A Puzzle by Dabrite
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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.
Dabrite ploughs a lonely furrow with their crosswords. Repeatedly, people comment on the obscurity of the some of the solutions or the level of general knowledge required. Even if the technical aspects of the clues are OK (and many were), solving becomes an uphill struggle. In this crossword, having a theme where many of the solutions were then clued by alternative definitions (for example 22a) or having obscure words with definitions that are unhelpful in the extreme (for example 16d) or specialist general knowledge (for example the nickname in 11a) made solving an exercise in futility. When only four people have commented and three of them have not even fully solved the crossword or even attempted to do so, something is seriously wrong. Even though the commentometer is 4/30 or 13.3%, the main issues with this crossword were not with the technical aspects of the clues themselves but the balance between what is fair and reasonable and what is just too obscure to be justifiably included.
Across
1a Cobblers research point of dancing (13)
TERPSICHOREAN: An anagram (cobblers) of RESEARCH POINT.
8a China has great deal for sea dog (7)
MATELOT: A four-letter word for a friend (China) followed by a three-letter word for a great deal.
9a Fellow women charge nurse and nun (7)
SISTERS: Double definition, the second each being an example of the answer.
11a Marc Riley seen running around Snake River port (8)
LARBOARD: The nickname of the radio DJ Marc Riley around a three-letter word for a snake and the abbreviation for river. I think that knowing the nickname of an old DJ required too much specialist general knowledge.
12a Woodlouse‘s harsh critic (6)
SLATER: Double definition, the first being a Scottish or northern term. The first definition is a Scottish or Northern dialect word so this ideally should have been indicated.
13a Look down on poetry in Old English (7)
OVERSEE: A five-letter word for poetry inside the abbreviations for old and English.
15a Old homosexual relating to an ice giant, perhaps (7)
URANIAN: Double definition.
17a Not Latin prefix for 9? (3)
NON: Double definition.
18a Greek leaving Capital of the Alps around noon to confer with Grace (7)
ENNOBLE: Remove the abbreviation for Greek from Grenoble (capital of the Alps) and put the remaining letters around the abbreviation for noon.
19a Swear about flipping key’s type of steel (7)
CUTLASS: A four-letter word meaning swear around a reversal (flipping) of the name of a key on a computer keyboard.
20a Lucifer – not Charlie, for a change – hot under the collar (6)
IREFUL: An anagram (for a change) of LUCIFER after removing the abbreviation for Charlie.
22a Pile coal in a heap for steam organ (8)
CALLIOPE: An anagram (in a heap) of PILE COAL.
25a Carpenter’s herb is panacea (4-3)
HEAL-ALL: Double definition.
26a Last laugh garnered by tired and emotional Latina comic (7)
THALIAN: The last letter of laugh inside (garnered) by an anagram (tired and emotional) of LATINA.
27a Scottish Government has gambling establishment in royal palace (13)
HOLYROODHOUSE: An eight-letter word for the Scottish government followed by a five-letter word for a gambling house.
Down
2d Middle Eastern queen not run over in European musical (9)
EUTERPEAN: The middle letter of eastern and the two-letter regnal cipher for the late queen replace the abbreviations for run and over in the European in the clue. I don’t think that the clue quite works to tell the solver to replace one set of letters with another.
3d First person in German supermini to get infantile paralysis (5)
POLIO: The letter representing the first person in a four-letter word for the car that is known as the German supermini.
4d Online world not quite embracing day of victory for referee (9)
INTERVENE: An eight-letter word for the on-line world without the final letter (not quite) includes (embracing) the initials for the day on which victory in Europe is marked.
5d Columbian hotels bound to be quiet (4)
HUSH: A two-letter abbreviation for Columbian inside (bound) the abbreviation for hotel twice.
6d Attendant on time to welcome Muslim ruler (9)
RESULTANT: A two-letter word meaning on and the abbreviation for time include (to welcome) a six-letter word for a Muslim ruler.
