As ever from Nutmeg, this was very enjoyable with some very neat clueing. My favourites were 11ac, 23ac, 7dn, 12dn, and 15dn. Thanks to Nutmeg for the puzzle
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | IMPOSED |
Insisted on confirmation from studio model (7)
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I'M POSED="confirmation from studio model" that they are ready |
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| 5 | SLEEP IN |
Flipping Ulster PM’s come round too late (5,2)
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reversal/"Flipping" of: NI (Northern Ireland) + PEEL'S=PM'S (Robert Peel, UK 19th century Prime Minister) |
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| 9 | CURIA |
See court spies from abroad crossing ancient city (5)
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definition: in the Roman Catholic Church, the court of the papal see, with 'see' meaning a bishop's jurisdiction CIA="spies from abroad" around UR="ancient city" |
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| 10 | PREDICTOR |
Diviner decree replacing one abbey’s number two released (9)
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definition: agent noun from 'to divine'='to predict' EDICT="decree" replacing 'i'="one" which is released from PR-i-OR=an abbot's deputy="abbey's number two" |
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| 11 | GRASP THE NETTLE |
Ignoring outsiders, Ethel’s parents get cracking and tackle a problem (5,3,6)
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anagram/"cracking" of (thel parents get)*, ignoring the outside letters of [E]-thel-[s] |
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| 13 | NAIL |
Firmly attach small part of body (4)
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double definition |
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| 14 | HELSINKI |
The Spanish decline to enter Hawaii’s capital (8)
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EL="The [in] Spanish" + SINK="decline", all inside HI (state abbreviation for Hawaii) |
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| 17 | EMPLOYER |
One uses tactic to intercept notes from the East (8)
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PLOY="tactic" inside a reversal/"from the East" of both RE and ME=musical "notes" in the solfa scale |
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| 18 | STUN |
Rejected bananas are overpowering (4)
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reversal/"Rejected" of NUTS=crazy="bananas" |
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| 21 | SHILLYSHALLIED |
Initially somewhat peaky, everyone I included in cast was indecisive (14)
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S-omewhat + HILLY="peaky", plus ALL="everyone" + I, both in SHED="cast" shed=cast as in animals moulting, or as in 'shed/cast light on' |
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| 23 | ANTITRADE |
An angry speech full of ultimately insignificant wind (9)
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definition: a wind in an opposite direction compared to the trade winds AN + TIRADE="angry speech" around insignifican-T |
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| 24 | VOWEL |
Wife captivated by playful love letter (5)
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W (wife) inside anagram/"playful" of (love)* |
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| 25 | EARNEST |
Determined to broadcast Hemingway, for example (7)
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homophone/"to broadcast" of 'Ernest' as a first name of "Hemingway, for example" |
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| 26 | SPRAYED |
Went fast over stream of light, then dispersed (7)
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SPED="Went fast" around RAY="stream of light" |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ITCH |
Long dog with no head (4)
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[b]-ITCH="dog with no head" |
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| 2 | PORTRAIT PAINTER |
Who could replace print I tore apart? (8,7)
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anagram/"re-place" of (print I tore apart)* |
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| 3 | SPARSE |
Boxes with false bottom in short supply (6)
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SPARS="Boxes" + fals-E |
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| 4 | DEPOTS |
Last of troops drank up supplies found here (6)
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troop-S plus TOPED="drank", all reversed/"up" to tope is to drink to excess |
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| 5 | SKEWERED |
Admitting some hesitation, biased editor’s stuck (8)
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ER="some hesitation" admitted inside SKEW as adjective="biased" plus ED (editor) |
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| 6 | EPILEPSY |
Rick gets into records with unknown disorder (8)
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PILE="Rick" inside EPS (extended play "records"), plus Y="unknown" variable in maths a rick is a stack or a heap |
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| 7 | PUT IT ANOTHER WAY |
Rephrase order to child after playing nurses (not female)? (3,2,7,3)
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PUT IT AWAY="order to child after playing", around/"nurses" NOT HER="not female" |
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| 8 | NORWEGIANS |
Country folk, answering vagrant, love butting in (10)
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anagram/"vagrant" of (answering)*, with O="love" butting inside |
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| 12 | INTERSTATE |
Grasping Republican unwilling, perhaps, to discover a way to go in America (10)
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INTESTATE="unwilling, perhaps", around/"Grasping" R (Republican) intestate=not having left a will, so perhaps un-will-ing |
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| 15 | ROULETTE |
Obstructed service during journey? You can bet on it (8)
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LET="Obstructed service" inside ROUTE="journey" a LET in tennis is a serve where the ball touches the net on its way over |
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| 16 | NEWSCAST |
Players supporting game opponents in media show (8)
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CAST of actors="Players", under/"supporting" N E W S (North East West South, "game opponents" in the card game bridge) |
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| 19 | EASELS |
Rests in which Warhol ultimately invested? (6)
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EASES="Rests" around [Warho]-L |
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| 20 | CLEVER |
Shrewd hacker no amateur (6)
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CLE-a-VER="hacker" minus 'a' for "amateur" |
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| 22 | CLAD |
Charlie boy getting dressed (4)
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C (Charlie in NATO alphabet) + LAD="boy" |
Thanks manehi and Nutmeg.
