Phew this was tough! Very enjoyable but the name Io still strikes fear into a blogger’s heart. This time I got away with it, but only just!
I am away up in the Highlands today but will try and get back to the blog if I can get a signal. Thanks Io.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PREDICTABLE | Broken bit replaced, as you would expect (11) |
| anagram (broken) of BIT REPLACED | ||
| 8 | RYE | Reportedly bitter grain (3) |
| sounds like (reportedly) “wry” (bitter) | ||
| 9 | EURUS | Chauffeur used to repress wind (5) |
| found inside (repressed by) chauffEUR USed – the east wind | ||
| 10 | INEPT | Unsuitable – it’s what writer’s turned in (5) |
| IT contains (has…in) PEN (what writer’s, what a writer has) | ||
| 12 | OLENT | Carrying a bouquet, having half heeded the advice of Polonius? (5) |
| O LENT (having lent nothing) – in Hamlet half of Polonius’s advice to Laertes: neither a borrower nor a lender be | ||
| 13 | FOOL’S MATE | Fruity things do it, achieving premature climax (5,4) |
| FOOLS (fruity things, desserts) then MATE (do it, have sex) – a very quick defeat in chess | ||
| 14 | INTACT | Perfect diplomat so schooled? (6) |
| a diplomat is schooled in tact | ||
| 15 | BALMIEST | Timbales freshly prepared, aromatic in the extreme (8) |
| anagram (freshly prepared) of TIMBALES | ||
| 18 | THE BLUES | Depressed individuals at home in Chelsea (3,5) |
| double definition, depressed people are blue, where The Blues (Chelsea football) play at home | ||
| 20 | ON EDGE | Tense, not yet having been invited into the circle? (2,4) |
| double definition | ||
| 23 | BERYLLIUM | 2 #4, rely on manoeuvring 2 #3 in behind (9) |
| anagram (on manoeuvring) of RELY LI (Li, Lithium element number 3) in BUM (behind) – Beryllium is element number 4 | ||
| 25 | ELVER | Youngster in Anguilla always carrying a meal ticket (5) |
| E’ER (always) contains LV (Luncheon Voucher, meal ticket) – a young Anguilla (ell) | ||
| 26 | ETHER | 3: odd number (5) |
| anagram (odd) of THREE – something that numbs | ||
| 27 | HYTHE | This Kent port’s the reason, therefore, for undressing? (5) |
| wHY THe (the reason therefore) missing outside letters (undressing) | ||
| 28 | DAD | Pop band at last on bill (3) |
| banD (last letter of) on AD (advert, bill) | ||
| 29 | HEROIC VERSE | Form for poet’s cover is redesigned in here (6,5) |
| anagram (redesigned) of COVER IS inside HERE | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PERIODIC TABLE | What’s 1 across about me changing rhenium to erbium? (8,5) |
| PreDICTABLE (1 across) contains IO (me, the setter) changing RE (Re rhenium) to ER (Er, erbium) – the periodic table is predictable, it is the grouping that best predicts the chemical properties of the elements | ||
| 2 | ELEMENT | Three successive characters overlooking time factor (7) |
| EL EM EN (LMN, three successive characters) on (overlooking) T (time) | ||
| 3 | IDENTICAL | All the same, Iceland must work to keep it up (9) |
| anagram (must work) of ICELAND containing IT reversed (up) | ||
| 4 | THRIFT | Serious break in relations underlies shortfall in the economy (6) |
| RIFT (serious break in relations) follows (underlies in a down solution) THe (shortfall in, not all the letters) | ||
| 5 | BESTOWAL | Giving first love rules to go over (8) |
| BEST (first) O (love) then LAW (rules) reversed (to go over) | ||
| 6 | E-FITS | Fishiest suspect picked up from his —–? (1-4) |
| anagram (suspect) of FishIEST missing HIS (the remaining letters picked up leaving his?) – the —– indicates there is no definition but the solution fits into the clue here | ||
| 7 | MENAGE | Husbands will oversee mature housekeeping (6) |
| MEN (husbands) on top of (will oversee) AGE (mature) | ||
| 11 | TRESTLE BRIDGE | Spanner – item that tightens up rib replacing base of lock (7,6) |
| TRESs (lock) with BELT (item that tightens) reversed (up) RIDGE (rib) replacing the last letter (base of) – something that spans across | ||
| 16 | See 22 | |
| 17 | PERISHER | Flibbertigibbet who’s done for? (8) |
| double definition – a flighty person, a dying person | ||
| 19 | EARTHY | Material – not spiritual – once your attention takes priority (6) |
| THY (your, once) follows (with…taking priority) EAR (attention) | ||
| 21 | DIVIDER | Partition I see clamped by GP (7) |
| I VIDE (see, Latin) in DR (doctor, GP) | ||
| 22, 16 | DMITRI MENDELEEV | 2 21 bringing order with a little bit of method (6,9) |
| anagram (bringing order) of ELEMENT DIVIDER and Method (first letter, a little bit of) – definition is &lit, vaguely | ||
| 24 | LURCH | Stagger macabre family man (5) |
| a macabre of the macabre Adams Family | ||
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.
I really enjoyed this – I got on quite well but was left with the one I couldn’t investigoogle as I knew if I entered the last two words of 13a, I probably wouldn’t get the answer I wanted
I liked the mini-theme, 1d being marked as a favourite – I also liked 18a and 24d
Thanks to both IO for a rare treat (come back again soon) and to PeeDee for the blog.
13 is a classic. Great puzzle on the more accessible end of the maestro’s range. Chemistry degree hauled up from the deep.Loved it.
thanks JH and :Peedee
For 27a I think you meant to write (w)HY THE(n)
IO doesn’t mess about, does he?
Rock hard from start to finish. My finish was E-FITS & I’m still not sure how it works.
60-odd years ago Tom Lehrer prefaced his song ‘The Elements’ with the words ‘Here’s a thing some of you may find useful in a somewhat bizarre set of circumstances…’ and having learnt that song for professional reasons I have today finally found that other bizarre use.
I had to blog an IO a while back and he beat me hollow so I was determined to finish this and wasn’t ashamed to use all the help I could get.
Never mind. Much beauty in there. Great puzzle. Thanks to both.
Complete and all correct, although not without help, but as usual with JH I gave up trying to parse a couple.
Thanks Io and PeeDee
Actually did this on the day and found it at the easier end of his toughy scale, but still way off most other setter’s ones ! Needed quite a bit of help from the reference pool to get there though.
What is the standout feature of his puzzles is that there is never any ambiguity of what the answer is or how you derive it from the word play – he is a master setter.
The only clue that I couldn’t parse was seeing the ‘reaso therefore’ part of HYTHE.
Finished with THRIFT and the tricky FOOL’S MATE.
Thanks to PeeDee and Io
I enjoy this setter,in all his guises, but occasionally I think he pushes the boundaries a little too far:
20a the second definition I can only see giving “on THE edge”
25a the genus is Anguilla Anguilla. If we allow that it can be shortened to Anguilla then I think it should be OF rather than IN
1d WHAT’S PREDICTABLE is far too vague for a definition (and PREDICTABLE is doubling up)
6d PICKED UP serves the surface only. Cryptically, the clue works better without it, or perhaps with SEEN IN instead of PICKED UP FROM
7d HUSBANDS needn’t be men (and men needn’t be husbands)
17d Flibbertigibbet does not mean PERISHER
22/16d I’d say there was rather a lot of METHOD so, as you say, &lit vaguely
@18a I saw it as either a CD, or DEPRESSED + INDIVIDUALS AT HOME IN CHELSEA