A themed puzzle today, but not a difficult one. Thank you Gozo.
The theme is colours. I was delayed for a while expecting it to be plants, but once I realised my mistake everything came together smoothly.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | MADDER |
Marks on snake (6)
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M (marks) with ADDER (snake) |
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| 4 | JET BLACK |
Sailor takes in loose belt (3,5)
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JACK (Jack Tar, a sailor) contains anagram (loose) of BELT |
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| 9 | RUSSET |
Contrary heroine booked after game (6)
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TESS (heroine, of a book) reversed (contrary) follows RU (Rugby Union, a game) |
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| 10 | LAVENDER |
Genuine backing about offer (8)
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REAL (genuine) reversed (backing) contains (about) VEND (offer) |
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| 12 | HYACINTH |
Yacht in trouble at Holyhead (8)
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anagram (trouble) of YACHT IN then first letter (head) of Holy |
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| 13 | VIOLET |
Girl is fierce – no name (6)
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VIOLEnT (fierce) missing N (name) – there is a definition here, but it is not thematic |
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| 15 | ECRU |
Portion of apple crumble (4)
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found inside (portion of) applE CRUmble |
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| 16 | SCARLET |
25s spilt (7)
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anagram (spilt) of CLARET (25 across) with S (s) |
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| 20 | MAGENTA |
Master spy inside (7)
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MA (master) contains (with…inside) AGENT (spy) |
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| 21 | PUCE |
Origins of Putin’s Ukrainian claims explained (4)
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first letters (origins) of Putin's Ukrainian Claims Explained |
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| 25 | CLARET |
Cartel broken up (6)
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anagram (broken up) of CARTEL |
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| 26 | SAPPHIRE |
County’s housing application (8)
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SHIRE (county) contains (housing) APP (application) |
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| 28 | CHESTNUT |
The sun is out in court (8)
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anagram (out) of THE SUN inside CT (court) |
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| 29 | ARGENT |
Most of the big books (6)
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LARGE (most of the letters, missing L) and NT (books, of the Bible) |
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| 30 | EAU DE NIL |
Reportedly, smell nothing (3,2,3)
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EAU DE sounds like (reportedly) "odour" (smell) then NIL (nothing) |
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| 31 | SORREL |
Steamroller dismantled, metal components thrown out (6)
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anagram (dismantled) of SteamROLlER missing the letters (components) of METAL |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | MURPHIES |
Spuds, shrimp and 21 regularly blended (8)
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anagram (blended) of SHRIMP and every other letter (regularly) of pUcE (21 across) |
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| 2 | DESPAIRS |
Loses hope, as pride’s destroyed (8)
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anagram (destroyed) of AS PRIDE'S |
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| 3 | EYELID |
That blinking sight-screen (6)
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cryptic definition |
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| 5 | EXAM |
Test English at 10.00 (4)
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E (English) X AM (10 am) |
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| 6 | BEEHIVES |
Workers’ homes showing top styles (8)
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a BEEHIVE is a hair style, found on the top of you |
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| 7 | AEDILE |
Fancy being hauled up before the foreign magistrate (6)
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IDEA (fancy) reversed (hauled up) then LE (the, in French) |
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| 8 | KARATE |
Artist gets Katherine round for unarmed combat (6)
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RA (Royal Academician) inside (gets…round) KATE (Katherine) |
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| 11 | STICKER |
Bill making son watch (7)
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S (son) and TICKER (a watch) |
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| 14 | FRET SAW |
Cutter from Far West (4,3)
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anagram (the letters from) of FAR WEST |
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| 17 | PATENTEE |
One expecting royalties is conspicuous mid-week (8)
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PATENT (conspicuous) then middle letters of wEEk |
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| 18 | MUTINEER |
Term in EU fashioned for naval rebel (8)
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anagram (fashioned) of TERM IN EU |
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| 19 | PEDESTAL |
Support parking at Leeds ground (8)
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P (parking) then anagram (ground) of AT LEEDS |
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| 22 | ICICLE |
Chemical company about to take on the French – result of the big freeze? (6)
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ICI (former chemical company) C (circa, about) with LE (the, in French) |
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| 23 | GATEAU |
It’s on the menu when eating a tea, usually (6)
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found inside eatinG A TEA Unusually |
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| 24 | OPORTO |
Loves taking wine in city on the Douro (6)
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O O (love, zero score, twice) containing PORT (wine) |
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| 27 | AUDI |
Car check incomplete (4)
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AUDIt (check, incomplete) |
As one who dabbles in the theme, this was definitely my cup of tea. Of these, I particularly liked 4, 13 and 20 (the latter two for their surface).
23d was neat but 11d was my favourite and LOI.
Though 30 was fun, the homophone for ‘nothing’ is a little off – in French, anyway.
So for 5d, ‘am’ is implied?
Needed an online check finally to confirm 7d which I didn’t know.
Thanks to Gozo for this rainbow grid and PeeDee for blog (and confirmation).
Quite enjoyable and the right level of difficulty for this little black duck. 21a was how I got the theme. I didn’t know potatoes were murphies, and I hadn’t heard of Aedile nor eau de Nil (although Chalmie used an identical clue a few years back). In 1a, ‘m’ for ‘marks’? Hmmm …
Having put in some of the quite easy down clues first, the across clues and the theme rapidly emerged . Some very neat clues.1d was my favourite.
