EV 1720 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1720 (Hints)

Failure by Chalicea

Hints and tips by Phibs

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Hard on the heels of Curmudgeon’s Shambles, we have a Failure from her alter ego, Chalicea. I asked ChatGPT, “The theme of a crossword setter’s recent puzzle called ‘Shambles’ was the Charge of the Light Brigade. Their latest puzzle is called ‘Failure’, and apparently concerns the failure of a plan. What might that plan be?”

After thinking for 55 seconds (possibly phoning a friend), ChatGPT just gave me more details about the Charge of the Light Brigade. That was no help at all, so I tried Claude with the same question. The answer (somewhat abridged below) was rather more interesting.

Given the pattern from the previous puzzle, where “Shambles” → Charge of the Light Brigade (a famous military disaster), I’d expect “Failure” to reference another historically significant failed plan. The most likely candidate is the Gunpowder Plot (1605) – Guy Fawkes and fellow conspirators’ failed attempt to blow up Parliament. This fits well because:

• • It’s one of the most famous “failed plans” in British history
  • Like the Light Brigade, it’s deeply embedded in British cultural memory
  • It’s commonly referred to as the “Gunpowder Plot” or “Gunpowder Conspiracy” – emphasizing it as a plan that failed
  • It would provide rich crossword material (Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby, November 5th, “Remember remember,” cellar, barrels, treason, Parliament, etc.)

Other possibilities might include:

• • The Bay of Pigs invasion (1961)
  • — redacted —
  • The Schlieffen Plan (WWI)

The second of these ‘other possibilities’ has been redacted for a good reason.

Preamble: The wordplay in each clue leads to an extra letter in addition to those needed for the answer. Read in clue order these give 11 words describing the FAILURE of 13, a plan conceived by 15d. 1 across was 1,6,3,3, which solvers must highlight. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended

Chalicea usually gives us a single clueing gimmick, and that is what we have here, the wordplay in every clue leading to the answer plus an extra letter. So if the clue were “Setter: ‘C. Grant originally A. Leach, I fancy’ (8)”, rearranging the letters of C G(rant) A LEACH I gives us CHALICEA (the answer) plus an extra G, which is the letter that forms part of the message. Note that for the purposes of this gimmick, the term ‘wordplay’ can refer to a second definition (not of the answer, but of a word which is the answer plus one letter).

Across

12a  Boyhood mood exposed desperate cry for attention (6)
Two words in the clue must be ‘exposed’ (in the sense of being deprived of cover) before becoming ‘desperate’.

21a  Good commodities for barter including base, finally malign weapons (8)
There are two single-letter abbreviations and a single-letter selection from a word in the clue involved in the wordplay, but the key element is a six-letter (before deductions) word meaning ‘commodities for barter’ or ‘deals’.

23a    Most convoluted bizarre tests with skill at heart involved (9)
At first blush it looks as though there are anagram indicators at both the start and end of the wordplay, but if you imagine a comma being placed between ‘with’ and ‘skill’, then the instruction is to place a single letter from a word in the clue inside a nine-letter anagram.

39a  Giant bygone Bastille prisoner not socially acceptable (4)
The ‘Bastille prisoner’ is a six-letter word for “a prisoner, especially a political prisoner in India”, which Chambers shows as ‘French’ (ie not assimilated into the English language); this is why the ‘Bastille’ is necessary. This word suffers two losses, the first of these indicated by the remainder of the wordplay. The answer (a noun) is shown by Chambers as ‘archaic’, hence the ‘bygone’.

40a  Depressing aged fissures (5)
The wordplay here is a charade of a four-letter word for ‘depressing’ (as we are sometimes told that it is ‘up north’) and a two-letter abbreviation for a Latin word meaning ‘aged’, as in ‘aged 13¾’.

Down

17d  Regretted upset about retrograde excessive deviation (6)
There are only five words in the wordplay, but two of them are reversal indicators and another is a containment indicator. The ‘excessive’ leads to a three-letter (initially) abbreviation.

19d  Head of Armani coming in to see French fur (4)
The important part of this wordplay is the ‘to see French’, being the French word meaning ‘to see’.

24d  Cultivate most of the opposite of wealth for Ruskin (5)
Here a four-letter (to start with) word is followed by a pair of letters from a word in plain view. The answer was used by Ruskin to mean the reverse of ‘wealth’ in its sense of ‘wellbeing’, but strangely didn’t catch on.

26d  Watery membranes relax worriers now and then in retreat (7)
The key to this clue is the four-letter word meaning ‘relax’, as you might relax your grip on something.

28d Misgiving central to extremes of seasonal storm (6)
A five-letter word (which will supply the extra letter) must be placed in the middle of two letters selected from a word in the clue.

Definitions in clues are underlined

The unclued entry at 15d has only one letter unchecked by clued answers, and will surely become clear at some point during the grid fill – this should give a good steer towards the ‘failure’ in question. The entry at 13a will confirm this, and should enable you to complete 1a. You are unlikely to need the help of the message, but if you do then a Google search for the text in its entirety will return just a single result. There is a reason why the Chalicea Line in a square grid is so named, and if you are seeking a thirteen letter phrase then there is only one place to start your search. Highlight the thirteen cells, and it’s job done.

As we expect from Chalicea, there was a wealth of thematic material included in the puzzle. ChatGPT recorded nul points, but one of Claude’s options turned out to be bang on, identifying not just the entry at 13 but also the (1,6,3,3) phrase. Bravo, Claude!

Phibs Toughness Rating : 🥾/🥾🥾 (Suitable for all, parental guidance not required)

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