Serpent has set today’s puzzle
Thursday is usually a day when there is a theme or a message. For the first time in a while, I found a message before the blog was posted. See the grid below which shows the words ALWAYS LOOK IN THE PERIMETER spelled out clockwise in the first rows and columns of unchecked letters.
I recently blogged a puzzle with a quadruple definition. We had another one today for STAY and we also had a triple definition for PIKE. Not to be left out, SERVING was a double definition.
I thought the clue for PUPA, involving all elements the country name PAPUA NEW GUINEA was very clever. There were other surfaces that I thought were also very smooth – the ones for TREBLE, AIRPORT and ALCHEMIST for example.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Oven with glowing exterior got very hot (7) |
OAST (kiln to dry hops or malt; oven) contained in (with … exterior) RED (glowing) R (OAST) ED |
ROASTED (got very hot) |
| 5 | Aquatic animal’s tail appearing first in spring (7) |
MANATEE (large aquatic herbivorous mammal) with the final letter (tail) E moved to the front (appearing first) EMANATE |
EMANATE (arise; spring) |
| 9 | Importance publication attached to naked figure full of sex appeal (9) |
MAG (magazine) + (NUDE [naked figure] containing [full of] IT [sex appeal]) MAG N (IT) UDE |
MAGNITUDE (importance) |
| 10 | Fare from Mexico via America included in high cost (5) |
A (America) contained in (included in) an anagram of (high) COST T (A) COS* |
TACOS (in Mexican cooking, a very thin rolled pancake with a meat filling, usually fried crisp; Mexican fare) |
| 11 | High-pitched sound starts to bother ladies aboard plane? (6) |
BL (first letters of [starts to] each of BOTTLE and LADIES) contained in (aboard) TREE (a plane is a type of tree) TRE (B L) E |
TREBLE (high-pitched sound) |
| 12 | Criticise article about the great and the good (8) |
PAN (criticise) + THE (definite article) + ON (about) PAN THE ON |
PANTHEON (all the gods collectively of a religion; the great and the good) |
| 14 | They start to lead saint astray without conviction (10) |
Anagram of (astray) THEY and L (first letter of [start to] LEAD) and SAINT HESITANTLY* |
HESITANTLY (without conviction) |
| 16 | Divers may use this spear hunting fish (4) |
PIKE (posture in which the body is bent sharply at the hips with legs kept straight at the knees and toes pointed; position adopted by divers in a competition, along with tucks, somersaults and twists) |
PIKE (weapon with a long shaft and a sharp head like a spear, could be used for hunting) PIKE (type of fish) triple definition |
| 18 | Support visit to delay postponement of legal proceedings (4) |
STAY (anything that supports or steadies, such as a prop or buttress) STAY (to reside temporarily, especially as a guest; visit) |
STAY (delay or hinder) STAY (discontinue or suspend (a judicial proceeding) quadruple definition |
| 19 | Opiate isn’t derived from this plant (10) |
Anagram of (derived from) OPIATE ISN’T POINSETTIA* |
POINSETTIA (spurge, with petal-like bracts, usually scarlet, and small yellow flowers; plant) |
| 22 | Weakened and let guards empty latrine (8) |
RENTED (leased; let) containing (guards) LE (letters remaining in L RE (LE) NTED |
RELENTED (relaxed; weakened) |
| 23 | Defect after leader’s been taken ill (6) |
AILING |
AILING (ill) |
| 26 | Interim agenda includes public perception of company (5) |
IMAGE (hidden word in [includes] INTERIM AGENDA) IMAGE |
IMAGE (character or attributes of a person, institution, business, etc as regarded by the general public) |
| 27 | Illustrate Greek mathematician moving his line, reflecting his character (9) |
EUCLID (Greek mathematician of the 4th century BC) with L (line) moved forward in his name to form ELUCID + ETA (Greek letter [his {Euclid’s} character]) reversed (reflecting) ELUCID ATE< |
ELUCIDATE (make clear; illustrate) |
| 28 | Setters cheering when cycling (7) |
ELATING (cheering) with all the letters cycled one place to the right and the last letter moving to the front GELATIN |
GELATIN (substances used for setting photographs, foodstuffs etc; setters) |
| 29 | Set of terminals connects display to computer socket (7) |
AIR (broadcast; display) + PORT (computer socket) AIR PORT |
AIRPORT (transport hub, often comprising more than one terminal) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Second fight perhaps upset more gentle children (7) |
TAMER (more gentle) reversed (upset; down clue) + CH (children) REMAT CH |
REMATCH (second or subsequent meeting, fight, tie etc) |
| 2 | Marine life trapped by undersea glaciers rising (5) |
ALGAE (hidden word reversed [rising; down clue] in [trapped by] UNDERSEA GLACIERS) ALGAE< |
ALGAE (seaweed; marine life) |
| 3 | Sticky little growths twist leg out of shape (8) |
Anagram of (out of shape) TWIST LEG TWIGLETS* |
TWIGLETS (very small branch or shoot of a tree or other woody plant, sometimes sticky; may also be a reference to a savoury snack made from wheat-based savoury nibbles are flavoured using yeast extract to make them slightly sticky) |
| 4 | University dons brought up poor artist’s feeble effort (4) |
U (university) contained in (dons) BAD (poor) reversed (brought up; down clue) DA (U) B< |
DAUB (crude painting; artist’s feeble effort) |
| 5 | Staring angrily at first person shouting on the phone (10) |
EYE (sounds like [on the phone] I [first person]) + BALLING (sounds like [on the phone] BAWLING [shouting]) EYE BALLING |
EYEBALLING (confront someone by staring angrily at them) |
| 6 | Knowing when student fails to finish (6) |
