There was a fairly lengthy preamble to this weeks puzzle by Ifor. It stated "six clues whose answers share a general definition consist only of wordplay. These answers must be thematically changed to form the entries. Before solving them each of the six clues providing symmetrically opposite entries must be disengaged, re-engaging their answers to form these entries. The completed grid contains a number of vacant cells, which if removed would permit its engagement so as to confirm a thematic word or instruction. Enumeration refers to the number of cells available; solutions and entries are all real words or phrases."
Much of the preamble could have been written in gobbledygook as I began the puzzle. The only bit I really understood was that the six clues for entries symmetrically opposite to the wordplay-only entries were going to be complicated!
As ever with puzzles where I don’t understand the preamble initially, I just barged in and hoped that things would become clearer as time went on.
The first two clues I solved were wordplay-only ones – ALGERIA at 4 down and MALI at 27 down. This had me thinking that the theme was something to do with [North] African countries. SURINAME was the third wordplay-only clue to fall so that dismissed the African thoughts. I remember thinking that the two of clues symmetrically opposite to these Countries were quite wordy but I didn’t really think more deeply at that time.
Solving a few of the standard clues it became obvious that it would have to anagrams of the Countries that went into the grid.
I’d thought about ARDEN as the answer to 11 for a while and the penny finally dropped when I had enough crossing letters to convince me that it was ARDEN. The space at ARDEN helped me realise that ALIGHT was the entry at 19 across.
It was a fairly slow process to complete the grid and I had still had the six ‘funnies’ to solve. I identified all the symmetrically placed clues before I got all the Countries and that helped me identify the remaining Country clues. Some of the clues I identified because I could make no sense of them as written in relation to the letters I already had in place in the grid. Although it sounds strange, the juxtaposition ‘Shetland’ and ‘island’ in 15 across also didn’t seem quite right to me. The last Country to fall was SERBIA at 32 across once I saw that it only had 6 letters and not the 7 available.
The real penny dropping moment was seeing the word ALTERNATIONS appearing by taking ALTERNATE letters from the first and final columns and realising that the ‘wordy’ clues could be split into two by forming two clues from ALTERNATE words.
At first I thought that the entries at these symmetrically placed clues were just anagrams of their component clues, But as I wrote the blog I saw that the entries were formed by taking ALTERNATE letters from the two separate answers.
The last bit of the theme I deduced was splitting the thematic word ALTERNATION into the two words ALTER NATIONS which gave us a thematic instruction to go with the single thematic word. Everything I have referred to as a Country above is, of course, a NATION which we have to ALTER (form an anagram of) before making the grid entry.
At the very end, I think we can effectively engage the grid by making it into a cylinder such that the first and last column interleave to from the word ALTERNATIONS down the join.
I found this one of the more difficult Inquisitors that I have blogged, but that may just be me. I will be interested to know how John Henderson has rated this one.
The filled grid looks like this
The title, Rules of Engagement, is derived from the preamble with all its referenece to engagement, disengagement and re-engagement.
