A super puzzle and not all difficult. Thank you Loroso.
Loroso is often tricky so I was a little apprehensive as it was my turn to blog. I got off to a flying start filling the top-left quadrant in no time. I filled the bottom right nearly as quickly and by now was feeling pretty smug.
The bottom-left was a bit of a struggle after which I was not feeling so confident any more. The top-right then stayed almost bare for ages. I stared at the blank cells and started getting a sinking feeling that I was not going to be able to finish and would have to ask you all for help.
Eventually I get a toe-hold and managed to find and explain the remaining solutions. Phew!
| Across | ||
| 1 | PULPIT | What you might do with a fruit stand (6) |
| PULP IT (what you might do with a fruit) | ||
| 4 | PRODUCED | This is made for chef, oddly to stuff turkey (8) |
| PRO (for) then ChEf (odd letters) inside (to stuff) DUD (turkey) | ||
| 9 | OSTEAL | Old bag of bones (6) |
| O (old) STEAL (bag, as verb) | ||
| 10 | SCULLION | Washer, one on right of blade (8) |
| I (one) ON following (to the right of) SCULL (blade) | ||
| 12 | EATS | Is consumer in trouble at Selfridges? (4) |
| found inside troublE AT Selfridges | ||
| 13 | HONEYBUNCH | Sweet idea embodying “see you never upset” (10) |
| HUNCH (idea) contains (embodying) BYE (see you) NO (never) reversed (upset) | ||
| 15 | BEDTIME STORY | Pillow talk possibly part of plot by Conservative (7,5) |
| BED (plot) TIMES (by, multiplication) TORY (Conservative) | ||
| 18 | THE FRONT LINE | New Northfleet nursing home is a war zone (3,5,4) |
| anagram (new) of NORTHFLEET including IN (at home) | ||
| 21 | CARPATHIAN | Vehicle route in a rocky mountain range (10) |
| CAR (vehicle) PATH (route) then anagram (rocky) of IN A | ||
| 22 | STIR | How to address officer, with time in prison (4) |
| SIR (how to address officer) including T (time) | ||
| 24 | PLANGENT | Full works, full of info (8) |
| PLANT (works) contains (full of) GEN (info) – a full sound | ||
| 25 | AVANTI | A header for Vardy against Italian forward (6) |
| A Vardy (fist letter, header for) ANTI (against) | ||
| 26 | DISPERSE | 500 is essentially split up (8) |
| D (500, Roman numeral) IS then PER SE (essentially) | ||
| 27 | BAD EGG | The swine ordered goods (3,3) |
| BADE (ordered) G G (good, twice) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PROVERBS | Book show supported by bank (8) |
| PROVE (show) on top of (supported by) RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) – a book of The Bible | ||
| 2 | LATITUDE | Freedom to take top off chestnut (8) |
| pLATITUDE (chestnut, overused saying) missing top letter | ||
| 3 | IRAN | I had to leave the country (4) |
| I with RAN (had to leave) | ||
| 5 | RECREATIONAL | Right to keep making fun (12) |
| REAL (right) contains CREATION (making) | ||
| 6 | DELIBERATE | Think about jail? (10) |
| to DE-LIBERATE might be to remove liberty, to jail | ||
| 7 | CLIENT | Mr Eastwood secures his first computer (6) |
| CLINT (Mr Clint Eastwood) contains (secures) Eastwood (first letter of, his first) – as in client-server architecture | ||
| 8 | DINGHY | Horse on board run-down boat (6) |
| H (horse, heroin) on DINGY (run-down) | ||
| 11 | VOTE OF THANKS | A way to recognise a tax break? (4,2,6) |
| double/cryptic definition – an electoral bribe UPDATE: TAX broken is TA + X (thanks and a vote, mark on a ballot paper) – see comments below | ||
| 14 | RIGHT ANGLE | Product of 1 across/1 down is just fish (5,5) |
| RIGHT (just) ANGLE (fish) | ||
| 16, 17 | DISTANCE LEARNING | Education for classless society? (8,8) |
| cryptic definition – there are no classrooms | ||
| 19 | SCOPED | Viz article in newspaper is checked (6) |
| SC (viz) then OP-ED (opposite editorial page, article in newspaper) | ||
| 20 | BROADS | Part of Norfolk where local traffic is found? (6) |
| B ROADS are where local traffic is found | ||
| 23 | UVEA | Radiation on each part of the eye (4) |
| UV (radiation) on EA (each) | ||
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.
