Yet another Redshank Friday. Straightforward and genial workout with precise cluing – I felt this was on the easier end of the spectrum for this setter. Thanks Redshank!!
There was 1 clue which I thought was a bit anomalous and have called it out as such. Hunted for a nina/theme but came up with nothing.
FF: 9 DD:7
| Across | ||
| 9 | CLOUD CUCKOO LAND | Could poor migrant settle in this dream world? (5-6-4) |
| COULD* [CUCKOO (migrant) LAND (settle) ] | ||
| 10 | ERATO | She inspired lyricists in opera (Tosca) (5) |
| hidden in “..opERA (TOsca)” | ||
| 11 | PATRONISE | Frequent riotous parties keep going (9) |
| PARTIES* containing ON (going) | ||
| 12 | TAOISEACH | Varadkar’s calories regularly consumed in train (9) |
| [cAlOrIeS (regularly, i.e. alternating letters)] in TEACH (train) | ||
| 14 | SUMAC | American’s backing computer plant (5) |
| SU (american = US, reversed) MAC (computer) | ||
| 16 | BEHIND THE SCENES | Secretly responsible for the tantrums (6,3,6) |
| cryptic def | ||
| 19 | EXUDE | Core of Brexit department in EU rejected issue (5) |
| EX (core of brEXit) [ D (department) in EU, all reversed ] | ||
| 21 | POTPOURRI | Forcibly enter work, turning over old miscellany (9) |
| [IRRUPT (forcibly enter) OP (work) , all reversed] around O (over) | ||
| 23 | INTRINSIC | It’s essential latest trains scrap one in charge (9) |
| IN (latest) TRaINS (without A – one) IC (In Charge) | ||
| 25 | STAIR | Big name takes control of one part of flight (5) |
| STAR (big name) containing I (one) | ||
| 26 | CENTRE OF GRAVITY | Fatty recovering after surgery to alter this? (6,2,7) |
| FATTY RECOVERING* | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ACCEPTABLE | Current mushroom on board is adequate (10) |
| AC (current) CEP (mushroom) TABLE (board) | ||
| 2 | POTATO | Murphy quietly loves gathering rubbish (6) |
| [ P (quietly) OO (loves) containing TAT (rubbish) ] | ||
| 3 | ADVOWSON | Church’s right – a teacher must suppress their oaths (8) |
| A DON (teacher) containing VOWS (oaths) – new word for me but straightforward from the clue | ||
| 4 | GULP | Seabird briefly beginning to pester swallow (4) |
| GULl (seabird, briefly) P (start to Pester) | ||
| 5 | SKETCHIEST | Most slight vessel during short rest (10) |
| KETCH (vessel) in SIESTa (rest, short) | ||
| 6 | JOYOUS | Solver opens sweetheart’s bubbly (6) |
| YOU (solver) in JO’S (sweetheart’s) | ||
| 7 | TALISMAN | Dutch explorer catches large sole as mascot (8) |
| TASMAN (dutch explorer) containing [ L (larger) I (sole, one) ] | ||
| 8 | ADZE | Sunday setter’s anagram for ‘cutter’? (4) |
| anagram of AZED (crossword setter for the Observer) – not a totally fair clue in my opinion | ||
| 13 | ANTIPASTOS | It’s not a spa, otherwise you’d get appetisers (10) |
| IT’S NOT A SPA* | ||
| 15 | COSMIC RAYS | Supercomputers control smelly space travellers (6,4) |
| CRAYS (supercomputers) containing OSMIC (smelly) | ||
| 17 | HAUNTING | Activity of spook, searching round area (8) |
| HUNTING (searching) around A (area) | ||
| 18 | CROSSBAR | Feature of goal angered lawyers (8) |
| CROSS (angered) BAR (~lawyers) | ||
| 20 | EMIGRE | He leaves country before boxing fighter (6) |
| ERE (before) containing MIG (fighter) | ||
| 22 | ROADIE | Radio broadcast by English worker, 16 (6) |
| RADIO* E (english) – a behind the scene worker for music bands, refering to clue 16a | ||
| 23 | INCH | Carefully move section of foot (4) |
| double def | ||
| 24 | CAGE | US scorer’s pen (4) |
| double def; refering to amercian composer john cage. | ||
*anagram
Thanks for explaining COSMIC RAYS. Stupid of me not to see CRAYS but didn’t know OSMIC.
Thought the anagram at 26a was brill and makes it the COD for me.
