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Welcome to WEB Crossword No: 024. For anyone new to WEB puzzles, they are designed to be reminiscent of a Crosaire puzzle, and do have an Irish flavor to them. They differ in that the clues tend to be more contemporary in structure, so for example, there are no "partial" clues, and anagrams are usually signaled in some way. Also, I try not include obscure words as answers, so you shouldn't have to nominate a Lookup of the Day. At least, that's the intent ...
As a reminder, the Sunday slot is open for anyone who wants to post his or her own, original crossword. Just contact me and I will help you with the mechanics of compiling and posting.
Across
1 It started on this ... (3,4,4,4)
9 ... according to him (3,4,4)
10 Are the French one race? (3)
11 This ledge hides the downhill conveyance (4)
12 Isn't Ginger crazy to use that digitally? (6,4)
14 With Sonny around, 'e can brighten things up (5)
15 Angry he'd a transplanted shrub in the garden (9)
17 This new form of tennis ... it's demanding (9)
21 Fifty is Eliot's start to the catalogues (5)
23 It was decided to discourage the fewest, Edward (10)
24 The French stay very quiet for that guy from Scandinavia (4)
27 Or about a row (3)
28 i.e. etch (5,3,3)
29 Dr. S. is about to hear Sal's practice sessions (5,10)
Down
1 For these songs make a lot of money (5)
2 I heard this stream used to be way out there (7)
3 Enthusiastic about a short movie clip (4)
4 A race between the Scottish and the Welsh (7)
5 Decorated and loved all round the North (7)
6 Ultimately it happened to you and a friend (10)
7 Her circle is somewhat fishy (7)
8 Signals we are about to take the red or white (9)
13 The doctor does this to the president who is about to write (10)
14 A really young gangster? (9)
16 You all start north for the Japanese capital (3)
18 Pardon me while I see about tea with the French first (3,4)
19 'E is vile to ye with a bad look (4,3)
20 He might make a tee with Kirk, or Spock for that matter (7)
22 Man, as it moves you can see its strength (7)
25 PR's for the media (5)
26 Burn both ends of the cheddar (4)
Here is each clue alongside its answer, with an explanation of the link between clue and answer. I hope it all makes sense! As always, I welcome feedback via comment and/or email. I’m particularly interested in hearing about clues that were too obvious or easy, and clues that were annoying or perhaps caused frustration. But, I’ll listen to all suggestions on how to make my puzzles more challenging and more fun!
Across
1 It started on this ... (3,4,4,4)
THE LATE LATE SHOW
For years RTE's flagship program ended with the song lyrics "... it started on the Late Late Show!"
9 ... according to him (3,4,4)
NAT KING COLE
NAT KING COLE sang THE LATE LATE SHOW's closing theme.
10 Are the French one race? (3)
R-UN
Are (R) the French one (UN) = RACE: run.
11 This ledge hides the downhill conveyance (4)
SLED
Thi-S LED-ge hides SLED: the downhill conveyance.
12 Isn't Ginger crazy to use that digitally? (6,4)
SIGNET RING
"Isn't Ginger" crazy, an anagram = SIGNET RING: to use that digitally (on her finger).
14 With Sonny around, 'e can brighten things up (5)
CH(E)ER
With Sonny (CH-ER) around 'e ('E) = CHEER: can brighten things up.
15 Angry he'd a transplanted shrub in the garden (9)
HYDRANGEA
"Angry he'd a" transplanted, an anagram = HYDRANGEA: shrub in the garden.
17 This new form of tennis ... it's demanding (9)
INSISTENT
This new form of "tennis ... it's" = INSISTENT: demanding.
21 Fifty is Eliot's start to the catalogues (5)
L-IS-TS
Fifty (L) is (IS) Eliot's start, as in TS. Eliot (TS) = LISTS: to the catalogues.
23 It was decided to discourage the fewest, Edward (10)
DETER-MIN-ED
To discourage (DETER) the fewest (MIN) Edward (ED) = DETERMINED: it was decided.
