A fine puzzle this morning from Redshank.
There was a lot to like in this morning’s crossword, especially 11dn and 19ac, which I hope I have explained properly in the blog below.
I solved almost all of the clues on first reading with only SIGNAL, MOOCRAT and ET CETERA holding out.
There were a few minor niggles that could have been sorted out by the editor prior to publication, especially the enumeration of ET CETERA and the extra “also” in 14dn. The definition in 4ac was also a bit loose.
Overall though a very enjoyable solve with the middle section full of delights.
Thanks Redshank
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SIGNAL | Remarkable old film director is making a comeback (6) |
| <= ((Fritz) LANG (“old film director”) + IS) [making a comeback] | ||
| 4 | ASBESTOS | A cry for help brings in top firefighter (8) |
| A + SOS (“cry for help”) brings in BEST (“top”)
The definition is not entirely accurate here, in my opinion, as fighting implies activity, whereas asbestos is passive. |
||
| 9 | ICEBOX | Chilly compartment of larynx, not very old (6) |
| (vo)ICEBOX (“larynx”, not V (very) + O (old)) | ||
| 10 | UNSEEMLY | Ill-advised US enemy left abandoned (8) |
| *(us enemy l) [anag:abandoned] where L is left | ||
| 12 | DEAD CERT | Coroner’s document? Sure thing (4,4) |
| A death certificate could be described as a DEAD CERT. | ||
| 13 | EMBRYO | Rudimentary state annihilated by Rome (6) |
| *(by rome) [anag:annihilated] | ||
| 15 | GAIN | Reach a good deal, ignoring bar (4) |
| (bar)GAIN (“a good deal”, ignoring BAR) | ||
| 16 | GIVE OR TAKE | Writer’s got rake fixed outside, not far off (4,2,4) |
| I’VE (“writer’s”) with *(got rake) [anag:fixed] outside | ||
| 19 | MORE OR LESS | Clue that leads to me, 16, . . . . (4,2,4) |
| The solution to 16ac is MORE OR LESS and the result of taking OR from M(or)E is ME so the “clue leads to ME” | ||
| 20 | PLUS | . . . . as well as small cross (4) |
| The sign for AND (“as well as”) is a “small cross” | ||
| 23 | TYCOON | Big shot Young Conservative fills town up north (6) |
| Y (young) + C (Conservative) fills TOON (“town” in Scotland or the North East, so “up north”) | ||
| 25 | QUIXOTIC | Who in Paris has toxic mix of the ideal and the chivalrous? (8) |
| QUI (“who” in French, so “in Paris”) has *(toxic) [anag:mix] | ||
| 27 | SUBTRACT | Flyer follows boat to take off (8) |
| TRACT (“flyer” as in piece of paper) follows SUB (“boat”)
At first, I thought “boat” was a bit weak and thought “ship” may have been a bit better, but subs are also known as U-boats, so it’s probably fine. |
||
| 28 | ADHERE | Notice woman’s beginning to employ stick (6) |
| AD (“notice”) + HER (“woman’s”) + [beginning to] E(mploy) | ||
| 29 | ETCETERA | Men with guns go after alien group of badgers and the like (8) |
| RA (Royal Artillery, so “men with guns”) go after ET (extra-terrestrial, so “alien”) + CETE (“group of badgers”)
The enumeration should have been (2,6), as ET CETERA is two words. |
||
| 30 | TSETSE | Fly back east twice, having mislaid articles (6) |
| <=E(a)ST + E(a)ST [back twice], having mislaid As (“articles”) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SHINDIG | Jolly poke in the nether regions? (7) |
| A DIG in the SHINs could be described as “a poke in the nether regions. | ||
| 2 | GRENADIER | Angry gardener catches one loaded with pineapples once (9) |
| *(gardener) [anag;angry] catches I (one).
