Very nice puzzle, no quibbles from me. Thanks Aardark.
| Across | ||
| 9 | MISCREANT |
Wrongdoer’s pile covers acres, after crooked activity (9)
MINT (pile) contains (covers) ACRES* anagram=after crooked activity |
| 10 | GOUDA |
Perhaps a boxer, when retired, eats top-class cheese (5)
A DOG (a boxer, perhaps) reversed (when retired) contains (eats) A (top class) |
| 11 | ATROPHY |
Decline a piece of silverware? (7)
A and TROPHY (piece of silverware) |
| 12 | NIGERIA |
Country song as popular on the flip-side? (7)
AIR (song) EG (as, for example) IN (popular) all reversed (on the flip side) |
| 13 | ASS |
Turkey transporter (3)
double definition – a fool and a beast of burden |
| 14 | GRANARY LOAF |
Relative, heading away from Daryl and Charlie, gets bakery item (7,4)
GRAN (relative) dARYL (heading away, first letter missing) and OAF (charlie) |
| 17 | U-BOAT |
United high-flyer nets nothing as sub (1-4)
U (united) BAT (high flyer) contains (nets) O (nothing) |
| 18 | TOR |
Rising rubbish needs tip (3)
ROT (rubbish) reversed |
| 19 | LADEN |
Child, having eaten when empty, becomes full (5)
LAD (child) with EateN (empty, no middle letters) |
| 21 | TEMPRANILLO |
Worker progressed poorly, given old Spanish wine (11)
TEMP (office worker) RAN (progressed) ILL (poorly) O (old) |
| 23 | EON |
“Long time no see” (finally returning) (3)
NO seE (final letter of) all reversed (returning) |
| 25 | SHAR-PEI |
Dog’s keen to remove confines of rein (4-3)
SHARP (keen) then rEIn missing outside letters (confines of) – a Chinese dog breed |
| 27 | BABYSIT |
Tend to kid and tease outside near son (7)
BAIT (tease) containing (outside) BY (near) S (son) |
| 28 | ELOPE |
Felon’s inside, primarily planning early escape with mate (5)
fELOn (inside letters of) then Planning Early (primarily, first letters of) |
| 29 | LAMPLIGHT |
Ray perhaps hit hard by difficult situation (9)
LAM (hit hard) by PLIGHT (difficult situation) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | IMPALA |
Film fan regularly entertains friend, an African resident (6)
fIlM fAn (regular selection from) contains (entertains) PAL (friend) – an african antelope |
| 2 | ESPRESSO |
European journalists sustained by very good beverage (8)
E (European) PRESS (journalists) inside (sustained by) SO (very good) |
| 3 | PROPAGATOR |
Right snappy creature discussed gardening device (10)
PROPAGATOR sounds like (when discussed) “proper gator” (right snappy creature, aligator) |
| 4 | MANY |
Article kept in writer’s stacks (4)
AN (indefinite article) inside MY (the writer’s) |
| 5 | STAN LAUREL |
Old comedian has to flog award after ending in arrears (4,6)
TAN (flog) LAUREL (award) following arrearS (ending of) |
| 6 | AGOG |
Excited with silver, admitting gold lost in second half (4)
AG (silver) contining (admitting) GOld (second half lost) |
| 7 | QUARTO |
Sort of book one’s beginning after a couple of beers? (6)
One (beginning, first letter of) after QUART (a couple of pints, beers for example) |
| 8 | PARAFFIN |
Father’s seen fliers, with a section on fish oil (8)
PA (father) with (has seen?) RAF (fliers) with FIN (a section on fish) |
| 15 | ASTON VILLA |
Football team playing on Sat, home perhaps (5,5)
(ON SAT)* anagram=playing then VILLA (home, perhaps) |
| 16 | YELLOW BELT |
Fearful blow which martial artist might bear (6,4)
YELLOW (cowardly, fearful) BELT (blow) |
| 17 | UNTESTED |
New dune formed flanking English river (8)
DUNE* anagram=formed containing (flanking) TEST (English river) |
| 20 | DRESSAGE |
When annually off, chaplain’s learned equestrian event (8)
paDRE’S (chaplain’s) missing PA (per annum, annually) then SAGE (learned) |
| 22 | MEADOW |
Cat’s cry circulates commotion in grassland area (6)
MEW (cats cry) contains (circulates, goes round) ADO (commotion) |
| 24 | NOTATE |
There’s appreciation in college about what composer does? (6)
TA (thanks, appreciation) in ETON (college) all reversed (about) – a composer writes notes |
| 26 | PEEL |
Swimmer with soft skin (4)
EEL (swimmer) with (next to) P (soft) |
| 27 | BUMF |
Junk-mail Mike put in short beige container (4)
M (mike, phonetic alphabet) inside (put in…container) BUFf (beige, short) |
definitions are underlined
Thanks, PeeDee, this was indeed a nice puzzle to start the (cryptic) day with.
No quibbles from you, just one from me.
The reversal indicator in 18ac (‘rising’) is not really apt in an Across clue.
Therefore, I hesitated to fill in the answer.
And ‘as’/’EG’ in 12ac? All right but still a bit minimalistic.
My clue of the day: the wonderful EON (23ac).
Many thanks to Aardvark.
Sil, I think you have a good point about rising as a reversal indicator. I can’t think of any way that “rising” indicates “going in the reverse direction”.
As you say, in a down clue “going upward” is the reverse direction, so it would have worked there. I just wrote it into the blog through force of habit without really thinking about it.
Hi Sil & PeeDee
In 18ac ‘rising’ is not a reversal indicator it is the definition. The reversal is indicated by ‘needs tip’.
Ah, well spotted Gaufrid!
And shame on us (well, sort of 🙂 ).
Thanks Aardvark and PeeDee
Very nice puzzle from Aardvark who is becoming one of my favourite FT setters. Lots of interesting angles required to extract an answer from the clues here – no better highlighted than with TOR where only one of four of us here – got the logic right.
Ended up in the NE corner with NIGERIA, STAN LAUREL and QUARTO the last few in. I think that the tricky BABYSIT was my cod.
Thanks Aardvark and PeeDee.
Another good straightforward puzzle with nothing to gripe about.
Like Gaufrid I saw rising as the definition in 18ac with tip as the reversal indicator – so I’m feeling quite smug (for a change).