An enjoyable crossword from Knut today. I’d been expecting it to be rather difficult, but he was being kind and it all fell out quite well, even the clues that involved pop music (two of the references I knew anyway; for the other Google helped me).
Definitions underlined, in slateblue (ever so slightly different from the rest of the clue, which is merely in blue). Anagram indicators in italics.
You’d think that with all those unchecked letters at the sides they would spell something out, but I can’t see it. The grid is a bit unusual, which suggests that Knut was trying to squeeze some Nina in, but …
| ACROSS | ||
| 5 | FRUSTUM | Female runs American Corporation, part of a solid foundation (7) |
| f r US tum — and there I’d been all these years thinking that it was ‘frustrum’. Also, despite its appearance in various mathematical things I was once familiar with, being a bit vague about its exact meaning. Even now I wouldn’t like to have to explain it, but so far as I can see Knut’s definition is OK. | ||
| 6 | TRILBY | Attempt to hide a pound in hat? (6) |
| tr(1 lb)y — I’d have felt that the clue was more accurate without the question mark and wonder what purpose it is serving — if the answer had been ‘hat’ then ‘…trilby?’ would have been correct, but the other way round? | ||
| 8 | WELL | Healthy 18D (4) |
| 2 defs, 18D being spring | ||
| 9 | NORMAL LIFE | Shoot a film with Loren – not as good as La Dolce Vita (6,4) |
| *(a film Loren) — La Dolce Vita was a film of around Sophia Loren’s time: the sweet life | ||
| 10 | ADHERE | Stick 4 in this place? (6) |
| 4 being Bill, in another sense it’s an ad, so it’s ad here | ||
| 11 | CRAB MEAT | Minnelli’s debut in Cabaret edited – it needs dressing (4,4) |
| M{inelli} in (Cabaret)* | ||
| 13 | ISIS | Oxford’s current fertility goddess (4) |
| 2 defs: the Thames, when it flows through Oxford, is called the Isis | ||
| 15 | WINGS | New hairpieces covering Beatle’s group (5) |
| wi(n)gs — Paul McCartney’s group after The Beatles was Wings | ||
| 16 | ZOOM | Unknown character reflecting low buzzing sound (4) |
| z (moo)rev. | ||
| 17 | PLANKTON | Seafood board not for turning (8) |
| plank (not)rev. | ||
| 18 | SHAGGY | Boombastic singer‘s retiring to eat a horse (6) |
| sh(a gg)y — the singer Shaggy was responsible for the album Boombastic | ||
| 20 | JIM COURIER | Jack (Knut’s parcel deliveryman) was famous for his service (3,7) |
| J [Jack] I’m [Knut’s] Courier [parcel deliveryman] — Jim Courier was a major tennis player once [slight alteration, thanks to Hovis@1. I wasn’t very comfortable with Jack = Jim] | ||
| 22 | EURO | Hard cash reguerdon paid out on a regular basis (4) |
| {r}e{g}u{e}r{d}o{n} | ||
| 23 | PROFIT | Positive result for Formula One team’s head (6) |
| pro [for] F1 t{eam} | ||
| 24 | NONPLUS | Confound Gainsbourg and Birkin’s work, in the end (7) |
| The song they are famous for is called Je t’aime … moi non plus | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FULL NELSON | “The hold is loaded to capacity, Admiral” (4,6) |
| full [loaded to capacity] Nelson [Horatio] — I was only familiar with a half nelson, but when solving reckoned that no doubt the full one was the same sort of thing. In the interests of completeness I went to Google and found this | ||
| 2 | STANCE | Chancellor of the Exchequer shoring up Johnson Sr’s position (6) |
| Stan CE — Boris’s father is Stanley Johnson | ||
| 3 | AMERICAN INDIANS | Early consumers of 7 – with reservations (8,7) |
| American Indians lived on reservations and ate buffalo (7dn) | ||
| 4 | BILL | Chap right out of flatfish (4) |
| b{r}ill | ||
| 5 | FIELD | Office plods every now and again lost discipline (5) |
| {O}f{F}i{c}e {p}l{o}d{s} | ||
| 6 | TEA BAGS | After extra time upset, wins cup after cup from them? (3,4) |
| (a.e.t.)rev. bags [wins] | ||
| 7 | BUFFALO | Rebuff a loathsome, grasping, beastly individual (7) |
| Hidden (grasping) in reBUFF A LOathsome | ||
| 12 | MOZZARELLA | Mr Fitzgerald eating an ounce South Africa cheese (10) |
| M(oz. ZA)r. Ella — Ella Fitzgerald — Knut was right to resist the temptation to make the surface smoother by inserting “of” between “ounce” and “South” | ||
| 14 | SOLDIER | Flogged one Queen’s Guardsman? (7) |
| sold 1 ER | ||
| 15 | WET SUIT | Holyrood’s call to get rid of moderate politicians in surfer gear? (3,4) |
| “wets oot!” — I’m not quite sure of the significance of Holyrood, but presumably since Holyrood is an area of Edinburgh those who live there pronounce ‘out’ in a Scottish way | ||
| 18 | SPRING | Jump a season? (6) |
| 2 defs — again my misgivings over the question mark — there is no doubt that spring is a season | ||
| 19 | GIRLS | Misses US Army man Stevenson (5) |
| GI [US Army man] RLS [Robert Louis Stevenson] | ||
| 21 | CAFE | Workplace offering the daily grind (4) |
| CD relying on the fact that coffee is ground | ||
FRUSTUM was foi but didn’t recall seeing it before. Didn’t parse 24a but answer was clear.
