Vigo has provided today’s puzzle for our intellectual stimulation. Tuesday’s puzzle normally includes a theme, but if there is one today, it has eluded me.
I found this puzzle to be towards the easier end of the Indy spectrum in terms of difficulty, which came as something of a relief after a couple of rather taxing blogs.
My favourite clues today are 13, for surface; and 27, for surface and for the clever use of “stock”.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | WICKED | Unite around one heartless crook that’s evil
[I (=one) in C<roo>K (“heartless” means all but first and letters are dropped)] in WED (=unite) |
| 04 | PRUDENCE | Virtue of quiet uncultured number at church
P (=quiet, i.e. piano in music) + RUDE (=uncultured) + N (=number) + CE (=church, i.e. Church of England) |
| 10 | NECTARINE | Fruit crate broken in square
*(CRATE) in NINE (=square, i.e. 3 x 3); “broken” is anagram indicator |
| 11 | MOUNT | Carry out a Parisian during test
UN (=a Parisian, i.e. a French word for a) in MOT (=test, i.e. on vehicles); e.g. to mount a campaign is to put it into operation |
| 12 | SCORE | Scratch small part of apple
S (=small, of sizes) + CORE (=part of apple) |
| 13 | ENUNCIATE | Destroy ancient EU state
*(ANCIENT EU); “destroy” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | REDRESS | About to get costume right
RE (=about) + DRESS (=custom); to redress e.g. an imbalance is to right, put right |
| 16 | POLO | Leaders of paralympics organise long opening sporting event
P<aralympics> O<rganise> L<ong> O<pening>; “leaders of” means first letters only |
| 19 | JUMP | Rise as Justice of Peace stifles sign of hesitation
UM (=sign of hesitation) in JP (=Justice of Peace); to jump is to rise suddenly |
| 21 | DISTANT | Aloof detectives thrash head of thieves
DIs (=detectives, i.e. Detective Inspectors) + TAN (=thrash, beat) + T<hieves> (“head of” means first letter only) |
| 24 | CHITLINGS | Sticks around buffet for local offal dish
HIT (=buffet, batter, of wind) in CLINGS (=sticks); “chitlings” is a dialect form of “chitterlings”, hence “local” |
| 25 | SPERM | Seed is partly gas-permeable
Hidden (“partly”) in “gaS-PERMeable |
| 26 | CLASS | Constant maiden shows style
C (=constant) + LASS (=maiden) |
| 27 | OVERGRAZE | Put excess stock on stewed veg or fish we hear
*(VEG OR) + homophone (“we hear”) of “rays (=fish)”; the “stock” of the definition is cattle, livestock |
| 28 | AUSTRIAN | Gold leading way to get republican Scotsman to become European national
AU (=gold) + ST (=way, i.e. street) + R (=republican) + IAN (=Scotsman) |
| 29 | TACKLE | Try // equipment
Double definition: to try is to tackle, take on AND e.g. fishing tackle is equipment |
| DOWN | ||
| 01 | WINDSURF | Travel on board with popular heads of department serving unusual Russian fare
W (=with) + IN (=popular) + D<epartment> S<erving> U<nusual> R<ussian> F<are> (“heads of” means first letters only) |
| 02 | CUCKOLDS | Cheats on copper getting caught by king and ancient saint
CU (=copper) + C (=caught, on cricket scorecard) + K (=king) + OLD (=ancient) + S (=saint); to cuckold is to make a cuckold of someone, i.e. a wife being disloyal to her husband |
| 03 | EVADE | Avoid commercial during day before festival
AD (=commercial, advert) in EVE (=day before festival) |
| 05 | RE-EQUIP | About to make joke about European supply again
E (=European) in [RE (=about, regarding) + QUIP (=joke)] |
| 06 | DOMICILES | Residences here in France located originally in cupolas
[ICI (=here in France, i.e. the French word for here) + L<ocated> (“originally” means first letter only)] in DOMES (=cupolas) |
| 07 | NOUGAT | Sweet tango dancing around university
U (=university) in *(TANGO); “dancing” is anagram indicator |
| 08 | ENTREE | Dish on salver announced
Homophone (“announced”) of “on + tray (=salver)” |
| 09 | RIDERS | Attackers taking out American cavalry?
R<a>IDERS (=attackers); “taking out American (=A)” means letter “a” is dropped |
| 15 | EQUALISER | Goal of peer is to join queen
EQUAL (=peer, someone of comparable standing) + IS + ER (=queen, i.e. Elizabeth Regina) |
| 17 | BAREBACK | Reveal support for riding style
BARE (=reveal, expose) + BACK (=support) |
| 18 | STAMPEDE | Team sped about in headlong scramble
*(TEAM SPED); “about” is anagram indicator |
| 20 | PANDORA | Criticise artist holding party for Greek woman
DO (=party) in [PAN (=criticise, slate) + RA (=artist, i.e. Royal Academician)] |
| 21 | DASHED | Crushed oddly drab outhouse
D<r>A<b> (“oddly” means odd letters only) + SHED (=outhouse) |
| 22 | ACACIA | Mosaic a cabinetmaker put up featuring plant
Reversed (“put up”) + hidden (“featuring”) in “mosAIC A CAbinetmaker” |
| 23 | RIVALS | Right before four a disheartened lass sees opponents
R (=right) + IV (=four, in Roman numerals) + A + L<as>S (“disheartened” means all but first and last letters are dropped) |
| 25 | SIGMA | Letter from old lady after short notice
SIG<n> (=notice; “short” indicates last letter is dropped) + MA (=old lady) |
What a delightful puzzle!
I had a bizarre thought that 27a might be OVERGRAVY when I had all the checkers except the last in place.
Many thanks to Vigo and RR.
There is a Jolly Super theme.
I know that I’ve said it before but Vigo’s puzzles are such a delight to solve – plenty of other setters would do well to learn from her.
My favourite was probably 13a but I thoroughly enjoyed the entire puzzle.
Many thanks to Vigo and to RR for the blog.
lovely puzzle as always by Vigo. Although I clocked the various equestrian references, I didn’t realise entirely why. I’m, not going to beat myself up over it, however…but thanks to Andrew for spotting it and thanks to RR for the blog
Very enjoyable.
We thought of ‘patience’ originally for 4ac, but only pencilled it in as we couldn’t parse it; RE-EQUIP soon put us right, though. We too liked the clever use of ‘stock’ in 27ac, and similarly ‘buffet’ in 24ac (where we had to check the answer in Chambers).
Thanks, Vigo and RajkojaRiku.
In the US, the way we write the dialect form of “chitterlings” is “chitlins”, not “chitlings”
I can see 8 Jolly Super books. Wicked, Mount, Score, Polo, Jump, Class, Pandora, Rivals. There might be more thematic references (tackle, sperm, cuckolds, bareback, for example?) Does Prudence feature in any of them?
Greg L@6: Chambers has both spellings.