A good crossword from Phi today. If there was a Nina in the puzzle it has defeated me.
There are a number of words in today’s entry that are not that regular in everyday conversation – e.g. ALPENHORN, EPONYM, FECUND, TARADIDDLE and BUTTY. Having said that, they are all words I have come across outside the world of crosswords, so I have no complaints about their usage.
Given Phi’s predilection for Ninas it struck me that these words may have been forced on him by the introduction of a Nina, but despite a bit of looking I can’t find anything. I wondered if there was a FALCONER who was a Poet or Nobel LAUREATE but I can’t unearth any appropriate reference
I am not sure about the matching of tenses for ADDLE and ‘confused’ at 12 down.
My favourite clues today included 1 across with its contained word within another contained word and the anagram at 27 across (DEHYDRATED)
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1
|
Fool in wet tucking into beer – one shows swallowing motion (5,5)
|
(SAP [fool] contained in [in] DAMP [wet]) all contained in (tucking into) ALE (beer)
A (DAM (S AP) P) LE |
ADAM’S APPLE (the projection of the thyroid cartilage in front of the throat, which can be seen to move in the act of swallowing)
|
| 8
|
Almost all obscene material around hen partying? It’s a blast (9)
|
ALL excluding the final letter (almost) L + (PORN [obscene material] containing [around] an anagram of [partying] HEN)
AL P (ENH*) ORN |
ALPENHORN (a long powerful horn made of wood and bark, used chiefly by Alpine cowherds; reference ‘blast’ on a HORN)
|
| 9
|
Old plane losing 100 in speed (4)
|
CRATE (decrepit [old] aeroplane) excluding (losing) C (Roman numeral for 100)
|
RATE (speed)
|
| 10
|
The writer recalled introducing horse such as Black Beauty (6)
|
ME (the writer) reversed (recalled) containing (introducing) PONY (horse)
E (PONY) M< |
EPONYM (a character who gives a play, book etc its title, as is the case with the book [about a horse] BLACK BEAUTY by Anna Sewell)
|
| 11
|
Cheers fight after turning up for broadcast (3,5)
|
UP reversed (turning) + TA (thank you; cheers) + BOUT (fight)
PU< T A BOUT |
PUT ABOUT (publish; circulate; broadcast)
|
| 13
|
Observing heartless love (6)
|
NOTHING (zero; love score in tennis is 0) excluding the middle letter (heartless) H
|
NOTING (observing)
|
| 14
|
Flying expert for clean flying (8)
|
Anagram of (flying) FOR CLEAN
|
FALCONER (a person who hunts with, or who breeds and trains, falcons or hawks; flying expert)
|
| 17
|
Nobel winner’s line of gold (8)
|
L (line) + AUREATE (gilded; golden; of gold)
|
LAUREATE (one honoured by distinction, e.g. a Nobel prizewinner)
|
| 19
|
Entertained our group, diving into a sea (6)
|
US (our group) contained in (diving into) (A + MED (Mediterrannean Sea)
A M (US) ED |
AMUSED (entertained)
|
| 21
|
Major issue taking several years to produce (4,4)
|
BABY (child; issue) + BOOM (sudden increase of activity – qualifies ‘issue’ [BABY/IES] to make it a ‘major issue’)
|
BABY BOOM (the impact of a baby boom unfolds over several years)
|
| 23
|
Productive City surrounded by source of money (6)
|
EC (postcode for the City of London) contained in (surrounded by) FUND (money available; source of money)
F (EC) UND |
FECUND (fruitful; productive)
|
| 25
|
No opening to begin cutting flan (4)
|
START (begin) excluding (no) the first letter (opening) S
|
TART (a flan is a flat open tart)
|
| 26
|
Safety measure recalled medicine after receiving a protest (9)
|
(DRUG [medicine] containing [receiving] A) all reversed (returning) + RAIL (protest)
(GU (A) RD)< RAIL |
GUARDRAIL (safety barrier; safety measure)
|
| 27
|
How “the dead dry”may be represented (10)
|
Anagram of (may be represented) THE DEAD DRY
|
DEHYDRATED (exhibiting excessive loss of water from the tissues of the body [leading to death]) &Lit clue
|
| Down | |||
| 1
|
Anyone can, if provoked, become a pest (9)
|
Anagram of (if provoked) ANYONE CAN
|
ANNOYANCE (pest)
|
| 2
|
A government about to step down? Excitedly eager (4)
|
A + G (government) + (GO [leave a job; step down] reversed [about])
A G OG< |
AGOG (excitedly eager)
|
| 3
|
Bad behaviour by member of ensemble cast, not about to be distinctive (8) | SIN (bad behaviour) + (REGULAR [a person who does something often;e.g. someone who is frequently a member of an ensemble cast, such as a group of ballet dancers] excluding [not] RE [about])
