Crosophile has provided our entertainment this Tuesday.
As it is Tuesday, we expect a theme, which I almost didn’t spot. 22/05 provides the gateway clue, and there are other sitcoms among the entries and combinations thereof: 1, 03/19, 12/26, 17 …).
I found that I got rather bogged down in this puzzle and really struggled with the bottom right-hand corner. In the end, I needed to cheat to get 27, which was a new expression for me.
My favourite clues today were 9, 10 and 17, all for surface. I would appreciate confirmation of my parsing at 15, 22 and 27.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
Across | ||
09 | OUTLINE | Sketch duck until flying to end of lake
O (=duck, i.e. zero score in cricket) + *(UNTIL) + <lak>E (“end of” means last letter only); “flying” is anagram indicator |
10 | OPTICAL | Concerning sight of news stories as leader moves further right
TOPICAL (=of news stories); “as leader moves further right” means first letter moves to later in the word |
11 | REITERATE | Stress concerning angry packing note
TE (=note, in music) in [RE- (=concerning, about) + IRATE (=angry)] |
12 | BLACK | Boycott lecturer in the end
L (=lecturer) in BACK (=back) |
13 | DUSTY | Dutch dive’s needing a clean
DU (=Dutch) + STY (=dive, i.e. squalid place) |
14 | LOYALTIES | Allegiances of kings and queen changing sides
ROYALTIES (=kings and queens); “changing sides” means that the initial R (=right) becomes an L (=left) |
15 | EXAM | E.g. an ‘A’ written in hexameters
Hidden (“written in”) in “hEXAMeters”; the reference must be to A level examinations |
17 | BREAD | Food that’s brought up, say
Homophone (“say”) of “bred (=brought up, raised)” |
19 | LADS | Group of boys that is ejected from women’s loos
LAD<i.e.>S (=women’s loos); “that is (=i.e.) ejected” means letters “ie” are dropped |
22/05 | SITUATION COMEDY | Broadcast idiocy mutates on The Young Ones for instance
*(IDIOCY MUTATES ON); “broadcast” is anagram indicator; The Young Ones was a BBC sitcom, first aired in 1982-84; there are other sitcoms dotted around the grid |
24 | BOOKS | Antelopes with to eat in reserves
O (=nothing, pictorially) in BOKS (=antelopes) |
26 | ADDER | Simple computational device – one with slide?
ADDER (=simple computation device, i.e. something that adds); a slide adder is one such device |
27 | LEASTWISE | American however is like Trump
(the) LEAST WISE (=like Trump, i.e. former US President); “leastwise” is an American version of “however” |
28 | ESTEEMS | Values Spain’s players in report
E’S (=Spain’s) + homophone (“report”) of “teams (=players)” |
29 | LIONESS | She has her pride
Cryptically, a lioness has a pride of lions! |
Down | ||
01 | PORRIDGE | Stir // something for breakfast
Double definition; “stir” is time in prison, hence “porridge” |
02 | ETHICS | Morality of French and this Latin rests on semantics ultimately
ET (=French and, i.e. the French word for and) + HIC (=this Latin, i.e. a Latin word for this) + <semantic>S (“ultimately” means last letter only) |
03 | LIKELY | Promising girl full of dynamic energy
KE (=dynamic energy, i.e. kinetic energy) in LILY (=girl, i.e. female forename) |
04 | RETAILER | Trader’s ego interrupting upset storyteller
I (=ego) in RELATER (=storyteller); “upset” indicates vertical reversal |
06 | STUBBLE | Start of beard – with subtle changes
*(B<eard> + SUBTLE); “start of” means first letter only is used in anagram, indicated by “changes”; semi-& lit. |
07 | SCIATICA | Starting to snort cocaine, one with a nervous twitch and a nervous complaint
S<nort> C<ocaine> (“starting to” means first letters only) + I (=one) + A + TIC (=nervous twitch) + A |
08 | FLAKES | Bodies of water covered in fine snow?
F (=fine) + LAKES (=bodies of water) |
16 | ANTIDOTE | Struggling to detain a counter-agent
*(TO DETAIN); “struggling” is anagram indicator |
18 | ANNUALLY | Girl friend seen around fourth of August every year
<aug>U<st> (“fourth of” means fourth letter only) in [ANN (=girl, i.e. female forename) + ALLY (=friend) |
20 | SUSPENSE | Tension of pole markers when in service
S (=pole, i.e. south) + [PENS (=markers) in USE (=service)] |
21 | HAIRNET | Head covering for when the rain is scattered
*(THE RAIN); “is scattered” is anagram indicator |
22 | SPACED | Laid out with gaps, changes to lower case when written over maybe?
DECAP<italise>S (=cryptically, changes to lower case); “when written over” indicates reversal |
23 | ILL-USE | Damage as coming up we sullied boxes
Reversed (“coming up”) and hidden (“boxes”) in “wE SULLIed” |
24 | BOTTOM | Last place as explosion envelops races
TT (=races) in BOOM (=explosion) |
25 | OXIDES | Source of leather in Smifffield compounds?