For 16a, after a bit of ruminating, I felt it was preferable to split as ‘secretly’ (definition) + ‘responsible for the tantrums’ (cryptic definition).
I also wondered if ADZE was a bit unfair. On the other hand, it is a bit of GK that most solvers would know I guess.
Thanks to Redshank and Turbolegs.
I agree about the Azed-anoraks such as myself have no trouble but….
Otherwise that makes two good ones from same setter today.
Thanks
CrucibleRedshank and TurbolegsThanks for stopping by.
Hovis@1 – I concur on 26a. I thought it was very clever too. For 16a, now that you say it, I do agree your split makes for stronger parsing.
Copmus@2 – I think for the average FT solver who doesn’t do other crosswords, it would be quite impossible to get the clue without crossers, based on wordplay alone. In any case, I think a little bit of these sprinkled every once in a while is alright. We definitely don’t want sterile/sanitized crosswords all the time.
Cheers
TL
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
Am I the only one who thinks that while the puzzle in general was very good, 13 was awful. Antipasto, yes, antipasti, yes, but ANTIPASTOS? Come on.
I agree that “antipastos” was strange: as a longish answer presumably it wasn’t a last-minute “what can I squeeze i here?” type of word. I’ll think about it next time I have some spaghettos.
As a long-time Azed solver 8d was a write-in for me, but doubly unfair for the solver on the Clapham omnibus, I thought, being an indirect anagram of a name that is likely to be unfamiliar to many.
Simon@4. I agree wholeheartedly but, for some strange reason, this is the plural form in my Collins. Personally, I think Collins has an error here but, looking at google, I did find other places that list the plural as antipasti or antipastos. I think we all accept words such as formulas as opposed to formulae but this seems a step too far for me – I feel sure others will disagree.
Thanks, Redshank and Turbolegs.
I reluctantly have to agree with Simon S: most unlike Redshank / Crucible – on a par with the ubiquitous paninis.
However, I, too, really liked CENTRE OF GRAVITY, along with POTATO, CLOUD CUCKOO LAND and TAOISEACH – all for their surfaces and the last for giving me a mnemonic for the tortuous spelling.
I crossed with Hovis. I hadn’t thought to look in Collins or Chambers, because I was so sure it was wrong. I’ve always said that, if a version can be found in one of the reputable dictionaries, the setter is off the hook and so I must apologise to Redshank. But I’m disappointed – and with Collins, too: it doesn’t even give ANTIPASTI as a possibility!
Chambers gives (only) ‘antipasti’ as the plural, Collins indeed only ‘antipastos’ and the SOED gives both!
This discussion reminds me of the ‘bused’/’bussed’ one we saw this week in the Tramp blog.
My point of view is always you can’t blame the setter when it’s in one of the accepted dictionaries.
However, even I had my stomach slightly turned when I entered 13d.
Meanwhile, I like to be careful not to use the words ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
It may feel ‘wrong’ but it [read: the disputed answer] surely comes from somewhere to get a mention in the dictionaries?
As I said in the Tramp blog, for me – as a non Brit – these things are perhaps easier to accept.
But don’t worry, I see everyone’s point.
Good puzzle and indeed not too hard.
Many thanks to Turbolegs & Redshank.
Thanks to Redshank and Turbolegs. I did not know ADVOWSON (though I could parse it) but did need help parsing COSMIC RAYS. Re Azed-ADZE, as a US solver I did know the name from my many visits to the 15-squared web page.
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
The first puzzle back from an overseas trip and found it not so easy, occupying a good hour or so and taking a couple of cups of welcome Melbourne coffee to complete. Had no problems with filling the grid, although did have some trouble with the parsing of several – had to look up the OSMIC part of 15d, had to check what AVOWSON actually meant, needed to see why JO meant ‘sweetheart’ and got myself stuck trying to look for an EU department abbreviated to EDU (had to come here to see the more simplified way of seeing it!).
Would have thought that the Azed puzzles were well enough known through the crossword solving community to be accepted here, even though I’ve never tried to solve one over the many years of doing crosswords myself.
Finished in the NE corner with that ADZE, PATRONISE and JOYOUS the last few in.
Can someone explain the 25a) CENTRE OF GRAVITY solution, please?
Sorry, the heat’s getting to me!
Obviously an anagram of “FATTY RECOVERED”.
Yes , the heat’s getting to you!
An anagram of FATTY RECOVERING …
[with a definition that’s a bit whimsical]