Armonie starts off the week with a gentle challenge.
A couple of clues required a bit more thought, such as THESPIAN, ILLICIT, TREMOR, LEAD. However mostly a straightforward puzzle to kick off the week. Had not seen R for “road” before (20d) but otherwise all quite easy with a few quite familiar clues. Still, as always, a great way to start the day! Thank you to Armonie.
Across
1 The player is the one in a tizzy (8)
THESPIAN
THE + A (one) in a SPIN (tizzy)
5 Red newt found in resting place (6)
LEFTIE
EFT (newt) found in LIE (resting place)
9 European operation creates discharge (8)
EMISSION
E (European) + MISSION (operation)
10 Murmur lovingly to young pet that’s shut in (4,2)
COOP UP
COO (murmur lovingly) to PUP (young pet)
12 Ring Cliff for trophy (5)
OSCAR
O (ring) + SCAR (cliff)
13 Ruth uses a different reference book (9)
THESAURUS
(RUTH USES A)* (*different)
14 Study the odds before broadcast (6)
SPREAD
READ (study) + SP (the odds, starting price) before
16 Flaw in the German fishing boat (7)
DRIFTER
RIFT (flaw) in DER (the, German)
19 Wrongfully in charge? It’s criminal! (7)
ILLICIT
ILL (wrongfully) + IC (in charge) + IT
21 Frank practises with tenor (6)
HONEST
HONES (practices) with T (tenor)
23 Staff measure journey time (9)
ENTOURAGE
EN (measure) + TOUR (journey) + AGE (time)
25 Chesterfield’s right up to now (2,3)
SO FAR
SOFA (Chesterfield) + R (right)
26 Highwayman has power in Italian city (6)
TURPIN
P (power) in TURIN (Italian city)
27 Happen space traveller has regret (4,4)
COME TRUE
COMET (space traveller) + RUE (regret)
28 Soldiers consider rescue (6)
REDEEM
RE (soldiers) + DEEM (consider)
29 Books popular present first? That’s natural! (8)
INHERENT
NT (books, New Testament) + IN (popular) + HERE (present) first
Down
1 Cliff keeps touching maiden producing a feeling of excitement (6)
TREMOR
TOR (cliff) keeps RE (touching) + M (maiden)
2 By mistake spoil cape of a bishop (9)
EPISCOPAL
(SPOIL CAPE)* (*by mistake)
3 Exhibitionist is a conundrum (5)
POSER
Double definition
4 Chose odd pet – a mongrel (7)
ADOPTED
(ODD PET A)* (*mongrel)
6 A spell in eastern mission (9)
EVOCATION
E (Eastern) + VOCATION (mission)
7 Come to a point where monarch supports recording (5)
TAPER
R (monarch) supports TAPE (recording)
8 Old Italian banker certain of public attention (8)
EXPOSURE
EX (old) + PO (Italian banker) + SURE (certain)
11 Live wire (4)
LEAD
Double definition
(as in to “lead” ones life)
15 Unknown Tory in baffling exposé (9)
EXCLUSIVE
X (unknown) + C (Tory) in ELUSIVE (baffling)
17 Working party in time demand chief engineer (4,5)
TASK FORCE
T (time) + ASK (demand) + FORCE (engineer)
18 Clergyman supports detective being on board (8)
DIRECTOR
RECTOR (clergyman) supports DI (detective)
20 Dash for a drink on the road (4)
TEAR
TEA (a drink) on the R (road)
21 Dance till prostrate (7)
HOE DOWN
HOE (till) + DOWN (prostrate)
22 Father interferes, given time (6)
PRIEST
PRIES (interferes) given T (time)
24 Tibetan leaders embarrassed and worn out (5)
TIRED
TI[betan] (leaders) + RED (embarassed)
25 Foreigner is initially Sheffield United player (5)
SWEDE
S[heffield] (initially) + WED (united) + E (player, in Bridge)
Can’t believe I missed the parsing for 1a. Couldn’t see how SPAN could equate to TIZZY. Then thought “in a tizzy” could give IAN but this didn’t work. Never thought of A not I for “one”. Drat!
Cannot find R for ROAD (20d) in any of my references.
I had parsed TAPER as TAP + ER (as in tapping a phone).
Took me a while to think how LEAD could equate to LIVE.
Didn’t think this was that gentle for a Monday but all the better for that. Thanks to Armonie and Teacow.
Nice Monday puzzle. thanks all.
Bad day at the office.
All was well until I came to parse SWEDE and completely missed WED as ‘united’. Laughable incompetence. I actually Googled ‘Wede’ as a possible Man U player.
Sometimes, one wishes one wasn’t wasting one’s own valuable time in these pointless daily humiliations.
But only sometimes.
Thanks to both.
For 17D I used ASK FOR for demand and CE for Chief Engineer.
Aid @4, I had thought FORCE for engineer in the sense of engineering a set of circumstances, but on second thoughts your parsing does seem more plausible.
I also had the same parsing for 17d as aid@4. Didn’t notice blog was different.
Thanks to Armonie and Teacow. Very enjoyable though I never got the live = lead connection.
And I never got R = road.
Utterly ridiculous.
Thanks Armonie and Teacow
With at least 14 instances of the usage of a single letter abbreviation, the statistics would probably hold that there would be at least one contentions one. Apart from those, I quite enjoyed the easier solve to flip through a rapidly growing backlog !
Similarly to Grant@3, I wasn’t able to parse SWEDE.
Finished in the SW corner with EXCLUSIVE, ILLICT and TURPIN the last few in.