The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29229.
I found this quite hard work, particularly the SW corner (the wordplay for 17D INTENSE took me far too long for the penny to drop), but satisfying.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SPRIGHTLY |
South Park’s leading character properly animated (9)
|
| A charade of S (‘south’) plus P (‘Park’s leading character’) plus RIGHTLY (‘properly’). | ||
| 6 | SACK |
Bag a bed (4)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 8 | HECATOMB |
The sacrifice of the mass? (8)
|
| Cryptic definition – or perhaps double definition; a HECATOMB is a great sacrifice, originally of 100 oxen, and the word has come to mean a great number (‘mass’), whether of people, animal or things. | ||
| 9 | LARIAT |
Rope‘s end pulled back arresting a run (6)
|
| An envelope (‘arresting’) of ‘a’ plus R (‘run’) in LIAT, a reversal (‘pulled back’) of TAIL (‘end’). | ||
| 10 | SPRAIN |
Odds on bad weather? That’s a wrench (6)
|
| A charade of SP (starting price, ‘odds’) plus RAIN (‘bad weather’). | ||
| 11 | ON ONE LEG |
Precariously balanced, title finally is between the same three sides (2,3,3)
|
| An envelope (‘is between’) of E (‘titlE finally’) in ON ON LEG (‘the same three sides’, cricket). | ||
| 12 | OSTEAL |
Like a bone? Please help yourself (6)
|
| O STEAL (‘please help yourself’). | ||
| 15 | DEIGHTON |
Len, 8, accepted by teacher (8)
|
| An envelope (‘accepted by’) of EIGHT (‘8’) in DON (‘teacher’), for the author Len Deighton. | ||
| 16 | OMNIVORE |
I’m on an unrestricted diet and rove around on the other part of the bus (8)
|
| A charade of OMNI (‘the other part of the bus’) plus VORE, an anagram (‘around’) of ‘rove’. | ||
| 19 | HERMES |
Messenger has some further messages (6)
|
| A hidden answer (‘some’) in ‘furtHER MESsages’. Hermes was the messenger of the gods | ||
| 21 | PARTNERS |
People separating to secure new significant others (8)
|
| An envelope (‘to secure’) of N (‘new’) in PARTERS (‘people separating’). | ||
| 22 | SAFETY |
Shot on the table in sanctuary (6)
|
| Double definition, the first being a shot in billiards, snooker or the like, designed to make things difficult for the opponent’s next shot. | ||
| 24 | WINNIE |
Churchill heard noise from horse (6)
|
| Sounds like (‘heard’) WHINNY (‘noise from horse’), for the affectionate name for Winston Churchill. | ||
| 25 | OVERAWED |
Starstruck old woman found a husband (8)
|
| A charade of O (‘old’) plus VERA (‘woman’) plus WED (‘found a husband’). | ||
| 26 | HOLE |
Part of course: all of it except the start (4)
|
| A subtraction: [w]HOLE (‘all of it’) minus the first letter (‘except the start’), the ‘course’ being for golf. Of course. | ||
| 27 | FIFTEENTH |
Theft punished with fine, far from the first (9)
|
| An anagram (‘punished’) of ‘theft’ plus ‘fine’. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | STEEP |
Having great inclination to soak (5)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 2 | REAL ALE |
One drunk is concerning a flyer after takeoff? (4,3)
|
| A charade of RE (‘concerning’) plus ‘a’ plus LALE, a reversal (‘after takeoff’? – perhaps better indicating an anagram, of which a reversal is an example) of EL AL (Israeli ‘flyer’). | ||
| 3 | GROAN |
Complaint of old lady needing to inhale oxygen (5)
|
| An envelope (‘needing to inhale’) of O (chemical symbol, ‘oxygen’) in GRAN (‘old lady’). | ||
| 4 | TABOOED |
Forbidden steak occasionally, signalled displeasure (7)
|
| A charade of TA (‘sTeAk occasionally’) plus BOOED (‘signalled displeasure’). | ||
| 5 | YELLOWISH |
Loudly express desire to tour round in the buff (9)
|
| An envelope (‘to tour’) of O (’round’) in YELL WISH (‘loudly express desire’). | ||
| 6 | SCREECH |
Sound from brakes perhaps a sort of owl (7)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 7 | CHAPERONE |
