My apologies for the late posting of what began as a very rudimentary blog of a very entertaining puzzle by Rodriguez, whose work I have limited experience of solving and blogging. I have since had time to bring the blog up to the expected standard.
I found this puzzle to be a great deal of fun, with some excellent surfaces, e.g. at 1D, 11 and 17. These three clues as well as 5 and 10, the latter two both for ingenuity, were my favourites today.
I made swift progress through the right-hand side of the puzzle, while the left-hand side took longer to complete. I looked for a Nina and didn’t find one, and I also scoured the completed for a Christmassy theme, again to no avail. I’m sure that solvers will let me know if I missed anything.
Thank you, Rodriguez, for getting my seasonal solving off to a very enjoyable start. Let me take this opportunity to wish all setters, bloggers and solvers the best possible Christmas in such unusual circumstances. I’m sure that the cruciverbal treats that come our way during the festive season will go some way to taking our minds off less pleasant matters.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 07 | LION CUB | One working in club, working for a bit of a pride?
[I (=one) + ON (=working)] in *(CLUB); the second “working” is the anagram indicator; the “pride” of the definition is a pride of lions |
| 09 | INFANCY | Minor condition of popular imagination
IN (=popular) + FANCY (=imagination); by definition, an infant is a minor! |
| 11 | FIDEL CASTRO | Famous red clarets spilt, drunk by dog
*(CLARETS) in FIDO (=dog); “spilt” is anagram indicator; the “red” of the definition refers to a communist, hence the former Cuban leader Fidel Castro |
| 12 | ELI | High priest in the limelight once and again
Hidden (“in”) twice (“once and again”) in “thE LImELIght” |
| 13 | TESTAMENT | Will tax shelters end in profit? So be it
[<profi>T + AMEN (=so be it)] in TEST (=tax) |
| 15 | TRUST | Time dull routine’s cut by Bob Hope
S (=Bob, i.e. shilling) in [T (=time) + RUT (=dull routine) |
| 16 | DROP OFF | Decline? // One may after retiring
Double definition: to drop off is to fall, decline AND to fall asleep, hence “after retiring” |
| 18 | DINGBAT | Pudding … Battenburg cakes … a fool
Hidden in “pudDING BATtenburg”; a dingbat is an idiot, a fool |
| 20 | SEPIA | Copies clothing this person rejected in brown
I (=this person) in APES (=copies); “rejected” indicates reversal |
| 21 | IN ADVANCE | Very boring during a ball earlier
V (=very) in [IN (=during) + A + DANCE (=ball)] |
| 23 | NET | Score, half of which comes back
TEN (=score, half of which, i.e. half of twenty); “which comes back” indicates reversal; to net is to score a goal |
| 24 | INITIATIVES | Repeatedly, it is naïve to organise ventures
*(IT + IT+ IS NAÏVE); “repeatedly” means “it” appears twice in the anagram, indicated by “to organise” |
| 26 | ETERNAL | Endless path round Orient oddly going westward
<o>R<i>E<n>T in LANE (=path); “oddly going” means that the odd letters are dropped; “westward” indicates reversal |
| 27 | CORSAIR | Rough element reportedly criminal, in the main
Homophone of “coarse (=rough) + air (=element)”; a corsair is a pirate, hence “criminal in the main”, i.e. at sea |
| Down | ||
| 01 | ILL-FATED | Damned awful flat packs shop turned up
*(FLAT) in DELI (=shop); “turned up” indicates vertical reversal |
| 02 | MOOD | Maybe the subjunctive in Low Dutch
MOO (=low, of cattle) + D (=Dutch) |
| 03 | ABLAZE | A black loaf is burning
A + B (=black) + LAZE (=loaf, idle, as verb) |
| 04 | DICTATED | Old cases international court read out
[I (=international) + CT (=court)] in DATED (=old) |
| 05 | INTERURBAN | Clad as Punjabi, welcoming ruler between cities
ER (=ruler, i.e. Elizabeth Regina) in IN TURBAN (=clad as Punjabi) |
