Some lovely surfaces – lots of favourites, including 1ac, 11ac, 12ac, 15ac, 21ac, 26ac, 4dn, 5dn, and 16dn. Thanks to Picaroon for the puzzle
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GRAVEYARD SHIFT |
Serious measure — key workers are in the dark on this (9,5)
|
| GRAVE=”Serious” + YARD=”measure” of distance + SHIFT=”key” on a computer keyboard | ||
| 8 | ANGER |
Needle one fishes out of lake (5)
|
| definition: verb meaning to irritate
ANG-L-ER=”one fishes” minus L for “lake” |
||
| 9 | RIBALDRY |
Blair cracking tedious, off-colour jokes, say (8)
|
| anagram/”cracking” of (Blair)* + DRY=”tedious” | ||
| 11 | TARNISH |
Dirty shirt, short and tight (7)
|
| definition: verb meaning to make something dirty
anagram/”tight” of (shirt an)*, where the ‘an’ in the fodder is “short an-d” “tight” in the sense of ‘drunk’ for the anagram indicator |
||
| 12 | COXCOMB |
After firm kiss, groom’s dandy (7)
|
| CO (company, “firm”) + X symbol for a “kiss” + COMB=to “groom” hair | ||
| 13 | ICING |
Sweet stuff husband’s culled from Chinese text (5)
|
| I C-h-ING, minus h for husband
the I Ching is a classic “Chinese text” |
||
| 15 | TREADMILL |
Time to study utilitarianism, but it’s a grind (9)
|
| T (time) + READ [the work of John Stuart] MILL=”study utilitarianism” [wiki] | ||
| 17 | LIBIDINAL |
Touring India freely, Bill’s worried about a drive (9)
|
| definition: about a [sex] drive
anagram/”worried” of (Bill)*; around anagram/”freely” of (India)* |
||
| 20 | EIGHT |
Said what diner did, a curvy figure (5)
|
| definition: as in a figure 8
homophone/”Said” of ‘ate’=”what diner did” |
||
| 21 | NIOBIUM |
Hip backing band in Japan? I’m not sure this is metal (7)
|
| IN=fashionable=”Hip”, reversed/”backing”; plus OBI=Japanese sash or “band”; plus ‘UM’=”I’m not sure” | ||
| 23 | MEMENTO |
It helps to recall troops, having gathered round outside (7)
|
| MEN=”troops”, with MET plus O=”round” going outside | ||
| 25 | FLAMENCO |
Maybe Joaquin’s steps following hobbling soldier (8)
|
| definition: a Spanish dance, and Joaquin is a Spanish name
F (following) + LAME=”hobbling” + NCO (non-commissioned officer, “soldier”) |
||
| 26 | OMANI |
Arab statesman soon to make a comeback (5)
|
| definition: a man from an Arab state
IN A MO (in a moment)=”soon”; reversed/”to make a comeback” |
||
| 27 | SOCIAL CONTRACT |
Tory in party pamphlet shows what binds us all (6,8)
|
| CON (Conservative, “Tory”) in SOCIAL event=”party” plus TRACT=”pamphlet” | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GIANT-KILLING |
What David achieved with good fortune protecting one colonist (5-7)
|
| definition referring to David and Goliath
G (good) + KILLING=”fortune” as in ‘make a killing/fortune from an investment’; around I=”one” + ANT=”colonist” |
||
| 2 | AUGER |
Gold plate shows this, turning up tool (5)
|
| AU (chemical symbol for “Gold) + REG (registration number for a car)=”plate shows this” reversed/”turning up” | ||
| 3 | EARWIGGED |
Agreed working to fix rug was a bugger! (9)
|
| definition: to ‘earwig’ can mean ‘bug’ as in pester – or ‘bug’ as in eavesdrop / listen into private conversations
anagram/”working” of (Agreed)*, around WIG=”rug” |
||
| 4 | AIR SHOT |
Miss America is alluring, Republican’s admitted (3,4)
|
| definition: a missed stroke in e.g. golf
A (America); plus IS HOT=”is alluring” around R (Republican) |
||
| 5 | DEBACLE |
Conservative perhaps lying over the European disaster (7)
|
| C (Conservative) + ABED=”perhaps lying” in bed; all reversed/”over” + LE=’the’ in French=”the European”
Edit thanks to Apteryx |
||
| 6 | HELIX |
We hear this guy runs his tongue over part of ear (5)
|
| definition: the rim of the ear
homophone/”We hear” of ‘he licks’=”this guy runs his tongue over” |
||
| 7 | FURROWING |
Making grooves in material, using blades (9)
|
| FUR=”material” + ROWING=”using blades [oars]” | ||
| 10 | ABOLITIONIST |
Scrapper‘s initial boost when wrestling (12)
