Some remarkable clues and some really fun surfaces today from Julius . . .
. . . all without anything that is terribly obscure
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | COBBLED TOGETHER |
Hastily assembled during the night? The elves did this! (7,8)
|
| Double/cryptic definition, the latter referring to the fairy tale, The Elves and The Shoemaker | ||
| 9 | ONTARIO |
Don’t start riot when fully exposed here in Canada (7)
|
| Interior letters of (“when fully exposed”) [D]ON[‘T] [S]TAR[T] [R]IO[T] | ||
| 10 | CRONIES |
Conservative corrupted senior close friends (7)
|
| C (Conservative) + anagram of (corrupted) SENIOR | ||
| 11 | OMAHA |
Midwest city mom embraced by old husband back in Nebraska (5)
|
| MA (mom) inside (embraced by) {O (old) + H (husband)} + last letter of (back in) [NEBRASK]A | ||
| 12 | GALLIPOLI |
US soldier saving everybody I cut when retreating in battle (9)
|
| GI (US soldier) around (saving) ALL (everybody) + {I + LOP (cut)} reversed (when retreating) | ||
| 13 | INTROVERT |
A shy person, fashionable model Trevor retires (9)
|
| IN (fashionable) + T (model) + TREVOR reversed (retires) | ||
| 15 | SALON |
Business occasionally seen in small towns? (5)
|
| Alternate letters of (occasionally seen in) S[M]A[L]L [T]O[W]N[S] | ||
| 16 | EVICT |
Dislodge England’s opener, caught during ITV broadcast (5)
|
| First letter of (opener [of]) E[NGLAND] + {C (caught) inside (during) anagram of (broadcast) ITV} | ||
| 18 | RADICCHIO |
Italian leaves a chic Dior collection (9)
|
| Anagram of (collection) A CHIC DIOR, with a slightly cryptic definition | ||
| 20 | UNMATCHED |
Peerless article in French magazine from Paris editor (9)
|
| UN (article in French) + MATCH (magazine from Paris) + ED (editor) | ||
| 23 | ANVIL |
Hard fixture where the Hammers will strike? (5)
|
| Cryptic definition, with a capitalization misdirection | ||
| 24 | DENARII |
Coins retroactive term for rudimentary bomb Iran planted (7)
|
| IRAN inside (planted [in]) IED (term for rudimentary bomb) all reversed (retroactive) | ||
| 25 | CLIP ART |
Graphic images upset April in court (4,3)
|
| Anagram of (upset) APRIL inside (in) CT (court) | ||
| 26 | EVENING PRIMROSE |
Herbal remedy enlivening pensioner Reg with vim? (7,8)
|
| Anagram of (enlivening) PENSIONER + REG + VIM | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CROCODILE DUNDEE |
Macho Aussie turns up in Berwick-upon-Tweed nude lido. Cor! Cripes! (9,6)
|
| Hidden in (in) [TW]EED NUDE LIDO COR C[RIPES] inverted (turns up) | ||
| 2 | BIT PART |
British tech “average” — leader in Times that merits just a few lines (3,4)
|
| B (British) + IT (tech) + PAR (average) + first letter of (leader in) T[IMES] | ||
| 3 | LARK ABOUT |
Play king, punching Liberal Arab unconscious (4,5)
|
| K (king) inside (punching) {L (liberal) + ARAB} + OUT (unconscious) | ||
| 4 | DROOG |
Burgess’s thug runs over to be bitten by hound (5)
|
| {R (runs) + O (over)} inside (to be bitten by) DOG (hound), invented slang for the ruffian “friends” from Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange | ||
| 5 | OSCULATED |
Kissed very large copper behind back of Yard (9)
|
| OS (very large) + CU (copper) + LATE (behind) + last letter of (back of) [YAR]D | ||
| 6 | E. COLI |
Bug that is set up to trap senior army officer (1,4)
|
| I.E. (that is) inverted (set up) around (to trap) COL. (senior army officer) | ||
| 7 | HAIR-OIL |
Slick product introduced to Barnet (4-3)
|
