Rufus’s alter ego sets a puzzle to his usual standard: enjoyable, if not difficult, with clean concise clues and plenty of amusing cryptic definitions.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | FEATHERS *(HERE FAST) |
| 5 | SCALED dd |
| 9 | CONTRACT cd, playing on the two meanings of the word, i.e., to shrink and a commercial agreement |
| 10 | TRAGIC RAG (irritate) in TIC (twitch) |
| 12 | NOYES NO + YES. Referring to the poet Alfred Noyes. |
| 13 | POTPOURRI POUR (to serve) in POT (vessel) + R (right) I (one). The definition is STEW (from 11 down), in the sense of a mixture of things |
| 14 | ANANAS hidden answer |
| 16 | WREATHE *(WEATHER) |
| 19 | TREATED dd |
| 21 | CALMLY *(MY CALL) |
| 23 | PAPER CLIP cd The “leaves” are sheets of paper rather than the natural kind |
| 25 | PARIS dd |
| 26 | AQUILA *(A QUAIL) Referring to the constellation, named for the eagle owned by Zeus |
| 27 | FINE-TUNE FINE (splendid) + TUNE (melody) |
| 28 | EMBRYO *(MORE BY) |
| 29 | BEHEADED To “have a leader” is to BE HEADED. This was a terrific clue and my favourite of the puzzle. |
| Down | |
| 1 | FECUND EC (the City) in FUND (investment) |
| 2 | ANNOYANCE *(ANYONE CAN) Unfortunate for Dante/Rufus that the two puzzles in which he used the exact same clue appeared on consecutive days (see yesterday’s Guardian). |
| 3 | HARPS cd This is *(SHARP) |
| 4 | RECIPES RE (about) C (one hundred) + *(PIES) |
| 6 | CORPOREAL E (energy) in CORPORAL (a “non-commissioned officer” or NCO) |
| 7 | LUGER LUGE (toboggan) R (“race” starts) |
| 8 | DECLINES *(LICENSED) |
| 11 | STEW WETS (soaks) reversed |
| 15 | NATURALLY *(AUNT) + RALLY (recover) |
| 17 | TALK ROUND dd |
| 18 | STOPPAGE dd A STOPPAGE may be either a strike or the tax deductions from one’s pay |
| 20 | DILL D (Roman 500 and therefore “many”) ILL (unwell) |
| 21 | CAPSIZE Because how big-headed one is determines one’s CAP SIZE |
| 22 | ASCEND cd |
| 24 | PLUMB PLUM (Victoria, a type of plum) B (born) |
| 25 | PIECE Because you can’t do better than a MASTERPIECE. |
Hi Agentzero
Sorry but I have to disagree with you regarding 3d. Surely it is an anagram of ‘sharp’, ie HARPS.
Gaufrid, thanks! You’re right of course. I hd persuaded myself it was another Rufus cd. I’ll fix the blog.
I found this to be a very enjoyable puzzle.
I learned a new word from this one. I had never before heard of a Victoria plum. That is one for me to store in the memory bank in case it comes up again in a future crossword.
Thanks Dante – good puzzle.