Couldn’t finish this one…
…some loose definitions and at least one clue I couldn’t parse, not helped by being in a hurry to get to work (writing this at my office desk, so don’t have much time today, sorry!)
I need help with 7ac, as I just don’t see the definition. I’ve made a guess, but it’s possibly wrong.
Thanks, Sleuth (I think)
| Across | ||
| 1 | GESTICULATE | A select tug is at sea avoiding second wave, say (11) |
| *(a select tug i) | ||
| 7 | ASS | Soft element in massage (3) |
| Hidden in “mASSage”.
Haven’t a clue if this is right. Definition might be “SOFT” with “element in massage” indicating that it’s part of MASSAGE, but I don’t think SOFT=ASS. |
||
| 9 | PETAL | Colourful growth in first of peonies and others (5) |
| P(eonies) ET AL (and others) | ||
| 10 | SEMAPHORE | Spare home for demolition in army communication? (9) |
| *(spare home)
I can’t find many examples of semaphore being ARMY communication – surely the compiler meant NAVY communication? |
||
| 11 | ABOUT-FACE | A fight with mug requiring shift in attitude (5-4) |
| A BOUT (fight) + FACE (mug) | ||
| 12 | OVERT | Old Green in Strasbourg easily seen? (5) |
| O(ld) + VERT (French for “green”, hence “green in Strasbourg”) | ||
| 13 | ENTITLE | Style and energy shown by northern aristocrat (7) |
| E(nergy) + N(orthern) + TITLE (aristocrat) | ||
| 15 | TRAP | Danger that’s hidden in stall for greyhounds (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 18 | AS IS | First principle book put out is unchanged (2,2) |
| (b)ASIS | ||
| 20 | OVERLAP | Coincide somewhat with couch potato’s eating preference? (7) |
| A couch potato may prefer to eat his food on his lap, I suppose. | ||
| 23 | UNARM | Remove weapons from one French Arab male (5) |
| UN (one (in) French) + Ar.(ab) + M(ale) | ||
| 24 | ON THE TURN | Truth none grappled with at a critical point (2,3,4) |
| *(truth none) | ||
| 26 | CARETAKER | About to sit again with Republican having temporary control? (9) |
| Ca. (circa, so “about”) + RETAKE (sit again) + R(epublican) | ||
| 27 | THIGH | Tourist’s first nervy in place with quads? (5) |
| T(ourist) + HIGH (nervy) | ||
| 28 | END | Destroy odd piece among umpteen deliveries (3) |
| Double definition and hidden in “umpteEN Deliveries” | ||
| 29 | HERO-WORSHIP | Man on prior show excited adulation (4-7) |
| HE (man) + *(prior show) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | GO PLACES | Good lecturer in work with experts gets to travel widely (2,6) |
| G(ood) + L(ecturer) in OP (work) + ACES (experts) | ||
| 2 | SET FORTH | Recommend group just outside medal positions reportedly (3,5) |
| SET (group) + homophone of FOURTH (just outside of medal positions, “reportedly”) | ||
| 3 | INLET | Elected eastern European when broadcast is sound (5) |
| IN (elected) + homophone of LETT (Eastern European) | ||
| 4 | UPSTAGE | Divert attention from a guest agitated about parking (7) |
| *(a guest) “about” P(arking) | ||
| 5 | ARMREST | Frenchman amid apprehension getting physical support? (7) |
| M. (shirt for “monsieur”, hence “Frenchman) “amid” ARREST (apprehension) | ||
| 6 | ESPIONAGE | Work of agents to promote say a top model, nothing less (9) |
| <= e.g. A No1 P(o)SE | ||
| 7 | AVOCET | Bird in a cove fluttering close to boat (6) |
| *(a cove) + (boa)T | ||
| 8 | SIESTA | Period in day associated with crashing? (6) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 14 | TEST MATCH | Students might face this peer in sporting contest (4,5) |
| TEST (students might face this) + MATCH (peer) | ||
| 16 | FLOURISH | Prosper and show off (8) |
| Double defnition | ||
| 17 | OPEN SHOP | Operation to accept mobile phones in non-unionised place (4,4) |
| OP(eration) + *(phones)
Technically an open shop is not non-unionised; it just means that the workplace in question does not enforce union membership (may be splitting hairs here, though) |
||
| 19 | SNOOKER | Activity successful with long breaks? (7) |
| If you score a long break in snooker you are being successful. | ||
| 20 | OUTGROW | Get too old for striking and argument about wages essentially (7) |
| OUT (striking) + ROW (argument) “about” (wa)G(es) | ||
| 21 | QUICHE | Who in Provence meets cook without fine flan? (6) |
| QUI (French for “who”, hence “who in Provence”) + CHE(f) (cook without F(ine)) | ||
| 22 | JARRED | Rule arising about date sounded harsh (6) |
| <=RAJ (rule) + RE (about) + D(ate) | ||
| 25 | ENTER | Record business reduced by 50% (5) |
| ENTER(prise) | ||
*anagram
Thanks loonapick
Regarding 7ac, Chambers gives ‘fool’ as one definition of both ‘soft’ and ‘ass’.
Thank you, loonapick – I share your feelings about this. Sorry, but I’m as much in the dark about 7ac as you are!
Liked a few clues e.g 27 & 29 ac, so thank you Sleuth.
As Gaufrid says, a soft is a fool, a softy, as in The Beano’s Walter.
In 10a semaphore “army communication” is a misdirecting pun – of the arm(s). 🙂
Thanks Sleuth and loonapick
Found this quite challenging and it took quite a while to get it finished with each clue being prised out slowly one by one. Think that this was brought about by the wide variety of cryptic devices that were used and the very clever misdirection with the definitions (can this be classified as being loose?) – e.g. ‘sound’, ‘soft’, ‘style’, ‘army communication’, etc. Maybe ‘activity’ for SNOOKER does fall into the loose classification – but with the crossers and the cryptic word play, I still think that it was fair game.
My favourite clue was THIGH. Finished down the bottom with OUTGROW (that I had stymied myself by writing AGES into the bottom part initially), that SNOOKER and JARRED (with the tricky ‘rule’ = RAJ definition) as the last few in.