Companion has no time for book opening (9)
|
| A subtraction: CHAP[t]ER ONE (‘book opening’) minus the T (‘has no time’). The ‘for’ is confusing. | ||
| 13 | SIMPATICO |
Son champing to leave hospital department, firm being agreeable (9)
|
| A charade of S (‘son’) plus IMPATI[ent] (‘champing’) minus ENT (‘to leave hospital department’ – Ear Nose and Throat) plus CO (‘firm’). | ||
| 14 | LOOSE-LEAF |
Not bound to negotiate lease blockhead is holding up (5-4)
|
| An envelope (‘is holding’) of SELEA, an anagram (‘to negotiate’) of ‘lease’ in LOOF, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of FOOL (‘blockhead’). | ||
| 17 | INTENSE |
Said to be so different from say profound (7)
|
| ‘Said’ and ‘say’ differ IN TENSE – past and present. The misdirection is also profound. | ||
| 18 | EASE OFF |
Safe after a struggle to truss enemy up, relax (4,3)
|
| An envelope (‘to truss’) of EOF, a reversal (‘up’ in a down light’) of FOE (‘enemy’) in EASF, an anagram (‘after a struggle’) of ‘safe’. | ||
| 20 | REFRAIN |
Being in control brother finds a burden (7)
|
| An envelope (‘being in’) of FRA (‘brother’, generally a friar) in REIN (‘control’). | ||
| 22 | SIEVE |
Riddle, special one, posed by reflective woman (5)
|
| A charade of S (‘special’) plus I (‘one’) plus EVE (‘reflective woman’, indicating a palindrome). | ||
| 23 | TEETH |
Start of the 26 taking most of the force (5)
|
| A charade of TEE (‘start of 26’ which is HOLE, following the golf reference) plus ‘th[e]’ minus its last letter (‘most of’). For the definition, to have teeth means to have sufficient force to be effective (“The US Supreme Court’s ethics guidelines have no teeth”). |
The Israeli flyer was beyond me. And I’ve never heard of “real ale”. My knowledge of billiards, or rather ignorance, failed to allow me to parse SAFETY. I’d not heard of HECATOMB, RIDDLE as a sieve or Len DEIGHTON. And I was unaware that TABOO could be a verb. So it’s been an educational experience, with lots of help from Wikipedia and Google. But I stuck with it, and found it quite enjoyable. I even managed to parse ON ONE LEG, having now been thoroughly immersed in the cricketing terms over numerous cryptic crosswords. 🙂
Thanks Imogen & PeterO.
In 20d I had fr for friar=A. REFRAIN=BURDEN seems a bit strange. AmI missing something?
I think I have seen HECATOMB somewhere, but I can’t think where. I had to use a word fider there, even though I had all the crossers. I couldn’t parse the LALE in REAL ALE either.
A tough one, but that’s why we do them, isnt it? Thanks for crossword and blog.
I had many more on the first pass than I normally do with Imogen, but it still took a while to finish off. It seems straightforward now, but HOLE held me up the longest.
I often think that the commonly seen use of “need” or “want” in clues leaves something to be desired. In GROAN, for example, the GRAN doesn’t need to inhale the O, it (or she) actually does inhale it. You could say the inhalation needs to happen, but then you could say that of every wordplay operation in every clue! Sorry if I appear grouchy.
Not sure I would have got STEEP as quickly as I did if it hadn’t occurred in a clue yesterday.
Like GDU@1 didn’t know TABOO could be a verb. Thought HERMES was cute.
Thanks
As Geoff@1 said, this was educational, TABOO as a verb was new, not used to BURDEN in the sense of chorus/refrain, have seen riddle only as “He was riddled with bullets” or “Riddle me this, Batman” so linking it with SIEVE in this sense was difficult, dredged HECATOMB from memory only after getting crossers, got TEETH as force only after PeterO explained it, liked 17 (the word “so” complicated it for me). Thank you to Imogen and PeterO.
If you are sieving flour, you would use a sieve, if you are sieving (I would say riddling) grain or potatoes, you would use a riddle.