|
| anagram/”wrestling” of (initial boost)* | ||
| 14 | IMBROGLIO |
Setter’s run in mire and grease, flipping mess! (9)
|
| I’M=the setter is=”Setter’s”; plus R (run, cricket) in BOG=”mire”; plus OIL=”grease” reversed/”flipping” | ||
| 16 | DREAMBOAT |
Hunk of stewed boar meat with date on top (9)
|
| definition: an attractive person
anagram/”stewed” of (boar meat)*; with D (date) on top |
||
| 18 | NOMINAL |
Very small number — very little, minus one million (7)
|
| NO (short for “number”) + MIN-IM-AL=”very little” minus IM=1m=”one million” | ||
| 19 | LIMPOPO |
African runner‘s go in flash car (7)
|
| definition: an African river
POP=an attempt=”go”; in LIMO=”flash car” |
||
| 22 | IAMBI |
Roman pair squeezing a medic’s feet (5)
|
| definition: “feet” when describing the metre of poetry, as in e.g. iambic pentameter
II=two or a “pair” in Roman numerals; around A + MB (Bachelor of Medicine, “medic”) |
||
| 24 | NYALA |
Partridge about to seize unknown antelope (5)
|
| ALAN Partridge the comedy character [wiki] reversed/”about”, and around Y=”unknown” in a maths equation |
A beautiful puzzle from Picaroon. Thanks to him/her and to Manehi for parsing, particularly nominal, which I could not figure out.
I think you have omitted the “European the” = “le” in the explanation of 5D debacle.
Thanks to Picaroon and Manehi.
Lots and lots of lovely clues. Thank you Picaroon.
I loved all those mentioned by manehi plus IMBROGLIO and IAMBI and NYALA and …
Thanks to manehi for help parsing TARNISH.
NB: I think the explanation of DEBACLE (another lovely clue) misses the ‘the European’ = LE
I see Apteryx @1 pipped me to the post re 5dn
Like Apteryx @1 I thought this was a beautiful puzzle. Picaroon never fails to delight. My favourites included AIR SHOT, ICING, NIOBIUM and NYALA. Many thanks to P & m.
Big thumbs up, especially for the ear-nibbler and the antelope. Nb: one for us non-chemist-but-periodic-table-loving geeks.
Musical suggestion for today: Brian AUGER (in fact, three Augers for the price of one) although if I were Penfold I might be tempted by Natalie at 14d.
And I managed to finish Brendan last night, so I’m on a roll. Thanks P & m.
Delightful. Ta Picaroon & manehi
Some setters manage to produce such wonderfully consistent puzzles time after time, and Picaroon is one of the very best.
I loved today’s offering, with a particular mention for 15a: a superb example of a concise witty clue.
Thanks both.
[Where I am “ate” is pronounced to rhyme with “get” rather than “gate” but let’s not go there]
Thanks Picaroon and manehi
I wrote in 1d from the definition without seeing how “killing” fitted in, and I’m still not convinced. I didn’t parse TARNISH either.
Apart from those, fairly straightforward, with lots to like. AIR SHOT favourite.
Lots of creativity as always with Picaroon. I sympathise with yesyes @2: adding three more to manehi’s favourite nine and hinting that more could be included. A few standout moments for me, therefore, would include “plate shows this” in AUGER, the simple and almost &littish TREADMILL, the lovely definition for FLAMENCO, the almost missable definition for AIR SHOT and the splendid construction of FURROWING. And how nice to have a different river for a change (though the Po still managed an appearance). Though also comforting to have a familiar antelope. And, yet again, there is some overlap between todays Guardian and Indy puzzles.
[And congrats to eb @5 for finally cracking the Brendan! Penfold hasn’t managed to resist IMBROGLIO in the past so maybe this’ll tempt him back. Third time it/she’s popped up this year.]
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi
Lots of great clues. COXCOMB, TREADMILL, AIR SHOT and DREAMBOAT were all excellent.
Add me to those who couldn’t parse TARNISH – I got stuck on the idea that the shirt was T, and didn’t get beyond that.
Many thanks Picaroon and manehi.
