Filbert provides our cruciverbal challenge today.
Other bloggers here have commented that Filbert isn’t one of the easiest setters, but he’s worth the effort – once you get the hang of his slightly offbeat definitions. Lots to enjoy here: the surface images of a road-race saboteur in 14a and a holiday dinner in 20a (did anyone else try to make NEW YEAR fit?), the plausible misdirection of “cattle cross river” in 3d, and the two long down entries, among others. Thanks to Filbert for the fun, and to BertandJoyce for giving me this one to blog (they’ve swapped with my regular slot tomorrow because they’re travelling today).
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | AUDIBLE |
Car exploded abruptly within earshot (7)
|
| AUDI (a make of car) + BLE[w] (exploded) without the last letter (abruptly = shortened). | ||
| 5 | BEANBAG |
Ask desperately about an airline’s unstructured seating (7)
|
| BEG (ask desperately), around AN + BA (British Airways).
Beanbag chair: a shaped cushion filled with polystyrene granules, a 1960s design classic. |
||
| 9 | KINDER SCOUT |
German children reconnoitre location of protest march (6,5)
|
| KINDER (German for children, as in “kindergarten”) + SCOUT (as a verb = reconnoitre).
Moorland area in the Peak District, site of a 1932 organised trespass by walkers to protest against landowners who were blocking their right to access the countryside. |
||
| 10 | COT |
Tango on fellow’s bed (3)
|
| T (Tango in the radio alphabet) added to CO (prefix as in co-worker = fellow worker). | ||
| 11 | WEIMAR |
Place using Enigma regularly during war? (6)
|
| Alternate letters (regularly) of E[n]I[g]M[a] inserted into WAR.
Extended definition: German city after which the Weimar Republic (Germany between WW1 and WW2) was named. The Enigma encryption machine was adopted by the German military during this period. |
||
| 12 | KNEES-UP |
Rocker squeezes spot coming over for party (5-2)
|
| PUNK (rocker = rock music fan) around (squeezing) SEE (spot, as a verb = observe), all reversed (coming over). | ||
| 14 | METRONOME |
Time-keeper came across moron moving race’s finish (9)
|
| MET (came across = encountered) + anagram (moving) of MORON + last letter (finish) of [rac]E. | ||
| 15 | SPATE |
Bath leads to this enormous flood (5)
|
| SPA (bath = public bathing facility) + first letters (leads) of T[his] E[normous].
In spate = in flood = descriptive of a river with high fast-flowing water. |
||
| 16 | LIE UP |
Story finished, go to bed (3,2)
|
| LIE (story = falsehood) + UP (finished).
Lie up = to go to bed, or stay in bed, for example because of illness. |
||
| 18 | THEM AND US |
Two sides of article daughter put in Roman’s hand (4,3,2)
|
| THE (definite article), then D (abbreviation for daughter) in MANUS (Latin, therefore Roman, for hand). | ||
| 20 | DUE DATE |
European cuts turkey, consumed when extra family might come? (3,4)
|
| E (abbreviation for European) inserted into DUD (turkey = something worthless or not fit for purpose) + ATE (consumed).
The date when a child (extra family) is due to be born – “might come” because it’s not possible to predict this accurately. |
||
| 21 | MANIAC |
Crazed fratricide turned on mother (6)
|
| CAIN (son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel = fratricide) reversed (turned), added to MA (mother). | ||
| 24 | OVA |
What’s in roe? See answer (3)
|
| Inner letter (what’s in . . . = contents) of [r]O[e] + V (abbreviation for Latin vide = see, as in “qv” = quod vide = a cross-reference to related information) + A (abbreviation for answer).
Clue-as-definition: roe (of fish) = ova = eggs. |
||
| 25 | IMPERTINENT |
Upright member on internet surprisingly rude (11)
|
| I (an upright letter?) + MP (member of parliament) + anagram (surprisingly) of INTERNET. | ||
| 26 | SHELTIE |
Low mount needing female climber’s second rope … (7)
|
| SHE (female) + second letter of [c]L[imber] + TIE (rope, as a verb = fasten with a rope).
