EV 1649 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1649 (Hints)

Investigation by Ovid

Hints and tips by Phibs

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This week I thought I’d see whether ChatGPT could provide a bit more help than Gemini when it comes to identifying the theme of a puzzle.

I posed the question “A themed crossword puzzle has the name ‘Investigation’. What might its theme be?”. The response began along these lines:

The theme of the crossword puzzle titled “Investigation” could revolve around various elements related to detective work, crime solving, and the process of investigating. Here are some potential thematic elements that might be included in such a puzzle:

Detective Terms: Words like “sleuth,” “detective,” “PI” (private investigator), “Sherlock,” or “Watson.”

Crime Scene Vocabulary: Terms like “clue,” “evidence,” “motive,” “suspect,” “witness,” “alibi,” “crime scene,” or “forensics.”

I’m not going to list any more of the suggestions at this point for reasons which will become clear.

Preamble: Two thematic clues require further INVESTIGATION. Wordplay in all across clues indicates the answer with an extra letter that is not entered in the grid; these spell out an instruction affecting seven cells. A single word must be omitted from five down clues; these spell out a further instruction affecting another 14 cells. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.

Two gimmicks are involved in the clues here. The wordplay in each across clue delivers an extra letter, so in the clue “Stokes hit wicket (5)” the wordplay leads to S + THUMP, the answer is STUMP, and the extra letter is H. Remember that the term ‘wordplay’ can also refer to a second definition, so the clue “Small type (4)” leads to SORT, with the ‘wordplay’ giving SHORT, extra letter H.

In ‘extra word’ clues it is implicit that the word must be removed before the clue can be solved. In a clue like “Left idiot making bread (4)” for LOAF [L + OAF], the word ‘making’ is redundant, but the clue is perfectly sound with it there; in “Left idiot eating bread“, however, the word ‘eating’ renders the clue insoluble and is therefore a ‘stowaway’ that must be removed.

The setters (for they are two) appear to have been kind to us, in that the answer lengths shown in brackets for two clues differ from the number of cells available in the grid. Those seem like prime candidates for further investigation.

Across

1a    Hesitant old nomad registered enemy’s close (7)
This is a 3+4+1 charade, but the old (and notoriously savage) nomad contributes only two letters to the answer.

10a    Look! Openings of seam exposing precious stone (4)
Don’t be fooled by that exclamation mark – it is not part of the definition, which indicates a verb rather than an interjection.

17a    Describing controller of current national festival holding Paraguay back (5)
There are two abbreviations involved here, but the longest wordplay element (at least before deductions) is a Vietnamese festival that occurs more frequently in puzzles than in the calendar, and could be cryptically indicated by ‘tense alien’. The answer is an adjective; don’t forget that in EV clues hyphens are ignored in enumerations, eg ‘one-way’ would be shown as ‘(6)’.

32a    Fly straight line across ancient Asian kingdom (5)
One wordplay element is used ‘as is’, although not all of it appears in the answer, while the other leads first to an eight-letter word and thence a three-letter abbreviation.

37a    Little tablet – mostly calming influence – active in depression (6)
Two elements (the first cryptically reduced by one letter) are contained by another, which contributes the bonus letter.

39a    Some Jamaican music, for example, feature of early sailing vessels (4)
Why should you be worried if you see Suggs walking up your drive? Because it’s the first sign of Madness. OK, I’ll get me coat, but the Jamaican music here is the sort of which Madness were (and, indeed, still are) prime British exponents.

Down

1d    Investigator (Lutheran) embraces endless hard work (6)
The ‘endless’ in this instance indicates that both the first and last letters should be removed from a word for ‘hard work’.

2d    Minimal changes in main once not suitable before fateful date (9, two words)
The charade here delivers elements of 2, 3 and 4 letters respectively, with the first being something of a barred puzzle staple, often indicated by ‘not old’, ie it’s an obsolete form of ‘not’.

5d    Plague in Bavaria that is about to bite (5)
The ‘in Bavaria’ is there to tell us that the abbreviation we want for ‘that is’ (or ‘that means’) is not the familiar Latin one, rather that it comes from the German language. Why it should be in Chambers I’m really not sure.

9d    Grant immunity when MP leaves line for a short formal leave (5)
There’s a cunningly concealed stowaway in this replacement clue, a word that is often seen in cryptic clues as it has a single-letter abbreviation. The text to be replaced and what replaces it are in fact both in plain view, while the answer is very familiar to me from my school days.

20d    Shoot film about terror capital (8)
Three single words contribute 3, 1 and 4 letters to the answer. But there are four words in the wordplay…

29d    Sound of four-wheelers in Bedford and Reading? (5)
I couldn’t decide whether the ‘in’ in this homophone clue was meant to be part of the definition. Either way, it should be mentally replaced with something like ‘things found in…’.

Definitions in clues are underlined

I chose to ignore the two ‘wrong length’ clues during the initial grid fill, with the checked letters in 1d providing my way in to the theme, but solving either of them (I would suggest that one is easier than the other) will also get you to the theme. The first instruction is pretty explicit, and following it will be particularly straightforward for Chalicea regulars; the second instruction is similarly clear, and there is only one path that enables it to be properly satisfied.

The clues were generally entertaining and not too tough, which is a good thing when gimmicks are involved, and the endgame was well signposted. But what else did ChatGPT have to offer?

Law Enforcement Agencies: Names of agencies such as “FBI,” “CIA,” “Scotland Yard,” “Interpol,” or “police.”

Investigation Techniques: Words related to techniques like “interrogation,” “surveillance,” “stakeout,” “undercover,” “fingerprint,” “DNA,” “autopsy,” or “profiling.”

Famous Detectives and Fictional Investigators: Names of famous fictional detectives like “Poirot,” “Miss Marple,” “Columbo,” or “Nancy Drew.”

Legal Terms: Words like “trial,” “court,” “jury,” “verdict,” “prosecutor,” or “defense.”

Mystery and Crime Literature: Titles or authors of famous mystery novels or series, such as “Agatha Christie,” “Arthur Conan Doyle,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” or “Murder on the Orient Express.”

I would have said that Gemini needs to look to his electronic laurels, but I fear he has already been supplanted.

Phibs Toughness Rating : 🥾🥾/🥾🥾🥾 (Not easy, but fair, and suitable for all except absolute beginners)

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