The puzzle can be found here.
I started quite slowly with this one, with the first three going in being the three-letter word across solutions, although I had AVE the wrong way round at first, as the surface seemed to indicate EVA rather than AVE.
Other solutions, mainly the less inspiring ones, then fell into place, and it was the later clues which made this crossword more enjoyable – I really liked CODE once I worked out the parsing, but there were other goodies here too – DESTROYER, REGATTA, GUYANA, LOTUS EATER and SCAREDY-CAT.
There are a few maritime references, but no theme or NINA that I can see – happy to be corrected on this.
Thanks, Neo.
| Across | ||
| 9 | DESTROYER | Vandal sacked city in endless wasteland (9) |
| TROY (“sacked city”) in DESER(t) (endless “wasteland”) | ||
| 10 | EQUIP | England’s leader saying be prepared (5) |
| E(ngland) + QUIP (“saying”) | ||
| 11 | ARRANGE | Settle in Scottish island for example after reflection (7) |
| ARRAN (“Scottish island) + <=E.G. (“for example”. after reflection) | ||
| 12 | SAUSAGE | Guru consuming country meat product (7) |
| SAGE (“guru”) consuming USA (“country”) | ||
| 13 | DOG | Party good to follow (3) |
| DO (“party”) + G(ood) | ||
| 14 | POLICE STATE | Caste tortured in elegant and repressive regime (6,5) |
| *(caste) in POLITE (“elegant”) | ||
| 17 | MALTA | Once defiant island area with spirit (5) |
| A(rea) with MALT (whisky, so “spirit”) | ||
| 18 | TOT | Add small measure (3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | ARENA | Region accommodating new stadium (5) |
| AREA (“region”) accommodating N(ew) | ||
| 21 | CHINOISERIE | Oriental style from one wearing trousers by lake (11) |
| I (“one”) wearing CHINOS (“trousers”) by (“lake”) ERIE | ||
| 23 | EVA | Peron was one rejecting farewell (3) |
| <=AVE (“farewell”) | ||
| 25 | REGATTA | Little man on wagon entering AA meeting (7) |
| REG (“little man”) + TT (teetotal, so “on wagon”) entering AA | ||
| 27 | CRYPTIC | Hidden clue here will be! (7) |
| Double definition | ||
| 28 | ONSET | Working class making start (5) |
| ON (“working”) + SET (“class”) | ||
| 29 | ENDEAVOUR | Challenger’s replacement in determined attempt (9) |
| Double definition, the first being the space shuttle which replaced the Challenger space shuttle, which disintegrated shortly after a launch in 1986. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | EDWARD | King held within unleashed war dogs (6) |
| Hidden in (held within) “unleashED WAR Dogs” | ||
| 2 | ASTRAGAL | Silver lining for heavenly ornament (8) |
| Ag (“silver”) lining ASTRAL (“heavenly”) | ||
| 3 | GRAND PIANO | GP’s instrument? (5,5) |
| G(rand) + P(iano) | ||
| 4 | HYDE | Mysterious and violent character in London park (4) |
| Double definition – Dr Jekyll’s alter ego and Hyde Park in London | ||
| 5 | PROSECUTOR | Counsel uses pot scourer recklessly (10) |
| *(pot scourer) | ||
| 6 | BEAU | Admirer’s Cockney origin announced (4) |
| Homophone of BOW (“Cockney origin”, announced) | ||
| 7 | GUYANA | Perhaps first man to tour an independent republic (6) |
| GUY A (“perhaps first man”, as opposed to Guy B?) to tour AN | ||
| 8 | EPHEMERA | Border secured in record time – it won’t last (8) |
| HEM (“border”) secured in EP (“record”) + ERA (“time”) | ||
| 15 | LOTUS EATER | Sybarite returned to employment in another time (5-5) |
| <=TO + USE (“employment”) in LATER (“another time”) | ||
| 16 | SCAREDY-CAT | Get out fast packing cold ready- cooked chicken (7-3) |
| SCAT (“get out fast”) packing (C(old) + *(ready)) | ||
| 17 | MACAROON | Sweet thing wheels round and round in chap’s embrace (8) |
| CAR (“wheels”) + O O (“round and round”) in MAN (“chap”) | ||