[The Limpopo is always associated by me with this quote:
“the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees”]
Yep pretty much ditto as above, lovely Picaroon. Some short, eg anger, ribaldry, coxcomb and in a mO <= (GoD), and some curly, eg tarnish, flamenco, earwigged and air shot, but all smooth and fun. The long 'uns, graveyard shift and social contract, were a help, and nice to see the great, green and (is it really?) greasy make an appearance. Most enjoyable, ta P and m.
Great setting from Picaroon. TARNISH also was my bete noir but now I really like that use of “tight” as in “drunk” for the indicator, so your explanation is much appreciated, manehi. I made the mistake of biffing in a partially-parsed CALYX at 6d (maybe a petal -type thing on an ear of wheat?) which also held up 1a until I twigged that it was wrong – once HELIX went in I was much happier! I agree with all of manehi’s favourites. I even got Alan Partridge’s antelope, the NYALA, at 24d – the 13a ICING on the cake – even though I haven’t a clue who Alan Partridge is except he has been in crosswords before. Thanks for the puzzle and the blog, setter and blogger!
[muffin @12, I forgot the grey- bit … ]
Adding to today’s general adulation of a fabulous puzzle with a few DNKs but everything wonderfully clued.
As I’m on a train to Clapham Junction (at last – seems to be happening more regularly) and I finished this by East Croydon I can be sure that this took me 25 minutes with a little help!
Thank you Picaroon and manehi.
Definitely in the Goldilocks zone for me. LOI was FLAMENCO, I am ashamed to say as (in normal times) I play flamenco guitar regularly for dance classes. Joaquín could be Cortés or Grilo, neither are exactly household names round here! [Playing in public tomorrow for the first time in 18 months.]
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
Hi JinA, ditto calyx, tho I didn’t put it in, and also Mr Partridge, as in “He’s no doubt called Alan and been on QI etc”, but I can only remember a few of them. …
What George @7 said. TREADMILL is brilliant.
My additions to manehi’s favourites : RIBALDRY, ABOLITIONIST, IMBROGLIO (lovely word), IAMBI and FLAMENCO – I think the reference is to this Joaquin
Many thanks to Picaroon and manehi for a splendid start to the day.
My apologies, Auriga @17 – you posted while I was typing.
Excellent puzzle with some splendid constructions and surfaces. Too many good clues to list.
My only quibble is that ‘Needle one fishes out of lake’ doesn’t work for me – the ‘lake’ has to come out of the ‘one fishes’ to give ANGER, and not vice versa as the clue instructs.
I’ve never come across GRAVEYARD SHIFT to mean ‘night shift’, but only metaphorically to describe the slot immediately after lunch at a symposium, where the speaker has to address a somnolent audience.
Many thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
Joy!
Another fairly quick solve – with much RIBALDRY in between. Clues to like – ABOLITIONIST, LIBIDINAL, EARWIGGED, FLAMENCO, etc, among the longer answers. LOI, was TARNISH (and no, sheffield hatter – for the record it was not my favorite clue, though not at all bad).
No quibbles, and many thanks to Picaroon, for sharing a few laughs with me.
Hard to pick a favourite but I loved the image conjured up by Blair cracking boring obscenities…
What Eileen@19 (and therefore what George @7) said, not to mention agreeing with Copmus@22 too
Thanks to Picaroon for a really crossword and manehi for the blog
I thought « Joaquin’s steps » referred to Joaquin Phoenix’s dance on the staircase in the Joker?
[Auriga @17: Success for the public performance! I haven’t played in front of anyone other than a very large spider called Herbert (what else) for 18 months now. Hoping you enjoy both the nerves before and that massive and wonderful adrenaline rush after]
Lovely puzzle
[essexboy @5 and PM @10 Yes, I’m tempted by Natalie. IMBROGLIO may be a tribute act using this site for a subliminal marketing campaign. Haven’t heard Alma Cogan for ages, but she popped up with DREAMBOAT.
muffin @12 Thanks for the Kipling. That was a real tonic.]
Thanks Picaroon and manehi
Thanks Picaroon and manehi
Gervase @ 21: 8 is a typical Picaroon misdirection. You have to imagine a comma between ‘fishes’ and ‘out’, so it’s ‘out of’ in the sense of being short, hence ‘angler short of L’.
Simon S @29: thanks for this. It had only just occurred to me that “we are out of bananas” = “yes, we have no bananas”.