Is there any significance to wilworth and crescent which can be found running east to west in the grid?
Never been first before. Really enjoyed this. Thanks both.
Oh well, too slow again.
This was quite enjoyable, with a fair smattering of smiles. I particularly liked SLEEP IN & INTERSTATE (once I finally got it). The SW quarter was the stickiest. I confidently entered PINS for 13a, which slowed me up a bit, and I felt sure that the first two letters in 21a had to be SP. In 5d I couldn’t understand why “editor’s” was there, apart from the surface. I looked on it as “er” in “skewed”.
Thanks Nutmeg & manehi.
Really enjoyable; I especially liked the R in intestate, ‘peaky’ = hilly, ‘are overpowering’ = STUN, and HELSINKI as the capital of Hawaii.
I expect the fact that both EASE and EASEL can be clued as ‘rest’ has been used before in crosswords? (Different etymologies, by the way – EASEL is related to Esel (donkey) in German).
What I’m not quite so sure about is that ‘rests’ = ‘eases’ with an S on the end. As verbs, they don’t mean the same, and as nouns, the rather old-fashioned use of ‘ease’ in ‘hours of ease’, ‘take one’s ease’ etc is marked as uncountable in the dictionaries.
Thanks Nutmeg and manehi.
(Good spot Kristi. I just searched Wilworth Crescent and Google suggested a road in Blackburn, Lancashire. Anything related to the news today? Oh boy.)
DNF but very good and quite tricky. Customary objection to NI not being the same as Ulster.
Sorry if I’m being dense – what is the definition in 2dn? I don’t understand ‘Who could’.
Thanks Nutmeg and manehi
Tricky in places. I didn’t fully parse 10a or 7d.
Similar favourites to essexboy @5 – 21a for the “peaky”, and LOI INTERSTATE, which was lovely once I had worked it out.
Happiness is spelt N U T M E G.
Found this fairly straightforward and enjoyable until I got held up right at the end, thinking 13ac must have a cryptic provenance before I realised that NAIL was a neat double meaning. This lead to the final solving of the tricky interlocking, and cleverly misleading ANTITRADE and INTERSTATE.
essexboy @5… Blegburn? I get the same results for many pages. There must be only 1 Wilworth Crescent in the whole of the UK, nay the world. Now if it was Mornington Crescent……
I did like INTERSTATE for the (probably non-Ximenean) “unwilling”.
Unlike others, I usually find Nutmeg’s crosswords take me a while to crack and get my head around, although when I complete them it all makes sense. This one I found more tractable than usual, or maybe I’m getting better. STUN was my first in and I loved SHILLYSHALLIED, mostly building it up from the wordplay, although the hilly bit came with the whole word.
Interesting spot of Wilworth Crescent, but not sure it’s related to today’s news, knowing how long the lead time often is on these crosswords. Apparently two churches originally, a Holy Souls and a St Chad’s that’s been sold off (another St Chad’s at Chadwell Heath).
Enjoyable puzzle which was tough in parts.
Liked HELSINKI, INTERSTATE, EMPLOYER (loi).
New: grasp the nettle; antitrade = wind (but had heard of trade winds)
Thanks, both.
