The two most recent Serpent puzzles had geological themes. What do we have this week?
I can’t see any theme, but I do see that the initial letters of the across entries in clue order spell out ACROSS ACROSTIC Not surprisingly, I can’t see anything happening in the downs.
The definitions included two separate meanings of the word ‘refrain’ – ABSTAIN at 9 across and CHORUS at 7 down
Serpent has given us some good surfaces today including clues for OVERTHROW, CRYPTIC, and MADRASSA, but my favourite was the clue for CAFFEINE.
I’m not sure about the word ‘twit’ in the clue for 13/24 across. Perhaps solvers can enlighten me.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 9 |
Serenade briefly interrupted by cheers after sailor’s refrain (7) ABSTAIN (refrain [from]) AB (able seaman; sailor) + (SING excluding the final letter G [briefly] containing [interrupted by] TA [thank you; cheers]) AB S (TA) IN |
| 10 |
Baker perhaps follows short cut to do decorative work (7) CROCHET (to do decorative work consisting of intertwined loops, executed in wool or thread with a small hook) CROP (cut) excluding the final letter P (short) + CHET (reference CHET Baker [1929 – 1988], American jazz trumpeter and vocalist) CRO CHET |
| 11 |
Parent caught fish (5) RAISE (rear, grow or breed children; parent) RAISE (sounds like [caught] RAYS [fish]) RAISE |
| 12 |
Worst hospital is involved in public dispute (9) OVERTHROW (to defeat; worst can also be defined as ‘to defeat) H (hospital) contained in (is involved in) (OVERT [open to view; public] + ROW [dispute]) OVERT (H) ROW |
| 13 / 24 |
Begin to date vacuous upper-class twit? (3,3) SET OFF (begin) SEE (date somebody) excluding the central letter (vacuous) E + TOFF (upper-class person) I don’t think a TOFF is necessarily a twit. Perhaps I’m missing something. SE T [OFF] |
| 14 |
Designer drug cut with crushed silica (11) SPECIALISED (custom-made for a specific purpose; perhaps designer-made) SPEED (amphetamine; drug) containing (cut with) an anagram of [crushed] SILICA) SPE (CIALIS*) ED |
| 16 |
Suspect due bail in hearing (7) AUDIBLE (able to be heard; in hearing) Anagram of (suspect) DUE BAIL AUDIBLE* |
| 18 |
Clamour about sealing off derelict pit is difficult to understand (7) CRYPTIC (mysteriously obscure; difficult to understand) (CRY [clamour] + C [circa; about]) containing [sealing off] an anagram of [derelict] PIT CRY (PTI*) C |
| 21 |
Current time could be time to take on staff (11) RECRUITMENT ([time of] taking on staff) Anagram of (could be) CURRENT TIME RECRUITMENT* |
| 24 |
See 13 [SET] OFF |
| 25 |
Awareness of crime essentially accommodated by court’s punishment (9) SENTIENCE (consciousness; awareness) I (middle letter of [essentially] CRIME) + contained in (accommodated by) SENTENCE (court’s punishment) SENT (I) ENCE |
| 27 |
Computing device mainly provides means of summarising information (5) TABLE (compact scheme of numerical information; means of summarising information) TABLET (computing device such as a IPad) excluding the final letter (mainly) T TABLE |
| 28 |
Appropriate assertion of modernist poet? (7) IMPOUND (take legal possession of; appropriate can defined as to make the private of someone) I’M (I am; an assertive statement) + POUND (reference Ezra POUND [1885 – 1972], American poet) IM POUND |
| 29 |
Deal with business issue (7) CONCERN (relate to; deal with) CONCERN (business) CONCERN (problem; issue) triple definition CONCERN |
| Down | |
| 1 |
Fanatical gunmen destroyed SAS training establishment (8) MADRASSA (Muslim college; mosque school; training establishment) MAD (fanatical) + RA (Royal Artillery) + an anagram of (destroyed) SAS MAD RA SSA* |
| 2 |
Helped out when relative almost died (8) ASSISTED (helped out) AS (when) + SISTER (relative) excluding the final letter R (almost) + D (died) AS SISTE D |
| 3 |
Terms of reference sometimes limited by vehicles in bill (6) CARESS (bill [CARESS or talk fondly]) ES (final letters of [terms of; terminals of] each of REFERENCE and SOMETIMES) contained in (limited by) CARS (vehicles) CAR (ES) S |
| 4 |
Rambling company has essential cover (10) INCOHERENT (not orderly in thought or speech; rambling) CO (company) contained in (has … cover) INHERENT (essential) IN (CO) HERENT |
| 5 |
Wonderful nurses name condition one has to face? (4) ACNE (skin disease caused by inflammation of the sebaceous follicles, especially on the face, neck, and shoulders) ACE (excellent; wonderful) containing (nurses) N (name) AC (N) E |
| 6 |
Perhaps local bank’s run down by huge number of people (8) HOSTELRY (an inn; a local) HOST (huge number of people) + RELY (depend; bank) with the R [run] moved further down [run down; down entry] to form ELRY HOST ELRY |
| 7 |
Refrain from tasks requiring English to be universal (6) CHORUS (a refrain) CHORES (tasks) with E (English) replaced by (requiring … to be) U (universal) CHORUS |
| 8 |
Put away heads of syndicate that got into debt (6) STOWED (put away) ST (first letters of [heads of] each of SYNDICATE and THAT) + OWED (got into debt) ST OWED |
| 15 |
Men cycle in unusual and unforgiving position (10) INCLEMENCY (strict or unforgiving attitude) Anagram of (unusual) MEN CYCLE IN INCLEMENCY* |
| 17 |
