Answers to Crosaire No. 00001 - 13 Mar 1943

Barry, one of our true Crosaire experts, has pointed out that Crosaire puzzles are available online, dating back to 1943!

Access to the online archive of The Irish Times requires a subscription, although free access can be granted at times as a promotion (it’s free right now, through April 6th, 2009, as part of the newspaper's 150th anniversary celebration). I don’t have a subscription today, but used to have one when I was active in family history research. The archive truly is a fabulous resource, and is searchable, right back to 1859.

The very first Irish Times Crossword was published on Saturday, March 13, 1943. If you have a subscription to The Irish Times archives, you can use these links to view Derek Crozier's first crossword in The Irish Times. You can read the whole page, or zoom in on the crossword title, the grid and the clues. The grid was drawn and numbered by hand, and of course the clues themselves were typeset manually. This first crossword was then followed one week later by the second puzzle, becoming a weekly feature every Saturday. There was no mention of the name of the crossword compiler until Saturday, April 3, 1943, when Irish Times Crossword No. 4 introduced Crosaire to his public.

I spent hours today working on “Crosaire No. 1”, and I thoroughly recommend the mental exercise. It truly was a lot of fun.

Crosaire Aria
I don’t think that “Top of the Pops” charts were compiled in Ireland or the UK back in 1943, so I have to go with a US recording. The number one selling record over here in March 1943 was I’ve Heard That Song Before by Harry James and his Orchestra. This particular song, and others by Harry James, feature on the soundtrack of the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters. Listening to this really does set the mood for puzzling over Crosaire Crossword No. 1 …

The Clue of 1943
1A: Is VALO, and presumably also LOUR (10)
I puzzled over this one for ages, needing letters from the down answers to point me in the right direction. In the end I was left with D-S-R-E-T-O- and began to plug in words that would fit. I noticed that VALO was an anagram of ‘OVAL’, a ‘disc’ perhaps, so I thought the answer might start with DISC- and then play off that anagram somehow. Finally DISCRETION just seemed to fit. I finally noticed that VALO and LOUR were parts of the word ‘valour’, a word linked to DISCRETION in an old idiom. A little more noodling revealed that both VALO and LOUR, in terms of letter count, form the better part of VALOUR. Ah … and now the idiom unlocks the clue: discretion is the better part of valour, as are both VALO and LOUR. This has to be the best clue I have seen in a long time, maybe even since 1943 …

The Lookup of 1943
11A: ANTIPODES
I’ve always thought of Australia and New Zealand as the Antipodes, because of my upbringing in Ireland. It turns out that in more general terms, the antipodes is the name given to the lands and peoples on the opposite side of the earth to you, the speaker. So from here in California, the opposite side of the earth is a spot in the Indian Ocean, with Madagascar the nearest thing to the antipodes for me. It just doesn’t sound right though …

I warn you that it not easy to solve Mr. Crozier’s 1943 clues. I got about ¾ of the way through after a couple of hours work, and then I had to google two answers in order to finish the rest of the puzzle. The answers were indeed published one week later back in 1943, but the answer grid is completely illegible online, so my solution is unverified. Please feel free to leave a comment below, or send me an email, especially if you notice something wrong with my reasoning.

Across
1: DISCRETION
v-a-l-o are the first four letters of ‘valour’, and l-o-u-r are the last four letters. Each is an example of the better, greater, part of ‘valour’. And DISCRETION is the better part of valour as well. I am in awe …
6: SCAR … anagram of “arcs”.
10, 12: STIFF UPPER LIP
11: ANTIPODES
I guessed this one, and then did a look up to verify. I’ve always regarded Australia and New Zealand as the Antipodes, but in more general terms the antipodes refers to lands and peoples on the opposite side of the earth from the speaker.
12: see 10A
13: A-I-RED
An excellent, class A1 (AI) color (RED) = AIRED, exposed to the atmosphere.
15: DRIFTER
A type of fishing boat, and someone who drifts from place to place, a wastrel. Wastrel: what a beautiful word!
17: NAN-KEEN
This is one of the two clues I had to cheat on to get me moving again. Anne (NAN) is enthusiastic (KEEN) = NANKEEN, is a pale, yellowish cloth, originating from Nanjing, China.
19: LAG-GARD
-GARD, almost makes ‘guard’. One who keeps his eye on a convict. And a LAGGARD is one who is lazy.
21: RADICLE
The part of the seed that develops into the root, and it sounds like ‘radical’, a revolutionary.
22: SIEVE … anagram of “is Eve”.
24: PRESUMES
Henry Stanley purportedly uttered the words ‘Doctor Livingstone, I presume?’ And, one who PRESUMES is somewhat pushy.
27: EXISTENCE
“Man’s love is of man’s life a thing apart, ‘tis woman’s whole EXISTENCE”, oft-quoted words from Lord Byron’s Don Juan.
28: ‘T-AIN’T
The Cockney says it is not, ‘t ain’t = TAINT, to make something rancid. Nice clue!
29: T-ASK
Almost “to” (T) + ASK = TASK, work.
30: ASTROLOGER … anagram of “regal roost”.

Down
1: DOSE
Poems, odes, an anagram of DOSE, a medicinal quantity.
2: S-TIPPLING
Lifting the elbow, having a drink, TIPPLING, is almost all of the answer STIPPLING, a way of painting.
3: RIFLE … anagram of “flier”.
4: TRAILER
I wasn’t sure they had movie trailers back in 1943!!
5: OUTSPAN
This is the other clue I had to cheat on. OUTSPAN is a peculiarly South African term for unyoking or unharnessing animals, and has come to mean ‘relax’.
UPDATE: As Liz pointed out below, let's not forget OUTSPAN oranges from South Africa. Remember them?
7: CIDER
I guessed this one, as CIDER is fermented apple juice. The reference is to an old limerick:

There was a young lady of Ryde,
Who ate some green apples and died.
The
apples fermented
Inside the lamented,
And made cider inside her inside.

Delightful …
8: RESIDENCES … anagram of “dire scenes”.
9: SPRAINED
And Mr. Crozier actually tells us this is an anagram of “rinse pad”. How cute!
14: A-DOLE-SCENT
Relief payment (A DOLE) + smell (SCENT) = ADOLESCENT, one who has some growing to do.
16: TRA-VEST-Y
Underwear (VEST) in a TRAY = TRAVESTY, something ludicrous.
18: EXCEEDING
20: DEP-ENDS
A department, cut down to dept., short of tea, losing the “t” on the end (DEP) closes (ENDS) = DEPENDS
21: ROEDEER
I’m not sure about this one, as I would have thought the answer should be two words, ROE DEER. Still, as the antelope said to the gazelle when the boat began to sink … Row, dear! Just hilarious!
23: EMITS … anagram of “Times”.
25: UNTIL
26: STAR
I guessed this one too. The quote is from Shelley’s poem The Desire of the Moth.