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Across |
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| No | Clue | Wordplay | Answer | Entry |
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1
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Confident holding one player back (8)
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SURE (confident beyond doubt) containing (holding) (I [one] +[MAN {player} reversed {back}]) SUR (I NAM<) E |
SURINAME (Country) – wordplay only
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ANEURISM (anagram of SURINAME)
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11
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Duke’s forest burning with top of trees destroyed (6)
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ARDENT (burning) excluding (destroyed) T (first letter of [top of] TREES)
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ARDEN (reference the links between Duke Senior and the Forest of ARDEN in Shakespeare’s As You Like It. I’ll leave it to those better versed in Shakespeare than me to explain the full details of the reference)
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12
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Lies around for parts of short afternoon in pram (6)
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Anagram of (around) LIES replacing (for) PM (an abbreviation for [short] afternoon) in PRAM IS RA EL* |
ISRAEL (Country) – wordplay only
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SERIAL (anagram of ISRAEL)
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14
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Shelter in Scapa Flow is all right after bombing (4)
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Anagram of (bombing) (IS and OK [all right]) SKIO* |
SKIO (a shed in Orkney or Shetland)
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| 15 |
Vessel absent originally regularly retreating into each small Shetland island creek (7) which can be split into two clues by taking alternate words as follows: 15-1 Vessel originally retreating each Shetland creek 15-2 Absent regularly into small island |
15-1: V [first letter of [originally] VESSEL) + EA (each) reversed (retreating) V AE< 15-2: A (absent) + IT (letters 1 and 3 [regularly] of INTO) |
VAE (variant spelling of VOE, Shetland word for creek) AIT (small island) |
AVIATE (a word formed by taking letters from AIT and VAE alternately)
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16
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Linesman’s calm when missing first half header from England (3)
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EN (second half of [missing first half] WHEN) + E (first letter of [header from] ENGLAND)
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ENE (poet’s [linesman’s] word for E’EN [even; calm])
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17
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Outlaw bass drum outside (5)
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REEL (drum on which thread may be wound) containing (outside) B (bass) RE (B) EL |
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REBEL (outlaw)
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19
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A worthless land (7)
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A + LIGHT (worthless)
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ALIGHT (land)
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20
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Bark‘s secured amidships by sheet anchor (4)
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TAN (hidden word in [secured amidships by] SHEET ANCHOR) Note that TAN forms the three middle letters of SHEET ANCHOR so the entry appears amidships in the phrase)
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TAN (spent bark)
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22
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Unhappy noises heard in court from those missing the action (6)
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Anagram of (unhappy) NOISES ESSOIN* |
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ESSOIN (a legal term to describe an excuse for not appearing in court)
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24
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Radiator’s interminable leak having trapped air backing up (6)
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(LEAK excluding the final letter [interminable] containing [having trapped] AIR]) all reversed (backing up) (AE (RIA) L)< |
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AERIAL (wire, rod, etc exposed to emit electromagnetic waves; an object that radiates waves radiator)
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27
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Beginning to shrug off some nasty old man’s grimace (4)
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Anagram of (nasty) SOME excluding (off) S (first letter of [beginning] SHRUG) MOE* |
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MOE (archaic word for [old] grimace) I’m not sure what role the word MAN plays in the clue.
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28
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No longer on the spot, meaning a fresh nomination being added to the others (7)
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Anagram of (fresh) MEANING and A excluding [no longer] IN [on the spot]) AGNAME* |
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AGNAME (a name over and above the ordinary name and surname; a fresh nomination being added to the others)
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30
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Talk incessantly as in old Italian language (5)
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YAK (talk incessantly) + UT (as in Latin [old Italian])
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YAKUT (the language of a mixed Turkic people living in NE Siberia)
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31
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One on benefits behind former taxmen’s fury (3)
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IR (Inland Revenue, the name for the tax department in Britain before it merged with Customs and Excise to become HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) + E (in advertising and marketing terminology, the letter for group or persons who has or have no regular income or who is /are dependent on state benefit)
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IRE (fury)
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32
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Sweden’s example of base? (7)
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S (International Vehicle Registration for Sweden) + ERBIA (erbium oxide, a chemical base)
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SERBIA (Country) – wordplay only
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RABIES (anagram of SERBIA)
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35
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A lot of time that’s spent in dead reckoning’s regularly wasted (4)
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Letters 3, 6, 9 and 12 of (regularly) DEAD RECKONING
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AEON (a vast age; a lot of time)
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| 36 |
Scots make no mistake turning very mean, essentially without right money (6) which can be split into two clues by taking alternate words as follows: 36-1 Scots no turning mean without money 36-2 Make mistake very essentially right |
36-1: MEAN excluding M (money) reversed NAE< 36-2:: ER (middle letter of [essentially] VERY + R (right) |
NAE (Scots word for no) ERR (make mistake) |
NEARER (a word formed by taking letters from NAE and ERR alternately)
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37
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Regiment alert for elderly German brass (6)
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Anagram of (regiment) ALERT TALER* |
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TALER (obsolete [elderly] German silver coin [money; brass])
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| 38 |
The ordinary majority, overturning French without word – individual keeping people special (8) which can be split into two clues by taking alternate words as follows: 38-1 The majority French word keeping special 38-2 Ordinary overturning without individual people |
38-1: MOT (French for word) containing (keeping) S (special) (MO (S) T) 38-2: O (ordinary) + (SEN [musical abbreviation for without] reversed [overturned]) (O NES<) |
MOST (the majority) ONES (individual people) |
MOONSETS (a word formed by taking letters from MOST and ONES alternately)
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| Down |
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| No | Clue | Wordplay | Answer | Entry |
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2
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Snakes in ajar crammed together sloughing skin (4)
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NAJA (the letters that remain after excluding the first and the last letters[sloughing skin] IR of INAJAR [the two words IN and AJAR crammed together]) As the word IN is part of the phrase containing NAJA it would be difficult to write this clue as a simple hidden word, hence the ‘crammed together sloughing skin’ phraseology
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NAJA (the Cobra genus; snakes)
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3
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Survey uncovered unorthodox religion’s area where more than usual is allowed (4)
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Anagram of (unorthodox) URVE (the letters that remain after excluding the first and last letters [uncovered] SY of SURVEY) These first two down clues are using the same device of removing first and last letters, but clued slightly differently each time ERUV* |
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ERUV (in Judaism, an area within which certain activities normally forbidden in public on the Sabbath are permitted)
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4
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Clinical geriatrics’ stocking (7)
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ALGERIA (hidden word in [stocking] CLINICAL GERIATRIC) Here we have the standard hidden word device. no sloughing skin or uncovering this time.
