A really great puzzle with lots of inventive clues and quirky ways to look at things. Not easy, but not as hard as Io can be so definitely worth having a go.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | ASSET |
Something worth having when fixed (5)
|
| AS (when) SET (fixed) – also, as a bonus. you can have a fixed asset | ||
| 4 | BOHEMIANS |
Arty types cry about arresting one nicking bit of beefcake (9)
|
| SOB (cry) reversed (about) contains (arresting) I (one) inside (nicking, cutting) HE-MAN (bit of beefcake) | ||
| 9 | DRASTIC MEASURES |
Are they called for to resolve issue with Mastercard? (7,8)
|
| anagram (to resolve) ISSUE with MASTERCARD | ||
| 10 | HARD ACT TO FOLLOW |
The way bumbling fat local trod boards presumably not this! (4,3,2,6)
|
| HOW (the way) contains (…boards) anagram (bumbling) of FAT LOCAL TROD | ||
| 12 | NOOSE |
Breathing easier, it seems, after using handkerchief and tie? (5)
|
| after using a handkerchief you are breathing easier because you have O (nothing) in NOSE | ||
| 14 | STRIKE OUT |
Dismiss repeated calls for action (6,3)
|
| STRIKE and OUT are calls for industrial action | ||
| 16 | ON THE TURN |
Going off at Maggotts or Stowe? (2,3,4)
|
| at Maggots or Stowe, two bends on Silverstone race track | ||
| 17 | DALEK |
It exterminates product of yeast that’s in decay, reportedly (5)
|
| ALE (product of yeast) inside D K sounds like (reportedly) “decay” | ||
| 18 | EDINBURGH TATTOO |
The military show what was done in Holyrood parlour? (9,6)
|
| what was done in an EDINBUGH (at Holyrood) TATTOO parlour | ||
| 21 | AUTOBIOGRAPHERS |
We lay down our lives for others (15)
|
| cryptic definition | ||
| 22 | MORAY EELS |
Exercise early with some swimmers (5,4)
|
| anagram (exercise) of EARLY with SOME | ||
| 23 | DEMON |
I show spirit how to work in office (5)
|
| MO (modus operandi, how to work) inside DEN (office) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | AND THEN SOME |
10 parts noble, Henry drops in 11 (3,4,4)
|
| first TEN (10) enters (parts) HANDSOME (noble), then H (henry) drops down the order | ||
| 2 | STAIR |
Get excited about aircraft’s first flight (5)
|
| STIR (get excited) contains Aircraft (first letter of) | ||
| 3 | TETE-A-TETE |
Rock not completely protecting tit or chat (4-1-4)
|
| TEETEr (rock, not completely) contains (protecting) TEAT (tit) | ||
| 4 | BACK TO SQUARE ONE |
I see Tessa is at the drawing board again! (4,2,6,3)
|
| if you read backwards along the top of the grid you will see TESSA ending at square one | ||
| 5 | HUEVOS RANCHEROS |
Perhaps Mexican meal vouchers are being distributed with nosh? (6,9)
|
| anagram (being distributed) of VOUCHERS ARE with NOSH | ||
| 6 | MISDO |
Mess up a quantity of goods imported from the east (5)
|
| found inside (a quantity of) goODS IMported and reversed (from the east, right-to-left on a map) | ||
| 7 | APRIL FOOL |
One’s had one’s fill, poor punk (5,4)
|
| A (one) has anagram (punk, messy or bad) of FILL POOR | ||
| 8 | SOS |
Notes help me! (3)
|
| SO’S (so, note in music, plural) | ||
| 11 | WITH KNOBS ON |
1 down handles attached (4,5,2)
|
| with handles (knobs) attached | ||
| 13 | OUTFITTER |
Presumably not so well in shop? (9)
|
| the contrary (not so) of “well in” might be OUT (opposite of in) FITTER (well, but more so) | ||
| 15 | KIDNAPPED |
Novel reason for Billy’s capture? (9)
|
| Billy the Kid might have been captured because the KID NAPPED | ||
| 19 | BOBBY |
Copper coin of old times (5)
|
| BOB (shilling, a coin of old) and BY (times, multiplication) | ||
| 20 | THERM |
A jolly lot put together a little house-warming? (5)
|
| THE RM (The Royal Marines, a jolly lot) joined together gives THERM – Jolly is a nickname for a Marine, a Therm is a measure of heat often used for domestic heating output | ||
| 21 | AGM |
Once-yearly gathering of swagmen (3)
|
| found inside swAGMen |
Very much enjoyed this.
