(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) As is quite normal for a Friday, a puzzle where the answers require to be gleaned at a steady solving pace. Thanks to Crucible, whom I notice is fond of the containment device, at least in this puzzle. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Model to get bigger with fine inspiring recipe (7)
WAXWORK : WAX(to get bigger, like the moon does) + W(abbrev. for “with”) + OK(fine;all right!) containing(inspiring) R(abbrev. for “recipe”).
5 Charles pockets one pound, backing 3 (7)
CHABLIS : CHAS(diminutive of the name, Charles) containing(pockets) reversal of(…, backing) [ I(Roman numeral for “one”) + LB(abbrev. for the pound unit of weight) ].
Defn: Answer to 3 across … wine.
10 Prepare to take off tons, one by one (4)
TAXI : T(abbrev. for “tons” weight) + A(one;singular)+ X(by;multiplied by) I(Roman numeral for “one”).
Defn: …, on the way to the runway.
11 Classic gift firm packed in a clothes supply (10)
CHOCOLATES : CO(abbrev. for “company”;a commercial firm) contained in(packed in) anagram of(… supply) A CLOTHES.
12 Woods‘ warnings approaching first at Troon (6)
FOREST : FORES(warnings to watch out for an approaching ball on the golf course, possibly given by Tiger Woods) plus(approaching) the 1st letter of(first at) “Troon “. A reference to Tiger Woods and the 1st hole at the Royal Troon golf course, a British Open Championship venue.
13 Exaggerate story about sort of minor setback (8)
OVERDRAW : OVER(about, as in “the fight was over her actions” + reversal of(… setback) WARD(a sort of minor;an underaged person under someone’s guardianship).
14 Turn over English chart with a variable layout (9)
GEOGRAPHY : GO(one’s turn to play, eg. in a card or board game) containing(over) E(abbrev. for “English”) + GRAPH(a chart of the relationship among sets of numbers or quantities) + Y(symbol for a variable in mathematics).
16 It takes two years to reproduce secretary’s actual letters (5)
PANDA : [P AND A](the actual letters for P.A., abbrev. for “personal assistant”;secretary).
Defn: The group of mammals that has an estimated reproductive rate of one young every 2 years.
17 Joe’s impressed by Scot’s spelling (5)
MAGIC : G.I.(like “Joe”, a term for an American soldier) contained in(impressed by) MAC(a prefix common in Scottish surnames).
19 16 damaged polar icecap, apparently lost (6,3)
POLICE CAR : Anagram of(damaged) “polar icecap ” minus(… lost) “ap”(abbrev. for “apparently”).
Answer: …, nicknamed the answer to 16 across.
23 Revolutionary broadcasts about long thin country (3,5)
SRI LANKA : Reversal of(Revolutionary) AIRS(broadcasts over the radio or TV) containing(about) LANK(long and thin).
24 Poles bag a shilling? They made a lot more in India (6)
NABOBS : N,S(abbrev. for “north” and “south”, the geographic poles) containing(bag) [ A + BOB(term for the shilling, the British currency unit pre-decimalisation) ].
Defn: Persons who acquired large fortunes in India.
26 Crude mural stretches across current plants (4,6)
ARUM LILIES : [ Anagram of(Crude) MURAL + LIES(stretches on,say, a sofa) ] containing(across) I(symbol for electric current in physics).
27 A male doctor’s rounds (4)
AMMO : A + M(abbrev. for “male”) + M.O.(abbrev. for “medical officer”;a doctor in charge of the health services of an organisation, eg. a civilian or military authority).
Answer: Short for ammunition.
28 Indifferent pilot learnt to control 180o turn (7)
NEUTRAL : Anagram of(pilot) LEARNT containing(to control) U-(…turn of 180 degrees).
29 Carry over approved agency work (7)
BROKING : BRING(to carry to where you are) containing(over) OK(expression giving approval;the go-ahead).
Defn: What an agency or middleman does commercially.