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ALGERIA (Country) – wordplay only
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REGALIA (anagram of ALGERIA)
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5
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Last in lost place in office (6)
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Anagram of (lost) LAST IN INSTAL* |
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INSTAL (variant spelling of INSTALL [place in office])
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6
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What’s replaced time without leader on Japanese island (5)
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Anagram of (replaced) TIME excluding [without] the first letter [leader] T + J (Japanese) + I (island) I’m quite prepared to believe that I haven’t got the wordplay right here. Replaced doesn’t seem like an anagram indicator and I can only find J as an abbreviation for Japan but not for Japanese MEI* J I |
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MEIJI (a period in Japanese history [1868 to 1912], following the overthrow of the shoguns, in which power was restored to the emperor)
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7
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Revolutionary sworn to limit Government’s injustices (6)
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Anagram of (revolutionary) SWORN containing (to limit) G (government) WRON (G) S* |
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WRONGS (injustices)
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8
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Arouse with catchy melody, once used to bring the flaming house down (8)
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FIRE (arouse) + HOOK (in pop music a catchy phrase)
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FIREHOOK (a hook formerly [once] used to tear down burning buildings)
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| 9 |
Tribesman uncovered material craze in American sacking flier (7) which can be split into two clues by taking alternate words as follows: 9-1 Tribesman material in sacking 9-2 Uncovered craze American flier |
9-1: JUTE (a member of a Germanic people originally from Jutland, who with the Angles and Saxons invaded Britain in the 5th century; tribesman). 9-2: ANI (the letters that remain after excluding the first and last letters [uncovered] MA of MANIA [craze]) |
JUTE (material used in the manufacture of sacks) double definition ANI (tropical American bird; American flier) |
JAUNTIE (a word formed by taking letters from JUTE and ANI alternately)
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10
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Slowly smelling head to foot (11)
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OLENT (having a smell) with the first letter (head) O moved to the end (foot) LENTO |
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LENTO (a musical term denoting slowly)
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11
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Oil drops that fall after heading to top (11) |
T (first letter of [top] TOP) + RAIN (drops that fall)
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TRAIN (variant of TRAIN-OIL [whale oil extracted from the blubber by boiling])
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| 13 |
Independent setter name contracted during illness (4) which can be split into two clues by taking alternate words as follows: 13-1 Independent name during 13-2 Setter contracted illness |
13-1: I (independent) + N (name) 13-2: ME ([crossword] setter) |
IN (during) ME (abbreviation for [contracted] myalgic encephalomyelitis; illness) double definition |
MIEN (a word formed by taking letters from ME and IN alternately)
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18
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One with lighter responsibilities interrupts worker without function (8)
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(BARGES IN [interrupts] + MAN [worker]) excluding (without) SIN (trigonometrical function)
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BARGEMAN (one with responsibilities for a BARGE [lighter])
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21
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Long period carrying it about (7)
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ERA (long period of time) containing (carrying) (IT + RE [about]) ER (IT RE) A |
ERITREA (Country) – wordplay only
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TEARIER (anagram of ERITREA)
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| 23 |
Writer’s chief descendant died – sons accompanied desire originally (7) which can be split into two clues by taking alternate words as follows: 23-1 Writer’s descendant sons desire 23-2 Chief died accompanied originally |
23-1: S (sons) + YEN (desire) 23-2: OB (obit; died) + A (first letter of [originally] ACCOMPANIED) |
SYEN (Shakespearean [writer’s] word for SCION [descendant]) OBA (West African chief or ruler) |
SOY BEAN (a phrase formed by taking letters from SYEN and OBA alternately)
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25
