Loglady is a setter who has, so far, produced more weekend Indie puzzles than weekday puzzles. It is good to see new setters added to the weekday roster.
The phrase at 13 across, FIRE IN THE HOLE is not one I have come across before and I required all the crossing letters to tie it down. Even then I couldn’t find a dictionary or Wikipedia reference to IN THE HOLE meaning ‘in solitary confinement.
I wonder how often I has been clued in wordplay as the middle letter of a 15 letter word, as is the I from DISCIPLINARIANS in the clue for 5 down, CONVENTIONALITY?
Can any solver expand on the reason for Georgia and Jordan in the clue for PATRIOT at 16 down. I can see that they are both countries, but I suspect I am missing something more subtle. I thought about Jordan as Katie Price but still couldn’t see a connection.
In the blog I have made a couple of comments about whether the definition is precise, but perhaps I am being a bit pedantic.
Overall, this was a good sound weekday national daily crossword puzzle.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Happening singleton in part of West London (6) |
I (Roman numeral for one [singleton]) contained in (in) ACTON (an area of West London) ACT (I) ON |
ACTION (event; happening |
| 5 | Dancing monkey maybe joining tap group (8) |
C (cold; as in a cold tap) + APE (type of monkey) + RING (group organised to control a market) C APE RING |
CAPERING (dancing) |
| 9 | To follow evening meal hosts start to smoke hash … (4,6) |
(DOG [trail; follow] + DINNER [evening meal]) containing (hosts) S (first letter of [starts to] SMOKE) DOG (S) DINNER |
DOGS DINNER (mess; hash) |
| 10 | … briefly contemplate turning lecherous … (4) |
(DWELL [rest attention on; contemplate] excluding the final letter [briefly]) L reversed (turning) LEWD< |
LEWD (lustful; lecherous) |
| 11 | … share a little melancholy … (8) |
DOLE (share) + SOME (a little) DOLE SOME |
DOLESOME (melancholy) |
| 12 | … budge off around midnight, wired (6) |
Anagram of (off) BUDGE containing (around) G (central letter of [mid] NIGHT) BUG (G) ED* Either G could be the one contained |
BUGGED (wired with a listening device) |
| 13 | Warning cry let off within solitary confinement (4,2,3,4) |
FIRE (dismiss ; let go; let off) + IN THE HOLE (in solitary confinement? All the references to IN THE HOLE that I can find indicate the phrase describing someone who is in debt) FIRE IN THE HOLE |
FIRE IN THE HOLE (warning that an explosive detonation in a confined space is imminent. It originated with miners, who needed to warn their fellows that a charge had been set; warning cry) |
| 15 | Mixer and drop of rosso drunk outside church (4,9) |
Anagram of (drunk) DROP OF ROSSO containing (outside) CE (Church [of England]) FOOD PRO (CE) SSOR* |
FOOD PROCESSOR (mixer) |
| 19 | Sweet wine‘s pronounced aroma – flipping cheers! (6) |
MUSC (sounds like [pronounced] MUSK [aroma of a strong smelling substance used in perfumery]) + TA (thank you; cheers) reversed (flipping) MUSC AT< |
MUSCAT (a type of spicy [sweet?] wine)
|
| 20 | Coarse sailor is capsized in storm (8) |
AB (able seaman; sailor) + (IS reversed [capsized] in RAVE [rage; storm]) AB RA (SI<) VE |
ABRASIVE (harsh; coarse) |
| 22 | Avoid attention during parade (4) |
‘SHUN (informal term used by military officers calling men to stand at attention) SHUN |
SHUN (avoid) double definition |
| 23 | Unique car returned, albeit damaged (10) |
MINI (brand of car) reversed (returned) + an anagram of (damaged) ALBEIT INIM< ITABLE* |
INIMITABLE (something that cannot be reproduced in the same form; unique) |
| 24 | Wedding vow: glad at heart attempt to create devotion (8) |
I DO (wedding vow) + LA (central letters of [at heart] GLAD) + TRY (attempt) I DO LA TRY |
IDOLATRY (excessive devotion) |
| 25 | Mineral content of champagne is slight (6) |
GNEISS (hidden word in [content of] CHAMPAGNE IS SLIGHT) GNEISS |
GNEISS (coarse-grained foliated metamorphic rock,; mineral) |
| Down | |||
| 2 | Loco? Calm down! (4,3) |
COOL OFF (the phrase COOL OFF could be a clue for LOCO where COOL is the anagram fodder and OFF is the anagram indicator) COOL OFF |
COOL OFF (get less angry; calm down) |
| 3 | Unopened web publication (5) |
TISSUE (network; web) excluding the first letter (unopened) T ISSUE |
ISSUE (magazine; publication) |
| 4 | Grandee, one retaining aura somewhere in Africa (7) |
(NOB [grandee] + I [Roman numeral for one]) containing (retaining) AIR (aura) N (AIR) OB I |
NAIROBI (capital city of Kenya; somewhere in Africa) |
| 5 | Traditional values of pious community – disciplinarians at centre lay it on liberally (15) |
