IO puzzles are usually a challenge, and this one does not disappoint. Thank you IO for stretching my brain this morning.
There are a couple of clues where IO has defeated me. I’m sure there are valid explanations in there somewhere but I’m damned if I can find them.
| Across | ||
| 1, 28 | POINTS OF NO RETURN | Aces? (6,2,2,6) |
| cryptic definition – in tennis a serve completely missed by the returner. I like this one, very nice! | ||
| 6, 27 | JOSEPH HELLER | Pub commotion interrupts beloved visionary writer (6,6) |
| PH (pub) HELL (commotion) inside (interrupts) JO (beloved) SEER (visionary) – American writer | ||
| 9 | MINCER | I say, with pretence, “fine chopper!” (6) |
| double definition – ‘to mince words’ and kitchen implement | ||
| 10 | AU POIVRE | Peppered back of setter during out-of-control rave-up (2,6) |
| IO (setter) reversed (back of, a reversal of) in (during) RAVE-UP* anagram=out of control | ||
| 11 | EMMA | Book a series of requiem masses (4) |
| found inside ( a series of letters of) requiEM MAsses – book by Jane Austen | ||
| 12 | ETHEREALLY | Spiritually, the very following envisaged for openers (10) |
| THE REALLY (very) following E (for openers, to begin, envisiaged) – definition is ‘spiritually’. |
||
| 14 | FINDINGS | Sawyer’s mate finally runs through board’s conclusion (8) |
| Huckleberry FINN (Sawyer’s mate) with the last letter N inside (running through) DIGS (board) – definition is ‘conclusion’. The apostrophe on board’s denotes ‘is’, the definition follows… | ||
| 16 | FAST | Fixed quick (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 18 | OFFA | On holiday with a top man in Mercia (4) |
| OFF (on holiday) with A – ancient king (top man) of Mercia | ||
| 19 | NEOPLASM | Analysed sample on nasty new growth (8) |
| (SAMPLE ON)* anagram=analysed – definition is ‘nasty new growth’, a tumour | ||
| 21 | ANDY WARHOL | Artist with cycling crusade (4,6) |
| AND (with) HOLY WAR (crusade) with the first three letters cycled (moving in a loop, off the front and onto the back) | ||
| 22 | BIER | Stand at funeral to speak about porter? (4) |
| sounds like (to speak about) beer (porter) | ||
| 24 | LINDY HOP | Speedy measure: Hamilton on pole gets through motor racing circuit, breaking old record (5,3) |
| I’m not sure of this one, something along the lines of… INDY (Indianapolis, motor racing circuit) H (Hamilton on pole, first letter of) O (old) LP (record) – the Lindy Hop was an energetic dance, a ‘speedy measure’ H (letter in first position, on pole, of Hamilton) in (through) INDY (motor racing) O (a circuit) all inside (breaking) LP (old record) – thanks to Gaufrid |
||
| 26 | YEASTY | Orient going through years of upheaval (6) |
| EAST (orient) in (going through) YY (year, twice) – definition is ‘of upheaval’, swelling. I had to look in the OED to justify this one. | ||
| 27 | See 6 | |
| 28 | See 1 | |
| Down | ||
| 2, 23 | OPIUM EATER | See our pie range, including beef for druggie (5-5) |
| see (you will find…) (OUR PIE)* anagram=range (to travel about) including MEAT (beef) | ||
| 3 | NICE AND EASY | Accepting hollow defence in any case is criminal (what does it every time!) (4,3,4) |
| DefencE (hollow, no middle) in (accepted by) (IN ANY CASE)* anagram=is criminal – “nice and easy does it, every time”, from Frank Sinatra song | ||
| 4, 17 | SERVE-AND-VOLLEYER | Eleven years older, very badly lacking energy, he doesn’t want return in court (5-3-8) |
| anagram of (badly) of eLEVEN YEARS OLDER V (very) missing E=energy – a tennis player who attacks the net | ||
| 5 | FLASHES IN THE PAN | Freddie’s not leaving without the urn: he has bowl – and unusual successes! (7,2,3,3) |
| I’m a bit stuck on this one. The best I can do is Freddie FLINTstonE (with S NOT leaving) contains (outside, without) ASHES (the urn) then HE with (has) PAN (bowl). This explanation has an extra E. Alternatively, ASHES IN THE PAN could cryptically be ‘leaving without the urn, he has a bowl’, but you would have to explain Freddie’s=FL. Freddy FLINToff missing OFF (not leaving) containing (without) ASHES (the urn) then HE and PAN (bowl). Thanks to Eileen. |
||
| 6 | JAPERY | Bird dressing for a pantomime (6) |
| JAY (bird) contains (dressing, clothing) PER (for a) – definition is ‘pantomime’ | ||
| 7 | SKI | Runner, not quite at full pelt? (3) |
| SKIn (pelt) unfinished=not quite at full – definition is runner | ||
| 8 | See 15 | |
| 13 | AT FULL BLAST | Finally traps French toreador’s target, heading back very quickly (2,4,5) |
| AT LAST (finally) contains (traps) F (French) BULL (toreador’s target) with heading (first letter) moved to the back | ||
| 15, 8 | INFANTILE PARALYSIS | Palestinian’s fairly battle-worn condition (9,9) |
| (PALESTINIAN’S FAIRLY)* anagram=battle-worn – definition is ‘condition’ | ||
| 17 | See 4 | |
| 20 | RASHER | Rather foolhardy, and a little streaky? (6) |
| double/cryptic definition – a slice of streaky bacon | ||
| 23 | See 2 | |
| 25 | DAL | Pulse the stableman’s raised (3) |
| LAD (stableman) reversed (raised) – definition is ‘pulse’, a lentil | ||
*anagram
Thanks, PeeDee for a great blog, particularly for 14ac, which I couldn’t get.
5dn is brilliant – but it took me a while: it’s [Freddie] FLINT[off] [not going] round ASHES [urn] + HE + PAN. One of the best clues I’ve seen in ages.
Huge thanks to Io – I loved it all.
This one was hard work. Well done PeeDee and IO. 5A “I” homophone “eye”, mincer is Cockney slang for eye. (mincepies – eyes). 5D remains a mystery.
Thanks Eileen, we crossed.
Thanks PeeDee
In 24ac, as the ‘old’ comes after ‘breaking’, I parsed this as:
H[amilton] in INDY (motor racing) O (circuit) in LP (old record).
Nice crossword!
Thanks for clearing up 5dn.
For 24ac I went with H(amilton) O(n)[“pole” – first letter] [“goes through” – after] INDY [“breaking” – inside] LP [“old record”]
I couldn’t see how to get the “O” in the right place if it was clued by “Old”
Thanks to IO and PeeDee
paulwaver @2 – interesting idea for 5A. If mincer=eye then where does ‘pretence’ fit in?
PeeDee @ 6: – “mince” is (among other meanings) to pronounce in an affected way, so a mincer is one who speaks pretentiously
Hi Meic, yes that’s right. I’m wondering if paulwaver’s rhyming slang idea @2 could be made into another solution.
A lovely Wednesday treat thank you IO. Too many favourites to list. Thank you to PeeDee too.
12a ‘For openers’ seems to be an informal expression meaning ‘to start with’. So I think that this works well as an instruction to take the first letter of ‘envisaged’.
Thanks to PeeDee and Io
Thanks to all for help tidying up the loose ends in the blog.
Great stuff – missed this yesterday. Many thanks to both.