7d Ace cadet in the pink taking exercise (5)
ADEPT: The inner-letters (in the pink or naked) of cadet followed by the abbreviation for physical training (exercise).
8d Tragic Frenchman and The Spanish Herald aboard capsized ship (11)
MELPOMENISH: The abbreviation for monsieur (Frenchman) and the Spanish for the followed by a four-letter word meaning herald or auger inside (aboard) an anagram (capsized) of ship. The solution is not given as a word in Chambers, Collins or the OED.
10d Well, Old Bob took young ‘un to be the Boss! (11)
SPRINGSTEEN: A five-letter word for a well or source of water followed by the abbreviation for shilling (Old Bob) and a four-letter word for an adolescent.
14d Replace lines about Stubbs perhaps belonging to this world (9)
SUBLUNARY: A three-letter word meaning substitute (replace) followed by an abbreviation for line and an abbreviation for railway (lines) around the first name of a person called Stubbs.
15d Rude chant about virgin (9)
UNCHARTED: An anagram (about) of RUDE CHANT.
16d One reporting 6 eager to be taken in Bible Studies 101? (9)
ISAGOGICS: The letter representing one and a homophone (reporting) of six (SICS) around include (to be taken in) a four-letter word meaning agog. To take an obscure word and simply call it Bible Studies 101 is taking obscurity to far.
21d Creator exposed enough for one of the 9 (5)
ERATO: An anagram (enough) of the inner letters (exposed) of CREATOR. I don’t think that enough is a valid anagram indicator.
23d Everyone turning up rejected working in treeless country of Latin America (5)
LLANO: A reversal (turning up) of a three-letter word for everyone followed by a reversal (rejected) of a two letter word meaning working.
24d Award for advertising about recycling oil (4)
CLIO: A single letter meaning about followed by a reversal (recycling) of oil.
The solutions reference the eight of the nine classical Greek muses: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (love poetry), Euterpe (music/lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (hymns/sacred poetry), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy)
Sorry, Dabrite, this was too tough to be enjoyable and I threw in the towel with less than half completed.
Of the clues I did solve, 10d appealed to me.
Please remember the old adage that a good cryptic crossword should be a battle between solver and setter which the solver eventually wins.
I was fortunate in that I considered we might have a theme right from solving the anagram at 1a, but I can see if you didn’t know the names of these particular 9as, then given the toughness of the majority of the clues, you would be in trouble. One of those crosswords where the solver doesn’t spot the simple friendly clues like 13a,19a and 10d because the brain has been befuddled by the difficult ones.
I got there in the end but would suggest that, if you are going to have a theme that many people wouldn’t know, you tailor the clues so that the solver has a chance to achieve a completed grid
Thanks Dabrite and, in advance, to Prolixic
Having read the previous comments from very experienced solvers, I decided not to solve the puzzle but to look at the solutions and see if I I had made the right decision or not. I definitely did. I’d call it a “Super Toughie” level puzzle, which is not helped by the fact that the first definition for 12a is listed either as a dialect word or an antipodean one, but there is no indicator whatsoever, and I can’t find 8d in either Collins or Chambers.
The puzzle seems to be fairly sound technically, but if the difficulty level is cranked up so much that there is little to no enjoyment factor in tackling it, I think that a massive own-goal has been scored. Sorry, not one for me, Dabrite.
Having read the three comments above I too decided not to tackle this one. If that trio found it over-difficult then what chance would I have? I did, however, have a good look at the clues/answers and it does seem to be equivalent to a Friday Toughie with plenty of obscurity. There are some really good clues though and I particularly like 11a – a cracking Toughie-calibre clue! I remember Mark (Radcliffe) & Lard from Radio 1 30 years ago. I wonder how many solvers would remember Mark Riley at all, never mind his sobriquet Lard? Well done, anyway.
Lard is one of the few pieces of general knowledge I did know in this puzzle — I’d much rather a Radio 1 breakfast DJ from the 90s than some of the things crossword solvers are expected to know!
Agreed!