Another Saturday Anax – how devious will this one be clued?
I would say definitely up to his usual high standard of subterfuge. The nice thing about an Anax puzzle is the answer seems so obvious, but how on earth do you derive it from the wordplay? He always seems to twist the meaning just that little bit more to get you thinking it’s xxxxxx but why?
Anyway I got there in the end though 11ac left me a little baffled – Is AUF really a German toast? maybe an acronym I haven’t come across? or did I miss the intent entirely.
Nice to see Ruritania crop up – many years ago I was given a book of Sunday Times crosswords with an introduction to the cryptic style and that was an example clue in there. Wardour Street English was certainly new to me and this in conjunction with 4ac and 9dn made me think of the decadence of Soho (but then 20dn would be a long way from home). 1oac and 25ac was an interesting touch AGAIN being the apt solution to both.
My favourite clue 5dn – so neat and tidy.
Many thanks Anax – a lovely puzzle as always
Key:
rev. reverse; DD Double definition; * anagram; Underline = definition
ACROSS
1. Young explorer’s put on iron hat (6)
Dora (As in Dora the Explorer) after Fe (Iron) = FEDORA
4. Recalled identity parade’s opener in sweaty strip club? (8)
Rev. (self (identity)) + p (parade’s opener) in hot (sweaty) = FLESHPOT
10. Predictably perhaps, inches seen on a ruler (5)
aga (ruler) + in (inches) = AGAIN
11. For good health of German gypsy, season with cheese (2, 7)
Auf (German word for on – not quite sure how this relates to the clue) + Rom (gypsy) + age (season) = AU FROMAGE
12 See 6
CONSIDERATION
14 Record and forget to include loud rattle (9)
Disc (record) + omit (forget) around f(loud) = DISCOMFIT
16 Heat covers area with zero waste (5)
gun (US slang heat) around a(area) + o (zero) = GUANO
17 Is about to get added power (5)
Rev (Is) + new (added) = SINEW
19 Fantasy world game character turns to tackle it – a knight (9)
Ru (game) + (it + a + n (knight)) in Rev (air(character)) = RURITANIA
21 See 18
STREET ENGLISH
24 Having entered races, keeping car quiet (9)
in (having entered) + tt (races) around rover (car) = INTROVERT
25 10 10 makes a return
A gain (return) same as 10 = AGAIN
26 Close to land is an island that’s separate (8)
d (close to land) + is + Crete (island) = DISCRETE
27 Fuel bottles right for oarsman (6)
Stoke(fuel) around r (right) = STROKE
DOWN
1 after fall oddly, mishap changing direction – most limp (10)
FaLl (fall oddly) + accident – n + s (changing direction) = FLACCIDEST
2 Picked bones while initially slicing one (5)
Dr (Bones – ship or Star Trek) + an (one) around w (while) = DRAWN
3 Right about Clash over short piece of music (7)
r(right) + on (about) + din (Clash) + o(over) = RONDINO
5 Fear that I’d feel lost in paradise(4,5,5)
(Fear that Id feel)* = LIFE AFTER DEATH
6/12 23‘s Appearance money (7, 13)
showing (appearance) + consideration(money) = SHOWING CONSIDERATION
7 And I will run and run in aim to get stitch (4, 5)
Plan (aim) around (and I)* + r (run) = PLAIN DARN
8 So soon?
DD THEN
9 For use of police network we will come in for stick (3, 11)
Lan (network) around we + for + cement (stick) = LAW ENFORCEMENT
13 To spice up fine tea, cutting fruit (3, 1, 6)
f (fine) + orange (fruit) around cha(tea) = FOR A CHANGE
15 What’s wrong? States it’s a nasal problem (9)
sin (What’s wrong) + us (states) + it is (it’s) = SINUSITIS
18/21 ‘Affected’ are the resulting words —?
(are the resulting words)* = WARDOUR STREET ENGLISH
20 A horse straddled by sarcastic detective (7)
a gg (horse) in tart (sarcastic) = TAGGART
22 Satellite crossing enjoyed over US state (5)
Io (satellite) around Rev. (had (enjoyed)) = IDAHO
23 One’s own daughter’s character (4)
KIN (one’s own) + d (daughter) = KIND
“high standard of subterfuge” is about right. On my first read through I got to 27A before I finally got my first answer. Things went a bit better after that, but would have been much faster if I could spell flaccid. I was similarly confused by AU FROMAGE, but I was one step further away from parsing it having assumed that gypsy was ROMA . I was also startled to discover WARDOUR STREET ENGLISH existed, having idly googled it with low expectations as the only seemingly viable anagram ending with ENGLISH. I wasn’t too sure about 8D – soon as a synonym for then seems to be a stretch – but the 10 10 at 25A made me smile.
A fine puzzle and a fine blog.
Cheers
I found this the trickiest Anax for some time. I had similar thoughts about AUF but the answer was obvious enough. It took me ages to realise that there was anagram fodder in the clue for WARDOUR STREET ENGLISH, and it was only then that I realised that it was going to be the answer even though I’d suspected as much once I had most of the checkers. PLAIN-DARN was my LOI teased out from the wordplay after I finally saw FLESHPOT and THEN.
11A is “auf” in the sense of “auf Schmidt!” = “to Schmidt” = good health to Schmidt. Thus when wishing good health in a toast in German one may say, raising one’s glass, “Auf Anax!”.
Very testing, but like all difficult and tricky puzzles the more satisfying to solve (after a long time).
There is a rogue “l” in the definition for 2D in the blog.
Thanks to Anax and twencelas.
I think you meant to put KIND not MIND for 28dn?
Agree with gwep re AUF and would add that I parsed ROMAGE as ROM (abbr. for gypsy) with AGE for season and definition simply being “with cheese”.
I too was not happy with THEN.
I must say that I found puzzle very enjoyable indeed (though FLESHPOT/THEN remained blank for some days!!)
Nice one, Anax (always greet your name on a crossword with a smile) and hats off to twenceslas
Many thanks for the blog twencelas. The combination of a week’s delay and the York event was sure to keep the number of responses low, which makes your efforts especially commendable.
I hope solvers had fun with this one. And please stick around; another effort for whose setting the emphasis was on fun – almost at the expense of everything else! – is on its way very soon.
Probably too late to ask this now but as 2 others have mentioned it without getting a response how does THEN = SOON exactly?
Thanks Anax and twenceslas. I didn’t get to this until yesterday (downloaded on Saturday but suspended by York shenanigans!). Excellent, though very tough, puzzle. I was defeated by 18/21 and 17, though they now make perfect sense. reddevil@6 – is it that SO=THEN (as in “if x then y” and THEN=SO ON (as in “and so on”)?
If I never see another ANAX puzzle again, will suit me fine. What a load of wallop for a national paper in 2019,probably ok for egg heads in 2014 and a Saturday Independent, when you may have more time to solve. Far from suitable for the general readership of the i on a Friday.
I’m with The Tortoise on this one. ‘Auf’was obvious when the rest of the clue was worked out, but a grasp of colloquial German should not be needed in a general readership crossword.
Too convoluted for all but the geekiest. To (not) use 18/21, this setter is a smarta**e cleversh*te.