| 06 | TYPIST | Pity’s aroused by tense key worker
*(PITY’S) + T (=tense); the “key” of the definition is one of those on a keyboard |
| 08 | COLLABORATION | Pass address hosting party for getting into bed with others
LAB (=party) in [COL (=pass, i.e. between mountains) + ORATION (=address)] |
| 10 | FLOATING VOTER | What could be overt target of electioneering
VOTER is an anagram (“could be”) of “overt”! |
| 14 | SHOTPUTTER | Athlete ruined golf equipment
SHOT (=ruined) + PUTTER (=golf equipment) |
| 17 | FRIGIDLY | Foxtrot on Strictly in an unsexy manner
F (=foxtrot, i.e. letter “f” in radio telecommunications) + RIGIDLY (=strictly) |
| 19 | TREASURY | Try a ruse to fix where your taxes go
*(TRY A RUSE) |
| 20 | SUNSET | Society getting soft still a western phenomenon
S (=society) + UNSET (=soft still, of e.g. jelly); the sun sets in the west, hence “a western phenomenon” |
| 22 | APIECE | Eating pastry, one each
PIE (=pastry) in ACE (=one, in cards) |
| 25 | VIAL | Picked up disgusting medicine in this
Homophone (“picked up”) of “vile (=disgusting)” |
Not often I finish a puzzle just as the blog is posted. 🙂
I found this a bit on the tough side but I finished without any help.
Slightly worried that we weren’t going to get a review today which would have been a terrible shame given that this was, in my eyes, the best Indy offering of the week.
So many ticks on my sheet – 9,16&27a plus 10,14&17d to mention just a few.
Many thanks to Rodriguez and also to RR, best of festive wishes to you both.
I fully agree with Jane @2 on all counts – just wanting to add a special mention for 11ac FIDEL CASTRO.
Pity not to comment, just because the blog was a bit late. Enjoyed it. In especial, liked Corsair, the turban and the athlete. Famous red held me up a while, assuming it was Manchester United player. Glad it wasn’t. Thanks to Rodriguez and RatkojaRiku and Merry Christmas to all
You wait nearly 4 years for a Rodriguez, then two come along close together! What was that about buses?
Some of these clues took a bit of working out, but it was all worth it in the end. FIDEL CASTRO was one of our last ones in; we guessed we were after a political figure but it took absolutely ages for us to realise that we had to fit an anagram of clarets into Fido.
Thanks, Rodriguez and RatkojaRiku, and a Merry Christmas to everybody.
Many thanks to RR for the terrific blog on Xmas Eve, and season’s greetings to all commenters and lurkers out there. Happy Christmas everyone!
Thanks to R & R.
A Christmas treat.
Best wishes to everyone.
Enjoyed this one.
Thanks and Happy Christmas to R & RR
Very nice puzzle. Hope to see more of Rodriguez.
I’ll say 1A is I + ON (working) in CLUB*.
Thanks to Rodriguez and Ratkojariku and best wishes for Christmas & New Year to all setters, bloggers, lurkers etc.
Hate to mention this, but here in Adelaide we have a perfect Xmas day, clear blue skies, max 29C.
Beautiful blue skies here too – max temp 3C.
Thanks to R and RR for a very enjoyable puzzle and blog.
Came here expecting to find out what the letters in the top and bottom rows (IM A DIT TRY ELY) meant. Surely that combination of letters isn’t just a coincidence?
Merry Christmas everyone!
gwep @9 – there are plenty more puzzles by Rodriguez as his alter ego Picaroon in the Guardian archive.
@gwep – of course, you’re right about 1 – that was correctly parsed in the rudimentary blog that I first posted, but it somehow went awry in the fully-fledged version. Thanks for spotting it – now corrected.
@beery hiker – thank you for revealing Rodriguez’s alter ego – there had to be a good reason why I enjoyed this puzzle so much 🙂
This is way too late, but is FLOATING VOTER a reverse clue? i.e. Floating is the anagram indicator rather than could be??