I find Serpent puzzles to be quite difficult and this one was as well
However, I got there in the end by plugging away at it. I was helped towards the end when I spotted – HIDDEN AGENDA developing in the central row and central column. That helped me with AGREEMENT (11 across) and GEOGRAPHY (2 down) which were both one of the last few in.
Serpent’s definitions make one think, which is a good thing. The definitions are not just lifted out of the dictionary. I like that.
As usual these days, there is one clue where the parsing defeats me. I look forward to being told how to parse CAROM at 22 down. I can see where the C and the A might come from but the ‘pistol containing a single round’ is proving impenetrable at the moment.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Sink unit almost blocked by plug (7) |
DEGREE (unit of temperature) excluding the final letter (almost) E containing (blocked by) AD (advertisement; plug) DEGR (AD) E |
DEGRADE (lower in value or position; sink) |
| 5 | Gangster regrets bombing Revolutionary Guards (7) |
MOBSTER (hidden word in [guards] reversed [revolutionary] REGRETS BOMBING) MOBSTER< |
MOBSTER (gangster) |
| 9 | Grown-up leader somehow sensed perversity (5-10) |
Anagram of (up) GROWN + HEAD (leader) + an anagram of (somehow) SENSED WRONG* HEAD EDNESS* |
WRONG-HEADEDNESS (perversity) |
| 10 | Defile girl’s head soaked in blood (5) |
G (first letter of [head] GIRL) contained in (soaked in) GORE (blood) GOR (G) E |
GORGE (narrow valley; defile) |
| 11 | Contract staff overwhelmed by advance welcome (9) |
MEN (staff) contained in (overwhelmed by) ( A + GREET [welcome]) A GREE (MEN) T |
AGREEMENT (contract) |
| 12 | Cut and thrust of blade disguising skill shown by fencer ultimately (8) |
R (last letter of [ultimately] FENCER) + (ÉPÉE [blade] containing [disguising] ART [skill]) R EP (ART) EE |
REPARTEE (retort with ready wit; badinage;cut and thrust) |
| 14 | Positive aspect of winning team (6) |
UP (winning) + SIDE (team) UP SIDE |
UPSIDE (positive aspect) |
| 17 | Nonsense about why, reportedly, I like young men (6) |
BOSH (nonsense) containing (about) Y [sounds like {reportedly} WHY] + I) BO (Y I) SH |
BOYISH (like young men) |
| 18 | Obsession with crime returning to engulf French capital? (8) |
SIN (crime) reversed (returning) containing (to engulf) EUROS (French currency; French capital) N (EUROS) IS< |
NEUROSIS (obsession) |
| 21 | Deal with China reduced fare from Mexico (9) |
Anagram of (reduced) DEAL and CHINA ENCHILADA* |
ENCHILADA (Mexican dish consisting of a rolled stuffed tortilla cooked with a chilli-flavoured sauce; Mexican fare) |
| 23 | Reproach leader of party leaving platform (5) |
PODIUM (platform) excluding (leaving) P (first letter of [leader of] PARTY) ODIUM |
ODIUM (reproach attaching to some act) |
| 24 | Aim to turn people insane going on and on (9,6) |
Anagram of (insane) AIM TO TURN PEOPLE PERPETUAL MOTION* |
PERPETUAL MOTION (a hypothetical machine, or MOTION of such a machine, that should do work indefinitely without an external source of energy; going on and on) |
| 25 | With time, this estate could make ends meet (7) |
DEMESNE and T (time) can form an anagram of (could make) ENDS MEET* DEMESNE |
DEMESNE (any estate in land) |
| 26 | Doctor clamps right side to expose vessel (7) |
DR (doctor) containing (clamps) (R [right] + EDGE [side]) D (R EDGE) R |
DREDGER (type of ship used to deepen a channel)
|
| Down | |||
| 1 | Cheat bet on woman outliving husband (7) |
DO (cheat) + WAGER (bet) DO WAGER |
DOWAGER (a title given to a widow to distinguish her from the wife of her husband’s heir; woman outliving husband) |
| 2 | Field from which one obtain’s a better view of one’s surroundings (9) |
GEOGRAPHY (subject that gives one a better view of one’s surrounding) GEOGRAPHY |
GEOGRAPHY (field of study) |
| 3 | Financial backer promoting liberal point of view (5) |
ANGEL (financial backer, especially one who backs theatrical productions) with the L (liberal) being moved up (promoting) this down entry ANGLE |
ANGLE (point of view) |
| 4 | Raised the French vessel over river banks (8) |
DEE (name of a river in more than part of Britain) reversed (over) containing (banks) (LE [‘the’ in French] + VAT [vessel]) E (LE VAT) ED< |
ELEVATED (raised) |
| 5 | New way of working beginning to rein in study (6) |
MO (modus operandi; way of working) + (R [first letter of {beginning to} REIN] contained in [in] DEN [study]) MO DE (R) N |
MODERN (new) |
| 6 | Pet salesman bumped into expert from the South (3,6) |
(REP [representative {salesman} + MET [bumped into] + DAB [expert]) all reversed (from the South; down clue) (BAD TEM PER)< |
BAD TEMPER (pet slight or childish fit of aggrieved or resentful sulkiness]) |
| 7 | Subject of article about what constrains empiricism (5) |
THE (definite article) containing (about) EM (first and last letters of [letters that constrain] EMPIRICISM) TH (EM) E |
