Notes for Gemelo 52
There are usually one or two points of interest in an Observer barred puzzle, and here we pick them out for comment. Please feel free to add your own questions or observations on any aspect of the puzzle (including clues not listed below) either by using the comment form at the bottom of the page or, if you would prefer that your question/comment is not publicly visible, by email.
Gemelo 52
This puzzle is available at https://content-api.slowdownwiseup.co.uk/api/mobile/v1/puzzle-data/1ca1ff95-e020-461a-81c7-54bdb25915f9/file/puzzle.pdf.
Solver difficulty rating
2.1 based on 42 votes (voting is now closed)
There were 37 difficulty ratings submitted for last week’s puzzle, with the average of 2.0 being the same as that for Gemelo 49 (they were separated by the ‘Anagram Act’ special which came in at 3.4). I found G51 significantly easier than G49, and rated it 1.4, but I may just have been on unusually good form for G51…or unusually poor form for G49.
Today’s puzzle was entertaining, and the clues seemed to have received a generous amount of ‘polishing’. There were plenty of well-disguised breaks between wordplay and definition, and some clever definitions that generally stayed within the bounds of fairness.
The welcome return of the Observer‘s clue writing competition in January 2027 has been announced, with a test event next month. We will also shortly be launching our own clue writing competition at the Clue Clinic; this will differ from the Observer comp in several respects (that isn’t just a roundabout way of saying that there won’t be any prizes!), so the two should coexist happily.
Setters’ Corner: This week I’m going to look at clue 16d, “Role of church baptism, say, probed by each new mum (8)”. A three-letter word for an act of immersion (‘baptism, say’) contains (‘probed by’) the usual abbreviations for ‘each’ and ‘new’, together with a two-letter interjection equivalent to ‘mum!’ or ‘keep quiet’. The point of interest is the definition, ‘role of church’. This is equivalent to, say, ‘role of theatre’ for PROMPTER. The ‘of’ in such instances cannot represent a true possessive, since “church’s role” and “theatre’s role” don’t carry the required meaning (the nouns would need to be applied attributively, eg ‘church role’). The preposition ‘of’ has several other senses, none of which really hits the necessary spot. But there is a ‘semi-possessive’ sense which suggests not ownership but association, as in eg ‘the fans of the club’, and while I don’t think that in real life anyone would describe the job of prompter as ‘[a] role of [the] theatre’, that is exactly what makes many ‘oblique’ definitions in crosswords interesting and amusing. The question that a setter has to ask themselves with a definition of this sort is, “When the solver works out the answer, will they understand how the definition works?” If the answer is ‘yes’, as I believe it is here, then there is no problem.
Across
1a These may go down well at Christmas to illustrate decoration reflecting saint (7)
The two-letter abbreviation of a Latin phrase meaning ‘for example’ or ‘to illustrate’ is followed by a reversal (‘reflecting’) of a slang term for a medal or decoration, with the single-letter abbreviation for ‘saint’ bringing up the rear. Incidentally, the ‘decoration’ word was a family nickname given to the young Jonathan Crowther (Azed), and was the pseudonym under which he set 16 Listener puzzles between 1965 and 1972.
11a Trousers better with slit, shortly, on edge? (10, 2 words)
A three-letter word meaning ‘[to] better’, a three-letter word meaning ‘slit’ or ‘tear’, and a five-letter word meaning ‘on edge’ (due to an intimate insectile infestation), missing its last letter (‘shortly’), combine to produce the (5,5) answer.
15a German and Swedish hit incorporates pop music (6)
A tricksy wordplay has the German word for ‘and’ being contained by (‘[that]…incorporates’) the title of a 1975 hit from Abba, notable as the only UK Top 40 single to date where both the song title and the name of the artist are palindromes.
20a Discovery of provincial runner bounding about in country (6)
A two-letter dialect (‘provincial’) word for a river (‘runner’), much admired by crossword setters, contains (‘bounding’) that two-letter bit of commercial jargon meaning ‘concerning’ or ‘about’, which is itself contained by the two-letter abbreviation for the country made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
21a Domesticated chap disregarding Parisian friend who’s learned the ropes by stages? (6)
A (6,3) term for a chap “dedicated to, and who enjoys sharing activities with, his wife and children” is deprived of the three-letter French word for a friend.
27a Oratory is dull from Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the left, lacking range (9)
A five-letter word meaning ‘dull’ (more often seen in this sense as a seven-letter form ending ‘-aic’) is followed by the (1,6) French expression meaning ‘on the left’, lacking the three-letter name applied generically, Hoover-style, to a large stove.
