Rodriguez pops up again today.
We really enjoyed this despite the theme requiring all the across solutions to be Americanisms – we don’t like Estate Agents much, but they sound much better than the American version at 24ac – it is such an ugly word.
This was a skilful grid fill, although it seems to have necessitated the (to us) extremely unusual character at 1d.
APART (away from others) MEaNT (intended) with the ‘a’ (area) omitted or ‘leaving’
CAD (blackguard) in or ‘joining’ SS (fascist organisation) – a new word for us
POPS (tries, as in ‘having a pop at’) round or ‘drowning’ ADO (trouble), all reversed or ‘rejected’
A palindrome – ‘able to reverse without modification’
LOSE (throw off) in CT (court)
PACIER (faster) round or ‘cuddling’ IF (providing)
A reverse definition: ‘use’ could be interpreted as US (AMERICAN) + E (ENGLISH) – we had realised that the across solutions were Americanisms before we solved this one – we actually initially wondered whether Rodriguez is American! How long will it be before the Americans take over and we speak ‘English American’ in the UK?
E (European) VAT (tax) in a reversal (‘receding’) of ROLE (part)
REPAID (returned) reversed or ‘to the west’ – nice definition!
An anagram (‘moving’) of LOT in REAR (behind)
DRAG (female clothing for men) round or ‘keeping’ ISH (somewhat)
CON (Conservative – ‘politician’) DO (party)
DR (doctor – ‘medic’) + an anagram (‘supply’) URGES TO
I (one) CA (about) in an anagram (‘excitedly’) of SAUNA – a character we had never heard of before
HOME (house) round or ‘cladding’ an anagram (‘involved’) of SAND
P (softly) in or ‘cutting’ STALE (old)
WEE (little) P (power)
An anagram (‘novel’) of SPY + CHIN (feature) G (good)
sTAy, pICk tHIs – all three words without their first and last letters or ‘stripping off’
U (a homophone – ‘said’ – of ‘you’) SURER (with more confidence)
An anagram (‘broken’) of HEART + TEN (figure)
FA (nothing) V (versus – ‘against’) OUR ED ‘Indy setters’ boss)
IN (during) ACT 1 (opening passage of play) ON (cricket side)
An anagram (‘shot’) of SNIPER and NO
HEROES (Bowie song) round or ‘covering’ EG (for example)
ENRICo (Enrico Caruso, the opera singer) without the ‘o’ + H (henry)
chatELAINE (mistress of great house) without the ‘chat’
Hidden or ‘lodging’ in twIN SISTer
MUD (slander) reversed or ‘about’ round or ‘covering’ R (Republican)
Well, well! I raised an eyebrow at both SCADS and DISHRAG. I noted as Americanisms CONDO and REALTOR. Possibly DIAPERS and DRUGSTORE. But I never realised there was a theme and so thoroughly inserted into the puzzle. The clue for AMERICAN ENGLISH was the one I didn’t fully parse and now I get it. Chapeau Rodriguez. Lovely creation.
Thanks B&J for the blog
Good fun. SCADS was the only unknown for me. Although I knew NAUSICAA, I can’t remember where I heard of her.
Susie Dent often mentions how many so-called Americanisms were originally UK English. For example, “sidewalk” and “fall” (Autumn) started over here. I think, before the French invasion, words ending in “-ER” rather than “-RE” were also in common use.
An original theme, which I’d only semi-noticed but hadn’t put together until solving (though not really parsing) 16a. Still, missed DISHRAG (entered ‘dustrag’ in hope) and had to put in the unheard of SCADS from wordplay. No luck with the guess for NAUSICAA either, so despite enjoying this, a clear DNF and a win to our setter.
Thanks to Rodriguez and to B&J
As a passionate believer that Americanisms used in UK crosswords should be indicated as such, my blood pressure slowly rose as I worked my way through this puzzle. Then 16a gave the game away. My blood pressure returned to normal and this gets my (slightly grudging) appreciation.
I hadn’t realised the subtlety of USE in 16a. Very well done to B&J for spotting that. That gets my vote as favourite.
One has to admire the skill needed to compile this with only two obscurities in SCADS and NAUSICAA, although fortunately I remembered the latter from The Odyssey.