A grenadier used to carry grenades (aka pineapples). |
||
| 3 | AT ONCE | 14 is wearing make up right now (2,4) |
| C (Celsius, see the answer to “14”dn) wearing ATONE (“make up”) | ||
| 5 | SINK | Scuttle stays in kitchen, hidden (4) |
| [hidden] in “stayS IN Kitchen” | ||
| 6 | EVERMORE | Second person runs further always (8) |
| EVE (“second person”, after Adam) + R (runs, in cricket) + MORE (“further”) | ||
| 7 | TIMER | Perhaps watch sphere rising (5) |
| <=REMIT (“sphere”, rising) | ||
| 8 | SPYHOLE | She works with Poly making viewing device (7) |
| *(she poly) [anag:works] | ||
| 11 | BRAILLE | Barking Liberal, he raised points in paper (7) |
| *(liberal) [anag:barking] | ||
| 14 | CELSIUS | Inventor of scale also adapted sluices (7) |
| *(sluices) [anag:adapted]
The “also” in the clue is superfluous and not required for wordplay or surface. |
||
| 17 | ALLOTMENT | A tax is raised, designed to exclude a place with beds (9) |
| A <=TOLL (“tax”) [is raised] + ME(a)NT (“designed” to exclude A) | ||
| 18 | MONOCRAT | Dictator broadcasts to Macron (8) |
| *(to macron) [anag:broadcasts] | ||
| 19 | MATISSE | Artist makes a mess with it (7) |
| *(a mess it) [anag:makes] | ||
| 21 | SOCKEYE | Rider’s heading off in south-east for salmon (7) |
| (j)OCKEY [heading off] in SE (south-east) | ||
| 22 | EXODUS | Book flight (6) |
| Double definition | ||
| 24 | CUBIC | Form of sugar youngster is chewing initially (5) |
| CUB (“youngster”) + I(s) C(hewing) [initially] | ||
| 26 | SCAR | Such airs oddly make a mark (4) |
| S(u)C(h) A(i)R(s) [oddly] | ||
Found this very enjoyable. Didn’t object to the definition for asbestos. Liked the GAIN, GIVE OR TAKE, MORE OR LESS, PLUS sequence and took a while to parse 19a even though I remembered seeing it before once I got it. PLUS was my loi. CETE for a group of badgers was new to me. Thanks to Redshank and loonapick.
Redshank and his other names- as reliable as night following day.
Always a pleasure.
Exactly what copmus said.
Lots of lovely clues: my favourites were MORE OR LESS, TYCOON, BRAILLE and ETCETERA (which both Collins and Chambers give alternatively as one word – I don’t like it either!).
Many thanks to Redshank, as always, for a very enjoyable puzzle and to loonapick (lucky blogger two days running ;- ) for a fine blog.
Very good puzzle as usual from Redshank. As well as being an enjoyable solve, I learnt CETE as a collective noun for ‘group of badgers’ and the sense of ‘jolly’ as a noun for a party or SHINDIG. Otherwise everything parsed except for that ‘small cross’ for PLUS. Just too obvious of course.
Thanks to Redshank and loonapick
I too admired much of the wordplay in today’s grid which was mostly a write-in.
I agree with Loonapick that when poring over firefighter, I wasn’t originally thinking of a fire retardant but the crossers made the answer plain.
I really liked SHINDIG, TYCOON, SOCKEYE and MATISSE, plus the connected clues. I failed, however, on my last two in: ALLOTMENT/PLUS. I had APARTMENT/PASS instead.
Loonapick’s interesting blog made me groan at the error but taught me ‘cete’. The sound of the word ‘sett’ tipped me off to the right answer. At least TSETSE didn’t catch me out this time.
Very entertaining. Thanks Redshank and Loonapick.
Thanks Redshank — that was satisfying. Liked ASBESTOS, EMBRYO, BRAILLE, and ICEBOX particularly — many nice surfaces throughout the crossword. Thanks Loonapick for parsing, especially the very clever MORE OR LESS which I failed to understand until I read the blog.
Nothing we couldn’t get, although cete for a group of badgers was new to us – we thought at first there was a missing homophone indicator for ‘sett’. MONOCRAT was new as well, although obvious from wordplay and definition. And we rather liked the viewing device in 8dn turning out to be very basic rather than something hi-tech.
Favourites were ICEBOX, QUIXOTIC and BRAILLE.
Thanks, Redshank and loonapick.
The central across sequence of 4 noted by Hovis can perhaps be expanded into a broader theme with SUBTRACT and possibly ETCETERA. Filled in ETCETERA but hadn’t parsed it until I read Loonapick’s blog, which explained CETE. A very nice crossword.
Thanks Redshank, Loonapick, and Hovis.
Many thanks to Redshank and Loonapick as always. I also question the ASBESTOS definition and initially discarded it although it parsed nicely. It was that parsing that eventually convinced me but, after too many years as a chemistry teacher, I was unhappy about it.
Somewhere in the back of my mind is the idea the navy always call submarines “boats” to differentiate them from surface ships. Maybe that went along with the original submariners being very different people to the old school dominated surface ships – those officers considered them something of a lesser person and sneaky with it.
ETCETERA also gave me moments but, as someone always says, it is my eChambers as an alternative.
Thanks Redshank and loonapick
Did this one on the day but visiting up in the country only got to post this morning. Found it a good challenge across a couple of sittings with an interesting array of clue devices. A couple of new learnings with Fritz LANG and CETE – first time that I had seen the term MONOCRAT as well.
Liked the connected middle clues and the interesting definitions for GRENADIER, ASBESTOS, SPYHOLE and CUBIC.
Finished in the NW corner with SIGNAL, SHINDIG and GAIN the last few in.