ZAMORCA provides the fun this bank holiday Monday….
A Pangram, which I think is expected from this setter, that was a very pleasant solve.
Thanks ZAMORCA!
ACROSS
9. Papa gets help with shot on green, accepting round’s ruined (3,4,2)
PUT PAID TO
(P (papa) gets AID (help)) with PUTT (shot on green) accepting + O (round)
10. Keen about going west by truck in Australia (5)
ACUTE
(CA)< (about, <going west) by UTE (truck in Australia)
11. Waffles and bagels formed a bit of breakfast on board (7)
GABBLES
(BAGELS)* (*formed), B[reakfast] (a bit of) on board
12. Tries to miss verges of snow and veers alarmingly (7)
SWERVES
S[no]W (verges of) + (VEERS)* (*alarmingly)
13. Bring back anything from Yorkshire for couple (3)
TWO
(OWT)< (anything from Yorkshire, <bring back)
14. Raise shortage of respect with first-class trainee naval officer (4,7)
REAR ADMIRAL
REAR (raise) + ADMIR[e] (respect, shortage of) + A (first class) + L (trainee)
17. Working behind scenes initially, in charge of sound (5)
SONIC
ON (working) behind S[cenes] (initially) + IC (in charge)
18. Love the Italian Grease (3)
OIL
O (love) + IL (the, Italian)
19. Carry on and do manager’s job for a while (3,2)
ACT UP
Double (cryptic) definition
21. Panicking at home even when fencing’s secure (2,1,4,4)
IN A FLAT SPIN
IN (at home) + (AS (when) fencing FLAT (even)) + PIN (secure)
23. Mischievous child in The Simpsons (3)
IMP
25. Unable to make a decision having trouble in storm (7)
TORNADO
TORN (unable to make a decision) having ADO (trouble)
27. Student of the sun’s carbon and hydrogen content (7)
SCHOLAR
SOLAR (of the sun), (C (carbon) and H (hydrogen)) content
28. Briefly object then take legal action to get result (5)
ENSUE
EN[d] (object, briefly) then SUE (take legal action)
29. Hotel streetmap has us on busy road that’s unsafe (9)
HAZARDOUS
H (hotel) + AZ (streetmap) has (US on (ROAD)* (*busy))
DOWN
1. Dribble stopped with turn in barrel tap (6)
SPIGOT
SPIT (dribble)stopped with GO (turn) in
2. Persistent objections raised and carried verbally (8)
STUBBORN
(BUTS)< (objections, <raised) and "borne" (carried, "verbally")
3. Enthuse about ace times in car Willy restored (3,7)
WAX LYRICAL
(A (ace) + X (times)) in (CAR WILLY)* (*restored)
4. Likelihood detective’s following swindle up (4)
ODDS
DS (detective) following (DO)< (swindle, <up)
5. Fish buffet without starter of sushi’s nonsense (10)
CODSWALLOP
(COD (fish) + WALLOP (buffet)) without S[ushi] (starter of)
6. Carved a jar mounting characters in green stone (4)
JADE
([carv]ED A J[ar] (characters in))< (<mounting)
7. Note question’s beginning to annoy retired churchman (6)
QUAVER
QU (question) + A[nnoy] (beginning to) + (REV)< (churchman, <retired)
8. Gives away underwear with checks on the front (4,4)
LETS SLIP
SLIP (underwear) with LETS (checks) on the front
15. Mark indicating possession’s perhaps too disguised (10)
APOSTROPHE
(PERHAPS TOO)* (*disguised)
16. Have best intentions but penny-pinching’s upset hard working branch (4,2,4)
MEAN NO HARM
MEAN (penny pinching) + (H (hard) + ON (working))< (<upset) + ARM (branch)
17. More devious move taking Queen after both sides in impasse (8)
SHIFTIER
SHIFT (move) + taking (R (queen) after I[mpass]E (both sides))
20. Large number of students involved in wild rioting not good (8)
TRILLION
LL (students) involved in (RIOTIN[g])* (*wild, not G (good))
22. Vulnerable with a ripped skirt (2,4)
AT RISK
24. Rural area is below standard on health primarily (6)
PARISH
(IS below PAR (standard)) on H[ealth] (primarily)
26. Beat problem with help (4)
ABET
27. Tip over when losing top mass (4)
SIZE
[cap]SIZE (tip over, losing CAP (top))
Most enjoyable, thank you Zamorca. We Aussies would probably say a ute is closer to a car than a truck, but you’re forgiven. I’d never heard of IN A FLAT SPIN and found the parsing a bit convoluted. But overall, plenty of smiles and no groans.