Knew e.t. for “extra time” but not a.e.t. for “after extra time”. Also didn’t know the name of Boris’s dad. All easily guessed though.
Given the current circumstances, the clue for 21d sadly doesn’t quite work in the present tense (at least in the UK and many other places).
In 20a, the IM for JIM comes from “Knuts”.
Thanks to Knut and John.
Should say “Knut’s” not “Knuts”.
Just had a second look for some kind of theme. I notice that you can have BUFFALO WINGS and there was a song about BUFFALO STANCE and one about BUFFALO SOLDIER (if I remember correctly – haven’t checked). Isn’t there also a place BUFFALO SPRINGs?
And BUFFALO BILL…
passerby. Weird I should miss that. In my undergrad days, I knew a Paula Cody who said she was his great granddaughter.
Another lovely Knut puzzle, thanks to him and John
Thanks for the blog, John and Knut for another lovely puzzle.
Egg all over my face at not getting JIM COURIER – because I had MILL for 21 dn [it seemed a good idea at the time] and never gave it a second thought.
Don’t forget mozzarella.
I thought wets oot was funny. Now I’m trying to imagine my Edinburgh aunt saying oot, but I can’t. Is it Glaswegian? Anyway, Holyrood covers the whole of Scotland.
Thanks Knut, John
James @8
Parts of Edinburgh, but not where I live.
Should have seen the theme but didn’t. I thought ‘yet my’ down the right-hand side might lead to something but a red herring. I can’t see ‘zoom’ as a low buzzing sound in any sense. Thanks Knut and John.
Tatrasman@10. Neither could I at the time, but it is in Chambers.
It’s Buffalo Springfield
Rock band that included Stephen Stills and Neil Young
Thanks John for your blog and thanks to those who have commented. I had originally thought of doing a perimeter Nina using the “Buffalo Girls Go Around The Outside” gag from the Malcolm McLaren hit but a) it was tricky and b) I vaguely remembered someone else having done it.
Who knew Hovis was a Neneh Cherry fan? And James & NNI, I’m really sorry if my appalling homophone has trodden on your Scottish corns but I’ve had to put up with copmus saying “reet gradely” for five years so…
@gsol…I missed a trick there with Buffalo Springfield.
I should have been flying to London tomorrow to meet some crossword chums. Best wishes to everyone, keep safe.
Rob/Knut
enjoyed this, but missed theme as usual. Thought mr fitzgerald was devious, saved by the ZZ’s. liked FULL NELSON, NORMAL LIFE, CRAB MEAT, WET SUIT. Tried to find a grasping beastly individual by anagramming REBUFF A for a while.
remember buffalo springfield
Many thanks Knut and John
I was trying to think why ‘saggy’ might mean retiring… 🙂
Couldn’t figure out what to do with Stanley, so didn’t quite Get This Done.
Nice to see Jane and Serge come out of self isolation briefly.
Thanks Knut and John. Shame about the Parcel Yard; till next time.
@me 14….re Buffalo Springfield…oh I just remembered that I did include that! Memory loss sorry
Knut @14. Yes, I did like Neneh Cherry and recall her half brother Eagle-eye Cherry also. Can’t recall Buffalo Springfield though. On an extremely loosely related note, I see that Buffy Sainte-Marie is still around and performing at 79.
Don’t think anyone has mentioned it (apologies if I missed it), but 12d is traditionally made from buffalo milk, and is also known as buffalo mozzarella.
Knut @14
It all depended on your parents, which area you lived in, and which school you went to.
I was also looking forward to the PY gathering – still waiting for a refund from LNER.
NNI – keep hoping. My ‘advance single tickets’ are usually not eligible for a refund [I’d almost thrown them away] but the Trainline emailed me inviting me to claim a refund and saying they were waiving the usual £10 charge. This is among the long list of refunds I’ve been getting recently – latest Wimbledon yesterday [first time lucky in the ballot for eight years!] – but I’d much rather have the experiences than the money. So sorry not to be seeing you et al, Rob.
Me @7 – honestly, did no one else think of MILL?
@NNI fair play to the HUB hotel at King’s Cross, who refunded my accommodation charge in full. Still waiting on EasyJet but so are millions beside me, I guess, and it’s hardly their fault.
@Eileen I have enormous sympathy for your MILL answer. In the final version, the clue I submitted reads: Workplace offering the daily grind, 6d? (4) which is supposed to link in 6 down TEA BAGS with a mischievous reference to sixpence but it seems to have been snipped
Eileen @ 21
Yes, until I realised I was snookered in the SW with all the crossers for 20 & 23 in place.
Thanks Rob, for the explanation, and Simon – glad it wasn’t just me. 😉
Still kicking myself over JIM COURIER [a relatively easy clue, if you weren’t fixated with the M] – I’ve always rather liked him!
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned that the Holyrood in 15d is the Scottish parliament (although James@8 hinted at it). I thought it was a great clue.
Thanks to Knut and John.
Thanks for the crossword Knut and sorry we won’t be seeing you on Saturday (or anyone else).
Bert spotted BUFFALO GIRLS but didn’t see anything else until we came here so thanks to John for the blog and everyone else for their comments.