Today’s puzzle can be found here.
On the whole, this was a very good puzzle (a good one for beginners with no difficult words or obscure references), but in my opinion, it was let down by a few clues that came across as lazy (VICTIM, SPHERE and OVERDUE being the worst cuplrits). A shame really, as some of the others were excellent (I especially liked FLEAPIT, SEA SPRAY, EVOCATIVE and the two long solutions).
Thanks Falcon.
| Across | ||
| 1 | OPEN-PLAN | Start factory, mostly having no dividing walls (4-4) |
| OPEN (“start”) + PLAN(t) (“factory”, mostly) | ||
| 5 | SCOPES | Viewing instruments to manage on board steamship (6) |
| COPE (“to manage”) on board SS (“steamship”) | ||
| 10 | SPORT | Third of cast left play (5) |
| (ca)S(t) + PORT (“left”) | ||
| 11 | REMAINDER | Jogger grabbing a rest (9) |
| REMINDER (memory “jogger”) grabbing A | ||
| 12 | DO A RUNNER | Nervously order a nun to leave in a hurry (2,1,6) |
| *(order a nun) | ||
| 13 | EILAT | Story about one capsizing in Israeli port (5) |
| <=TALE (“story”) about I (“one”) | ||
| 14 | VICTIM | Injured party in casualty (6) |
| Double meaning, although the two are very similar. | ||
| 15 | OVERDUE | Extra expected is late arriving (7) |
| OVER (“extra”) + DUE (“expected”)
The “due” part of this clue is not cryptic enough for my liking, as “overdue” and “due” are from the same root. |
||
| 18 | FLEAPIT | Appropriate gathering bound for bughouse (7) |
| FIT (“appropriate”) gathering LEAP (“bound”) | ||
| 20 | SPHERE | Circle globe (6) |
| Double definition, although again there’s not a huge difference between the two. | ||
| 22 | LOTUS | A great many surrounding uranium plant (5) |
| LOTS (“a great many”) surrounding U(ranium) | ||
| 24 | MOONSHINE | Smuggled spirits? Nonsense (9) |
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | ENCOUNTER | Meet knight in English bar (9) |
| N (“knight”, in chess) in E(nglish) COUNTER (“bar”) | ||
| 26 | EAGER | Keen listener describing good ending to programme (5) |
| EAR (“listener”) describing G(ood) + (programm)E | ||
| 27 | TITTER | Suppressed laugh from wife leaving website (6) |
| (W)ife leaving T(w)ITTER (“website”) | ||
| 28 | SEA SPRAY | Spindrift evoked by page in a Sayers novel (3,5) |
| P(age) in *(a sayers) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ONSIDE | Team following forward, working towards the same goal (6) |
| SIDE (“team”) following ON (“forward”) | ||
| 2 | EVOCATIVE | Reminiscent of Marlowe’s last case (9) |
| (marlow)E + VOCATIVE (“case” in grammar) | ||
| 3 | PUT OUT TO PASTURE | Defeated chief US rate badly is forced to retire (3,3,2,7) |
| PUT OUT (“defeat”) + TOP (“chief”) + *(us rate) | ||
| 4 | ACRONYM | American ringing pal in Nato, perhaps (7) |
| Am.(erican) ringing CRONY (“friend”) | ||
| 6 | CHINESE WHISPERS | Game of chess where pin is disastrous (7,8) |
| *(chess where pin is) | ||
| 7 | PEDAL | Daughter impressed by Ring Cycle? (5) |
| D(aughter) impressed by PEAL (“ring”) | ||
| 8 | SPRITZER | Drink in hotel entertained by upwardly mobile salesmen? (8) |
| RITZ (“hotel”) entertained by <=REPS (“salesmen”, upward) | ||
| 9 | EMBRYO | This could be the beginning, or be my undoing (6) |
| *(or be my) | ||
| 16 | DERRINGER | Pistol produced by the German impostor (9) |
| DER (“the” in German) + RINGER (“impostor”) | ||
| 17 | AFFLUENT | A female, smooth-spoken and well-to-do (8) |
| A F(emale) + FLUENT (“smooth-spoken”) | ||
| 19 | TOMATO | Type of sauce served up in Minnesota motel (6) |
| Hidden backwards (served up in) “MinnesOTA MOTel” | ||
| 20 | SCOURGE | Initially such bravery shown, after dropping a whip (7) |
| S(uch) + COUR(a)GE (“bravery” dropping A) | ||
| 21 | HEARTY | Enthusiastic male team heading off (6) |
| HE (“male”) + (p)ARTY (“team”, heading off) | ||
| 23 | TACIT | Implied historian not with us (5) |
| TACIT(us) (“historian”, not with US) | ||
*anagram
Also thought VICTIM and OVERDUE were not very good. Don’t like the clue for SPHERE at all. Circle? Surely not!
More than made up for with some excellent clues. My personal favourite was REMAINDER with the beautiful play on the different meanings for ‘jogger’ and ‘rest’.
Thanks to Falcon and loonapick.
Thanks, loonapick, I agree with your verdict.
Hovis, Falcon means ‘sphere’ as in ‘a sphere of people’, ‘a circle of society etc’ – it’s supported by the dictionaries.
Only thing I wasn’t sure of is whether ‘capsizing’ is a good reversal indicator in an Across clue (13ac).
Ah, of course. Thanks Sil.
Thanks to Falcon and loonapick. Relatively easy going for me (though enjoyable) except for CHINESE WHISPERS that I eventually did piece out. What surprised me was the collection of non-crosswordland regulars to spice up the solving – e.g., Ritz instead of H for hotel, SS for steamship with “on board” as the placement. I especially liked FLEAPIT.
Thanks Falcon and loonapick
Found this a little harder than his normal fare, taking nearly twice as long as usual.
A couple of new terms for me – ‘spindrift’ = SEASPRAY and MOONSHINE = ‘nonsense’.
Thought that the two definitions of SPHERE were quite distinct – with circle of friends / globe. Agree that the other two mentioned were indeed weak though.