Delightful clues today . . .
. . . and only “Q” and “Z” short of a pangram.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PLANCK |
Physicist Kelvin pursuing second alternative strategy? (6)
|
| K (Kelvin) after (pursuing) PLAN C (second alternative strategy, i.e., the one after Plan B), i.e., Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck | ||
| 4 | SCARED |
Fearful individual shunning rickety sidecar (6)
|
| Anagram of (rickety) S[I]DECAR minus “i” (“shunning” individual) | ||
| 8 | UNCLEAN |
Grubby relative starts to annoy neighbours (7)
|
| UNCLE (relative) + first letters of (“starts to”) A[NNOY] + N[EIGHBOURS] | ||
| 9 | MARSHAL |
Officer spoils Will’s young prince (7)
|
| MARS (spoils) + HAL (Will’s young prince, i.e., Henry V in Shakespeare) | ||
| 11 | MOONSTRUCK |
Spooner’s spread manure up the wall (10)
|
| Spoonerism for “STREWN MUCK” (spread manure) | ||
| 12 | LOAF |
Hang around back of local with lout (4)
|
| L (last letter of [“back of”] local) + OAF (lout) | ||
| 13 | COYPU |
Bear heard stalking shy rodent (5)
|
| Homophone of (heard) POOH (bear) after (stalking) COY (shy) | ||
| 14 | SPARE RIB |
Cut crustless crispbread crookedly (5,3)
|
| Anagram of (crookedly) [C]RISPBREA[D] minus outside letters (“crustless”) | ||
| 16 | EPHEMERA |
Bloke married in record time: it doesn’t last long (8)
|
| HE (bloke) + M (married) inside (in) EP (record) + ERA (time) | ||
| 18 | USAGE |
Wise person follows universal custom (5)
|
| U (universal) + SAGE (wise person) | ||
| 20 | JUNE |
Exhausted girl leaves tropical forest for a month (4)
|
| JUNGLE (tropical forest) minus G[IR]L (“exhausted” girl leaves) | ||
| 21 | INCUBATION |
Fostering of one youngster welcomed by people (10)
|
| I (one) + CUB (youngster) inside (welcomed by) NATION (people) | ||
| 23 | TARANTO |
Film director missing in Italian port (7)
|
| TARANT[IN]O (film director) minus (missing) “in,” i.e., Quentin Tarantino | ||
| 24 | FACULTY |
College dons not working for department (7)
|
| C (college) inside (dons, i.e., as clothes) FAULTY (not working). Nice surface. | ||
| 25 | EXHORT |
Old theocrat regularly suppressed press (6)
|
| EX (old) + even letters of (“regularly suppressed”) [T]H[E]O[C]R[A]T | ||
| 26 | REDDER |
Comparatively communist, whether viewed from left or right (6)
|
| (Barely) cryptic definition, with “whether viewed from left or right” indicating a palindrome | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PANTO |
Christmas entertainment long over (5)
|
| I think this is supposed to read as: PANT (long, i.e., pant for = long for) + O (over) | ||
| 2 | APLENTY |
Chap lent you trousers galore (7)
|
| Hidden in (trousers, i.e., drops the outside letters of) [CH]AP LENT Y[OU] | ||
| 3 | CHANTEUSE |
Each tune’s special for singer (9)
|
| Anagram of (special) EACH TUNE’S | ||
| 5 | CRANK |
Oddball fled wearing cassock inside out (5)
|
| RAN (fled) inside (wearing) outside letters of C[ASSOC]K (“inside [taken] out”) | ||
| 6 | RESOLVE |
Firmness of purpose about what you do (7)
|
| RE (about) + SOLVE (what you do, i.e., as with this puzzle) | ||
| 7 | DRAMATISE |
Rewriting mad satire ready for stage (9)
|
| Anagram of (rewriting) MAD SATIRE | ||
| 10 | PUISSANCE |
Uses panic indiscriminately to get power (9)
|
| Anagram of (indiscriminately) USES PANIC | ||
| 13 | CAPSULATE |
Boy endlessly packing broken teacups in a case (9)
|
| LA[D] (boy “endlessly”) inside (packing) anagram of (broken) TEACUPS | ||
| 15 | ADUMBRATE |
Trace silly sod in A&E (9)
|
| DUMB (silly) + RAT (sod) inside (in) A + E | ||
| 17 | EYEWASH |
European trees rot (7)
|
| E (European) + YEW + ASH (trees) | ||
| 19 | ASTOUND |
Initially censored, was it bound to shock? (7)
|
| [W]AS + [I]T + [B]OUND, minus the first letter of each word (“initially censored”). I don’t think I have seen exactly this cryptic device before. The published clue provides the erroneous enumeration of “(9).” | ||
| 21 | INTER |
Bury is not merry, oddly (5)
|
| Odd letters of (“oddly”) I[S] N[O]T [M]E[R]R[Y] | ||
| 22 | OTTER |
Weaselly individual turned up in secret today (5)
|
| Hidden in (in) [SEC]RET TO[DAY] inverted (turned up) |
Thanks Cineraria, and Rosa Klebb.
