Enigmatic Variations 1684 (Hints)
Sobering Thought by Eclogue
Hints and tips by Phibs
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This week I thought I’d give Claude a chance to impress. I asked, “A themed crossword puzzle is entitled ‘Sobering Thoughts’. Can you suggest what its theme might be?”
Claude didn’t have to think very long before replying as below.
“The theme of a crossword puzzle titled “Sobering Thoughts” likely revolves around words and phrases related to:
• Alcohol and sobriety – terms about drinking, recovery, and abstinence
• Words connected to clarity and clear thinking – like “lucid,” “rational,” “alert”
• Phrases about becoming more serious or contemplative – “reality check,” “wake-up call”
• Terms related to hangovers and their effects – both physical and metaphorical
The “sobering” part could also suggest a double meaning – both the literal sense of becoming sober from alcohol and the figurative sense of becoming more serious or thoughtful. The puzzle might play with this duality in its clues and answers.”
I wonder if Claude will turn out to have been, as you might say, on the Monet.
Preamble: Answers to clues for perimeter entries are to be treated before entry in one of two ways. Four of these clues lack a definition, giving thematic answers which must be replaced with other words prior to entry in line with the theme; the other four clues lead to answers from which the entry is thematically derived. These changes are suggested by a SOBERING THOUGHT, the source of which is given by single extra letters generated by wordplay in each of the remaining clues. Finally, one entry must be replaced in accordance with the completion of the quotation, leaving real words or phrases throughout. Letters in unchecked and mutually checked perimeter cells could make SAKI PROFITABLE.
We need to put some sort of mark against the clues for the perimeter entries to remind us (i) that their answers can’t be entered ‘as is’, and (ii) that they won’t contribute letters to the message identifying the source of the ‘sobering thought’. We can enter the answers to all the other clues as we get them, at the same time recording the extra letter generated by the wordplay – so if the clue were “Echo hint about lengthy pastoral poem (7)”, the wordplay would give (E CUE) around LONG, the answer would be ECLOGUE, and the extra letter would be N. Inevitably with this sort of clue there will be times when you get the answer and then have to work out the wordplay element which yields the extra letter.
We must hope that as we start to get some checkers in those peripheral entries we’ll be able to figure out what’s going on.
Across
10a Chief naval group having a party in storm (7)
The wordplay is a 3+2+1+2 charade including a two-letter abbreviation, with the words ‘having’ and ‘in’ playing no active part.
11a Important organ is rather poor (5)
In ‘wordplay delivers extra letter’ clues, setters usually avoid the use of link words between the wordplay and the definition, particularly those like ‘is’ which indicate that both parts of the clue lead to the same sequence of letters, because they don’t. It’s a different situation with (say) ‘definition contains an extra letter’ clues, because there the extra letter has to be removed before the clue is solved. Anyway, rightly or wrongly, the ‘is’ here joins the definition to the (unequal) wordplay.
17a Years after, valley reveals holy woman (6)
There’s a three-letter abbreviation involved in this clue. When you see a definition like ‘holy woman’, it could suggest a word for such a person, but it can also indicate a forename from the ‘Some first names’ appendix of Chambers, where a meaning of the name is given as ‘holy’. Similarly, ‘splendid woman’ could be ROSHAN and ‘bright chap’ CUTHBERT.
19a Screen robes erroneous re-engagement? (10)
Some words are very hard to define in a way that can readily be accommodated in a clue. We have just such a one here, and while the definition is a tad fanciful, there is only one permutation of ten letters from eleven that produces a real word.
33a Girl providing in wartime discredited masks (4)
A straightforward wordplay will help guide solvers once more (see 17a) to the back pages of Chambers.
37a Fine punished old duke (4)
The ‘duke’ in the definition is not a nobleman, but refers to something that setters also like to indicate by ‘pud’. You will find that there are two possible answers to this clue, both ‘archaic and dialect’ (hence the ‘old’) – this means either that (a) the editor was asleep on duty, or (b) it doesn’t matter which one it is. And if I thought the editor had been dozing, I probably wouldn’t have said so…
Down
6d Your money losing against Herb (5)
A word in plain view in the clue suffers two losses, first of a pair of letters, and then of the extra letter.