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Formerly private, concerned with patients (6)
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IN (concerned with) + WARD (where patients are treated)
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INWARD (archaic [formerly] word for private)
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26
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Shed one in ten (6)
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A (one) contained in (in) LENTO (entry at 10 down) LE (A) N TO |
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LEAN-TO (shed)
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27
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Clay eventually marks on top (4)
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M (marks) + ALI (the boxer, Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad ALI)
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MALI (Country) – wordplay only
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MAIL (anagram of MALI)
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29
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Get rid of what’s left before judge (5)
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A (before) + DEEM (judge)
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ADEEM (to cancel [a bequest] by destruction or sale of the thing bequeathed, or otherwise; get rid of)
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33
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Jabber occasionally perplexes (4)
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Letters 2, 4, 6 and 8 [occasionally) of PERPLEXES
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EPEE ( sharp-pointed, narrow-bladed sword , can be used for jabbing)
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34
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Kind of right, following for the same reason (4)
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SO (for the same reason) + RT (right)
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SORT (kind)
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I’m afraid I found this a rather joyless grind. The only bit you understood from the preamble was, in my view, not well-worded at all. It would have made more sense to say the six entries symmetrically-opposite “to those wordplay only entries”. As it was it was too ambiguous – I kept wondering why the setter was saying there were only six symmetrically-opposite entries in the grid when clearly there were many more. No doubt someone will say that’s the PDM and it’s my bad, but I want my PDM to come from solving the puzzle, not the preamble.
Like starburst@1 I too would have appreciated a clearer wording of the preamble and was wondering for a long time which six symmetrically-opposite entries were referred to. Of course, in retrospect, it seems clear enough, but it certainly wasn’t so at the time and it was only after two days of striving that I finally understood the wording properly. Otherwise I have to admire the construction of the “alternate” clues and would certainly put this crossword at the more difficult end of the spectrum. Even after completing the grid I didn’t understand why the countries had to be entered as anagrams, until I said “alternations” out loud to myself.
Thanks to Duncan for another ecellent blog and to Ifor for the challenge.
Well done on finding out everything that needed doing. The countries (fairly quickly) and cylinder (finally) became clear but I was left with 2 answers to fill in, having “solved” (because they couldn’t be anything else) aviate, jauntie, mien, soybean and nearer, but failing on adeem and moonsets. I never spotted the alternating bits in the clues for the opposite entries, so chalk one up to the setter. I have to agree with starburst that this was a rather joyless slog.
Well, contrary to other views here I found this a real pleasure – joy would be going too far as it was a tough challenge but I got to the end after three longish solving sessions, to gain a real sense of achievement.
Unlike Duncan, who seems to have got to the solution fairly methodically, my solving experience was much more hap-hazard. Before I realsied that nations were involved I thought 21D was MOTION,and had TRAIN for 11D so was this something to do with “setting things in”, or Poets Laureate ? However I was totally convinced that 1A was SURINAME (the first of the nations to fall) so I was totally perplexed at one point. The PDM for me was seeing ALGERIA in 4D and that the names were to be anagrammatised.
Lile Duncan I thought the “opposite” clues were wordy and actually did try alternating words, on a hunch, and got there eventually.
Like others though I thought the preamble was vague but I’m not sure I’d do much better myself. Instead of “engage” and “disengage” how about “deconstruct” and reconstruct”? Or is that too obvious ?
Anyway, I have to say this is my puzzle of the year so far, so thanks to Ifor and to Duncan for the blog.
I also found the preamble a bit baffling and couldn’t work out if I was looking for two sets of three solutions or two set of six – the ‘the’ in ‘Before solving them each of THE six clues …’ seemed to refer back to the six wordplay-only clues, at least to this little brain.
