A surpassingly good puzzle with some clever surfaces from Bobcat . . .
. . . with intricate parsing involved in some cases, which I hope I have successfully explained. Bobcat often includes themes or ninas, but I did not spot any this time. I am not 100% certain how “effect of minute” is supposed to work in 1A, so suggestions are welcome.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | COMMA |
Butterfly effect of minute intervening in dormant state (5)
|
| I think this parses as: First letter of (effect of) M[INUTE] inside (intervening in) COMA (dormant state). See discussion in Comments 1, 2, & 3. | ||
| 4 | PACK-DRILL |
Something boring on the cards for punishment (4-5)
|
| PACK (the cards) + DRILL (something boring), “a military punishment of marching about laden with full equipment,” according to Chambers | ||
| 9 | LIFEBELTS |
Long-term careers in supportive surroundings (9)
|
| LIFE (long-term) + BELTS (careers) | ||
| 10 | VICAR |
One held in honour by parish’s leading insiders? (5)
|
| &lit and I (one) inside VC (honour, i.e., Victoria Cross) + first pair of inside letters of (“leading insiders” [of]) [P]AR[ISH] | ||
| 11 | EASEL |
Reduce student support (5)
|
| EASE (reduce) + L (student) | ||
| 12 | CHALLENGE |
For a dare, Miss Gwyn turned over, assuming king’s role in charge (9)
|
| CHA[R]GE, with NELL (Miss Gwyn) reversed (turned over) and replacing (assuming . . . role [of]) R (king) | ||
| 13 | TENANTS |
One in temporary accommodation? No — at least two (7)
|
| Cryptic definition and AN (one) inside (in) TENT (temporary accommodation) + S, in that the solution is plural, not singular (“no . . . at least two”) | ||
| 15 | DERVISH |
Ascetic revolutionary rebuffed Roman force at opening of hostilities (7)
|
| RED (revolutionary) reversed (rebuffed) + VIS (force in Latin, thus “Roman”) + first letter of (“opening of”) H[OSTILITIES] | ||
| 18 | RAMJETS |
Black sheep’s stalling engines (7)
|
| RAM’S (sheep’s) around (stalling, i.e., putting in a stall) JET (black) | ||
| 20 | PILFERS |
Pinches iron to replace odd bits of lead in posts (7)
|
| PIL[LA]RS (posts), with first and third letters of (“odd bits of”) L[E]A[D] replaced by FE (iron) | ||
| 21 | GREATNESS |
Bighead achieving fame (9)
|
| GREAT (big) + NESS (head), a lift-and-separate clue | ||
| 23 | THERM |
Unit of resistance introduced by article on origin of magnetism (5)
|
| THE (article) + R (resistance) + first letter of (“origin of”) M[AGNETISM], “used as a unit in reckoning payment for gas,” according to Chambers | ||
| 25 | TOTEM |
Symbol of note embodied by cat (5)
|
| TE (note) inside (embodied by) TOM (cat) | ||
| 26 | ISLE OF MAN |
Faceless gnomes fail to develop tax haven (4,2,3)
|
| Anagram of (to develop) {[G]NOMES minus first letter G (“faceless”) + FAIL} | ||
| 27 | PENNILESS |
Poor writer given zero points (9)
|
| PEN (writer) + NIL (zero) + E + S + S (points, i.e., of the compass) | ||
| 28 | SASSY |
Cheeky twit representing Surrey’s inhabitants (5)
|
| ASS (twit) replacing (“representing”) interior letters of (“inhabitants” [of]) S[URRE]Y | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | COLLECTOR |
One gathering soldiers after prayer (9)
|
| COLLECT (prayer) + OR (soldiers) | ||
| 2 | MUFFS |
Clumsy players could use these to keep their hands in (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | AMBULANCE |
A&E to admit man beaten up with club. I’ll deliver him (9)
|
| &lit and [A + E] around (to admit) anagram of (beaten up) [MAN + CLUB] | ||
| 4 | PALACES |
One of the Trumps entertained by friends in big houses (7)
|
| ACE (one of the trumps, i.e., tarot cards) inside (entertained by) PALS (friends) | ||
| 5 | CUSTARD |
Perhaps Jack’s making a case for just excluding starter and dessert? (7)
|
| CARD (perhaps jack) around (making a case for) [J]UST minus the first letter (“excluding starter”) | ||
| 6 | DEVIL |
Has fear of him died down? Evidently not (5)
|
