Exit is the pseudonym of a Fifteensquared regular who created a crossword especially for the day.
For anyone who wasn’t there and still likes to have a go at it, don’t read any further yet and click on: Exit @ S & B Derby 2016 .
The crossword contains a nina around the perimeter as made clear by the completed grid that can be found at the end of the blog.
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 8 | NOBLER | Duke, related to earl? (6) |
| Cryptic definition A duke ranks higher than an earl so might be termed ‘nobler’. |
||
| 9 | RED CHINA | Echidna right disoriented somewhere in the orient – not Taiwan. (3,5) |
| (ECHIDNA + R (right))* [* = disoriented] | ||
| 10 | OVEN-READY | Chicken as sold, maybe? Aye, vendor is trembling. (4-5) |
| (AYE + VENDOR)* [* = trembling] | ||
| 11 | YUKON | Expressing disgust on Canadian Territory. (5) |
| YUK (expresssing digust) + ON | ||
| 13 | INFANT | Princess from Spain loses a child. (6) |
| INFANT[a] (Princess from Spain, minus the final A) | ||
| 14 | COSH | Truncheon function. (4) |
| Double definition For mathematicians, this stands for ‘hyperbolic cosine’. |
||
| 15 | BED | Teacher’s place for 7. (3) |
| B Ed (teacher, Bachelor of Education) The definition refers to 7d (SNOOZE). |
||
| 17 | TYPESET | Press S, E and T keys to prepare for press. (7) |
| TYPE S,E,T (press S,E and T) | ||
| 19 | BREWPUB | Papa with rubber almost upset in Brunswick, maybe. (7) |
| (P (Papa, Nato alphabet) + W (with) + RUBBE[r])* [* =upset] The Brunswick is an example of a pub that brews its own beer. |
||
| 22 | NOD | Retired member of SCR in this land. (3) |
| Reversal, indicated by ‘retired’, of DON (member of SCR , Senior Common Room) The definition clearly refers to the land of nod , i.e. being asleep. |
||
| 24 | FACE | Confront foxtrot expert. (4) |
| F (Foxtrot, Nato alphabet) + ACE (expert) | ||
| 25 | PASTEL | Pale colour obtained from petals. (6) |
| (PETALS)* [* = obtained from] | ||
| 27 | ETHOS | Bet hospital shows distinctive character. (5) |
| Hidden solution, indicated by ‘shows’: [b]ET HOS[pital] | ||
| 28 | DESPERADO | Ruffian Dan loses note at party. (9) |
| DESPERA[te] (Dan, ‘the desperate one’ minus TE (note)) + DO (party) | ||
| 30 | VIGILANT | Guardian Angel concedes a point but remains watchful. (8) |
| VIGILANTE (guardian angel) minus E ( apoint) | ||
| 31 | ASKING | What does “?” signify? This. (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SOLVENCY | Ability to pay Con’s levy – criminal! (8) |
| (CON’S LEVY)* [* = criminal] | ||
| 2 | ELONGATED | Noel in trouble, kept in longer. (9) |
| (NOEL)* + GATED (kept in) [* = in trouble] | ||
| 3 | TRUEST | Real saint, most real. (6) |
| TRUE (real) + ST (saint) | ||
| 4 | TRADUCE | Lie about jazz at church after university. (7) |
| TRAD (jazz) + {CE (church) after U (uiversity)} | ||
| 5 | EDH | Old letter in redhead’s possession. (3) |
| Hidden solution, indicated by ‘in ……’s possession’: [r]EDH[ead] The solution is an alternative spelling of ‘eth’, the old D. |
||
| 6 | RHEUM | A cold once picked up in lounge, possibly. (5) |
| Homophone, indicated by ‘picked up’, of: ROOM (lounge, as a possibility) | ||
| 7 | SNOOZE | Time to dream: spaces in Regent’s Park coming up? On the contrary. (6) |
| Reversal, indicated by ‘coming up’, of: ENS (spaces, plural of EN) inside ZOO (Regent’s Park) – then the other way around (‘on the contrary’). | ||
| 12 | USER | Junkie’s ruse rumbled. (4) |
| (RUSE)* [* = rumbled] | ||
| 16 | TWOSTROKE | Engine may be damaged – set to work. (9) |
| (SET TO WORK)* [* = damaged] | ||
| 18 | ELAN | Dash in tunnel, a neat move! (4) |
| Hidden solution, indicated by just ‘in’: [tunn]EL A N[eat move] | ||
| 20 | UPENDING | Disturbed pug in den is turning over (8) (PUG IN DEN)* [* = disturbed] |
| 21 | DESERTS | Abandons just reward – rats! (8) |
| Triple definition | ||
| 23 | OBTAIN | Get in boat, rocking it. (6) |
| (IN BOAT)* [* = rocking it] | ||
| 25 | POPLAR | Portugal in Arctic, say? No, a London district. (6) |
| P (Portugal, IVR code) inside POLAR (arctic, say) | ||
| 26 | FOLIO | Peel foil off backing paper. (5) |
| Reversal, indicated by ‘backing’, of [f]OIL OF[f] – peeled, i.e. minus first and last letters | ||
| 29 | LAC | Broadcast need for resin. (3) |
| Homophone, indicated by ‘broadcast’, of: LACK (need) | ||
Just to add that I somehow managed to miss out the clue to 20dn. I did hurriedly scribble a substitute clue on some of the sheets at the event, but I think the one here is better. Maybe my pseudonym is apt and I should have been shown the exit for such a gaffe.
Anyway, apologies to all concerned, and thanks to Sil for the blog.
Yes, this was a fine puzzle – the strange three-letter answers with just one checked suggested a Nina so that was fine and helped to the solution. Favourite clues TWOSTROKE, ELAN, OBTAIN. Thought 30A and 3D just slightly weak as not quite giving two ways to the answer, though they were easy enough. Thanks to Exit from whom I hope we’ll see more and to the blogger also – I needed the explanation for 7D.