Excellent puzzle, thank you Gaff.
There is a recurring pattern in these clues of multiple letters being required to be taken when indicated by phrases such as “a trace of”, “a bit of” etc. I get the impression that this is not accidental. I get the further impression, though this is pure speculation on my part, that there is an intention to ruffle some feathers here. Gaff is deliberately ignoring supposed “rules” banning such things. If this is so then I approve of such transgressions, a few more of the “rules” need breaking too. Maybe this is all just imagined nonsense on my part.
UPDATE: the preamble which I completely failed to notice states this is an anniversary puzzle. The anniversary is of the passing of ROGER MOORE, and there are Moore-related solutions in the grid.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SOMBRERO | A trace of rococo on dark hat (8) |
| ROcoco (a trace of, a couple of letters from) on SOMBRE (dark) | ||
| 5 | GERMAN | National explosion of anger about opening of motorway (6) |
| anagram (explosion) of ANGER contains (about) Motorway (opening letter of) | ||
| 9 | MACHISMO | Quality of 14’s stomach is morbidly displayed (8) |
| found inside (displayed by) stoMACH IS MObidly – a quality of James Bond (14 across) | ||
| 10 | OREGON | State of ornateness is partly about self (6) |
| ORNateness (partly) contains (about) EGO (the self) | ||
| 12 | INAMORATA | Love popular bouquet returned with thanks (9) |
| IN (popular) AROMA (bouquet) reversed (returned) with TA (thanks) | ||
| 13 | SAINT | US can ignite even one with great patience (5) |
| even letters of uS cAn IgNiTe | ||
| 14 | BOND | Make fast bargain (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 16 | SHINGLE | Short cut in bad English (7) |
| anagram (bad) of ENGLISH – a short haircut | ||
| 19 | IVANHOE | Novel idea to start vehicle with digger (7) |
| Idea (starting letter) VAN (vehicle) with HOE (something that digs) | ||
| 21 | SING | Produce notes to inform (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 24 | CLEAR | Free pass (5) |
| double definition | ||
| 25 | CLAIM FORM | Clever leaders target mine opening to be filled in after accident (5,4) |
| CLever (leading letters of) AIM FOR (target) then Mine (opening letter of) | ||
| 27 | UNICEF | Becoming occupant of centre of reshuffled minor agency (6) |
| NICE (becoming) inside (occupant of) reshUFfled (centre of) – an agency for children (minors) | ||
| 28 | Seeing red hole in injury (8) | |
| 29 | TSK TSK | Job middle class left repeatedly for shame (3,3) |
| TaSK (job) missing (having left) clAss (middle of), repeatedly | ||
| 30 | ALASKANS | Sugar’s overwhelming question for statesmen (8) |
| ALAN’S (Alan Sugar’s) contains (overwhelming) ASK (question) – men from the state of Alaska | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SUMMIT | Clubs maybe filled with two thousand at peak (6) |
| SUIT (Clubs maybe) containing (filled with) M M (thousand, twice) | ||
| 2 | MOCHAS | From 9 I’m missing blended coffees (6) |
| anagram (blended) of MACHiSmO missing I’M | ||
| 3 | RHINO | Beast of a nose (5) |
| RHINO- as a prefix denotes “of a nose” | ||
| 4 | RAM-RAID | Driver’s break in window shopping? (3-4) |
| cryptic definition | ||
| 6 | EGRESSION | Going out with a bit of meagre snogging in back row (9) |
| a bit of meaGRE Snogging in NOISE (row) reversed (back) | ||
| 7 | MUGGINGS | Fool restricts goalmouth attacks (8) |
| MUGGINS (fool) contains (restricts) Goal (opening letter, mouth of) | ||
| 8 | NINETIES | Nervous time may spoil intense first innings (8) |
| anagram (to spoil) of INTENSE with Innings (first letter of) – the “nervous nineties” in cricket is the psychological pressure of nearing a century (100 runs) | ||
| 11 | JAWS | Parts of vice film (4) |
| double definition – 1975 rubber shark movie | ||
| 15 | OTHERNESS | Model her stones with distinction (9) |
| anagram (model) of HER STONES | ||
| 17 | DISCOUNT | Ignore loud dance with fashionable land owner (8) |
| DISCO (loud dance) with U (fashionable) and NT (National Trust, a landowner) | ||
| 18 | MAVERICK | Radical state in a bit of gimmickry (8) |
| AVER (state) in gimMICKry (a bit of) | ||
| 20 | ETCH | Cut top off forage plant (4) |
| vETCH (forage plant) missing top letter | ||
| 21 | SCALPEL | Cut top off end of steel instrument (7) |
| SCALP (cut top off) then steEL (end letters of) | ||
| 22 | LOLITA | Mirth in text appeal to a temptress (6) |
| LOL (mirth, laugh-out-loud abbreviation in text messages) then IT (appeal) and A | ||
| 23 | Semi-final games played by counterparts (6) | |
| 26 | MATHS | Covering extremely hazardous subject (5) |
| MAT (a covering) then HazardouS (extremes of) | ||
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.