24 The French stay very quiet for that guy from Scandinavia (4)
LA-PP
The French (LA) stay very quiet (PP) = LAPP: for that guy from Scandinavia.
27 Or about a row (3)
O(A)R
Or (O-R) about a (A) = OAR: row.
28 i.e. etch (5,3,3)
BREAK THE ICE
If you BREAK (i.e. rearrange the letters in) "THE ICE", you get "i.e. etch".
29 Dr. S. is about to hear Sal's practice sessions (5,10)
DRESS REHEARSALS
Dr. (DR) S. (ESS) is about (RE) to hear (HEAR) Sal's (SALS) = DRESS REHEARSALS: practice sessions.
Down
1 For these songs make a lot of money (5)
TUNES
For (FOR) these songs (TUNES) = FORTUNES: make a lot of money.
2 I heard this stream used to be way out there (7)
EXTREME
Used to be (EX-) this stream (STREAM) = EX-STREAM, I heard this as EXTREME: way out there.
3 Enthusiastic about a short movie clip (4)
A-VID
A (A) short movie clip (VID) = AVID: enthusiastic about.
4 A race between the Scottish and the Welsh (7)
ENGLISH
Geographically speaking, between the Scottish and the Welsh are the ENGLISH.
5 Decorated and loved all round the North (7)
ADOR(N)ED
Loved (ADOR-ED) all round the North (N) = ADORNED: decorated.
6 Ultimately it happened to you and a friend (10)
EVENT-U-ALLY
It happened (EVENT) to you (U) and a friend (ALLY) = EVENTUALLY: ultimately.
7 Her circle is somewhat fishy (7)
HER-RING
Her (HER) circle (RING) = HERRING: is somewhat fishy.
8 Signals we are about to take the red or white (9)
WINEGLASS
"Signals we" are about, an anagram = WINEGLASS: to take the red or white (wine).
13 The doctor does this to the president who is about to write (10)
PRESCRIBES
To the president (PRE-S) who is about to write (SCRIBE) = PRESCRIBES: the doctor does this.
14 A really young gangster? (9)
CHILD-HOOD
16 You all start north for the Japanese capital (3)
YE-N
You all (YE) start north (N) = YEN: for the Japanese capital.
18 Pardon me while I see about tea with the French first (3,4)
SE(T-FRE)E
While I see about (SE-E) about tea with the Fre-nch first (T FRE) = SET FREE: pardon me.
19 'E is vile to ye with a bad look (4,3)
E-VIL E-YE
'E ('E) is vile (VIL-E) to ye with (YE) = EVIL EYE: a bad look.
20 He might make a tee with Kirk, or Spock for that matter (7)
TREKKIE
He might make, an anagram, a "tee" with "Kirk" = TREKKIE: or he might make a tee (shirt) with Spock for that matter.
22 Man, as it moves you can see its strength (7)
STAMINA
"Man, as it" moves = STAMINA: you can see it's strength.
25 PR's for the media (5)
PR-ESS
PR (PR) 's (ESS) = PRESS: for the media.
26 Burn both ends of the cheddar (4)
Both ends of the CH-edd-AR = CHAR: burn.
6 comments:
Hi Bill
You can put the anti-aircraft cannons into storage...tantara-ed home!
The Late Late Show and Nat King Cole got the show on the road nicely...and it was a lovely grid, with so much word-linkage.
CHAR was very clever ... luverly...CHILD-HOOD brought a smile... ENGLISH ditto! I thought the clues today were very sparse with no ambiguity...the only one I misread at first was 'are the French one race'...at first all I could see was R + LE/LA ('the' French) = one race....doh!...I could see 'RUN'...and even thought you'd made a mistake!...but then I filled the WINEGLASS and took 'a'nother RUN at it!
EXTREME...lovely wording to this 'sounds like' clue
BREAK THE ICE...I spotted this very quickly today...but can imagine, on another day in a different frame of mind, I might have been racking my brain for a word that covered various artforms...i.e. 'etch' being one of them...but today I loved it!
OAR...as you'd say yourself, nice and tight
Clues read very well for the anagrams SIGNET RING, HYDRANGEA, CHEER, SET FREE and of course TREKKIE!
