Alchemi is occupying the Wednesday slot this week. This is a compiler whose work I have little experience of solving in the Indy, and even less experience of blogging.
I enjoyed the puzzle very much and found its level of difficulty appropriate for a mid-week puzzle. I particular liked the fact that some longer solutions were split over two grid entries, and that the four 3-letter entries were accounted for by two 6-letter words which could each be broken down into two valid 3-letter words.
As regards parsing this puzzle, I am not convinced that I have got to grips with 18, but surely the reference to 10 in the clue here is to the solution TORNADO? Please let me know if I have been barking up the wrong tree.
My stand-out favourite clue today is 28/26 for smoothness of surface and unexpected definition. I also rather liked 16, for smoothness of surface; and the use of “gutless” and “gutted” in 5/19A and 6, albeit in consecutive clues. Incidentally, I had no idea what the word “degaussers” meant in the clue at 27, and I am not much wiser having researched the term!
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01/09 | CROSS WITH ONESELF | Unhappy about own performance? Not if wheels get replaced by hybrid
CROSS (=hybrid) + *(NOT IF WHEELS); “get replaced” is anagram indicator |
| 06 | SLUNG | Thrown across line as hymns are
L (=line) in SUNG (=as hymns are) |
| 10 | TORNADO | Fuss around an essential component of life for a fighter
RNA (=ribonucleic acid, hence “an essential component of life”) in TO-DO (=fuss); the Tornado was an RAF fighter jet |
| 11 | NYALA | In Germany, a large antelope
Hidden (“in”) in “GermaNY A LArge” |
| 12 | REHYDRATE | Give more water to monster taking refuge in rotten tree
HYDRA (=monster, in mythology) in *(TREE); “rotten” is anagram indicator |
| 15 | DRAWING NEAR | Picture new organ arriving soon
DRAWING (=picture) + N (=new) + EAR (=organ, of hearing) |
| 17 | ON THE FIDDLE | Man with bow could be cheating
Cryptically, a “man with bow” could be “on the fiddle”, i.e. playing the violin |
| 20 | UTTERANCE | It’s said complete article finishes off lunatic fringe
UTTER (=complete, total) + AN (=article, in grammar) + <lunati>C <fring>E (“finishes off” means last letters only) |
| 22 | TROUT | Turkey possibly caught fish
TR (=Turkey, in IVR) + OUT (=possibly caught, e.g. in cricket) |
| 24 | AVOCADO | Fruit essential to save delivery service
<s>AV<e> (“essential to” means middle letters only) + OCADO (=delivery service, for groceries) |
| 27 | EASES | Removing odd parts of degaussers makes things simpler
<d>E<g>A<u>S<s>E<r>S; “removing odd parts” means even letters only are used |
| 28/26 | FIRST-YEAR STUDENT | Eats trendy fruits which could be fresher
*(EATS TRENDY FRUITS); “which could be” is anagram indicator |
| Down | ||
| 01 | CLOWN | Royal regalia item changing hands for a risible figure
CROWN (=royal regalia item); “changing hands” means letter “R (=right)” becomes “L (=left)” |
| 02 | OVERATE | Had too much time to open rigged vote
ERA (=time, age) in *(VOTE); “rigged” is anagram indicator |
| 03 | SKEDADDLE | Having broken desk, theologian (in drink) to make quick getaway
*(DESK) + [DD (=theologian, i.e. Doctor of Divinity) in ALE (=drink)]; “broken” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | INFORMATION | Data processed as some people dance
IN FORMATION (=as some people dance) |
| 05/19A | HOT/POT | Laugh about gutless Trump getting in a stew
T<rum>P (“gutless” means all middle letters are dropped) in HOOT (=laugh) |
| 06 | SHRED | Gutted starfish – left fragment
S<tarfis>H + RED (=left, i.e. socialist); “gutted” means all middle letters are dropped |
| 07 | UNAWARE | Not having heard of French article about some fighting
A WAR (=some fighting) in UNE (=French article, i.e. a French word for a) |
| 08 | GLOBETROT | German group receiving award mostly try to travel extensively
[OBE (=award, i.e. Order of the British Empire) + TR<y> (“mostly” means last letter is dropped)] in [G (=German) + LOT (=group, bunch)] |
| 13 | HAIRDRESSER | Gentleman from Wiesbaden said to need kitchen furniture stylist
