A good puzzle from eXternal to start the Indy week. His cluing style can be rather involved, and since I am a fan of concision, he’s probably never going to be my favourite setter; but that’s just me. Others will have enjoyed teasing out the wordplay.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Women consumed with superhero on run, admitting love bug
WATER BOATMAN
It’s a multi-part clue, as is often the case with this setter; but I liked it for its good surface and misleading direction. It’s a charade of W, ATE and R BATMAN with O for ‘love’ inserted. That clever little insect that can walk on water.
9 Almost outside choky protected by prison guard
CUSTODIAN
An insertion of (OUTSID[E])* in CAN. CAN and ‘choky’ are both slang words for ‘prison’, but here ‘choky’ is a purported anagrind. Another multi-layered clue.
10 Poet finished penning note
DONNE
An insertion of N in DONE. You can choose which N you like. John DONNE, considered to be one of the leading metaphysical poets.
11 International group’s relief work is not declared
UNSAID
A charade of UN’S AID.
12 Note king trapped in enclosure after wife remains
WRECKAGE
A charade of W for ‘wife’, RE for ‘note’ and an insertion of K in CAGE for ‘enclosure’. Mathematicians will like this kind of clue, because it’s another multi-part equation.
13 Content to sell a master’s animals
LLAMAS
Hidden in seLL A MASter.
14 Settled to reject obsession for overseas state
TASMANIA
A reversal of SAT and MANIA for the Australian state to the south of the mainland. Most famous son? Ricky Ponting.
17 Really wet day clergyman initially disregarded
SATURATE
A charade of SAT and [C]URATE.
19 Cleaner‘s fine contraption for drying
FAIRER
A charade of F and AIRER. ‘Cleaner’ in its sense of ‘more fair’. Like FIFA, for example. Not.
21 Make arrangement for suit and plan for wedding
NUPTIALS
(SUIT PLAN)*
23 One trapped by spy is yielding
PLIANT
An insertion of I in PLANT.
25 Semi-liquid food left for hospital in stores
SLOPS
Take H for ‘hospital’ out of SHOPS, insert L instead, and you’ve got your answer.
26 Next to confidant full of desires
ALONGSIDE
An insertion of LONGS in AIDE. Is an AIDE a ‘confidant’? Your call.
27 Takes flight, like steward does for work
GOES TO GROUND
‘Steward’ in the cabin crew sense. When he’s finished his shift he will have GONE TO GROUND, where all the passengers will disembark. And before you all start, yes you can ‘disembark’ from a plane. A dd.
Down
2 Needing time for support, because sibling beat mate
ASSISTANT
We’ll be doing quadratic equations soon. A charade of AS for ‘because’, SIS for ‘sibling’, TAN for ‘beat’, all ‘supported’ because it’s a down clue, by T for ‘time’.
3 Inconclusive test cases of shell-like foreign objects
EXOTICA
Well, ‘shell-like’ is a slang word for ‘ear’: ‘a word in your shell-like’. And if you insert OTIC, ‘of the ear’ in EXA[M], there you go. ‘Inconclusive’ is the removal indicator and ‘cases’ is the insertion indicator.
4 King in possession of large vessel
BRIG
An insertion of R for Rex or ‘king’ in BIG.
5 Oddball born in important Buddhist uprising becomes deviant
ABNORMAL
An insertion of (BORN)* in LAMA reversed. The anagrind is ‘oddball’ and the reversal indicator is ‘uprising’.
6 Bit quiet around ring policemen set up
MODICUM
An insertion of CID O reversed (‘set up’) in MUM for ‘quiet’.
7 Popular judge in North America is mercenary
NINJA
An insertion of IN and J in NA. Turtles, for example, of the Teenage Mutant variety.
8 Artist‘s ear, item gent hacked with tip of razor
RENÉ MAGRITTE
(EAR ITEM GENT R)* for the Belgian artist; nothing to do with Van Gogh. CECI N’EST PAS UNE PIPE will be coming up in a cryptic near you soon; but in the meantime, since setters have deprived me recently of the chance to do the obligatory Pierre bird link, if you have three minutes and forty-five seconds to spare, have a listen to this from Paul Simon, who is the greatest singer-songwriter of his generation, imho.
9 Ill will about launch, one glared heartlessly on ship
CHURLISHNESS
Chuffing Nora. We will be getting into a competition for how many parts you can have to a clue soon. C for ‘about’, HURL for ‘launch’, I for ‘one’, SH[O]NE for ‘glared heartlessly’ and SS for ‘ship’ underneath, since it’s a down clue.
