EV 1752 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1752 (Hints)

Double Crests by Luxor

Hints and tips by Phibs

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After Claude’s problems with the primates of EV 1750, I gave him a chance to redeem himself, asking, “In a themed crossword puzzle, we are told that we must find the title of a work featuring ‘double crests’ and the name of the series of which it is part. Can you suggest what the work/series might be?”

Claude’s response was swift.

“What a fun cryptic clue! “Double crests” is a clever hint — crests can mean peaks, tops, or in heraldry, the device above a shield… but in wordplay, “crest” can also suggest the letter at the top of something. Think of it this way: a “double crest” = two letters that form a “peak” or “crown” shape — which points strongly to the letter A (which has a visual double-peaked crest). So “double crests” = AA. This suggests the work contains “AA” in its title — and one very elegant answer for a themed crossword would be “Baa Baa Black Sheep” — but more likely “The AA Milne” connection — or most elegantly: “Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne — part of the Pooh series

Here, the “double crests” = A.A. (the two initial letters of A.A. Milne), and the series would be the Winnie-the-Pooh books. The individual works in the series include Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, Now We Are Six, and When We Were Very Young.”

Somehow I’m not convinced.

Preamble: Beginning at square number 1 and reading clockwise, the unclued perimeter gives the name of a work featuring DOUBLE CRESTS, followed by the title of the series of which it is part. In two across clues, seven consecutive letters must be removed before solving, potentially with spaces adjusted. Each sequence can be rearranged to show the nature of one of the crests. In three down clues a word must be removed before solving. Read in clue order the first and last letters give the nature of the work. Solvers must highlight the name of the creator in the grid (seven cells). Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 9 is in Collins.

All but five clues are normal. Two across clues contain a sequence of seven letters which must be removed before the clue can be solved – if a clue were “Settee or chair covered by Benelux organisation (5)”, the consecutive letters EORCHAI must be removed to leave “Setter covered by Benelux organisation”, the answer being LUXOR. In three down clues, a single word must be removed – if a clue were “Setter involved in abnormal uxorial practices (5)”, the word ‘practices’ would have to be removed before the clue could properly be solved; note that the word ‘engaged’ is superfluous, but the clue is entirely solvable while it remains.

Across

10a  Coming from the east purloin invented language for island (6)
It is just the three-letter word meaning ‘purloin’ which is ‘coming from the east’, while the language was created in 1961 by Belgian diplomat Arturo Alfandari.

11a  Turns kale evenly over pasta (not soft) in free chow perhaps? (8)
Four letters selected at regular intervals from two words in the clue surround the name of a type of pasta, missing a single-letter abbreviation. The definition is clever, but because the answer is an intransitive verb it really ought to be ‘free (chow, perhaps)’.

17a  Obligations to follow dwarf breeds dismissing ordinary arctic seabirds (7)
One four-letter word follows another one, which has been shorn of a single-letter abbreviation.

19a  Continuous flow of air’s awful at first doused in strong scent (5)
The wordplay (1 letter into 4) isn’t too challenging, but the definition is a crafty one – ‘Continuous flow of airs’ would perhaps have been more accurate, though it would also have been less deceptive.

23a  Idleness at home certain to be exposed when start of action’s postponed (7)
The key element of the wordplay is on view in the clue but must undergo two manipulations, the ‘postponement’ involving a letter being moved towards the end.

27a  Bust main looms over front of ruined towers (7)
The convention of underlining the definition may be particularly helpful for this 1+1+5 charade.

30a  Once upon a time daunting old woman repelled horrible giant (7)
A reversal plus an anagram yields a word shown by Chambers as ‘archaic’, hence the ‘once upon a time’.

Down

3d  Skin blisters not starting with temperature in disease affecting herd (10)
In the wordplay, a four-letter word is followed first by a six-letter word missing its first letter and then by a single-letter abbreviation.

6d  One ancient conservationist snubbed buffalo (4)
The ‘ancient conservationist’ was responsible for saving an unknown, but even, number of animals (hurrah!).

7d  Medicinal herb pruned so without real worth (7)
Two four-letter words, the first deprived of its last letter, combine to produce the answer.

9d  Two singletons rejected forlorn US natives (7)
It is the word meaning ‘forlorn’ which is reversed (‘rejected’), not the singletons.

15d  Oddly unpick a past euphemism surrounding convention (10)
This is quite a tricky clue, made trickier by a stowaway. ‘Past euphemism’ leads to a euphemism for ‘bloody’, shown by Chambers as ‘old slang’, and very much part of Bertie Wooster’s vocabulary (“All right, Jeeves,” I said. “You know! Give the [blasted] thing away to somebody!”, the prelude to his hideous check suit being gifted to the under-gardener in Jeeves Takes Charge).

36d  Informally discuss Tailless Dog Society (4)
The dog is a type of mastiff originally developed in Japan and possessing four letters including its tail.

Definitions in clues are underlined

Having identified the two groups of seven letters, you will find that each group can only be rearranged in one way to produce a single dictionary word. The first of these should point you in the right direction, and those first/last letters from the three stowaways in the down clues should confirm the theme. The work in question is surely the most famous of its type, although a bit of googling may be required in order to get the exact title and the name of the series. There’s only one instance of the third letter of the creator’s name in the main part of the grid, which makes finding that name pretty straightforward. Highlight those seven cells, and it’s job done.

Some quite tricky clues, and a reduction in checked letters because of the perimeter message, but the absence of gimmicks from all but five clues meant that steady progress could be maintained. The signposting of the endgame was more than adequate.

Phibs Toughness Rating : 🥾🥾🥾 (Far from trivial, but suitable for all except barred puzzle novices)

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