Puzzles from Monk seem to have got considerably easier over the last year or so (easier, not necessarily easy). Do others think the same or have I just finally got the hang of it all?
Having said that I made the north-west corner hard for myself by first misspelling Chekhov and then entering unknotted instead of unhitched.
I am no longer sure if I should be searching the grid for a Nina. I will post the blog now and then continue to look for a while. Thanks Monk.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SEAGULL | High-flier finally trading in gold to cut deal (7) |
| tradinG (final letter) in AU (gold, chem symbol) inside (to cut) SEAL (deal) | ||
| 5 | ENDEMIC | Death came back, area wiped out by a single plague (7) |
| END (death) then CaME reversed (back) with A (area) replaced by (wiped out by) I (one, a single) | ||
| 9 | CHEKHOV | Author of the 1 across spoken language, only half finished (7) |
| CHEKH sounds like (spoken) Czech (language) with OVer (finished, only half of) | ||
| 10 | INCISOR | One contributing to cutting, ironic works about head of state (7) |
| IRONIC* anagram=works inside (about)State (first letter, head of) | ||
| 11 | ASSET | Plus fours finally donned by a clique (5) |
| fourS (final letter) inside (donned by) A SET (clique) | ||
| 12 | DOUBLOONS | Mainly question ladies and gents about new and old money (9) |
| DOUBt (question, mainly=unfinished) then LOOS (ladies and gents) containing (about) N (new) | ||
| 13 | DISCHARGE | Free record mostly difficult, say, to turn (9) |
| DISC (record) HARd (difficult, mostly) then EG (say) reversed (to turn) | ||
| 15 | DENIM | Material essential to Sudden Impact (5) |
| found inside (essential to) sudDEN IMpact | ||
| 16 | MINED | Beware of reported laid explosives (5) |
| sounds like (reported) “mind” (beware of) | ||
| 18 | SONGBIRDS | Bring nuts buried by pigs for a lark or two? (9) |
| BRING* anagram=nuts inside (buried by) SODS (pigs) | ||
| 20 | CONCLUDED | Company contained, not getting one over (9) |
| CO (company) then iNCLUDED (contained) missing I (one) | ||
| 23 | TESSA | Noble Italian ignoring prisoner’s former account (5) |
| conTESSA (noble Italian) missing CON (prisoner) – a former tax-exempt savings account | ||
| 24 | ALENCON | Chap against pursuing a place in France (7) |
| LEN (chap, man’s name) and CON (against) following (pursuing) A | ||
| 25 | VIBRANT | Animated tirade on origins of violence inside borstals (7) |
| RANT (tirade) following first letters (origins) of Violence Inside Borstals | ||
| 26 | SINE DIE | Indefinitely adjourned by English following inside manoeuvring (4,3) |
| E (English) following INSIDE* anagram=manoeuvring | ||
| 27 | LAERTES | Classical father arranged authentic backing (7) |
| SET (arranged) REAL (authentic) all reversed (backing) – the father of Odysseus and Ctimene. I presume the “father” element relates to the Greek myth where Laertes is dying from grief for his lost son Odysseus, who returns to him first in disguise and ultimately reveals his true identity. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SOCIAL DEMOCRATS | Sarcastic old model ruined party? (6,9) |
| anagram (ruined) of SARCATSIC, O (old) and MODEL | ||
| 2 | ASEPSIS | Sterility of clot injected with unlimited enzyme (7) |
| ASS (clot) contains (injected with) pEPSIn (enzyme, unlimited=no end letters) | ||
| 3 | UNHITCHED | Released single (9) |
| definition, cryptic definition – not married | ||
| 4 | LIVED | Dwelt, as it happens, with daughter (5) |
| LIVE (as it happens) with D (daughter) | ||
| 5 | EPICUREAN | Gourmet’s timeless photo following European article (9) |
| PICtURE (photo) missing T (time) following E (European) then AN (indefinite article) | ||
| 6 | DECAL | Transfer 25% of cash in transaction (5) |
| Cash (first letter, first 25% of) in DEAL (transaction) | ||
| 7 | MISJOIN | Fail to connect using crude jingoism that’s no good (7) |
| anagram (crude) of JINgOISM missing G (good) | ||
| 8 | CHRISTMAS CACTUS | What might be best cultivated around the present time? (9,6) |
| something that is growing at Christmas (the time for giving presents) – I can’t see what this should be a cactus rather than any other plant. “Because it fits the crossing letters” seems a weak reason to give. | ||
| 14 | RESIDENCE | Possibly flat surface in new unopened screen (9) |
| SIDE (surface) in anagram (new) of sCREEN (unopened) | ||
| 15 | DEBATABLE | Contentious society girl presently dining in Paris? (9) |
| DEB (society girl) then À TABLE (presently dining, “at the table” in French) | ||
| 17 | NANKEEN | Babushka eager for fabric (7) |
| NAN (babushka, grandmother) then KEEN (eager) | ||
| 19 | RESTART | Resume method following break (7) |
| ART (method) following REST (break) | ||
| 21 | LACED | Secured position in Oxford? (5) |
| cryptic definition – an Oxford is a type of shoe | ||
| 22 | DEVIL | Was about to season highly and cook (5) |
| LIVED (was) reversed (about) | ||
*anagram
definitions are underlined
I now notice a few symmetrically placed anagrams in the grid – MINED/DENIM and ASSET/TESSA.
