As far as I can ascertain from research on fifteensquared, Points is more regularly seen at weekends than during the week. I can’t remember blogging a Poins puzzle before.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t blogged a Poins puzzle before, but I wasn’t on Poins wavelength for much of this puzzle and it took me a long time to complete it. I had particular difficulty in the North West part of the grid which was still virtually empty when the other three quarters were complete.
Whilst solving the puzzle, I didn’t immediately see some of the parsing, but I think I have got it all now that I have written the blog.
I liked a number of the definitions – e.g. trapper for COBWEB, and a tendency once for MILITANT.
My first one in was COBWEB and my last was APOGEE which was clear once I had all the crossing letters.
ROULETTE took me longer to solve that it should as I was convinced that OUT was an anagram indicator for RULE and with LET being fairly clear for obstruction, that gave me two Ls that I just couldn’t find a home for. Eventually the penny dropped.
I was vaguely aware of TINDER as an app but I had to confirm it and now know a lot more about the phrases ‘swiping right’ and ‘swiping left’ I keep telling my children that crosswords remain a great source of knowledge into older age.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
What about stocking books on the queen’s dangerous predicament (3,5)
|
(Anagram of [about] WHAT containing [stocking] OT [Old Testament; books of the Bible]) + ER (Elizabeth Regina; queen) H (OT) WAT* ER |
HOT WATER (informal term for a state of trouble; dangerous predicament)
|
|
5
|
Swan around Belgium with European trapper (6)
|
COB (male swan) containing (B [International Vehicle registration for Belgium] + W [with] + E [European]) CO (B W E) B |
COBWEB (a spider’s trap for flies; trapper)
|
|
9
|
Nuclear weapon Meir oddly dismissed as more limited in range (8)
|
N (nuclear) + ARROW (weapon) + ER (letters remaining when letters 1 and 3 [oddly] are excluded [dismissed] from MEIR) The reference is to Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel N ARROW ER |
NARROWER (more limited in range)
|
|
10
|
Thicker grass concealing a couple of snipers on the way back (6)
|
(REED [grass] containing [concealing] SN [first two letters of [a couple of] SNIPERS) all reversed (on the way back) (DE (NS) ER)< |
DENSER (thicker)
|
|
11
|
Rule out admitting obstruction at end of the game (8)
|
R (rule) + (OUT containing [admitting] LET [obstruction]) + E (last letter of [end of] THE) R OU (LET) T E |
ROULETTE (game of chance))
|
| 12 | Soldiers fetch back a former leader of the Sandinistas (6) |
OR (other ranks; soldiers) + GET reversed (back) + A OR TEG< A |
ORTEGA (reference Daniel ORTEGA [born 1945] currently President of Nicaragua and Chairman of the Sandinista National Liberation Front) |
|
14
|
Mad about getting caught after a short time (10)
|
MO (moment; short time) + ON (with reference to; about) + STRUCK (caught) MO ON STRUCK |
MOONSTRUCK (crazed; mad)
|
|
18
|
Bad to defend dithering over Poins being vague (3-7)
|
ILL (bad) + (an anagram of [dithering] DEFEND containing [over] I {Poins is the setter of the crossword, writer of the clue]) ILL DEF (I) NED* |
ILL-DEFINED (vague)
|
|
22
|
Put a match to fuel left out (6)
|
LIGNITE (brown coal; fuel) excluding (out) L (left) IGNITE |
IGNITE (set on fire; put a match to)
|
|
23
|
Lark‘s flight captured by Bill? Just the opposite (8)
|
AD (advertisement; poster; bill) contained in (captured by) ESCAPE (flight) The construction is the opposite (contrary) of that outlined in the clue ESCAP (AD) E |
ESCAPADE (mischievous adventure; lark)
|
|
24
|
Maria’s reckless musketeer (6)
|
Anagram of (reckless) MARIA’S ARAMIS* |
ARAMIS (one of the three musketeers in the novels by Alexandre Dumas)
|
|
25
|
Pay close attention to study on school getting turned around (4,4)
|
TAKE (study [an academic course]) + ETON (public school in England) reversed (turned round) TAKE NOTE< |
TAKE NOTE (pay close attention to)
|
|
26
|
Dicky tried new hookup app (6)
|
Anagram of (dicky) TRIED and N (new) TINDER* |
TINDER (location-based social search mobile app used as a dating or hookup app)
|
|
27
|
Aware of a mawkishness Miles ignored (8)
|
SENTIMENT (mawkishness) excluding (ignoring) M (miles) SENTIENT |
SENTIENT (aware)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Poor country area is disregarded (6)
|
HUNGARY (European country) excluding (is disregarded) A (area) HUNGRY |