CONVENT (closed community of people, usually women, devoted to a religious life; pious community) + I (middle letter of [at centre] DISCIPLINARIANS) + an anagram of (liberally) LAY IT ON CONVENT I ONALITY* |
CONVENTIONALITY (traditional values) |
| 6 | Story could be cut shorter? (7) |
PARABLE (capable of being PARED [cut shorter]) PARABLE |
PARABLE (fable or story told to illustrate some doctrine or moral point) |
| 7 | Bizarre glories in spiritual traditions (9) |
Anagram of (bizarre) GLORIES IN RELIGIONS* |
RELIGIONS (spiritual traditions related to the worship of, or obedience to a supernatural power) |
| 8 | Present, present, absent (7) |
NOW (present) + HERE (present) NO W HERE |
NOWHERE (in or to no place; absent) |
| 14 | Canine treatment too carnal to be recreated (4,5) |
Anagram of (to be recreated) TOO CARNAL ROOT CANAL* |
ROOT CANAL (the narrow passage through which nerves and blood vessels enter the pulp cavity of a tooth) The clue is saying the that the term ROOT CANAL also applies to dental treatment [canine teeth] of the said passage |
| 15 | Rosy-cheeked as illness cast off (7) |
FLU (influenza; illness) + SHED (cast off) FLU SHED |
FLUSHED (red in the face; rosy-cheeked) |
| 16 | By heart disturbance one demonstrates love for Georgia or Jordan perhaps (7) |
PAT (with or ready for fluent or glib repetition; by heart) + RIOT (disturbance) PAT RIOT |
PATRIOT (a person who truly, though sometimes unquestioningly, loves and serves his or her country. Georgia and Jordan are both example of countries, but I suspect I am missing something more subtle in the choice of these two examples) |
| 17 | Accessory making money but keeping right to withhold name (7) |
EARNING (making money) containing (keeping) R (right) and excluding (to withhold) N (name) EAR (R) ING |
EARRING (a jewellery accessory) |
| 18 | Likely martyr and partner turning rebels (7) |
(ST [saint; many saints were martyrs before being created saints] + LOVER [partner]) all reversed (turning) (REVOL TS)< |
REVOLTS (rebels) |
| 21 | Rash is briefly on top of head (5) |
‘S (shortened form of [briefly] IS) + PATE (head) S PATE |
SPATE (flood; rash) |
I took the choices of Jordan and Georgia to be simply because they are both women’s names.
Must admit I cheated on DOLESOME. Originally guessed “lonesome” but couldn’t parse it so resorted to a word fit.
Always like clues like 8d, even though nowhere meaning absent is perhaps a little tenuous.
Fortunately for me, I got 13a at first reading with no crossers. I guess the kind of TV I watch made this very easy.
Thanks to Loglady and Duncan.
“In the hole
When an inmate is separated from the other inmates by the authorities in a separate, isolated unit”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_slang
We hadn’t come across ‘fire in the hole’ and only got it by googling although we were trying to get something based on ‘fore’ as a warning in golf. Apart from that it was all fairly straightforward but we had to check ‘dolesome’ in Chambers – ‘dolorous’ was our first thought except that crossing letters ruled it out.
In 16dn we simply took it that the two names were chosen because both can be country or personal names. Incidentally, the appendix of names in Chambers gives ‘Jordan’ as a masculine name.
We liked SHUN and the misdirection in 15ac.
Thanks, Loglady and Duncan.
I don’t know if Hovis @1 watches the same TV programmes as I do, but in my case being a regular viewer of one er… not particularly highbrow American reality show was a big help for FIRE IN THE HOLE, even if I couldn’t parse the IN THE HOLE bit – thanks trenodia @2 for the explanation.
I enjoyed this, but found it difficult with some tough clues such as DOLESOME and ABRASIVE. Like allan_c @3, I thought ‘Georgia or Jordan’ was used as either can be the name of a country, to help the def., or the name of a person, to help the surface.
Thanks to Loglady and Duncan
Wordplodder@4: I don’t know which reality show you are thinking of, but I know FIRE IN THE HOLE mainly from Mythbusters, which may have involved much blowing things up, but did have some good science in it.
I, too, toyed with LONESOME for 11ac, myLOI.
Hello Dormouse @5. You’re quite right that the expression was heard regularly in Mythbusters, which I agree, did have some good scientific content. I was referring to a programme called Pawn Stars which is a sort of blue collar “Antiques Roadshow”. Highly recommended. Curses, what am I saying?
In case anyone is interested, I was indeed referring to Mythbusters.