AS (when) + TUTE AS TUTE |
ASTUTE (shrewd; knowing) |
| 7 | Transmuting metal is primarily his concern (9) |
Anagram of (transmuting) METAL IS and HC (first letters [primarily] of each of HIS and CONCERN) ALCHEMIST* |
ALCHEMIST (person who claimed to transmute other metals into gold, and discover the elixir of life) & Lit clue |
| 8 | Concentrate less, getting left out, hence missing opening (7) |
ESS ENCE |
ESSENCE (concentrated extract) |
| 13 | Surprising French article about warning received by new witness (10) |
UN (French for AN [indefinite article] containing [about] [FORE {warning cry on a golf course when a ball is heading towards people} contained in {received by} {N {new} + SEE {witness}]) U (N (FORE) SEE) N |
UNFORESEEN (surprising) |
| 15 | Letters providing protection for owner of mobile home? (5,4) |
SNAIL (mollusc with a shell; owner of a mobile home) + MAIL (armour; protection) SNAIL MAIL |
SNAIL MAIL (physical post as opposed to electronic communication; letters) |
| 17 | Auditor’s most appropriate passion for another auditor? (8) |
VERI (sounds like [auditor’s] VERY [most]) + FIER [sounds like [auditor’s] FIRE [an appropriate emotion to describe passion]) VERI FIER |
VERIFIER (one who checks; auditor) |
| 18 | Ration in the army? (7) |
SERVING (portion; ration) SERVING |
SERVING (currently in the armed forces) double definition |
| 20 | Agents gripped by first half of writer’s supplement (7) |
G-MEN (American slang for Federal Bureau of Investigation agents) contained in (gripped by) AUT (first three letters of six [first half of] AUTHOR [writer]) AU (GMEN) T |
AUGMENT (increase in number; supplement) |
| 21 | Introduce character providing opening for somewhat lifeless hosts (6) |
INERT (lifeless) containing (hosts) S (first letter of [character providing opening for] SOMEWHAT) IN (S) ERT |
INSERT (introduce) |
| 24 | Duckweed reportedly forming large area across the pond (5) |
IDA (sounds like [reportedly] EIDER [breed of duck]) + HO (sounds like [reportedly] HOE [to weed]) IDA HO |
IDAHO (State of the United States; 14th largest State by area; large area across the pond) |
| 25 | Form of insect life in Papua New Guinea finally disappearing (4) |
Anagram of (new) PAPU PUPA* |
PUPA (insect in the usually passive stage between larva and imago) |
Well done Duncan for spotting that Nina, though this one is in what one might call the penultimate perimeter perhaps?. How long before we must look in the antepenultimate one? Or maybe some setter has already done that? I loved Duckweed = Idaho! Thanks Serpent and Duncan.
Started off at a rattling pace thinking “Serpent’s taking it easy on us today”, then hit the SW quadrant. Got stuck for a while but, fortunately, I always look in the perimeter for a message which allowed me to complete.
Wasn’t mad keen on VERIFIER but loved ALCHEMIST, PUPA & IDAHO amongst others.
Thanks to Serpent and Duncan.
Spotted the Nina when just over half way through, so it helped me complete the SW corner. Serpent often uses the unchecked perimeter for his message. Loved IDAHO and EMANATE.
I might have got on better had I spotted the Nina but I did enjoy the battle. My particular favourite was 15d Thanks to Serpent and Duncan.
On a previous occasion we commented that we must remember that Serpent may have a nina just inside the perimeter. And this time we did, which helped us get our last few, VERIFIER being our LOI. We took a while to get IDAHO, too – we thought we might have to lift & separate ‘duckweed’ into O (for duck) and a homophone of some sort of weed (not that we could think of one) to give ‘Omaha’; the penny only dropped when we got AILING.
Plenty to like, including POINSETTIA, ELUCIDATE, ALCHEMIST and SNAIL-MAIL.
Thanks, Serpent and Duncan.
Another beauty from Serpent. I enjoyed it so much I didnt look for his signature but when Id filled the grid there it was.
Very cool stuff!
Thanks to duncanshiell and Serpent
A cracker.
In 17d the I think it’s “most appropriate” = “very”, as in “the very thing”.
So many good clues, hard to pick favourites, perhaps PANTHEON, ELUCIDATE, SNAIL MAIL. LOI was VERIFIER.
It had to be IDAHO but couldn’t parse it until I came here. Didn’t see the Nina, but rarely look for them
Much thanks to Serpent for the puzzle and to duncanshiell for the blog
Many thanks to duncanshiell for the excellent blog and to everyone who has been kind enough to comment.
Dansar @7 is spot on about my intended interpretation of “most appropriate”.
Duncan, just in case you will want to correct it, it may be helpful if I mention that there’s a typo in the entry for 12A in the completed grid.
Very enjoyable and completed in less than the usual amount of time I need to finish this frequently evil setter’s work! …the fact that the Nina was quite easily spottable well before the end might have something to do with this, though. Many thanks to Serpent and to @duncanshiell
RichardCV22 @ 10
Thanks for spotting the erroneous M in PANTHEON in the grid.
Unfortunately I’ve had a bit of a computer meltdown today and have lost the original source of the grid image, so I’m not able to change it without quite a bit of work.
Thanks Serpent, not a fast solve but a lot of fun. TREBLE my favourite, also liked sticky little growths where i was convinced i was going to find some yucky botanical obscurity.
And thank you Duncan
I found this too much a slog to be enjoyable and didn’t finish. It got to the point where I’d be staring at a clue for half an hour and even when I got it, my only thought was “Is that it?”
Ahem: http://www.fifteensquared.net/2012/11/02/independent-8129-phi/