A Puzzle by Cigogne
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
As usual, the setter will be delighted to receive feedback from you, the solvers. We do ask that you remember that for most setters this is a new experience, so please only offer constructive criticism.
Welcome back to Cigogne after more than a year since their first crossword. This was enjoyable with some nice touches to the clues. There were a few technical issues but the commentometer is a nice low 2/26 or 7.7%.
Across
5a Boobs revealed without opening her bra at back (6)
ERRATA: Remove (without opening) the initial letters of her bra and follow with a reversal (back) of the at from the clue.
7a Power tool repurposed as a winch (8)
CHAINSAW: An anagram (repurposed) of AS A WINCH.
9a Group of ships appearing in Much Ado about Nothing? On the contrary! (8)
FLOTILLA: A two-letter abbreviation for nothing around a three-letter word meaning much and a three-letter word meaning ado or trouble.
10a Visit medic briefly to sound off (4,2)
DROP IN: A two-letter abbreviation for doctor followed by a five-letter word meaning to sound off without the last letter (briefly).
11a After more Gazan violence, initially America’s miscalculation is spectacular (12)
EXTRAVAGANZA: A five-letter word meaning more followed by (after) an anagram (miscalculation) of GAZAN V (violence initially) A (America). Where nouns are used as anagram indicators, you need a structure such as organization of. I think that the ‘s miscalculation works though I am not overly keen on it.
13a We’re told where to wash up together (2,4)
IN SYNC: A homophone (we’re told) of in sink (where to wash up).
15a Sadly, Bardot’s short of time to make film (6)
ADSORB: An anagram (sadly) of BARDOTS after removing the T (short of time).
18a Knowledge of current and old-fashioned dances unlimited (12)
ACQUAINTANCE: The abbreviation for alternating current followed by a five-letter word meaning old fashioned and the inner letters (unlimited) of dances.
21a Companion leaves German country house for Black Forest? (6)
GATEAU: The abbreviation for German and a seven-letter word for a country house without (leaves) the abbreviation for companion.
22a Top Cat entertaining, suitable for children, having censored a violent act (8)
UPPERCUT: A five-letter word meaning top followed by the CAT from the clue after adding (entertaining) the film classification meaning suitable for children and removing (having censored) the A from the clue.
23a Wise Man bearing Spice and Gold, welcoming Him shortly (8)
MELCHIOR: The name 3,1 of one of the Spice Girls and the heraldic term for gold around (welcoming) the him from the clue without the final letter. I don’t think that Spice on it’s own is sufficient to identify one of the Spice Girls. Perhaps having would be better than bearing here to separate the definition from the wordplay otherwise it looks like spice and gold are both part of the definition and part of the wordplay.
24a Travels slowly through Winchester (6)
INCHES: The answer is hidden (through) in the final word of the clue.
Down
1d Big Fish artist receives acknowledgement (5,3)
MANTA RAY: The name 3,3 of an artist (coincidently the creator of a sculpture called “Big Fish”) includes (receives) a two-letter word of acknowledgement.
2d Periodical covers the French, opposed to railway (6)
MAGLEV: A three-letter word for a periodical before (covers) the French masculine singular for the and the abbreviation for versus (opposed to).
3d Wasted Dinars on island (an island off Tunisia) (8)
SARDINIA: An anagram (waster) of DINARS followed by the abbreviation for island and an A (an).
4d Wool changing hands in Southern African country (6)
ANGORA: The name of a Southern African country with the L changed to an R (changing hands). Be careful where the wordplay could apply to either side of the clue. Here either the wool or the country could justifiably be the definition.
6d Easy telling X to take over Tesla (8)
RELAXING: An eight-letter word meaning telling with the T (Tesla) replaced by an X.
7d Price of Light Brigade’s ill-fated adventure (6)
CHARGE: Double definition.
8d Like baking naked (4)
AKIN: The inner letters (naked) of baking.
