It’s been quite a while since we last blogged a Radian puzzle, so we looked forward to this.
And we weren’t disappointed.
Being a Radian and on a Tuesday, there had to be a theme. It became apparent fairly early on that it involved clothing, with various items of clothing and associated items featuring in the grid.
As we expect from Radian, the clues were all good, with good surfaces, and, unusually, some clues with two sets of wordplay (6d, 22d) or double definitions with wordplay as well (13ac, 24ac) – a novelty to us, which, once we had realised that there was extra information, made the solve a little more straightforward.
I LO (see) with TAR (mariner) outside or ‘brought round’
WARD (minor – as in ward of court) R (Republican) OBE (Order of the British Empire – ‘award’)
DOGGER (Sea area, as in the Shipping Forecast) EL (‘the’ in Spanish)
IN (stylish) + ROOD (cross) reversed or ‘put back’
An anagram of CYCLING IN NOV (‘November briefly’) – anagrind is ‘organise’
A double definition with wordplay – hidden in or ‘part of’ thE CHOreography – second definition refers to the Phonetic Alphabet – Foxtrot (F) follows Echo (E)
GAGS (jokes) round LAD (youth) R (rare) – an abbreviation that’s not in Chambers, but is in Collins
MB (medic) in or ‘wearing’ SORER (more painful) + O (old)
U (uniform in the Phonetic Alphabet) + ‘last’ letters of haS sleevE mendeD
An anagram of ULSTER COBS and H H (two horses) – anagrind is ‘unkempt’
BIKINg (riding) without the last letter or ‘limited’ + I (island)
Another double definition with wordplay: OVERHEArD (‘caught’) without or ‘avoiding’ ‘r’ (radical) – another abbreviation that’s not in Chambers but is in Collins
SIPPERS (those who sip, or ‘drink slowly’) round or ‘devouring’ L (litres)
BOaDICEa (old British queen) without or ‘ignoring the two ‘a’s (articles) – the definition is ‘a top’ (2d)
A TOPi (sunhat) without the last letter or ‘short’
An anagram of BBC LOGO I’M – anagrind is ‘manipulating’
RING (call) after or ‘in support of’ (in a down clue) RA (Royal Artillery – ‘gunners’)
W (western) ELLINGTON (Duke Ellington – ‘pianist’) BOOTS (the High Street chemists)
Two sets of wordplay in this one: 1) an anagram of CROATIAN (anagrind is ‘agitated’) and 2) RAIN (drops) COAT (paint)
RAN (managed) round or ‘overwhelming’ DO (cook)
If you are ‘wearing wellington boots’ (5d), you could perhaps be described as being BOOT-LEGGED
S (small) CH (church) + IGLOO (icehouse) reversed or ‘erected’ + R L (right and left – ‘both sides’)
An anagram of HUGH’S DOOR – anagrind is ‘designed’
RENE (name of a Frenchman, or ‘guy from Nice’) in E-FIT (an ‘image’ of a ‘suspect’) all reversed or ‘upset’
SERB (European) round or ‘belting’ UP
First or ‘primary’ letters of Talks With Idiotic + RP (Received Pronunciation – ‘way of speaking’) – we’ve not seen this word spelt with an ‘i’ before, but Chambers has it as an alternative to ‘twerp’
Cryptic definition with two wordplays: 1) TLC (tender loving care – ‘nurse dispenses this’) round A (one), 2) hidden or ‘kept’ in hospiTAL Cupboard
Once again I struggled in the SE corner, due largely to inadequacy on my part, and did not finish, despite spotting the theme. That’s twice in just a few days that ‘Croatian’ has been employed in an anagram. Poor old Wally! Thanks Radian and B&J.
I couldnt parse TWERP and it didnt seem to quite fit. Time to spot the theme-aah! island, covers top and bottom-look in Chambers and there is TWIRP.Which so often gets clued as Belgian port missing article -silly Billy
Thanks Radian,
Another very enjoyable one to add to today’s offerings. The double defs and wordplay were interesting (missed the TALC one), I liked the TENERIFE clue and it was good to have the traditional Tuesday Indy theme to finish it all off.
Thanks to Radian and B&J
I’ve seen RP before, but had forgotten it. TAILOR, INDOOR, and SUPERB were the ones to hold me up for a while, but got them eventually.
I started well, with 5d and lots of the attached acrosses then got a bit bogged down, though all my own fault. Convinced myself plural litres in 25a meant two ls, and got distracted by the idea that ‘we spell it Boudicca these days, so it can’t be’. Ho hum and got there in the end but needed the blog to parse Tenerife, so thanks to Radian and B&J.
Thanks to Radian and to B+J.
We particularly liked the “3 for the price of 2” clues mentioned in the blog.
On the other hand, given how rarely the computer software is spelled “programme“, I’m not sure whether the use of that spelling in 3dn counts as clever misdirection or unfairly misleading. It didn’t spoil the enjoyment of the solve anyway.
Hope that I’ve used the bold/italics properly above. I’ll post and check.
Yes!
Like copmus @, stymied by the TWIRP spelling, until the seemingly wrong BIKINI sent me to Chambers to confirm.
Otherwise, a most enjoyable solve, as usual from Radian. I see I ticked thirteen clues, so I’ll just list the double ones: CLOTHES BRUSH and SCHOOLGIRL, both for the surface, but I also really enjoyed TAILOR, DOGGEREL (because I’m addicted to the shipping forecast) BODICE (and related ATOP)and TENERIFE.
Many thanks to Radian for the fun and B&J for another great blog.
interesting puzzle in that i managed to solve it with major omissions in the parsing.. so SOMBRERO, BOOTLEGGED n BODICE were gratefully received… the theme was useful but doesn’t explain why SLIPPERS was my obstinate last one in…
thanks Radian n Bertandjoyce
copmus @2, of course.
Never heard of a logic bomb but it had to be. Twirp spelling looks weird and the spellchecker hates it. I definitely needed the blog to understand Tenerife. But an enjoyable solve, thanks to setter and blogger.
Very enjoyable, especially the extra-wordplay clues. Held up for a while having entered TWERP without parsing, but rescued by BIKINI. TENERIFE and BODICE my favourites today.