A riveting puzzle from Redshank, who had me at my wits end for most of the solve. Innovative cluing with some refreshingly new takes on some familiar words. I needed Geoff’s help to sort out a couple of clues. Thanks Redshank, for a gem of a challenge.
I wonder if this is a ‘J” short of being a pangram but havent looked closely enough.
FF:10 DD:9
| Across | ||
| 9 | EPIDERMIC | River in spate affecting our outer layer (9) |
| R (river) in EPIDEMIC (spate) | ||
| 10 | EVOKE | Call up the day before receiving approval (5) |
| EVE (day before) receiving OK (approval) | ||
| 11 | ORIOLES | Colourful singers love parts I introduced (7) |
| O (love) [ ROLES (parts) containing I ] | ||
| 12 | NIT PICK | Quibble can upset the finest (3-4) |
| NIT (can = TIN, reversed) PICK (the finest) | ||
| 13 | ASH | A quiet wood (3) |
| A SH (quiet) | ||
| 14 | DRESS CIRCLE | Red clerics managed to grab second best seats (5,6) |
| RED CLERICS* containing S (second) | ||
| 17 | ARDEN | Forest burning? Not quite (5) |
| ARDENt (burning, not complete) | ||
| 18 | BAG | Secure report (name redacted) (3) |
| BAnG (report, without ‘N’ – name) | ||
| 19 | COPTS | Churchgoers choose to enter civil service (5) |
| OPT (choose) in CS (Civil Service) | ||
| 21 | ILL MANNERED | Rude author’s penning lines to queen and cardinal (3-8) |
| [ I’M (author’s) containing LL (lines) ] ANNE (queen) RED (cardinal) | ||
| 23 | SOW | Broadcast Beethoven’s Sixth in Cornwall? (3) |
| O (beethOven’s sixth) in SW (cornwall, south west england) | ||
| 25 | ANTONYM | Two marks for opposing term (7) |
| ANTONY (mark, roman general) M (mark) – super clue!! | ||
| 27 | GONDOLA | Hire this for day in choppy lagoon? (7) |
| D (day) in LAGOON* | ||
| 28 | EXILE | Throw out team during its first half (5) |
| XI (team, in cricket, roman numerals for 11) in ELEven (first half, of team) – super clue!! | ||
| 29 | NEWSAGENT | Modern US portraitist fires Republican paper supplier (9) |
| NEW (modern) SArGENT (us portraitist, without ‘R’ – republican) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | FEDORA | Headgear for a boxing journalist (6) |
| {FOR A} (boxing = containing) ED (journalist) | ||
| 2 | FINISHED | Female in Slough keeps one wrapped up (8) |
| [F (female) IN SHED (slough)] keeping I (one) | ||
| 3 | BELLADONNA | Call a fellow about new advanced drug (10) |
| BELL (call) A [DON (fellow) containing (about) N (new) ] A (advanced) | ||
| 4 | XMAS | 26’s mum’s parting kisses (4) |
| MA (mum) in X’S (kisses) – 26d is NOEL | ||
| 5 | ICING SUGAR | Topping causing rig to collapse (5,5) |
| CAUSING RIG* | ||
| 6 | BENT | Crooked mountain at entrance to Trossachs (4) |
| BEN (mountain) T (entrance to Trossachs) | ||
| 7 | ZODIAC | Signs Cuba’s to help Australia? On the contrary (6) |
| reverse of [ C (cuba) AID (help) OZ (australia) ] | ||
| 8 | RECKLESS | Daredevil spots missing front of Ford Sierra (8) |
| fRECKLES (spots, missing ‘F’- front of Ford) S (sierra) | ||
| 15 | EMBANKMENT | Needle here when financiers infiltrate Met complex (10) |
| BANK MEN (financiers) in MET* – reference to cleopatra’s needle | ||
| 16 | INCIDENTAL | Fortuitous identical moves trapping knight (10) |
| IDENTICAL* containing N (knight) | ||
| 17 | AGITATED | A good place to see art I’d framed in a state (8) |
| A G(good) [ I’D containing (framing) TATE (place to see art) ] | ||
| 20 | PUSHOVER | Illegally sell extra piece of cake (8) |
| PUSH (illegally sell) OVER (extra) | ||
| 22 | LET RIP | Sound off during shuttle trips (3,3) |
| hidden in “..shuttLE TRIPs” | ||
| 24 | WRAITH | Spook gunners and reserves (6) |
| RA (gunners) in (reserved by) WITH (and) – tricky one this. | ||
| 26 | NOEL | Coward’s book with no verse (4) |
| NOvEL (book, without ‘v’ for verse) – noel coward was an english playwright | ||
| 27 | GOWN | Shift exceptionally good wine (4) |
| alternate letters (exceptionally) of GoOd WiNe – hadnt come across either the meaning of shift in this sense, or the use of exceptionally in the clue as this one .. | ||
*anagram
I too thought there were some super clues – my sheet of paper has enough stars to form a minor galaxy
Thank you to Redshank and Turbolegs too
Thanks, Turbolegs.
I can’t claim to have 2dn this – because I couldn’t solve 2dn! I was absolutely confident of SLOUGH=SHED, so had S entered as the first letter but, of course, couldn’t find a word to fit. Grrr!
Apart from that, I really enjoyed the puzzle, as usual with this setter [whom we have now met in various guises three times in a week and a day]. Favourite clues, from many super ones, as crypticsue says, were ANTONYM, RECKLESS, EMBANKMENT and WRAITH.
Many thanks, Redshank – chalk this one up!
Not even a handful of comments for this, indeed Turbolegs (and thx!), ‘riveting’ crossword.
It surely deserves a bit more praise.
During my brunch most of the solutions went in rather comfortably, do no DD:9 for me.
Which doesn’t mean that the cluing was perhaps a tad too obvious.
It’s more that I am completely into the style of Redshank who must rank high in my top 10 of favourite setters.
Yet, just like Eileen, I couldn’t fully finish the puzzle without external help.
Meaning, in my case, finding out which words fit and then trying to parse backwards.
In 2d I was too much focused on the ‘she’-part of FINISHED being the ‘female’, hence couldn’t find a proper word for ‘slough’.
24d was another of the trickier ones, and in 27d (GOWN) I was sent the wrong way because I’d never seen ‘exceptionally’ being used as it is here.
Superb, though.
Yes, this was fun!
(while 25ac (ANTONYM) is a marvellous idea, it was a bit naughty of Redshank to clue ‘Antony’ with a lower case m)
Yes it was another outstanding puzzle from Redshank but the blog was posted quite late in the day which possibly accounts for the few comments. Bravo Redshank and thanks to TL for the blog.
Brill clues ! & thnx for explanations . I would never have got 8 down ( Reckless )
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
Two hard ones in a row to finish the FT week. Managed to fill the grid in a bit over an hour but then spent a lot more time fully parsing it. Spent the most time with PASSOVER at 20d – trying to find a dictionary that equated it to ‘piece of cake’ – none did. It was only after doing a lookup of ‘piece of cake’ that I had a head-slapping moment when PUSHOVER emerged! Forgot to re-visit EMBANKMENT and I don’t know if I could have made the leap to match that with ‘Needle’ if I had of tried.
Lots of other tricky clues and an absolute enjoyment to have done !