I’m used to the despairing feeling of wondering if a can finish a puzzle but this one made me wonder if I could even seriously start with MALI, ALGERIA, REBEL, IRE and nothing else for far too long but the clues slowly started to fall.
I eventually ended up with a filled grid bar the six symmetrically opposed clues and reverse engineered AVIATE into AIT and VAE and the penny finally dropped.
A tricky puzzle bit I wouldn’t call it a thankless slog. I thought it was very clever, very difficult in places but ultimately very satisfying.
I parsed 6D as Duncan did – I think ‘replaced’ works if read as re-placed, rather like resorted/re-sorted but maybe that’s just me.
Many thanks to Ifor for for the headaches and to Duncan for the blog.
I spotted the country anagram theme, later confirmed by ALTER NATIONS, pretty quickly, starting with REGALIA and SERIAL. I had no problem with which the symmetrically opposite six were. I did, though, have alternative possibilities for some, e.g LIEN, VAUNTIE and MOONLETS, but was completely baffled by the wordplay. It took four days, on and off, before I had the ALTERNATIONS pdm and was thus able to complete the grid with confidence.
Up till then, I had thought it a rotten puzzle. But now I vote it puzzle of the year so far.
Thanks, Ifor, or should I say diolch yn fawr ?
We were very pleased that we managed to finish this puzzle and had a great sense of achievement at the end. We kept on rereading the preamble and it took quite a while before the penny finally dropped but have no issues with the wording. Solving the puzzle didn’t feel like a hard slog but on the other hand, it isn’t our favourite either!
Congratulations Duncan on the very detailed blog. Whilst we parsed the solutions correctly, what we had missed was the fact that the new word was formed by taking letters from the two solutions alternately. We interpreted the disengagement and reengagement as meaning an anagram. Our admiration for Ifor went up many notches when we read the blog.
Thanks Ifor and Duncan.
A great crossword, but like many others, I found the ambiguity of the wording in the preamble completely confusing (specifically, the actual position of the ‘six symmetrically opposite entries’), and that made the whole thing less of a pleasure than it could have been. Maybe that was deliberate(?) although for me, the crossword was difficult enough without any extra confusion being thrown in!
Thanks anyway.
I had very little time this week, but maybe that was self-enforced, given I made very little immediate progress with this one. My admiration to those who persevered and cracked it. The blog was very useful thanks Duncan. It explained the many areas I fell down upon. First incomplete for me this year I think. Just too tough for me.
This certainly was a tough one – the hardest for some time.
I was quite a while before I got beyond the third [African] country, and one or two came only after guessing the entry & seeing if an anagram of it was a country. (A little pdm.)
I had spotted earlier that when the empty cells are removed we can make a cylinder, but it was only now that I did this (mentally) and saw ALTERNATIONS or indeed ALTER NATIONS. (Aha! Another little pdm.)
So, all done apart from the “six symmetrically opposite entries”, and I set about MOONSETS (or MOONLETS). A bit of reverse engineering led me to understand how to “disengage” the clues and “re-engage” their answers. (A final pdm.)
I think that BF @5 puts it very well:
A tricky puzzle … very clever, very difficult in places but ultimately very satisfying.
Thanks Ifor, and also Duncan for the blog (glad it wasn’t my turn).
My thanks to everyone who commented, and of course to Duncan for the very comprehensive blog.
Obviously there was no intention to mislead or pose a problem in respect of the “six symmetrically-opposite” clues; since the grid is entirely symmetrical every light has an “opposite”. I had thought (and still think) that the repeated “six” would make matters clear. Incidentally “engagement” was intended to suggest the meshing of gear teeth along the edges.
#6: the pseudonym is derived from my given name rather than alluding to Welshness!
Ifor
Undoubtedly a brilliant puzzle, which I was a Siberia away from solving. I think it was the combination of baffling rubric, a lot of funny stuff going on, and unusually knotty, obscure or elaborate clueing. Even when I’d got the answer, I wasn’t sure why. I do hope they don’t come much harder than this. Thanks for the blog, more indispensable than ever.
Apart from some minor reservations about the instructions, I found this an extremely enjoyable puzzle and am inordinately proud that I finally completed it. Many thanks!