Special Puzzle – 012
2024 York S&B by Elgar
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Today we are pleased to present a special (and challenging) puzzle set by Elgar for the 2024 York S&B event. Click on the grid above to access the puzzle.
Advance Warning by Elgar
The instructions said:
Two answers form a timely message, especially if you are holding a pen or a jar of sleeping pills.
One answer is an abbreviation (in Chambers). The internet will be useful for several non-Chambers solutions. The six pairs of double unchecked letters provide DIAGRAM OF OWL.
Elgar arranges an annual S&B in York on what he refers to as ‘Clock Weekend’, not least because attendees at the event will have an extra hour in bed on Sunday morning to recover from the ‘exertions’ of the day before. This year’s themed puzzle relates to what we have to do to several timepieces, both in the crossword and at home, although depending on how long you take to solve 10/24a, you may, like your blogger, take more time than you should before seeing the blooming obvious.
Once you have found the timely message, it is worth looking back at clues you have already solved and treating the solutions as directed in the message. This will save you (the solver holding the pen), unlike me, from a lot of time wasted trying solve the Down clues checked by 19a ☹
In this review, the themed solutions are all shown the right way round, an ← by each one showing what you have to do before inserting them into the grid
Thank you to Elgar for yet another challenging and fun crossword. I wonder whether the people solving in groups in the pub got on better than those of us solving on our own at home?
Across
3a Armed enemy consultant women stir up with animated chat (10)
WRISTWATCH ← An anagram (up) of WW (two women) and STIR with another (animated) of CHAT. The definition referring to the phrase ‘Time is the enemy’
8a Tenor evicted from upper room by order of certain power (6)
ATOMIC ← Remove one of the abbreviations for Tenor from an upper room and insert an abbreviated Order of Merit
9a Bearing airs and graces but always dismissive of society sorts (8)
CARRIAGE ← An anagram (sorts) of AIRs and GRACEs (always ‘dismissive of the abbreviation for Society
10a Retreat, as bad cook will do from Spooner? (4,4)
TURN BACK The dreaded Reverend might say that a cook will completely overcook some food
13a Current restaurant employee oozes class (5)
WATER ← A restaurant employee ‘oozes’ the symbol for electrical current
14a So this accurate instrument is unusually short once more? (11)
CHRONOMETER ← An anagram (unusually) of SHORT ONCE MORE without the SO
15a Spear not directed towards Chico’s brother (5)
HARPO A type of spear without the two-letter ‘directed towards’
18a After vocal exchange, something wrong with double garden feature (7)
SUNDIAL ← Exchange the I in a wrong thing with the U in a synonym for double
19a So jolly, then … terror! (5)
ALARM ← In the manner of (so) and the abbreviation for a member of the armed forces known as a ‘jolly’
22a Dignified woman looks after rich old man (11)
GRANDFATHER ← Dignified or imposing and an informal pronoun meaning she, woman, the latter going after a synonym for rich in some important constituent
23a Plain retraction from international law (5)
LLANO Hidden in reverse (retraction from) in the last two words of the clue
24a New check involving Lot #101 from an Austrian Collection … (3,5)
THE CLOCK The Austrian composer, Hayden’s Symphony No 101, so called because of the ticking rhythm throughout the second movement
26a … here’s one on the 2: I see, right, I see (8)
HOROLOGE ← A reversed I or self, a poetic word meaning see, the abbreviation for Right and an interjection of surprise (I see) The solution is defined as any instrument telling the time
27a Clutch augmenter with a screw loose? (6)
CUCKOO ← A bird that lays its eggs in other birds’ nests (clutch augmenter) or slightly mad (with a screw loose)
28a Chambers x 2 mum maybe receives 6 post (10)
PARLIAMENT ← A person who brings forth offspring (mum maybe) receives some post which has been reversed (see the solution of 6d) A type of clock found in taverns, supposedly linked to an Act of Parliament putting a tax on clocks, so people relied in the clocks found in the pub rather than buying their own
Down
1d Almost 16 full revolutions on 3ac (7)
MINUTES The 16d full revolutions on a 3ac
2d The opposite bar, I reckon (7)
COUNTER Triple definition
3d Ceremonial dance opening missed by Khan? (4)
HAKA The forename of the female singer – Khan – without the first letter (opening missed)
4d Drag bottom of foot on top of kerb (4)