THEME (subject) |
| 8 | Recognition for prize-winning group stifled by mindless repetition (7) |
SET (group) contained in (stifled by) ROTE (repetition or performance without regard to the meaning.; mindless repetition) RO (SET) TE |
ROSETTE (knot of radiating loops of ribbon or the like in concentric arrangement, especially worn as a badge showing affiliation, or awarded as a prize; |
| 13 | Likelihood of danger goes up having family visit with son (9) |
(RISES [goes up] containing [having … visit] (KIN [family]) + S [son]) RIS (KIN) ES S |
RISKINESS (likelihood of danger) |
| 15 | Uplifting new season winning one after another (9) |
I (Roman numeral for one]; this is the ‘another’ one) + (N [new] + [SPRING {season} containing {winning} I {Roman numeral for one]) I N SP (I) RING |
INSPIRING (uplifting) |
| 16 | What docker did having caught dog in act (8) |
DEED (act) containing (having caught) TAIL (follow and watch constantly; dog) DE (TAIL) ED |
DETAILED (should be read as – DE-TAILED [took the TAIL off; docked])
|
| 17 | Record covered by Squeeze replaced rude word? (7) |
EP (extended play record) contained in (covered by) BLEED (suck dry; squeeze) BLE (EP) ED |
BLEEPED (replaced a rude word with a high pitched sound) |
| 19 | Doctor remains for discussion group (7) |
Anagram of (doctor) REMAINS SEMINAR* |
SEMINAR (discussion group on any particular subject)
|
| 20 | Age you are said to divorce partner (6) |
(U [sounds like {said} YOU] + R [sounds like {said} ARE]) contained in (divorce; to separate]) MATE (partner) MAT (U R) E |
MATURE (come to or approach ripeness; age) |
| 22 | Shot Colt pistol containing a single round (5) | I can’t see the wordplay here. C is an abbreviation for colt, band A is a, but that is as far as I get. I know a Colt is a type of pistol, but I don’t think the abbreviation C is referring to the pistol; I think it is referring to a young horse) |
CAROM (short form of CARAMBOLE, a cannon in billiards; a shot) |
| 23 | One divided by zero vacuously equals something elementary (5) |
ONE containing (divided by) ZO (ZERO excluding the middle letters [vacuously] ER) O (ZO) NE |
OZONE (allotropic form (O3) of oxygen present in the atmosphere; something elementary) |
22D ? C(olt) + ARM (pistol, sort of) around O (a single round).
CAROM was both unknown and unparsed. Looking it up after the attempted solve, I see a MOA is a type of pistol, descrbed as “A unique single shot, falling block action pistol.”. Parsing would therefore be C=’Colt’ (horse) + MOA=’pistol’ + R=’containing a single’ (as in one run in cricket) + ’round’ (reversal indicator).
Don’t know if there’s anything more to the HIDDEN AGENDA in the way of a theme.
Thanks to Serpent and to Duncan
Muffyword @ 1
Thanks – it’s usually something simple. I was fixated on the A as the letter being contained and never looked further.
Put me down as another who failed to parse CAROM. At least I knew the word, having played billiards in my youth (didn’t know it was short for carambole though). I reckon muffyword has got it.
Another Goldilocks puzzle from Serpent, not too hard, not too easy, just right. Favourites include: REPARTEE, PERPETUAL MOTION & BAD TEMPER.
Thanks to Serpent and Duncan.
Only saw the HA after completing. I like these extras in his puzzles.
Fraid I used a wordy thing for CAROM
Thanks Dunc and Serpent
CAROM was the one that held me up too – thanks to WordPlodder for the explanation
I like a Serpent crossword – you know he’s going to be friendly to get you started, and then really stretch your brain to finish – thank you to him and Duncan
Surely it has to be CARAM – C + arm containg a? I didn’t know the word, though I did know carambolage, a word for a big road pile-up.
Well, we looked up possibilities for 22dn in Chambers and found CAROM, which we then parsed quite easily, remembering that C = colt as an abbreviation in the horseracing pages of the papers. But despite usually being on Serpent’s wavelength we were eventually left with 1 and 17 across and 2 down unsolved so had recourse to a wordfinder for GEOGRAPHY which the gave us the other two. So not quite an unaided finish today, but satisfying nevertheless even though we didn’t spot the nina.
We liked PERPETUAL MOTION and OZONE, mainly because they have a connection; the former is an impossibility, as is division by zero suggested in the clue to the latter (or at least the answer is theoretically infinity which amounts to the same thing).
Thanks, Serpent and Duncan.
Komorník@7: Chambers has “Carom, n, short form of carambole, a cannon in billiards …”
Thanks Serpent and ds.
I just saw the HIDDEN AGENDA when I had finished; nice setting!
Many good clues, including ones for MOBSTER and BAD TEMPER [I didn’t know that use of pet]
late to the party as ever but in 20D I parsed it as sounding like MATCH (for divorce partner) and You’re (as otherwise I can’t see anything that indicates the UR should be within MATE).