Always a pleasure to get a Vigo puzzle to solve and blog on a Monday.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Pirate’s leader aware of refusal to turn back boat
PONTOON
A charade of P for the initial letter of ‘pirate’, ON TO and NO reversed.
5 Hidden danger behind returning medication boxes
PITFALL
An insertion of AFT reversed in PILL. The insertion indicator is ‘boxes’ and the reversal indicator is ‘returning’.
9 Prince from West Africa wearing collar
NAWAB
An insertion of WA in NAB. An Urdu word, signifying a viceroy or deputy governor under the former Mogul empire in India.
10 Need bit of joist in support for flag
BLACKJACK
An insertion of LACK and J for the initial letter of ‘joist’ in BACK. In popular parlance, the skull and crossbones or Jolly Roger.
11 Impasse as bay abandons horse from the same yard
STALEMATE
STA[B]LEMATE. I can’t find b for ‘bay’ in any of my dictionaries, and can only think that’s what Vigo intended.
12 Over time plug bargain
STEAL
An insertion of T in SEAL. The insertion indicator is ‘over’.
13 Dropping fish without tail
SKAT
SKAT[E]. An alternative spelling of SCAT.
15 King left donkey going around rich source of wealth
KLONDYKE
A charade of K, L and (DONKEY)* The NW Canadian region that was a source of gold in the late 1800s.
18 Networking system using alien trap to snare female
ETHERNET
An insertion of HER in ET and NET. The insertion indicator is ‘to snare’.
19 Turning slates for photograph
SNAP
A reversal of PANS. To PAN and to ‘slate’ are both verbs meaning ‘to criticise’.
22 Silence wife and husband first
WHIST
A charade of W, H and IST. A poetical word for Shh! or Be quiet! I can’t see it without starting to sing The Lambton Worm, the chorus of which is:
Whisht! lads, haad yor gobs,
Aa’ll tell yer aall and aaful story.
Whisht! lads, haad yor gobs,
An’ Aal tell yer ’bout the woorm.
24 Small diamonds dropped from editorial about diamond
SOLITAIRE
A charade of S and (E[D]ITORIAL)* with ‘about’ as the anagrind.
26 Excessively and completely overwhelming several
FULSOMELY
An insertion of SOME in FULLY. The insertion indicator is ‘overwhelming’. FULSOME always used to mean, and still does for some people, ‘nauseatingly obsequious’ (it’s cognate with false). But most people these days use it in Vigo’s sense: lavish, excessive; and almost always in the phrase ‘fulsome praise’.
27 Pest concealed by a piano
APHID
A charade of A, P and HID.
28 Cryptic setter’s ways
STREETS
(SETTERS)*
29 Unemotional doctor looked on after final bit of surgery
DRY-EYED
A charade of DR, Y for the last letter of ‘surgery’ and EYED.
Down
1 Correct urge to capture province
PUNISH
An insertion of NI in PUSH. The insertion indicator is ‘to capture’.
2 Recent demand for course
NEWMARKET
A charade of NEW and MARKET.
3 Doctor into rock as solo player
OMBRE
An insertion of MB in ORE. The insertion indicator is ‘into’. This exact definition is given in my Chambers, and is to do with the card game.
4 Corrupt banks earn from American state
NEBRASKAN
(BANKS EARN)*
5 Set step across line
PLACE
An insertion of L in PACE. The insertion indicator is ‘across’.
6 Seizes day to commit to alliance
TAKE SIDES
A charade of TAKES and IDES. The second particle is best known in the Ides of March, of which one should beware.
7 Saw commercial over time
ADAGE
A charade of AD and AGE. ‘Over’ works because it’s a down clue.
8 Promising characteristic of heartless lady
LIKELY
A charade of LIKE and L[AD]Y.
14 Somehow not new, yet not of a significant age
TWENTY-ONE
(NOT NEW YET)*
16 Performed better in unpopular drama before journalist
OUTPLAYED
A charade of OUT, PLAY and ED.
17 Roguishly and grandly removing hat following king and knight
KNAVISHLY
A charade of K, N for the chess ‘knight’ and [L]AVISHLY.
20 Sieves covering Welsh birds
SWIFTS
An insertion of W in SIFTS. The insertion indicator is ‘covering’. Swifts are the most aerial of birds, superficially similar to swallows, but that’s a result of convergent evolution rather than down to taxonomy. They are more closely related to the hummingbirds. The obligatory Pierre bird link shows the common swift, Apus apus.
