My apologies for the late posting of the blog today, on what turns out to be a Punk-day rather than a Phi-day!
I found this to be very much at the difficult end of the Indy spectrum and needed a couple of sittings to complete the grid and a third sitting to tease out some of the more elusive wordplay, e.g. at 3 and at 29/10. I am still not sure that I have got the full picture at 8 and 11, so please let me know if I have missed anything here – thank you for the elucidation below! That said, it was a thoroughly entertaining challenge, the kind of puzzle that reminds me of why I enjoy crosswords so much.
I appreciated so much about the puzzle that it is difficult to pick out just a few favourites. I really enjoyed the PDMs at 3 and at 29/10, when I eventually got there; 13D also raised a bit of a smirk.
Incidentally, 9 was a new word for me, which I guessed correctly once I had found a breed of dog that fitted the letters.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 08 | KARDASHIAN | Female fashion icon embodying style and ego?
[DASH (=style) + I (=ego)] in KARAN (=female fashion icon, i.e. US fashion designer Donna Karan (1948-); & lit., referring to e.g. US model and actress Kim Kardashian (1980-), one of the Kardashian sisters |
| 09 | ORZO | Pasta dog’s neither started nor finished
<b>ORZO<i> (=dog); “neither started nor finished” means first and last letter are dropped; orzo is pasta in small pieces, like barley |
| 11 | LEMON | Fruit, certainly not a plum!
Cryptically, a lemon is something worthless, as opposed to a plum, which is something of value or quality |
| 12 | PRIMITIVE | Rough edge in cavity I have
[RIM (=edge) in PIT (=cavity)] + I’VE (=I have) |
| 13/26A | CHICAGO BEARS | Attractive mouth features captivating a US team
A in [CHIC (=attractive) + GOB (=mouth) + EARS (=features, i.e. of face/body)]; the Chicago Bears are a professional American football team |
| 15 | GIDDY UP | On mount get moving, suffering from vertigo?
Cryptically, GIDDY (when) UP (=on high ground) could mean “suffering from vertigo” |
| 16/26D | AN EARLY BATH | Dismissal almost breaking a rugby team
[NEARLY (=almost)] in [A + BATH (=rugby (union) team, i.e. Bath Rugby)]; to take an early bath is to be sent off the football field by the referee, hence “dismissal” |
| 17 | BRASSIE | Club once louder, failing to close
BRASSIE<r> (louder, showier); “failing to close” means last letter is dropped; a brassie is an old-fashioned golf club |
| 20 | BUS PASS | Swimmer defending unique reason for purchasing travel permit
USP (=unique selling point, i.e. unique reason for purchasing) in BASS (=swimmer, i.e. fish) |
| 24 | DRACULA | A character biting ladies usually, initially taken from behind?
[L<adies> U<sually>] in [A CARD (=character, personality)]; “initially” means first letters only; “taken from behind” indicates – here full – reversal; semi & lit., since Dracula bites his female victims! |
| 25 | REDACTION | Leftist fighting process of censorship
RED (=leftist) + ACTION (=fighting, war) |
| 28 | OSLO | Characters regularly found in Goa, seldom capital city
<g>O<a> S<e>L<d>O<m>; “characters regularly found” means alternate letters only |
| 29/10 | FLIGHTLESS BIRD | One permanently grounded, somewhat clear-headed, or somewhat bemused?
Hidden (“somewhat”) in “cleR–HEAded” and in “bEMUsed” are examples of two flightless birds! Flightless birds are “permanently grounded”, since they cannot take off and fly! |
| Down | ||
| 01 | SKOL | Beauty rising up, though heart forgotten – that’s your health!
LO<o>KS (=beauty); “heart forgotten” means middle letter is dropped; Skol! and Your health! are both toasts |
| 02 | TRAMLINE | Track I learnt about features mandolin, primarily
M<andolin> (“primarily” means first letter only) in *(I LEARNT); “about” is anagram indicator |
| 03 | PAWN | Man of lowest value – the other shot, did you say?