TREK The bottom letter of fooT, the usual ‘on the subject of’ and the ‘top’ of Kerb
5d Maybe Crassus and Pompey covering up about discharge (8)
TRIARCHS A reversal (up) of a covering for the upper body into which is inserted (about) a discharge of electricity
6d Concerning issue as an exchange (2,6)
IN RETURN A Latin phrase meaning in the matter of, concerning, and an issue
7d Why do cows interminably roam Oxfordshire forest? (8)
WYCHWOOD An anagram (roam) of WHY DO COWs (interminably telling you to omit the S)
11d “Fashionably” chic – no? – in anime festival (8)
CONNICHI An anagram (fashionably) of CHIC NO IN
12d Man blended in crude supplement for horse-feed (4-4)
BRAN-MASH An anagram (blended) of MAN inserted into (supplement for) an adjective meaning crude
16d Extremely petite shopping centre in Paris is below Square (8)
SMALLEST A shopping centre and the French (as used in Paris) word for is go under the abbreviation for Square
17d Chief rather secondary to heroic narrative (8)
SAGAMORE A synonym for rather goes after (secondary to) a heroic narrative
18d One possibly counteracting Parkinson’s Law almost upset a golden chamber-pot! (8)
LARODOPA A drug given to people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. Almost all of LAw, a reversal (upset) of made of gold (1’2), an informal term for a chamber-pot and A (from the clue)
20d Nothing odd about quin? Tabloid knew different (7)
UNALIKE The even (nothing odd) letters of qUiN tAbLoId KnEw
21d Suffering through hollow praise (5,2)
CRACK UP Torture or suffering inserted into (through) a hollow
24d Superhero trapped by event horizon (4)
THOR Hidden in (trapped by) the last two words of the clue
25d Model from Down Under shares scheme at work (4)
EPOS A reversal (from down under) of a verb meaning to model
The title of this crossword is “Advance Warning” and the instructions for solvers are as follows
Two answers form a timely message, especially if you are holding a pen or a jar of sleeping pills.
One answer is an abbreviation (in Chambers). The internet will be useful for several non-Chambers solutions. The six pairs of double unchecked letters provide DIAGRAM OF OWL.
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You may well have solved at least one of the relevant clues before working out the timely message for people holding a pen (ie we solvers). I strongly recommend revisiting the solution(s) and treating them as instructed in the message
That’s helpful. Solver instructions (and your advice) now added to the online and PDF versions of the puzzle.
I’m emboldened by having solved a recent Enigmatist puzzle, but I fear the ‘internet will be useful’ instruction portends some significant challenges ahead.
As Captain Oates famously said, “I … may be some time.”
Back already – much to my own surprise! My printout looks quite a mess and it would have been even messier if I hadn’t twigged Elgar’s cunning ruse fairly early on. My first answer happened to be part one of the ‘two answers’ message and I readily found the second from my expectation of its enumeration, given the preamble. It still took me a while to comprehend the instruction, prompted by some dilemmas I faced when attempting to write in answers I was fairly confident about. Once on track the theme helped me to identify several answers, with the double unchecked letters hint also helping me out in 28a, which I hadn’t previously heard of. My favourite was the 3a ‘Armed enemy consultant’, which was closely followed by 14a and 22a. I also enjoyed the convoluted 26a! As advised, I made use of the internet at the end to confirm 11d, 17d and 18d; none of which I had heard of previously. I still have some i’s to dot and t’s to cross in the parsing of a couple of clues, but I have a full grid and it’s getting late – I’m now definitely in need of that additional hour of sleep tonight!
My thanks to Elgar for devising a challenging, but fun puzzle, and I will look forward to the thoughts of our reviewer tomorrow.
Thanks for the clarifications, CS. I wasn’t aware of the latin phrase used in 6d so didn’t spot it, and in 13a I chose the wrong definition word so unsurprisingly couldn’t see how ‘class’ could represent the letter needing to be ‘oozed’! I also mis-parsed 21d having equated the first word in the answer to ‘hollow’ and the second to ‘praise’ with definition ‘suffering’. Oh well, happy to have almost got there..! Talking of which, I’m still puzzled by the ‘Almost’ in 1d?
The solution to 1d would mean the same as 16d if only the former had one more letter, hence the almost
Ah, thank you once again! Now all my i’s are dotted and t’s crossed…