It’s the Peter and Pierre show this Sunday. At the risk of repeating myself, we are not related; as far as I know, we are not even the same sex.
The IoS puzzle is generally an easy-end affair which is – or certainly used to be when it was a prize puzzle – aimed at the improving solver. This one fitted that bill, with mostly charades, anagrams and insertions. There is one clue that I can’t get to work, but other solvers will no doubt tell me if I have missed something.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
8 Cook made to take back unusual type of sugar
DEMERARA
An insertion of RARE reversed in (MADE)* The anagrind is ‘cook’; the insertion indicator is ‘to take’; the reversal indicator is ‘back’.
9 Musical genre captivating eastern capital
SEOUL
An insertion (‘captivating’) of E in SOUL.
10 Growing medium vegetable at end of allotment
PEAT
A charade of PEA and T for the last letter of ‘allotment’.
11 Concert attended by old knight (conservative) in cape
PROMONTORY
A charade of PROM, O, N for the chess ‘knight’ and TORY.
12 Try out translation of psalm by evangelical leader
SAMPLE
A charade of (PSALM)* and E for the first letter of ‘evangelical’.
14 Caught in tangled net near doorway
ENTRANCE
An insertion of C in (NET NEAR)* with ‘tangled’ as the anagrind.
15 King turned whitish before extremely severe deterioration in health
RELAPSE
A charade of R, PALE reversed and SE for the outside letters of ‘severe’.
17 Dad worried about second son’s speech
ADDRESS
A charade of (DAD)*, RE and two Ss for ‘second’ and ‘son’.
20 Game permitted during regular journey
ROULETTE
An insertion of LET in ROUTE.
22 Party lines followed by retired artist with money
DOLLAR
A charade of DO, LL and RA reversed.
23 Birds protecting a corner make a defiant gesture
COCK A SNOOK
An insertion of A in COCKS followed by NOOK.
24 Bubbles beginning to seep under walls of dungeons
SUDS
A charade of S and U for the initial letters of ‘seep’ and ‘under’ and DS for the outside letters of ‘dungeons’.
25 Vacant seminary gets expression of approval from church council
SYNOD
A charade of SY for ‘seminary’ with its inside letters removed and NOD.
26 Dashed back to protect English girl from narrow escape
NEAR MISS
An insertion of E in RAN reversed followed by MISS. I have always found this common term contradictory, since it describes what really is a NEAR HIT.
Down
1 Strategic advantage gained by tipsy lager drinking first lady
LEVERAGE
An insertion of the biblical EVE in (LAGER)* The anagrind is ‘tipsy’; the insertion indicator is ‘drinking’.
2 Examination taken by postgraduate students?
TEST
Hidden in postgraduaTE STudents.
3 Wise men entertaining prince with European bird
MAGPIE
An insertion of P in MAGI followed by E gives me the chance for the obligatory Pierre bird link. The UK magpie is common and its black and white plumage makes it immediately recognisable, although closer up the wings have a bluish, iridescent sheen to them. The link shows the Sri Lanka blue magpie, who – I think you will agree – is a handsome fellow.
4 Line written by individual in tree is nonsense
BALONEY
An insertion of L and ONE in BAY.
5 Various roasts cooked by editor
ASSORTED
A charade of (ROASTS)* and ED.
6 Jester recruiting criminal to trap guard
FOOT PATROL
An insertion of (TO TRAP)* in FOOL. The anagrind is ‘criminal’ and the insertion indicator is ‘recruiting’.
7 Minister welcomed by uncle Richard
CLERIC
Hidden in unCLE RIChard.
13 Shiny decorated Londoner in pink argyle pants
PEARLY KING
(PINK ARGYLE)* with ‘pants’ as the anagrind.
16 Dismiss special diets containing American drug
SET ASIDE
A charade of S, A inserted into (DIETS)* and E for the ‘drug’. Unless I am being particularly dense (entirely possible) I don’t think this works. It seems to be a charade of S for ‘special’, A inserted into (DIETS)* and E for the ‘drug’. But we need ‘special’ to be the anagrind as well, don’t we?
