I found today’s offering from Hamilton tough going. Slow progress for most part, having to slowly chip away at clues sprinkled across the grid. Still have a couple of clues / parsing that require improvement (apologies for this!). Seemed to have a more-than-average number of island references in both answers and clues – anybody have any idea why?
FF: 7 DD: 9
| Across | ||
| 1 | HARRIS |
Island that Mr Ford’s not on (6)
HARRISon (Ford, not on)
|
| 4 | MAINLAND |
Island graduate stays away from the sea (8)
MA (graduate) INLAND (away from the sea)
|
| 9 | SONANT |
Voiced sound of boy squashing insect (6)
SON (boy) ANT (insect)
|
| 10 | ESOTERIC |
Mysterious courtesies unkindly denied us (8)
Anagram of COuRTEsIES, without ‘us’.
|
| 12 | EIGG |
Emigrating without poor Martin to island (4)
EmIGratinG, dropping the letters of ‘Martin’
|
| 13 | DONNE |
A romantic poet and teacher, partially sane (5)
DON (teacher) NE (partially saNE) – Didn’t we just have John Donne featuring earlier this week?
|
| 14 | HARD |
Difficult road across part of the beach (4)
Double def. [I wasnt aware of this, Thanks Gaufrid]
|
| 17 | INDIAN SUMMER |
Curry season comes in late autumn (6,6)
Crypt-ish clue I guess. Curry referring to INDIAN and season being SUMMER. Anybody have anything better?
|
| 20 | LANDING STRIP |
Small airport has one area upstairs for band (7,5)
LANDING (area upstairs) STRIP (band)
|
| 23 | KNOW |
Understand studious person is heading west (4)
WONK (studious person) reversed (heading west)
|
| 24 | CREEK |
This cove will squeal, mark my words! (5)
Sounds like CREAK (squeal)
|
| 25 | DOGS |
Isle we go to in hard times (4)
Cryptic definition – As in the phrase “go to the dogs”, when in hard times. [Thanks Geoff. My original post was LOWS –
|
| 28 | INSCRIBE |
Mark for fashionable author (8)
IN (fashionable) SCRIBE (author)
|
| 29 | GALENA |
Mineral compound of gallium and sodium accommodates the French (6)
[GA (gallium) NA (Sodium)] around LE (the French)
|
| 30 | GUERNSEY |
Island where guys ne’er break down? (8)
Anagram of GUYS NEER
|
| 31 | JERSEY |
Month said cockney carriage is found in island (6)
ERSE (‘earse, cockney carriage) found in JY (JulY?) – Another one that could use some help.
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | HYSTERIA |
Vow not to be in variety show cast after such frenzy (8)
Anagram of vARIETY (Vow not to be in) SHow [Thanks Gaufrid]
|
| 2 | RENEGADE |
Deserter on edge; a northern revolutionary (8)
RE (on) followed by anagram of EDGE A N(northern)
|
| 3 | IONA |
Far Eastern city loses help initially; turns to island (4)
hANOI (Far Eastern city, loses ‘h’ – help initially, turns – reversed)
|
| 5 | ABSENT MINDED |
Keep away if inclined to be distracted (6-6)
ABSENT (keep away) MINDED (inclined)
|
| 6 | NATO |
They keep the peace in sanatorium (4)
Hidden in saNATOrium
|
| 7 | ABROAD |
At large in a foreign country (6)
Double definition
|
| 8 | DECIDE |
Make up one’s mind about detectives in the river (6)
CID (detectives) in DEE (river)
|
| 11 | CONSIDERABLE |
Think expert worthy of respect (12)
CONSIDER (think) ABLE (expert)
|
| 15 | TAPAS |
Thank father and son for savouries (5)
TA (thank) PA (father) S (son)
|
| 16 | MESSI |
South American footballer is reportedly disorganised (5)
Sounds like messy
|
| 18 | CROONERS |
Bing drops by, getting hold of expert singers (8)
CROSby (Bing Crosby, drops ‘by’) around ONER (expert)
|
| 19 | APOSTASY |
A position, say, altered with the abandonment of one’s beliefs (8)
[A POST (position)] anagram of SAY
|
| 21 | SKIING |
Film one taking part in good sport (6)
[SKIN (film) around I (one taking part in)] G (good)
|
| 22 | MOUSSE |
Kate, say, stocks universal foam (6)
MOSSE (sounds like Moss, Kate) around U (universal)
|
| 26 | CRAN |
Councillor has a new measure; that’s fishy! (4)
CR (councillor) A N(new) – a measure of fresh herrings, equivalent to 37 1/2 gallons
|
| 27 | CAPE |
Point to mischief being cut short (4)
CAPEr (mischief, cut short)
|
*anagram
Re 31ac: Jy is given as an abbreviation for July in Chambers.