30a Picture point of no return without difficulty (4)
The seven-letter ancient name of a stream in northern Italy, the crossing of which by Caesar in 49 BC signalled the start of the war with Pompey, loses (‘without’) a three-letter word for the sort of difficulty which Hamlet identified when pondering the question ‘To be or not to be?’
31a Keep record on Claude, say, returning 18th century instrument (10)
A four-letter word for a ‘keep’ or ‘citadel’ and a two-letter abbreviation for the sort of record that went round at 45rpm but had more tightly spaced grooves [thanks to David Mansell for putting me straight on that one] than a ‘single’ precede a reversal (‘returning’) of ON (from the clue) and the currently ubiquitous two-letter abbreviation for something which Anthropic’s Claude exemplifies.
Down
1d Harry, topless, hosting a celebration involving Rolling Stone (6)
A six-letter word meaning ‘harry’ or ‘annoy’ without its first letter (‘topless’) contains (‘hosting’) the letter A (from the clue). The definition puts me in mind of Mott the Hoople’s classic 1973 rocker (“There’s a rockabilly party on Saturday night / Are you gonna be there? / I’ve got my invite”).
4d Vehicle beside leader? (4)
An &lit, where a five-letter, two-wheeled, sub-51cc vehicle loses its first letter (‘leader’) to yield the (2-2) answer. I think that the use of ‘beside’ to indicate expulsion is probably a stretch too far.
5d Grand circle includes bar with exposed beams? (8)
The single-letter abbreviation for ‘Grand’ and a four-letter word for a circle are put around (‘includes’) a three-letter word for a bar or public house. The ‘exposed’ strikes me as benefiting the surface reading to the detriment of the definition.
8d Swimsuit that is, these days, below rock-bottom price? (8)
The two-letter abbreviation of the Latin phrase meaning ‘that is’ and the abbreviation for ‘Common Era’ follow (‘below’) a three-letter word and a single-letter abbreviation that together represent (since December 1984) the lowest price that could be charged in the UK for any item. The answer is hyphenated, (3-5).
10d Least fake shelled oysters (6)
A (4,4) phrase comprising the opposites of both ‘least’ and ‘fake’ (thus having a similar meaning to the combination) is stripped of its first and last letters (‘shelled’) to produce the answer.
21d Very loudly holding conferences about remote (6)
The two-letter musical abbreviation meaning ‘very loud’ contains (‘holding’) a reversal (‘about’) of the plural of a five-letter word for a situation or group in which people exchange ideas (‘conferences’).
22d Crush inside of each year’s bloom (6)
A four-letter word meaning ‘crush’ in the sense of ‘destroy’ is contained by (‘inside’) the two-letter abbreviation for the Latin phrase meaning ‘of [or for] each year’.
27d Size of paper that’s uneven, having lost margins (4)
A six-letter word meaning ‘uneven’ or ‘patchy’ has lost its first and last letters (‘margins’). That ‘uneven’ word might take certain more mature readers back to the 1960s and a man named Muldoon with an unfortunate affliction which forced him to wear a paper bag over his head.
(definitions are underlined)
Good to see that The Observer will accept clue-writing entries from anyone (but only online), including photos/scans of e.g. printed PDFs, so please keep offering us access to those PDFs of puzzles, Doctor. Thank you.
Will do 👍.
All becomes clear. Thank you
This monstrosity was the first of these puzzles I have attempted, and with your help completed, for a couple of months now. It served as a cogent reminder of why I shouldn’t waste time on these every week. There are so many questionable points in it, that it is just not fair to the solver.
12A: Presumably “Worm” is the definition, as I have a 2,3 phrase losing its first letter to give the ‘solution’. “Worm”??? Not in my Chambers!
25A: “White” is not an adequate definition, whereas “A white arsenic…” would have made the clue perfectly acceptable to give “A white” as a definition.
26A: The substitution for “covered in spit” again appears to me to be unacceptable. Surely it should have read “covered in blood” or “covered in old filth”, but “spit” just doesn’t ring true.
27D: Another dubious substitution here for “uneven”. “Marked”, “Blemished” etc. would have been more precise, so that this is again wilful obscurantism.
Despite completing this, I did not enjoy this puzzle and was repeatedly exasperated by some of the dubious shenanigans involved.
Hi MuchPuzzled
Thanks for commenting. I’m glad that Dr Clue’s notes helped get you over the finish line, but sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the experience. I found this puzzle challenging too, and I’ll admit there are a couple of clues that I haven’t managed to parse yet, but I think I can shed some light on the clues you highlighted:
12A: Your parsing sounds spot on. One of the definitions of ‘worm’ given in Chambers is “a mean, grovelling or in any way contemptible creature”, while the solution can mean “a contemptible person”.