Thanks to Gozo for another fun puzzle and to PeeDee for the parsing which was required for a couple of clues.
Hi Diane – in 30 across NIL is not part of the homophone
Diane I think it is a 24 hour clock?
PeeDee@4,
In that case, no worries.
SM@4,
Yes, you’re right.
The colours weren’t exactly your standard RGB which made things more interesting. My way in was by CHESTNUT and then the chromatically related SORREL. Again not the first colours to come to mind, though both being anagrams helped.
Managed to get all the thematic answers but missed out on the unheard of AEDILE ; one for the new words file anyway. VIOLET was unusual – a sort of double def (including the unstated one) and wordplay.
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee. Very enjoyabIe. I also started with PUCE and knew AEDILE but not EAU DE NIL
Thanks Peedee, I had to check the ending of 7D and needed a wordsearch for 1A: same query on M = marks as Geoff Down Under@2: I know M&S but surely that doesn’t count as they aren’t ever separated, presumably it is in Chambers but where is it ever used? A bit of a shame that the port wine in 24D is sort-of the same as the whole answer and wondered if there needs to be an ‘inclusion indicator’ in 23D although it’s a lovely surface so very forgiveable if so. Anyway enough nitpicking, thanks for the fun Gozo – I like these definitionless themes, makes for some good surfaces though my favourites were 3d and 6d.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
1ac: m for mark or marks (former German currency) is in Chambers 2014.
Thanks Gozo for another well-crafted, masterful crossword. My FOI was ECRU so I knew the theme would be colours. Some were new to me like MADDER and EAU DE NIL and I needed a word finder for MAGENTA due to my overthinking the wordplay. Favourites included KARATE, RUSSET, VIOLET, EXAM, and OPORTO. Thanks PeeDee for the blog.
There are no definitions for the themed words, and there is no gateway clue to help solvers either, which I found a bit much, especially as some of the required words are obscure.
Some cluing bugbears for me as well, at 1, 9, 12, 20, 29 & 31 Across, and at 11, 14, 22 & 23 Down. Why 13 Across wasn’t included as a theme word is beyond me I’m afraid.
The last plantagenet @12,
VIOLET is a theme word; PeeDee meant that while ‘girl’ could serve as the definition for ‘violet’, it was not itself part of the theme.
Thanks Pelham Barton@10, I do remember Deutschmarks, but always thought the abbreviation was DM. I shrug my shoulders before the mighty Chambers and will try to remember it for next time.
Gazzh@14: You are correct that the currency of Germany immediately before joining the Euro was the Deutschmark or Deutsche mark (DM), but that name only came in to being in 1948. Before that was the Reichsmark (from 1924). The term “mark” goes back through different historic versions of the currency as a name in its own right, or as a combining form.
While I am back in , I should have put quotation marks around “mark or marks (former German currency)” to make it clear that all of that came from Chambers.
Gazzh – I share your feelings somewhat regarding abbreviations and crosswords. It seems somewhat arbitrary to me which abbreviations get in the dictionary and which don’t. There isn’t any really easy way to tell whether an abbreviation is currently commonly in use or not, or is there now for historical reference. “I’ve never heard of it” is one rule of thumb, but that only works if one has led a spectacularly varied life and has experienced every situation where English get used.
I think one just has to regard the FT crossword as a game, and Chambers and Collins form part of the rulebook.
I see that Chambers is clearly the authority in crossword land . I was brought up with the OED , usually the Shorter . Why has this been replaced by Chambers and Collins?
SM@17: I have Chambers because it is recommended for the Azed crossword, so naturally it is the one I quote when talking about FT puzzles as well. I think many of the daily puzzle setters tend to use Collins. My understanding is that these two are generally regarded as the most comprehensive single volume English dictionaries.
SM @17: When the FT still had a contest for its Saturday crossword the prize was a copy of Simon Winchester’s The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. (It’s a great read by the way.) I always thought the OED was the gold standard for the English language but apparently Chambers gets the nod these days.
Thanks Pelham Barton again and PeeDee, yes that’s how I try to look at it and I can see that setters need something to fall back on, but it certainly aids the ailing memory to have an actual example of the more obscure abbreviations!
Thanks to Pelham Barton and Tony Santucci. I quite understand but will probably stick with the OED.
I had read The Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester which was about William
Minor , who was confined to a lunatic asylum and played a leading role in the formation of the OED. I must look out for SW’s other work on the subject . Perhaps I could even win the book one day?
[SM @21: I actually won my copy back in 2019 the 1st time I ever entered the contest with the 1st prize crossword I ever completed without assistance.]
Chambers some regard as a silly Scottish book (with taghairm in it) to be eschewed, preferring Collins, whilst others really luvvit. As far as I can work out, the DT primarily likes Chambers (don’t worry, it’s not an Everyman first letters clue), and the Times primarily likes Collins. I like it both ways, as some of you know.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
There always seems to be an old one lurking in my pile !! This was the one which I only got around to checking off tonight – was a quick-ish solve with PUCE the first one in and giving a strong indication that colours would be the theme.
Was able to continually filling words in, only pausing slightly to get some of the parsing correct – such as 31a and 1d.
Finished with STICKER, AEDILE (new term) and MAGENTA the last one in.