My experience was the opposite of Dr.WhatsOn@3. I only had 5 answers on the first go-through, but then it gradually came together afterwards, although several were unparsed or only half-parsed.
My cricket blind spot – on=leg=side – will remain so forever, so that one (11a ON ONE LEG) went unparsed.
I also couldn’t parse 17d INTENSE, but when I saw PeterO’s explanation it became my favourite clue – very clever.
Another favourite was 26a HOLE, which combined a clever construction with an excellent surface.
Thanks Imogen for the challenge, and PeterO for guiding me so adeptly through the maze.
[ Me@6, “half-parsed” is a rather good word, I think. 😉 ]
Thanks, Imogen and PeterO!
Liked REAL ALE, INTENSE and TEETH.
REAL ALE
I think ‘takeoff’ could work as a reversal indicator (in a down light) in the sense of ‘lift’/’go up’.
[Cellomaniac @7…. I get half-parsed after a couple of REAL ALES]
Quite a few lazy bung’n’prays today, eg hecatomb, real ale, simpatico and intense. Ntl, enjoyed pottering through it, ta Im and Peter.
… and how many knew, and then thought of, the safety shot in billiards and snooker …?
Nicbach@2 burden = REFRAIN in songs. One of my first ones in for which I was very grateful. Took me a long time to complete the bottom half and spent time parsing INTENSE and matching TEETH to the definition (thought of ‘the teeth of a gale’). Had to remind myself of HECATOMB to confirm the answer after the word came to me (not many words end with B). Lots to feel satisfaction over after completion. Thanks to PeterO and Imogen
grantinfreo @11 I did eventually think of the safety shot in Snooker, but it took me a long while.
Slow and steady for the most part but got stuck on, and needed a word finder for, OSTEAL – and I find it somewhat unsatisfactory. I get the ‘help yourself’ = STEAL part but is ‘please’ supposed to account for the O? What am I missing?
Lots of good clues though, in particular INTENSE, OMNIVORE, HOLE and CHAPERONE.
Thanks both!
Not my finest hour. Without crossers, the clue for WINNIE is ambiguous, and as usual I picked the wrong one first. Even as a snooker fan I failed to see SAFETY, and couldn’t sort out REAL ALE beyond an initial re a something… Didn’t know OSTEAL either, or FR=friar though it was fairly obvious.
But I did like INTENSE, HERMES, FIFTEENTH, CHAPERONE and the HOLE/TEETH interaction. And wonder of wonders, I remembered on=leg for 11a!
RobT@14: O(h) STEAL my heart you wicked man, you!
That was chewy, with HOLE and TEETH last in, although parsed. Didn’t think of the pool/snooker safety shot even though I spend hours supervising youngsters learning pool and advise them to take safety shots regularly. Didn’t think of El Al although it had to be REAL ALE.
I sang something as a child with the refrain, “this is the BURDEN of my song” so do know that equivalence and HECATOMB surfaced from somewhere.
Thank you to PeterO and Imogen.
nicbach @16 – thanks, I figured it might be something like that, but I still find it rather tenuous. The use of ‘O’ without the ‘h’ is somewhat archaic and to my mind the connection between ‘O(h)’ and ‘please’ is a stretch. But if others parsed it fine, the gap is in my brain 🙂
Thanks Blogger and Setter. A few inelegant clues and answers and as many real crackers.
My solving time not helped by a few words/usages new to me.
Sailed through this in record time until coming to a dead stop with OSTEAL, being convinced that it had to begin AS… . Even after revealing it I was too boneheaded to parse it, so thanks for that, PeterO. And thanks to Imogen, especially for CHAPERONE which though not especially difficult, made me smile.
All done but failed to parse the ‘El Al’ element of ‘Real Ale’.
WHINNY or WINNIE? Held me up a bit. OSTEAL is good. Thanks both.
Definitely a challenge from Imogen today and it looks as if I fell into the same HOLEs as others – EL AL escaped me, did not know REFRAIN = burden, couldn’t see why TEETH was a def and I was nowhere near spotting the ‘help yourself’. I’ve seen HECATOMB in a crossword but never outside of a grid.
