As the Christmas bells start to ring, a puzzle from Morph to avoid the queues of people spending money on things that nobody needs.
What a joy it was – everything I like in a crossword, witty punchy surfaces and a hidden theme. And a mention of my favourite band too (21dn).
11ac was probably my favourite with 22ac a close second. But there are many others of note too. The parsing to 26ac has me stumped though.
As to the theme Ground is visible in the top row, and everything else is under that i.e. Underground.
12ac is the central point of the Tyne and Wear metro and also a tube station in London many of the other grid entries are also London tube stations.
Many thanks Morph – pure enjoyment.
Key: * anagram; DD double definition; Rev. reverse; underline definition
Across
7 Happy with hook-up? Post on social media (6)
Up (happy) + date (hook-up) = UPDATE
9 Place to observe Ken’s partner taking ecstasy on toilet (8)
Barbie (Ken’s partner) – e (ecstasy) + can (toilet) = BARBICAN
10 Don’t picket, you say? I won’t! (4)
Cryptic definition and homonym of pick it = SCAB
11 Rundown Hilton Hotel lacking robes gets three stars (6,4)
(Hilton – h + robes)* = ORIONS BELT
12 Statue possibly of Greek character included in import (8)
Nu (Greek character) in moment (import) = MONUMENT
14 Digital coverage to be reinforced? (6)
Cryptic definition = TOECAP
15 Local authority depositing gold in branch (7)
OR (gold) in bough (branch) = BOROUGH
17 Bottom line’s about North American military-industrial complex (7)
arse (bottom) + l (line) around na (North American) = ARSENAL
20 Hot cake left out once (6)
stolen (cake) – l (left) = STOLEN
22 Last of veteran Apple Macs is recycled – they’ve no memory left (8)
(e + n + macs + is)* = AMNESICS
24 Spin doctor puts ‘Morph’s a beauty’ before ‘dissolute rake’ (5-5)
I’m a gem (Morph’s a beauty) + (rake)* = IMAGE MAKER
25 Women ensnared by wicked madam (4)
w (women) in bad = BAWD
26 Exercise, gaining weight on diet of fish? (8)
plank (exercise) + ton (weight) = PLANKTON
27 Badgers picked up a sound (6)
Homonym of a noise (a sound) = ANNOYS
Down
1 Film star with no love for costume (4)
Garbo – o (love) = GARB
2 Distant flicker (6)
DD REMOTE
3 Forestall old boy, one getting invite after separation (7)
ob (old boy) + a (one) in-vite = OBVIATE
4 Ruin destroyed a not-unknown Conservative peer (8)
(ruin)* + a + tory (conservative) – y (unknown) = URINATOR
5 Agility of limbs seen flying to catch Australian tail-ender (10)
(limbs + seen + n)* =NIMBLENESS
6 Trouble held up plant (6)
Rev. ail (trouble) + had (held) = DAHLIA
8 Still old officer getting trapped wind (7)
pic (still) + o (old) around col (officer) = PICCOLO
13 Peacekeeping organisation’s soldier invested in diamonds, perhaps – not helpful (10)
UNO (Peacekeeping organisation) + gi (soldier) in bling (diamonds perhaps) = UNOBLIGING
16 Employee of 17 working nights brings in union and head of management (8)
(nights + u + m (head of management))* = GUNSMITH
18 Covered passage from Catholic hymnal initially, having gone outside (7)
away (having gone) around RC (catholic) + h (hymnal initially) = ARCHWAY
19 Cuckoo to exclude monarch (7)
bar (exclude) + king (monarch) = BARKING
21 Old prog rockers met up for church (6)
Rev. ELP (Emerson Lake and Palmer) + met = TEMPLE
23 Neither piece is one of those who famously skewered king (6)
Nor (neither) + man (piece) = NORMAN
25 Count to exclude monarch (4)
ban (exclude) + k (monarch) BANK
Really enjoyed this.
In 26a, plank is an exercise so PLANK + TON
in 10a, the idea is that “don’t picket” sounds like “don’t pick it”.
In 17a, should really say “around na”.
Thanks to Morph and twencelas.
Meant to say that, in 13d, the first bit is UNO for United Nations Organisation. Don’t remember seeing it with the O before but checked it in Chambers.
Don’t recall seeing AMNESIACS without the second A before but again checks out. Didn’t know BAWD but was obvious once I got BANK.
A nice Saturday treat – and I spotted the Nina – and … I’ve smiled a lot too – so a big thank you for Morph for cheering up this grim grey wet morning.
Thanks also to twencelas
Thanks Hovis – I obviously don’t do enough exercise. Have updated the blog accordingly
Really enjoyed all of this, particularly the two monarchs being excluded and the spend-a-penny-drop moment at PEER.
As for the nina, it was for me pretty much the ideal scenario: after keeping a beady eye on the perimeter and seeing nothing I was wondering what might be going on, trusting that Morph is too good and generous a setter to use that grid without a reason. With most answers in place I spotted G_OUND along the top, which helped me to finish. A little further pondering and it all came together with a satisfying clang. A lovely way to finish a lovely solve.
Many thanks Morph and twencelas.
Only saw the theme and Nina on the post solve review, so this probably took longer than it should have. I also spent some time on 21d wondering how on earth a ‘p’ found its way into Electric Light Orchestra.
Plenty to enjoy along the way. I suppose the ‘not-unknown Conservative peer’ is an obvious favourite, but the surface for 9a and BAWD weren’t far behind.
Thank you to Morph and twencelas
Quite a struggle and we only finished with thesaurus and wordfinder help; couldn’t parse PICCOLO or PLANKTON and didn’t think of ‘flicker’ being REMOTE (noun, as in ‘remote control’). Spotted the top row nina but it didn’t click about the stations – probably because we didn’t tackle the puzzle till late.
Thanks, though, to Morph and Twencelas.
If anyones’s still reading this (it’s Monday now), is it coincidence or was the theme deliberately complementary to the Phi puzzle reprinted in the previous Saturday’s i – themed around stations on the Paris Métro?