Serpent has certainly put me through my paces on this Tuesday morning.
And I have to say that he has had the last laugh, since I don’t understand the wordplay at 23 or the “gets turned down” part of the wordplay at 5A. I am looking to other solvers for enlightenment on these, and perhaps other, points – blog amended accordingly, thank you! I also struggled to unpick the wordplay at 15 and 22, but I think that I got there in the end.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and found so much in it to admire – it is rare that I tick quite so many clues as I work through a puzzle. My favourites today were the two & lit. clues at 14 and 26; 1D, 6, 11, 21 and 29, all for surface reading; as well as 4 and 16, for both surface and original subtraction indicators.
I haven’t spotted a theme here, but I think we solvers have been well served today even without one! It turns out that we got both, only your blogger missed the topical Nina around the perimeter of the 13×13 grid – APRIL IS THE CRUELLEST MONTH. In any case, tomorrow sees the start of a new month …
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | DISTORT | Misrepresent lives in Communist Germany following revolution
IS (=lives, exists) in [DTORT (TROT (=Communist, i.e. Trotskyite) + D (=Germany, in IVR); “following revolution” indicates reversal)] |
| 05 | DEADPAN | Blank cheque finally accepted by old man gets turned down
[<chequ>E (“finally” means last letter only) in DAD (=old man, one’s father)] + PAN (NAP=down, on surface of cloth; “gets turned” indicates reversal) |
| 09 | SHIFTLESS | Idle and out of work for some time?
Cryptically, someone with no shifts to work could be described “shiftless” |
| 10 | BURST | Fit, other than having case of rickets
R<icket>S (“case of” means first and last letters only) in BUT (=apart from, except, as in All but two voted yes); “fit” here is a noun, as in a fit of coughing |
| 11 | ATTACK | Forward line contained by great tackling
Hidden (“contained by”) in “greAT TACKling” |
| 12 | VENDETTA | Feud‘s conclusion welcomed by ex-serviceman with cheers
END (=conclusion) in [VET (=ex-serviceman, i.e. veteran) + TA (=cheers, thank you)] |
| 14 | ENDEARMENT | Some sort of tender name?
*(TENDER NAME); “some sort of” is anagram indicator; & lit. |
| 16 | ACHE | Long envelope’s unsealed
<s>ACHE<t> (=envelope); “unsealed” means first and last letters are dropped |
| 18/25 | COCA-COLA | Beverage company receiving backing from state and from city
[CO (=company) + CA (=state, i.e. California)] + [CO (=company) + LA (=city, i.e. Los Angeles)] |
| 19 | COUNSELLED | Advised rotten scoundrel harbouring the French Resistance to leave
LE (=the French, i.e. a French word for the) in *(SCOUND<r>EL); “Resistance (=R, in electronics) to leave” means letter “r” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “rotten” |
| 22 | IMMODEST | Improper way or working to obtain money? That is stealing
[M (=money) in MO (=way of working, i.e. modus operandi)] in ID EST (=that is, i.e.) |
| 23 | DEFACE | Disfigure boss twice
DEF and ACE are both synonyms for the colloquial term “boss” meaning excellent |
| 26 | ATOLL | Island forming a ring
A + TOLL (=ring, as in For Whom the Bell Tolls); & lit. |
| 27 | BOOKSTORE | Shop apparently arranges rent in advance
BOOKS (=arranges in advance) + TORE (=rent, as verb) |
| 28 | OVERDUE | Finished piece of music out of time and late
OVER (=finished) + DUE<t> (=piece of music; “out of time (=T)” means letter “t” is dropped) |
| 29 | AUDITED | Checked terms of contract we signed on car
AUDI (=car) + <contrac>T <w>E <signe>D (“terms of” means last letters only) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | DISEASE | Dies horribly at sea after contracting scurvy?
*(DIES) + A<t> SE<a> (“contracting” here means last letter of each is dropped); “horribly” is anagram indicator |
| 02 | SAINT | Good woman is not supportive of son
S (=son) + AIN’T (=is not) |
| 03 | OPTICIAN | Whisky supplier partners Scotsman who supplies glasses
OPTIC (=whisky “supplier”, i.e. in bar) + IAN (=Scotsman) |
| 04 | TREE | Large plant obscuring both sides of road
<s>TREE<t> (=road); “obscuring both sides” means first and last letters are dropped |
| 05 | DISCERNING | Particular record getting on radio
DISC (=record) + homophone (“on radio”) of “earning (=getting)” |
| 06 | ALBEDO | Reflecting power of English to stop loony left of Labour Party
E (=English) in [*(LAB<our>) + DO (=party, function)]; “left of” means first 3 letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “loony”; in physics, albedo is the reflecting power of an object, e.g. a planet |
| 07 | PIRATICAL | Capital Radio is initially broadcast like Radio Caroline was?