So, “A out of B” can mean either A-B or B-A. I’m surprised I’ve never noticed this trick before.
More praise for this from me – and in contrast to yesterday I parsed everything. Many thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
A brilliant puzzle, with TREADMILL perhaps the pick of a very fine bunch. ABOLITIONIST was a lot easier than it might have been thanks to the appearance of SCRAP=abolish in another puzzle this week.
It often happens that way, Eileen@20.
[Thank you, MB@27. Must go and practice now.]
Difficult puzzle, slow solve for me but enjoyable.
Did not parse NOMINAL, DEBACLE.
Liked OMANI, ABOLITIONIST, TREADMILL, EARWIGGED, GIANT-KILLING, FLAMENCO, IAMBI.
New: NIOBIUM (loi) – well clued!
Thanks, P+M
Lovely puzzle and first-class blog so thanks both. My favourites were GIANT KILLER and FLAMENCO. My hopes are for Philistine tomorrow but who knows!!
Auriga @33 – yes, it does!
You’ve given me the opportunity to wish you all the best for tomorrow. I was in such a hurry to apologise that I missed your last sentence!
Enjoyable crossword; I filled the bottom half first, but the top took longer.
My personal likes were OMANI, GRAVEYARD SHIFT, TARNISH, EARWIGGED and DEBACLE. Like Eileen @19, I love the word IMBROGLIO, just a beautiful sound. I spent some time looking for lakes, which wasn’t very fruitful.
Thanks Picaroon and manehi.
Re 25 (FLAMENCO), I assumed the reference was to Joaquin Rodrigo, whose most famous work, Concierto de Aranjuez, contains elements of flamenco. (Apologies if someone has made that suggestion in an earlier comment.)
Phew! Found this tough, but got there in the end, with the AIR SHOT completing the course once I’d figured out TARNISH. Lots to delight the eye and ear. Surprised there wasn’t much of a debate about the pronunciation of “ate” to produce the homophone EIGHT.
[In the Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa, in a grove of fever trees, there’s a walkway along the banks of the Limpopo, with a plaque showing the Kipling quote. But when we were there it wasn’t grey-green or greasy, because it was the dry season so the river bed was mostly acres of sandbanks. But there were elephants. And crocodiles.]
at 5D the idea of a conservative lying about a european disaster brought too many names to mind and distracted me
Tough but I enjoyed it – needed help parsing some – but all obvious once explained……
COXCOMB made me laugh
Third time recently that the I CHING has been used in a clue I think. And like others lovely to see IMBROGLIO again.
Not heard of NYALA but, for once, got it from the word play
Thanks Picaroon and manehi
O yes, and there are NYALA on the banks of the LIMPOPO too.
Thanks to Picaroon for a lovely puzzle and to manehi for explaining ANGER and TARNISH. The only Joaquin I could think of was Phoenix, who didn’t fit (unless you accept Chardonneret’s theory), so I guessed he must be a generic Spanish person. Too many good ones to list favourites.
(Shirl @8: I don’t pronounce “ate” like that either, but I think maybe I ought to – the other way was considered “common” by my teachers sixty years ago).
TREADMILL – what a gem! And lots of other lovely clues too – all listed above. Thanks, Picaroon and manehi.
Many posters have rightly praised the clue for TREADMILL. It brought to mind the clerihew:
John Stuart Mill
By a mighty effort of will
Overcame his natural bonhomie
And wrote Principles of Political Economy
I took the I out of Lake Angier to get anger. Wrong way but right answer
“John Stuart Mill of his own free will, on half a pint of shandy was particularly ill”. All those years listening to Monty Python finally comes in handy…
Johnjo@46…so did I…
Thanks both for the entertainment.
No negatives, but (FLAMENCO) in what sense does “f” equal “following”?
[Thanks Eileen@19 for the link. Auriga@17: this strikes me as being an unusual flamenco combo: guitar, violin and bass. Perhaps not?]
Alphalpha @49: this from Wikipedia –
f. (and the following): When used, f. has no space between it and the preceding number and is followed by a period. If more than one following section is meant, ff. is used.
For example, “Hornblower 258f.” would refer to pages 258–259 while “Hornblower 258ff.” would refer to an undetermined number of pages following page 258; more casually “258–” (no end specified).
Similarly from Collins –
f. is an abbreviation for ‘following’. It is written after a page or line number to indicate that you are referring to both the page or line mentioned and the one after it. You use ff. when you are referring to the page or line mentioned and two or more pages or lines after it.