Thanks PeeDee
The pdf states that this is “An anniversary puzzle” but I’ve no idea which one it is.
I found this particularly tricky but was helped when I spotted the anniversary person mentioned above the clues. Apparently it is one year since he died and Gaff has used this puzzle to include various roles (both thespian and charity) in the solutions He’s lurking in between the solutions to 1a and 5a and 9a and 10a; and the roles I’ve found so far include 13a, 14a, 19a, 27a and 18d but there may be more
Thanks to Gaff for the crossword (which so nearly became the victim of my ‘three goes and in the recycling rule’ but I’m glad I persevered. Thanks also to PeeDee
I had spitting for 28 (pit in sting) and images for 23 (anagram i,games)
Dis@3 – me too
11d adds to the Moore as Bond theme asJaws is a fictional character in the films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, played in both by Richard Kiel.
Death of Roger Moore. 23/05/2017.
I was completely thrown by the theme. JAWS? 1973? NINETIES? And I had SPITTING IMAGES too. So that was 3 decades.The SW was my last to crack and it was only when I saw IVANHOE and MAVERICK that the penny dropped.
UNICEF was rather ingenious.
I usually think-who was born 100 years ago etc. So with only one letter wrong, no complaints.
Thanks Gaff and PeeDee.
I had IMAGES at first too but I wasn’t happy with my parsing, so I kept looking and found IMAGOS which I felt parsed better and also had a closer definition. I hadn’t spotted semI-final, I had anag of SEMI and GAmes. SPITTING explains the missing red, I will update the blog.
I hadn’t seen the anniversary preamble either. Thanks to all for the corrections.
The Alaskans was late 50,s TV Series starring RM. Thanks PeeDee for the blog and Gaff for an enjoyable puzzle.
I’m seeing online that there was a Spitting Image puppet show on television, and Moore’s caricature was particularly noteworthy. Thanks to Gaff and PeeDee.
Thanks to Gaff and PeeDee. I’m another who missed the preamble and did not get BOND or RAM-RAID, UNICEF, and MACHISMO (and chose spotting, not SPITTING). I parsed NINETIES but needed help understanding it. Not a good outing.
Thanks PeeDee. You have the the patience of a 13ac.
Gaff is clearly a 18dn, and the polite version of my reaction is 20ac.
Hi Brad – I saw SPITTING IMAGES too, but as the program isn’t entirely complimentary and Moore died only recently I took the view when shading the puzzle that it might have been coincidental.
The show was callled Spiitting Image, not spitting images. https://youtu.be/0uxTByi3o-0
I don’t think the ‘a bit of’ etc is anything other than Gaff being Gaff.
Thanks Gaff and PeeDee
Found this pretty challenging and the Roger Moore theme only revealed itself near the end when I was able to correct 14a to BOND. Must admit to having a look at his filmography to find some movies that I didn’t know like MAVERICK. Still didn’t see the nina at the top though.
Good variety of clues with that characteristic ‘bit of’ ambiguity showing up a couple of times. Grisly but clever clue was SCALPEL.
Finished down the bottom with my what turned out to be wrong SPOTTING, MAVERICK and UNICEF the last few in.