Well it’s a puzzle from Donk this week and a grid layout that I regard as one of the hardest with almost four distinct mini grids with minimal overlap.
And yes it proved to be quite tricky but very fulfilling. Some lovely original clues:
19ac was very very neat
27ac took a little bit of a liberty, perhaps, but there was no questioning the answer
7dn was the last one I got though the clue is so perfect!
17dn An absolute beauty
20dn a great device
The surface readings also deserve a mention – very, very elegant sentences that hide the fact very well that they are in reality cryptic clues. It also led to some slightly indirect definitions, which from my perspective was a quality of the puzzle.
Many thanks Donk – whilst a longer solve than normal – It was more than worth it.
Key: * (anagram) DD double definition; Underline definition
Across
1 Shopper features on song against contracting (9)
In form (on song) + anti (against) – i (contracting) = INFORMANT
6 Has a butcher’s announced results in London accountant! (5)
Homonym of Peeps (has a buther’s) = PEPYS (Diarist)
9 Two British people (5)
B (British) + race (people)
10 With nothing on relative keeping a rule out (2,7)
Anut (relatie) around a + (rule)* = AU NATUREL
11 Kind of money not in use (3)
milk (use) – m (money) = ILK
12 Pervasive crackers met in person (11)
(met in person)* = OMNIPRESENT
14 FA Cup size is beginning to trouble trendy fan (7)
FA + DD (Cup size) + is + t (beginning to trouble) = FADDIST
15 Leave wife’s hand over fair parts (2,5)
Go (leave) + dutch (wife) = GO DUTCH
16 After sex change, cleavage becomes goal (7)
Fission (cleavage) changing f to m = MISSION
19 How’s eagle’s made descent (7)
eagle is l in eage = LINEAGE
22 Open to discovery, island lay further west (11)
Rev. (Elba (island) + song (lay) + aid (further) = DIAGNOSABLE
23 Judge is on fire, lacking passion (3)
re (on) + fire – ire (passion) = REF
24 Wearing more satin that’s for evening out (5,4)
(more satin)* = STEAM IRON
26 Main nerve centre hidden (5)
hidden centre of maIN NERve = INNER
27 Rich kid‘s fish with fork for starter (5)
Guppy (kid’s fish) swapping y (fork) for g = YUPPY
28 I’m finally making amends for developing psychological warfare (4,5)
(Im + g + amends) = MIND GAMES
Down
1 To sum up case, happening upon it (2,5)
in (happening – as in love-in) + brief (case) = IN BRIEF
2 Following distressed supplies you looked for oil (7)
F (following) + racked (distressed) = FRACKED
3 Fixing their air-con, a master of hot air (11)
(their aircon)* = RHETORICIAN
4 Touching range in empty supermarket (7)
aga (range) + in + st (empty supermarket) = AGAINST
5 One holding guy‘s wine up for finish, say (4,3)
tent(wine) + p (up for finish) + eg (say) = TENT PEG
6 Take stone from mine (3)
DD PIT
7 Responsible pupil’s second to drop Polish? (7)
Prefect (repsonsible pupil) moving r = PERFECT
8 Mark entered by school’s subject (7)
Sch (school) around plot (subject) = SPLOTCH
13 Exposing tip, needle nearly gets round (11)
end (tip) + anger (needle) – r (nearly) + ring (round)= ENDANGERING
16 Reserve of dye most supply (7)
(dye most)* = MODESTY
17 Reportedly in the doghouse? Come on! (5,2)
Homonym Chez pup (in the doghouse) = SHAPE UP
18 Solution: only one string! (7)
No strum = NOSTRUM
19 Country people ban one-night stands (7)
Hidden (peopLE BAN ONe) = LEBANON
20 FIFA, say, adding China for good in business meeting (7)
AGM (business meeting) swapping crony (China) for g (good) = ACRONYM
21 Attempts rest of exercises, getting poor grade (7)
(rest of)* around F (poor grade) = EFFORTS
25 Presenter who’s driven old lady back to Bromley (3)
Ma (old lady) + y (back to Bromley) = MAY (as in James May)
I was making more of a meal of this than I was on Enigmatist’s Prize.
If you say it was a tough grid shape, I’m happy to buy that.
But I do reckon it was quite a toughie (and goodie of course)
Thanks all.
Thanks twenceslas. We got them all, but the parsing defeated us on several of them, so you have enlightened us. Never heard of tent wine! Would never have understood diagnosable, with all three words a little obscure, without the blog. Yuppy though is a bit unreasonable, as it’s mis-spelt (I know, I expect Chambers has both spellings) and the clue gives no reason to lose the g.
Thanks Donk and twencelas.
Eric@2 re 27ac: Yes, Chambers has both spellings. You need to read “for” as meaning “in place of”, so that the Y replaces the G.
While I am in, with regard to 11ac, if anyone still thinks that “ilk” does not mean “kind”, that definition is also in Chambers. The word “ilk” in its new meaning fills a role which no other word quite manages, and is not needed in its old meaning of “same”, just as “item” does not need to keep its original meaning of “also”.
Excellent puzzle. All in eventually, but I missed the parsing of ILK, ACRONYM and SHAPE UP, all of which were great. Only one minor quibble for FRACKED, in which ‘supplies you’ seems superfluous, although I suppose it does help the surface. In addition to the unparsed ones, my favourites were LINEAGE, DIAGNOSABLE and NOSTRUM.
A very big thanks to Donk and to twencelas.
Late to the party having just got back from an internet free weekend when I took a printout with me. Found it quite tough but even with no access either to dictionary or e-help I eventually completed it.
Couldn’t see the parsing of ILK or REF, and thought there might be a breed of dog called ‘shay’ or something similar to make 17dn a homophone of ‘shay pup’ which might be found in the doghouse. In 25dn I think the definition could be “presenter who’s driven” referring to his former participation in a certain TV show aimed at puerile petrolheads.
A close call for ACRONYM as CoD among two or three others.
Thanks, Donk and Twencelas
I can’t make sense of the surface reading of 19a. “How eagle’s made descent” would be OK, I think, but “How’s eagle’s made descent” seems to have an extra ‘s which doesn’t help either the surface reading or the wordplay. Can anyone explain what’s going on? This crossword has just been republished in the i, without alteration, so I guess it’s actually correct.