…I mean reversals
…and there is DECAL/LACED and DEVIL/LIVED in the down entries too
“à table” for 15d-the accent completes this impeccable clue. Monk really is a master setter. I spotted the two pairs of down palindromes but of course there had to be a balance in the acrosses. I reckon Bunthorne would approve of Monk.
Forgot-thanks PeeDee- and I think the first half went in fairly easily but I slowed up after that-I was dumfounded by the first puzzles of his I did but I reckon I have cottoned onto his excellent cluing-well to some exyent.
compus – I have added the grave to 15dn for you. I was taught in my French lessons at school not to add accents to capital letters, but that was a long time ago and I was not the best student in the class (to put it mildly). Is this still a rule? Was it ever a rule?
PeeDe@&6 You have reason-you dont normally add an accent to upper case-but just explaining the clue to anyone not au fait with la langue… if you get my drift
I’m always reluctant to say out loud that a particular setter might be getting easier (however relative that easiness might be) but on this occasion, I would agree with PeeDee that Monk was being kind to us today.
I did notice the reversals and I will also admit to being a member of the “could not spell Chekhov, initially put unknotted” club.
Thanks to Monk and PeeDee too
Thank you Monk and PeeDee.
A most enjoyable crossword. CHEKHOV’S play the SEAGULL is at 1a. CHRISTMAS CACTUS is a houseplant from Brazil that flowers at Christmas time.
PS, apologies PeeDee, I see that the play was pointed out in the blog.
Thanks Monk and PeeDee
I think that this was the first time I’ve attempted Monk, so was unaware that I needed to look for a NINA. I spotted the DENIM and MINED reversal immediately, but despite getting LIVED and DECAL fairly soon after didn’t think to look for other mirrors (shame that SMOKE didn’t appear somewhere!) until a lot later.
I also had CHRISTMAS for 8 straightaway, but couldn’t for the life of me think what you might grow at that time until I had all the crossers, despite having tried to grow and succeeded in killing Schlumbergera on more than one occasion.
I shall definitely tackle Monk again in the future, very enjoyable.
Thanks Monk and PeeDee
A little late to this one – picking it up for my train ride in this morning and was able to finish it off over lunch. I noticed the mirror images only in my last run through of parsing checks – it would have helped earlier as both DECAL and DEVIL were in the last 4-5 that I got.
A lot of letter subtractions going on – not that I found that it took anything away from the puzzle – just a post-solve observation. Was very pleased with myself for remembering the TESSA savings account – was that one of Tony Blair’s initiatives ?
Think that I found this a little easier than some that he sets – but that can be welcome some times. Finished with VIBRANT which then gave me the last crosser for CHRISTMAS CACTUS (which I wouldn’t have got otherwise!).
Thanks PeeDee and Monk.
I’m another member of the can’t spell Chekhov club but fortunately held of writing in unknotted because I wasn’t convinced.
I must agree that I thought this was easier than Monk used to be – or at least for a while until I ground to a halt 3/4 of the way through. But then seemed to get going again.
I saw a few of the reversals but missed the ASSET/TESSA and so failed on 23 entering TOSCA (who was an Italian noble I think). But it was unparsed and dodgy so I’ve only myself to blame.
Good fun.