It has been a while since it has fallen to me to blog a puzzle set by Klingsor.
I normally struggle to complete his puzzles, but today, perhaps because of the pressure of having to produce a blog afterwards, I seemed to be very much on his wavelength. For me, this was pitched at exactly the right level for a mid-week cryptic, offering a decent workout but not too stiff a challenge. I made steady progress from start to finish, although I came to a halt with just the clue at 4 to solve. In the end, I saw that it might well end in “-shooters” and guessed the first four letters from the wordplay. I had certainly never heard of that gambling game, which I confirmed in Chambers.
My favourites today are fairly numerous, but let me mention just four: 5 and 13, for smoothness of surface; 14, whose definition raised a smile; and 17, whose wordplay around “nates=prat” raised another smile when the penny dropped.
(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Down | ||
| 01 | VERONICA | She‘s in command in scene of Romeo and Juliet
I/C (=in command) in VERONA (=scene of Romeo and Juliet) |
| 05 | SPECIE | Give precise change, but without right coins
*(P<r>ECISE); “without right (=R)” means letter “r” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “change” |
| 09 | MADRIGAL | Wacky clothing almost entirely for a song
MAD (=wacky) + RIG (=clothing, kit) + AL<l> (=entirely; “almost” means last letter dropped) |
| 10 | INHERE | Belong essentially out there? The opposite
Cryptically, “the opposite” of “out + there” would be “in + here”! |
| 12 | IMPRESSIONIST | Monet, sir, is one case of painters styled as this
*(MONET SIR IS + I (=one) + P<ainter>S); “case of” means first and last letters only; “styled as” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit. |
| 15 | ENEMY | Pieces penned by you once about adversary
MEN (=pieces, in chess) in YE (=you once, i.e. old word for you); “about” indicates reversal |
| 16 | ON PURPOSE | Cracking working model’s not quite perfect by design
PUR<e> (=perfect; “not quite” means last letter dropped) in [ON (=working) + POSE (=model, sit)] |
| 17 | ALIENATES | Cuts off a romance with prat
A + LIE (=romance, not tell truth) + NATES (=prat, buttocks) |
| 19 | SAINT | E.g. Wenceslas Square’s shown by books on capital
S (=square, on maps) + A1 (=capital, excellent) + NT (=books, i.e. New Testament); Saint Wenceslas is the patron saint of the Czech state |
| 20 | INVERTED COMMA | Quote from tenor: “I’d never perform Butterfly”
*(T (=tenor) + I’D NEVER) + COMMA (=butterfly); “perform” is anagram indicator; a quote (here) is a quotation mark |
| 22 | NOODLE | Turkey is // something you eat
Double definition; a turkey can be a fool, idiot, hence “noodle” |
| 23 | STRESSED | Reversing round double bend, defects will be emphasised
S (=double bend, i.e. an S-bend in plumbing) in DESERTS (=defects, as verb); “reversing” is anagram indicator |
| 25 | GUSTAV | Maybe Mahler bust a gut tackling start of Symphony 5
[S<ymphony> (“start of” means first letter only) in *(A GUT)] + V (=5, in Roman numerals); “bust” is anagram indicator |
| 26 | ASSESSOR | Oil company’s run by idiot one judges
ASS (=idiot) + ESSO (=oil company) + R (=run, in cricket) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | VAMPIRE BAT | Seductive woman with passion joins club, being a nocturnal creature
VAMP (=seductive woman) + IRE (=passion) + BAT (=club, in sport) |
| 02 | RED | Knock back some elderberry wine
Reversed (“knock back”) and hidden (“some”) in “elDERberry” |
| 03 | NAIVETY | Refusal to accept one old soldier’s unworldliness
[I (=one) + VET (=old soldier, i.e. veteran)] in NAY (=refusal) |
| 04 | CRAPSHOOTERS | Gamblers in America who repeatedly miss the target?
Cryptically, “crap (=very poor) shooters” would “repeatedly miss the target”; in US, crapshooters are players of a gambling game called craps, in which a player rolls 2 dice |
| 06 | PANNIER | Orphan found by river under soft basket
P (=soft, i.e. piano) + ANNIE (=orphan, in musical) + R (=river) |
| 07 | CREATIONISM | Response is muted at first, after promoting Catholic opposition to Darwin?
C-REA<c>TION (=response; “after promoting Catholic (=C)” means letter “c” moves to a higher position in the word) + IS + M<uted> (“at first” means first letter only); creationism is the opposite of evolutionism, espoused by Charles Darwin |
| 08 | EVER | The first female monarch in history
EVE (=the first female, in Bible) + R (=monarch, i.e. rex or regina) |
| 11 | COMPOS MENTIS | All there is beneath rotting vegetation will overwhelm people
[MEN (=people) in COMPOST (=rotting vegetation)] + IS |
| 13 | PRECIPITOUS | Very steep prices put one off getting round in
O (=round, pictorially) in *(PRICES PUT + I (=one)) |
| 14 | LEFT-HANDER | Abandoned woman’s going around with one having sinister tendency
LEFT (=abandoned) + [AND (=with) in HER (=woman’s)]; “sinister” can mean left, on the left side |
| 18 | NOVELLA | Composer turning out Ring, a short work
NOVELL<o> (=composer, i.e. Ivor; “turning out Ring (=O)” means letter “o” dropped) + A |
| 19 | SOCKEYE | Salmon and lettuce served up – that has essential vitamin
SOC (COS=lettuce; “served up” indicates vertical reversal) + KEY (=essential) + E (=vitamin) |
| 21 | SNUG | Private bar in the Northward Arms
GUNS (=arms, weapons); “Northward” indicates vertical reversal |
| 24 | SUS | Find out either way
“either way” indicates a palindrome |
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, although I spent longer on it than necessary after bunging in what seemed like a straightforward PIECES at 5a.
Lovely blog RR, many thanks
I did like crapshooters
I too went astray by entering PIECES at 5a. I wonder if the ambiguity was deliberate or unintentional?
Thanks, RR.
I’m another who fell for the PIECES trap (if that indeed is what it was). But that got sorted out, and the rest fell into place nicely. Plenty to enjoy, and with no really obscure words. Just right for a daily cryptic.
Thank you to our setter.
Not as hard as Thursday puzzles can often be, but still defeated by the parsing of a few, eg 17 in which NATES was new to me, and don’t remember having come across S for ‘Square’ in 19a. I liked the “semi-&lit” (I wouldn’t dream of disagreeing with your classification!) IMPRESSIONIST and the less than obvious def. for COMPOS MENTIS.
Thank you to Klingsor and RatkojaRiku.
This all went in relatively easily, although there were a few parsings I couldn’t see. Fortunately I avoided the ‘pieces’ trap, having encountered SPECIE recently (might have been in another crossword). CRAPSHOOTERS was a new word to me, but easily worked out.
Some superb surfaces, subtle misdirections and really inventive clueing; impossible to nominate a CoD. Wholly enjoyable!
Thanks, Klingsor and RatkojaRiku.
Thanks, RatkojaRiku.
Good puzzle from Klingsor: my favourite was 11d for the beautifully disguised ‘all there’ definition. More like that, please!
Superb puzzle with Klingsor’s/Alberich’s usual smooth surfaces and tight constructions. I didn’t know nates could mean prat but I think that clue is my pick of a very fine bunch.
An enjoyable way to end a Thursday. Plenty to think about but all neatly clued and no obscurities although we had to check 10ac. We’d come across NATES before in previous puzzles and because we had some crossers we did not enter PIECES for 5ac.
Thanks RR and Klingsor.