9a Circled ‘No. 4’ literally remedied with it? (10,5)
CORRECTION FLUID
CIRCLED NO FOUR (4 literally) anagrammed (remedied) together with IT
10a Breaking: Man in Raincoat opens up to public (9)
NEWSFLASH
This is NEWS of a FLASH, given in the format of a NEWSFLASH
13a Peppery fish quite dry on the inside (5)
RATTY
RAY (fish) with TT (quite dry) inserted (on the inside)
14a Grand lakeside wing appended to complete force’s HQ (11)
GENDARMERIE
After G (grand), ARM (wing) is next to ERIE, and hence lakeside; these two are next to (appended to) END (complete)
15a Modified one’s language (3)
NEO
An anagram of (modified) ONE. I’ve only met this artificial language in crosswords
16a Area that’s dry up tree (3)
ASH
A (area) is next to (that’s, that has) SH (dry up). “Sh” is in Chambers and Collins only as an interjection. To find the meaning I was expecting to find, we need to go to the SOED which has “Become quiet in response to an utterance of ‘sh!’”
17a Perhaps European is satisfied with Scarface staying at home? (11)
CONTINENTAL
CONTENT (satisfied) plus (with) AL (Scarface) containing (staying) IN (at home)
18a Knock beers back near the rear of the Lawyer’s Bar (5)
ESTOP
Reverse (knock … back) POTS (beers) by (near) the last letter of (the rear of) thE
19a City trader’s unloaded fruit stalls they pick (9)
PLECTRUMS
We start with EC (City) and TradeR without the middle letters (unloaded). PLUMS (fruit) goes around all this (stalls, as in puts or keeps in a stall)
21a Yet some go when he plays for time? (3,4,3,5)
HOW GOES THE ENEMY
YET SOME GO WHEN HE is anagrammed (plays)
24a Mark signalling about daughter in top hat (5)
TILDE
D (daughter) in TILE (top hat). Tile = a top hat is marked in Chambers as a Scottish meaning
25a Helicopter for American to attend oologist’s gathering (3,6)
EGG BEATER
BE AT (to attend), which EGGER (oologist) contains (‘s gathering). It’s not really related but …
Down
1d Master Cellarman cleared out, making space for old burgundy (5)
MACON
MA (Master, Master of Arts) followed by the outer letters only of (… cleared out) CellarmaN containing (making space for) O (old)
2d With a bit of luck hitherto, we won’t easily concede (5,2,3,5)
THROW IN THE TOWEL
With the inclusion of the first letter of (with a bit of) Luck, an anagram of (… easily) HITHERTO WE WON’T
3d Sparklers kill (3)
ICE
A double definition, both slang terms: the sparklers are diamonds (ICE), and to ICE someone means to kill them
4d Just twenty letters – not much put on top of what’s taken from bin … (3)
TOT
Taking the alphabet up TO T gives just twenty letters. I’m not sure about the middle part of the clue, but I think the T there is a T shirt. Finally, a TOT is something taken from a rubbish bin. (I didn’t know this meaning but instead was thinking about where a tot of alcohol may have been stored)
5d … and whatever else “hero” wrote is for pulping (2,9)
OR OTHERWISE
HERO WROTE IS anagrammed (for pulping)
6d Finally the successor to M adapted to Bond’s compulsion (11)
ENFORCEMENT
The last letter of (finally) thE + N (successor to M) + FOR (adapted to) + CEMENT (bond)
7d Maybe sledgehammer learner deployed in stunt to crack Brazil nut? Me joshing (5,10)
BLUNT INSTRUMENT
L (learner) and an anagram of (deployed) IN STUNT inside (to crack) BR (Brazil), then NUT ME anagrammed (joshing)
8d Regularly he suffered from tickling parrot’s ass (9)
DODDYPOLL
DODDY (regularly he suffered from tickling – nickname of Ken Dodd) + POLL (parrot). The answer is an obsolete word for a stupid person
11d Fellow bossed everyone at firm – bar a Quebecker? (11)
FRANCOPHONE
F (fellow) + RAN (bossed everyone) + CO (firm) + PH (bar) + ONE (a)
12d In 11’s world history nearly everyone’s overlooked what’s experienced by those eating cake (6,5)
ALMOND PASTE
In MONDE (11’s world, 11 = 11d = Francophone) is PAST (history). All but the last letter of (nearly) ALl (everyone) goes above (’s overlooked)
14d Oafs had to open rubbish bags, dispersing balls (9)
GRAPESHOT
APES (oafs) plus the first letter of (… to open) Had, all of which GROT (rubbish) surrounds (bags)
20d I declare the end of this dreadful year (5)
SAYER
The last letter of (the end of) thiS followed by an anagram of (dreadful) YEAR. Amen!
22d He’s greedy, Henry – his shot past Lehmann? (3)
HOG
H (Henry, SI unit) + OG (his [Thierry Henry’s] shot past Lehman?)
