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Azed’s last Christmas
special featuring a mixture of clue types was set in 2007,
No 1856 ‘Four
in one’. Solvers were then required to determine the correct type for each
clue. In the present puzzle, with six types and a Playfair
cipher to break, solvers have been granted prior knowledge of each clue’s type.
That seems a fair compromise, but the help available to solvers in recent
Christmas specials involving Playfair ciphers is
absent here. In the puzzles for 2003 (No. 1648) and
2006 (No. 1804)
solvers were able to deduce at least part of the cipher block from letters
revealed in the grids as they were completed. The codeword in this puzzle was
found eventually to be a three word phrase not listed in any dictionary -
BOXING DAY CUTS. Thus solvers were presented with a stern test of their cold
code-breaking skills. Dr Watson found the clues themselves relatively easy to
solve, although they were not without their sweet delights. Those for SPAUL,
TRIPITAKA, TRAPUNTO, LARDY and WAVER gave respite from the wintry grind.
Azed’s last Playfair competition puzzle was No 1967 in 2010
when the codeword was the competition word: SUBORDINATELY, a long word,
certainly, but one listed in dictionaries and hence searchable, including via computer and on-line search engines. If he wasn’t then, Azed
has shown that he is now wise to the easy availability of on-line cipher
breaking tools. Fortunately for crossword
setters and their trusty followers, cipher blocks of the Playfair
type form a small subset of all 25-letter cipher blocks, even those in which
the latter part is ordered alphabetically. Breaking tools need access to dictionary
listings to distinguish blocks in which the former part is a real word or
phrase, and so they fail to detect unlisted phrases.
As he explains
below, Watson was uncertain of his solution of 1 Across,
but was sure of MOMZER, RECTUS and PATACA. He thus knew how four word pairs were
encoded: M,Z=P,W; U,S=T,E; T,A=S,D and C,A=G,Y. From
these meagre facts he deduced that, in the cipher block, A, D and Y were on the
same level, that E, S, T and U were on the same level, that the two sets were
on different levels, and also, because both sets contain letters from opposite
ends of the alphabet, that they were both on levels to which the code-word
extended. He also noted that W and Z were on the same level, and therefore were
likely to be on the bottom level. By combining this approach with guessing at
what Azed would be likely to call a puzzle featuring
odd types of clue at Christmas, he then tested ideas against the encoded title ‘DNKA
ILSL STORME’. After several sessions he had something resembling ‘COLD XMAS
TURKEY’ emerging from the wreckage. The final cipher block is eventually found
as:
|
B |
O |
X |
I |
N |
|
G |
D |
A |
Y |
C |
|
U |
T |
S |
E |
F |
|
H |
K |
L |
M |
P |
|
Q |
R |
V |
W |
Z |
Notes to the clues:
1A. For parents and children, mostly boring
in dress. MOGTKS (KIDULT, dul(l) in
kit) In another puzzle this clue
might have led to FAMILY (ami(d) in fly). Although
that interpretation stretches both parts of the subsidiary indication, it was
the only possibility available to Dr Watson for this light until he had broken
the cypher.
6A. Special corroding process for glue-maker’s
leather. FLFSGP (SPETCH, sp. + etch) Few
solvers would have known this word,
or thought of etching in connection with corrosion. One of the last three clues
to be solved.
31A. Curse wildly, clenching tense muscle. WTDFTE (RECTUS, t in anag.) The indication is immediately obvious
here, but the solution provides only one pair of letters (U,S)
for use in breaking the cypher.
32A. Oriental coin at the right place – centre of
Macau. LCSDGY (PATACA, pat
+ (M)aca(u) & lit.) A
literal reading of this clue suggests the name of a coin used in Macau. The difficult part is finding a three or
five-letter synonym for ‘at the right place’.
Once solved, this solution provides two
pairs of letters for code-breakers - T,A and C,A.
9D. Cut e.g. sepia from tail up, given to eat. PONETY (KNIFED, ink (rev.) + fed) Dr Watson fancied that HUNGRY (‘given to eat’) might
be a likely solution in a Christmas special.
Wrong end of this cracker!
20D. American mother has endless love for love
child. KIPWTW (MOMZER, mom + zer(o)) Finally,
a very easy clue to find the right place in the dictionary for the solution,
and a further two certain pairs of letters - M,Z and E,R.
Misprints Clues
Misprints clues,
especially when they are each one of two types to be determined, can be among
the trickiest to solve, although it must be said that all of them in this
puzzle are indicated in the fairest and most straightforward manner.
Type one – misprints in clue definitions
15A. Saint - one such offering a lamb. SPAUL
(= a limb; S + Paul)
1D. Gentleman rising in ministry making one
eager for move. MORISH (= ‘eager for more’; Sir (rev.) in MOH)
25D. How ageing fans express their appreciation of
pop singer? DIGIT (= finger; i.e.