Simon@7
I don’t know the term for it, but the whole clue is the def in 2 down
Am I alone in thinking that this is not quite as polished as most Nutmeg puzzles? Enjoyable nevertheless.
I liked the two long down solutions, ‘come round too late’ (with a shrug at NI), ‘unwilling’ and the &lit for EASELS.
Excellent spot of the NINA by Kristi (and 🙂 to essexboy @5 for the Beatles reference). I suspect it might be the Spice Girl’s address. I think she lives in the NW – I know she is friendly with the Manchester based Arachne (BTW I noticed from this site that a Rosa Klebb puzzle appeared recently. Does that mean that an Arachne is imminent? I do miss the Kiss of the Spider Woman).
Thanks to S&B
Very enjoyable. I think rest/ease are most alike as transitive verbs. Rest/Ease your aching limbs, while I make a cup of tea, for example. I started off with two misparsings in SHILLYSHALLIED. ILL for PEAKY and SHIED for cast.
In my usual way, I dodn’t delve into the parsing too much for PUT IT ANOTHER WAY. In the back of my mind was that ‘put it away’ might have been a Joyce Grenfell* style instruction to children paying nurses (& doctors).
I hate to think what this says about the way my mind works!
Thanks Nutmeg and manehi
*For escapism back to a simpler time why not treat yourself to a monologue or two, I can’t find free to air but this is well read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiWo8DL1JP0
Great stuff-thanks Nutmeg and manehi
Another good and spicy one.
I liked all the long anagrams, nice spots. I also enjoyed the surface to produce VOWEL and the wordplay in ROULETTE. Yes, WILWORTH CRESCENT must be significant and, as Gervase @14 suggests might be the address of Nutmeg or someone else significant.
Thanks Nutmeg and manehi.
Tough but well worth it. Favourites SHILLY-SHALLIED and INTERSTATE.
Ta Nutmeg & manehi.
Simon@7. I think it’s the fact that a painter could produce a piece of art to replace a print I’d destroyed. Not sure about portrait, though!
Well unraveled, manehi.
I parsed SKEWERED the same as GinF.
Wondered if I was actually needed in the SHILLYSHALLIED clue, since shied works fine as cast.
Many thanks, both.
Simon @7: I guess you’d call it an &lit-ish anagram, where the definition is the whole clue made up from *printItoreapart*.
I thought there might be a scandi theme when I got HELSINKI & NORWEGIANS but when I go to the finish I realised there wasn’t 🙂
I think CADish clues like 2d & 19d really need a surface with a strong connection to the answer and I think both of these fell somewhat short
Haven’t seen SHILLYSHALLIED without a hyphen before but I’m sure it’s in a dictionary somewhere
And another outing for NI=ULSTER
Cheers N&M
Nobody questioning how stun is a synonym for overpowering in 18a? Different tenses surely. Of course if anyone can offer a sentence where each could be interchanged I’d be grateful.
And shilly-shallied has to be hyphenated in my book.
I had lash for 13a for a while.
Thanks to blogger & setter.
Monkeypuzzler @24
It’s “are overpowering”. The sights of the Villa d’Este stun; the sights of the Villa d’Este are overpowering.
Monkey puzzler @24 I think stun is a synonym for “are overpowering “ as in the blog.
Sorry my post crossed with muffin’s
I always enjoy Nutmeg and today was no exception, although it seemed a bit harder than usual, or perhaps Gervase@14 has a point. Most liked HAWAII and VOWEL for the surface. Thought PREDICTOR a bit convoluted but a very clever spot to put ‘edict’ in place of the i in ‘prior’ to make a new word. Baffles me how the compilers see these! Thanks manehi for explaining ‘unwilling’ (should be ‘unwilled’ perhaps? but that’s not a work) and providing Peel as the backward PM. Thanks Nutmeg for an enjoyable outing as always.
I was fooled by pesky in 21a. I couldn’t see beyond peaky’s “ill” definition and was wondering where the h and y came from. Good fun. Thanks Nutmeg and manehi.
Very good fun, and quite a challenge at times – excellent combination!
Favourites were INTERSTATE and HELSINKI
thanks Nutmeg and manehi
We’ve seen the PEEL <– SLEEP device recently haven't we?
