The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/28998.
My apologies for the late blog. A notch up in difficulty from the typical Monday offering, with a theme of Guardian setters. Proofreading the blog will be an ongoing process.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BOATMAN |
Sailor showing snake, beginning of nasty atmosphere aboard (7)
|
| An envelope (‘aboard’) of ATM (‘atmosphere’) in BOA (‘snake’) plus N (‘beginning of Nasty’). | ||
| 5 | BRUMMIE |
Midlander starting to bet before card game announced (7)
|
| A charade of B (‘starting to Bet’) plus RUMMIE, sounding like (‘announced’) RUMMY (‘card game’). | ||
| 10 | PAUL |
Revered person from Honolulu appeared to be retiring (4)
|
| A hidden (‘from’) reversed (‘to be retiring’) answer in ‘HonoluLU APpeared’. The definition refers to St. Paul. | ||
| 11 | CREDENTIAL |
Qualification is incomplete, elite dancer miserable (10)
|
| An anagram (‘niserable’) of ‘elit[e]’ minus its last letter (‘incomplete’) plus ‘dancer’. | ||
| 12 | VULCAN |
God‘s love commonly recalled about noon (6)
|
| A charade of VUL, a reversal (recaled’) of LUV (‘love commonly’) plus CA (‘about’) plus N (‘noon’). | ||
| 13 | CRUCIBLE |
Key (B not A, then E) going to pot (8)
|
| A charade of CRUCI[a]L (‘key’) with the A replaced by B (‘B not A’) plus (‘then’) ‘E’. | ||
| 14 | PROMISING |
Dance with one chorus is bright (9)
|
| A charade pf PROM (‘dance’) plus I (‘one’) plus SING (‘chorus’)/ | ||
| 16 | GRAPE |
Fruit starter of gooseberry and pear salad (5)
|
| A charade of G (‘starter of Gooseberry’) plus RAPE, an anagram (‘salad’) of ‘pear’. | ||
| 17 | TRAMP |
Abbreviated exchange about power walk (5)
|
| A charade of TRAM, a reversal (‘about’) of MART (market, ‘abbreviated exchange’) plus P (‘power’). | ||
| 19 | XENOPHOBE |
Different English phone box is one that’s not foreigner-friendly (9)
|
| An anagram (‘different’) of E (‘English’) plus ‘phone box’. | ||
| 23 | PICAROON |
Rogue told to choose a new jumper for collection (8)
|
| An envelope (‘for collection’) of ROO (kanga, ‘jumper’) in PIC, sounding like (‘told’) PICK (‘choose’) plus ‘a’ plus N (‘new’) | ||
| 24 | NUTMEG |
Spice Girls’ opening after enthusiastic follower makes makes entrance, initially (6)
The duplicate ‘makes’ has now been corrected (except in the online print version).
|
| A charade of NUT (‘enthusiastic follower’) plus M E (‘Makes Entrance initially’) plus G (‘Girls opening’). | ||
| 26 | REGISTRANT |
One who may file patent leather shoe at last takes on first concession around (10)
|
| A charade of R E (‘leatheR shoE at last’) plus (‘takes on’) GISTRANT, an envelope (‘around’) of IST (1st. ‘first’) in GRANT (‘concessiuon’). | ||
| 27 | PUCK |
Robin, perhaps, returning prize to king (4)
|
| A charade of PUCm a reversal (‘returning’) of CUP (‘prize’) plus K (‘king’). Yje definition is a reference to Robin Goodfellow, aka PUCK. | ||
| 28 | STUNNED |
Staggered retreat with fanatics turning back (7)
|
| A reversal (‘turning back’) of DEN (‘retreat’) plus NUTS (‘fanatics’). | ||
| 29 | BRENDAN |
Saint having something for breakfast, sandwiches run out (7)
|
| An envelope (‘sandwiches’) of END (‘run out’) in BRAN (often with raisins, ‘something for breakfast’). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | OPAQUER |
Queen involved in enigmatic opera that’s more impenetrable (7)
|
| An envelope (‘involved in’) of QU (‘queen’) in OPAER, an anagram (‘enigmatic’) of ‘opera’. | ||
| 3 | TELIC |
The Madrileño blocking, twitching and moving towards goal (5)
|
