We are meeting up suspiciously often on Monday mornings, me and this setter. I can assure readers that our relationship is entirely 11ac, but I do love her in a special way this morning because she has given me the opportunity for not one, but two OPBLs.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
6 Carbon copy covering unknown meteorological event
CYCLONE
An insertion of Y for the mathematical ‘unknown’ in C and CLONE.
7 Drug taking one bird
HERON
Vigo is inviting you to take the I out of HERO[I]N, but more importantly she has given me a bird. There are more than 60 species, but in the UK you’ll most often see the Grey Heron, the one who will nick the fish from your pond if you’re not looking. In the obligatory Pierre bird link, he’s got his breakfast, but it looks like it’s legit.
9 Young person seen regularly in brambles
BABE
The even letters of BrAmBlEs.
10 A lad pitied awful waste
DILAPIDATE
(A LAD PITIED)*
11 Non-physical sport ending early gets boost
PLATONIC
A charade of PLA[Y] and TONIC. We use this word now to describe a close relationship between people of the opposite sex which isn’t sexual in nature (hence, ‘non-physical’). Plato wouldn’t have recognised this interpretation; for him, Platonic love was a means of ascent to contemplation of the divine.
13 Leaders of ancient unnamed region organised rituals around dawn
AURORA
The first letters of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth words of the clue.
15 Star with negative velocity and acceleration
NOVA
A charade of NO, V and A.
17 Man hides recipe for shellfish
PRAWN
An insertion of R in PAWN. The R for ‘recipe’ is an abbreviation in doctors’ prescriptions: it’s the imperative of recipere, so means ‘take’. It’s not much used by doctors any more, but it comes up in crosswords all the time. The PAWN is of course a ‘man’ in chess.
18 Sensed being left out
FELT
(LEFT)*
19 A quiet baroness announced act
APPEAR
A ‘baroness’ could be qualify as a PEER, so it’s A, P for the musical ‘quiet’ and a homophone (‘announced’) of said PEER.
20 Something to raise European tax covered by the Spanish gold
ELEVATOR
An insertion of E VAT in EL for one of the words for ‘the’ in Spanish and OR for ‘gold’.
23 Cheer pilot flying aircraft
HELICOPTER
(CHEER PILOT)*
26 Heard sports group swarm
TEEM
A homophone (‘heard’) of TEAM.
27 Leaves port having trouble aboard ship
SAILS
An insertion of AIL in SS for another crossword convention: ‘aboard ship’ means insert something in SS.
28 Goddess and pitman by museum
MINERVA
A charade of MINER and V(&)A for the ‘museum’.
Down
1 Stress about getting caught with coin you loudly put away
ACCENTUATE
A charade of A, C, CENT, U and ATE. A for ‘about’? You bet your sweet life. It’s in Chambers.
2 Left about to get into capital
LONDON
A charade of L, ON (another ‘about’) and DON. ‘He donned/got into his winter coat.’
3 Lucille Ball holding up instrument
BELL
Hidden reversed in LuciLLE Bell. She is, or was, a real person, but you’d have to be getting on a bit to remember her: she was a 1960s’ American comedy actress.
4 Tea without anything added for cleric
CHAPLAIN
A charade of CHA and PLAIN.
5 Dry and bitter lacking tiniest hint of compassion
ARID
A[C]RID
6 Creep, caught naked, left
CRAWL
A charade of C, RAW and L.
8 Rising brown river is untreated
NATURAL
A reversal (‘rising’, since it’s a down clue) of TAN and URAL.
12 Machine runs into bamboo perhaps
CRANE
An insertion of R in CANE.
14 Obstinate about works involving queen
REFRACTORY
A charade of RE and R for Regina or ‘queen’ inserted into FACTORY.
‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
16 Work with fourth estate to subjugate
OPPRESS
A charade of OP and PRESS. There are a couple of theories as to why the PRESS is referred to as the ‘fourth estate’. I’ve always gone along with the idea that they are the fourth area of power after the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. It’s often used these days in a pejorative sense, I fancy, since no-one trusts the buggers any more.
17 Mammal in favour of rising in dignity
PORPOISE
An insertion of PRO reversed in POISE. The insertion indicator is ‘in’; the reversal indicator is ‘rising’.
21 Wayward ranter raving
ERRANT
(RANTER)*
22 Conclusion in home game
OMEGA
Hidden in hOME GAme.
24 Bird ribs rise endlessly
IBIS
Vigo is treating me today. The inside letters (‘endlessly’) of rIBs rISe. For the obligatory Pierre bird link I have chosen the Scarlet Ibis, to cheer up a winter day with a splash of colour. Too many waders this morning.
25 Unexciting team lost
TAME
(TEAM)*
Many thanks to Vigo for the start to the Indy week.
Light but great fun with accurate brief cluing and smooth surfaces. A lovely start to the crosswording week.
Many thanks to Vigo and to Pierre.
HELICOPTER was my favourite today. Always enjoy an anagram when the surface reads so well. Especially if I don’t recall seeing it before. Thanks to Vigo and the ever entertaining Pierre blog.
Not too demanding but a very pleasant way to wind down after work. Loved the scarlet ibis, Pierre, but though I can’t quite believe it, I think you’ve missed an opportunity for another OPBL at 12d, unless CRANE is too non-specific. Anyway, I’ll put in my vote for the brolga.
I don’t know if it has anything to do with anything, but there is a BELL HELICOPTER as well as the three NATURAL fliers as a sort of micro theme.
Thanks to Vigo and Pierre.
No thanks for reminding me I’m getting on a bit, but I believe Lucille Ball as pretty busy from the 1930s (my GK rather than memory) through the 1970s.
Thanks, Vigo, for the 5:55 workout and Pierre for the blog.
I remember Ms Ball from our first low-res B&W telly in the early 60s, Ian, so for me she’s ever anchored in that decade – but you’re right, her career started well before then.
The bird has to be the answer, WordPlodder …
A pleasant Monday morning solve but, more than that, this would be an excellent introduction to cryptics for a beginner, especially with the clear explanations in the blog.
Thanks, Vigo and Pierre
Ball is best known by far for I Love Lucy, which ran from 1951 to 1957 (and for decades thereafter in repeats).
I well remember the Lucille Ball shows from the sixties more than the ones from the fifties, but they were all variations on the same theme.
There is something eminently satisfying about Vigo’s puzzles, I do look forward to them. I think I’ll go along with Hovis today and give particular mention to HELICOPTER, very nicely done.
I certainly remember I Love Lucy but judging by the comment from Ian@7, I must have watched the repeats – we didn’t possess a TV set when the shows were first screened!
Many thanks to Vigo for the puzzle and to Pierre for the review. Who cares whether an OPBL is actually the answer – not me! Bring ’em on anytime.