Nice way to start the week, with the likelihood of the expected pangram becoming apparent early on. I found the parsing of PUT PAID TO and (like GDU @1) IN A FLAT SPIN difficult to work out but following the wordplay led to the correct answer for both. I wondered if APOSTROPHE could be regarded as a double definition plus wordplay, with the mark occurring at the end of the more obvious first def.
Just a question, but is a PARISH necessarily a ‘Rural area’?
Thanks to Zamorca and Teacow
WordPlodder@2
APOSTROPHE
I agree with your parsing.
Thanks, Zamorca and Teacow.
WordPlodder @2: church parishes can be found everywhere, but civil parishes are rare in towns and cities (such areas are known as unparished). Thanks Zamorca and Teacow!
This was most agreeable and on the gentler side. I agree some of the wordplay was a bit choppy. For 21a I wonder if “fences” would have read better than “fencing’s”. The actual wording jarred slightly.
Like WordPlodder @2’s suggestion for 15.
I liked 19 for providing an “Oh ok you could look at it that way” moment.
Tx Zamorca and Teacow.
GDU@1 For once you’re positively advantaged by where you live instead of having to wade through these confounded Britishisms!
I’m definitely getting more adept with the Britishisms, Nick! Everything’s tickety-boo!
Took a while to drag that meaning of LETS out from the memory banks, or to remember UTE, so that corner was last in, but otherwise steady and satisfying.
Thank you Zamorca and Teacow.
Thanks for the blog, very good set of clues , UTE turns up often in Azed so I am used to it. LET is one of those words with totally opposite meanings.
In agreement with others that this was pleasurable and, like Wordplodder, I found the pangram early on.
My favourites were TWO (for ‘owt’), CODSWALLOP and APOSTROPHE.
Thanks to Zamorca and Teacow.
Roz@9 I’ve heard these words called contranyms – learned it from a photography challenge where the picture had to show both meanings. Trimming was one of easier ones I attempted. Not sure I’d have tried let.
A pleasant bank holiday diversion, though the NW corner held out for a bit till we found we only needed G to complete the pangram.
Thanks, Zamorca and Teacow.
Thanks Zamorca. I had some difficulty in the NW with PUT PAID TO (never heard the expression but guessed the answer from the wordplay), GABBLES (unfamiliar word), and ODDS. I also guessed IN A FLAT SPIN, another unfamiliar expression. Nonetheless, this was mostly enjoyable with APOSTROPHE, HAZARDOUS, QUAVER, STUBBORN, and TRILLION being favourites. Thanks Teacow for the blog.
Shanne@11, let or sanction is hard to visualise , dust would be good or cleave.
Which sort of LET is a tennis let?
Maybe this is one of those where I will kick myself when I find out, but why is ‘LL’ students?
Brian @16: L stands for “learner” or student. LL would be more than one student. This abbreviation is an everyday occurrence in British crosswords.
Peter@15 LET usually means allow but also obstruct, the tennis sense is the obstruction of the net cancelling the service.
Brian in the UK a learner driver has to show L-plates on the car, a bright red L on a white square , this idea is also used in other contexts so that L denotes learner or beginner or student.
Shane @ 11 and Rob @ 14. I think “sanction” is the most confusing contranym.
Thanks Tony @17!