| An envelope (‘blocking’) of EL (Spanish – for someone from Madrid – ‘the’) in TIC (‘twitching’). | ||
| 4 | ACCENTS |
Marks account with small amounts of money (7)
|
| A charade of AC (‘account’) plus CENTS (‘small amounts of money’). | ||
| 6 | RHESUS |
One of a troop rushes about (6)
|
| An anagram (‘about’) of ‘rushes’. | ||
| 7 | MATRIARCH |
Mother briefly courts 17 outside (9)
|
| An envelope (‘outside’) of |
||
| 8 | IN A FLAP |
Agitated one with short pants to wrap (2,1,4)
|
| A charade of I (‘one’) plus NAF[f] (worthless, ‘pants’) minus the last letter (‘short’) plus LAP (‘wrap’). | ||
| 9 | TERCENTENNIAL |
Criminal let in entrance for a significant anniversary (13)
|
| An anagram (‘criminal’) of ‘let in entrance’. | ||
| 15 | MAMMALIAN |
7 held up claw of cat perhaps (9)
|
| A charade of MAMMA (‘7’ MATRIARCH) plus LIAN, a reversal (‘held up’ in a down light) of NAIL (‘claw’). | ||
| 18 | RAIMENT |
One crew entertained by sailor having returned dress (7)
|
| An envelope (‘entertained by’) of I (‘one’) plus MEN (‘crew’) in RAT, a reversal (‘having returned’) of TAR (‘sailor’). | ||
| 20 | ORNATER |
Massage to rear end of pigeon fancier (7)
|
| An anagram (‘massage’) of ‘to rear’ plus N (‘end of pigeoN‘). | ||
| 21 | BRECCIA |
Rock band at first visits sports area with spies (7)
|
| A charade of B (‘Band at first’) plus (‘visits’) REC (‘sports area’) plus CIA (‘spies’). | ||
| 22 | BOTTLE |
What baby might need is courage (6)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 25 | TAP-IN |
Easy score, at a pinch included (3-2)
|
| A hidden answer (‘included’) in ‘aT A PINch’. |
9
Thanks for the blog PeterO.
I don’t often spot themes in these crosswords but today’s was relatively easy to see as BRUMMIE and PAUL were among the first few I solved.
Great stuff by Kite.
A couple of minor oversights PeterO:
VULCAN
CA-about (not A)
MATRIARCH
ATRI(a) beriefly courts.
Thanks, Kite and PeterO!
Slight typo in the blog for 12a – ‘CA’ for about not ‘A’. Agree that this was a mite tougher than most Monday offerings, and I failed to spot the theme until entering PICAROON. Last two to parse were 29 – BRENDAN – as I failed to think of bran as breakfast material, and 8d as it wasn’t obvious to me that LAP and wrap were the same, but then I thought of water lapping round an island. Thanks to Kite and to PeterO for rushing to get the blog out.
Quite a lot to enjoy here, but for my taste having OPAQUER and ORNATER in the same puzzle is unfortunate. They are both somewhat contrived words and when you have both of them and TELIC as well, you suspect the setter was struggling to finish filling the grid.
I ended up bunging in IN A FLAP; thank you, PeterO, for the parsing, which seems convincing.
Thanks, both.
Am I first? How odd….
I don’t know when I’ve needed 15^2 more in recent times. Beaten all ends up with many reveals followed by eyebrow wiggles. Apart from TELIC I couldn’t say why – it just seemed very impenetrable.
But thanks both and particularly to PeterO for a parsing tour-de-force.
I really enjoyed the theme, which I spotted straight away for a change! (I usually don’t even realise there is a theme until I come here.) It certainly helped me get some of the solutions when I knew what I was looking for. Some tricky clues. Never heard of telic but it had to be that from the wordplay. Many thanks Kite and PeterO.
Fifth is still a personal best
Very obvious theme, even to me, and certainly rather harder than the usual Monday fare.
Surely ATRI (briefly courts) rather than ATRIA in 7d I think.
‘a’ for ‘about’ in 12a? Is this legit?