Book published that is without question catering to niche market (8) BOUTIQUE (specialist, exclusive; catering to a niche market) B (book) + OUT (published) + (IE [id est; that is] containing [without; outside] QU [question]) B OUT I (QU) E |
| 19 |
Worried Russia’s ready to invade Thailand’s borders (8) TROUBLED (worried) ROUBLE (currency [ready {money} of Russia]) contained in (to invade) TD (outer letters of [borders] THAILAND) T (ROUBLE) D |
| 20 |
Face fine after distributing legal high? (8) CAFFEINE (an alkaloid that occurs naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa, and cola nuts, acting as a mild stimulant to the nervous system.;a legal stimulant or high) Anagram of (after distributing) FACE FINE CAFFEINE* |
| 21 |
Having suit inside out in church is uncouth (6) RUSTIC (uncouth) Anagram of (inside out) SUIT contained in (in) RC (Roman Catholic church) R (USTI*) C |
| 22 |
Cover article plugs something newsworthy (6) CANOPY (cover) AN (indefinite article) contained in (plugs) COPY (something considered newsworthy for publishing) C (AN) OPY |
| 23 |
Outstanding figures reportedly make firm leader in sector (6) TITANS (persons of great strength or size; outstanding figures) TITANS (sounds like [reportedly] TIGHTENS [makes firm]) TITANS |
| 26 |
English academic revolutionised device connected to internet? (4) NODE (a processing location connected to the internet) (E [English] + DON [academic]) all reversed (revolutionised) (NOD E)< |
Well that’s a couple of Serpents finished in a row so I’m on a roll! Never spot this setter’s Ninas or other tricks, though, and, even though I studied the grid, I didn’t see the acrostic. Some splendid definitions hidden away in here: ACNE, BILL, IMPOUND, AUDIBLE, OVERTHROW. With bill, I thought I recalled it being a term for birds showing affection/reinforcing their bond. I don’t think I’d have got the Chet Baker reference if he hadn’t appeared in another recent crossword – and I’ve wondered before whether Ezra Pound is still current anywhere other than crosswords? I’m no student of poetry so would be delighted to discover I’m wrong! COTD goes to the already mentioned AUDIBLE which is very neat. I agree with our blogger’s query re ‘twit’.
Thanks Serpent and Duncan
Phew! That was none too easy. Managed to finish but used the nina to get RAISE followed by CARESS & MADRASSA. The latter was an unknown for me. I guessed it would end in RA + SSA and MAD was then the obvious choice for the start. A check in Chambers showed I was correct. Not sure I would have gotten CARESS had it not been a recent crossword were BILL & COO were equated (not that I think coo can mean caress as I said in my comment on that particular crossword).
Other highlights included SPECIALISED, RECRUITMENT, BOUTIQUE, HOSTELRY & CAFFEINE.
I didn’t see the acrostic either but I did enjoy the usual splendid crossword from Serpent
Thanks to Serpent and Duncan
Thanks Duncan, especially for 6d, I just could not see where the “elry” came from. Serpent is presumably thinking along the lines of Monty Python
in 13.
Apart from a neutral ‘person of the upper classes’, Chambers also has ‘a good sort’ for toff. But surely nobody would use toff these days without intending a little mockery.
In all, about twice as hard as usual by time. BOUTIQUE ASSISTED and SPECIALISED the pick for me. I thought the fanatics in the madrassa an unwelcome association.
No commas today; it must be a thing, as there’s a definite choice to made between ‘and’ and a comma in 15d.
Thanks Serpent, Duncan
I fared better on Serpent’s Inqy than this-I usually rely on a juicy nina to help me over the line
Never heard of MADRASSA although the wordplay was clear enough
Also snagged in the SE corner a couple of times but i dont mind being beaten by Serpent.
A cruel man but fair!
Thanks gentlemen
No hope of picking up the acrostic, being on the lookout for something geological to follow the last couple from Serpent. I liked the triple def CONCERN and the ‘legal high’ for which I tried to fit in ‘cathedra’ until the whiff of a freshly opened jar of Moccona (no, no coffee connoisseur I’m afraid) came to mind.
Thanks to Serpent and Duncan
Just a small detail which you have perhaps missed, Duncan. The SUIT is literally “inside out” rather than just anagrammatised, i.e. USTI.
Great crossword, and pleased I only needed you to tell me about “terms” meaning meaning termini, which I’ve never come across before.
Thanks Serpent and Duncan.
[ MrPostMark@1 Ezra Pound has gone the same way as TS Eliot due to very unpleasant prejudices, probably even more so than Eliot ]
No chance on the Nina.. cryptic message to be sure.. got through in the end, but woeful parsing… so thanks for clearing up the mysterious ones duncansheill..
thanks Serpent
Many thanks to Duncan for his excellent explanations and blog, and to everyone who has taken the time to solve and comment on the puzzle. Thanks, in particular, to Andy @8 for commenting on the specific intention of “inside out”.
Too late to be of significance but the parsing of TITANS is TIGHTEN = make firm + s (first of sector)
We got there in the end, LOI being CARESS after a sudden inspiration about ‘billing and cooing’ sent us to look up ‘bill’ in Chambers and there it was. We missed the acrostic of course.
Thanks, Serpent and Duncan.