| Cryptic definition and the inverse of (“evidently not”) DIED [going] down is LIVED [literally going] up | ||
| 7 | INCENTIVE |
Current new money given without restrictions provides stimulus (9)
|
| I (current) + N (new) + CENT (money) + [G]IVE[N] minus the outside letters (“without restrictions”) | ||
| 8 | LARGE |
Abundant drink — “Bottom’s up!” (5)
|
| LAGER (drink), with the final letter R (bottom) moved “up” two spaces | ||
| 14 | NUMBER TEN |
Corrupt mountebankery could be represented as okay here (6,3)
|
| Cryptic definition and compound anagram of (“could be represented”) M[O]UNTEB[A]N[K]ER[Y] minus OKAY, referring to 10 Downing Street | ||
| 16 | RELATIONS |
Something more than kissing cousins? (9)
|
| Double definition, the first alluding to sexual relations | ||
| 17 | HUSH MONEY |
Rhino intended to disable trap? (4,5)
|
| Cryptic definition, as in money (rhino) paid to keep someone’s mouth (trap) shut (or “disable” it) | ||
| 19 | STERILE |
Lister organised introduction of effective antiseptic (7)
|
| Anagram of (organised) LISTER + first letter of (“introduction of”) E[FFECTIVE] | ||
| 20 | PESTLES |
50% of European capital maintained by French article to be pounds (7)
|
| [BUDA]PEST (50% of European capital) + LES (French article) | ||
| 21 | GET UP |
Retracted option to sell after discharging Greece’s standing order (3,2)
|
| Outside letters of (“after discharging”) G[REEC]E + PUT (option to sell) inverted (retracted), in the cryptic sense that the command: “Get up!” would be an order to stand [up] | ||
| 22 | TEMPI |
Times employee covering Independent (5)
|
| TEMP (employee) + I (Independent), i.e., plural of tempo | ||
| 24 | EMMYS |
Raised aesthetic quality of crosswords, having abandoned attempt to win awards (5)
|
| SYMME[TRY] (aesthetic quality of crosswords) minus (having abandoned) TRY (attempt) inverted (raised) |
Thanks, Bobcat and Cineraria!
An excellent puzzle and a lovely blog!
Liked COMMA, VICAR, DEVIL, HUSH MONEY (a great &lit?) and GET UP (for the clever def and a reference to equity/stock options trading)
COMMA
I read it as ‘(the) effect of placing ‘m(minute)’ in ‘coma’. Took ‘effect’ as a link word.
While reading the surface, ‘(the)butterfly effect’ can mislead solvers.
LIVED UP
I took ‘LIVED up’ in place of ‘died down’ (not died, not down or not ‘died down’).
NUMBER TEN
I agree with the blog.
(mountebankery)* could be represented as ‘okay NUMBER TEN (here)’.
KVa@1: The only abbreviation that I can find for “minute” is “min,” not “m”; otherwise, I might have parsed as you suggest.
Cineraria@2
I have seen ‘m’ being used in place of ‘minute’ before. The Collins online dictionary has this abbreviation for both minute and minutes (not sure if the Chambers has this abbreviation or not).
Solved less than half then abandoned ship. Bobcat is a setter I usually don’t attempt, and I’m not sure why I did today.
Couldn’t link rhino/money, collect/prayer, comma/butterfly, put/option to sell, Nell/Miss Gwyn, among others. And the logic in some of the clues was too twisted for me.
I’d confidently entered CARET for 25a, which works too, doesn’t it?
GDU@4
Yes. It works. 😀
Yes, excellent puzzle which was just too good for me. I filled the grid correctly but had no hope parsing the crossing VICAR and DEVIL, DERVISH, NUMBER TEN and GET UP.
Lots to enjoy with the HUSH MONEY cryptic def being my pick today.
Thanks to Cineraria – great job working out some tough parsing – and to Bobcat
For 13a TENANTS – should the definition be the whole clue?
And 2d MUFFS = “Clumsy players”, rather than the mistakes they make?
I think there is a mini theme relating to playing cards with 4ac, 10ac, 12ac, 2d, 3d, 4d and 5d all having some connection here. There may be others of course. Thanks setter and blogger.
FrankieG@7
MUFFS
Clumsy players as well as their mistakes (Collins).
GDU@4: CARET also works from the clue, but obviously not from the crossers–perhaps a deliberate misdirection?