Another name for Shetland pony = a small horse = low mount. (It can also mean a Shetland sheepdog.) |
||
| 27 | PEGASUS |
… gas used partly for legendarily high one? (7)
|
| The ellipsis at the start indicates that we need to carry something over from the previous clue, in this case the word ROPE. It’s a hidden answer (. . . partly) in [ro]PE GAS US[ed].
The definition also refers to the previous clue: if a Shetland pony is a low mount, Pegasus (in Greek legend) is a flying horse and therefore could be described as a high one. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ASKEW |
Angling shop’s opening in a leafy part of London (5)
|
| Opening letter of S[hop], in A + KEW (Kew Gardens = leafy part of London).
Askew = angling = not straight. |
||
| 2 | DENNIS THE MENACE |
Study rise of evil; topic number one, terror (6,3,6)
|
| DEN (study = private room), then SIN (evil) reversed (rise = going upwards in a down clue), then THEME (subject) + N (abbreviation for number) + ACE (one in card games and other sports).
Terror = a badly-behaved child, such as the cartoon character Dennis the Menace from The Beano. |
||
| 3 | BEEFALO |
Cattle cross river in Cornwall, following drone over (7)
|
| FAL (river in Cornwall, giving its name to the town of Falmouth) after BEE (which could be a drone, a worker or a queen), then O (abbreviation for over, in cricket scoring).
Hybrid (cross) of a bull (domestic beef cattle) and a bison (buffalo). |
||
| 4 | EAST |
Bridge player‘s joke, pocketing ace and hiding jack (4)
|
| [j]EST (a joke) without the J (abbreviation for jack) and containing A (abbreviation for ace) – both abbreviations are appropriately from playing cards. | ||
| 5 | BOOKKEEPER |
Give card to number one accountant (10)
|
| BOOK (give card to = in football, to show a yellow or red card to a player for a breach of the rules) + KEEPER (also in football, the goalkeeper traditionally wears shirt number 1). | ||
| 6 | ARTLESS |
Innocent cargo of vessel tracked northwards (7)
|
| Hidden answer (cargo of = something contained within), reversed (northwards = reading upwards, in a down clue) in [ve]SSEL TRA[cked].
Artless = without pretence or artifice = innocent. |
||
| 7 | BACK-SEAT DRIVERS |
Overturned taxi skated wildly; maybe Joan’s counselling passengers (4-4,7)
|
| CAB (taxi) reversed (overturned) + anagram (wildly) of SKATED + RIVERS (maybe the comedian and actress Joan Rivers).
Slang for car passengers who give unwanted advice (counsel) to the driver. |
||
| 8 | GO TO PRESS |
Toppling finally, old cupboard with books on hit the printers (2,2,5)
|
| Last letter (finally) of [topplin]G, then O (old) + PRESS (a cupboard, typically a “linen press”) with OT (abbreviation for Old Testament = books) before it (on = above, in a down clue).
Go to press = hit the printers = begin the publication process. |
||
| 13 | BOAT PEOPLE |
Refugees from Aleppo to be relocated (4,6)
|
| Anagram (relocated = moved around) of ALEPPO TO BE.
Term originally used for refugees from Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War (who travelled by boat to neighbouring south-east Asian countries), but sadly now applicable to others in many places. |
||
| 14 | MELODIOUS |
Lovely-sounding honey really horrible (9)
|
| MEL (Latin-derived name for honey) + ODIOUS (really horrible). | ||
| 17 | PIANIST |
One using both hands on bars while pedalling? (7)
|
| Cryptic definition: a pianist uses both hands on piano keys (which are white and black bars), while using foot pedals to alter the sound of the instrument. Or the “bars” could refer to the musical notation for what the pianist is playing. | ||
| 19 | AMAZING |
Wonderful e-tailer exchanging ring for one grand (7)
|
| AMAZ[o]N (e-tailer = online retailer), with the O (ring) exchanged for I (one in Roman numerals), then G (grand = slang for £1000 or $1000). | ||
| 22 | CITES |
At a lecture seeing faculty’s names (5)
|
| Homophone (at a lecture = spoken out loud) of SIGHT’S (relating to the ability to see = seeing faculty’s).
