Bluth provides the puzzle on a cold day in December
Bluth is always a fun solve as I feel he always provides a slightly different slant to his clues than other setters – dare I say pushing the boundaries a little for the better.
Many a good clue today – 25ac is so obvious when you see it, but obscure as hell until you do. Quite a number of clues took a while to parse, but all yielded in the end. 3dn has to be my favourite for being so novel
Thanks Bluth
Key: Underline definition; DD double definition; Rev. reversed; * anagram
Across
1 Scorsese directs somewhat revolutionary Universal Studios’ features? (5)
Rev. Hidden ScorseSE DIRects = RIDES
4 Knife’s average with regard to cutting (5)
par (average) around re (with regard to) = PARER
7 One’s nailed to end of table (3)
to + e (end of table) = TOE
9 Blue joke about rubbish church (7)
one (joke) around bs (rubbish from a bull’s backside) + ce (church) = OBSCENE
10 Medicine – doctor ignored stories before start of treatment – it’s most unfair (7)
drug(medicine) – dr(doctor) + lies (stories) + t (start of treatment) = UGLIEST
11 All bare cast to include hot dancer (9)
(allbare)* around in (hot) = BALLERINA
12 Story describing finale to ‘Lonesome Pine‘ (5)
yarn(story) around e (finale to ‘Lonesome) = YEARN
13 Comfort returns occasionally with Strictly and Bake Off (8,7)
(rEtUrNs + strictly + bake)* = SECURITY BLANKET
15 Old woman made ground stroke – equalling score? (6,9)
ma (old woman) + (dame)* + butterfly (stroke) = MADAME BUTTERFLY
19 Shoots and arrests (5)
DD STEMS
20 Pub limiting beer periodically affected interval (2-7)
inn (pub) around BeEr + twee(affected) = IN-BETWEEN
22 Funds wild teens going on vacation (4,3)
(teens)* + GoinG (on vacation) = NEST EGG
23 Dressing as politician – so perverted in bed (7)
mp(politician) + (so)* in cot (bed) = COMPOST
24 Do study (3)
DD CON
25 Comic performer Danny DeVito initially denied fighting with Poles (5)
Ken Dodd (commic performer) – DD (Danny DeVito initially) = KENDO
26 Tip from crossword setter maybe inspired clue’s term for ‘duck’ (5)
dog (setter maybe) around d (tip from crossword) + e (clue’s term) = DODGE
Down
1 King has audience with doctor inside, wanting tablet and lozenge (7)
R(king) + house(audience) – e (tablet) around mb (doctor) = RHOMBUS
2 Ultimately Braverman discards people – resettling refugee (9,6)
(n + discards people)* = DISPLACED PERSON
3 Riddle that is replacing extremely original riddle (5)
solve (riddle) swapping ie (that is) for ol (extremely original) = SIEVE
4 Cast parking right next to Fiat (7)
P(parking) + r(right) + edict (fiat) = PREDICT
5 Rub support up the wrong way over Henry’s nonsense (7)
rub + Rev. bra (support) around h(henry) = RHUBARB
6 Confidently depend on people hosting a sporting event (5,4)
rely (confidently depend) + race(people) around a = RELAY RACE
7 Fetched a book by novelist – principally to relax somewhere very remote (3,4,2,6)
(fetched a book by n)* = THE BACK OF BEYOND
8 Regularly scans in tax returns after electronic systems essentially died out (7)
Rev. sCaNs In TaX (regularly) after e (electronic) + sysTems essentially = EXTINCT
14 Behind on investment according to auditor delivering cut (4,5)
rump(behind) + homonym of stake (investment) = RUMP STEAK
15 Forged Mona Lisa discovered by head of Christie’s concerned with order? (7)
(mona + is (Lisa discovered))* + c (head of christies) = MASONIC
16 Introduce band – oddly without drummer (5,2)
BaNd (band oddly) around ringo(drummer) = BRING ON
17 Airline copyrights detailed device to handle highly regulated import (7)
BA (ariline) + cc (copyrights) in tool(device) – l (detailed) = TOBACCO
18 Get zany characters jumping into river (7)
(get zany)* = YANGTZE
21 Fearful in Germany with upset over passport for example (5)
Rev. mit (in Germany with) + id (passport) = TIMID
I do enjoy the challenge of a Bluth crossword. Found this the easiest so far but also took a little while to get KENDO. There’s a slight omission in the blog for 8d. It is missing the sysTems T at the end.