Held up by entering PLASTIC SURGEON for 9a which I think works as a CD. I eventually got 5d, which I’ve never heard of, but do know Spanish for “eggs”. The actual answer for 9a proved much better.
Didn’t see the AS SET parsing for 1a – just thought of “fixed asset” and bunged it in. Didn’t bother googling “Maggotts or Stowe” but assumed they were names of turns on some course or other.
Loved DALEK & NOOSE.
I think you meant in the blog “definitely NOT as hard”
It was a great puzzle (how unusual for JH)
Actually got through unscathed after being snagged by a couple of 4 letter clues in Puck.
Took a while figuring out MISDO
Really great fun.It had a momentum about it.
Thanks PeeDee and IO.
Thanks copmus, yes I do mean not as hard. The preamble is updated now.
Thanks Io for the puzzle and PeeDee for the blog, which filled in at least three which I had failed to parse. In 5dn, I am sure you meant to put “anagram of VOUCHERS ARE with NOSH”.
I always enjoy an IO crossword and this one was no exception. I did have to look up the ‘bends’ – I did see the ‘as set’ in 1a. My favourites were 18a and 21d, although I could list clues I really liked
Thanks to IO for the enjoyable crossword and PeeDee for the blog
Thanks Pelham, 5dn is fixed now.
“Not as hard”, but still hard and great satisfaction in getting this one out, just about all parsed as well. When I finally worked out what was going on, my favourites were AND THEN SOME and BACK TO SQUARE ONE as well as the Silverstone motor racing reference for ON THE TURN.
Thanks to Io and PeeDee
I agree that this was a great puzzle and blog, less hard than the norm from IO. I only got 16a because of Maggotts, the double t led to the corner.
IO is such fun.
Loved the tastelessness of ‘nothing in the nose’, the Jollies, the reversed ‘asset’, the joining of ‘and then some’ with ‘… knobs on’.
He’s different class, isn’t he? Were all puzzles this way.
Big thanks to both.
Thanks for the blog, my friend gives me her FT crossword when it is IO because she thinks it is too hard.
She has really missed out today, I thought this was super duper. Too many good clues to list, just mention a lot of long entries with superb anagrams.
Phew! We only finished with extensive recourse to angram solver, wordfinder and some googling – and even then there were some answers we couldn’t parse – 1dn for instance. FOI and our favourite was EDINBURGH TATTOO.
Thanks, Io and PeeDee.
Superb puzzle.
Thanks to Io and PeeDee.
Well that was tough and took our combined brains to crack it – and even then gave up without DEMON and THERM. That said it was a really enjoyable puzzle that was well worth tackling with many favourites. Thanks to Io and PeeDee for a blog to match the puzzle.
Been busy going for my 2nd jab, over an hour each way, so didn’t get round to Io until tonight. As per usual with me and JH, I completed the puzzle, but failed to parse a few.
I also considered PLASTIC SURGEONS for 1a.
I’m a bit like Roz’s friend (@10). I don’t try IO (or GOZO) because they are too hard for me. However, I read the blog and the comments and then, a few days later, I pick up the puzzle. Usually I still don’t complete it, but at least I get most of it and come closer to understanding his intricate cluing.
Thanks Io and PeeDee
Always a three-layered solve with this setter. One needs to find the word to write into the grid, sometimes by definition and sometimes by cracking some of the word play, then there is trying to work out the cryptic parts of the ones that were solved from definition and then one needs to come here for the ones where the word play just never dropped.
Only four of the latter with this one – couldn’t untangle the inner part of BOHEMIANS, didn’t know the turns of Silverstone, failed to see the clever directions to get BACK TO SQUARE ONE and missed the ‘fixed asset’ part of 1a. Especially liked EDINBURGH TATTOO – clever clue and it disproved the CUBIT that had been written in at 19d.
Didn’t figure out the inter-related long clues until near the end with WITH KNOBS ON and HARD ACT TO FOLLOW (which this puzzle will be) amongst the last in.