Having clued TABOO myself, recently, I had learned it could be a verb though it’s an awkward one to try to use. Especially with ‘ban’ or ‘forbid’ to hand. I had the feeling Imogen was trying quite hard to be tricky.
Favourites include SPRIGHTLY, SPRAIN, OVERAWED, HOLE, STEEP, CHAPERONE, EASE OFF and SIEVE. I think of riddling in that sense as relating to the sieving of larger matter like earth or compost; I inherited from a grandparent a lovely large round wooden riddle. A glance at Google suggests they can still be purchased in plastic and metal but the craftsmanship is nowhere near the same.
Thanks Imogen and PeterO
Shanne@17: the song was probably this one – at least, that’s the one I had to learn at Junior School in the 1950s.
For 2d I couldn’t quite make ALA (wing) work out.
HECATOMB was the competition word in Azed 2617 in August 2022. The blog is here and the Azed slip with the prize winning clues is here.
gladys @24 – that’s the one – but there’s also a hymn using the same trick.
Pleasantly gnarly – I found very little on first pass, but the puzzle yielded slowly.
HECATOMB popped out after the final B revealed itself. I knew the sense of ‘sacrifice’ but not ‘mass’ – rather a recondite double def for such a rare word. LOI was OSTEAL – I also spent a lot of time looking for a word beginning AS- I’m not sure I’ve come across the word before, but osteo = bone was familiar enough. ‘O, steal’ for ‘please help yourself’ is a bit of a stretch but it serves for the surface.
I particularly liked YELLOWISH, OVERAWED, INTENSE, FIFTEENTH, CHAPERONE (though I’m sure this must have been used before) and ‘not bound’ and ‘the other part of the bus’.
Thanks to S&B
Laughing at half-parsed, we’ve all been there!
I had REFRAIN as (Fr + A) in Rein, rather than Fra
Very tough but quite enjoyable although hard to parse some of my answers. I solved the NW corner last.
Favourites: CHAPERONE; SIMPATICO, HOLE.
New for me: WINNIE = nickname for Winston Churchill; OSTEAL; REFRAIN = burden
I could not parse:
16ac OMNI + anagram of ROVE – I was thinking of OMNIBUS but still do not understand why OMNI = the other part of the bus…
22ac – I know zilch about billiards, obviously
2d apart from RE + A – never heard of EL AL
17d
23d apart from most of THe.
Thanks, both.
Thanks Peter O.
The uplift/after take-off of ELAL in REAL ALE I saw as keeping with the aviation image. There was a question mark. I quite liked it, once I got it. And did know of the drink.
gif@11. SAFETY. I didn’t know of the billiards etc term, but once I got an idea about shot on table I checked my guess with husband. Chuffed about that (and so was husband).
After yesterday’s discussion, I didn’t think there’d be any issues with the 2 old ladies today, although there was one on the Guardian blog. o vera in OVERAWED, surely not . But it’s possible to be 40 years old or less (not old) and be a gran in GROAN, or be an old lady without being a gran.
REFRAIN/BURDEN and RIDDLE/SIEVE I got from cryptic crosswords. Thankfully the old grey cells can still get ignited.
This was a real stumper Imogen, but thanks anyway.
Very good from Imogen, with one caveat: it’s a shame that the excellent INTENSE (best clue I’ve seen for a while) offers no help as to whether it’s WINNIE or WHINNY at 24a (I wrote in the wrong one first). Especially since it took me a long time to solve the difficult SIMPATICO which I failed to parse completely.
It was only after noticing the improbable -Y-F in 14d that I corrected 24a.
The other difficulty for me was REFRAIN equating to ‘burden’. I was wondering whether ‘finds [it] a burden’ (to do something) leads to ‘refrains’ (from doing something) but the grammar isn’t right. So I had to resort to Chambers – and yes, the REFRAIN or chorus of a poem or song is also known as the ‘burden’ of that song. You learn something new whenever you’re into crosswords!
