Another corker from Nestor, with lots of clever and original stuff going on.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 5 | G,LIT,ZY |
| 11 | (st)AR,GUE(st) – very nice surface reading for this one. |
| 12 | (TO A DUNCE)* – the first one I filled in as it’s a fairly easy spot. |
| 13 | BARB<,ANTI,O – had to “refresh my memory” using Google to get this although the wordplay isn’t too tricky. |
| 14 | “bAyOu” mixed in with THE |
| 15 | (O OR STAIN I COULD)* |
| 16 | CHARACTER ACTOR – I’m not a big fan of cryptic defs but I liked this one. A pun on the definition of “card” as a person who is odd or amusing or “quite a character”. |
| 21 | U-BOAT – the (1-4) enumeration gives this away but it took me a while to work it out and I was oddly reluctant to fill it in until I’d done so. It’s O (love) in TABU< (alternate spelling of “taboo”).I loved the intriguing surface reading too. |
| 25 | (GET ABUSE E)* |
| 26 | TITLE – 22A is TIGHT so “tight will” becomes “tight’ll” which sounds like TITLE. Clever. |
| 28 | (PONY S(h)O(w))* |
| Down | |
| 2 | MAG,MA(g) – another good surface reading and an excellent device (“almost completing second issue”) to indicate MA(g) |
| 3 | OPERAGOER – I’m sure this is right but the wordplay is lost on me. “Poetically ended” must be O’ER but that’s all I can work out. |
| 4 | SORT,CEPS (going up),(OPTICS)* – excellent clue. |
| 7 | (HIT BOG THO)* |
| 10 | (RUSH USES SOLEMN)* |
| 16 | H in COOL in SAGE – I nearly filled in SCHOOL DAY without bothering to workout the wordplay. |
| 17 | TEA FOR TWO – excellent definition (“Day’s filming included this”) referring to the film starring Doris Day but I can’t work out the wordplay – any offers? |
| 19 | REEFER – I think this is right but I’m not sure. A reefer is a cannabis cigarette and a person who reefs a sail and I think the clue is referring to both meanings. So, “Rolling with a bit of blow coming in” refers to rolling a cigarette and adding blow (that’s slang for cannabis, kids) and a ship rolling the waves with the wind getting up. Very subtle, assuming I’ve read it right. |
| 22 | T(HER)IGHT |
TEA FOR TWO TEA(m) FORT (possible battle scene) WO Without Supporting tells us put the TEA first. Never heard of the film till now, thought of it as a 30s song.
3Dn: Can’t remember the precise wording of this clue, but the wordplay worked as RAG (music) between OPE (poetic word for ‘open’) and O’ER (poetic word for ‘over’).
Another superb puzzle from a setter already proving himself to be among the Indy’s very best.