I don’t see the function of ‘visits’ in 21d
Good stuff. Shame about the NUT and NUTS repetition in 24a and 28a though.
poc – see comments above about “a” for about – it should be “ca”
I think 10 is probably Paul Revere rather than St Paul
When BOATMAN and BRUMMIE popped up straight away, I thought this might be a doddle. But several of the down clues caused more than a pause for thought. Didn’t much like the comparative words OPAQUER and loi ORNATER, (when might you actually use them in a sentence, rather than “more opaque” or “more ornate”?) and had nho TELIC, nor BRECCIA. Obviously enough Qaos would never have made this into an 11 person team of setters with his perverse spelling. Enjoyed the deviation from the normal VULCAN Monday fare, however…
This seemed tough going at first, on a Monday as well. Spotting the theme early was a huge help, it’s very rare that I finish before the blog is posted! Many thanks to PeterO, no apologies needed, and thanks to Kite for a fun puzzle
Thanks Kite and PeterO
I found the bottom half the hardest to solve that I’ve met for some time. Two words I’d never heard – REGISTRANT and TELIC – and some rather involved parsing. I thought the clue for CRUCIBLE was rather clumsy.
I liked the anagram for XENOPHOBE.
I did see the theme, though!
…as NeilH@4 has already commented…(re OPAQUER and ORNATER)
BOATMAN, BRUMMIE, PAUL, VULCAN, CRUCIBLE, TRAMP, PICAROON, NUTMEG, PUCK, BRENDAN – your CREDENTIALS have been noted by KITE as REGISTRANT and your praises have been sung. Even XENO was old crossword setting software.
This STUNNED me. It was no TAP-IN but I was not IN A FLAP; BOTTLE saw me through.
Thank you Kite and PeterO.
Poc@8 ‘visits’ is mainly there for the surface I think. But one could take it as ‘goes to see’ / ‘comes up next to’ to give the required sense of ‘is next to’. Something is needed to make the surface work.
Nice one, and for once I spotted the theme once I had Brummie, Crucible and Paul. (What, no Pangakupu?) I agree that some of the down clues felt crowbarred in but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. Thanks to Kite and PeterO
The central TERCENTENNIAL suggests this might be in celebration of someone’s 300th crossword for some outlet or other.
Does anyone know these stats?
Very unusually, the theme jumped out at me after the first few entries, which helped with the solution of a few words which otherwise might have taken a bit longer to crack. LOI was REGISTRANT, which needed all the crossers, but nothing else was unfamiliar and I had a lot less trouble with this than others seem to have done, and I enjoyed the process.
Bran for breakfast is a bit of a stretch (would corn, rice or wheat be acceptable?). The two rather contrived comparatives are a bit inelegant, as are the two instances of ‘nut’, but I was amused to see ‘pants’ as a synonym rather than an anagrind for once.
MikeB’s observation about PAUL Revere hadn’t occurred to me, but I’m sure it was intentional and moves the clue right up in the ranking.
Thanks to S&B
I often enjoy themed puzzles, but I prefer to find the solutions fro the word play and definition. Today, I found I was just plugging in the themed solutions and working out the clues afterwards.
Quite enjoyed having a tougher Monday for a change, though I didn’t know what a REGISTRANT did, and had to check that TELIC was a word. I was so fixated on the exchange being TRAD(E) that I missed TRAMP lurking in the undergrowth, even when I’d had the theme for ages. Yes, OPAQUER is ugly. Just noticed that I failed to parse MATRIARCH.
Thanks both,
Got there with a little help from the fifteen squared list of setters and a word search. 19a was my favourite.
Agree with others here about OPAQUER and ORNATER. Not 100% happy with END for “run out”, either, though the theme made that answer easy to spot.
That was tough, solved by spotting the theme, guessing a crossword setter and parsing later.
The only setter with around 300 crosswords as of early January was Brummie, with 279, so unconvinced it’s his tercentenary. And crosswords were first published in 1922.
I thoroughly enjoyed Kite’s offering. I have no problem with ORNATER and OPAQUER. I like inflected comparatives and superlatives and probably use them oftener than most speakers.
The theme jumped out as BRUMMIE and PAUL were my first two solutions.
Thanks to Kite and to PeterO for a few obscure (to me) parsings.
As a one-time player of the mischievous spirit PUCK, I’m ashamed to say I missed the Robin Goodfellow reference.
Enjoyed all this (including diving for the dictionary for TELIC) except the two horrible comparatives that others have mentioned.
Is TAP-IN a golf thing?
Many thanks both.
I agree with others about OPAQUER and ORNATER, although I did like the ‘lift and separate’ (pigeon fancier) in the clue for the latter and also ‘patent leather’ in REGISTRANT.