| Cryptic definition, with a Cockney rhyming slang reference | ||
| 8 | RUSSIAN ROULETTE |
Dodgy USA-run lotteries a risky venture (7,8)
|
| Anagram of (dodgy) USA-RUN LOTTERIES | ||
| 14 | EARTHLING |
Knight avoids close shave involving large human being (9)
|
| [N]EAR THING (close shave) minus (avoids) N (knight) around (involving) L (large) | ||
| 15 | SOCIALISM |
Thus radical Islamic political ideology? (9)
|
| SO (thus) + anagram of (radical) ISLAMIC | ||
| 17 | IMMENSE |
One million soldiers on both sides of square that’s vast (7)
|
| I (one) + M (million) + MEN (soldiers) + outside letters of (both sides of) S[QUAR]E | ||
| 19 | HAVE A GO |
Try Fifth Ave — a gorgeous surrounding (4,1,2)
|
| Hidden in (surrounding) [FIFT]H AVE A GO[RGEOUS] | ||
| 21 | TARSI |
Bones of sailors found on island (5)
|
| TARS (sailors) + I (island) | ||
| 22 | DÉCOR |
Doctor Green installed home furnishings (5)
|
| ECO (green) inside (installed [in]) DR (doctor) |
In my two-month career, I think this was the first time I finished in one go with no cheating. And none of the smug secret codes that put me off cryptics for the preceding 40 years!
I guess it was on the easy side, but I was somewhat impressed with myself knowing “osculate”.
Plenty to expand my lexicon today: DENARRI, RADICCHIO, OSCULATED, DROOG (not familiar with A Clockwordk Orange), IED (Improvised Explosive Device). I went to a lot of trouble to discover who the Hammers are, but probably didn’t need to. So Match is a Paris magazine? I see. Not sure whether to laugh or groan at 1d.
Thanks Cineraria.
Loved this. What a fabulous inversion 1d is! Also really liked EARTHLING, OSCULATE (like Bobtato, pleased I knew this) and SOCIALISM.
Frequently bought copies of Paris Match when I lived there so 20a was a write-in.
Thanks to Julius and Cineraria.
Thanks, Julius and Cineraria!
Enjoyed the puzzle and the blog.
Liked COBBLED TOGETHER, HAIR-OIL and EARTHLING.
CROCODILE DUNDEE: What Diane said.
I did not know OSCULATE, but was pleased with myself nonetheless for working it out.
Not only is 1d is an amazing clue, but Julius also came good with his usual long anagrams (8d was a beauty) and great surfaces (19d was just one of many examples).
Not too many obscure words for me today – sorry GDU. So saying, am I the only one who wishes crossword setters would stop using “cockney English”?
Thanks to both Julius and Cineraria
I love a good anagram, so 8d & 26a hit the spot. Met the magazine “Match” in a fairly recent crossword and so wasn’t tripped by it this time. Didn’t know the reference for 1a and had forgotten 4d but both easy to get. OSCULATE is a nice word and crops up from time to time so no problem there.
Full marks for this. The grid with all the outside edges filled does make solving a little easier. Agree with all the positive remarks.
I do not mind Cockney English(Martyn @5) but am a little tired of teller for banker.
Thanks to Julius and Cineraria
Lovely crossword. I particularly liked 1a although I could list more clues I really ought to be getting on with the things I’m supposed to be doing, a Julius crossword takes precedence over everything else!
Thanks very much to Julius and Cineraria
I echo the praise for this one wholeheartedly – the four perimeter clues were all wonderful, and I also very much liked RADICCHIO, but it was all excellent. Thanks, Julius and Cineraria.
What crypticsue and Widdersbel said. Julius on the very top of his form (and that’s saying something).
Huge thanks to Julius and Cineraria.