HAIR (HERR=gentleman from Wiesbaden; “said” is homophone indicator) + DRESSER (=kitchen furniture) |
| 14 | INOCULATE | Give a jab turning into a clue
*(INTO A CLUE); “turning” is anagram indicator |
| 16 | GREAT-AUNT | Relative’s rage about wounding jibe
*(RAGE) + TAUNT (=wounding jibe); “about” is anagram indicator |
| 18 | TATTOOS | Military displays rubbish 10s with body missing
TAT (=rubbish) + TO<rnad>Os (=entry at 10, in plural; “with body missing” seems to suggest some middle letters have to be dropped) |
| 19 | PROTEGE | Get rope twisted by pupil
*(GET ROPE); “twisted” is anagram indicator |
| 21 | ROAMS | Sheep eating nothing small wanders
[O (=nothing) in RAM (=sheep)] + S (=small, in sizes) |
| 23 | TUTOR | Teacher getting 22 wrong
*(TROUT (=entry at 22)); “wrong” is anagram indicator |
| 25/14A | OFF/ICE | Workplace where skates are useless
(Ice-)skates are useless when worn “off (the) ice” |
Parsed 18d as you did. Seems fine to me. Back in the days of CRT TVs, degaussers were sometimes needed not that I recall ever seeing one used.
Thanks to Alchemi and RatkojaRiku.
I’ve been struggling with the Indy puzzles recently so it was confidence-boosting to solve this one quite quickly. It would be nice to discover that today is an anniversary of some sort for Tom Fengo (penultimate row) but sadly not. Thanks Alchemi and RatkojaRiku.
I’m with our blogger in admiring FIRST YEAR STUDENT: not just smooth and unexpected but highly topical. Similarly with GREAT AUNT. I had a friend cry off lunch pre-Covid because he had to attend a great aunt’s funeral. I honestly thought they had died out with Bertie Wooster.
Thanks Alchemi and RatkojaRiku (two handles I suspect we won’t find namechecked in solutions for some time!)
Thanks RR and commenters. I will admit to having been rather pleased with discovering 28/26 myself (I think of the process as examining the grid-entry and discovering the clue hidden in it). There had to be something I could do with an anagram which included FRUIT in the fodder, and sure enough there was. Slightly disappointing to to have to use “trendy”, a word which I happen to detest, but you can’t have everything.
Linking the 3-letter entries is actually largely laziness on my part. I find it immensely difficult to write interesting clues for three-letter entries, so turning them into 6-letter entries makes things a lot easier.
Nice to see Alchemi back again and I’ll go with the flow by nominating the 28/26 combo and GREAT AUNT for special mention. I also rather liked AVOCADO and OFFICE.
Thanks to Alchemi and also to RR for the review.
I liked the trendy fruits too, but if trendy’s so detestable, maybe ten dry fruits?
Thanks S&B
I found this relatively straightforward but very enjoyable. 26/28 was my favourite.
Many thanks to Alchemi and to RR.
James @ 6. As soon as I hit “post” on the above, that precise thought occurred to me. I just didn’t see it at the time. I’m not allowed to post the words currently coming to mind.
As Rabbit Dave says, relatively straightforward but very enjoyable.
Postmark: Great-Aunts haven’t died out; one of us is great-aunt to several youngsters in various parts of the world. It’s just that great-aunts aren’t the ogresses they used to be.
Thanks to Alchemi and RatkojaRiku.
Yes, I found this a relief after the last few days. All finished and no aids.
I had quite a few great aunts. My grandfather had a large number of sisters, but the they were all born in the 1870s an 1880s. I think I only met one, back in 1969. Conversely, I have a friend whose nieces and nephews have been reproducing so every so often he posts he’s become Bulgaria again.
allan_c & Dormouse: apologies if my observation was insensitively phrased. Could’ve chosen a better word to make the point. Rather nice to hear GA’s are still alive and well and, hopefully, still in control of the younger generations.
A really great crossword. I was waiting for the blog to go live to comment. I loved the same clues everyone else did and also appreciated seeing TUTOR in the same corner as FIRST YEAR STUDENT which itself was nicely tied to TROUT.