FrankieG@7: For 2D, the two definitions are: (1) clumsy players and (2) [“a cylinder of fur or thick fabric” (Chambers) which they] could . . . use to keep their hands in.
Thanks Bobcat and Cineraria
1ac: I could not find m for minute in Chambers 2014, but if it is in Collins, that is good enough for me.
10ac: I do not remember seeing “leading insiders” before. Very neat.
I should have said that my comment 11 re 1ac was further to Cineraria@2 and KVa@3.
VICAR
Pelham Barton@11
I too haven’t come across the device ‘leading insiders’ before (At least, I don’t recall…). Loved it.
My Concise OED doesn’t have that sense for MUFF as a noun, nor does wiktionary. Merriam-Webster doesn’t.
Chambers does, of course. And Collins has ‘5 a bungler’ – so fair enough.
I have only ever heard it used of the mistake, rather than the mistaker. That sense may be a tad old-fashioned.
I took the whole clue to be a whimsical cryptic definition about sporting errors, hand-warmers, and “keeping one’s hand in” – ie practising.
And the “hand” is part of Steven@8’s card-playing theme.
MUFFS
‘Keeping one’s hands in’: Your explanation makes the plain-looking DD a beautiful cryptic def & a thematic one at that.
Thanks, FrankieG!
DEVIL
Cineraria!
I didn’t get the ‘going’ and ‘literally going’ in your parsing properly, earlier. Ended up saying the same thing in different words. That must be annoying. Sorry about that.
I am sure that this is the first FT crossword that I have been unable to solve since I started doing them about twenty years ago.
I did not know that “comma” was a butterfly.
12A: why is “for a” placed before the definition?
1D: I did not know that “collect” was a “prayer”
6D: the definition is four words in. Shouldn’t it be first or last?
20D: “pestles” = “pounds’? “Pestles” is a noun. “Pounds” in this clue is a “verb”.
8D: “abundant” means “many” or “lots of”, not “large”.
All in all, not my favourite crossword. But thanks to Cineraria for the blog.
20dn: If Bobcat had put “Half” instead of “50%”, the first part of the clue would have worked historically as well as cryptically, given the Budapest was formed by the union of the two settlements Buda and Pest, which are either side of the (brown) Danube. Incidentally, “vt to pound” appears under pestle in Chambers 2014. As always, I am not going to ask any setter to overrule Chambers.
Thanks for the blog, a very clever and enjoyable puzzle. NUMBER TEN is quite remarkable , a compound anagram and I would say an &Lit. PILFERS is very neat , many more.
For TENANTS I had it a little simpler with temporary accomodation=TENTS.
Thanks Bobcat for an expectedly challenging crossword. There was a good bit I couldn’t parse but I’m adept at guessing and not above checking my guesses. I did enjoy clues like PILFERS, TOTEM (I thought of caret but I didn’t think Bobcat would use “cat” in both the clue and the answer), PENNILESS, INCENTIVE, and EMMYS. Thanks Cineraria for the blog.
Surprisingly, I finished this successfully though it took three attempts and I was left with about half a dozen I couldn’t parse.
An example of my school motto: “ymdrech a lwydda”
Some great clues and ingenious feints.
Loved hush money among others.
Thanks for explanations
Ps. I don’t think of an employee as a Temp. Employees are full time in my book.
Yes, we strove and were successful, too, but didn’t manage to parse all the answers.
We liked the &lit-ishness of NUMBER TEN and Bobcat’s trademark feline reference in TOTEM.
Thanks, Bobcat and Cineraria.
Like Peter, I found this a no go. Starting with thinking a unit of resistance is an ohm and going on not to know words like collect for prayer. Thank goodness for this big and thank you Cineraria for the lesson.
Blog not big
13ac: I had this the same way as Roz@19
22dn: in my book (which is often known as Chambers 2014), temp is defined as “a temporarily-employed secretarial or other office worker”, and employee as “a person employed”. That should be good enough. In any case, people who work temporarily for a succession of clients could well be on long term contracts to an agency which hires them out..
[I make no apology for recycling the “in my book” joke.]
Sorry this is so late Cineraria but I only finished this off at lunchtime today having been lured in by your preamble to the blog, and very much in agreement with it. I struggled with first SHOES and then MITTS in 2d before successive crossers ruled them out and the unlikely MUFFS had to be. Also hope that this parsing extravaganza means you are back firing on all cylinders. Fantastic puzzle, thanks Bobcat.