A tercentennial is, as the clue suggests, a three hundredth anniversary.
Thanks to Kite for an enjoyable puzzle and to PeterO for the blog.
I didn’t get into this at all and gave up after doing about half – I saw the theme but it didn’t help much, and many of the clues seemed over-complicated or contrived – it was just a slog. It’s the first time (I think) that I’ve seen this setter – either their style is not to my taste, or maybe I’m just grumpy today.
I did like CRUCIBLE.
Thanks both.
William @27
It seems that you pays your money and takes your choice. Collins online suggests soccer, or even (US) basketball, but then gives an example of its use for a golf shot.
I didn’t think this was one of the most polished of offerings. OPAQUER/ORNATER and the two NUTS have been mentioned, but not the double makes in 24a. Having having as the link word in 29a seems, well, I hesitate to say lazy, so I won’t say anything.
For me the setters theme made it less fun, rather like Petert@21 said.
Thanks for the blog , very good for a Monday . For once I got the theme after three clues but I was glad to see every theme entry had a proper definition and word play. CRUCIBLE was nicely deceptive, REGISTRANT put together very neatly. I see no issue with OPAQUER and ORNATER , both proper words and both clues have a good definition and word play.
After PAUL and BRUMMIE went in first, it became an exercise in spot the setter, although no less enjoyable for that. Enigmatist almost made it in 2d. New for me were TELIC and BRECCIA and I agree with the OPAQUER/ORNATER criticism. Certainly trickier than the usual Monday fare. Couldn’t parse REGISTRANT. XENEPHOBE was my favourite.
Ta Kite & PeterO.
I’m not convinced about the duplicated word in 24a. it doesn’t seem to help either the parsing or the surface reading. Am I missing its purpose?
In the paper there is only ONE makes for 24AC . Is it just a misprint in the blog ?
OPAQUER & ORNATER: both were easy anagrams and descriptive of what appears in crosswords but:
Enter “O?A?U?R” at OneLook.com and OPAQUER is the only word possible. (I found the same was true of “MAYNOOTH” in another puzzle recently.)
There should be a word for that, akin to a GOOGLEWHACK. Any suggestions?
OPAQUER is number 2125 on the top 10000 list in Countdown. Yes, that exists. Who knew?
By contrast:
Enter “O?N?T?R” at OneLook.com and no real words are possible.
ORNATER is not allowed in Countdown, most recently in Episode 7188, broadcast on 22 October 2019, as part of Series 81,
according to the Countdown wiki – yes, that exists too.
Both appear as valid comparatives in Chambers online, and are allowed in Scrabble. So why the difference? Please tell us, Susie Dent.
I really must get a life.
There is no repeated word in the clue for 24a online or in print, only in the blog. Can’t blame Kite for that.
I can’t see tic = twitching in 3d. Twitch yes, but not twitching.
23a went straight in for me, as every time I see Picaroon’s name above a puzzle I say to myself “Pick a roon – any roon” like a magician would say “Pick a card – any card”
Thanks, Kite and PeterO. I seem to be in a minority who actually enjoyed this. Good solid clueing throughout. Even the nho BRECCIA and TELIC were so precisely clued as to be very gettable. Enjoyed the theme too.
I have no issue with the “ugly” comparatives. As is the common shout any time someone objects to a non-PC term being used in a grid: “It’s in the dictionary, get over it.”
The superfluous “makes” is present in the Puzzles app. I just ignored it as an obvious technical glitch.
…although it seems that maybe ORNATER isn’t in the dictionary if what FrankieG says is correct. Still, it wasn’t too hard to deduce that as the solution – again, very clearly indicated – and I’m happy to forgive it because it’s an amusing clue.
The duplicate makes were present in the online clues earlier this morning, so I guess it was a misprint.
Many thanks to PeterO for a splendid blog and to all the posters for useful comments. The doublet of ‘makes’ appeared at first in the electronic copies (but not the paper copy) but have now been corrected.
The combination of OPAQUER and ORNATER may have looked a little clumsy but both appear in my online Chambers version, so they are proper words. I must confess I didn’t know TELIC either, but once I had got 10 setters in the Across lights, I didn’t have much room for manoeuvre. I hope we all enjoy learning one or two new words while indulging in our hobby.