For Geoff-d-u @1 and others from the Southern Hemisphere unfamiliar with REAL ALE, I suggest you watch the movie The Adventures of Barry Mackenzie in which all is made clear…! 🙂 (apart from the beer which may be a bit cloudy…)
As well as INTENSE, I liked CHAPERONE, SPRAIN, ON ONE LEG (sympathy for non-cricket-buffs), OMNIVORE (which I’m NOT!), SIEVE. And plenty more to like.
Thanks to Imogen and Peter.
Wonderful fun from Imogen. A steady solve with plenty of smiles on the way.
I loved OMNIVORE, OSTEAL, CHAPERONE and SIMPATICO. And of course the surface of OVERAWED. Brilliant!
Thanks Imogen and PeterO
Plenty to enjoy from Imogen, but thanks due to Peter O for parsing several I failed on.
Definitely a game of two halves for me. The top half was a write in, while the bottom half was almost a write off.
Somehow, stumbled through with top marks, going to INTENSE, ONE ONE LEG, and LOOSE LEAF for today’s ear worm from Ian Dury & The BLOCKHEADS
Cheers I&P
Yes, lots to like here too. The only one I couldn’t quite parse was REAL ALE, as I wasn’t quite sure about the Israeli airline. The clueing was a bit all round the houses to arrive at OMNIVORE, I thought, but overall very enjoyable. Particularly enjoyed the golfing connection between HOLE and TEETH, with FIFTEENTH perhaps connecting a mini theme there. ON ONE LEG really gave the nod to cricket, with On hammered home yet again as the Leg side on the field of play. Last two in the interlocking SAFETY and REFRAIN…
Thanks Imogen and PeterO
HECATOMB was last seen in a Graun puzzle in 29065 by Brendan in May this year, coincidentally also blogged by PeterO.
Couldn’t get onto Imogen’s wavelength today and was stuck in the SE corner for a long time, mostly because I didn’t know the equivalence of REFRAIN and ‘burden’ in song mentioned above. Got there in the end as nothing else would fit, but not a bogey free round as I missed out on HECATOMB, a new word for me, so no way in via the double definition, and HOLE as I thought of various courses but not, stupidly, a golf course. Thanks Imogen for a good challenge and thanks PeterO for the nice blog.
My attempt at this was half-parsed without the p. Some nice clues, though.
REFRAIN meaning burden was new to me. The other meaning of riddle was vaguely remembered. NHO OSTEAL, but it seemed necessary from the word play and crossers plus OS for “bone”. Was held up for a long time by 26A, but otherwise this was a nice steady solve for me.
A mix of smiles and unparsed bung-ins. Bit of a slog in the south half.
So glad to have 15^2 to explain.
Thanks both.
@17 Pedantic I know, but I was taught ‘O’ only when addressing a person (vocative), and ‘Oh’ as an exclamation
‘O Christ’ in church and ‘Oh! Christ!’ at home
Sorry, @18
It’s Friday, it’s Imogen and it’s nearly impossible for me. However, my computer and I eventually solved it.
I liked CHAPERONE, HOLE, LARIAT, ON ONE LEG, OVERAWED and REAL ALE. ‘Please help yourself’ for O STEAL seems a bit left-field to me.
Thanks Imogen for the masochism and PeterO for the unravelling.
More thoughts on WINNIE/WHINNY. My feeling is – and this was also, it seems, the view of the late Alberich – that if a homophone ambiguity is resolved by the crossers (as this one is), it’s acceptable. If it isn’t, then it’s a no-no. Does anyone disagree?
I remember now castigating myself over an ambiguous homophone in a puzzle I’d sent to Alberich:
“Historian stated one of the things to worry over (4)”
But he said it was OK with the crossers.
Thanks both,
Anybody else toy with Ryan Air for 2d?
Some of you may not know The Ballad of Real Ale, by Kevin Pratt, about a group of friends who go in quest of the stuff. The chorus goes
It was real ale, not bottled ale, not pressurized Brum beer,
But pump-pulled pure nectar full-bodied and clear.
If you drink from this liquid you’re bound for to say
Fiddly-addle raddle-addle-faddle, fol rol I day.
Shanne@17 The song is An Irish Ballad, by Tom Lehrer.
This is the burden of my song
(Sing rickety-tickety-tin)
This is the burden of my song
Of a girl who did her family wrong.