12d Mate, I hear you are appearing in revolutionary pamphlet (8)
BROCHURE: A three-letter diminutive term for a mate or brother followed by a homophone (I hear) of you are inside (appearing in) the three-letter name of a revolutionary.
14d Having no wok available, in the end prepare a quick oven dish (3,2,3)
COQ AU VIN: An anagram (prepare) of A QUICK OVEN after removing the K and E (having no wok available in the end).
16d Plant fake diamond (8)
SHAMROCK: A four-letter word meaning fake followed by a four-letter word for a diamond.
17d Cat that purrs? (6)
JAGUAR: Double definition. Perhaps slightly tenuous second definition. Maybe “one that purrs when moving” would be better.
18d Maybe solicitors offering free will (6)
AGENCY: Double definition.
19d Wipe down leather, perhaps, removing bit of stain (6)
NAPKIN: A three-letter word meaning down (as a covering on something) and a four-letter word for what leather is an example of removing the S (bit of stain).
20d Market town in Cheshire, once (4)
SALE: Double definition.
Thanks Cigogne for a pangram and a reference to Dirty Dancing, quite a while since we saw those in your first Rookie.
The homophone in 2d usually attracts some comments; I wonder if we will see any here.
I couldn’t decide if the possessive apostrophe in 22d should be before the S or if addiction should be pluralised but eventually decided that it seems to work ‘as is.’
Smiles for 6a, 15a, 3d, and 17d.
Thanks again and thanks in advance to Prolixic.
Senf, it doesn’t look like you’ve solved the same puzzle as me!
I have no idea what happened but I appear to have re-solved Cigogne’s first Rookie.
So, ignore all my comments.
Welcome back to RC, Cigogne. This pangram was a puzzle of two halves for me. The top half was nicely challenging but I found the bottom half very tough indeed and it was with a sense of relief that I finally struggled over the finishing line.
There were a lot of clever ideas on show but I have a few comments:
10a – this is far from a homophone for me, and I wonder if anyone would think it is.
15a – presumably “sadly” appears somewhere in a list of anagram indicators, but I don’t like it.
23a – is “Spice” sufficient to define Mel C?
2d – I’ve never heard of this word and needed to check if the fifth letter was an E or an A.
4d – I don’t think you need “Southern”.
17d – I assume “that purrs” refers to the car, but this seems rather tenuous to me.
18d – I can’t see what part “offering free will” is playing in this clue.
Thanks Cigogne, and thanks in advance to Prolixic.
I don’t think there’s a homophone in 10a.
Ah yes, thanks, Gazza. My rubbish parsing was DR (doctor briefly) followed by a “homophone” of OPINE with “sound off” doing double duty.
Objection withdrawn!
I suppose 17d is a little tenuous. There are several car models named after cats – Jaguar, Cougar, Puma, Wildcat, Tiger – and they all have engines that “purr”. But only two have six letters, so not too difficult to suss out. Since all cats purr maybe the clue would have been better as: Car that purrs? (6)
A pretty tough puzzle (especially at the bottom) which I enjoyed a lot – thanks to Cigogne.
I don’t understand the ‘free will’ bit of 18d and I agree with RD that 17d is pretty tenuous if it’s the car that’s being referred to.
Lots of clever clues to enjoy including 5a, 9a, 22a, 23a, 1d and 12d.
I took 18d to be a double definition with the clue split 2/3. The second one can mean: power to initiate actions/exert influence (or free will/the answer).
I really enjoyed this – nicely knotty in places. There’s some vocab, for sure – e.g. 15a, 23a, 2d – but nowt too outlandish. 5a’s nicely built and 23a’s “spice” is fun. 14d and 20d are both great. I actually quite liked 18d – great surface. I think the synonym *just* about holds water but a question mark wouldn’t have hurt.
9a’s a tad gnarly – the “ado” made me twitch slightly, but it works.
11a – I don’t like that anagram indicator.
22a – the comma after “entertaining” made me a little uneasy.
3d – yes, one does sees it but “an” > “a” always gives me the fear. That may just be me, of course.
