Saturday again – and I’m trying to work out how to pronounce the compiler’s name. Should it be a silent K or knot? And 4 clues lacking a definition.
The 4 clues turned out to all have a similar definition – “certainly not” or “No way” being my best description of it.
I particularly liked Knut’s less conventional clues:
18ac and 4dn being my favourites. I found 17ac a little obscure but perfectly fair with a little knowledge of Oscar Wilde (or I’ve over complicated the parsing). All 4 undefined clues were also fun.
Thanks Knut – whilst pretty straight forward some lateral thinking was required.
Key:
* Anagram; Rev. Reverse; DD Double definition; Underline definition
Across
1 Guitar sound always found in R&B (6)
Ever (always) in RB (R&B) = REVERB
5 I understand you’re going to diet around Xmas (8)
Homonym of (You’ll (you’re going to)) Yule + (tide)* = YULETIDE
9 Appeal to Blair: our little girl is stuck in New York (3,2,4,5)
O Tony (Appeal to Blair) + our + Nell (Little girl) in NY (New York) = NOT ON YOUR NELLY (no definition)
10 Loudish, funny clown on the radio (1,6,5)
(Loudish)* + Cocoa (Homonym of Coco (clown)) = I SHOULD COCOA (no definition)
12 Live broadcast screening lavish opening scene of Sunset Boulevard? (3,3)
Be (live) + air (broadcast) around l(lavish opening) = BEL AIR
13 It’s used to blow up magazine we clad in iron (4,4)
Time (magazine) + us (we) in Fe (iron) = TIME FUSE
16 A lack of appreciation for girl’s discernment (8)
Di’s (girl’s) + taste (discernment) = DISTASTE
17 Flicker, like a candle in Oscar’s observatory? (6)
DD Gutter (Quote from Oscar Wilde – “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
18 Gloss over Roman Polanski’s background (6,6)
DD FRENCH POLISH
22 The unpredictable nature of madcap US conspiracies! (14)
(US conspiracies)* = CAPRICIOUSNESS
23 Red wine addict introduced to bin end of Riesling (8)
Bin around (lush) wine addict + g (end of Riesling) = BLUSHING
24 Man still defending Londonderry extremists (6)
Even (still) around ly (Londonderry extremists) = EVELYN
Down
2 Wood regularly red-brown (4)
rEdBrOwN = EBON
3 Provocative pieces stir up race riot given Trump’s leadership (6,3)
(race riot)* around t (Trump’s leadership) = EROTIC ART
4 Contrarian advice from Spooner’s short sellers? (3,6)
Spoonerism of Shy bears = BUY SHARES
5 “Hello! BB’s little sister Joanna, I presume?” (3,4,2,6)
BB King (singer) = YOU MUST BE JOKING (no definition)
6 Neil Diamond’s original remixed, with added material (5)
(Neil + d)* = LINED
7 Hotel concierge cuddles phone operator (5)
Hidden hoTEL COncierge = TELCO
8 Cooked without oil, oven-glazed with Merlot? (3-7)
Oast (oven) in dry red (Merlot) = DRY ROASTED
11 Police car despatched to guard Republican function (10)
(Police car + r)* = RECIPROCAL
14 Front two of Manchester United struggling to eclipse the primacy of Giggs’ greatness (9)
Ma (First two of Manchester) + (united)* around g (primacy of Giggs) = MAGNITUDE
15 Overweight rebel takes over South Africa’s ruling party (3,6)
Fat (overweight) + che (rebel) around ANC (South Africa’s ruling party) = FAT CHANCE (no definition)
19 African people exercise during sun’s retreat (5)
Pe (exercise) in Rev. sun = NUPES
20 Destination for Hispaniola vacation I note (5)
Ha + I + Ti (note) = HAITI
21 Observe one involved in cyber espionage? (4)
E-spy – (cyber espionage) = ESPY
Great stuff. BLUSHING last in and favourite.Thanks for blog.
Thanks Knut and Twencelas.
I think “have no definition” is meant to mean that the definition is “no”.
Clever idea from Pelham Barton and probably what was intended, but how does “I should cocoa” fit? Surely that means (however ironically) yes? Or have I misunderstood all these years? Thanks for the blog, we needed help with some of them!
I groaned when I saw there was a preamble, but everything worked out quite easily and evoked another groan when I re-read the preamble and saw the extra layer of meaning as sussed out by Pelham Barton.
I’ve always assumed “I should cocoa” to mean ‘no’ or ‘not likely’ or something similar, so was quite surprised to discover its origin here – where, however, it’s qualified as ‘almost always used ironically or sarcastically’.
Interesting that although I usually solve by starting with the acrosses and the the downs, today 14dn caught my eye and I started from there. And it’s the type of football-related clue I like – no knowlwdge of football required to solve it!
Thanks, Knut and Twencelas.
… or even knowledge!
Another original puzzle by one of the better ‘new kids on the block’.
What I like about Knut’s crosswords is that his surfaces are about ‘now’ (relatively speaking, of course).
Today we had Blair, Neil Diamond, BB King, Man United/Ryan Giggs, Roman Polanski, even Trump.
My first one in was 20d but it was not the right answer.
If you change ‘ti’ into ‘fa’ you might get on a holiday to Haifa.
I know, not a destination for a Hispaniola – still, from a cryptic POV a possibility that I would have liked to avoid.
Do we need ‘Hello!’ in the unclued 5d?
A pity of having ‘dis’ twice in 16ac: ‘discernment’ and ‘distaste’.
And does ‘we’ really equal ‘us’ [13ac]?
What the hell, who cares.
This was another fine crossword by the UK’s favourite expat.
If I were a German and in particular one from Freiburg, I would pronounce Knut as K/Noot [Noot as in Foot].
Many thanks twenceslas for the blog.
Didn’t know the expression at 10a (thanks for the link allan_c@4), and guessed a few others including GUTTER and NUPES. Good spot Pelham Barton@2 to explain the apparently not quite so undefined clues. Solution for 3d (presumably inadvertently) omitted – Trump clues are getting a good run at the moment and this one was an interesting variation on the theme.
Thanks to Knut and twencelas
Thanks to twencelas for the blog and to others for the comments. When I moved to Germany in 2005, Knut the baby polar bear was the star of the show at Berlin Zoo; the K is pronounced in the way Sil has mentioned.
(Not to be confused with Derek Nimmo’s immortal Noote, the curate in All Gas & Gaiters)
warmest regards,
Rob/Knut