Well done, Rodriguez, and thanks to B&J.
I didnt pay much attention to “Americanisms” as back in the day DRUGSTORE was the sort of place you could get breakfast in-thats no criticism of our excellent pirate. But a few were pure American -diaper , realtor, condo etc
A great puzzle as usual with this cove.
Thanks also to B&J
Thanks for a great blog, B&J, especially for the parsing of AMERICAN ENGLISH: like Rabbit Dave, I missed the US E, which made it top favourite for me, too – eventually.
Other ticks were for PACIFIER, DIAPER, DISHRAG, DRUGSTORE (I always love to see that use of ‘supply’), NAUSICAA, whom I too knew from the Odyssey, TAI CHI, INACTION, IN PERSON and ENRICH.
Great puzzle – I really enjoyed it. Thanks to Rodriguez, as ever.
American cruciverbalist here! Funnily enough I had no idea what the theme of this puzzle was until coming to the blog — those entries all seemed so natural to me. Surely my fastest solve on a Rodriguez puzzle and I now I wonder if this is why. NAUSICAA was familiar to me as the title character of the Miyazaki film.
Thanks for the great blog, B&J and to Rodriguez for the lovely puzzle.
Before I got as far as solving 16a (where I did spot the US E) I’d already written RD at the top pf the piece of paper as I knew there’d have been extreme muttering in the hutch!)
Thanks to Rodriguez for the great crossword and to B&J for the equally great blog
I got 16a quite early, just on a couple of crossers and the letter count, which helped with the other themed entries. Didn’t appreciate the subtlety of it, though, so many thanks to Bertandjoyce. Scads was new to me. Apart from 16a – plaudits to Rodriguez – my favourite was the ISH in 25a. Hee hee
Like RD, I started with blood pressure issues as I worked through this one so 16a came as a great relief and it finished up as my favourite once I’d picked up on our review team’s comment about the inclusion of ‘use’.
SCADS was new to me and although I vaguely recalled the unfortunately named maid from the Odyssey I doubt I’d have been able to spell her name correctly without asking Mr Google.
Respect to Rodriguez for catching some of us off-guard and thanks to B&J, particularly for the parsing of 16a.
RD @4 (and, therefore, jane @10 too): I must confess, having returned late to the blog, I smiled broadly as I read your comments. I can just imagine your rising rancour. And then the collapse of same when the puzzle was unlocked. Very amusing and thanks for sharing!
Coniferous @7: your plight equally amusing.
16ac for me was less a penny drop but more like a fairground penny fall where one penny falls to move another and so on, so I went from “This must involve an anagram of the lingo” to “It has to be American English from the crossers, maybe it’s something to do with across the pond” to seeing the across clued and the finally reading the blog and getting the US E
Thanks Rodriguez and BandJ.
We were about half way through when we realised what was going on and our solving rate speeded up. We had to check SCADS in Chambers. but we knew or vaguely remembered the rest. CoD was TAI CHI.
Thanks, Rodriguez and B&J.
Had a very quick stab this morning a few downs in plus closet and elevator no other across solved, returned this evening to gradually get more and more irate until a cent drop moment…
Needed the blog for NAUSICAA, the only maid I could remember was Melantho. I was being too literal there of course. As with others SCADS a new word.
I remember once trying to explain -ISH to an American who insisted it made more sense to just put ‘kinda’ in front instead.
Thanks Rodriguez and B&J
Another US inhabitant — I enjoyed solving this and did not notice anything unusual about it, apart from being puzzled by 16A and needing Google for 1D. Only after having come here do I realize (sp.) how it must have looked to a solver from the other side of the pond. I must admit I found RD and Jane’s accounts quite amusing. Thanks to Rodriguez and B&J.
Having indeed popped up again in the Indy, I thought I really ought to pop in to say thanks to B&J for the really sterling blog, as well as to everyone taking the trouble to comment.
Ideally, I would have liked more (or really any) north-south connectivity in the grid, but I couldn’t get it without more obscure words / less than 50% checking in some entries / lots of short lights, all of which are, I think, more egregious faults in terms of grid design.
Right, I’ll pop off now. Till next time!