A Puzzle by Chalicea
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid
A choice of fish for your Saturday lunch with another opportunity to trawl the BRB for alternative definitions of words you may or may not know
Across
6a Helper's joint; position for one giving support (13)
ASSISTANTSHIP: Helper’s and a joint of the body
8a Exclusive N Atlantic shipping forecast area (4)
SOLE: Double definition
9a This first-class wine can produce merrier cup (7,3)
PREMIER CRU: The first-class wine is an anagram (can produce) of MERRIER CUP and vice-versa
10a Have difficulties when line is adopted by originator (8)
FLOUNDER: The abbreviation for Line ‘adopted’ by an originator
12a Sport to talk about interminably (6)
DISCUS: A verb meaning to talk about without its final letter (interminably)
14a Regularly sluice out place (4)
LIEU: The regular letters of sLuIcE oUt
16a Takes shaky glide (5)
SKATE: An anagram (shaky) of TAKES
17a Aggressive remark in pub over first of beer (4)
BARB: A pub followed by the first letter of Beer - over is usually used in Down clues to indicate that one part of the wordplay goes above another. Perhaps before would have been a better choice here
18a Mottled multi-coloured yarn in small rope for winding round larger one (6)
MARLIN: Mottled multi-coloured yarn and IN (from the clue)
19a Old Welsh musical instrument for sailor's dance (8)
HORNPIPE: Double definition
22a So I'd tip her cunningly for top newspaper job (10)
EDITORSHIP: An anagram (cunningly) of SO ID TIP HER
25a Grumble about piece of Mascarpone (4)
CARP: Hidden in a piece of masCARPone
26a Cheesed off? With stomach more than full? (3,2,3,5)
FED TO THE TEETH: This informal expression meaning cheesed off might describe eating a lot more than their stomach could hold
Down
1d Pursue, alas, sadly, in the habitual manner (2,3,5)
AS PER USUAL: An anagram (sadly) of PURSUE ALAS
2d Somewhat poor-do positively upset a woodlouse, say (6)
ISOPOD: Hidden in reverse (upset) in poor-DO POSItively
3d Not at first disturb stability of local rack for drying cheese (4)
HAKE: Disturb the stability of without its first letter produces an alternative spelling for a dialect (local) name for a rack for drying cheese
4d Adopt non-committal position towards singular, essentially testing, puzzling question (8)
STRIDDLE: I’d never heard of this splendid word before but I’m certainly going to try and fit it into a conversation! The abbreviation for Singular, the ‘essential’ letter of tesTing and a puzzling question
5d Cup of tea for lady who cleans? (4)
CHAR: Double definition
6d An inflamed swelling bubbling over (5)
ABOIL: A (from the clue) and an inflamed swelling
7d One following improper usurper (7)
PURSUER: An anagram (improper) of USURPER
11d Partially broaches concave curve in foot of sail (5)
ROACH: Hidden in part of bROACHes
13d Replaces muscles involving, that is, partial division of a group (10)
SUBSPECIES: An informal way of saying replaces, and some muscles into which is inserted (involving) the abbreviation meaning that is
15d Coming to rescue - of India, maybe? (2,3,2)
IN AID OF: An anagram (maybe) of OF INDIA
16d Run of ops curiously unable to be harmed by ultra-violet radiation (8)
SUNPROOF: An anagram (curiously) of RUN OF OPS
20d Fame of ram turning up in Scottish yard for wintering cattle (6)
REPUTE: A reversed (turning up) male sheep inserted into a Scottish enclosure for over-wintering cattle
21d Measure rod for bird to alight on (5)
PERCH: Double definition
23d Flood of feeling to happen in times gone by (4)
TIDE: A flood of feeling or an archaic (in times gone by) verb meaning to happen
24d Big laugh of couple of Charlies leaving dance (2-2)
HA-HA: Both the letters represented by Charlie in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet ‘leaving’ the name of a ballroom dance
This is the grid Chalicea sent to MrK with the crossword for publication. I am therefore somewhat confused as to why she and others now think there are 11 fish. I did toy with including IDE from 23d but as all the other fish are found in whole solutions, I decided it wasn't part of the theme.
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A delightfully fishy, 9 by my count, NTSPP from Chalicea.
A lot of anagrams? But I lost count.
Smiles for 8a, 10a, 26a, and 20d.
Thanks to Chalicea and in advance to CS.
