Super puzzle from Loroso, as always. I found it a lot easier to fill the grid than to explain the answers. Thanks Loroso.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BRASS TACKS | Nuts and bolts – they support a lot (5,5) |
| 7, 9 | CASH CROP | Gravy for these vegetables? (4,4) |
| double definition | ||
| 10 | GLUTTONISH | Like a pig’s snout, light but muddy (10) |
| anagram (but muddy) of SNOUT LIGHT | ||
| 11 | MULLER | Thrash (I think) (6) |
| definition and cryptic definition – one who mulls (thinks) | ||
| 12 | CARPETED | Slated, as floor may be (8) |
| double definition | ||
| 13 | ALFRESCO | Clears off, almost thrown out (8) |
| anagram (thrown) of CLEARS OFf (almost) | ||
| 15, 17 | LADY GAGA | Singer may ultimately choke in Russian car (4,4) |
| maY (ultimately, last letter of) GAG (choke0 inside LADA (Russian car) | ||
| 19 | EYES DOWN | Through education, of course, private house call? (4,4) |
| YES (of course) inside (through) ED (education) then OWN (private) – a call to announce the start of a game of bingo (house) | ||
| 22 | SLAP-BANG | Right jargon to describe US crime report (4-4) |
| SLANG (jargon) contains (to describe, go around) APB (all-points bulletin, US crime report) | ||
| 23 | MARTYR | Victim put back in railway vehicle (6) |
| RY (railway) TRAM (vehicle) reversed (put back) | ||
| 25 | PINA COLADA | Drink – very good drink with nothing to drink (4,6) |
| PI (pious, very good) COLA (drink) inside NADA (nothing) containing (with…to drink, being drunk by …) | ||
| 26, 27 | GOOD NEWS | Gospel song we do badly (4,4) |
| anagram (badly) of SONG WE DO | ||
| 28 | LADIES ROOM | John’s other half? (6,4) |
| cryptic definition? Does “the John” have to be a gents toilet for some reason? | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | RORQUAL | Swimmer in river, or bird avoiding one (7) |
| R (river) OR QUAiL (bird) missing I (one) – a type of whale | ||
| 3 | SEPAL | Leaf or some empty bud (5) |
| SomE (empty, no middle letters) and PAL (bud, buddy) | ||
| 4 | TIGERISH | Fierce game – die without starting (8) |
| TIG (game) pERISH (die, not starting) | ||
| 5 | CHURCH OF ENGLAND | Religion briefly embraced by Federico Fellini (6,2,7) |
| an abbreviation (briefly) of Curch of England is “C of E”, found inside (embraced by) frederiCO FEllini | ||
| 6 | SATURN | It’s become a planet (6) |
| SA (it, sex appeal) with TURN (become) | ||
| 7 | CANCELLED | Group that invades beaten off (9) |
| CELL (group) inside (that invades) CANED (beaten) | ||
| 8 | SUSPEND | Hang American, kill guards (7) |
| US (American) inside SPEND (kill) | ||
| 14 | REAPPEARS | Comes back to harvest fruit (9) |
| REAP (to harvest) PEARS (fruit) | ||
| 16 | PERMEATE | Pass through a substance then echo (8) |
| PER (a, two-a-penny) MEAT (substance) then E (echo, phonetic alphabet) | ||
| 18 | ALL-TIME | Supreme answer – it will upset me (3-4) |
| A (answer) IT’LL (it will) reversed (upset) then ME | ||
| 20 | WAY TO GO | “Congratulations” the right track? (3,2,2) |
| cryptic/double definition | ||
| 21 | GAS OIL | Good – a dirty fuel (3,3) |
| G (good) A then SOIL (dirty) | ||
| 24 | ROGER | Got it right about work being rejected (5) |
| R (right) then RE (about) GO (work) reversed (rejected) | ||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.
Thanks PeeDee and Loroso,
Re 1ac: bras stacks
I usually have to give up on a Loroso crossword, but finished this one. Nearly gave up several times then had a eureka moment and managed to continue. I wasn’t entirely convinced that 25a was saying cola was inside nada, but this was one of my first ones in. Great fun in a masochistic sort of way 🙂
Anax/Loroso puzzles are too rare so I treasured this. Not at the toughest end of his spectrum which will be a relief to many.
I had a hunch about 5d just from the word count but it was only when some of the crossers arrived that I decided to investigate,Very neat.
Thanks Pee Dee and Loroso.
Very enjoyable thank you Loroso and PeeDee too
Lovely clues, really enjoyable, many thanks Loroso and PeeDee
I didn’t know TIG, thought that game was called TAG, and MULLER was new too – learn something every day.
Particularly like 26/27a & 5d.
I also appreciate the symmetric way the double clues (7,9) (15,17) (26,27) appear in the grid
Just had a brief go at this for a bit of fun after work. I wish I hadn’t bothered.
John’s other half = Ladies Room? Really?
Go = work?
Spend = kill?
Sa = It?
Nada = Nothing?
Gravy = Cash Crop?
Congratulations = ‘Way to go’?
…and in all my crossword solving I’ve never seen ‘PER’ defined as ‘A’ !
Very unsatisfactory IMHO.
Re: 28ac. Dictionary.com defines ‘john’ as toilet with no suggestion that it is a male toilet. It also defines a ‘john’ as a prostitute’s customer, so ‘John’s other half’ better defines ‘Wronged wife’ than ‘Ladies’ Room’!
Allie @ 6
Go – work “Does this machine go/work?”
Spend/kill time.
SA = Sex Appeal + It (very fifties)
Nada = nothing, OK it’s Spanish but it’s passed into English vernacular
“Congratulations, mate” / “Way to go, mate”
The other two require a bit of a leap and a sense of humour…
Oops, left out
I did 60 steps per / a minute
It’s a regular!
Anax/Loroso puzzles are too rare so I treasured this (copmus @3)
This is actually already Loroso’s fourth puzzle this year (in 2016 he had only two), so don’t despair.
I’m afraid that Allie’s in the minority today.
Here’s another one who enjoyed this tremendously.
Didn’t parse 1ac as I should’ve but it’s good, isn’t it?
He’s good, isn’t he?
Many thanks to B & S.
Overall, really enjoyed this but some rare or difficult usages of words. Pi, Gravy, Kill being the three that stumped me. The Church of England clue was fantastic and many others too. A great challenge and more please.
Thanks Loroso and PeeDee
A tough, but very enjoyable, puzzle that took five 10-20 minute sessions to get out. Was finally able to get the tricky NW corner finished on the train ride into work the next morning.
Not quite sure what made it so hard, but suspect that it had to do with the cleverly disguised definitions, which was clearly an annoyance to Allie, but provided a number of penny dropping moments to myself (and others).
Found LADIES ROOM amusing and thought that many of the other clues were deviously but very fairly constructed – particularly liked CARPETED and ROGER.