A well crafted puzzle by Phi of very high quality. This was much more accessible than last Monday’s puzzle (no obscure bands, at any rate) but still required a lot of careful thought to decrypt all the clues.
| Across | ||
| 1 | FRANC | Old money was in operation in soccer team (5) |
| Ran in FC | ||
| 4 | ROAST BEEF | What could be best for centrepiece of meal? (5,4) |
| This is an &lit of (best for [m]ea[l])* | ||
| 9 | ABDUCTION | Carrying away bond in sale (9) |
| B(on)d in auction | ||
| 10 | EMOJI | Iconic symbol that is backed after intervention by second judge (5) |
| I.E.< around mo(ment) + j(udge) | ||
| 11 | SANDCASTLE | Keep expecting to get lost in the main (10) |
| CD. Nice idea but, if I were being very picky, I might question whether a keep is the same as a castle, since technically it’s only a part of a castle. | ||
| 12 | BELL | Corporation curtailed alarm (4) |
| Bell[y] | ||
| 14 | MESSAGE | Hard to avoid network discerning some information… (7) |
| Mes[h] + sage | ||
| 16 | PLANET | …favoured involving network to supply orbiter (6) |
| Pet around LAN (Local Area Network) | ||
| 17 | CRU | Some wine is mostly rubbish (3) |
| Cru[d] | ||
| 19 | DEFEAT | Scoff after remarkable thrashing (6) |
| Eat(=scoff) after def, which is short for definitely and often used as a slang term for execellent or amazing. | ||
| 20 | LESOTHO | Vibrant hotels seen around old country (7) |
| Hotels* around o(ld) | ||
| 22 | WORD | Controversy backing Duke’s command (4) |
| Row< + D(uke) | ||
| 23 | HONOURABLE | Put in difficult position, our entering nick is worthy of respect (10) |
| (Our in nab) in hole | ||
| 27 | LA MER | Work by Debussy set in Central America (2,3) |
| Hidden in centraL AMERica | ||
| 28 | CRAFTSMAN | Airmen in court: NCO and an artificer (9) |
| RAF in ct + SM(Sergeant Major) + an | ||
| 29 | MONASTERY | Little hesitation probing doctor attached to unpleasant religious institution (9) |
| Er in (MO + nasty) | ||
| 30 | CHILD | Tot with ice? Not the French style (5) |
| Chil[le]d | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | FEARSOME | Stormy sea – for me – is frightful (8) |
| (Sea for me)* | ||
| 2 | AUDEN | Poet university engaged in a study (5) |
| U(niversity) in a den – WH Auden | ||
| 3 | COCKCHAFER | Male home help grabbing iron to do for beetle (10) |
| Cock + char around fe | ||
| 4 | REINSPECT | Controls dog, say, around college? Go over again (9) |
| Reins(=controls) + pet(=dog, say) around c(ollege) | ||
| 5 | ANNUL | Cancel article on Northern Line after intervention by head of Underground (5) |
| An + N(orthern) l(ine) around U[nderground] | ||
| 6 | TREK | Long journey ends in disappointment for the monk (4) |
| Last letters of disappointmenT foR thE monK | ||
| 7 | ELOPEMENT | Bolting heating component will involve a little work (9) |
| Element around op | ||
| 8 | FAIRLY | More or less shrewd in demeanour? On the contrary (6) |
| Air in fly, the order suggested by the first part of the clue being reversed by the second. | ||
| 13 | SANSKRITIC | Nicks sitar badly? Such language in India (10) |
| (Nicks sitar)* | ||
| 15 | STEERSMAN | One guides cattle, a substantial number with tail docked (9) |
| Steers(=cattle) + man[y] | ||
| 16 | PULMONARY | Turned up with normal throbbing and unknown quantity affecting the lungs (9) |
| Up< + normal* + Y | ||
| 18 | GOVERNED | Girl, initially no longer missing Edward, kept controlled (8) |
| G(irl) + over (as in “I’m over it now”) + Ned | ||
| 21 | GWILYM | Welshman, cunning, interrupting last two-thirds of meeting (6) |
| Very much my LOI, partly because of the tricky spelling. It’s wily in [A]GM. | ||
| 24 | ON CUE | Formerly accommodating Unionist when required (2,3) |
| Once around U(nionist) | ||
| 25 | BAMBI | Disney film on showing varying sexuality is a hoax (5) |
| Bam + bi(-sexual), although bam is not a word I’ve seen used in this context before. | ||
| 26 | IRIS | Flag of European country is cut down (4) |
| Iris[h] | ||
*anagram
Quite tricky for a Monday morning – well I thought so anyway. 21a was my last one in too – not the first Welsh name that comes to mind.
Thanks to Phi and NealH
Thanks Phi and NealH
I may be being picky, but I don’t equate ‘with ice’ with ‘chilled’, although they are close. I drink wine chilled, but I don’t drink it with ice. ‘On ice’ would work OK, though.
I think Phi was intending ‘with ice’ to mean ‘chilled’, Simon. That works for me.
Pierre @ 3
I understand (I think) what Phi was intending. However, for me at least, ‘with ice’ means that ice is physically present; ‘chilled’ doesn’t, there could simply be a fridge involved. As I said in my earlier post, I think ‘on ice’ would have worked, though possibly to the minor detriment of the surface.
I see now that I misunderstood your original post, Simon. I agree – it’s not a close equivalence of meaning.