| 20 | ELECTION | Process involving choice when leaderless? (8) |
| (s)ELECTION (“choice”, when leaderless) Sometimes an elction is required because there is no incumbent leader, so this could be an &lit. | ||
| 22 | INGEST | Do this to food for a laugh reportedly (6) |
| Homophone of IN JEST (“for a laugh”, reportedly) | ||
| 24 | ACCORD | Notes on string producing harmony (6) |
| A + C (“notes”) on CORD (“string”) | ||
| 26 | TITO | Old marshal and sea god RN separately dismissed (4) |
| T(r)ITO(n) (“sea god” with R and N dismissed) | ||
| 27 | CODE | Law lord who ran around departs (4) |
| (Sebastian) COE (“lord who ran”) around D(eparts) | ||
*anagram
Used to find Neo too hard. Hope my completing this is due to an improvement on my part. A couple of new words for me: ASTRAGAL & CHINOISERIE, but both were easy to get. Favourites were: GUYANA, MACAROON & SCAREDY-CAT. Thanks to Neo and loonapick.
Re: 23a. Isn’t “ave” usually translated as “hail”? “Vale” is “farewell”.
Trouble with Neo’s puzzles is that they are so correct in obeying crossword conventions that i am left feeling like I am in a pub where the best bitter has been pasteurised, filtered and served up on gas.
However it wasnt quite perfect. i thought AVE was the right answer, EVA was too bovious.
I enjoyed this very much
Thank you to Neo and loonapick
Thanks to Neo and loonapick. I did not parse the Guy A in GUYANA, and ASTRAGAL was new to me, but overall I proceeded quickly and enjoyed the process.
Thanks Loonapick.
I really enjoyed solving this apart from 7dn. I must say I’ve never seen GP used as an abbreviation for grand piano….
Thanks neo, enjoyed this all the more for having re-associated pseudonym and face in London last Tuesday, good to see you.
I enjoyed this, had Malta but didn’t understand the definition (note to self : Google Malta), and I missed Guyana, so many thanks as always loonapick for the enlightenment.
I really liked 27a ( I like clues to do with clues), 1d which eluded me as a hidden for some time, congratulations, 16d for the ‘cold ready-cooked chicken’, and 24d for its sweet sounds. My favourite was the &lit 20d.
3a and 8d are special to me. I had similar clues (3a, Indy 9594; 8d, Indy 9465), so you have made me feel like I might occasionally be doing something more or less right, thank you Neo.
Many thanks Neo
Grumpy@6 g=grand, p=piano
Dutch @9
Piano is abbreviated as a lowercase p, not an uppercase P.
Grumpy, false capitalisation is allowed in Crosswordland (false lower case is not). And therefore this is OK.
8 down: I don’t get the use of ‘it’ to refer to a plural solution. Am I missing something?
Yes.
Featherstonehaugh @12
Yes, thank you. It dawned on me a few minutes after posting, even though the hour was past midnight.
Tom @2
The answer is yes. The goodbye/hello muddle you picked up on had me rattled and ready to raise a finger and wag it before I’d thought the clue to 8 down through to the end which wasn’t there.
Another failing on my part was that I didn’t thank Neo for the pleasures of sharing his dark arts and loonapick for shedding light on all the twists and turns. So, thanks all round.
Thanks Neo and loonapick
Also started off with the 3-letter ones, although I didn’t write in EVA until 24d confirmed it. It took a couple of sittings, but wasn’t as hard as he has been lately. CHINOISERIE and ASTRAGAL were both new for me though.
Whilst he is technically very precise in his clueing, I find the cleverness of many of them pretty enjoyable. I must like very refined beer … although I don’t mind the rougher brews that others serve up as well !
Finished in the SW corner with REGATTA and TITO the last couple in.