A second Nestor in a row for me, in the 5-weekly blogging cycle, and another pleasant solve with some interesting surface readings…
My eye drifted down to the bottom of the grid and got DEPLETED URANIUM and RIPON quite early on – and the lower half of the grid gradually filled up as I bubbled my way up to the surface.
I casually entered BANGERS AND MASH and COMMUNITY RADIO from enumeration, crossing letters and what looked like definitions – but took much longer to actually break them down and justify the entries. The reading of 10D with Bangers and Mash as an aphrodisiac course before some ‘rough sex’, Fifty Shades-style, was quite disturbing – I guess not everybody needs oysters and champagne to get them going?!
Similarly with MEPHISTOPHELEAN, which took a while to get and parse, there is a great image of the ‘devilish’ Nigel Farage – a description which I guess could be taken as a compliment or an insult, depending on your point of view?
The use of S(H)IN(H)PAD for DAPHNIS is quite inspired, and there were a few other chuckles along the way.
LOI was THIMBLERIG – which, conversely, I got from the wordplay/crossing letters, but had to check for the definition. Lovely word!
I couldn’t see any particular thematic material – either in clues, entries or any Nina – but this was an enjoyable mental workout for a Saturday morning.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 8A | ORATORY | The difference between casual and formal test sites is eloquence (7) | eloquence / LABORATORY (fomal test site) can be referred to casually as LAB – so the difference is ORATORY (?) |
| 9A | RHUBARB | Republican centre holding 7 for extra conversation? (7) | extra conversation (esp. theatrical murmur) / R (Republican) + HU_B (centre) around (holding) BAR (7 – tavern) |
| 11A | MEPHISTOPHELEAN | Devilish Farage, say, the chap’s best man offering little substance (15) | Devilish / MEP (Member of the European Parliament, e.g. Nigel Farage) + HIS (the chap’s) + TOP (best) + HE (man) + LEAN (offering little substance) |
| 12A | NANOMETRE | A hair (or less) encountered in bread product of mine (9) | A hair(‘s breadth) – or less / NAN (bread) + O_RE (product of mine) around MET (encountered) |
| 14A | RINSE | Get out of bed around noon for a wash (5) | a wash / RI_SE (get out of bed) around N (noon) |
| 15A | TERMINI | Journey ends in area skipped by race car (7) | journey ends / TE(A)R (race, missing, or skipping, A – area) + MINI (make of car) |
| 17A | INDOORS | Molten iron sold but not left within buildings (7) | within buildings / anag (i.e. molten) of IRON SO(L)D – without L – left |
| 19A | RIPON | Continue pulling apart city in North Yorkshire (5) | city in North Yorkshire / If you continue pulling something apart you might RIP ON |
| 21A | BERNSTEIN | American conductor’s right note interrupting worst German one (9) | American conductor / BE_ST (to beat somone, or ‘worst’ them) around (interrupted by) R (right) + N (note), plus EIN German for ‘one’) |
| 23A | DEPLETED UNRANIUM | By-product of enrichment Prudential deem skewed across upper class (8,7) | By-product of enrichment / anag (i.e. skewed) of PRUDENTIAL DEEM, around U (upper class) |
| 25A | OPUS DEI | Home-made bomb’s finished old, regressive religious group (4,3) | religious group / IED (improvised explosive device) + S (contraction of is) + UP (finished) + O old) – all ‘regressive’ = OPUS DEI |
| 26A | DAPHNIS | Legendary fieldsman perhaps reversed leg protection, moving hard to the centre (7) | Legendary fieldsman (Greek mythology, Sicilian shepherd, inventor of pastoral poetry) / S(H)INPAD – leg protection, with H – hard – moving to the centre, and all reversed |
| Down | |||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
| 1D | COMMUNITY RADIO | It’s Not Unusual almost securing number one, excellent one for DIY broadcasting? (9,5) | DIY broadcasting / COMM_O(N) – not unusual, almost – around (securing) UNITY (the number ‘one’) + RAD (radical, excellent!) + I (one) |
