We don’t often see Nestor during the week and it seems like ages since I’ve blogged one of his puzzles. I was expecting a bit of a toughie, but actually found that I got through it fairly quickly. That didn’t however detract from the quality of the clues. There were some great ones here, from the get-go to the let-go.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 8 | WE SHALL OVERCOME – (MOVE CLOSER WHALE)* |
| 10 | FILCH – Hidden reversal in heatHCLIFf |
| 11 | TASMAN SEA – T(ime) AS (when) MANSE (church accommodation) + A |
| 12 | LICKSPITTLE – (PICKS)* in LITTLE |
| 14 | MUD – Starts to Mount Up Distressingly |
| 15 | TONSURE – NOT SURE with front section flipped |
| 17 | KITTIES – KIT (strip) + TIES (connects) |
| 19 | ERR – R[-a]RE rev. |
| 20 | BASTARDISE – TARDIS in BASE (foot) + [-considere]D |
| 22 | SOLAR CELL – ARC + ELL behind SOL |
| 24 | BENIN – N(orth) in BE IN |
| 25 | THE WEIRD SISTERS – (TWISTS HER DESIRE)* |
| Down | |
| 1 | SWIFTLET – (FLEW + TITS)* |
| 2 | AARHUS – U(nited) in AA + RHS (right hand side) |
| 3 | FLATLINERS – I think this is just LINER in FLATS< the definition relating to the film |
| 4 | IVES – I’VE + S(ingular) |
| 5 | ARMAMENT – M.A + MEN in ART |
| 6 | HOUSEMAID’S KNEE – (IN DUKE’S HOME AS ‘E)* |
| 7 | HERALD – A[-nima]L in HERD |
| 9 | SELF-CONTROLLED – S(mall) ELF + CON (trick) + TROLL (ugly one) + E[-xude]D |
| 13 | TAKE A CLASS – (ALASKA’S ETC.)* |
| 16 | UNBURDEN – RUB rev. in U.N DEN |
| 18 | SUDANESE – DANES in SUE |
| 19 | ERSATZ – S.A.T + Z after ER |
| 21 | DEBASE – DEBATE with S(ucceeded) for T(ime) |
| 23 | EZRA – Even letters of sEiZuRe As |
Lovely surfaces here. I probably do a Thursday or Friday Indy about biweekly, and never fail to be impressed by the standard of the clueing.
I’d a different parsing for 3dn: flat liners = people who provide insulation film, with the def. being ‘concerned with loss of life’ in that to flatline on an ECG means you’re dead.
@Handel #1 that how I saw 3dn too as my last in. Generally a lot easier than most Nestor puzzles, indeed this week seems to have eased on us a lot. Perhaps Eimi’s mellowing a bit.
I probably finished this a bit too quickly and put arbalest for 5 down. It’s one of those unfortunate situations where the word fitted so well I didn’t see how it could be wrong, even though the parsing of les for soldiers didn’t make sense.
I think 3 down is basically two definitions with the break after “insulation”, with Handel’s definition being correct for the first bit and the second bit a reference to the film.
Thanks Ali for the blog, and to Nestor for a finely crafted puzzle, perhaps a little easier than previous ones even excluding his prize puzzles (or ekse my memory may be flawed).
Liked all the respective wordplays (am I right in saying there isn’t a single cd or dd?), especially those for 12A LICKSPITTLE, 15A TONSURE and 20A BASTARDISED.
Agree with the general view on this, much easier than usual for Nestor but just as good as usual with novel approaches all through. Thanks for the blog, Ali, and Nestor for the puzzle.
Thanks Ali and also to Nestor for a fairly gently workout. I enjoyed the clues to Tonsure, Kitties and Ersatz. I was not so keen on Flatliners. Not a very good clue and the whimsical definition comes first so, really, the question mark should come after insulation. Perhaps Nestor should have finished the grid with Glitziness instead.
Thank you, Ali.
I seldom do the Indy Saturday puzzle, but I’m aware Nestor has a reputation for being tough, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this not over-tricky and most enjoyable. Some nice long anagrams, and my other favourites today were TONSURE and SOLAR CELL.
From being 0-2 down on Tuesday lunchtime I have pulled this week back to 2-2, so I am looking forward to snatching a late win with Phi tomorrow.
Re 3down I think some solvers are complicating things – the film was all about life and death and I believe it is that simple – nothing to do with flat liners on cardiac monitors – sometimes we make clues more complicated than they are !!
After failing to finish yesterday’s, this was a good start to the day (dispiriting if you can’t even start the thing while strap-hanging on the tube). Thank you Nestor, and Ali for the blog. Last ones in were herald and mud. It’s often the easiest ones you can’t see for looking! Didn’t know about the film so assumed 3d referred to cardiac monitors.
Flatliners now puts all of us within 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon … and the cardiac monitors featured heavily in the film. Don’t know how you strap hang and read crossword on tube Ele I’ve never managed the knack.
Sorry Rodders, you say we are overcomplicating things but it is actually Nestor who is doing the overcomplicating. “Film about people who insulate apartments?” would have been fine.
@flashling no.10. Shoulder bag rather than briefcase, and complete disregard for other passengers, means you have one hand free and the Indy just about folds up conveniently. But it is difficult to actually write the answers in!