Thanks Bluth and Wenceslas. But I need a bit more help to parse 7d please. Maybe your asterisk means something?
@Ericw – the asterisk indicates an anagram – as per my key above (dare I say). n coming from novelist principally
Ericw @ 2. I think the asterisk indicates an anagram. Great stuff, thanks Bluth and (good king) Twencelas!
Sorry Twencelas, our responses crossed.
Another challenging and enjoyable Bluth puzzle with KENDO my last one in.
SIEVE was my favourite with SECURITY BLANKET running it close.
Many thanks to Bluth and to twencelas.
We got it all but with several not parsed – particularly the long entries got from crossing letters and enumeration. And can someine enlighten us as to why Universal Studios’ features are RIDES?. Our LOI was KENDO after we suddenly remembered something anot fighting with staves (poles) – and a moment or two later we saw the parsing. Certainly a great clus.
Thanks, Bluth and Twencelas.
@allan_c In the words of an old Scottish and Newcastle beer advert ‘Florida is horrider than Whitley bay, no McEwan’s best Scotch in the USA’ – but it does have a theme park Universal Studios in Orlando.
Well, what an absolute joy this was to solve – so many smiles along the way. Bravo, Bluth, a fine piece of work that has properly brightened up my day. A great follow-up to yesterday’s Fed – I found that one a bit more of a challenge, but this one slightly edges it for entertainment value, though both were excellent.
And thanks for the blog, twencelas. Agree with you on 3d – a lovely, clever and original clue. I’m with Rabbit Dave – it’s between that and SECURITY BLANKET for the top prize, but really, the whole thing is so good that it seems pointless to pick a ‘winner’. And yes, KENDO was indeed a toughie, my last in – took a long time to spot which bit was the definition but it led to a truly delightful penny dropping moment. Brilliant.
Another great crossword. Thanks very much to Blyth and twencelas
Sorry Bluth – predictive text strikes again
Is it worth mentioning that Puccini’s opera is actually called Madama Butterfly, not Madame?
I thought not…
Thanks both. Delighted to say KENDO came immediately to me, whereas a number of others did not, hampered by not equating COMPOST to ‘dressing’ (still not quite sure} or ‘cc’ to copyrights and SIEVE being ‘riddle’ was at best a distant memory
Tom_I @12 – First-rate pedantry, bravo. One question: would you object to a setter putting The Magic Flute in a grid rather than Die Zauberflöte?
Kendo an absolute head banging the table when I saw it. Thanks bluth and Newcastle*
In English, the opera is usually Madam Butterfly, though the story (in English) it was based on was Madame Butterfly. It’d be interesting to know if MADAME was suggested by crossword compiler, which is full of misspelt names.
As ever with this setter some inspired clueing and supremely entertaining.
SECURITY BLANKET and KENDO were works of art and I’ll add the witty, nostalgic and clever BRING ON to make up the podium.
Many thanks Bluth and twencelas
Another really good puzzle from Bluth, which, for ages, I didn’t think I was going to finish. I agree with Widdersbel,though on the comparison between yesterday’s Fed and today’s puzzle.
My second ever 100% and has a pleasingly Gormanic tinge to it.
Love “most unfair” for a definition, and the rather pointed 2 down.
Thanks to Bluth and twencelas
Thanks Bluth for an excellent crossword. I managed to get all the “right answers” but I couldn’t parse KENDO because I don’t know who Ken Dodd is and I didn’t take the time to work out 15a and 7d. I had many favourite clues including UGLIEST (“most unfair” is a perfect definition), YEARN, NEST EGG, RHOMBUS, and BRING ON. Thanks twencelas for the blog.
As ever cracking puzzle from DG – KENDO (unforgivable failure to parse), SECURITY BLANKET & SIEVE obvious highlights but my fav has to be the topicality of the surface read at 2d which was a great spot.
Thanks Bluth & twencelas
Thanks Twencelas. And thanks all.