A reunion with the Don this Friday. A very pleasant challenge with some clues that were just out of reach (annoyingly so) as a direct solve. I had to resort to looking up Google for confirming the parsing for a couple of clues.
I think the setter has a special corner for DIGITALIS. 27ac stood out for its surface. 4d was an iffy clue for me due to the construction.
FF: 8 DD : 8
| Across | ||
| 1 | RECOLLECTED |
Thought again about beliefs leader expressed about prayer (11)
cREED (beliefs, leader expressed) about COLLECT (prayer) |
| 7 | HOP |
It’s bound to be hard work (3)
H (Hard) OP (work) |
| 9 | ALARM |
Leader of US gang, member creating panic (5)
AL (Capone, Leader of US gang) ARM (member) |
| 10 | ENIGMATIC |
When troubled, I get manic, hard to understand (9)
Anagram of I GET MANIC |
| 11 | SIDETRACK |
Divert footpath? (9)
Double def |
| 12 | NOOSE |
Loop with knots daughter’s got rid of (5)
NOdOSE (with knots, without ‘D’) |
| 13 | GREASED |
A society beset by avarice given more freedom of action? (7)
GREED (avarice) around [ A S (society) ] |
| 15 | TACK |
Course of inferior food? (4)
Double def |
| 18 | HAUL |
Swag from big room reportedly (4)
Sounds like HALL |
| 20 | COLOMBO |
Look to get into musical band in capital city (7)
LO (look) in COMBO (musical band) |
| 23 | ORANG |
Primate’s holy book, apart from the introduction, good (5)
kORAN (holy book, minus the first letter) G (good) |
| 24 | FIREPROOF |
Female agent keeping one top position in some way indestructible (9)
[ F (female) REP (agent) keeping I (one) ] ROOF (top position) |
| 26 | UNDERMINE |
Beneath bomb is wreck (9)
UNDER (beneath) MINE (bomb) |
| 27 | NEHRU |
Former PM showing hunger for reform, head of government missed (5)
Anagram of HUNgER (missing ‘g’, head of Government) |
| 28 | TAR |
Man in boat in unnamed lake (3)
TARn (lake, without ‘n’. This is a new word for me). |
| 29 | DIGITALISED |
Maybe one meets crazy ladies under the influence of drug (11)
DIGIT (one, maybe) anagram of LADIES |
| Down | ||
| 1 | REASSIGN |
In period of rule fool is set aside afresh (8)
ASS (fool) in REIGN (period of rule) |
| 2 | CHANDLER |
Writer who may have something to offer in dark times (8)
Cryptic clue – Chandler is an old word for someone who makes candles. And of course, Raymond Chandler. |
| 3 | LIMIT |
Boundary must be illuminated – this person’s brought in (5)
I’M (this person’s, self referential to the setter) in LIT (illuminated) |
| 4 | EMERALD |
Journalist eating lunch maybe – right inside stone is found (7)
ED (journalist) containing [ MEAL (lunch) with R (right) inside ] |
| 5 | THICKET |
Growth of vegetation is just what you want outside hospital (7)
TICKET (what you want) outside H (hospital) |
| 6 | DOMINICAL |
The Lord’s Day’s calm – I repeatedly nod off (9)
Anagram of CALM I I (repeatedly) NOD |
| 7 | HOT DOG |
Setter maybe going after much- approved food (3,3)
HOT (much-approved) DOG (setter, may be) |
| 8 | PICKET |
Watch choice film (6)
PICK (choice) E.T (film) |
| 14 | STAGGERED |
Surprised but not all at once (9)
Double definition |
| 16 | SMOOCHES |
She, putting the fellow off, hangs around and behaves amorously (8)
S (She without ‘he’, putting fellow off) MOOCHES (hangs around) |
| 17 | CONFOUND |
Puzzle’s trick discovered (8)
CON (trick) FOUND (discovered) |
| 19 | LIFTING |
Picking up one paper for Heather to collect (7)
LING (Heather) containing [ I (one) FT (paper) ] |
| 20 | CURRENT |
Contemporary baddie torn apart (7)
CUR (baddie) RENT (torn apart) |
| 21 | ROBUST |
Sturdy old boy in game on street (6)
[ OB (old boy) in RU (game, Rugby Union) ] on ST (street) |
| 22 | BALDER |
A Norse god less hairy (6)
Double def. |
| 25 | PANEL |
Piece of glass left to form part of door? (5)
PANE (piece of glass) L (left) |
Thanks Turbolegs. I came here intending to quibble on 6D where the answer is an adjective which I though had been clued with a noun, but then I saw that you had also underlined the apostrophe and the ‘s’ as part of the clue which then made sense.
I did not know about nodose – just need to find an opportunity to use it. Also failed to parse RECOLLECTED (I had the collect bit being a prayer but thought “beliefs leader expressed” meant “sounds like a cleric”). Otherwise, very smooth and enjoyable – thanks Bradman.
In 1a, how does one get “cREED” as “beliefs leader expressed”?
Hi Robert @2
It is ‘creed’ (beliefs) with the first letter (leader) removed (expressed {forced out}).
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
A backlog puzzle to fill a Monday with Rufus.
Was able to fill most of the grid on the half hour train trip into work this morning … and then mop up the rest at a morning tea break. Pretty enjoyable with a lack of the obscurities that this setter can bring to the table. Was another who didn’t spot the [C]REED part of 1a and had to look up DOMINICAL as the ‘Lord’s Day’.
Finished in the SE corner with NEHRU, SMOOCHES (which looks much easier after having solved it) and DIGITALISED, which I hadn’t seen in the context of having digitalis administered.