Loved this. Took well over an hour though. My experience was almost opposite to yours PeeDee in that I started with bottom left, then top right, then bottom right with top left last to fall. I have to admit that I did fail with 26a though. Never thought of PER SE for ‘essentially’. I bunged in DISSEVER unparsed. I also failed to get 11d. I put in ‘more of change’, as in having more money, but admit it’s not a phrase I have ever heard, so didn’t think it was at all likely.
Thanks to S&B.
We don’t appear to have had a Loroso for a while so I was pleased to find this one today A good mix of the friendly and the ‘what on earth is he on about?’
I liked the sneakiness of 14a as it wasn’t until I had a few checking letters that I realised the blooming obvious
Thanks to Loroso and PeeDee
Never hears of DISTANCE LEARNING (bit of an ugly phrase) but it had to be that. Wasnt happy with VOTE OF THANKS but once again it was the only thing that logically fit.Never heard of OP ED either but again it fit.
Otherwise I enjoyed but didnt find it easy. Liked RIGHT ANGLE, PULPIT and PROVERBS.
Thanks all.
Thanks, PeeDee. I’m not sure about your explanation of 11d: I’ve never heard of “vote of thanks” as a bribe. I was thinking the idea might be that a tax break is TA + X, which could be a vote (X on the ballot paper) for “thanks”.
Very nice crossword, in which I took 11d just like Andrew did (TA/X).
Only one I couldn’t explain was SCOPED (19d) as I’d never heard of ‘op-ed’ (and I was too lazy to look it up somewhere).
I wasn’t sure whether ‘mountain range’ for CARPATHIAN is fully right, and I also wondered whether ‘upset’ is a proper reversal indicator in an across clue (13ac).
No further complaints, though – very enjoyable crossword from a setter who we don’t see enough (here and in the Indy).
Thanks to him (& PeeDee).
I didn’t get 11d, though I did parse it as a recognition + a break of tax into TA + X (so I agree with Andrew), I just didn’t translate the X into vote, duh.
I did get the rest, though I didn’t think it was easy. But it was definitely fun.
Not my favourite grid with just the single entry into NW and SE, but I can’t complain as I used a variant for my last (“W”) puzzle in the Indy. Unlike Peedee, I was stuck in NW and had to manage my way happily around the grid until I got the entry through 15a – just goes to show, everyone’s solve is different.
Loads to like, the misleading 1a/1d, the swine, I think i enjoyed BEDTIME STORY most, though i wondered whether “part of” was needed, considering this setter’s penchant for beautifully concise clues. OSTEAL is brilliant as well.
All brilliant quality stuff. Many thanks Loroso and many thanks to Peedee for a wonderful blog.
Thanks to Loroso and PeeDee. Tough going for me, though I did end up getting everything except VOTE OF THANKS. I needed help parsing HONEYBUNCH and kept trying to squeeze in H(is) rather than E(astwood) into Cliint. I’m surprised that “oped” is not a common UK term as it is widely used in the US.
Thanks Loroso, Peedee
Super, but not at all easy, and I used a little electronic help to keep me moving. So many great clues.
By coincidence, I came across op-ed for the first time yesterday, when trying to find out if you can clue ‘ED’ with ‘leader’. I think I remember this being a common Times device, but Chambers doesn’t have ed. for editorial. Is it out of use, or have I misremembered?
Thanks Loroso and PeeDee
Usually find this guy tough and it was no exception here, taking quite a few sessions to get it finished. A lot going on throughout and difficult to guess where he was heading oft-times. Didn’t parse BROADS, SCOPED or RECREATIONAL.
Had to look up numerous answers – The BROADS, AVANTI and PLANGENT. There were others that I just didn’t know at all – OP-ED and SC as a synonym for namely.
Tough but satisfying to finally get out !