EV 1670 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1670 (Hints)

Loop by Jaques

Hints and tips by Phibs

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This week I asked ChatGPT, “Why would a crossword setter choose to call themselves Jaques?”

The answer that came back was:

“A crossword setter might choose the pseudonym “Jaques” as a playful nod to the character Jaques in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, famous for his melancholic but witty nature. Jaques is the character who delivers the famous “All the world’s a stage” soliloquy, which reflects a certain wisdom, wordplay, and philosophical introspection. This character quality aligns well with the tone of many crossword setters, who often imbue their clues with wit, layers, and references.

In the crossword world, a pseudonym like “Jaques” might suggest a certain literary flair or intellectual charm, indicating that the setter enjoys classical references, linguistic subtleties, or even a slightly mischievous sense of humour—traits that make crosswords both challenging and entertaining for solvers.”

It seems that we should be on the lookout for philosophical introspection, assuming that ChatGPT is on the right track. Other possibilities could be Jaques of London, responsible for introducing the British public to (among many other games and pastimes) Happy Families, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, table tennis (under the names Gossima and Ping Pong), and Tiddledy-Winks; or ‘jaques’, a 17th/18th century term for a privy. Perhaps not that, then.

Preamble: Solvers must remove a superfluous word from each of 23 clues before solving. Taking either the first or last letter from these words, in clue order, indicates how to LOOP the remaining answers for entry, resolving any clashes. All entries in the final grid are real words.

As far as the clue solving is concerned, we must remove a word from each of 23 clues – although the preamble talks about them being ‘superfluous’, as regular solvers will know, they will not just be superfluous but will prevent the clues from being satisfactorily solved until they have been removed. As we solve these clues, we should note the ‘stowaway’ words while confidently entering the solutions in the grid, since they are not subject to change – I would recommend good strong pencil strokes. The other clues are normal, but it would appear that each one needs to be modified in some way upon entry. The number of entries to be modified suggests (though it does not guarantee) that the individual changes may be relatively minor, so it may be that as well as noting the answers we might usefully enter them in light pencil. A couple of other things: firstly, there are 49 clues in total, which means that 26 answers will have to be modified; and secondly, the message is generated by taking either the first or last letter from each stowaway. Assuming that the first and last letters of these words are not the same throughout (which a glance at the clues tells us is not possible), perhaps there is some relationship between those letters, since we would typically be told to use either all first letters or all last letters. If there is such a relationship, that might help us to identify stowaways in other clues.

The absence of the usual ‘Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended‘ from the preamble is due solely to space constraints.

Across

12a  Arithmetic logic unit oddly left out modern cleaner swift digital features? (6)
Here we have what might be called a ‘cryptic definition by example’, the first word of the three being just one of many possibilities for the f’rinstance. In the wordplay, ‘oddly left out’ indicates the omission of the odd-numbered letters from a word in the clue.

23a  Celebrity’s taken in by the method of extremely little food (6)
It is a two-letter word for (among many other things) ‘by the method of” that must be ‘taken in’.

26a  Sort of mosquito not taking blood, biting taste’s rebuffed (4)
The wordplay involves a straightforward reversal, but if you are using an older version of Chambers, or a different reference, you might well think that the word ‘not’ in the definition is a stowaway. However, based on the current entry in Chambers the definition as underlined here is correct.

27a  Sign of class in the world is worth (5)
The ‘sign of class’ leads to a single letter, while ‘world’ is a figurative sense of a word very often associated with ‘tears’ in this context.

29a  Alcoholic has yen for one fermentable hydrocarbon, generally speaking (6)
There’s a substitution going on in this clue, with a two-letter abbreviation (not the more familiar single-letter one) replacing a Roman numeral.

33a  Some absorb memory from Tony occupying Nancy’s farmhouse (8)
The underlining rather spoils the stowaway’s fun, leaving a definition which perhaps more accurately should be something along the lines of ‘some information’. ‘Tony’ has been deceptively capitalized, being obsolete slang for a simpleton, and Nancy could also be Nice, if you see what I mean.

36a  Superior resident’s greeting, with special constable coming in for afternoon (5)
In this substitution clue one letter in ‘an informal greeting used on meeting or parting’ is replaced by two. The definition is a potential groan-inducer.

38a  Salty crusts on soil turned clear with earth scratched away (4)the
The ‘clear’ which is at the heart of the wordplay could also be ‘downright’ or ‘thin’.

43a  Running miles in apparently not pushing taking in learner (9)
An unusual construction, where two single-letter abbreviations must be separately introduced to a word which relates not to Sisyphean endeavour but to sales technique.

Down

2d  Doing a bunk, zero independence gained by turn back (6)
A (1+3) combination is contained by a two-letter word and the whole lot reversed. The solution is given by Chambers as ‘informal, especially old’, and in the sense required here would normally be followed by ‘out’ or ‘off’.

5d  Dodgy aircon’s unit close to exit giving off smell (4)
It’s essential to get rid of the stowaway in order to parse this one. ‘Close’ looks like a last letter selection indicator, and so it proves, but its target is not to be found in the obvious direction.

6d  Elderly OAP to remove flower coming up round Ohio (5)
The stowaway here isn’t, in fact, a word (according to Chambers, at least), but the underlining blows its cover. Seasoned solvers will no doubt see ‘flower’ and (correctly) think that this may not be the sort that you’d find at Chelsea.

20d  Could be Caliban’s acts force Prospero to go after rejected narcotic drinks (8)
Several of the stowaways in this puzzle are not easy to spot; the one here slots smoothly into the context of the surface reading but sticks out because of its rarity in cryptic clues. The narcotic drinks are usually spelt with a ‘K’ added to the front of the four-letter plural here.

24d  Cycling round unchanged steep-sided hill face (4)
The four-letter word that is seen ‘cycling round’ can also have the sense of ‘identical’.

25d  Sargent conducting, listening to alto escapes me to begin with (8)
One of those ‘missing comma’ clues, where a pause (or the word ‘with’) needs to be inserted between ‘escapes’ and ‘me’.

30d  Pinched tin, New Yorker’s quip to distract occupies (6)
Here we have the reverse situation to 25d, with an unwanted comma dividing the subject of the wordplay (‘tin’) and the relative clause which follows – it should be ignored. For solving purposes, it is probably best to focus on the definition and the two letters representing ‘tin’, working back from there to what ‘occupies’ the gap between those letters.

Definitions in clues are underlined

Some of the clues were tough, and if you decided against tentatively entering the ‘to be modified’ answers, the grid fill may have proved particularly tricky. At some point you will work out what’s happening to those entries where they clash with immutable answers, and the total number of those modifiable answers may offer a further nudge. You will also spot how the first and last letters of the stowaways relate to each other. Once you reveal the message, all should be entirely clear, but there’s still work to do in order to make sure that each of the 26 answers has been correctly modified (a checklist is essential).

Given the gimmicks, the clues here were pretty challenging, making the puzzle far from simple.

Phibs Toughness Rating : 🥾🥾🥾🥾 (Hard)

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