The puzzle can be found here.
Hi all. Unless I somehow catnapped through an entire puzzle, this is Skinny’s second appearance in the Indy. Far from being the “difficult second puzzle” I found it gentle and enjoyable – thanks, Skinny.
There were a couple of very nice semi-&lits, of which I only really appreciated the CLEVERNESS of COTSWOLDS once I’d googled to check my geography (please don’t judge me; I have trouble knowing where I am, let alone where other things are!) and I also really liked SOD’s LAW, the Spanish music lover and the desperate measures. Which clues would you LAUD?
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
Across
1a Region of San Diego housing independent community (6)
SOCIAL
(SO CAL, South California, region of San Diego) containing (housing) I (independent)
4a Spanish music lover gets nachos regularly (8)
FLAMENCO
FLAME (lover) goes next to (gets) alternate letters of (… regularly) NaChOs
9a Course alternatively routed (6)
DETOUR
An anagram of (alternatively) ROUTED
10a Road on which you’d pay to go off and fish (8)
TURNPIKE
TURN (to go off, to sour) and PIKE (fish)
12a One such as Moses with peculiar wig covered in seaweed (8)
LAWGIVER
An anagram of (peculiar) WIG inside (covered in) LAVER (seaweed)
13a Academic rejects American films made here (6)
STUDIO
STUDIO[us] (academic) gets rid of (rejects) US (American)
15a You and I are going to be in good health (4)
WELL
WE‘LL, we will
16a Guile demonstrated by cold and nerveless criminal (10)
CLEVERNESS
C (cold) and NERVELESS anagrammed (criminal)
19a The cruise finishes here, there’s nothing left to try (4,6)
LAST RESORT
Literally, the final stop on a cruise would be THE LAST RESORT
20a Star, very mature, making a comeback (4)
VEGA
V (very) + AGE (mature) reversed (making a comeback)
23a Golden couple providing home-help (2,4)
AU PAIR
AU (gold, golden) + PAIR (couple)
25a Once more adopt desperate measures (8)
REASSUME
An anagram of (desperate) MEASURES
27a Dribbling burglar, not the first apprehended by cunning (8)
SLOBBERY
[r]OBBER (burglar) without its initial letter (not the first) inside (apprehended by) SLY (cunning)
28a Sheep kept by farmer in outhouse (6)
MERINO
Contained in (kept by) farMER IN Outhouse
29a Last drink which could go to your head (8)
NIGHTCAP
A double definition
30a A planetoid’s orbit getting excessively extended, primarily here? (6)
APOGEE
Initial letters of (… primarily) A Planet’s Orbit Getting Excessively Extended, with an extended definition: the apogee is the point in an orbit furthest from the earth
Down
1d Bottomless fizzy drink and salad? Something’s going to go wrong! (4,3)
SODS LAW
All but the last letter of (bottomless) SOD[a] (fizzy drink) and SLAW (salad)
2d Location of Stow, possibly – in the chilly South? (9)
COTSWOLDS
This is the location found by putting an anagram (… possibly) of STOW in COLD (chilly) + S (South). “Stow-on-the-Wold, Where the wind blows cold”
3d Painful boils oddly ignored by deity (6)
ANUBIS
[p]A[i]N[f]U[l] B[o]I[l]S with the odd letters removed (oddly ignored)
5d Praise God, did you say? (4)
LAUD
This sounds like (… did you say?) LORD (God)
6d They keep an eye on huge reptiles (8)
MONITORS
Two definitions
7d Spirit shown by chap coming up with promotion (5)
NAIAD
IAN (chap) reversed (coming up, in a down answer) next to (with) AD (promotion)
8d Demanding our nose gets blown (7)
ONEROUS
OUR NOSE is made into an anagram (gets blown)
11d As drunk as a fish? (7)
LEGLESS
A double definitions, with a whimsical third in the whole clue since one who drinks like a fish could be said to get as drunk as a fish
14d Nothing is changing for egg producers (7)
OVARIES
O (nothing) + VARIES (is changing)
17d Carrying out river excavation, core removed (9)
EXECUTING
EXE (river) + CUT[t]ING (excavation) with the central letter taken out (core removed)
18d Creature yielding beastly blubber, according to Spooner (5,3)
FRUIT BAT
BRUTE (beastly) FAT (blubber), spoonerised (according to Spooner)
19d A romance I arranged with Alison (7)
LIAISON
I (from the clue) anagrammed with (arranged with) ALISON
21d Might it remove brilliant colour? (7)
ACETONE
A charade of ACE (brilliant) and TONE (colour). Acetone is used as nail varnish remover
22d One skins up to get unconscious (6)
ASLEEP
A (one) plus PEELS (skins) reversed (up)
24d That’s the point of spin – no flipping good (5)
PRONG
PR (spin), NO reversed (flipping), and G (good)
26d Crystalline compound extracted from cure-all (4)
UREA
The required compound is found in (extracted from) cURE–All. (No taking the mickey …)
Goodness, can’t believe there have been no comments. I loved this one and have had to erect two podiums to accommodate all the winners. 19,23,28&29a are up there along with 1,2,14&21d – plus several others if I pause for thought.
I did need to check on the mature star, the planetoid’s orbit and the painful boils but that in no way deflected from the enjoyment – thank you so much, Skinny, I thoroughly enjoyed the solve. Your rise through the ranks has been well deserved.
Thanks also to the wonder blogger that is Kitty – I’d want to read your review even if I hadn’t done the puzzle to which it related!
Yes, where is everybody? A super puzzle like this and only one comment? Surely they can’t all be 22.
We enjoyed this; not too 8, and our only complaint was that it was over too soon. Too many great clues to nominate a CoD although SOD’S LAW and COTSWOLDS must be in the running.
Thanks, Skinny and Kitty.
Fine puzzle, favourites 1D, 2D, 11D amongst other good ones.
Thanks to Skinny and Kitty (sounds like a comedy duo).