Another puzzle from Dac with a set of good surfaces to the clues, but …
I am left wondering about the frequent (well, three) use of the word ‘wanting’ in the clues. The word seems to signify the addition of another part of the wordplay, but I don’t remember coming across its use on a regular basis before.
I got off to a bad start by putting DEMO in at 1 across on the basis that DEMON is a spirit and an endless DEMON is DEMO (protest)
I eventually sorted it out when nothing would intersect with DEMO in the North West corner.
I enjoyed some of the anagrams today – e.g. the one for MAIN STREET at 3 across and the one for TROUBLE AND STRIFE at 21 / 24 across
We had a couple of Spanish references in successive clues and entries at 17 and 19 across but Dac rarely does themes so I guess it is just coincidence.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
The spirit of endless protest (4)
|
MARCH (protest) excluding the final letter (endless) H
|
MARC (a form of brandy; spirit)
|
|
3
|
Transatlantic thoroughfare terminates unexpectedly (4,6)
|
Anagram of (unexpectedly) TERMINATES MAIN STREET* |
MAIN STREET (common name or description of a street through a town on both sides of the Atlantic; transatlantic street)
|
|
10
|
Leaving magic pen to be repaired by daughter (9)
|
D (daughter) + an anagram of (to be repaired) MAGIC PEN D ECAMPING* |
DECAMPING (leaving)
|
|
11
|
Spot Italian songstress (5)
|
PIP (spot, e.g. on dice) + IT (Italian)
|
PIPIT (songbird of a lark like genus; songstress)
|
|
12
|
Rhubarb is something to eat (5)
|
TRIPE (rhubarb; rubbish)
|
TRIPE (parts of the compound stomach of a ruminant, prepared as food; something to eat) double definition
|
|
13 / 15
|
Suffer, as one having tour of the factory might (2,7,3,4)
|
GO THROUGH THE MILL (GO on a journey THROUGH THE the factory [e.g. MILL])
|
GO THROUGH THE MILL (suffer)
|
|
17
|
Flat can accommodate sailor, wanting a place to stay in Cadiz? (6)
|
(PAD [flat] containing [can accommodate] OS [ordinary seaman; sailor]) + A P (OS) AD A |
POSADA (Spanish [e.g. Cadiz] inn; place to stay in Cadiz)
|
|
19
|
Sword too light to be carried (6)
|
LED (light emitting diode; light) contained in (to be carried) TOO TO (LED) O |
TOLEDO (a tapering sword or sword-blade made in TOLEDO, Spain)
|
|
21 / 24
|
Spouse rude at first, noble after reforming (7,3,6)
|
Anagram of (after reforming) RUDE AT FIRST NOBLE TROUBLE AND STRIFE* |
TROUBLE AND STRIFE (Cockney rhyming slang for wife)
|
|
26
|
Predict early signs of unprecedented rainfall after summer month (5)
|
AUG (August; summer month) + UR (first letters of [early signs of] each of UNPRECEDENTED and RAINFALL)
|
AUGUR (foretell; predict)
|
|
27
|
Greets enthusiastic supporters initially (5)
|
KEEN (enthusiastic) + S (first letter of [initially] SUPPORTERS)
|
KEENS (cries; greets [Scottish word for cries])
|
|
29
|
Broke in, wanting glue to sniff (9)
|
IN + SOLVENT (form of glue inhaled [sniffed] for intoxicating purposes)
|
INSOLVENT (unable to pay ones debts; broke)
|
|
30
|
Perhaps Thomas – new boy – into Moroccan food? (4,6)
|
(N [new] + KEN [boy’s name]) contained in (into) TAGINE (North African, e.g. Moroccan, or Berber dish [food] that is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked) TA (N K EN) GINE |
TANK ENGINE (reference Thomas the TANK ENGINE in the series of children’s’ stories by the Reverend W Awdry)
|
|
31
|
Some chic lady wearing dress? (4)
|
CLAD (hidden word in [some] CHIC LADY)
|
CLAD (wearing dress)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Friend about to make changes to plan (8)
|
MATE (friend) containing (about) EDIT (make changes to) M (EDIT) ATE |
MEDITATE (turn over in the mind; intend; plan)
|
|
2
|
Relax in park, joining queue (7)
|
REC (recreation ground; park) + LINE (queue)
|
RECLINE (relax)
|
|
4
|
Getting rid of a cross in front of graveyard (5)
|
A + X (cross) + IN + G (first letter of [front of] GRAVEYARD)
|
AXING (getting rid of)
|
|
5
|
Club near to quiet street? The reverse (9)
|
NIGH (near) + ([TO + P {piano; soft; quiet} + ST {street}] all reversed [the reverse] NIGH (TS P OT)< |
NIGHTSPOT (NIGHTclub)
|
|
6
|
Chief is regularly stroppy (3)
|
Letters 2, 4 and 6 [regularly] of STROPPY
|
TOP (chief)
|
|
7
|
Interpret old poet (7)
|
EX (former; old) + POUND (reference Ezra POUND [1885 – 1972], American poet)
|
EXPOUND (interpret)
|
|
8
|
Little brat ultimately irritating (6)
|
T (final letter of [ultimately] BRAT) + ITCHY (irritating)
|
TITCHY (little)
|
|
9
|
I’m wanting cheap-sounding accommodation, having no regrets (10)
|
I’M + (PENI [sounds like [sounding] PENNY [not much money; cheap]) + TENT (form of accommodation)
|
IMPENITENT (having no regrets)
|
|
14
|
Engineers, men entering building likely to be refurbished (10)
|
RE (Royal Engineers) + (OR [other ranks] contained in [entering] STABLE [example of a building]) RE ST (OR) ABLE |
RESTORABLE (can be refurbished, not necessarily ‘likely to be refurbished’)
|
|
16
|
Adulating one with pride, I burst into song (9)
|
LION (member of [one with] a pride of LIONs) + I + SING (bust into song)
|
LIONISING (adulating)
|
|
18
|
First of these decrees surprisingly kept hidden (8)
|
Anagram of (surprisingly) (DECREES and T [first letter of {first of} THESE]) SECRETED* |
SECRETED (kept hidden)
|
|
20
|
Mate unsettled by a blonde (3,4)
|
Anagram of (unsettled) A BLONDE OLD BEAN* |
OLD BEAN (affectionate form of address, usually to a male friend)
|
|
22
|
Multi-million pound agreement? I’m not impressed (3,4)
|
BIG DEAL (a multi-million pound investment could be described as a BIG DEAL for most organisations)
|
BIG DEAL (term used as a scornful [not impressed] response to an offer, boast, etc)
|
|
23
|
Bat makes great noise (6)
|
RACKET (bat used in sports)
|
RACKET (din; great noise) double definition
|
|
25
|
German city’s basic feature, There’s no church (5)
|
ESSENCE (inner distinctive nature; basic feature) excluding (no) CE (Church [of England])
|
ESSEN (City in Germany)
|
|
28
|
Woman dropped daughter off (3)
|
SHED (cast off; dropped) excluding (off) D (daughter)
|
SHE (woman)
|
Anent the preamble, the device seems to be one that Dac uses when he deems it fit. The fact that it occurs thrice in one crossword appears to have caught your attention.
