As a setter, I make it my business to keep track of what’s happening in the world of crosswords. This means visiting other setters’ websites, solving various crosswords and reading crossword blogs. We don’t host many of these in Australia, but occasionally something turns up that catches my attention. This week a short discussion erupted on the DATrippers website about a clue, from the Sun-Herald (11/5/2014), reportedly written by Russel Jessop, son of the great Noel Jessop. It caught my eye as it relates directly to a recent request from a solver to explain further the “no definition/wordplay etymology crossover” rule mentioned in my Crossword Unclued interview. The clue mentioned on DATrippers was: Perform and measure performance (5) Answer: EN+ACT. One DATrippers poster pointed out the lack of disguise in the clue and noted the obvious relationship between “perform” and “performance”, a construction that must have been intentional on the part of the setter. This clue would obviously contravene the etymology rule, as the “act” in both sides of the clue stems from the same etymological source. Note that it’s using “act” on both sides of the equation that causes the problem, not necessarily how “act” is defined or clued. That is, Perform and measure turn (5) would still be unacceptable, however, I would see this as a vastly superior clue to the abovementioned one as some disguise is present.
The “no definition/wordplay etymology crossover” rule effectively means that no part of the answer can have an etymological relationship with the wordplay. It’s tough and restricts the setter both in choice of answers and clueing options, which is why, perhaps, setters in the UK and Oz don’t abide by it. Generally, disguise is all that matters, so as long as the related parts appear different, that’s enough. Personally I like the challenge and try to write my clues with the rule in mind.
Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
1 | WORSHIPPED | |
News about transport company, to a large extent, should be praised (10) | WORD outside [(SHIPPE)R] | |
6 | CAVY | |
Guinea pig, for example – it is not found in hole (4) | CAVITY minus IT | |
8 | STAND FOR | |
Tolerate no drafts written with sections misaligned (5,3) | Anagram of NO DRAFTS | |
9 | SPRINT | |
Letters following small dash (6) | PRINT after S | |
10 | BATH | |
List of expenses sent back by hospital’s cleaning unit (4) | TAB reversed + H | |
11 | RAMPAGEOUS | |
Drive by to ask for contents of house, displaying violent behaviour? (10) | RAM + PAGE + H(OUS)E | |
12 | SERVIETTE | |
Consumer protection offered by devious tester holding contest (9) | Anagram of TESTER outside VIE | |
14 | ATTIC | |
Pot ultimately discovered in a jerk’s roof space (5) | PO(T) inside (A + TIC) | |
17 | NAURU | |
Inhabitants of Argentina, Uruguay and a Pacific island? (5) | argentiNA URUguay | |
19 | PENETRATE | |
Trap rat in sewer waste with probe (9) | (NET + RAT) inside PEE | |
22 | WATERCRAFT | |
Captain’s skill with a crew at sea taking time with boat (10) | (Anagram of A CREW outside T) + RAFT | |
23 | OPEN | |
Numerical relationship, cleared from operation, is unresolved (4) | OPERATION minus RATIO | |
24 | SOCIAL | |
Community not leaving different locations (6) | Anagram of LOCATIONS minus NOT | |
25 | IRONBARK | |
Eucalyptus bug moved around on watering hole (8) | IRK outside (ON + BAR) | |
26 | DYES | |
Colours matched at last very well (4) | MATCHE(D) + YES | |
27 | DISHEARTEN | |
Put a damper on food eaten outside, right? (10) | DISH + (EATEN outside R) | |
Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
1 | WASHBASIN | |
Bathroom fixture was popular at the end of wild bash (9) | WAS + (IN after anagram of BASH) | |
2 | REACTOR | |
Church leader harnessing a source of power, perhaps (7) | RECTOR outside A | |
3 | INFORMED | |
Expert about to undergo medical (8) | IN FOR + MED | |
4 | PURE MATHEMATICS | |
Those people entering IT campus are prepared for academic subject (4,11) | THEM inside anagram of IT CAMPUS ARE | |
5 | DISMAL | |
Cheerless section of crowd is malevolent (6) | crowD IS MALevolent | |
6 | CARPENTER | |
Vehicle quietly set down tradesman (9) | CAR + P + ENTER | |
7 | VENTURI | |
Reveal layer peeled from buried tube used to control fluid flow (7) | VENT + (BURIED minus BED) | |
13 | VARIETIES | |
Types opposing match inside house (9) | V + (TIE inside ARIES) | |
15 | CLEANSKIN | |
Head of college leans on family person without a criminal record (9) | (C)OLLEGE + LEANS + KIN | |
16 | DEXTROSE | |
Quantity of medicine containing large amount of extra sweet stuff (8) | DOSE outside (EXTR)A | |
18 | ANALOGY | |
A record of events written in some correspondence (7) | (A + LOG) inside ANY | |
20 | ASPHALT | |
Stand still behind venomous snake surfacing (7) | HALT after ASP | |
21 | SCALED | |
Cleaned fish is weighed (6) | Double Definition |
A tough one with many giggles when I finally figured the clue out. Not the case with 3dn. That one made me nauseous as if my brain had run one too many laps of the oval.
With regards to “Perform and measure performance”, I think that it was clever enough to get a “you bastard response” and so it was acceptable.