It’s a long time since I blogged a Klingsor puzzle so it was good to see one today.
There was a good mix of cluing types today which made for varied wordplay.
I enjoyed the misdirection such as ‘axes’ at 12 across, ‘Newton with gravity’ at 14 across and ‘Trivial Pursuit’ at 24 across.
I’m a little bit confused by the use of the word ‘former’ in the clue at 17 down. I’m also a bit unsure of ‘more’ as an anagram indicator at 10 across. Perhaps I’m missing something in each clue.
It took me a while to get the wordplay at 4 down where for a long time I was fixated on the first ONE in the wordplay being defined by ‘Individual’ in the clue. In the end , I think I have sorted it out.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Bitter nob reported a total loss (5-3)
|
WRITE-OFF (sounds like [reported] WRY [bitter] + TOFF [person of the upper classes; nob]) WRITE-OFF |
WRITE-OFF (total loss) |
|
6
|
Grinning, gutted cracking river carp (6)
|
GG (letters remaining in GRINNING when the central letters RINNIN are removed [gutted]) contained in (cracking) NILE (river in Africa) NI (GG) LE |
NIGGLE (nag; carp)
|
|
9
|
Maiden’s wee mouse (6)
|
M (maiden in cricket scoring notation) + URINE (wee) M URINE |
MURINE (a mouselike animal which obviously covers a mouse)
|
|
10
|
Northern English lass moved house after vacation more anon (8)
|
Anagram of (more [?]) (N [northern and E [English] and LASS and ME [letters remaining in MOVED HOUSE after all the central letters OVED HOU are removed [after vacation]) NAMELESS* |
NAMELESS (anonymous; anon)
|
|
11
|
Fast or mostly slow? (4)
|
LENTO (musical term meaning slow) excluding the final letter (mostly) O LENT |
LENT (Ash Wednesday to Easter, a period of fasting in the Christian religion)
|
|
12
|
Oscar axes stupid description of "original copies"? (10)
|
O (Oscar is the code word for the letter O in international radio communication) + XY (reference the X and Y axes in co-ordinate geometry) + MORONIC (stupid) O XY MORONIC |
OXYMORONIC (descriptive of a figure of speech by means of which contradictory terms are combined, so as to form an expressive phrase or epithet, such as cruel kindness, falsely true, original copies etc).
|
|
14
|
Millions should stop only bracketing Newton with gravity (8) |
(M [millions] contained in [should stop] [SOLELY {only} containing {bracketing} N {newton}]) SOLE (M) (N) LY |
SOLEMNLY (with gravity)
|
|
16
|
Leader ditched extra responsibility (4)
|
BONUS (extra) excluding (ditched) the first letter (leader) B ONUS |
ONUS (responsibility)
|
|
18
|
Somewhat inhumane Roman (4)
|
NERO (hidden word [somewhat] in INHUMANE ROMAN) NERO |
NERO (Roman Emperor reputed to have played his violin whilst Rome burned; somewhat inhumane Roman)
|
|
19
|
A paper lies regularly – it’s boss is given notice (8)
|
A + PPRIS (letters 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 [regularly] of A PAPER LIES) + ED (editor, boss of the paper) A PPRIS ED |
APPRISED (given notice)
|
|
21
|
Could be a pill largely like Nurofen for a start? Right (10)
|
(Anagram of [could be] A PILL and LIKE [excluding the first letter {largely} L] + N [first letter of {for a start} NUROFEN]) + R (right) PAINKILLE* R |
PAINKILLER (Nurofen is used as a PAINKILLER, predominately for headaches)
|
|
22
|
So I must repress resistance (4)
|
EGO (the I or self) containing (must repress) R (resistance) E (R) GO |
ERGO (therefore; so)
|
|
24
|
Trivial Pursuit initially provided brief period of fun (8)
|
P (first letter of [initially] PURSUIT) + IF (provided) + FLING (brief period of fun) P IF FLING |
PIFFLING (trivial)
|
|
26
|
Love to let rip? Drive slowly (6)
|
Anagram of O [love score in tennis] and TO and LET TOOTLE* |
TOOTLE (go along casually; drive slowly)
|
| 27 | Start of self-addressed letter? How sad! (4,2) |
DEAR ME (how one might start a letter to oneself) DEAR ME |
DEAR ME (how sad!) |
|
28
|
Part of church school expels one spoilt pest (8)
|
TRAIN (school) excluding (expels) I (Roman numeral for one) + an anagram of (spoilt) PEST TRAN SEPT* |
TRANSEPT (part of a church at right angles to the nave)) |
| Down | |||
|
2
|
Recycle waste, not wanting fine (5) |
REFUSE (wasting) excluding (not wanting) F (fine) REUSE |
REUSE (recycle)
|
|
3
|
Tiny parachutes let his pilot finally drift to the ground (11)
|
(Anagram of [drift] LET HIS and T [last letter of {finally} PILOT]) + DOWN (to the ground) THISTLE* DOWN |
THISTLEDOWN (tufted feathery parachutes of thistle seeds)
|
|
4
|
Individual backing opera company’s extremely honest at heart (3-2-3)
|
ENO (English National Opera; opera company) reversed [backing]) + TOO (extremely) + NE (middle letters of [at heart] HONEST) ONE< TO O NE |
ONE-TO-ONE (meeting with one person; individual)
|
|
5
|
Old film buff has chat about New York Times crossword answer (5,2,8)
|
(FAN [enthusiast; buff] + GAS [chat]) containing (about) (NY [New York] + BY [times, as in 7 by 8 = 56]) + LIGHT (crossword answer) FAN (NY BY) GAS LIGHT |
FANNY BY GASLIGHT (1944 film; old film)
|