What a wonderful crossword.
Just perfect for this solver. Some excellent clues, including the astonishing 1 down.
And none of the infuriating obscurities / weird general knowledge requirements which blighted yesterday’s effort, and caused me to waste so much of my precious time in pursuit of the unsolvable.
FT crossword Editor – please note the glowing reviews above.
Thank you, Julius.
Marvellous.
I don’t particularly like “business” as a definition of “salon” in 15A. Doesn’t it really mean “room”?
I enjoyed “osculated”. It’s my second favourite activity!
Thanks to the setter and Cineraria and all the other posters.
Yes, Pamela, salon is French for living room and used long ago to describe the fashionable salons of notable patrons of the Arts.
These days, though, it’s probably more widely used to describe various beauty establishments like tanning, nail and hair salons. It’s a wide open definition though, I’ll grant you.
Thanks Julius and Cineraria
15ac: Collins 2023 gives us “salon n 3 a commercial establishment in which hairdressers, beauticians, etc, carry on their business: beauty salon” and “business n 3 a commercial or industrial establishment, such as a firm or factory”. That is near enough for me.
It’s all been said. A lovely puzzle.
Not having read or seen Clockwork Orange, I did not get droog. I should have asked my wife who often talks about it and its relevance to today. However she thinks I have a twisted mind for doing cryptic puzzles and won’t listen to me on the subject. Thanks to all.
Good fun! I didn’t get the long perimeter entries till right at the end; 1d was a hoot! Maybe it’s a wavelength thing but this felt like it flowed onto the grid very smoothly with no obscurities. I still recall reading Burgess from decades back. (“Yarbles! Bolshy great yarblockos to thee and thine!”) How come I can’t recall where I left my glasses?
Cheers Julius and Cineraria.
Thanks Julius. I’m sure I’ve used the term “customary excellence” when commenting on a Julius crossword before but it bears repeating. My top picks were ONTARIO, GALLIPOLI, RADICCHIO, and the splendid RUSSIAN ROULETTE for both its surface and anagram. I couldn’t parse 1a. Thanks Cineraria for the blog.
Well, the only one i didn’t get was 1D.
Fuming when I saw it, but what a brilliant clue.
Thanks for the blog, I think this is three times in a row for this type of grid from Gordius. I do like the long answers and 1D is a spectacular reverse hidden.
Everybody loves Crocodile Dundee. Me too, what a marvellous clue.
The other hidden (not reversed this time), 19d HAVE A GO, was also very good, with a nice surface.
[ john@16, your wife and mine share the same view of our “twisted minds”. I wonder how many of us are in the same boat? ]
Thanks Julius for another superb puzzle, and Cineraria for the excellent blog.
[ 10a CRONIES reminded me of the discussion yesterday about “crone”. My wife assures me that, like “queer”, it’s a word that has been reclaimed, and no longer carries a derogatory connotation. ]
Cellomaniac @21. As much as it pains me to write this, I am in the same boat. My wife completely refuses to talk about the cryptic. How sad!
Brilliant piece of work that reaffirmed Julius as a genius setter. I don’t say this lightly.
john@16, me@21, Martyn@23, shades of JKJ – three men in a boat.
OH DEAR! WRONG NUMBER!!
Took a while to find this – it should be17,576 NOT 17,756!!!!
What a beautiful puzzle; this is at the perfect level of wit, and difficulty, to whet the appetite of those new to cryptic solving; sometimes the best crosswords can be the most straightforward! Pure elegance….
WFP@26: Oops, corrected. Thanks for noticing. The title is usually automatically generated, but I had to insert this one myself this time–and there I thought I was being so careful.
Thanks so much to Julius and Cineraria (belatedly). I was recommended to do this puzzle by a friend and I’m so glad! It was such an enjoyable solve. The four long perimeter solutions were all gems! The parochial Aussie in me liked 12a GALLIPOLI and 1d CROCODILE DUNDEE in particular.