The same setter in Independent 8910 (which I cannot fail noticing is an anagram of 9018) has:
Appears in topless dress, wanting drink (5,2) ROCKS UP ::[f]ROCK SUP
where too the word ‘wanting’ signifies the addition of part of the wordplay.
Thanks, Duncan. Bit trickier than your usual Dac, I thought, but that could just be me being dozy. Must admit that I didn’t see the ‘wanting’ repetition, but I guess that when you’re blogging rather than solving you look more analytically at it.
TANK ENGINE was my favourite, because we all love Thomas, don’t we? (Fifteensquared exclusive: my favourite is Gordon.)
I fancy that with MAIN STREET, Dac really did mean ‘across the Atlantic’ for ‘transatlantic’. It’s essentially an American English usage, I think. Not sure that I’ve heard it much used in British English in this context, but I could be wrong.
[I’ve never had Dac down as a religious setter, so you might want to change ‘god’ to ‘good’ in your preamble.]
Thanks as always to our Wednesday setter.
Agree with K’s D about 3A, generally High Street in UK.
I passed 9D slightly differently (I think) as I’M + PENNY (cheap-sounding) TENT, ie a whimsically cheap tent that could be advertised as a PENNY TENT.
Oh well.
Thanks to duncanshiell and Dac.
I went quite wrong with 1d: I had ‘moderate’ (mate and redo)! so couldn’t get 12a! Thanks to blogger for rescue and setter for nice (old meaning) puzzle.
Curious. I saw MARC straightaway but got hung up on POSADA thinking of ‘hostal’, though how one would get ‘flat’ from h,t,a and l I had no idea. And like Heather I originally went for ‘moderate’ in 1dn till the check button put me right.
Thanks, Dac and Duncan.
I did the same as Heather. It is a plausble read of the clue. A good fun puzzle, quite a challenge. Thanks Dac and duncanshiel.
I also had demo for a while but it’s the wrong way round, protest rather than spirit being the word which is shortened, so I eventually took it out. 30 was my favourite as well, although I can’t profess to ever having watched the programme.
Kathyrn’s Dad @ 2
typo corrected – thanks
Gwep @ 3
I think we are both alluding to the same idea in slightly different ways.
Currently sunning myself in the South of France between Nimes and Montpelier so I’m not looking at the comments as soon as they appear
First time poster so sorry if daft. I had More for 1a (the spirit of = Mores, Protest = More!). Is this unacceptable? If so is this careless?
Sometimes more than one answer does work for a clue, so you have to rely on the crossing letters to get the right one. However, I think the compiler would have to be quite libertarian to set a clue which parsed the way you had it and DAC is rarely that.
Chris@9 A very warm welcome; you seem to have exactly the right sort of creative thinking to enjoy a good cryptic!
However, I see two problems with your suggestion. Firstly, the clue indicates, unambiguously, that a synonym for protest is to be truncated – in your example we would be led from MORE to MOR. Secondly, I feel many would baulk at the equating “the spirit” with “mores” for the definite article alone; and I would take issue with the meaning you ascribe to “mores” in any case.
[Heaven help us all if this is not a genuine post and you are some bored troll-like, time-wasting, and uninteresting silly arse like one we recently suffered. Forgive me if I’m wide of the mark, but it has happened ….. and in a manner that your post might suggest. Either way, best wishes!]
Thanks both. Agree that MARC is much cleaner and MORE a stretch. I don’t think the truncation of a synonym for “protest” is unambiguous – it could just as easily be of a synonym for “the spirit of” (note the of). Whether I have come up with one is definitely another matter! Probably hinges on the article as you say – perhaps “mores” could be “spirit of” but not “the spirit of”.
William, thanks for the benefit of the doubt (I think!). Bored I would admit to, having been in hospital for the last week sustained partly by a regular supply of crosswords from kind visitors. Uninteresting, silly and arse may be for others to comment on. Troll-like and time-wasting I very much hope not.
Chris