I thought this was a marvellous puzzle from a setter I don’t think I’m familiar with (in this guise at least): witty, inventive, original and challenging. It was such a fun solve I was even prepared to overlook the occasional over-contrived clue or questionable phrasing. Thank-you, Rosa.
| Across | ||
| 1 | LAWYER | Long heart-to-heart with your local solicitor? (6) |
| L [long] (he)a(rt) w [with] yer [local or colloquial form of ‘your’] | ||
| 4 | EDIFICES | Prince excluded from redevelopment of specified buildings (8) |
| Anagram of specified minus p [prince] | ||
| 9 | SPOT ON | Ban on circuses, in retrospect, is absolutely right (4,2) |
| Reversal of no tops [ban on circuses] | ||
| 10 | STRAW MEN | Smart New Labour shams (5,3) |
| Anagram of smart new | ||
| 12 | GRUESOME | Voice became a little repulsive (8) |
| Grue [sounds like grew, became] some [a little] |
||
| 13 | DREDGE | Doctor’s keenness to clear bed (6) |
| Dr [doctor] edge [keenness] | ||
| 15 | SKIN | Asking, like Andersen’s emperor, for coat (4) |
| (A)skin(g); Andersen’s emperor was, of course, naked | ||
| 16 | WRITING | Dictator’s correcting text (7) |
| Sounds like righting [correcting] | ||
| 20 | WOE IS ME | The end of romance is accepted by most women, alas (3,2,2) |
| (Romanc)e is within wome(n) | ||
| 21 | MEGA | Smashing a treasure from the east (4) |
| Reversal of a gem [a treasure] | ||
| 25 | TWO-WAY | How amazing to stand in river flowing in both directions! (3-3) |
| Wow [how amazing] within Tay [river] | ||
| 26 | UNDERSEA | Endures a tour in submarine (8) |
| Anagram of endures a | ||
| 28 | FLAMINGO | Exotic bird flipping over (8) |
| Flaming [flipping] o [over] | ||
| 29 | KOPECK | Blow kiss for Russian copper (6) |
| KO [knockout, blow] peck [kiss] | ||
| 30 | ENDANGER | Threaten to kill bug (8) |
| End [kill] anger [bug, annoy] | ||
| 31 | YEARLY | Peer into yards on a regular basis (6) |
| Earl [peer, nobleman] within Y Y [yards] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | LAST-GASP | Desperate pal’s stag do (4-4) |
| Anagram of pals stag | ||
| 2 | WHODUNIT | Mystery of Welsh bricklaying gang (8) |
| W [Welsh] hod unit [bricklaying gang] | ||
| 3 | EGOISM | Perhaps female shuns bravery for self-interest (6) |
| Heroism [bravery] with her [female] replaced by eg [for example, perhaps] | ||
| 5 | DOTS | Idiots sans eyes, we hear . . . . (4) |
| Idiots minus Is [sounds like ‘eyes’] | ||
| 6 | FLAGRANT | Notorious old lady in uniform (8) |
| Gran [old lady] within flat [uniform] | ||
| 7 | COMEDY | Play has to happen over 24 hours, answer goes (6) |
| Come [happen] day [24 hours] minus A [answer] | ||
| 8 | SINGER | She has sex with many, but not with choirboy? (6) |
| Swinger [she has sex with many] minus w [with] | ||
| 11 | EMBROIL | Implicate yours truly over manipulation of Libor (7) |
| Reversal of me [yours truly] anagram of libor | ||
| 14 | STAMINA | Spurs turned up without energy or staying power (7) |
| Reversal of animates [spurs] minus e [energy] | ||
| 17 | POTATION | One in a hundred supports fund for the drinking of alcohol (8) |
| Pot [fund] I [one] within a ton [a hundred] | ||
| 18 | MENSWEAR | Blokes curse Y-fronts, among other things (8) |
| Men [blokes] swear [curse] | ||
| 19 | MALARKEY | Cock bird getting closer to mate in springtime (8) |
| Lark [bird] (mat)e within May [springtime]; ‘cock’ is used in the obscure sense ‘nonsense’ | ||
| 22 | STIFLE | Silence a bunch of pigs, reportedly (6) |
| Sounds like sty-ful [bunch of pigs] | ||
| 23 | TOWARD | For headless chicken time is over (6) |
| T [time] (C)oward [chicken] | ||
| 24 | BEGONE | Fervently ask individual to get lost (6) |
| Beg [fervently ask] one [individual] | ||
| 27 | OGRE | Monster conger-eel regularly escaping (4) |
| Alternate letters from cOnGeR eEl | ||
A good puzzle, but I still don’t follow the detail for 19D
I don’t see how MATE becomes E
Hi AID. “Closer to mate” indicates the ‘closing’ or final letter of ‘mate’. Hope that helps!
Oh!
I see it now. Thanks
My version calls the setter Rosa Klebb, not just Rosa.
Thanks for the great blog, Ringo, especially for the last two or three in the bottom left corner, where I’d run into the buffers.
A marvellous puzzle, as you say, with all the hallmarks of one of my top favourite setters. I have my suspicions …
Huge thanks, Rosa, whoever you are – I loved it! 😉
Thanks Rosa Klebb for a hugely entertaining puzzle and Ringo for the blog.
To me, one of the things that distinguishes a really good puzzle from a merely good puzzle is the number of words which have completely different meanings in surface and cryptic readings of the clue. This puzzle scores very highly on that criterion.
I had already read the preamble before solving, so was on the lookout for questionable phrasing. The only one I could see was in 20ac, where I am not completely happy with “most women” to mean “most of the word WOMEN”. I would prefer something like “almost all women”, which would (I think) give almost as good a surface, but I know I am in a very small minority in this preference, and of course expect setters to follow the majority view.
Another issue which I know affects different solvers differently is the nature of the grid. My preference is to solve just one clue from scratch, and then try to work out from there. I have seen bloggers and other commenters talk about number of clues solved on the first pass (or similar remarks), so I assume they go at things differently. For my approach, a grid that splits into isolated quarters as badly as this one does is highly undesirable. However, in the case of today’s puzzle, the sheer joy of solving the clues was ample compensation. I have asked before about how much freedom FT setters have in the choice of grid but have not seen a clear answer.
Thank you to Rosa for an entertaining struggle and to Ringo for the explanations. Lots to enjoy in this one. Thanks to Rosa too – like Eileen I do have my suspicions as to your identity 😉
I really enjoyed this. I usually start each day with the Guardian cryptic, and turn to the FT if that doesn’t give me enough of a fix. But today, intrigued by Rosa Klebb, who I hadn’t seen as a setter before, I started with this one, and I’m glad I did.
Not an easy solve, but witty and entertaining, and satisfying to complete. The south-west corner was the most elusive for me, until I finally twigged sty-ful, having racked my brains trying to think of collective nouns for pigs.
I see that the “Setters” page of Fifteensquared has already identified Rosa Klebb as the excellent spider lady. Does the new name hint at a more sadistic approach? Bring it on, Ms Klebb, I can take any amount of this torture! 😉
Eileen @5; you’ve only got to look at Arachne under Setters here to find Rosa Klebb [From Russia with Love! 😉 ] Thanks Rosa/A; what a treat to have two of you today. Another cracking puzzle!
Thanks Ringo; some super clues. Some of my favourites were LAWYER, FLAMINGO, WHODUNIT, SINNER, MENSWEAR etc….
I suspected Anarchism at play, thanks to her, 8d was naughty but nice and 29 fitted well with the new pseudonym.
Merci Ringo for the confirmations.