Hope that helps. Though it is yet another of those pesky ‘one letter standing for a word’ situations which plenty of posters here find frustrating.
How does AIR SHOT mean “miss”?
Anybody else try HARROWING for 7d?
Didn’t we have IMBROGLIO recently in another puzzle?
And what are fever trees anyway? My satiable curtiosity wants to know. They could be quinine trees (hence “tonic”) but they grow in Peru, not Africa.
All I could think of to fill in 25a at first was “flamingo,” and was there a famous flamingo named Joaquin?
Gervase@21 “Graveyard shift” refers to the third shift in a round-the-clock enterpprise, from say 8pm to 4am. The after-dinner meaning (which was new to me) is a jokey reference to it.
MB@27 Why Herbert? Why not Charlotte?
essexboy@5 and Penfold @28 Who’s Natalie?
Thanks to Picaroon for an enjoyable puzzle and manehi for a lively blog.
PM@50: I’ve (and not for the first time) put you to trouble, but that’s very enlightening and much appreciated, thanks.
V@51: AIR SHOT (in golf) means the ball is missed completely. But it still counts as a shot towards your score…..
Valentine @21
You’re not a golfer then, or if you are, you’re a good one! It’s the embarrassing shot when the golfer misses the ball completely.
[Valentine @51 IMBROGLIO brings to mind Natalie Imbruglia, who was in Aussie soap opera Neighbours before embarking on a singing career in the late 90s. See had nice eyes. She probably still has them.]
Peach of a crossword!
Technically a dnf here through misspelling libidOnal taking the root of libidO.
Many thanks both.
[Valentine @51: all spiders are called Herbert in the same way that all wasps are called Jasper.
1) I love spiders.
2) I hate (and am allergic to) wasps stings.]
[ Spiders are called Boris in memory of John Entwistle RIP ]
Valentine @51 (right number this time!)
Fever trees can be quite large and impressive. Thet are so-called because they often grow in swampy areas associated with catching fever (before mosquito transmission was realised).
Not knowing AIR SHOT, FLAMENCO, and LIMPOPO this was a DNF for me but a DNF never stops my enjoyment of a first class crossword. I agree with all the praise and I’m happy that Picaroon has recently begun setting in the FT as Buccaneer. Favourites included the funny COXCOMB, LIBIDINAL, and IMBROGLIO. Thanks to both.
[Valentine @51: you asked a lot of questions; some have been answered. Regarding fever tree, yes it is the quinine tree but there are old plantations in Central Africa. You may be aware there is a company that produces high quality mixers that has adopted the name Fever Tree. From their history “It took the duo fifteen months to come up with their tonic. Initially, long days were spent in the British Library researching quinine sources from as far back as 1620, but it was a trip to the last remaining plantation of cinchona Ledgeriana trees (colloquially known as fever trees) on the Rwanda-Congo border that held the key to the tonic’s success. ‘These trees produce the purest quinine in the world, which is a key ingredient in tonic water, so for Charles and Tim there was no choice but to work with that particular plantation,’”
There are plenty of videos of air shots but here’s a nice quick one of a pro managing to miss the ball completely.]
[re fever tree passim. Is this another case where the idea that the cure for an ailment can be found close to the cause proves to have some validity?]
I don’t think Kipling’s fever trees have medicinal uses. See here.
[PeterT,
Could be. I once kicked a sack of plaster of Paris and broke my toe.]
It it wasn’t for crosswords, I would have gone to my grave imagining there was but one kind of fever tree, but I have now learnt there are three, only one of which is a source of quinine.
[Petert @65: has that increased or reduced the likelihood that malaria will be the culprit when you do?]
(Postmark@65. Even when global warming means civilisation has collapsed and malarial mosquitoes are swarming over the Medlock, I doubt if I will be able to distil quinine from tree bark, so, alas, little difference.)
[Petert
If it’s like aspirin from willow bark, you just need to steep it in water (or even just chew it).]
Another of those coincidences: NIOBIUM (which I’m not really sure that I knew but I made up from the wordplay – knowing OBI from crosswords!) – has just scored one point on ‘Pointless’.
Just wanted to pop in to thank manehi for the customarily fabulous blog, and to wish everyone well.
