Don’t quite know what to make of this one. Certainly more difficult than the usual IoS offering. There’s one I can’t quite see.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Across
8 Banks invested in church to do some laundering?
CLEANSE
An insertion of LEANS in CE.
9 As a warrior, I sure am upset getting 25 split up
SAMURAI
This is supposed to be an ‘easy’ prize puzzle. I think, but only think, that this is (I SURE AM)* with the E replaced by A: A for E, which is the solution to 25dn.
11 One to criticise religion
ISLAM
A charade of I and SLAM
12 Runner vingt-et-un keeps intimidating
UNNERVING
Hidden in rUNNERVINGtetun.
13 A medal‘s not the end for passed on leader of group.
GONG
GON[E] plus G for the first letter of ‘group’
14 It’s about a characteristic of Bashful, and of Sleepy
TIREDNESS
A reversal (‘about’) of IT plus REDNESS, which would be something you might show if you were ‘bashful’. Snow White and her mates.
16 It’s blooming ridiculous for licensee to be drinking in new clubs
INFLORESCENCE
An insertion of NC for ‘new clubs’ in (FOR LICENSEE)*
19 Decline bodyguard as stand-in for personal trainer in reception
RECESSION
Crosophile is asking you to replace the PT in RECE[PT]ION with SS. Schutzstaffel, or the SS, were personal bodyguards under Hitler’s regime.
22 Somewhat undervalued engine fuel
DERV
Hidden in unDERValued. Diesel Engined Road Vehicules (for the use of).
26 Tending to succeed
AFTERCARE
Looks cd/dd ish but I can’t really see it. Anyone?
27 Advertisement for Turkey perhaps?
FLIER
Well, a ‘turkey’ flies, doesn’t it? Not very far perhaps if it’s being made ready for the Christmas table, but in principle it could if it hadn’t had its wings clipped.
28 Turn at the crease spoils after loss of wicket
INNINGS
[W]INNINGS
29 Fascinating women reminding one of Cider with Rosie‘s author?
LORELEI
I’m not buying into this one, I’m afraid, because LORELEI for the sirens is pronounced LORE-A-LIE, at least where I live. And LAURIE LEE sounds naff all like that. Great novel, though.
Then Rosie, with a remorseless, reedy strength, pulled me down from my tottering perch, pulled me down, down into her wide green smile and into the deep subaqueous grass…
There’s those that can write, and those that can’t. Laurie Lee was one of the former.
Down
1 Cruise will do it, having effect on one MP in absentia
ACTING
[IMP]ACTING, referring to the actor Tom Cruise.
2 Bend line making new move in folded sheets?
BED LINEN
(BEND LINE)* They are not always immaculately folded in our house.
3 The little man held back by scaremongers
GNOME
Hidden reversed in scarEMONGers.
4 Odd fruit seen around to pick off with fifty taken by Crosophile
PECULIAR
The fruit is PEAR. The setter is then asking you to insert CULI into that, which is CULL with the last L (‘fifty’) replaced by I (‘Crosophile’, the setter).
5 You and me can cast vote finally as is the custom
USANCE
Pretty unusual word for an IoS puzzle, I have to say. A charade of US, (CAN)* and E for the last letter of ‘vote’.
6 Impressed by intrepid manoeuvring across top of minefield
IMPRINTED
(INTREPID M)*
7 Dog in wild?
DINGO
(DOG IN)* The anagrind is ‘wild’ and it’s &lit because the whole clue is also the definition.
10 Means of checking report of wet weather
REINS
A homophone of RAINS.
15 Tory publication’s plan
BLUEPRINT
A charade of BLUE and PRINT.
17 Knowing about cooker left in messy state
SLOVENLY
An insertion of OVEN and L in SLY.
18 Little space in most of fridge for material
CHENILLE
EN for the printers’ ‘space’ in CHILLE[R]
20 Fed up with Greek character being hugged by nurse
EATEN
An insertion of ETA reversed in EN for ‘enrolled nurse’. ‘I have fed/I have eaten’, I suppose.
21 One’s not at all thick, son, to analyse syntax
SPARSE
A charade of S and PARSE, which is what we lucky bloggers get to do when our name comes up on the roster.
23 New spirit after pathogen does away with us
VIRGIN
A charade of VIR[US] and GIN.
24 Do on air broadcast? That’s not on, but might be on this
RADIO
(DO [ON] AIR)* with ‘broadcast’ as the anagrind.
25 A figure heard in the van a while back
AFORE
A plus a homophone of ‘four’. ‘In the van’ is suggesting ‘in the front’ and ‘a while back’ is suggesting that’s it’s archaic. Which it is.
Not my favourite Crosophile, but thanks to him anyway.
I’m on holiday at the moment so I don’t have last week’s paper to hand but my memory is that I couldn’t finish this. As I had sailed through the Beelzebub immediately before, this surprised me. I thought I was on a roll.
I can’t remember a lot about solving this – I did finish, I did particularly like 14a and I agree that LORELEI isn’t a homophone of Laurie Lee. Mind you, I did go to school with someone who spelt her name Lorelei but pronounced it Lorrylee so perhaps Crosophile knew her too 😉
I’m giving Crosophile a pass on the LORELEI clue because he doesn’t specifically use a homophone indicator, and with the consonants in the same place as Laurie Lee it does indeed “remind one” of him. I didn’t find this as difficult as some of you seem to have done, although it took me a while to get AFTERCARE at the end because it took me a while to think of anything that would fit the checkers other than “alternate”.
I parsed SAMURAI the same way as Pierre.
There’s and anglicised version of lorelei, Loreley which may explain 29.
I don’t know quite what it is about IoS puzzles but I always find them really difficult. Perhaps I should attempt them before I tackle Azed.
Yes, I thought this was quite hard. It took me a lot of persistence, and even then I failed entirely to find 26A Aftercare. I didn’t mind Lorelei.
Can anyone explain the parsing of AFTERCARE for us?
Aftercare was meant as a cryptic definition, with tending = nursing and succeed = follow.
There’s a pretty obscure nina too, commemorating the recently deceased DAEVID ALLEN [right hand diagonals] aka DINGO VIRGIN, frontman of the band GONG, the planet broadcasting to us on RADIO GNOME. If that doesn’t make any sense, it’s probably not meant to. 🙂
PS Thanks for your support, Andy B. Spot on. Lorelei was not intended as a homonym and yes, Pierre, you parsed Samurai correctly.
Thanks for explaining that one, crosophile. And for dropping in – always nice to welcome setters to the blog.
Thanks, Pierre. And thanks for the blog. 🙂
Thanks, Pierre. Also thanks for the blog. 🙂