8d Ingredients of Xmas pud lift members in office (7)
The ‘members in office’ are the plural of a word usually seen as a preposition, the noun having a sense of ‘a member of the party in office’.
12d Approval follows Tenor (5)
The ‘approval’ here is a four-letter version of an informal word often seen as just two capitals.
19d Grandma, one senior climbing around Iceland, related to freezing in mountains (7)
Wordplay elements of 3, 1 and 2 letters are collectively manipulated prior to receiving a boarder.
21d European composer’s subject: Italian revolutionary (6)
I knew nothing of Alexander Goehr’s Arianna two weeks ago, and I had never heard of this composer. The main component of the wordplay is a five-letter (to start with, anyway) word for a subject which Fairport Convention fans will associate with Lief.
22d Crop of Asian drug containing what’s almost forbidden (6)
Probably the hardest clue in the puzzle, since none of the important words are in common usage (not here in Lincolnshire at least). The drug has three letters, while the ‘forbidden’ word (a relatively new addition to Chambers) which starts with five but suffers two successive ‘dockings’, is also an alternative spelling of a word for a group of wives and concubines such as that maintained by the Khasi of Kalibar in Carry on up the Khyber.
23d Ancient covering returned to good supporting tissue (4)
The ‘ancient covering’ here is not (as it could appear) a protective covering for soldiers of old, rather an obsolete spelling of a covering for the head.
27d Pole of yore for one such in Glasgow meeting heads (5)
The wordplay is a charade of two three-letter words, the ‘heads’ that leads to the second of these being nautical slang for a ‘necessary place’ in the bows of a ship. The definition is by example, hence the ‘for one’.
Definitions in clues are underlined
As the grid fill proceeds, the two eight-letter entries at 1a/38a will start to take shape and a possible link between them might suggest itself; if you’ve solved a few of the perimeter clues which include definitions – and, perhaps, you have memories of Kruger’s Triple Change a couple of weeks ago – you’ll probably be able to work out how those answers need to be entered, even if you haven’t got the whole of the message. Once you can identify the ‘source’ and find out what it says, the entries for the ‘wordplay only’ clues should become clear, although you might find yourself then working back to solve the clues themselves. The last part of the quotation should point you in the direction of both the entry to be replaced and what is to replace it; remember that all the crossing entries will be real words. It’s particularly important to check off the perimeter letters which aren’t part of a clued entry against the ‘unch message’, because there are two possibilities for one of the replacement entries. You will also note that three of the four entries for those ‘wordplay only’ clues share their first letter with the answer to the clue; you may be able to work out why the fourth one doesn’t.
The clues were generally quite friendly, and identifying the entry method for the answers to the ‘normal’ perimeter clues was straightforward. It was possible to guess the other entries, but the quotation confirmed these and enabled the final replacement step to be completed with confidence. How did Claude do? Pretty well for a first effort, I’d venture to suggest.
Phibs Toughness Rating : 🥾🥾🥾 (Suitable for anyone except barred puzzle novices)
Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment.
Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.
Taken in conjunction with the title 1a was a great start for identifying the def-less “solutions” and 3 of the other 4 readily transformed into thematic “solutions” as well – OK so far. But the surplus letter clues were a mixed bag and whilst some were indeed “friendly” there were some stinkers and quite a few that needed close attention. A similarity in a couple of the entries for the 4 def-less solutions emerged, as did the general form of the source, which helped predict extra letters. With the grid full, the source confirmed and the candidate for replacement easily identified I then made heavy weather of the replacement by my usual over-thinking before light finally dawned.
Thanks Eclogue and Phibs.
I only started this last night and am looking to the blog for some pointers…finding this very heavy going even with the hints!
I too over-thought the end game, meaning I didn’t finish till Monday. A few clues were tricky, but for once I identified the extra letters and found the background text without much difficulty.
Thx to Eclogue and Phibs