[William @56 – interesting (well, to me) and possibly useful fact:
Adjectives derived from Latin nouns often take their root from the genitive form, eg
king = rex, gen. regis, hence regal
law = lex, gen. legis, hence legal
libido = libido (!), gen. libidinis, hence libidinal.
At which point you’re probably thinking, how am I supposed to know that the genitive of libido is libidinis? And the answer is, it’s a regular pattern in nouns ending -do (I’m sure Eileen will correct me if there are exceptions, but common ones include ordo, gen. ordinis, cardo, gen. cardinis, longitudo, gen. longitudinis, and latitudo, gen. latitudinis) ]
[Penfold @28/55: a tonic to see you too, and thanks for prompting me to take a fresh look at Alma, which in turn reminded me of another Alma. I’d never come across the story of ‘Yesterday’ coming to life on the first Alma’s piano.]
[The African fever trees are so called not from providing a cure for fever but from their supposed ability to cause it: as muffin@59 says, they grow in swampy mosquito-ridden areas, hence the belief that you could catch malaria from sleeping under one. They also have a sickly looking greenish-yellow powdery coating to their bark, which comes off on your hands and probably contributed to their unhealthy reputation.]
Hi essexboy @71 (and William @56) – sorry for the delay: I was out from lunchtime and watched Pointless without reviewing previous comments, hence my hasty comment @69.
I couldn’t have put it better myself 😉 : it’s the genitive case that supplies the root for derivations.
[Thanks Eileen @73, that’s a compliment indeed 🙂 ]
I’ve been out all day and now I owe a lot of folks thanks.
Thanks to muffin @54 for the compliment I didn’t deserve for my presumed golfing competence — I’ve never touched the game. and @57 for the fever tree wiki.
To Penfold @55 for the Natalie explanation.
To MB@57 for the spiders named Herbert and wasps named Jasper. I found references for the latter in various different parts of the UK, but only to Herbert Somebody as a character in the Spiderman series.
To PM @61 for the quinine plantation in Africa in the 17th Century — could cinchona trees have been transported there that early?
To Picaroon @70 for his gracious note to manehi.
To elaborate on essexboy’s discussion of Latin cases — it’s not so much that the genitive is the special case that gives the root form of a word as that the nominative is the oddball only one that doesn’t. All the other cases — dative, accusative, ablative, vocative and even the plural form of the nominative — are built on the root form. I’m guessing that the genitive gets the credit for it because it happens to be the next one after nominative in the grammar books, but any of the others would do. (I learned a few years ago on this site that the cases come in a different order on the two sides of the Atlantic, but genitive comes after nominative in both.)
Excellent crossword and blog, and lots of informative comments, so thanks all.
Was I the only mug who confidently entered ELAND for 24d? Dale Partridge is an American writer about whom I knew as much as I did of Alan Partridge, i.e. nothing. But the answer fit the definition and wordplay perfectly, or so I thought until I finally got 27a SOCIAL CONTRACT.
And thanks, Eileen@19, for the link to the Joaquin Cortes video. Mrs cm loved it – classical porn at its finest, she said.
[Thanks Valentine @75 for your elaboration. I’d just add that you can’t use the voc., or acc. sing. as the root form for neuter nouns (opus for example) as it’s identical with the nom. sing.
The order of cases here in the UK is nom-voc (often missed out) -acc-gen-dat-abl. The French do the same, but the Germans use the order you mention with genitive second. (They then confuse us Brits no end by referring to them simply as erster Fall, zweiter Fall etc.)
The UK/French order goes back to 19th century Danish linguists, and has some pedagogical advantages (similar forms are grouped together). The German/American system goes back to the Greeks and Romans themselves.]
Re. 25, Joaquin Cortes is one of the great FLAMENCO dancers so this clue parses more strongly than just seeing Joaquin as a Spanish name
[Alphapha@49. Yes, an unusual combination. There are a few flamenco violinists out there as well as the odd flautist. Upright and electric basses are quite common. More fusion around these days, too.]
Thank you manehi and others for sorting out the parsing of several entries and some extra illumination thereon. And thanks Picaroon for a tough challenge which provided plenty of “A-ha” moments.
Thanks, essexboy@77, for your elaboration on my elaboration. I was sleepy and bunged it in without thinking about opus & co. and neuter always being the same as nominative, even probably on exoplanets.
Great puzzle, great blog manehi. Nothing more needs saying.
Thanks to both
What I notice about Picaroon’s clues here is how concise they are. Few extraneous words or phrases, such as those you sometimes find between wordplay and definition.