Down
2 Stylish venue for Bowie’s last gig before Delaware (1,2,4)
A LA MODE : ALAMO(the fort in modern day Texas whose Texian defenders, including Jim Bowie, were killed by the Mexican army) placed above(before, in a down clue) DE(abbrev. for the US state of Delaware).
3 Guardian staff drink wallop with milk (5)
WHITE : WE(self-referential pronoun for this paper’s staff) containing(drink) HIT(a wallop).
Defn: As in “How do you take your coffee?”
4 It’s served on board, ringed by apricot tarts (7)
RICOTTA : Hidden in(ringed by) “apricot tarts “.
Defn: …, a cheeseboard, that is.
6 Hotel rings awfully short cleaner (6)
HOOVER : H(letter represented by “hotel” in the phonetic alphabet) + OO(ring-shaped letters) + “very”(awfully, as in “awfully keen”) minus its last letter(short).
Defn: …, specifically, a vacuum cleaner, after the company famous for manufacturing such.
7 Go maybe and find quarries around Germany (5,4)
BOARD GAME : BOAR,GAME(two terms for quarries in a hunt, a specific quarry and quarry in general, respectively) containing(around) D(the International Vehicle Registration code for Germany).
Defn: An example of which;maybe, is Go the Japanese name for the game that originated in China.
8 Chain large article edged with diamonds (7)
ICELAND : [ L(abbrev. for “large”) + AN(an article in grammar) ] contained in(edged with) [ ICE(slang for the precious stones, diamonds) + D(abbrev. for the diamonds suit in a deck of playing cards) ].
Defn: … of supermarkets in the UK.
9 Plain idle and amorous, lifting top of nightie (13)
MONOCHROMATIC : MOOCH(to idle;to loiter around) + ROMANTIC(amorous) with the 1st letter of(top of) “nightie ” moved up(lifting …, in a down clue).
Defn: …, literally, of one colour.
15 Craft circles loch to test diver (9)
GUILLEMOT : GUILE(craft;artfulness) containing(circles) L(abbrev. for “loch”) plus(to) M.O.T.(abbrev. for the Motor Ordinance Test, the inspection test for UK road vehicles).
Defn: … of the avian kind.
18 Aerial displays as Spain quits euro area in a mess (7)
AURORAE : “E”(the International Vehicle Registration code for Spain) deleted from(quits) anagram of(… in a mess) “euro area “.
Defn: … sometimes visible in the night sky in the polar regions.
20 It’s meant to clear the air but fan doesn’t start (7)
IONISER : “lioniser”(a fan who lionises his/her idol) minus its 1st letter(doesn’t start).
Defn: An electric device placed in a room to clear its atmosphere by restoring negative ions.
21 Swirling nebula obscures M3 (7)
ALBUMEN : Anagram of(Swirling) NEBULA containing(obscures) M.
Defn: The answer to 3 across to be found in an egg.
22 A hidden feature in puzzle about golf produces complaint (6)
ANGINA : A + NINA(a hidden word, phrase or theme in a completed crossword grid) containing(about) G(letter represented by “golf” in the phonetic alphabet).
Defn: A disease resulting in suffocating pain.
25 Boycott left sponsor on the boundary (5)
BLACK : L(abbrev. for “left”) contained in(.. on the boundary;surrounding) BACK(to sponsor;to promote).
Defn: Of trade unionists, to organise a boycott of specified goods, jobs, work, etc.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Thanks, scchua.
I found this puzzle totally absorbing – in several instances, a case of ‘hunt the definition’, hidden in some amazing clues.
In view of 22dn, I’ve searched for a NINA but, as so often, unsuccessfully. However, we do have the symmetrically placed WHITE and BLACK at 3 and 25dn. BLACK can go before TAXI, MAGIC [CHOCOLATES] and FOREST; arum lilies are WHITE [and so is some magic]; a PANDA is black and white, as is a GUILLEMOT and black plays white in the BOARD GAME No – and then we have MONOCHROMATIC and NEUTRAL.
