A tangled mess that gave me great pleasure to unravel. Thank you Chalmie, more like this please.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BASING | Establishing report is being held back (6) |
| BANG (report) containing IS reversed (back) | ||
| 4 | OF COURSE | End this is when 30 is given naturally (2,6) |
| a degree is given at the end OF COURSE | ||
| 10 | DOCTORATE | 30 down to reject European card company (9) |
| D (down) then E (European) TAROT (card) CO (company) reversed (to reject) | ||
| 11 | LISZT | Catalogue includes Zurich’s first composer (5) |
| LIST (catalogue) includes Zurich (first letter of) | ||
| 12 | RANK | Smelly 30 (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 13 | GRADUATION | 30 welcomes you finally leaving with 30 (10) |
| GRADATION (degree) contains (welcomes) yoU (final letter of) | ||
| 15 | MASTERS | 30 Poles on ship, without hesitation (7) |
| MASTS (poles on ship) contains (without) ER (hesitation | ||
| 16 | MURDER | Backing horse a crime sometimes after first 30 (6) |
| RED RUM (racehorse) reversed (backing) | ||
| 19 | EXTANT | Remaining aid to navigation has not succeeded (6) |
| sEXTANT (aid to navigation) missing S (succeeded) | ||
| 21 | CELSIUS | 30 sluices flushed (7) |
| anagram (flushed) of SLUICES | ||
| 23 | TETRAMETER | Wobble engulfs public transport line (10) |
| TEETER (wobble) contains (engulfs) TRAM (public transport) | ||
| 25 | UBER | They carry possibly jacketless potatoes (4) |
| tUBERs (potatoes) missing outside letters (jacketless) – Internet taxi broker | ||
| 27 | TARSI | Asian primate getting rid of queen’s bones (5) |
| TARSIer (Asian primate) missing ER (The Queen) | ||
| 28 | ENTERTAIN | Volunteers come in before popular host (9) |
| TA (Territorial Army, volunteers) following (with…before) ENTER (come in) then IN (popular) | ||
| 29 | SKEGNESS | Ship carrying barrels around Tyneside reaches port a bit further south (8) |
| SS (ship) contains (carrying) KEGS (barrels) containing (around) NE (Tyneside, NE England) | ||
| 30 | DEGREE | BA possibly came out backing millions being excluded (6) |
| EmERGED (came out) reversed (backing) missing M (millions) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BEDFRAME | What Judi Dench for one does about French furniture (8) |
| BE DAME (what Judi Dench for one does) contains FR (French) | ||
| 2 | SECOND SEX | Woman and another helping divorcee (6,3) |
| SECONDS (another helping) and EX (divorcee) | ||
| 3 | NOOK | Shelter set up satisfactorily (4) |
| ON (set) reversed (up) and OK (satisfactorily) | ||
| 5 | FREEDOM | Note about fashion turnover’s flexibility (7) |
| F (note, of the scale) RE (regarding, about) and MODE (fashion) reversed (turnover) | ||
| 6 | OIL BARRELS | What comes out of Iraq? Blair’s role is complicated (3,7) |
| anagram (is complicated) of BLAIR’S ROLE | ||
| 7 | ROSTI | Dish of bistro’s tiramisu (5) |
| found inside (of) bistRO’S TIramisu | ||
| 8 | EXTENT | Former Camp 30 (6) |
| EX TENT (former camp). The surface reading doesn’t make much sense to me. | ||
| 9 | CAPRIS | 30 days up just like that without cars (6) |
| APR (April, 30 days) contains (with…without) SIC (just like that) | ||
| 14 | SEPARATION | Parties on a roll split (10) |
| anagram (roll) of PARTIES ON A | ||
| 17 | ERIC BLAIR | George Orwell, irascible, contrary – no saint, right? (4,5) |
| anagram (contrary) of IRAsCIBLE missing S (saint) then R (right) | ||
| 18 | ESTRANGE | Is French fury about Norway to sour relations? (8) |
| EST (is, French) then RAGE containing N (Norway) | ||
| 20 | TIELESS | Draw fewer being informal (7) |
| TIE (draw) and LESS (fewer) | ||
| 21 | CHEATS | Does a hundred preliminary events (6) |
| C (a hundred) and HEATS (preliminary events) | ||
| 22 | STATUS | Empty suit busy with American 30 (6) |
| SuiT (empty, no middle letters) AT (busy with) and US (American) | ||
| 24 | THREE | This 30s group (5) |
THREE (this, the solution) and DEGREES (30s) |
||
| 26 | TREE | Plane maybe 24 hours lost (4) |
| ThREE (24 down) missing H (hours) | ||
*anagram
definitions are underlined
The second day in a row that I couldn’t finish this setter’s brainchild.
Yesterday (in the Indy, Alchemi) the Roy Harper theme passed me by, today the keyword at 30ac was one of my very first entries.
However, I was beaten by the two ‘car’ clues, CAPRIS (9d) and UBER (25ac).
But a very enjoyable exercise for which thanks to Chalmie.
I think, PeeDee, that there is not much wrong with 24d.
30 = degree, so ‘This 30s’ = ‘This’ (the solution, THREE) + DEGREEs.
Hi Sil,
How does 30=degree? I can’t see it.
Thanks PeeDee. You managed to spot that 30 = degree in a lot of the other clues, so I don’t really understand why 24 is a problem for you.
By the way, you’ve filled CELSIUS in wrongly, even though you’ve correctly parsed it.
D’oh. I could not see the wood for the trees.
Could not finish this today 🙁 Skegness !! never heard of it did not get even with google.. and Three remains a mystery coz of which of course tree also lacks !
Actually, now I think about it, in what way is Skegness a port? It is by the sea certainly but I don’t remember there being any sort of harbour there. From what I remember there is just a big sandy beach and you would need to tow your boat on a trailer to get to the sea.
Thanks Chalmie and PeeDee
An excellent and inventive crossword.
Thanks Chalmie and PeeDee.
I couldn’t finish the NW corner. I actually came up with SECOND SEX for 2d, but didn’t enter it as I couldn’t believe it was a real term; it sounds so inherently sexist! (Apparently it’s the title of a work of feminist philosophy, so I suppose we could take the term as how women are undeniably treated? Still leaves a bad taste to me.) No blame to Chalmie here for using the term; my inability to complete was my own fault. 🙂
PeeDee, you have a small error in 1d’s explanation: it’s “be dame”, not “be a dame” (no article required).
Fixed now Steve.
Thanks Chalmie and PeeDee
A really good challenge here that I started yesterday and had to finish off early this morning !!
I think that DEGREE at 30a was my second or third in (after getting CELSIUS), but it was still a problem working through all of the thematic clues and made a touch harder with the clever misdirection at 9d. Similarly at 26d.
Particularly liked the use of 30 at 4a, 13a and16a !
Finished in the NW corner with the clever BEDFRAME, the complex DOCTORATE (had to get the word first and work out the parsing after) and CAPRIS (with that sneaky misdirection) as the last one in. This guy is fast becoming one of the FT setters whose name that I look forward to seeing in the banner.
I did mean to mention that I didn’t know that US female vocal group – THE THREE DEGREES … and did spend ages trying to get the H out of it to find the ‘plane tree’.