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6
|
Hunter needs gun to follow game (6)
|
NIM (old and widespread game, perhaps originally Chinese, in which two players take alternately from heaps or rows of objects, now usually matches) + ROD (US slang for a pistol; gun) NIM ROD |
NIMROD (any great hunter)
|
|
7
|
Begin to work on mounting (3)
|
LEG (the LEG side is the ON side in cricket) reversed (mounted; down clue) GEL< |
GEL (begin to work)
|
|
8
|
Young woman entertains boss, heading off weariness (9)
|
LASSIE (young woman) containing (entertains) STUD (boss) excluding (off) the first letter (heading) S LASSI (TUD) E |
LASSITUDE (weariness)
|
|
13
|
Blob of ordure is dreadfully strong-smelling (11)
|
Anagram of (dreadfully) O (blob) and OF ORDURE IS ODORIFEROUS* |
ODORIFEROUS (strong smelling)
|
|
15
|
Worker needs old key, but I’m off (9)
|
O (old) + IMPERATIVE (urgently necessary; key) excluding (off) IM O PERATIVE |
OPERATIVE (worker)
|
| 17 |
Plump former soldiers eat before light entertainment (8) |
(OPT [choose; plump] + TA [Territorial Army; soldiers]) containing (eat) ERE (before) I’m not sure where ‘former’ comes in to play as OPT is in current use for ‘choose; plump’ and the Territorial Army does not just recruit former soldiers. OP (ERE) T TA |
OPERETTA (a short, light, often rather trivial, musical drama)
|
|
20
|
Appear happy about one figure of speech (6)
|
SMILE (appear happy) containing (about) I (Roman numeral for one) S (I) MILE |
SIMILE (figure of speech)
|
| 23 |
Returning airman takes one inside for dance (5)
|
(PO [Pilot Officer; airman]) + LAG [prisoner; one inside]) all reversed (returning) (GAL OP)< |
GALOP (lively dance)
|
|
25
|
Brewer’s volume omits family tree (3)
|
FIRKIN (a brewer’s measure of volume equal to one-quarter of a barrel excluding (omits) KIN (family) FIR |
FIR (tree)
|
Thanks Duncan
I think that ‘former’ has been included in 17dn because the TA no longer exists, it is now the Army Reserve.
I parsed 10ac as an anagram (moved) of N E LASS around (house) M[or]E (after vacation, more).
Thanks, Duncan.
Super puzzle, brimming with excellent clues – far too many to choose favourites but MURINE did make me laugh and THISTLEDOWN is cute.
It’s only a 24ac 6ac but I parsed 21ac as an anagram of A PIL[l] + LIKE + N [+ R].
Many thanks to Klingsor – I loved it1
My comments match those already said by Gaufrid. Had to cheat to get NAMELESS and GEL but managed to parse them after that. Failed to parse GALOP so thanks for the explanation Duncan. Had to check ENO was an opera company and that NIM was a game. I thought ‘blob’ to clue the letter O was odd and I can’t say I’m keen on it. I’m never too keen on phrases like ‘leader ditched extra’ to mean ‘extra ditched leader’ but am getting used to it. Also thought the clue for PAINKILLER was unusual, initially parsing as Duncan, but then parsed as Eileen which I was happier with. A good challenge even though it bested me in the end. Thanks everybody.
‘Blob’ for ‘O’ is new to me and seems, um, unpleasantly odoriferous or, brutally, a stinker. Is it legit?
In Chambers one of the definitions of blob is a “score of zero, a duck (cricket sl.)”. Think I’ve heard it occasionally on TMS.
Oh, well, if it’s been on TMS that’s fine for me.
Hovis & Grant
I was going to say the same as cruciverophile @5 but would add (for those who believe that Chambers is sometimes wrong) that the ODE has “(informal) a score of 0 in a game: he made a string of blobs then hit a hundred.“.
Good to see Klingsor, though it was bit of a slog – but we managed it, only needing to check ‘nim’ and ‘rod’ in Chambers. We did think ‘ordure’ was doing a sort of double duty in 13dn (with ‘blob’ indicating its first letter as well as the whole word being anagram fodder) but no complaints on that score now blob = 0 has been explained. But we think ‘should’ is unnecessary in the clue to SOLEMNLY – it reads just as well without it.
Some really great clues, though. We particularly liked THISTLEDOWN.
Thanks, Klingsor and Duncan.
Thanks to cruciverbophile@5 (and Gaufrid@7) for explaining the new-to-me meaning of blob. I always thought Mr Blobby was a bit ‘naughty’ 🙂
Good workout, with some original touches such as O for ‘blob’. Defeated by the parsing of NIMROD (didn’t know either NIM, or ROD for ‘gun’) and GALOP, trying to remember in vain if I’d ever heard of an aviator called ‘Polg’ before. MURINE as a noun, rather than an adjective, was also new. Liked the clue for 5d and OXYMORONIC.
Thanks to Klingsor and Duncan.
Enjoyable and challenging Thursday puzzle, I thought.
A slowish and engaging solve that, as is usual, beat me by a few here and there in the end. 24a was my fave today so thanks to Klingsor to the puzzle and DS for the blog.
Mr C @8 – the ‘should’ in 14a is there for the cryptic grammar, I reckons.
Thanks Klingsor, Duncan
Great puzzle, beautifully constructed clues. Favourites MURINE AND THISTLEDOWN. Basically, what Eileen said. Also NIGGLE v good.
Great puzzle. What Eileen said. Lovely blog too.