I feel there’s more going on – I’m sure someone soon will sort it out.
Meanwhile, huge thanks to Crucible for a stiff challenge – I loved it!
I was struck by the plethora of container-content clues with a variety of inserticators.
A couple of answers (e.g., MONCHROMATIC) came first and the anno to the clues became apparent after a few moments of thought.
Thanks Eileen for the theme- I missed that as I was looking for the nina mentioned in 22.
And I think 19 “ap” is apparently.
Albumen is the ‘white’ of an egg, to add to the list.
I ran out of time and only managed to do most of the top half. Well, the reason that I ran out of time was because it took me so long to get moving with this puzzle.
Of the ones I solved, my favourite was ANGINA.
New for me was the supermarket chain ICELAND – but it was well-clued so when I did a google search on ‘iceland chain” it became clear to me what was going on.
I enjoyed reading the blog – thanks scchua.
Also, the police car in 19a refers to the ‘panda car’ which was so-called for being black and white.
scchua, in 8dn you’ve omitted the D – I wasn’t quite sure whether to take this as D = diamonds or ICED = edged with diamonds.
MikeP – I didn’t include ALBUMEN since, like CHABLIS, it’s defined in the clue as WHITE.
Thanks, scchua and Crucible.
I was looking for a theme from the start, but failed to find one! Because of the golf references, I thought it was going to be about the Open taking place (in the pouring rain today) just down the road from us.
Wonderful puzzle – it took me a long time to get going but there were some excellent clues. I spotted the theme, but didn’t think it through like Eileen. Hard to pick out favourites, but I’ll go for GEOGRAPHY, WAXWORK, CHABLIS and NABOBS.
And, of course, MONOCHROMATIC is centrally placed in the grid.
Well done, Eileen for spotting the theme, and, to copmus too, for spotting the oversights, now corrected.
We can also take CHOCOLATES, different shades of chocolate, as part of the the theme.
Thanks Crucible and scchua.
I found this fun, but hard going, and really needed the help of scchua’s super blog.
GUILLEMOT, CHABLIS, FOREST and so many other clues were good.
Most of the NABOBS would have been ‘white’ and RICOTTA cheese is white. I wonder if AURORAE are meant to round the theme off since they are polychromatic and placed above NEUTRAL?
[cyborg – thank you for last evening’s response. An odd glitch has made it impossible to acknowledge via yesterday’s blog’s comments.]
What a wonderful crossword! This seemed to me the perfect standard for a weekday puzzle with a decent challenge, yet completable in one sitting. Lovely clueing (with a couple of anagrinds which teetered on the very edge of the line!).
I haven’t enjoyed a crossword so much in ages – and that was completely without spotting the slightest trace of the clever theme.
hedgehoggy should enjoy this one, as he seems to see everything in black and white!
Many thanks to Crucible and for an excellent blog, scchua.
I found this quite chewy, but it was a good challenge. BLACK was my LOI after BROKING.
Bravo, Eileen, I missed the theme completely, and I blame that on being totally absorbed by this puzzle. Loved it, but found that it refused to yield until the very last (POLICE CAR).
I think one of the reasons the knot refused to yield, was the unusual number of crossing vowels – every time I thought I’d made headway, I ran into the sand again.
Some fantastic clues here, loved WAXWORK, AURORAE, GUILLEMOT (which was a key to breaking this puzzle) and ICELAND.
Yet again missed the anagrind ‘supply’ in the excellent CHOCOLATES – one day I’ll remember it I suppose.
‘Bowie’s last gig’ raised a chuckle.
All in all, a wonderful diversion. Many thanks to scchua for the fine blog and Crucible for the challenge.
Nice weekend, all.
Feel like I have been tested in a Crucible, and probably found wanting. In fact I probably melted like a WAXWORK. Still, not everything is black and white. As usual the theme passed me by completely, and I am grateful to Eileen and others for revealing how cleverly it was woven throughout this puzzle.