17d – I’ve got to agree with others – it’s a bit of an -ish.
But … very smartly done, bravo. Ta lots.
A fine puzzle which provided me with a toughish but very enjoyable tussle. I guess that others will detect a few technical issues and although I’ve completed the puzzle there are a couple of parsings I haven’t quite resolved. Generally good clues and I particularly liked 7a. Not too sure about 17d. It’s pretty easy to guess the answer even without any checkers but very indirect. All cats purr but there are only two 6-letter cars named after cats that have engines that “purr”. So, Car that purrs? (6) might have been better. Or is there something we’ve all missed with this clue?
Welcome back, Cigogne.
I thought this to be excellent for the most part with generally great surfaces although, unlike certain other solvers, I encountered more difficulty at the top of the grid than the bottom. I agree on 17d being weak/unconvincing and I’m firmly in the camp of disliking nouns plonked at the end of anagram fodder as anagram indicators (as in 11a). 11a was also teetering on the edge of being too political, in my opinion. I don’t think 21a quite works as it stands, “companion leaves country house for German Black Forest” might be better.
Overall, definitely a puzzle of which the setter can be justifiably proud. My podium choices are 5a, 10a and 13a.
Many thanks and congratulations, Cigogne.
Nice to see another puzzle from you, Cigogne. I found it quite tough in places and did need to check on my answers for 15a&2d, both of which I’d come across previously but obviously managed to forget! I did have some trouble with 18a where I thought ‘formation dancing’ might play a part but a few checkers showed me the error of my ways.
My pick of the clues includes 10,13,21&23a plus 1,6&16d but I think the tweak suggested by Silvanus would improve the read of 21a and, like RD, I’m not sure that you need ‘southern’ in 4d.
I look forward to reading the analysis from Prolixic and hope you’ll soon be back with another compilation.
Thank you Cigogne, we enjoyed your puzzle. The bottom half took us longer and Mr G helped with 15a and 2d, new words to us. Favourites were 5a, 10a and 16d. We look forward to your next one. Thanks also to Prolixic.
Thank you all for the feedback.
11a: anagrind is ‘ ‘s miscalculation’ (i.e. ‘miscalculation of’ (GAZAN + V[iolence] + A)), rather than just ‘miscalculation’. Either way, it’s not great. Interesting comment from Silvanus about the potential for editorialising political content. I’d hoped that this could be read in a way which might play reasonably well to those on either side of this divisive issue but I guess that there are always risks in playing with topical content.
15a: yes, ‘sadly’ does appear on some anagrind lists. For me, it’s not so far different from ‘unfortunately’, which seems to be used quite commonly and which also appears on Clue Clinic.
21a: I like Silvanus’s suggested tweak.
23a: I thought that ‘spice’ (all lower-case) probably wouldn’t be enough, hence the capitalisation
2d: Fair point that the wordplay indicates two possibilities for a relatively unfamiliar word. I’d be interested to try a maglav!
4d: I agree with Rabbit Dave that ‘Southern’ is unnecessary, and probably more a hindrance than a help
17d: Yes, it’s probably the weakest link here, back to the drawing board. Feedback suggests it’s solvable but unsatisfying, rather than unsolvable.
18d: Intended as a double definition, as Jose has identified (although with ‘offering’ as a link rather than a part of the second definition). First definition was intended as whimsical (hence ‘maybe’), to mean ‘those who solicit’ (i.e. in line with one North American usage). Maybe a US indication would have been better.
I thought both north & south tough but certainly chewier in the nether regions. 2d&15a new to me too. In my view an extremely accomplished puzzle that kicked off with a cracker at 5a. I had ✅s against a good number of clues – 9,11,13&23a plus 12&14d.
Many thanks Cigogne
Many thanks for the review, Prolixic. I certainly needed it for a couple of bits of parsing – 14&19d – both of which I still find rather unconvincing! Looks as though Cigogne will be moving ‘upstairs’ soon at this rate.
Thank you Prolixic for the review, the comments are very helpful.