23d Yorkshire Wensleydale wouldn’t be the same without her! (3)
EWE
This female is hidden in YorkshirE WEnsleydale, which wouldn’t be the same were the answer to be removed. I had assumed until checking for the blog that the whole clue gives the definition, but apparently Wensleydale cheese is usually made with cows’ milk, though it was made from ewes’ milk originally. I think some still is, so will leave the underlining intact
As usual, rattled off a sizeable part then ground to a halt. Got DODDYPOLL but never heard of it and still don’t get the “suffered” bit. Needed to cheat on GRAPESHOT.
Couldn’t parse ASH. Tried to use an anagram of THAT’S minus TT (dry) but it wouldn’t work.
Parsed TOT as TO T + NOT MUCH + PUT ON + TOP + WHAT’S TAKEN FROM BIN (the last looked up in Chambers). I took “put on” as in “adding to”.
How does “easily” indicate an anagram in 2d?
Is “egger” slang for an oologist?
The language NEO was new to me.
Thanks to Nimrod (I think) and to Kitty.
Sorry, I meant ‘put on top’ as one thing, i.e. add to.
8D is DODDYPOLL, a reference to Ken Dodd
I see the blog has it right, but the preamble has a typo
Thanks, Goujeers, yes – typo corrected.
(I had evidently been distracted by the Diddy Men!)
As always with Nimrod, very clever, but too obscure for me to enjoy. Didn’t know Nero, doddypoll, egg beater in that meaning. And I don’t see how 21a leads to that (unknown) phrase: the grammar just seems all wrong. But as someone said yesterday each to their own.
Well! I completed it but not without much help from electronic aids, and even then failed to fully understand 16 answers – a record for me. So regret to say I didn’t really enjoy it, but thanks anyway to Nimrod and Kitty. 20D is very relevant to me as it was a bad year for my friend, the wonderful Ann Sayer, who died in April aged 83. As well as representing GB at rowing, she was at 57 the oldest person to represent her country at full international level and still holds the female record (13 days 17 hours 42 minutes) for Land’s End to John o’Groats in 1980 – not only that but at the time it was the fastest by any person including men and runners. Her full obituary can be found at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/24/ann-sayer-obituary.
We got it all with a lot of headscratching and recourse to Chambers to confirm some of our guesses, but no elecronic help. Very satisfying to finish.
We couldn’t fully parse FRANCOPHONE but we liked it and the connection to 11dn – although we thought the clue for the latter should .have had a question mark – not all cake has ALMOND PASTE on it.
EWE as the answer to 23dn prompted us to google Wensleydale cheese. As Kitty says, it was originally made with sheep’s milk and the Wikipedia article says that sheep’s milk is still added to give the cheese its distinctive taste. And having learnt that we can see some similarity with other sheep’s milk cheeses such as Manchego.
Thanks, Nimrod, for the challenge – and to Kitty for the blog.
I found this easier than some of his crosswords but since I downloaded and printed off ALL of John’s offerings in his many guises and have been completing the at a rate of one or two a day, ( interspersed with the Azed specials and most of the Genii) since lockdown began, I guess I have become accustomed to his quirky clueing. I enjoy the challenge of getting in his head and solving his clues, weird though they seem to be at times. When completed I then come here and read the comments made at the time which sometimes takes as long as doing the crossword. I am fascinated by the criticisms that some of his clues can generate and the number of comments that even one clue can receive! I am currently back in 2009, so thanks, John for helping to make lockdown bearable. Word of the week: Doddypoll.
Eric@7 It come from the saying Procrastination is the thief of time and has evolved to mean that TIME is the enemy instead of procrastination and so How goes the enemy? means What time is it?
Thanks Kitty for the entertaining blog, and Nimrod for the challenge. After putting in ESTOP I checked its definition in Collins online. So now I know that it means “to preclude by estoppel”.
almw3@11 Perfectly happy with time = enemy and with the anagram, but I’m required to think that time = “How goes the enemy” and that I can’t see. But as I say I’m sure some people enjoy Nimrod, just not me.
re #13, “Time?” is, I think, just about the same as “how goes the enemy?” ie what time is it?
Yes, I agree, it’s the question mark that does the trick!
I share Ericw’s sentiments and one of Hovis’ doubts – easily as an anagrind? Also, why does ED = BOSS and why is Elgar mentioned in the description of 6a? Thanks in advance, and to Kitty &
Nimrod
El_Gwero@16: Elgar is another of Nimrod’s pseudonyms as a setter; Kitty has probably briefly forgotten which name he uses for the Indy. ED is short for editor, i.e. Elgar/Nimrod’s boss as far as crosswoerds are concerned.
… and, as you may know, Nimrod is part of Elgar’s enigma variations.
Thanks allan_c @17. Yes, he’s always Elgar to me, and I have to remind myself to call him Nimrod in Indy blogs. Yesterday I evidently either failed to remind myself or failed to listen to myself! I’ll amend the blog.
Didn’t get round to this until late afternoon today, having been struggling with the Inquisitor.
I found it a very quick solve for a Nimrod, although I can’t claim to have parsed everything.
Thank you allan_c, Hovis and kitty