Enigmatic Variations 1689 (Hints)
Good Buddies by The Ace of Hearts
Hints and tips by Gabriel
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
If nothing else, I’m loyal to Gemini (I’ll admit to being somewhat biased, so I don’t flirt with ChatGPT and Claude). I asked him/her: “In an advanced thematic crossword, we are asked to find the real names of two GOOD BUDDIES that have ‘better-known aliases’. What do you make of this?”.
He/she coughed up “Batman and Robin” (yes, they have real names and aliases indeed) and “Holmes and Watson” (real names but no obvious aliases). And I was finally advised to: “crucially, understand the theme of the crossword”. Oh, OK. Will do. Not helpful.
Preamble: One letter must be deleted from each answer wherever it occurs before entry into the grid; definitions refer to the full unmutilated answer, wordplay to the grid entry. In clue order, the omitted letters give the real names of two GOOD BUDDIES. Their better-known aliases (26 cells in five straight lines) must be highlighted in the completed grid. Numbers in brackets after clues give answer lengths rather than grid entry lengths. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 29 is in Collins.
This is one of the few cases in which the title and the preamble kind of gave me an inkling of the theme early on. OK, more honestly I had a brief fleeting inspiration which I then proceeded to completely ignore and I was very pleasantly surprised when it was later revealed to be correct. This actually happens to me not infrequently – my typical internal reaction is “oh, that can’t be right, you don’t have enough evidence yet” and proceed to dismiss it. Later I wonder how I could/should have been more trusting of my intuitions.
In any event, entry length is (N – #letters) which is somewhat helpful since #letters will often be exactly one, but entries are not likely to be real words which is unhelpful. But we need to generate a letter from each which means that the message will be somewhat easier to identify which is helpful. But the message is likely to be names which are harder to predict and complete. So, a bit unhelpful.
Clues:
Across
1 Salute old school service delivery to person on their birthday (9)
I’ve never been a recipient of one of these methods of felicitation. But apparently it’s still a thing. Wordplay is 4+1+3.
7 Restrains small shabby people (6)
Definition is a Britishism and wp is only 4.
11 Not entreated, a Parisian that’s gross entering drunk (10)
The underlining will help but it’s somewhat archaic and Shakepearean which isn’t indicated unfortunately.
12 Onlookers at tennis match denied disputing any net signals in the van (6)
Unusual definition for which I needed the BRB but the wordplay type is clearly indicated.
25 Eucalypti say remained undisturbed in Scotland during deadly storms initially (7)
I had to chase down the definition in the BRB once I suspected the answer. Wordplay has a 4-letter Scotticism inside something.
28 Chain letter (19th in series) gutted mean king (8)
Wordplay is a 2+3+2 where the final element is clearly signalled. The definition might have benefited from an “instance thereof” indicator.
30 Bloodthirsty people from Ayr in outer room clipped strong box (8)
Oh, those Scots with their quaint words for things. Wordplay is 3+4, where the 2nd element is incomplete. I actually worked this out from the endgame in which I was missing the final alias part.
33 Short passage intended for take-off at rear of airport to the west (7)
Unusual vocabulary again requiring the BRB. The wordplay is very verbose but parses into 3+1+2 where the last two elements change direction.
35 Ben for one and Edward briefly describing type of card game? (11)
One of my last clues solved. Ben often refers to a Scots mountain but can also mean something botanical and tropical.
37 King bats eyes at me with first bit of extra fine woollen cloth (10)
I didn’t know the specific wool: Chambers has dozens of options. Wordplay is 1+4+2+1 so, once I believed it, I just needed to insert the missing letter(s) – I had figured out the real names already – to come up with the answer.
Down
7 Another cuboid bone, done differently out of swelling lymph nodes (7)
Underlining here indicates we’re looking for an adjective. The wordplay is a subtractive anagram.
8 Did Major Mitchell bomb with a US soldier all over Germany? (9)
It took me a long time to understand the definition which my solving partner (jpeg) chased down via a Facebook citation – maybe there’s a more canonic reference. And in fact it does turn out that can be found in the BRB. Wordplay is a reversal of 1+2+3 followed by a one-letter abbreviation.
23 Works up suspect to admit deed (7)
Wordplay is straightforward containment – I’m only noting here that this is another example of esoteric vocabulary.
26 Bridge partners in card game defeat decline (6)
Wordplay is 2+3 where the 3-letter word is the headword with the most definitions in Chambers I believe.
29 Turned obstinate shortening symbol used in manuscripts etc. (6)
Unfamiliar vocabulary par excellence since it’s not in Chambers as a headword. Fortunately there’s an easily accessible online Collins.
Definitions in clues are underlined
Since, as I mentioned, I’d had an idea about the theme early on, once the message started to emerge, I just used Google to confirm (the real names were not familiar to me but the aliases were). This meant that I knew the missing letters and thus could accelerate solving. I needed the BRB even more than usual given the volume of unfamiliar vocabulary. However, I was so sure of my highlighting that I didn’t even bother to count to 26. I will end by saying that the final scene involving the two BUDDIES made quite an impression on me at a very impressionable age.
Toughness: 2 out of 4 on the difficulty scale
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.
Thanks for the hints, but I can see no underlining..
I had much the same experience of this as you did Gabriel, except that I only twigged the theme once about a third of clues were solved – bits of the real names were enough to Google. That said, I found the clues pretty fiendish until I knew what the missing letters were likely to be. A lot of them were very cleverly done but drew on some deeply hidden fundamentals of the English Lang. The grid search was a cinch, for a change, which made the actual end-game consist of completing the last half of the clues.
Thanks for the hints, though not needed, and AOH for the challenge.