Clues by Boatman and Grid by Bozzy
Enter the prize draw by 31 March.
The background for this puzzle is a photograph of a hand holding a marble.
This unconventional puzzle by Boatman uses a conventional 7x7x5 grid by Bozzy and commemorates a 550-year anniversary. The letters contained in the yellow cells can be rearranged to form two of the subject’s subjects. Solvers should include both of these with their entries. Yellow highlighted letters are ignored in the wordplay for each clue. Clues are numbered in alphabetical order of their solutions.
Two of the solutions are two-word names, clued by long anagrams. Solvers are advised to consult an appropriate reference to confirm the spellings.
Boatman has cleverly sculpted a monumental puzzle from the raw material excavated by Bozzy. A treat for the eyes!
Day 3
Like a man said to hold small spear (7)
Said suggests a “sounds like” clue. We get three letters from “like a” and the final three letters should sound like a word for man. We get the full entry by inserting a letter for small. Note that this is not the most common spelling of this African spear. [NI]
Day 9
Old Roman fighter knocking out boy with one small reptile (5)
D’ya see that epic film with Crowe? (9 letters) Remove the synonym for boy (3 letters) and also the one which follows (in crossword-speak one is either the letter a or i). Which leaves the solution (5 letters). Obviously small does not refer to the physical size but indicates a diminutive. [GS]
Day 12
Being trendy, sat back in groups of seven (7)
You want a short word for trendy. This is a rather dated term, usually followed by cat for a jazz-lover. After the trendy word you literally have sat back. This should give you six letters since the yellow cell is not included in the wordplay. The answer is the plural of an unfamiliar word for a group of seven, derived from Greek. [NI]
Day 13
Promotes extremely heavy prize drink (5,2)
Extremely refers to the outside letters of the words it precedes. Follow these with a synonym for drink to find a rather exaggerated form of ‘promotes’. [JP]
Day 19
Lizard track (7)
Assuming that the solver has found the subject of the theme for this month’s puzzle, both Day 19 & 20 start with the same letter. Find a synonym for ‘to track’ (7 letters) and you may be surprised to learn it is also the name of a lizard. [GS]
Day 20
Mess around with the subject’s subject (5)
This solution contains a yellow square, so the wordplay concerns only four letters: an anagram of the word which contains the first letter of the solution (indicator – around) and then a second vowel in the yellow square gives you a biblical character relevant to the theme. [GS]
Day 26
Setting for the subject’s subject: a young woman (not the last) set down around start of career (5)
You’re looking for the setting of one of the theme’s works (in Italian, not English). As this is an ‘up’ solution, set down tells you that the words for ‘a young woman’ should go downwards. Then take away (not the last) the last letter and insert a c (start of career) to find your answer. [JP]
Day 32
Provoke marine with misplaced uniform into sudden outburst (7)
Find a five letter word for provoke and follow it with an abbreviation for marine. Then move the (misplaced) abbreviation for uniform to give you the sudden outburst. [JP]
Day 35
Jousts with long pole, its point set back (5)
You need a word for a long pole, often supplied with a footrest to enable one to walk above the ground. Then move one letter (set its point back) to get a word for jousts. The corresponding word for jousting is often used to describe Don Quixote’s combat with windmills. [NI]
I am grateful to the other members of the Hints & Tips team: Garry Stripling (Gin) and Jim Pennington (Philostrate).
Happy solving!
Nick Inglis (etc)
Not too difficult this month