18 Careless mates upset by crash
SLAPDASH
A charade of PALS reversed and DASH. ‘Upset’ works as the reversal indicator because it’s a down clue.
19 Tell story about nobleman
RECOUNT
A charade of RE and COUNT.
21 Musician finds setter wearing kinky boots
OBOIST
An insertion of I for the ‘setter’ in (BOOTS)*
22 Harsh settlement for child upset by inferior goods
DIKTAT
A reversal of KID followed by TAT. ‘Upset’ again as the reversal indicator.
24 Source of magnesium found in drink from reservoir
SUMP
An insertion of M for the first letter of ‘magnesium’ in SUP.
Many thanks to Peter for this Sunday’s puzzle.
Not too demanding and a pleasant way to start the day. A few I had to think about such as SLAPDASH and the spelling of DEMERARA, but FOOT PATROL was the only one to hold me up for long. I admit I bunged in SET ASIDE without looking too closely, but now you point it out, it does look as though ‘special’ is doing “double duty”.
Favourites were PEARLY KING and MAGPIE. Our local black and white variety are nothing like as handsome as the Sri Lankan blue magpie shown in your link (thanks) but do have a beautiful birdsong.
Thanks to Peter and Pierre
Wish our magpies looked like that. Who knows, maybe Sri Lankans are jealous of our black and white (and bluish) ones (I doubt it). I had the same issue with 16d. Some argue that double duty is fair game but it never is with me. In fact, I’d rather it be a careless slip. Better still would be that we’ve all missed something.
Thanks to Peter and Pierre. If any new solvers are wondering about the blog intro – Peter is a female setter.
A pleasant solve over Sunday breakfast. Likewise I thought 16D was slightly unsatisfactory, but let it pass. Thanks Peter and Pierre.
This was light but very pleasant with 23a my favourite. I too couldn’t figure out what was happening in 16d.
Many thanks to the 2Ps.
A nice gentle end to the week. I think 6d was my favourite because it was my LOI and my biggest tussle.
Thanks to Peter and Pierre.
Bright and breezy – I don’t have any problem with that. Have to admit that I didn’t give a second thought to 16d although now it’s been pointed out I can’t really make it work satisfactorily. The thought of the Londoner in pink argyle pants and the setter in kinky boots made me smile!
Thanks to Peter and also to Pierre for the review – very handsome fellow in your ‘obligatory bird’ link.
With (clichéd) convert’s zeal I frequently try to persuade people to try a cryptic, so I’m going to print another copy of this , in case I ever succeed! Very enjoyable Sunday stuff. Thanks to Peter (first meeting for me) and Pierre.
You are dead right in your intro Pierre; this improving solver finished it all in an hour with no cheats, a new PB I think, so my grateful thanks to Peter for the filip.
As most have said, I too frowned a bit over 16d but sort-of satisfied myself by saying it might be a South American, giving SA. Not convinced.
Thanks P & P (and what a lovely magpie!).
Certainly an easy solve today – our biggest problem was remembering where the A’s and E’s go in DEMERARA so that we could parse it. We agree that 16dn needs ‘special’ to do double duty. We’re generally happy with double duty if it’s indicated in some way, usually with a question mark, but that wasn’t the case here.
It was all very enjoyable, though, but over too quickly.
Thanks, Peter and Pierre.
Like EggCustard @8 as an improving solver I found this around my level, and if the online rating means anything it was almost my best performance. Nice to know my inability to fully parse 16D was down to the cluing rather than me.
Thanks Pierre. We completed this fairly quickly over lunch but like Wordplodder we entered SET ASIDE and didn’t notice the problem in the parsing.
Joyce entered DEMERARA confidently but then wondered whether it was correct as she hadn’t read the clue correctly and thought RARE would be at the end.
Thanks to Pierre and Peter – good to have a crossword everyday whether we are in lockdown or not.