O Serpent, have you fooled me this time. I’m well used to there being a theme in a Serpent puzzle, and well-used to missing them, which I don’t usually worry about. But as I’m on blogging duty I will be pretty cheesed off if there is a theme here – I’ve been looking and looking but cannot see anything. I bet I’ve missed something …
When solving I thought there might be a theme about online things, world wide web, etc. but that seems to be limited to the clues and then only a few of them. I had been reading about the web now being 30 years old recently so was probably sensitive to that.
This grid design gives a large number of lights, 32, but it is generous in that 20 of them have a crossing first letter which I always find a great help. So I was very pleased to get one of the edge answers first – 8d SCOTER. Mind you the other 3 didn’t fall till much later and for 5a POSITS I needed all the crossing letters (indeed it was my penultimate answer).
Only a handful on the first pass, the majority solved through a long main stretch but I was left with 3 I couldn’t fathom and had to leave it a while to come back to fresh before they were understood.
13A was my favourite clue. Sufficiently convoluted wordplay suitable for the answer, CIPHER.
Small gripe: In 28A I did not like the use of online in isolation to deliver an “E” in the wordplay. There have been clues successfully using “E-something” (example: Sad song over online network (5) = Dirge) but in 28’s clue animosity is the definition.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CEASED | Terminated facility to enter data store (6) EASE (facility) inside CD (data store) |
| 5 | POSITS | Assumes arrest protects lives? Just the reverse! (6) IS (lives) inside STOP (arrest) all reversed |
| 10 | CREED | Principles safeguarded by mediocre education (5) Hidden inside medioCRE EDucation. Hidden indicator: safeguarded. First one solved – somehow I found the hidden indicator a bit of a give away |
| 11 | STABILISE | One lies drunk following attempt to get on an even keel (9) STAB (try) I (one) LIES* AInd: drunk |
| 12 | TRACTION | Drawing in pamphlet about gaining independence (8) I[ndependence] inside TRACT (pamphlet) and ON (about) |
| 13 | CIPHER | Internet Protocol they exposed in kernel of secret code (6) IP (Internet Protocol) [t]HE[y] (they, exposed – “unclothed” of its outer letters) inside CR (kernel of seCRet – they innermost letters). |
| 15 | RAIL | Bird‘s footprints not close to nest (4) [t]RAIL (footprints – [nes]T) |
| 16 | ALLOCATION | Allotment using borders of agricultural site (10) A[gricultura]L LOCATION (site) |
| 19 | FINITENESS | Able to take in damaged sense’s limiting condition (10) IN inside FIT (able) then SENSE* AInd: damaged |
| 20 | TEST | Rich and famous wanting French author to return tax (4) [je]T SET all reversed. “Jet set” from rich and famous; JE from French author, i.e. I Last one in: Test is not the first word I think of for Tax |
| 23 | BITING | Cold can drunk by giant (6) TIN (can) inside BIG (giant) |
| 25 | LIBERATE | Dead pianist’s about to be replaced by tenor for free (8) LIBERACE (dead pianist) swap out C (about) put in T[enor] |
| 27 | FORMATION | Institution‘s behaviour helping head to go (9) FORM (behaviour) [r]ATION (helping, beheaded) |
| 28 | SPITE | Son upset about online animosity (5) S[on] TIP< (upset, about) E (online). |
| 29 | FENDER | Criminal letting go of guard (6) [of]FENDER |
| 30 | RANGED | Risk having case overturned or extended (6) DANGER (risk) with its case (outermost letters) D and R swapped (overturned) |
| Down | ||
| 2 | ELEVATION | High point at one live broadcast (9) (AT ONE LIVE)* AInd: broadcast |
| 3 | SEDATE | Calm witness takes in court briefly (6) DAT[e] (court, briefly) inside SEE (witness) |
| 4 | DESPOILING | Devastating shot posing naked yields (10) (POSING [y]IELD[s])* AInd: shot |
| 5 | PEAT | Vegetable matter burnt in the end (4) PEA (vegetable, or vegetable matter) [burn]T I didn’t notice while solving but now I realise this clue is &lit |
| 6 | SCIMITAR | Cliff accepts my arrogant claim for weapon (8) I’M IT (my arrogant claim) inside SCAR (cliff) |
| 7 | THIGH | Joint of meat that’s slightly off (5) T[hat’s] (that’s, slightly) HIGH (off) |
| 8 | SCOTER | Escort lame duck (6) (ESCORT)* AInd: lame |
| 9 | NEURON | Cell‘s nucleus missing from elementary component (6) NEU[t]RON (elementary particle, missing its centre) |
| 14 | DOG’S DINNER | Setter could have prepared this mess (4,6) Double def. One literal (if impossible) the other metaphorical |
| 17 | ITERATIVE | Critical MP being replaced by Tory leader bears repeating (9) IMPERATIVE (critical) with MP swapped out for T[ory] |
| 18 | STANDARD | Stock trader ultimately assuming publicity will prop up market position (8) [trade]R inside AD (publicity), underneath (will prop up) STAND (market position) |
| 19 | FOB OFF | Foist Foreign Office onto expert that’s not elected (3,3) F.O. BOFF[in] (expert, lose “IN” (elected)) |
| 21 | TEETER | Move with little assurance right after support almost doubled (6) R[ight] after TEE TE[e] (support, doubled, almost) |
| 22 | REASON | Crime having no lead or motive (6) [t]REASON (crime, no lead) |
| 24 | TERSE | Short contribution to poster session (5) Hidden inside posTER SEssion |
| 26 | LIAR | Storyteller needing money to change hands (4) RIAL (money) swap R and L (change hands) |
I hope there isn’t too much needs fixing in this blog because I’ll be out for most of the day – you may guess where – taking a very slow shuffle in central London with a flag about a million other people, again.
The theme would seem to be that all the across answers can be preceded by DE.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Would never have finished without cheating if I had not spotted the theme. It particularly helped in getting TEST which still needed some thought to parse. So used to French author being Camus. A few other clues were designed to send us solvers off in the wrong direction, e.g. 5a suggesting a word for ‘lives’ around a word for ‘arrest’. Kudos to beermagnet in solving without spotting the theme and many thanks, as always, to Serpent.
I’m an oldie, but I do think that clues like 25 across are rather unfair on younger solvers who will never have heard of this bloke and his candelabras.
A good Saturday test; thanks Hovis for pointing out the theme.
I particularly liked TEST, FENDER and DESPOILING. I’m not sure that I like ‘that’s slightly’ meaning T (?)
Thanks Serpent and beermagnet.
We got there in the end with a little help from a thesaurus, but no outright cheating. 5ac held us up for ages, “just the reverse” had us trying to find something meaning ‘arrest’ inside ‘is’ rather than looking for a simple reversal. And we had to biff TEST from the definition with no idea how to parse it; we were trying to think of French authors suach as Gide, Hugo, Verne, etc. Doh! Never spotted the theme, of course.
Thanks, Serpent and beermagnet.
Defeated me. Got about half of it.
Hats off to Hovis!
And Serpent and beermagnet.
Thanks to beermagnet and Serpent
Very fine crossword. I was on the lookout for a theme, as I read the blog intro on the home page before solving but it passed me by, so well spotted Hovis. It took me a little while to see the pronunciation, (and even existence of), debiting, though.