Lovely summary Kite and reassuring to know TELIC was a nho for you as well.
[ AlanC I did note your number 1 on Thursday , now 13-8 , and its consequences. I believe that David Brent is looking for a new job.]
[Roz, I did finish this at 8am French time but no opportunity to post from the piste (SB mission). DB – priceless, I might throw my hat in].
[ Skiing of course is the cover story, a change from golf on a Caribbean island. Perhaps the KPR players could become onion sellers instead. ]
A real challenge for a Monday makes a very welcome change. The theme helped immensely but even those the last few took quite a while. Failed to parse 8d though the answer was obvious.
REGISTRANT was a corker!
Thanks Kite and PeterO
Like several others I found this difficult fare for a Monday and had to come here for some of the parsing.
Even then I remained in the dark about “pants” as a synonym for “naff” or “worthless”. Specifically British slang, which I haven’t otherwise encountered. Can I be the only one? In case I’m not, I found some light on this page.
Thanks PeterO for the excellent blog which sorted out more than one parsing for me. A neat theme, which even I, the eternal overlooker of themes, managed to spot. Favourite clue (if not answer) was ORNATER. Tough for a Monday, but that’s ok sometimes. Thanks Kite.
Thanks Kite for dropping by, and for an entertaining puzzle.
Personally, I would never use OPAQUER, or even ‘more opaque’ because I consider opacity to be a quality that something either possesses or doesn’t (like ‘more unique’ , but we seem to be losing the battle on that one too 🙂 ). And ‘ornate’ to my ear sounds more like a past participle (which it is etymologically) and these cannot have inflected comparatives (‘more marked’ but not ‘markeder’).
But these mild complaints are stylistic. The dictionaries are descriptive and not prescriptive – if a word or a meaning is listed, someone has presumably used it in print, whether or not they should have on the grounds of good style – and therefore ‘proper’.
Gervase @49
Like “uniquer”…
Opacity is important in astronomy , particularly X-ray astronomy. Without getting too technical it can be clearly defined for materials and I frequently use the term opaquer.
I do not have detailed knowledge of medicine but I am pretty sure it is used in medical X-rays for things like barium and iodine.
Thanks bonangman @47 for the “pants” link. I too wasn’t familiar with the expression.
I found the puzzle thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks to Kite and to PeterO for the explanations.
Rather tricky for a Monday, but the easily spotted theme helped.
“Revered person” is a rather vague definition for St PAUL, if that is who is intended. MikeB’s suggestion @11 is an interesting alternative, but it would be a very odd way to refer to Paul Revere.
Eileen @28: interesting to see you using “lift and separate” in its older sense, as discussed briefly last week (Picaroon 28,985, me @32.)
Thanks Kite and PeterO.
Roz @51: Fair point about the astronomical use of ‘opacity’. But I would prefer ‘of higher opacity’ to OPAQUER, just as one would say that a star is of ‘higher metallicity’ rather than ‘more metallic’ 🙂
I solved PAUL and TRAMP without catching on, but PICAROON made the theme obvious.
TELIC was new to me but guessable from “teleological.”
Thanks for parsing IN A FLAP, PeterO, I’d never have figured that one out. I’ve never quite grasped the meaning of “naff.” Same for BRECCIA, which I’ve never heard of.
Thanks, Kite and PeterO.
Opaque is more akin to the term dense , opacity and density can be measured, this provides a quantitative scale with some materials denser/opaquer than others. I teach my students to be concise using as few words as possible.
I’d like to think there was a nod to snooker in ‘going to pot’ in the clue for CRUCIBLE – the venue in Sheffield for the world championship (coming up soon in April).
Tough for Monday but worthwhile.
Thanks Kite for a tricky and entertaining challenge with a theme that added to the fun. No problem with OPAQUER or ORNATER: both perfectly valid.
Personally I revere PAUL the brilliant setter, so that was fine with me.
TELIC was new, and I shall move towards my goal of using it in a sentence, telically.
I may be being obtuse but I don’t get LAP/wrap.
Thanks PeterO and numerous posters above for sorting out the odd loose end.
Too tough for me this time. I guessed a few don’t knows and revealed a few. Saw theme only after I had them all with last one PICAROON unknown to me.