I have to admit that “Nina” is new to me: though the solution was clearly ANGINA, I couldn’t parse it properly as a result. Having been a crossword-battler for many years, I don’t know how I have managed to avoid coming across Nina up to now. What is its/her derivation?
Too many delights to list, so thanks to both setter and blogger.
1961Blanchflower – see FAQ above for Nina.
Limeni is very funny 🙁
Yes, agree theme is blacks and whites.
Technically this is near perfect with only two errors that I can spot, grammar problems at 17a and 3d. The rest is about what you will put up with, and I didn’t like AP at 19a, ‘pilot’ at 28a, and the M3 joining at 21d which I think is unfair.
Enjoyable.
HH
Enjoyed this a lot – some nicely disguised definitions and just enough difficulty to make it a challenge without ever seeming too daunting. Annoyingly WAXWORK was last in. I did see the BLACK and WHITE theme fairly early but not sure that helped much. Liked PANDA and A LA MODE…
Thanks Willia, @19 – you live and learn!
William even!
Ever so hard. Needed to come here to work out what was going on in several instances eg GEOGRAPHY, MONOCHROMATIC. However, I did work out the theme, which helped with a number of clues. A LA MODE was fun!
Sorry hh – couldn’t resist! But it was meant with a friendly twinkle in the eye.
Thanks scchua, and Crucible. Superb puzzle. Yielded steadily. Iceland, Panda crossers were the last ones, over a second sitting. Nina in a clue itself was clever. Liked too many to list!
Well, I’m glad so many of you enjoyed this. I hated it. I had the merest inkling of the theme but I can’t say it helped much. Many answers remained unpaired so thanks for the blog but by the time I read it, I was past caring.
Tomorrow is another day!
Peter Aspinwall @27
As many of us so often say here, it’s a good job we’re all different. ‘Hated’ is a very strong word – would you like to be more specific?
“Many answers remained unpaired” – is this your spell check’s version of ‘unparsed’?
Better luck tomorrow!
Yes it should have read” unparsed” And I don’t want to be more specific!
An excellent puzzle. The best I’ve seen from Crucible.
A good challenge for a weekday and welcome on a Friday.
My LOI was GEOGRAPHY which was very annoying as it’s probably the easiest clue in the puzzle!!! Grrrr, gnash etc
Thanks to scchua and Crucible
Peter Asplnwall @29
“And I don’t want to be more specific!”
Well, according to Site Policy – “2. Any criticism of a puzzle or clue must be valid, constructive and presented in a polite manner. The reason for any dissatisfaction should be clearly indicated.” – you really ought to be more specific!
The modern expression is ‘What’s not to like?’. I’m really intrigued as to what’s ‘to hate’ here? You appear to be the one dissenting voice, so far.
Peter is not entirely alone. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t enjoy it. I found some of the clueing a bit tedious, but maybe I’m having a bad day
I also found this puzzle very difficult. I got the BLACK and WHITE theme early on, but did not criticize the puzzle because I could not analyse the problem I had with it. I always find a challenge fun so did not comment adversely. I think Peter Asplinwall has a point. Sometimes it is hard to put a finger on the problem one has with a puzzle, and one does not have to qualify a positive reaction.
There were dissenting voices on the Guardian site too, so this was another Marmite puzzle, though this time the positives are definitely outnumbering the dissenters. Lovely to see Eileen @31 using language that I’d think twice about!
Thanks Crucible and scchua
Enjoyed this – somewhat late and took its time on and off throughout yesterday to get finished. Missed the theme even after noting that both BLACK and WHITE were clearly there.
Finished up in the central top with MONOCHROMATIC, RICOTTA and CHOCOLATES the last few in. Don’t know that I’d be really enthused with ricotta served up on a cheese board, but can live with this standard of crossword being served up though !!!