Riddle me this! What do you call clues that are ultimately anagrams...but the full anagram isn't in the clue...as in CHEER today, where you must first find/think of another word to add to letter/s in the clue? Are they just called anagrams as well...or is there a more 'nerdy' word for them?!!
Clues of the day were CHAR, EXTREME and BREAK THE ICE!
Thanks Bill...and enjoy your day of rest!
Liz
Hi Liz,
I'm glad you get through easily enough. I am gradually getting a handle on "difficult vs. easy" puzzles, so I was toying with the idea of having the first puzzle of the month "easy", and puzzles getting progressively harder with the last puzzle of the month being "very hard". This puzzle I thought was a 2/5 in terms of difficulty.
I put the LATE LATE right at the start to given an easy intro, so I am glad you recognized it!
Your question about anagrams ... the clue you mention CH('E)ER isn't actually an anagram, but rather a "container" clue. The idea is to find one word (with Sonny = CHER) which contains an other word/letter ('E) to give the answer = CHEER.
I think you are referring to melded clues, which Tommy uses a lot, for example. These would be clues that use more than one technique in the same clue. A (poorly reading and boring) example might be, "The crazy deal that took in the saint endured". This uses an anagram (technique 1) as a container (technique 2). The crazy deal (LA-ED) that took in the saint (ST) = LASTED: endured.
Anyway, Liz, thanks for checking out the puzzle, and for the very useful feedback. Going to try a 3/5 level of difficulty next week :)
Hi Bill and Liz,
Old reliable is back for your Sunday offering. I have been mind boggling busy this week with college but still your Sunday puzzle helps me relax a bit and it was a lovely treat. I enjoyed today's alot, not as much as others but still was very well put together. I found that THE LATE LATE SHOW and NAT KING COLE mix very clever. Brought back memories of sitting at the end of my parents bed watching Gaybo himself. As Liz said, EXTREME was a lovely clue and very Crosaire. ENGLISH was definitely the clue of the day or giggle of the day. Witty and clear.
For TREKKIE I first had CAPTAIN but the answer made more sense once I saw my errors.
CHILDHOOD was fantastic. Genius and I just loved it.
Thanks Bill for indirectly allowing me a relaxing hour. Your the man!
All the best,
Mark
Hi Mark,
I figured that you were swamped at college because we haven't seen you for a few days. Thanks for finding the time to check out the WEB crossword. Expert feedback like yours is very valuable ... I do listen!
I'm glad you liked the LATE LATE clues. I started with them when I was designing the puzzle, along with CHILDHOOD and BREAK THE ICE. The rest of the answers were filled around these four "anchors" that already had clues.
It's interesting that you liked ENGLISH best ... I was struggling for a clue here, so opted for something cheap and cheerful!
Your comparison of this crossword with others in terms of enjoyment is helpful. Perhaps there were more clues today that were relatively straightforward? More clues that were of a familiar type/structure? If so, that was deliberate on my part, as I tried to make an easier puzzle to solve. I guess the trick is to adjust the level of difficulty without negatively impacting the degree of enjoyment!
I hope you're enjoying your studies, and still get time for the odd Crosaire along the way :)
Thanks again, Mark.
Hi Bill and Mark
Good to see it's 'not all work and no play' Mark...we wouldn't want to see you becoming a dull boy!
And Bill, of course you're right about the example I chose! But you still knew what I meant...melded clues...thank you!
Today's puzzle did feel easier than usual...clues were very direct and there were no obscure words in the solutions....but... b'agar, b'agar...nothing wrong with that every now and again!
Liz
Liz,
Thanks for the feedback about the ease of solving the puzzle. That helps a lot. I changed a lot of clues to simplify them (and maybe dialed down the enjoyment as a result .. for an expert like you!).
I think I will stick with this idea of rating the puzzles this month in terms of difficulty, and see how it goes.
Glad I could explain "melded" clues ... my own term though, so don't quote me! Folks I've read just seem to refer to such clues as having a mixture of techniques.
I'd still love to see a LIZ crossword ... :o)
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