Name, as a verb = cite = identify someone or something by name. |
||
| 23 | TRAP |
Rotating component plumber’s fitting under the sink (4)
|
| PART (component), reversed (rotating).
Sink trap = a curved section in a waste water pipe, forming a water seal to keep sewer gases out. |
Got stuck a few times but persevered and managed to complete, although I bunged in KINDER SCOUT from wordplay alone, having never heard of the place. Always enjoy a puzzle that I finish with a lot of head-scratching along the way.
“Lovely stuff but over all too quickly.”
Loved SHELTIE… …PEGASUS and all the Latin, especially OVA – (vide supra)
Thanks F&Q
OVA
Can be upgraded to the &lit status, I feel (squint a bit if you have to).
Super puzzle, thanks, Filbert and Quirister. I like Filbert’s left-field definitions – they lead to lots of very satisfying penny-drop moments.
KVa @3 – it’s already acknowledged in the blog, though Quirister has preferred the term “clue as definition”.
I always enjoy a puzzle from Filbert and this was no exception
No particular highlights but all of them good-sign opf a fine puzzle.
Thanks Filbert and Quirister
I usually fall short with Filbert but this one slipped down nicely, apart from 3D Beefalo, which was new to me, and 23D Trap, for which I didn’t understand the plumber connection. Thanks Filbert and Quirister.
SHELTIE looked a bit dyslexic to me – why wasn’t it SHETLIE like SHETLAND?
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sheltie has the answer: ‘Etymology – Probably ultimately representing Old Norse HJALTI (“Shetlander”).’
So it’s SHETLAND that’s dyslexic – https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Shetland#English
‘Etymology From Scots Shetland, Middle Scots 3etland, from Old Norse HJALTLAND, a compound of hjalt (“hilt”) and land (“land”).’
We have found Filbert difficult in nthe past but this proved quite easy as far as we were concerned. Plenty to enjoy, too, including KINDER SCOUT (brought back memories), METRONOME, PIANIST and the two long answers at 2dn and 7dn.
Thanks, Filbert and Quirister.
I wonder if the lack of comments is because people see Filbert and just go and mow the lawn instead. I don’t think I’ll ever get the hang of the half definitions like co for co-worker in cot or single letter abbreviations for bits of Latin, but I’ll keep on trying. Until I get a lawn.
That was very enjoyable, but the Independent crossword app seems to go haywire just as I am nearly finishing.
Thanks Filbert and Quirister
PeterHA3 @ 9 I think CO is a full definition for ‘fellow’, with co-worker just given as one example of the usage: see also co-trustee, co-executor etc. The OED defines it as “ ‘joint’ or ‘fellow’ “, and then gives over 20 examples of such use.
As Quirister says, Filbert is worth making the effort, so I allow myself a bit more help than usual, rather then the lawn. Which also needs help, but it can wait.
Thanks both
Thanks Simon S. I shall file in memory and hope I can remember next time it crops up. Meanwhile I’m now puzzling over why co- has come to mean what it does.
Pete @ 13 Back to the OED: it derives from the Latin cum (with), which when used as a prefix was written as com. Cf compadre.
Thanks again Simon. Part of the pleasure of these pesky puzzles is thinking, I use all the time, I wonder how it became part of the language.
Firstly, thanks to Quirister for the swap – we are now back home.
Normally we check the setter before solving but today we didn’t. Part way through we thought it must be a Filbert, given some of the more off-beat definitions which you mention. However, we are not sure whether Filbert has ‘softened’ or whether we are getting more used to the style but we have been enjoying his/her puzzles more just lately.
Thanks Filbert – some good surfaces and misdirections.
Thanks Filbert. This was my 3rd and last crossword of the day and I feel I saved the best for last. It was a great set of clues with my top picks being AUDIBLE, BEANBAG, METRONOME, THEM AND US, DENNIS THE MENACE, and AMAZING. I missed KINDER SCOUT, unknown to me until now. Thanks Quirister for the blog.