21 Maintained time’s over
TENDED
A charade of T and ENDED.
23 One doing very little in bridle-roads
IDLER
Hidden in brIDLE Roads.
24 Plans of small particles broadcast
SPECS
A homophone of SPECKS.
25 At first you decided awful outfit turned up is flattering one
TOADY
The first letters of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh letters of the clue, all reversed (‘up’).
Many thanks to Vigo for the start to the Indy week.
There are a lot of card games in there, which we enjoyed spotting – thanks Vigo!
Thanks also to Pierre for blogging – glad to see the OPBL!
A nice, light, themed Monday puzzle, which was great fun to solve. I had lots of ticks – too many to try to pick a favourite.
Collins online suggests that “whist” meaning “silence” is an American term, and we had a repetition of t for time.
Many thanks to Vigo and to Pierre.
I would have spelled KLONDYKE with an I rather than a Y. Looking for the Y version on Google gives a few links to the gold rush but far more appear for the search with an I and the Canadian River is the Klondike according to both Wikipedia and Google Maps.
Favourite today was STALEMATE and, Pierre, I wondered and have now confirmed that ‘b’ can stand for bay in the horse sense on a racecard. Which makes the clue rather neat. FULSOMELY and DRY-EYED were my other ticks and, whilst I think I’ve seen it before, NEWMARKET is beautifully succinct. I don’t think two horse references makes for a theme – though I suspect quite a few of today’s solutions might also be horse names but that’s a bit like band names; you can find them everywhere.
Thanks Vigo and Pierre
Well spotted DavidO @1! (and Rabbit Dave) I was too focused on my horses and your post came in whilst I was writing about them. Of course (‘scuse pun) you are right – ten instances? Plus a few other words that are card related like OUTPLAYED and KNAVISHLY.
Whoops. Oh, yes … the card games. I am often blind to themes when I’m solving; probably more so when I’m concentrating on blogging. And I got overexcited with having a bird link. And Monday is always a theme-free day in the Indy. Well, nearly always. Have made note to self.
Missed the theme. My excuse (which is no excuse at all of course) was that my mental energy was concentrated on just solving the puzzle, with WHIST for ‘Silence’, a PONTOON as a sort of ‘boat’ and BLACKJACK as a ‘flag’ needing a lot of thought. Talk about obvious after the fact!
Thanks to Vigo and Pierre and ‘FULSOME praise’ to those who spotted the theme.
The theme was soon spotted, and as nobody has yet fully identified them I offer PONTOON, BLACKJACK, SKAT, SNAP, KLONDYKE, WHIST, SOLITAIRE, NEWMARKET, OMBRE, TWENTY-ONE, and possibly PIT(fall), which is or at least was a card game based on the stock market, and maybe others I don’t know. Great fun, so thanks Vigo and Pierre.
Aaargh! Thank you to DavidO et al for pointing out what should have an obvious theme. Especially as I thought ‘I think of x more as a game than an x’ on more than one occasion without then joining the dots. Tsk.
Always a delight to see an appearance from Vigo and even I spotted the theme, although I wouldn’t know how to play some of the card games mentioned.
Great start to the crossword week and Pierre must have enjoyed the chance to include a bird link!
Thanks to Vigo for a most enjoyable puzzle and to Pierre for the review.
I would never have got SKAT without the theme. It’s ages since I played the game.
A fairly straightforward solve for us, and we even spotted the theme, although we didn’t know SKAT as a game until we consulted Chambers to confirm the K spelling for the dropping. As is often the case with us, favourites were non-thematic – TAKE SIDES anf KNAVISHLY.
Thanks, Vigo and Pierre.
Can’t believe I finished without the theme registering. A delightful puzzle with a couple of head scratches. The customary lack of attention to the wordplay had me spelling KLONDYKE with an i but otherwise pretty straightforward.
Thanks to Vigo & Pierre
Thanks both. Also missed the theme, which serves as a campaign point for a three day weekend. Confused that TWENTY ONE is clued as not of a significant age, so may be missing something or have attended countless meaningless parties
No wonder!!
I had bannister in stead of blackjack. (:-((
TFO @13. I took “somehow not” as the anagram indicator, “new yet not” as the fodder, and “of significant age” as the definition.
Great puzzle, and a clever spot of the reverse E(D)ITORIAL in SOLITAIRE. It’s touches like that set a puzzle above the standard fare. Didn’t spot the theme, but I almost never do even when it’s staring me in the face, like here. I’m glad SNAP made an appearance as it’s the only card game I’m any good at.