OX <h>IDES (=sources of leather); “in Smifffield” (=a London market) suggests that the “h” would be dropped, as in Cockney |
The grid pattern suggested there might be a nina, but when there wasn’t one we looked for a theme (which we didn’t spot till we’d completed the grid). We’re not really into sitcoms but we can add 24dn to the list above.
We weren’t all that taken with the clue for OXIDES, but we liked SCIATICA and HAIRNET.
At first we thought 27ac might be ‘leastways’ but checking in Chambers that it can mean ‘however’ took us to the more obvious LEASTWISE.
A pleasant solve, which didn’t take too long. Thanks, Crosophile and RatkojaRiku
12/24a as well as 12/26 24d 22d more sketch show than situation comedy though. Quite tricky in places but fun, interesting last week Hoskins doing a full black adder theme,
thanks RR and Croso
Thanks for the blog, some tricky clues there, DNF on SPACED. I agree with RR on the three quoted, tried to read more into LEASTWISE but failed – it would seem guessing the setter’s personal opinions is also required to parse that one.
Overall a nice challenge though, even a theme for me to miss!
Spotted BLACK BOOKS, BLACKADDER, BREAD, LIKELY LADS, PORRIDGE, SPACED & BOTTOM. Never heard of Smifffield. Does it really have a triple F? Is it a play on Smithfield?
In 28a, I’m not aware that ES can stand for Spain. I took it as E for Spain with the S coming from the apostrophe S in “Spain’s”.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
At 26ac it never occurred to me that a ‘slide adder’ was a thing (though I now remember using one as a child) – I thought ‘slide’ in the clue was a (slightly lame) reference to the movement of the snake so thanks to RR for clarifying that. And I missed the theme (as ever).
I’m slowly learning that Tue=Theme so for once was actively looking for one. Got PORRIDGE and thought Sitcoms and got lucky! It did help me out on LIKELY and BLACK having got the second halves first.
I did struggle towards the end and (as often) needed a fair bit of help and last in was BREAD (annoyingly given it’s the same type of clue as PORRIDGE and a sitcom)
Enjoyed the bits I understood!
Thanks Crosophile for the challenge and to RR for the learning experience
Yes, Hovis@4, it is a play on Smithfield. The caricature cockney pronounces ‘th’ as ‘f’ or ‘ff’ – as in ‘I fought is name was Smiff’ – as well as dropping his / her aitches; so the tripple F in ‘Smifffleid’ inplies the dropped H in ‘Oxide’.
Hovis – as per blogger, it *is* a play on Smithfield [Meat Market] – the implied cockney allowing the dropping of the ‘h’ from ox hides [which might be found there] to give the chemical compounds.
Haven’t added a thing to RatkojaRiku’s explanation, now that I look at it!
I have enjoyed previous Crosophiles and liked doing this one until I came to the very last. Is it necessary for the clue to include Smiffield spelled thusly? All we’re being asked to do is drop the aitch and setters have managed to indicate that with any amount of allusions to East End, Eastenders, Bow etc. A triple F to imply a dropped aitch seems rather too contrived.
I spotted the theme – as usual some time after finishing when remembering what day is was. Always good to be able to complete the solve without the theme intruding and it certainly didn’t do that. Ticks for both HAIRNET and ANTIDOTE amongst the anagrams and for STUBBLE as a pretty good attempt at an &lit. It’s a sign of the politico-social complexity in which we all now live that I find myself wondering whether BLACK should be used to mean boycott. It would be interesting to see what reaction it got had it appeared in the G.
Thanks Crosophile @ RR
Another fine puzzle from Crosophile, LOI was Spaced; as usual missed the theme and will have to train myself always to look for one on Tuesday.
Query the parsing of 11A – isn’t it RE + TE in (packing) IRATE?
Agree with @4 Hovis if he is saying the parsing is E’S TEEMS.
Thanks to Crosophile and RatkojaRiku.
gwep @10: I think your parsing of 11ac and RR’s are the same. RE I(TE)RATE
Re parsing – either is fine, surely – the blogger’s careful square brackets mean the note can be either in REIRATE or RE IRATE.
I agree with Hovis @4 regarding 28 and have changed the blog accordingly. My only excuse is that where I work, the country code for Spain, which I see dozens of times every day, is ES. Far more importantly here, Chambers has E for Spain and ES for El Salvador!
Many thanks for the blog, RatkojaRiku, and thankyou for all the comments.
I think all the sitcoms were discovered [and Spaced is definitely a sitcom, with a perfect story arc over two series. I’m near word-perfect on it!]
I think all the parsings got sorted in the end. As mw7000, #8, realised, I chose ‘Smifffield’ for the OXIDES clue because it was specifically the meat market. Hopefully it was clear what was being indicated [the cockney dropped H] and I can understand if it was not to everybody’s taste. On the other hand other ‘dropped H’ indicators tend to be a bit clichéd.
I hope my suggestion that Trump was the least wise president wasn’t too contentious!
As regards Ninas, there is always one lurking somewhere in a Crosophile puzzle., even if not a Tuesday. 🙂
Hang on setter – are you suggesting that there *is* a Nina in today’s (Tuesday), in addition to the theme?
@15 Haha! No. … I think?
I always have a ‘thing’ going on in a Crosophile. Whether it’s a theme or a nina I wouldn’t like to say. 🙂