25A: Yes, the entry is an example of a white, but I think that’s acceptable, in the same way that e.g. ‘country’ or ‘flower’ in a clue can lead to one specific country or flower as a solution.
26A: The surface reading conjures up a mental image of a biscuit covered in saliva, but this doesn’t work for the wordplay. Chambers has ‘spit2‘ as “a long narrow tongue of land” or “to transfix”, either of which could – I think – work here, if you check the 2nd entry in Chambers for the 4-letter word involved in the wordplay.
27D: Chambers lists “inconsistent, uneven” as a definition for the 6-letter word needed here. You might use it to describe a student’s attendance at school, for example, or someone’s performance at work.
On the whole, I’d say that Gemelo has been particularly devious here, but not unfair. The smooth surface readings create a lot of misdirection; the wordplay often relies on the more unusual or obscure meanings of the terms involved.
Afraid I still don’t buy the explanation for 26A. Whilst a “spit” is defined as “a long narrow tongue of land”, the required substitution is defined as “a triangular piece of land” – which is not the same thing! If it is difficult to justify the wordplay given the solution, then it is even harder to solve it as a clue to the solution. It is not fair play.
I do take your point. When I solved 26A, I had the verb senses in mind – I was thinking that both could mean “to skewer” (‘spit’ as in “spit roast” and what a bull might do to an unlucky matador). Then when I consulted Chambers, the noun senses also struck me as a possibility. Personally I find the verbs more convincing as synonyms than the nouns, but perhaps you’re right and it’s too much of a stretch whichever way you look at it!
Hi
Could you explain 32 across, please?
Hi Christine
In 32a, an archaic three-letter form of “God’s” formerly used in oaths (ie “God’s replacement no longer”) contains (‘taking’) a four-letter word for an aim or design. The definition is ‘the high ground’. Hope that makes sense.
I’d like to echo Sheila’s thanks for these clues. I used to avoid Azed and Gemolo but with your help have finished the last few.
Only clue not solved this week is 7d. I can’t find a leading letter for the word
Hi Paul
Thank you for your kind comments, much appreciated.
7d has a three-letter word typically indicated in cryptics by either ‘headland’ or ‘prince’ containing (‘welcoming’) the usual abbreviation for ‘very’. An alternative clue would have been ‘Artist and son welcoming five teachers’. Hope that helps.
Hi Doc, I’m stuck on 28 I’m afraid. I have E-AW. I’m guessing that’s the abbreviated answer? Help appreciated.
Hi Iain
I think you may have UPWARDS at 32a – that’s not correct.
I hope that will be enough to put you back on course, but let me know if not.
Strictly speaking any 7″ or 12″ viny disc only has 2 grooves, 1 on each side and the grooves for the longer playing 7″ disc are not narrower, they are just more tightly packed together. If the shorter playing version had wider grooves you would need a different width stylus to stop it bottoming and playing the dirt in the bottom of the groove. You would also need a different width cutting stylus to make the stampers.
Thanks, David – that’s very clear. I had a picture in my mind of what The Beatles’ Million Sellers (my first EP) looked like compared to a single (I’m not going to say what my first single was
), but I didn’t translate that well into my description. Now corrected!
But see Monty Python’s album, “Matching tie and handkerchief”
To be clear you are talking about an lp which has two separate grooves on one side so what you hear depends on where you put the stylus down on the disc. I think there is a John Cage LP which uses the same technique but such records are less common than vinyl LPs that revolve at 16rpm, which do exist. Nothing to do with the width of the groove.
Strangely enough, that was the first LP I ever owned. I wonder how many people can say that their first two LPs were Matching Tie and Handkerchief and Black Sabbath Volume 4.
Thank you. I now realise that it would have been easier to be accurate using a laptop and cursor than with my iPad.
Where does the ‘a’ come from in 16D?
Hi Hilary
The abbreviation for ‘each’ is EA, so the wordplay has a two-letter abbreviation, a single-letter abbreviation and a two-letter interjection all inside a three-letter ‘act of immersion’. I hope that makes sense.
My apologies. I accidentally over-highly rated the difficulty and couldn’t find a way of changing it. Is there one? Thank you, as ever, for your Notes. Slowly but surely I am getting better at solving.
Hi Sheila
No problem at all. On some browsers (eg Edge) you can refresh the page where it says ‘You have already voted on this puzzle’ and then select a different score, at which point the message will change to ‘Rating updated’. I’m not sure, though, that this works on all browsers/platforms. In this instance, I have deleted your ‘5’ vote, so you should be able to submit another rating.
I’m very glad to hear that you are finding the Notes useful, and gladder still to hear of your progress!