Well done Kite and thanks PeterO
Lord Jim @53 – Pleased to see that you too noticed Eileen’s correct use of the term “lift and separate” in its original sense (as coined by a master Times crossword champion some years back)
Indeed, the clue to which she refers, ORNATER, which has received some opprobrium here, was my favourite amongst many (even when the lift and separate was spotted, there was still the mindflip on meaning of “fancier” to perform. Nice)
All in all, I thought it a super puzzle; I was impressed by the gridfill (the odd selcouth word an inevitability rather than an excuse for gentle vilification I thought)
I wish Monday puzzles were always as good as this.
Thanks, Kite, and for popping by. Thanks Peter O
Thanks to Kite – I really enjoyed this one and the “treasure hunt” for the setters’ names involved. Apologies for my late post but the blog hadn’t come up by the time I went to bed last night. Thanks very much to PeterO and other contributors for a very interesting and helpful blog, particularly in relation to solutions like the unfamiliar TELIC at 3d.
I didn’t enjoy this one, but the fault was not Kite’s – it was mine and perhaps the editor’s. Here’s what I mean.
I come to a Monday puzzle expecting relatively straightforward constructions, and few if any obscure words or definitions. So when I encounter a tricky clue (e.g. 13a CRUCIBLE) or an unusual word (e.g. 3d TELIC), my brain isn’t primed to tackle it, and it gets huffy.
If this had appeared on a Tuesday or later I would have enjoyed the stiffer cranial workout and I would therefore have got a greater kick out of the theme (which in hindsight I agree was very well done), and I would have thanked Kite for an entertaining puzzle.
Why is it that when our expectation is that something should be easy, even a modicum of difficulty becomes more of a challenge (and frustration) than it objectively ought to be?
Thanks Kite and Hugh for getting me thinking about these things, and PeterO for the excellent and much-needed blog.
When you fit a real calf drum skin you wrap the edges around a wooden or metal hoop. That’s called ‘lapping’.
cellomaniac@62. Beautifully said. What maybe many of us were trying to put into words.
William F P@ 60. Thank you for introducing me to the ”selcouth” word “selcouth”.
It took me a while to see the theme but the penny finally dropped after I had solved Brummie, Puck, Brendan and Paul!
Liked PUCK, IN A FLAP, CRUCIBLE, PICAROON, VULCAN.
I could not parse 7d – only got as far as TRIAl in MARCH.
New for me: TELIC, ATM = atmosphere
Thanks, both.
Nick@17: I think ‘at sport arena’ would work better and avoid the dubious interpretation of ‘visits’
William F P@60 Talk of unusual words! I’ve never seen “selcouth” before, so thanks for it.
I echo paddymelon@64 in thanking William F P@60 for introducing us to the ”selcouth” adjective “selcouth”.
Henceforth I will be using it as a noun to mean “a word that appears in a crossword puzzle because it’s the only word that fits”.
See FrankieG@36
I like it because it’s old, cognate with COUTH/UNCOUTH, and rhymes with MAYNOOTH, the first selcouth I noticed in Independent 11,342 by Phi.
Just for good measure, it’s not in Chambers.
In this puzzle OPAQUER & ORNATER are selcouths.
“s?l?o?t?” at OneLook.com returns only “selcouth” & “sellouts”.
Financial Times 16352 by Slormgorm – December 17, 2019 eschewed the opportunity to use “selcouth” and used “sellouts”.
“?e?c?u?h” at OneLook.com returns only “selcouth” & “wet cough” – so almost a selcouth.
Azed 2030 (24 April 2011) clued it as: “Clues to unravel, hard, but no longer strange (8)” – That says it all.
FrankieG@68. Selcouth *is* in Chambers. At least, it’s in my 2006 printing of the 10th Edition. Perhaps it has dropped out of use over the last 16 and a bit years and will reappear following your decision to use it on every possible occasion.
SELCOUTH is in Chambers 93 , the 1st edition and definitive volume for all crosswords.
My, that was tough. I generally expect to be able to complete both the Monday puzzles, but I failed to get even halfway with this. And as I almost never look at puzzles from other days, the setters’ names were mostly lost on me.
Nevertheless, thanks Kite, and PeterO
Agree with beaulieu @29, not to my taste. Too finicky and bitty without any little smile on completion of each clue to make the hard work worthwhile. Prefer a bit more elegance and elan. Much too hard for a Monday too – I pity any poor novice who chose that Monday to try a new hobby!