HUNGRY (poor)
|
|
2
|
Surprise spell in revolt (4-2)
|
TURN (spell) + UP (in revolt) TURN–UP |
TURN-UP (piece of good luck; surprise)
|
|
3
|
The culmination of an attempt to get up in one go (6)
|
GO (attempt) reversed (up;down) clue contained in (in) (A [one] + PEE [go [to the toilet]) A P (OG<) EE |
APOGEE (culmination)
|
|
4
|
Type of book singled out by fellow in charge (10)
|
ELECT (taken by preference from among others; singled out) + RON (man’s name; fellow) + I/C (in charge) ELECT RON IC |
ELECTRONIC (type of book format)
|
|
6
|
Make too much of estimate on account of earlier (8)
|
OVER (on account of) + RATE (estimate) OVER RATE |
OVERRATE (think too highly of; make too much of)
|
|
7
|
Done for finding stuff out, she breaks in court (6-2)
|
(SHE contained in [breaks in] WAD [pad; stuff out]) + UP (in court) WA (SHE) D UP |
WASHED-UP (deprived of energy or animation; done for)
|
|
8
|
Obama’s interrupted by Republican jeers (8) |
BARACK’S (possessive for of the first name of former President BARACK Obama) containing (interrupted by) R (Republican) BAR (R) ACKS |
BARRACKS (jeers)
|
|
13
|
Make light of foreign articles on ceremonial dignity (10)
|
(UN [French form of indefinite article] + DER [German form of the definite article to give foreign articles) + STATE (ceremonial dignity) UN DER STATE |
UNDERSTATE (say more moderately than truth would allow or require; make light of)
|
|
15
|
A tendency once to mix it with platinum not plutonium (8)
|
Anagram of (mix … with) IT and PLATINUM excluding (not) PU (chemical symbol for plutonium) leaving an anagram of IT LATINM MILITANT* |
MILITANT (reference MILITANT, commonly called the MILITANT tendency [a Trotskyist entryist group in the British Labour Party, based around the MILITANT newspaper launched in 1964.
|
|
16
|
Fruit tree said to engross Australian conservationists (8)
|
PLAIN (sounds like [said to] PLANE type of tree]) containing (to engross) (A [Australian] + NT [National Trust; conservationists]) PL (A NT) AIN |
PLANTAIN (fruit)
|
|
17
|
Leonato’s niece to flog diamonds without a hint of regret (8)
|
(BEAT (flog) + ICE [diamonds]) containing (without) R [first letter of [hint of] REGRET) BEAT (R) ICE |
BEATRICE (Leonato’s niece in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing)
|
|
19
|
Have one’s way with academic fellow after husband leaves (4,2)
|
MA (Master of Arts; an academic degree) + KEITH (man’s name; fellow) excluding (after … leaves) H MA KE IT |
MAKE IT (have one’s way with)
|
|
20
|
Blanchett devouring work about American novelist (6)
|
CATE (reference the actress CATE Blanchett, Australian actress born 1969) containing (devouring) (OP [opus; work] reversed [about]) CA (PO<) TE |
CAPOTE (reference Truman CAPOTE [1924 – 1984], American novelist)
|
|
21
|
Abandon virtue (6)
|
DESERT (abandon) DESERT |
DESERT (worth; merit; virtue) double definition
|
Polar opposite to duncanshiell, I took an age to get the SE corner. It had to be DESERT, didn’t like clue construction much, someone will be able to provide an example of a sentence where one of the words can be substituted for the other.
This did seem rather different to Poins on Sunday, I thought 23A ingenious and elegant. 19D was pretty clever too, though I think “with” is a link word and not part of the definition. Inclined to think the same about “to” in 25A.
Thanks to Poins and duncanshiell.
Likewise, DESERT loi, though I also had trouble in the NW. A mixture of the very basic (ARAMIS) and the very confusing (ROULETTE, similar problems as Duncan had). On the whole, a good work-out. I find this grid a real grind – you never feel like you’re making progress.
Thanks Poins, Duncan
Agree with Duncan’s opening comments. Liked 15d but not 21d. In reply to James the whole solve felt like a grind.
Thanks Duncan and Poins
We didn’t really enjoy this, although that could be because our first go at it was a bit rushed as one of us had an appointment. Some nice clues, such as COBWEB, IGNITE and ESCAPADE, but we thought 18ac was an apt description for some of the others, particularly the two word and hyphenated answers. Maybe that’s just us.
But thanks, Poins and Duncan
Total defeat. Nearly completed the SW corner, the rest of the grid mostly blank.
Got there, but it took a lot longer than the Poins Sunday ones I’ve tried. The grid not my favourite either, it’s like having to do 4 separate puzzles, but in retrospect there shouldn’t have been a problem. Nice clues, Cobweb the pick. Thanks to S&B