| 2D | DAMPENER | Something subduing writer stops hopeless dream (8) | Something subduing / DAM_ER (anag, i.e. hopeless, of DREAM) containing (stopped by) PEN (writer) |
| 3D | PODIUM | Little stage of quiet disgust (6) | Little stage / P (piano, quiet) + ODIUM (disgust) |
| 4D | CYST | Abnormal growth upped Patsy Cline covers (4) | Abnormal growth / hidden word ‘covered by’ ‘paTSY Cline’, upped |
| 5D | PROPHESIER | Who can tell what’s ahead? Males current with decent clothing (10) | Who can tell what’s ahead (?) / PROP_ER (decent) around (clothing HES (males) + I (current) |
| 6D | PUREBRED | Pedigree of British Rail, made smooth on the outside (8) | Pedigree / PURE_ED (made smooth) outside BR (British Rail) |
| 7D | TAVERN | Tennessee state blocks drinking establishment (6) | drinking establishment / T_N (Tn, Tennessee) around (blocked by) AVER (state) |
| 10D | BANGERS AND MASH | Dish in a heap before rough sex (one shade of grey) (7,3,4) | Dish / BANGER (heap, clapped-out old car) + S AND M (rough sex) + ASH (one shade of grey) |
| 13D | THIMBLERIG | Fiddle with bright lime pants (10) | Fiddle (as in con/cheat) / anag (i.e. pants) of BRIGHT LIME |
| 16D | INNUENDO | Suggestion upset nine from Berlin among elected party (8) | Suggestion / IN (elected) + DO (party), around NUEN (neun, nine, in Germany, upset) |
| 18D | OBEDIENT | Complying with plot that is dividing Ontario (8) | Complying with / O_NT (Ont, Ontario) around (divided by) BED (garden plot) + IE (that is) |
| 20D | PIPE UP | Chart style upstart announced to begin speech (4,2) | begin speech / homophone – PIPE UP sounds like: PIE (style of chart) + PUP (upstart) |
| 22D | SWAMPY | Did stroke play, losing heart with unsolid ground (6) | with unsolid ground / SWAM (did stroke) + P(LA)Y (losing heart) |
| 24D | URDU | Communication means used widely, but radius excludes odd parts (4) | Communication means (i.e. language) used widely / even letters (excluding odds) of ‘bUt RaDiUs’ |
Well, I solved this somehow, without knowing how some of the words fitted the wordplay, so thank you for the explanations
Seemed to have very convoluted clues.
Love the new word for me THIMBLERIG.
I must have had at least two goes at this as I had a change of pen colour half way through. seem to remember enjoying myself so thank you to Nestor and mc_rapper too.
As usual, I can’t remember much about this a week later, but I think I eventually parsed 1dn. 10dn eluded me. Kept thinking “heap” was an anagram indicator. Should have got the connection to “banger”. Obvious now, thanks.
I’ve just noticed we had TERMINI in Indie crosswords twice this week.
Thanks Nestor and mc_rapper
25ac: We have had this issue somewhere else recently. The “‘s” in the clue can be taken as a possessive “IDE’S” or expanded to “is” (or indeed “has”) and then contracted back for entry into the grid. All three possibilities seem to me to be equally valid, but treating the “‘s” as a possessive seems to me to be the simplest explanation, and therefore preferable.
Of course I mean IED’S @4.
I finished this in fairly good time, but only because I also entered several answers from definition and enumeration without bothering to parse them, the most significant of which were COMMUNITY RADIO and BANGERS AND MASH. An enjoyable puzzle for all that.
I forgot to add that the clue for DAPHNIS was indeed an excellent spot by the setter.
Thanks Nestor and mc_rapper67
New words for me were NANOMETRE and THIMBLERIG, and I failed to solve 2d. I needed help with the parsing of 25a, 26a (only got as far as far as reversal of PAD so at least I was on the right track!), 18d, 10d, 20d, 8a, 1d, 12a.
My favourites were 16d, 21a, 22d, 11a, 5d.
Rather too many answers from the very obvious definitions so much of the effort by the setter was wasted. A shame as there is a lot of good stuff in there.
A very enjoyable puzzle.
Many thanks to S and B
A bit late but thanks mc_rapper. We saved the crossword and drew a box around 8ac as we couldn’t parse it. Whilst tidying up today, we found the puzzle and checked the blog!