15 A bishop, among people giving recital
NARRATION
An insertion of A RR (Right Reverend, for ‘bishop’) in NATION.
16 Oddly so, team on search to turn up loyal supporter
STALWART
A charade of STA for the odd letters of So TeAm followed by LWART for a reversal of TRAWL for ‘search’. The reversal indicator is ‘turn up’.
18 Further copy is acquired by saving, after chapter’s gone missing
REISSUE
An insertion of IS in RES[C]UE.
20 Oral gel works rather fast
ALLEGRO
(ORAL GEL)* for the musical direction.
22 Projection for new leader of Greens
PRONG
A charade of PRO and N G. Nothing to do with Natalie Bennett.
24 Water pipe‘s hollow sound
BONG
A dd. A BONG is a water pipe used for smoking cannabis. I so did not know that.
Many thanks to eXternal for this morning’s puzzle.
Good puzzle. Enjoyable start to week. Thanks to both.
I interpreted 27A as being a steward at a sports venue, who goes to the ground to work.
Thanks Pierre, and thanks eXternal for giving me an easier time than your fiendish Telegraph Toughie last week. You will be aware of at least one suggestion that you out-Anaxed Anax.
I don’t know about ‘chuffing Nora’ (fortunately no longer illegal) re 9 down. I thought it was a fabulous piece of misdirection, where if you even consider ‘about’ to be an anagram indicator, you are lost.
Although I’ve never used one the clue for BONG made me smile. The SW quadrant was the last to fall and it was only when I saw CHURLISHNESS and how it worked that it really opened up. REISSUE was my LOI. I think Geebs@1 has identified the right sort of steward for 27ac, but I admit I thought the same as Pierre when I solved it.
Good stuff, thanks to eXternal, and I could actually finish it today, as opposed to yesterday’s, which I might finish tomorrow if I am lucky. My last answer was 9D Churlishness, which I thought was a lovely clue once I’d solved it. (My opinion of it before that moment had better remain 11A.)
Finished it without aids, but several held me up at the end. 18dn was LOI, which is obvious, once I got it.
27ac, I kept thinking of an air steward when solving, but I dismissed GOES TO GROUND as surely a steward does the exact opposite at work. It was only when I thought of a sports ground did it make sense.
Re Clue
21ac Make arrangement for suit and plan for wedding (8) NUPTIALS
I find this combination of ‘suit’ and ‘plan’ rather strange.
Also the oddity of making arrangement for ‘plan’.
I was wondering whether there was any term for this juxtaposition of two dissimilar things.
On a different tack, I remembered ‘zeugma’ and the famous example from The Rape of the Lock:
“Here Thou, great Anna! whom three Realms obey,
Dost sometimes Counsel take – and sometimes Tea.”
Further to # 6, I have just realised that in that clue ‘plan’ is used as a verb (‘plan’ for wedding) and it does not go with the word ‘suit’.
Good morning Pierre – thanks for the entertaining blog.
We started this late last night but only solved a few clues before sleep. Thankfully our brains were in a better state this morning to complete the puzzle. There were a number of clues which we guessed from the definition and then spent more time teasing out the convoluted parsing.
Thans eXternal for the puzzling start to the week – an enjoyable one too.
I couldn’t find 4d (BRIG) because I was focused on “King in possession of large vessel” as: ‘King’ goes around ‘large vessel’.
Just like for example “Criminals in possession of firearms”.
In general terms, I saw “A in possession of B” as “A around B”.
Now, here it is the other way around.
The ‘King’ goes inside the ‘large vessel’.
“A in possession of B” = “B around A”.
Like “A is in B’s possession”?
Interesting this.
Can it work work both ways in the English language?
ps, when in the previous post I say ‘large vessel’, please read it as just ‘large’.
(‘vessel’ is, of course, the definition)
Sil – Well, yes! Though we are in possession of a great, and sometimes ambiguous, language – in examples such as this the converse may also be true!
…..and many thanks to eXternal for a spotless puzzle and Pierre (btw, I also felt that the steward need never have even seen an airport, nor yet worked at one…!) for great blog.
I would humbly beg to differ over the parsing of 27ac. It would be a football steward that goes to ground ‘for’ work, whereas as a cabin steward would go to airport!? And go to ground !’after’ work.
Blast! Excitement got the better of me.