Brilliant stuff, full of delights, 1a covers price of admission.
PLANCK, MOONSTRUCK, EPHEMERA, JUNE, FACULTY, EXHORT, EYEWASH, ASTOUND made my list.
Maybe I was MOONSTRUCK but I ticked that clue and PLANCK, UNCLEAN, LOAF, EPHEMERA, JUNE, APLENTY, RESOLVE, EYEWASH, and the brilliant ASTOUND as favourites. There were no bad clues but I did need outside help for COYPU and ADUMBRATE, both new words for me. Thanks a million, Rosa Klebb, and thanks Cinearia for the early blog.
Most of this was very enjoyable, but there were a few that stumped me. I’d not heard of PUISSANCE, and my scant knowledge of Shakespeare was not enough for the Hal in MARSHAL. I’ve not heard EYEWASH to mean rot. Hogwash, yes. “Inside out” and “exhausted” are two “hollowing out” indicators that are new to me, but I’m fine with them. Why is “moonstruck” “up the wall”?
I just looked up moonstruck, and now comprehend. A new word for my lexicon.
Thanks for the blog, I will add SPARE RIB to the lists above.
The PLANCK constant h is the last fundamental constant discovered , 1905, there will be more at some stage.
I only knew PUISSANCE from show-jumping , ADUMBRATE is used in astronomy.
[ If anyone goes in the Guardian blog today they could alert people to this puzzle, I will not be doing the Guardian crossword until much later today ]
Good to have our setter back so soon after her previous long absence. As others have said a very good puzzle with some interesting indicators in the wordplay spiced up by a few uncommon words, eg PUISSANCE and ADUMBRATE. Like others, I liked PLANCK, especially the ‘second alternative strategy?’ bit.
I thought EPHEMERA was plural but looking it up in Chambers later, apparently it can be either singular (pl. ephemerae or -as) or plural (sing. ephemeron). Now I know.
Thanks to Rosa Klebb and Cineraria
What a delight – and so many posts this early, wow! As a solver, I very much appreciate well-constructed surfaces and Rosa Klebb/Arachne is, for me at least, only second to the much missed Alberich/Klingsor.
I was pleased to remember words such as ADUMBRATE & PUISSANCE. I did recall seeing a similar clue for EYEWASH in the past. I’m sure I would have taken some time to get this otherwise.
I also recall first meeting Planck’s constant at school and finding it quite remarkable.
I’m with Geoff@3: I know “hogwash” but didn’t know “eyewash”.
I always thought that 15D was what banks quoted when you’re looking for a term deposit!
Like Roz, I only know “PUISSANCE” from my days of show-jumping with Princess Anne. Disclaimer: most of the preceding sentence is a lie.
What a treat! Every clue is a collector’s item. Dear Klebb, please come back to your slot as Arachne in the Graun, we miss you.
It’s brilliant to see Rosa back after a long absence – thanks to her and Cineraria.
From a host of great clues I’ll pick 11a, 23a and 24a for my podium.
What a lovely surprise – a treat of a crossword from Rosa with so many great clues
Thanks very much to Rosa – come back again soon please – and to Cineraria
Once again, ‘What crypticsue said’.
An excellent, well-clued and challenging puzzle. Superb, enjoyable and satisfying. Thanks to Rosa and Cineraria.
Great stuff! PLANCK was our favourite. Thanks, Rosa and Cineraria.
Can’t recall this setter (I started post lockdown) but seems a favourite with everyone. Any reference to Flemings Bond world is always welcome.
Eyewash done me.
So happy to see Rosa Klebb’s byline. I found this a superb challenge and was very happy to get over the line. ‘Taranto’ was my last one in: not being a cinema buff, I feared that it would be a Director unknown to me, but I need not have worried.
It is impossible to pick a favourite out of such a magnificent compilation.
‘ European trees rot’ is right up there with what will always be my yardstick:
Araucaria’s ‘I say nothing’
Arachne / Rosa please keep setting !
I just wanted to thank Roz and Tony Santucci for, respectively, recommending this puzzle on Eileen’s Guardian blog yesterday, and letting me know that the FT crosswords can now be done interactively online. (Like Eileen, I’m another one with a printer on the blink!)
A Lotte fun seeing No.3 again; hope we also see her alter ego in the Graun soon.
Lovely to see RK for the second time. She seems to be gently easing into setting immaculate puzzles.
Hope she’s sharpening her claws for some Arachne puzzles .
Lets hear it for her!!
Thank you Cineraria, nearly fell out of love early as some pedant once told me that ‘alternative’ strictly meant that only two options existed,which would preclude Plan C, but luckily the dictionary (and common usage) is broader and agree it and many more were wonderful clues with enough sleight of hand to keep me busy until this evening, thanks Rosa Klebb.