Couldn't parse PUT IT ANOTHER WAY. I'm another with ILL dor "peaky," leaving me with H and Y left over.
I must be dumb or drunk, but — where are "wilworth" and "crescent" in the grid? And how do they figure in today's news?
Thank you Nutmeg and manehi.
Valentine @31; in rows 4 and 12 backwards. As far as I know they are not in the news today.
PORTRAIT PAINTER had me fooled as I thought definition was “who” and I was thinking of x pronoun! Didn’t know prior was abbey no. 2 and trying to lose a “b”.
Thanks both
Thanks for the blog, bit of repetition but I liked “peaky” in SHILLYSHALLIED and a great word to see. Also the deceptive unwilling for INTERSTATE , let for ROULETTE and small for NAIL which was rightly part of the definition but makes us think word play.
Minor quibble for PREDICTOR, a bit clumsy and released is not needed after replacing., this partially eclipsed the quality of the other clues.
[ MrEssexboy @ 5 , Wilworth Crescent is only famous for its very large number of potholes. ]
[For those confused by essexboy’s remark about news @5, he is referencing the lyrics to the Lennon-McCartney song ‘A Day In The Life’:
I read the news today, oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire 🙂 ]
Chambers has shilly-shallied – with the hyphen, and I’d have got it sooner if it was marked (6-8)
I don’t understand the carping about “NI” for “Ulster”. While acknowledging Irish objections and historical usage, as a synonym for the six counties, it is very much current usage of the name, and was even embodied in such organizations as the now-disbanded Royal Ulster Constabulary and now-amalgamated Royal Ulster Rifles, both formerly the Royal Irish of that name until partition. The worst one can say of it is that it *historically* included nine counties, but not *generally* refers to only six.
Thanks Nutmeg. As usual there was much to like — EMPLOYER, ITCH, DEPOTS, NEWSCAST, and CLEVER all got ticks from me. I thought the surface of PREDICTOR was uncharacteristically clunky for Nutmeg and very difficult to parse. I also questioned biased = skew in 5d, thinking it should be “skewed” but then editor would be redundant. I failed with ANTITRADE, trying to fit “rant” instead of “tirade” into the solution. Thanks manehi for the blog.
I think I’m echoing others’ comments when I say this was generally superb, especially ‘unwilling’ and ‘peaky’ – but PREDICTOR was a bit clunky & if you’re replacing a letter, you don’t need to also remove it. The ‘love letter’ was smart as well.
Thanks Nutmeg & manehi.
Robi@32 I never thought of reading a Nina backwards! Thank you!
A lovely crossword as usual from a top setter, but I have perhaps my first quibble for a puzzle of theirs. To me “sleep-in” is intentional, so you’re not coming around too late. Late yes, but when you meant to. Oversleeping is unintentional.
I’m sorry I’m late to the blog. I must have slept in.
[Valentine @40: If you solve enough crosswords by Serpent in the Indy you’ll learn to read ninas forwards, backwards, and diagonally.]
Far to devious and convoluted for me
Rullytully @ 42: I’d never use that – it sounds completely unnatural to me. I’d say overslept.
Whatever. My Chambers doesn’t even have an entry, but I can find definitions online that include “unintentional”, so it’s obviously good, but if you hadn’t used “must have” I would absolutely assume it was intentional.
Lovely
Hi William (@21), I think you might be having a geographic wire-cross with Geoff Down Under @4. I haven’t commented here today [having just got in (midnight, local time) from a looong day: getting to, meeting my son at, watching, then coming home from, Perth Stadium, where we played Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup. Well, bones are aching, but it was fun … ]
Enjoyed this muchly but was misled a bit by putting in GUMS instead of NAIL for 13a. Loved SHILLYSHALLIED and VOWEL in particular. Many thanks to N & m.
There are nine counties in Ulster. If Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal are not in Ulster, where are they!?
Btw, I too thought it should be er in skewed. Otherwise, where is skew an adjective … Old Skewball was a racehorse … ?
Grant@50 I often use SKEW in the sense of biased for a data set, in fact Chambers gives skew=biased and skewed=distorted.