‘Dig it!’)
Type two – enforced misprints in solutions
10A. Hoer worked with difficulty holding in poppy
extract. RHOEADINO
(for RHOEADINE; anag. + ‘in’ in ado)
27A. Cordial toper, drunk, admitting wrongdoing. PERSINOT (for PERSICOT;
sin in anag.)
6D. Arab in charges is glittering. FEARES (for FLARES; Ar
in fees)
Wrong Number Clues
Notes in
brackets include the grid number for the entry. and
the one-word definition appearing in the clue at that location, therein
underlined.
Regular solvers
had an excellent recent rehearsal for these clues in Competition Puzzle 2053. By comparison, this sextet presents little
difficulty, especially with regard to determining where each solution is to be
entered in the grid.
12A. Nameless man of the cloth put on a
pedestal. REVERED (19D; worshipped; revere(n)d)
26A. One may have links
with Mafia Inc. as wanting change. SICAN (8D; islander; anag.)
28A. Fabrication of old weaver, worthless in
prohibition. BARACAN (12A; cloth; raca in ban)
8D. Embroidery nail? One holds head for islander. BRAID (24D; start; i(slander) in brad)
19D. Unreal creature, initially worshipped
alongside nasty Hagman. WHANGAM 28A; Fabrication; w.
+ anag.)
The reference here to Larry Hagman.
is, of course, to his character, the nasty J. R. Ewing
in Dallas.
24D. After start of
walk, old cattle move to and fro. WAVER
(26A; change; w(alk) + aver2) It was ever thus.
Right and Left Clues
17,18A ‘The deil’ scribbled on hire / vehicle in second lines showing signs of earlier body damage. HORNIE (anag.) / SCARRY (car in s + Ry) ‘Deil’ is a Scots word for 'devil’and Hornie a Scots name for The Devil.
22,20A Revolutionary in German party once disseminated / UK title last secreted somehow in palm. SPREDD (red in SPD) / KITTUL (anag. less ‘e’) SPD is the abbreviation for Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands. ‘Spredd’ is listed amongst obsolete spellings of ‘spread’.
21,22D Like a croissant
swallowed after meal, child ignored / mouth’s chomping almost. LUNATE (lun(ch) + ate) / STOMAL (anag.)
Normal Cryptic Clues
13A. Boggle, say, with females mostly appearing in
drag, queer? The opposite. WORDGAME (anag. in wome(n)) A generous first normal clue containing in
its contradiction a clear pointer to a correct parsing.
30A. Buddhist scripture: you’ll find it also known
as ‘following a single journey’. TRIPITAKA (trip + it + A.K.A.) Quite a few solvers may have been
diverted at this point by the question whether TRIPITAKA may be known otherwise as ‘following a single journey’. Dr Watson
remembers the phrase ‘many vehicles but a single journey’ as describing the
study of the Bhudda’s teachings.
2D. Outweigh odd characters in exec. with proviso subtly. OVERPOISE (anag.
inc. e,e) An
understanding of ‘executive’ as meaning ‘the persons who administer the
government or an organization’ is needed for a true reading of this clue’s
surface.
4D. Reverse of well-informed skill, not
intricate Italian quilting. TRAPUNTO (up, art (all rev.) + anag.) The first of two intriguing clues in
which its conventional reading as parsed above offers
the definition: ‘Italian quilting’. However, in its surface reading the
definition could be construed as ‘intricate Italian quilting’, equally valid,
and yet qualified by the observation ‘reverse of well-informed skill, not’
which is perfectly true of trapunto. A very fine clue.
5D. Creeping stem is like this, mostly below
ground. SOBOLE (so + anag.
less ‘w’) Again, a cleverly worked surface
renders a true statement about our solution, the bane of neglectful gardeners.
14D. Eating hungrily at random rider tucked into
bean. MURDERING (anag.
in mung) The
phrase ‘one could eat a horse’ comes to mind.
Definition and letter
mixture (DLM) Clues
Dr Watson rates DLM-type clues as
the least difficult and, at least for the solver, the least interesting of
those on show in this puzzle. He is
surprised to note the use of redundant (link) words in the last two listed here, 16 and 23 down.
11A. Bare rigid
strengthener in concrete. REBAR
29A. Part of countryman’s
stubble? It’s growing. STRIG
3D. User of Scottish canal
snarling at barb.
GABBART
7D. Hungry lad, overweight. LARDY
16D. Russian four-wheeler for a tsar (naturally) TARANTAS
23D. E.g. dry garden, or muddy DREGGY (s.v.
dregs)
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