*(CAPITAL + R<adio> I<s>); “initially” means first letters only are needed in anagram, indicated by “broadcast”; Radio Caroline was formerly a British offshore pirate radio station |
| 08 | NUTCASE | Fruitcake can’t use bananas
*(CAN’T USE); “bananas” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | IMPOSSIBLE | Author’s on some kind of mission
I’M (=author’s, i.e. of this puzzle) + POSSIBLE (=on, as in A win today is on) |
| 15 | DECOMPOSE | Break down part of course incorporating on-line learning environment
[E (=on-line, as in e-trade) + COMP (=learning environment, i.e. comprehensive school)] in DOSE (=part of course, e.g. of antibiotics) |
| 17 | RELEASED | 24 let out and set free
RE (=about, i.e. entry at 24) + LEASED (=let out, of property) |
| 18 | CHICAGO | Fashionable area to work in city
CHIC (=fashionable) + A (=area) + GO (=work, function) |
| 20 | DEEP END | Writer caught in act could be drowning not waving here
PEN (=writer) in DEED (=act) |
| 21 | ADDLED | Having spurned society, lumbered off
<s>ADDLED (with) (=lumbered (with)); “spurning society (=S)” means letter “s” is dropped |
| 24 | ABOUT | Answer 10 or 11 approximately
A (=answer, as in Q&As) + BOUT (=burst or attack, i.e. entries at 10 and 11) |
A knotty one to be sure, I too wait for enlightenment on DEADPAN.
With DEFACE I settled for DEF and ACE both being slang for excellent or ‘BOSS’. The Urban dictionary would seem to bear this out.
Thanks to serpent and RR
Thanks, RatkojaRiku. There’s a Nina (which helped a lot because I spotted it early.) “April is the cruellest month.”
NAP (down, as in wooly surface) is turned.
I parsed DEFACE as Doofs@1 and DEADPAN as NeilW@2. Missed the nina. Serpent, I think, used this device of a nina running along the outside of the inner 13 by 13 block before but I still missed it so thanks for the heads up Neil.
Fantastic crossword with lots of well worded clues and lots to make my brain hurt. Wasn’t entirely convinced with the “for some time” in 9a and the “not waving” in 20d. Maybe I’m missing something? Forgot terms = terminals idea in 29a so failed to parse the TED part.
Thanks to Serpent and RatkojaRiku.
I didn’t find this half as brain-hurty as I’d expect from Serpent. Finished before I was supposed to start work, I spotted the Nina, and I enjoyed the solve
Thanks to setter and blogger
Not quite as tough as yesterday, but still a challenge and we needed a bit of help. Some great misdirections for example in 5ac we thought ‘blank’ meant first and letters of ‘cheque’ and ‘finally’ referred to ‘accepted’ and we were looking for something meaning ‘turned down’ till crossing letters pointed us in the right direction. Missed the nina, but what’s new?
Plenty to like, though. Favourites included ENDEARMENT, OPTICIAN and NUTCASE.
Thanks, Serpent and RatkojaRiku.
This was hard work but rewarding to solve. I thought the ‘way of working’ was MODE, which ruined my attempt to parse IMMODEST. I didn’t know boss = excellent, although it is in Collins. I’m not sure of the need for ‘in advance’ in 27A or ‘not waving’ in 20D. Perhaps someone can clarify.
I, of course, missed the NINA – very clever!
I especially liked DISTORT, DISEASE, DEADPAN, COUNSELLED, AUDITED and ALBEDO.
Thanks Serpent and RR
NeilW@2well spotted! There’ salways something going on in a Serpent puzzle and its getting difficult to spot.
Thanks to Serpent and RR
Very enjoyable. Failed with albedo (DNK) and as a result failed on burst because I had
“ _ _ R _T” and convinced myself that “other than” represented “OR” so was looking for
“_ OR_T” The only endiable word fitting that would be WORST which of course wouldn’t parse so a DNF for me.
Many thanks Serpent and RatkojaRiku
“Sensible” Have no idea where “endiable” came from 🙂
5 across, DEADPAN: My ancient Chambers: “nap” – “a downy covering or surface on anything”. Apologies if anyone has beaten me to this.
Completed the top half without too much difficulty, but guessed quite a lot in the bottom half, not able to satisfactorily parse everything, especially 23a.
Failed to spot the Nina, as per usual.
Two days in a row I couldn’t finish. I’m blaming the cold I came down with at the weekend.
In 20D the “not waving but drowning” references the title of a well-known (I thought) poem by Stevie Smith.
Thanks gwep.
Many thanks to RatkojaRiku for the excellent blog, and to everyone who took the time to comment – I do really appreciate the feedback.
Thanks to gwep @13 for identifying the reference in 20d (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_Waving_but_Drowning).
Robi@5 I not only think 27A works without IN ADVANCE but actually doesn’t work with it.
As well as the poetical refrence I thought the NOT WAVING quite appropriate for DEEP END – still waters and all that.