Perth gets a double mention in an Azed clue from Sunday , 25 Ac , you might like it.
Nutmeg continues to show British ignorance and insensitivity by equating Ulster with NI. Second time in weeks. Why does this setter continue with this display of their ignorance and stupidity? What is it with the Brits? Can’t they learn anything?
TBB @ 52 you might well have a point about the equivalence of Ulster with Northern Ireland but what’s that about ‘What is it with the Brits. Can’t they learn anything?’ What has that got to do with the crossword?
TBB @52 – I googled this and learned the following:
“Northern Ireland is often referred to as Ulster, despite including only six of Ulster’s nine counties. This usage is most common among people in Northern Ireland who are unionist, although it is also used by the media throughout the United Kingdom.”
So I don’t understand why you are so tetchy. It’s a crossword.
Roz@34, Jim@39, am I right in thinking that while “released” is not required for the wordplay in 10A, it is not actively wrong there, and is needed for the (rather laboured) surface?
Doofs @16, I was with you on the 7 dn (Doctors and Nurses) playing. PUT IT AWAY, but NOT HER.
drofle @54. I totally agree with what you have written with regard to the NI/Ulster equivalence. It’s a crossword, not a politics exam.
But I think the poster @52 was worse than “tetchy”, and was in fact unwarrantably rude about today’s setter. This sort of behaviour is, I’m sure, partly if not fully responsible for the lack of participation in this site by the vast majority of Guardian setters.
Commenters here are usually well mannered, and the sort of language used @52 is uncharacteristic and unwelcome.
It’s all just been a tease. To be sure, I really love it when setters use Ulster = NI. Such a skilful and rarely used device! Keep it up, Nutmeg, we love it!
Thank you SH @57 for expressing what is probably the 15 squared consensus so clearly. TBB might want to contemplate ‘mote’ and ‘beam’ before he posts his intemperate opinions.
There are 9 counties in the province of Ulster, that’s true. Ulster (all of it) is in the north of the island of Ireland. It’s northern Ireland. Similarly, Connacht is western Ireland, Munster is in the east and so forth. Sometimes, it’s possible to be just a tad over-sensitive and see insults where none are intended – especially in crosswords, where capitalisation and punctuation are frequently intended to mislead. .
TimSee@55 I suppose so, as the idea is presumably that the PRIOR has ‘released’ a decree that has subsequently been superseded. But in the cryptic reading it’s unnecessary, which is a shame. Not a huge problem, just a niggle, and it makes the clue a bit harder to solve as you try to account for every word.
And Ulster for NI is fine. It’s not innovative, but it doesn’t need to be, and there’s no need for TBB’s comment or subsequent sarcasm.
I really enjoyed this puzzle and appreciated all the positive posts on the blog. Many thanks to Nutmeg and manehi.
Jim@61 – I could just as easily say there is no need for Jim’s comment. What makes Jim the judge of what is right or wrong? Or what is or is not needed?
[Roz @51, I honestly have no idea how it works 🙂 …]
I think anyone would be capable of judging that rudeness and sarcasm directed at setters or at other commenters are totally unnecessary and out of place on what most people find to be both a friendly and useful site. If the person commenting @63 thinks that rudeness and sarcasm are needed, they are not welcome here.
Tim@55 I am firmly in the camp that precise word play takes absolute priority over the reading of the clue, the i has been replaced so cannot later be released. If released is needed for the reading of the clue then change the clue.
This is not a big complaint, just a minor quibble, I hope my initial post reflected my positive view overall.
Grant@64 you have until next Tuesday to think about it.
Jacob@37: I’m afraid Ulster as NI is not value-neutral. There’s a reason the disbanded RUC was replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and here in NI people are generally quite careful about their use of these terms, so it is in fact a sensitive issue.
That said, I don’t agree with the tone of the comment @55. This forum is not the place.
Tony@43 I have no idea how to get to puzzles in the Indy. The Guardian is all I do.
Thanks Nutmeg and manehi.
Interesting ‘intercept’ in the clue for EMPLOYER. It can mean seize, or interrupt the progress of, so could work either way as an inclusion indicator.
Gertbycee@60 Your comment typifies British ‘ignorance’….Munsters lies to the South and Southwest of the island of Ireland