Homophone (“did you say?”) of “porn” (the other – i.e. sex – shot, i.e. on film); the pawn is the piece of lowest value in chess |
| 04 | RHAPSODY | Hardy struggling to comprehend power like that in epic poem
[P (=power) + SO (=like that)] in *(HARDY); “struggling” is anagram indicator; a rhapsody is an epic poem recited by a rhapsode in Ancient Greece |
| 05 | JAWING | Gossip as Triumph overtaken by another car?
WIN (=triumph, victory) in JAG (=another car, i.e. Jaguar) |
| 06 | BRAINY | Bright, but originally wet
B<ut> (“originally” means first letter only) + RAINY (=wet) |
| 07 | COLEOPTERA | Labouring, create pool for beetles
*(CREATE POOL); “labouring” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | CHAMBER POT | Where movement performed by orchestra in adaptation of Macbeth
RPO (=orchestra, i.e. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) in *(MACBETH); “adaptation of” is anagram indicator; a chamber pot is where a bowel movement takes place, a motion is passed |
| 14 | AIR | Express leaders in actuality, irresponsible rubbish
A<ctuality> I<rresponsible> R<ubbish>; “leaders in” means first letters only |
| 17 | BADINAGE | Wordplay outrageous in time
BAD (=outrageous) + IN + AGE (=time); badinage is banter, repartee |
| 18 | AGA | Once more lacking in range
AGA<in> (=once more); “lacking in” means letters “in” are dropped; an aga is a range for cooking |
| 19 | SAUSAGES | Meat consumption in special unit
USAGE (=consumption) in SAS (=special unit, i.e. Special Air Services of the British Army) |
| 21 | SOD ALL | Indian dish eaten by one tailless duck, perhaps?
DAL (=Indian dish, a purée of pulses) in SOL<e> (=one; “tailless” means last letter dropped); a duck is a zero score in cricket, hence “sod all” |
| 22 | ARCH | Curve, one of twelve not reaching top
<m>ARCH (=one of twelve, i.e. a month); “not reaching top” means first letter is dropped |
| 23 | SHIELD | Protect son in custody? One incarcerated
S (=son) + [I (=one) in HELD (=in custody)] |
| 27 | SASH | Band is obliged to stand, welcoming soprano
S (=soprano) in SAH (HAS (to)=is obliged (to); “to stand” indicates vertical reversal); a sash is a band of cloth |
Found this very hard. Failed to parse KARDASHIAN and had to cheat on ORZO, not knowing the pasta or the dog.
Don’t see “on mount” as double duty in 15a. Suffering from vertigo is giddy (when) up. Strictly speaking you can suffer vertigo at any height but it is mostly known in regards to dizziness caused from being high up. Also, I felt the clue for DRACULA was a full &lit. He usually bit women on the neck from behind (may be wrong on that).
All in all, a very enjoyable outing from Punk. Thanks also to RatkojaRiku.
Quite a tough one but still fun. The beetles were unknown but seemed the likeliest ordering of the letters once the checkers were in place. I think the missing part of the 8A parsing is that Donna KARAN is a fashion designer. Thanks Punk and RatkojaRiku.
Thanks Querulous. Thought there must be some such Karan, but never heard of her.
Definitely a two-session puzzle today, but we got it all though unable to parse some answers, and we did have to look up a list of pasta types for 9ac. We liked CHICAGO BEARS and AN EARLY BATH, but favourite was GIDDY UP.
Thanks, Punk and RatkojaRiku.
Defeated by this. SKOL, KARDASHIAN and ORZO missed and quite a few others unparsed. I did like AN EARLY BATH and JAWING.
Definitely at the harder end of the Punk (Paul) spectrum. And The Times one for the same day as this was just as difficult, if not more so. Ah, the joys of doing cryptics.
Thanks to Punk and RR
Many thanks to Hovis and Querulous for your input – I have updated the blog accordingly.
Surely in 15A GIDDY UP is what is said to a horse to get (it) moving when one is “up” (describing one mounted [on a horse]).