Sunday Toughie No 225
by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Chaotic in the Beehive this weekend, but solar panels are now installed and just the scaffolding to be removed. I struggled to parse 11a and may have missed something in my Ham and 22a Stottie Cake, but it is time to go out for coffee with the Queen Bee.
I have hinted half of 14a and 14d clues but will try and give a nudge if required.
Here we go, Folks…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments, but you have all been so well-behaved that the red pencil is likely to remain in retirement.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of Useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.
Across
1a Spooner’s one not revealing partner that’s web-user under cover (5,6)
A marital partner and one who doesn’t reveal is given the Spooner treatment
8a Zoom with AI character and fine team player (3,4)
To zoom along at great pace, the Artificial Intelligence created by Arthur C Clarke for 2001 A Space Odyssey and a fine pencil abbreviation
10a A group receiving tips for cardiovascular exercise (2,6)
A from the clue and an informal grouping contain the tips of CardiovasculaR
11a Object returned, carried by stray hairy beast (6)
I had a plausible answer early doors, but the parsing came on the night bus! An object or goal is reversed and is carried by a straying from God’s path
14a Party protecting popular revolutionary fellows ultimately against exile (10)
An informal party contains a reversal (revolutionary) of a popular synonym, followed by some fellows and the ultimate letter of against
22a Peach fruit cut as ingredient for stew, perhaps (5,3)
What you have to do to the peach to make it a suitable ingredient for stews
Also great in a Ham Stottie
26a Employees gathering got leader to definitively make improvements (4,7)
Employees gather a synonym of got and a leading letter
Down
1d Bean counter’s head lowered in carriage (7)
A carriage for Roman soldiers lowers its leading letter down the order
6d Get on case after second bit of evidence goes missing (7)
One of our usual ons or abouts and a small French case from which the second letter of evidence has been removed
7d After couple of drinks, play equipment to make dance song (3-3,5)
Two cups of tea and a trip to the kids playground may make you try this song and dance routine. I will spare you the earworm, but if you really want to have it in your head for the rest of the day, look up DJ Caspar
12d Somehow see such turmoil might be serendipitous (10)
When you find the definition in the middle it is probably a compound anagram. (somehow) – Somehow see and the answer we seek can be found in serendipitous
15d Comparatively wet week at lake with onset of rain (8)
An abbreviation of week, at from the clue, one of the Great Lakes and the onset of rain give a comparative term for wet or overdiluted
17d City’s luminosity inspiring when on top of Gherkin (7)
Luminosity contains (inspiring) a synonym of when and the top of Gherkin
According to Google Maps, the city we seek is actually 414 miles north of The Gherkin
20d American ready, tackling disheartened pal’s depression (6)
A small American coin contains what remains of pal when disheartened
Compiler
proXimal
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Took a bit longer than usual and my printout was covered in scribbled working out.
I must reluctantly have the 1a Spoonerism as my No.1 as I am not usually too fond of them.
Thanks to proximal and SJB
I ought to publish my scribblings for the review, but they are usually illegible. At least the compound anagrams didn’t have too much fodder. The Spoonerism was better encountered on paper, rather than trying to get out of the 🛁
I thought this was pitched at just about the right level for a prize toughie.
Slightly quirky, I had to confirm my answer to 7d and discovered it is some kind of line dancing song. Can’t say my life is enhanced by watching the online video accompanying it.
I did like the 2001: reference in 8a and the case with missing bit of evidence in 6d. The compound anagram in12d completed my podium.
My thanks to proXimal and SJB.
I was intrigued by the fact that the AI in 2001 was linguistically ahead of IBM by one letter, but apparently it is an urban myth that it was a dig at IBM
ProXimal entertaining but slightly trickier than usual. Thanks to him and SJB.
The first word of the 22a answer is a verb to peach in the sense of betray or inform on.
I was a bit surprised to find a single X in the grid.
I liked 26a, 1d and 6d.
I knew I was missing something with the peach, but my parsing engine was worn out by the hairy beast. I noticed the X too but although usually a feature of proXimal elsewhere I expect this was just serendipitous
Thanks, Gazza. Never heard of this definition. Must appear somewhere with that meaning in the Bard’s work. He did use it to refer to colour in Taming of the Shrew -peach-coloured silk stockings.
Still, the link with the answer is tenuous IMHO
Thanks to the BRB
A bit of a Curate’s Egg – enjoyable in parts, but a bit over-quirky in others.
Glad to have the parsings for several clues either confirmed or explained before hitting the “submit” button.
Good to have the ‘subtraction compound anagram’ explained!
Great work, SJB and all.
Well I got there with SJB’s help with a few. I did wonder if 15d was a word but who am I to question the great proXimal? I didn’t know the cardiovascular exercise at 10a until I saw the illustration and realised I do them on a regular basis. Mind you, I do them in the bath so I have some buoyancy to help. I got the wrong stew ingredient at 22a until the downs told me I was wrong. My COTT is the Reverend Spooner at 1a although it took me a while to get it.
Thank you, proXimal for a delightfully challenging puzzle. Thank you, Sloops for the hints, which were very helpful.
I too had to check the comparatively wet synonym as it didn’t slip off the tongue as easily as wetter, but a bottle of Double Diamond 26a and a glass of Haig Whisky 20d helped numb the doubts (and the 7d earworm)
I completed this thinking it was the prize cryptic. Only when I turned to the blog for help with a couple of parsings did I realise.
However after a bit of help from google my parsing of 22a differs from yours.
The first word of the answer could be a synonym of to peach ( as in to betray, which was new to me, but google says it is and who am I to argue). the second word of the answer is then a different fruit cut.
Gazza at comment #3 would agree and I do toothbrushes now he has put me on the right lines