|
SINGULAR (distinctive)
|
| 4
|
Old man around rescue vessel has warm gear (6)
|
PA (father; old man) containing (around) ARK (reference Noah’s ARK, a vessel for rescuing animals from flooding)
P (ARK) A |
PARKA
|
| 5
|
Leased hillside that’s a disappointmnment (7)
|
LET (leased) + DOWN (a treeless upland; hill)
|
LETDOWN (disappointment)
|
| 6
|
Warning sailors and reporter about student pop venue (6,4)
|
CAVE (beware; warning) + RN (Royal Navy; sailors) + (CUB [young inexperienced newspaper reporter] containing [about] L [learner; student])
CAVE RN C (L) UB |
CAVERN CLUB (a music venue in Liverpool, best known as the early home of The Beatles pop group)
|
| 7
|
Expert in breaking out is to pull out (6)
|
PRO (professional; expert) contained in (in) (an anagram of [breaking] OUT)
U (PRO) OT* |
UPROOT (remove forcibly; pull out)
|
| 12
|
Sailor confused about detective’s nonsense (10)
|
TAR (reference Jack TAR; sailor) + (ADDLE [to make or become confused – I don’t see this as the same as ‘confused’] containing DI [Detective Inspector])’
TAR A (DI) DDLE |
TARADIDDLE (nonsense)
|
| 15
|
Praised in cryptic terms including male soldiers (9)
|
CODED (expressed in cryptic terms) containing (including) (M [male] + MEN [soldiers])
CO (M MEN) DED |
COMMENDED (praised)
|
| 16
|
More powerful foreigner showing love for one (8)
|
STRANGER (foreigner) with (for) O (love score in tennis) replacing A (one)
|
STRONGER (more powerful)
|
| 18
|
Suspicion of injury? University doctor to show anger (7)
|
U (university) + MB (Bachelor of Medicine; doctor) + RAGE (anger)
|
UMBRAGE (suspicion of injury)
|
| 20
|
Shrill sound from endless wind rounding far end of Naze (6)
|
(SQUALL [wind] excluding the final letter [endless] L) containing (rounding) E (last letter of [far end of] NAZE)
SQU (E) AL |
SQUEAL (shrill sound)
|
| 22
|
Partner inclined to raise objections? (5)
|
BUTTY (using the word ‘BUT‘ often; inclined to raise objections)
|
BUTTY (chum, comrade, partner especially in a coalmine)
|
| 24
|
Long line coming out of station (4)
|
PLANT (place firmly; sttaion) excluding (coming out of) L (line)
|
PANT (wish ardently; long)
|
An enjoyable Phi puzzle. I couldn’t see a theme or a nina either. PANT was my LOI.
As far as “addle” = “confused” in 12dn is concerned, I had a similar query with the same cluing in a recent crossword and one of the contributors came back with the answer that the words can be an adjective as well as a verb, and in the adjectival sense it works.
I had a minor quibble with the definition of ALPENHORN as “it’s a blast”. “It makes a blast” would be accurate. Having said that, if you were with somebody in the Alps and heard the blast of an alpenhorn and the question is asked “what’s that?”, then the answer would probably be “it’s an alpenhorn”, not “it’s the sound of an alpenhorn”, so maybe from that perspective the clue works.
2D I parsed as A + G about GO; I suppose either way works.
25A Don’t understand the use of both “no opening” and “cutting” in this clue, especially as the latter word is not included in the wordplay explanation.
Agree with Andy B’s quibble about “it’s a blast”.
Hasten to add I enjoyed the crossword, thanks to Phi and duncanshiell.
Two or three less common words, but I got there in the end, with PANT my last in (couldn’t see where the station came in, so thank you Duncan). I liked CAVERN CLUB today.
The ADDLE definition that Andy mentioned was referred to in the IoS blog last Sunday, where Querulous pointed out that it is in Chambers as an adjective. Strange but true.
Thanks to Phi for today’s puzzle.
In ALPENHORN, maybe “It’s a blast” is intended to be read as “It has a blast”.
@5nmsindy – more than a little contrived if so.
That is, @4nmsindy.
TART may mean both cutting and a flan so 25a has a double definition besides the word play.
Thanks, Phi and Duncan.
gwep @2: Re 25ac I agree with you about ‘cutting’. The only use I can see for it is to improve(?) the surface of the clue.
Well spotted, sidey @7. you got in there while I was still typing.
Very late start on the puzzle so we’ve only just completed it.
Our LOI was PANT as well. We wanted to enter WANT but couldn’t parse it!
We wondered about ADDLE too but remembered having concerns about this before as well.
Thanks Phi and Duncan.