pages tagged jagonoteshttp://christophe.rhodes.io/notes/tag/jago/notesikiwiki2014-10-02T08:39:47Zinquisitor 1352http://christophe.rhodes.io/notes/blog/posts/2014/inquisitor_1352/2014-10-02T08:39:47Z2014-10-02T08:39:47Z
<p>I <em>think</em> I’ve got this one, but it’s a little hard to tell. Starting
off with a completely empty grid is rarely straightforward (I suppose
that’s the point...) and it wasn’t until late in the process, after
getting 9dn and most of the across clues, that I started being able to
make real deductions about the layout; on the plus side, maybe to make
this crossword tractable at all, the clues themselves were noticeably
more straightforward than usual. I feel as if I might be missing a
little something about the end of the rubric; unless it really means
exactly what it says (you don’t strictly <em>need</em> the numbers in the
grid), I don’t know what it actually means.</p>
<h2>Identity Crisis</h2>
<blockquote><p>The grid should be appropriately filled by correctly locating the
solutions to the normal, correctly numbered clues. Numbers are not
essential in the completed grid, which displays 180° symmetry, but
their inclusion may assist solvers in arriving at the solution.</p></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>8ac: <strong>TAMED</strong>: A little bit about me being <u>under control</u>: TAD (a little bit) around ME</li>
<li>10ac: <strong>SEVERE</strong>: <u>Very bad</u> cut to top of ear...: SEVER (cut) + E(ar)</li>
<li>11ac: <strong>SLASH</strong>: ... <u>and another</u> small one on edge of eyelid: S(mall) + LASH (one on edge of eyelid)</li>
<li>13ac: <strong>GREASED</strong>: <u>Did this to palms, maybe</u> – as in avarice: AS in GREED (avarice)</li>
<li>14ac: <strong>INKED</strong>: Shut one eye with hit, <u>made black</u>: WINKED (shut one eye) - W(ith)</li>
<li>15ac: <strong>IDAHO</strong>: <u>State</u> out loud: “I owned a sort of garden tool”: I’D A HOE</li>
<li>16ac: <strong>KNEE</strong>: King born <u>to genuflect? Once</u>: K(ing) + NEE (born)</li>
<li>17ac: <strong>TUNER</strong>: <u>It picks up radio signals</u>: the sounds of fish?: TUNA</li>
<li>19ac: <strong>BATES</strong>: Wild beast <u>rages</u>: *(BEAST)</li>
<li>22ac: <strong>TANA</strong>: <u>Shrew</u> in a <u>cop shop</u>?: Double Definition</li>
<li>23ac: <strong>PEERS</strong>: <u>Looks short-sightedly</u> at <u>Members of the Upper House</u>: Double Definition</li>
<li>24ac: <strong>TILTH</strong>: Tent put on hospital <u>land</u>: TILT (tent) + H(ospital)</li>
<li>25ac: <strong>ORLEANS</strong>: <u>Fabric</u> – or thin bit of stuff: OR + LEAN (thin) + S(tuff)</li>
<li>26ac: <strong>DIET</strong>: Finish with last of burnt <u>food</u>?: DIE (finish) + (burn)T</li>
<li>27ac: <strong>TEARY</strong>: <u>Crying</u>: “Rent boy’s rear end!”: TEAR (rent) + (bo)Y</li>
<li>28ac: <strong>KICKER</strong>: <u>Player</u> showing <u>an unpaired card</u>: Double Definition</li>
<li>29ac: <strong>BUYER</strong>: First of emeralds set with ruby for <u>customer</u>: E(meralds) in *(RUBY)</li>
<li>30ac: <strong>LOPED</strong>: <u>Took a running jump</u> – and cut off half of cheese!: LOP (cut) + ED(am) (half of cheese)</li>
<li>1dn: <strong>SAVANNA</strong>: Rescue nearly ready for old Asian in <u>African landscape</u>: SAV(e) (rescue) + ANNA (old Indian “ready”, <em>i.e.</em> money)</li>
<li>2dn: <strong>LESSEE</strong>: The French notice <u>one who rents</u>: LES (fr. “the”) + SEE (notice)</li>
<li>3dn: <strong>IDLED</strong>: <u>Didn’t do very much</u>, as I’d been out in front: I’Ð LED</li>
<li>4dn: <strong>TRAGIC</strong>: Time to give up Havana, perhaps? <u>It’s very sad</u>: T(ime) + CIGAR (Havana, perhaps) reversed</li>
<li>5dn: <strong>REHEAT</strong>: Theatre not started? Organise <u>warm-up</u>: *((t)HEATRE)</li>
<li>7dn: <strong>DEODAR</strong>: Fix up cutting very expensive <u>tree</u>: DO (fix) reversed in DEAR (very expensive)</li>
<li>9dn: <strong>MARKETPLACE</strong>: World of commerce in which metal-packer’s involved: *(METALPACKER)</li>
<li>18dn: <strong>ENTERED</strong>: <u>Went in</u> and perhaps uprooted 7, for example, in the finale: *(TREE) (7, for example) in END (finale)</li>
<li>20dn: <strong>SEATED</strong>: Teased terribly, <u>not standing for it</u>!: *(TEASED)</li>
<li>21dn: <strong>ASSAIL</strong>: <u>Attack</u> like a ship: AS SAIL</li>
<li>22dn: <strong>TIDY UP</strong>: <u>Put everything back</u> three times a day? Yes! (2 words): TID (three times a day) + YUP (yes)</li>
<li>24dn: <strong>TURBO</strong>: <u>Jet-powered</u> <u>mollusc</u>?: Double Definition</li>
</ul>
<p>I had alternative solutions for 28ac (JOKER) and 24dn (SQUID) which
misled me for a while, but once I had most of the pieces, putting them
together wasn’t too bad; once you’ve deduced that 9dn must be on the
second row, it’s easy to put together plausible crossings for it, and
the rest follows. That gives the notion that the crossword is
undecided between <strong>BARS</strong> (12ac) and <strong>BLOCKS</strong> (19dn), and hence has
a <strong>SPLIT PERSONALITY</strong> (1ac/6dn).</p>
<p>All told, then:</p>
<pre><code>█SPLIT█R█P█D
TAMEDRSEVERE
█VASLASH█R█O
BARSEGREASED
INKEDIDAHO█A
KNEE█C█TUNER
BATES█A█TANA
L█PEERSTILTH
ORLEANSUDIET
C█A█TEARYTR█
KICKERIBUYER
S█E█D█LOPED█
</code></pre>
<p>I wonder whether it’s wise for a new setter (“IQ debutant Jago”,
according to Nimrod) to set a crossword whose theme is, basically,
crosswords? To me, it doesn’t feel quite special enough – unless, of
course, I have missed something in the rubric to suggest an extra
step?</p>