It turns out that I can’t count. I had highlighted ten ‘fishy’ answers but, for reasons I cannot explain, when I counted them up I ‘stopped’ at nine. Now, with some reference to the Crimson Tome, I have found the eleventh!
Thanks again Chalicea.
I started very badly. I read 6a and immediately wrote in “associateship” which messed up a lot of the top half of the grid for me until I realised I needed a different answer.
There were a lot of fish – I counted 11 – and several things I had never heard of requiring frequent reference to my BRB. I didn’t know the mottled yarn in 18a; the idiom in 26a (I have heard of “fed up to the back teeth”, but not this abbreviated version); the rack for drying cheese in 3d; and the answer to 4d.
One question: is over OK to mean before in an across clue as in 17a?
Thanks to Chalicea for the enjoyable lunchtime entertainment.
A tricky little number, but very enjoyable. The drying rack at 3d is a new one for me as is 4d; both needed confirmation. I too have nine fish. My favourite clue was 13d. Thanks to Chalicea.
Yes, Rabbit Dave, I had put 11 in there. I suspected that they would be difficult to find. I’m glad my fishy thing is going down well.
Several new words and a little help needed with starter letters but very enjoyable nonetheless. Thank you Chalicea. We weren’t familiar with ‘fed of the teeth’ only ‘fed up to the back teeth’. Also the word for a drying rack was unknown as was the answer to 18a. Thanks also in advance to CS.
I liked this puzzle a whole lot more than the Saturday back pager … which I will say no more about as my mother always said if you have nothing nice to say …
Had a lot of fun with this Chalicea offering and I found all 11 fish too.
Thanks to Chalicea for the enjoyment and in advance thanks to CS
That had us and our BRB working hard, but it was a most enjoyable piscatorial expedition.
Many thanks Chalicea.
Good fun 1d with a Chalicea themed puzzle.
Ditto me re the 4 things unfamiliar to the Rabbit. I only found 10 fish so will have another gander. Had some rather splendid turbot in an excellent restaurant in Mallorca the other night so had hoped that one might have made an appearance but not to be.
Many thanks
An enjoyable solve with a readily spotted theme – not that I spotted all the piscine entries. I guessed what 3dn had to be but needed a hunt through the BRB to confirm it, and similarly for 4dn. As for the 11th fish, could this be something of a ghostly extra? There is a fish called a caplin which would fit the crossing letters (but not, of course, the clue) for 18ac.
Thanks, Chalicea and CS.
The 11 fish I found are those highlighted in the diagram at the bottom of CS’s review, so I assume the final comment “10 fish appeared as ghost theme” is a misprint.
Maths never was my strong point
You’re right, RD – I’ve counted again. Maybe my ghostly extra could be a 12th.
CS, your fish were an impressive set. I had no idea what some of them looked like. Many thanks.
Not a great crossword for bedtime solving as I needed to use too much screen time on my smart phone! [I would tell my grand-daughter off for doing that.] My ‘floundering’ around also resulted in missing the all too obvious theme
If I had noted the theme I would have twigged 3d, despite not knowing the ‘rack for drying cheese’. Instead, I guessed at a word not listed in Collins Online – ‘HASE’, reckoning it might be the alternative spelling for FAZE losing P. Caveat – not all words used by Chalicea have an entry in Collins Online! Ditto the 18a ‘rope’ where I guessed at RATLIN, not knowing either the ‘yarn’ or the particular type of ‘rope’. I really must keep in mind that spotting themes and Ninas can be an aid to solving! Further education came from the 4d ‘position’, the 11d ‘curve’ and the 20d ‘Scottish yard’. Like Hilton, my use of the 26a phrase includes both ‘up’ and ‘back’.
So, overall, my cup ended up feeling half empty rather than half full. I will set about Chalicea’s next NTSPP when I’m more awake!
Thanks to Chalicea for compiling a nice puzzle that I’m sorry I failed to appreciate properly, and to CS for tidying up my several loose ends. Note to self – must do better
Spartacus, we have an ‘official’ dictionary that most setters use – the Chambers 2016. Indeed, I like to use Collins and the ODE and Mrs Bradford’s Crossword Solvers Dictionary, but technically we should be able to justify anything that isn’t a proper noun in Chambers and that goes for most crosswords – the Listener, back-pagers, the EV, IQ, Magpie and Crossword Club crosswords, for example, as well as the NTSPP.
The ‘BRB’ is indeed regularly mentioned in dispatches in these parts. As for me – perhaps it is case of a poor workman blaming his tools
Thanks, again, Chalicea!