Thank you Hamilton, I share your feelings about this puzzle. 24ac caused me a problem – a creak & a squeal are very different sounds to my ears!
I think that the island references are simply a theme; nothing else comes to mind unless there’s some significance in the fact that they’re all British.
Donne is a metaphysical poet, and not a romantic one.
22 didn’t need the ‘say’ because there is also a Kate Mosse, just as renowned in her own way.
I saw nothing wrong with 13ac; Donne wrote some very romantic (indeed erotic!) verse. Had it referred to the Romantic genre wouldn’t there be a capital “R”?
In addition, I really don’t like ‘partially sane’ for NE, because the indication is so slack. In fact, there are a lot of things that are loose or inexact here. Take ‘Point to mischief being cut short’: what does that actually mean? What is TO doing there? Et cetera.
FR Leavis, who was boring, described Donne as anti-Romantic. 😀
Turbolegs
We haven’t met before, so I’m sorry you’ve had a bit of a torrid time. I hope you are now content with the clues for hard, Dogs, Jersey and hysteria. Just for the record, there was a mini-theme around islands, and so far as is possible within the confines of a crossword grid, they are all in more or less the right place, geographically, north to south.
Talking of islands, do give my regards to Singapore, a beautiful city that I hope to revisit very soon!
To deal with other points raised:
24a – there is a typo there which has got through all the edits because the intention was for squeaK – apologies (Chambers for creak – a sharp grating or squeaking sound…) although looking at the thesaurus it suggests that squeak, scrape, scratch, squeal and screech are all acceptable synonyms!
13a – there is a world of difference between “a romantic poet” and “a Romantic poet”. For the record (and not for the first time) may I point out that a couple of friends look over my puzzles before they are submitted; between them they have nearly 70 years crossword solving experience and one of them has an English degree and was pleased that I used the small “r” and not the capital. I trust their feedback implicitly. Also for the record, I studied Donne in my youth and found him insufferably dull (missed the eroticism JuneG – story of my life!)
22d – the intention was for Kate Mosse, as Conrad Cork rightly says
Hedgehoggy – I don’t really take you point about “partially sane” – as far as the device is concerned, I’m hardly the first to employ it. I’m only asking for you to decide whether its SA, AN or NE, and the construction of the rest of the clue and the checking letters should be enough, surely. As for the “et cetera”……
But thanks for the blog and the comments anyway.
Thanks all for the comments.
Hamilton – Thanks for stopping by, its always great to see the setters come and share their thoughts behind the puzzles. I wish I was more up to the challenge and do hope we cross paths again in the future.
Cheers
TL
P.S: Speaking about all the Moss’, how about our very own Gaufrid in a clue? 🙂
This puzzle I found more difficult to finish than today’s Enigmatist – which is quite unbelievable.
Even when there are nice touches (there were today), commenters usually focus on the things they do not like. As does this advocate of the devil. By now, I think setters should be able to avoid clues like 16d (MESSI) in which the indicator is in the middle. Yes, MESSI is more likely than MESSY but still. And I am afraid I didn’t like JERSEY. Had to be it, and I saw how it worked but I do like not “A B found in” for “B inside A” very much, not to mention the obscure JY for July. I guess it’s all right though, just a matter of taste.
I am left with two more questions.
Why, in 9ac, is “squashing” a juxtaposition indicator?
For me, it’s an insertion indicator.
And, in 20d, how should I see the use of “for”?
Thanks Turbolegs & Hamilton.
Sorry to be late, but ‘Mainland’ is the main island of Shetland (or is it Orkney?)
Hornbeam@9: both, according to Wikipedia.
Thanks Hamilton and Turbolegs
This was another old one that I have been able to finish off while on holidays – was stuck with HARD (new definition to me – that eventually found – after toying with ‘sand’ for ages) and DOGS, which is one of those answers that look so simple after one has it; after looking impossible beforehand.
Caught on to the mini-theme pretty early on … which helped decide that JERSEY must be … and then focused on justifying it – hadn’t seen JY for July before, but it looked feasible.
Did enjoy the challenge … and it is always satisfying to close one after a longer time than normal.