She not only did her family wrong
But she did every one of them in (them in)
She did every one of them in.
ginf@11 I would never have thought of the safety shot, having never heard of it.
nicbach@5 More about potato riddles, please?
Homophone oddities are usually about rhoticism, but there are also those like 24ac that disregard the difference between WITCH and WHICH. I don’t pronounce them the same, though some do.
Thanks to Imogen and PeterO.
The best from Imogen that I remember. Great fun!
Trying to get used to different setters on here again, having spent the last couple of months working my way through “Boatman’s First 50” (highly recommended, the follow-up is on my xmas list!). So today was a struggle… e.g. HETACOMB was a new one to me, although I knew the required definitions of BURDEN and REFRAIN. And the parsing of ON ONE LEG stumped me, and after being explained above (thanks PeterO) left me grumbling about yet another cricketing reference.
Valentine @48 – paddymelon had it right, it was the Jolly Miller of Dee, linked above. It was in the Singing Together books and schools radio broadcast my primary school used in the 1960s-70s.
I’m trying to post but get a “cannot parse response” message. Anyone know what it means?
The standout is 17d INTENSE – I had to sleep on it – the perfect choice of verb, misdirecting a homophone and a definition by example – clue of the day.
The wordplay for CHAPTER ONE is a real old chestnut. Here are a few examples from the archives:
Early text dismissing model of Ford Escort – Paul (2020)
Minder – Terry initially absent from start of story – Vlad (2018)
With investment of time, this escort could start a book – Nutmeg (2016)
Timeless opening of book portraying young girl’s companion – Alberich (2016)
Shepherd in timeless novel’s beginning – Falcon (2015)
(no clue – just wordplay) CHAPERONE companion CHAPTER ONE minus T (2nd letter of story) – Bradman (2013)
Guardian has leading story Times initially rejected – Crux (2010)
Thanks for the blog , pretty good overall. INTENSE is excellent , OMNIVORE very neat, I liked FIFTEENTH it is hard to find a defition for this. O STEAL could perhaps have had a poetic reference.
Laccaria@46 , I have to disagree , I think it should be possible to cold-solve every clue.
Great puzzle. More like this please, Ed!
I particularly liked: flyer after take off = EL AL climbing; O steal = please help yourself; the said/say tense problem. The O, steal one is perhaps more easily understood with a different example, e.g. please be quiet = be quiet, I’m begging you = O! Be quiet. i.e. please used for emphasis rather than politeness.
The one clue I’m still having trouble with is for LOOSE LEAF. It’s hard to see how the “up” applies to the FOOL not the LEASE. Negotiate as an anagrind is a bit out there too. Renegotiate would be much more acceptable somehow.
I wasn’t aware of FRA = brother abbreviation, so went for the looser FR + A construction, but Peter’s is far better.
Thanks to him and Imogen.
I agree with Laccaria@46 (and Alberich). These are, after all, crosswords, and so it is legitimate for the crossers to be part of the clue. People who write in the wrong choice (e.g. WHINNY at 24d) have only themselves to blame. That is what a pencil is for. For the crossing letters I penciled in H/I, N and Y/E. That helped me with the crossing clues at 13 and 14 and ultimately produced the correct answer.
To me that is a legitimate (and not half-parsed) method solving a perfectly good clue.
It means that some clues are treated as inferior to others , very undemocratic.
It’s a crossword, not a list of separate cryptic clues. It’s perfectly fine by me if the crossing letters serve to resolve any potential ambiguity.
Cricket and snooker in the same puzzle meant I never had a chance. Throw in NHO senses of RIDDLE and BURDEN, and… ouch.
TABOOED make no sense to me; TABOO is not a verb (though I suppose any noun can be verbed) and is already its own adjective, no there’s no need for a past participle.
I was another with OSTEAL last in, after having struggled also with LOOSE-LEAF. And I didn’t even half parse INTENSE, so I’m indebted to PeterO for helping me out there.
Len DEIGHTON was an easy one for me as I have been re-reading the final book in his triple trilogy about the secret service and its role in the demise of East Germany. Totally fictional but utterly believable.
Thanks to Imogen and PeterO.
Regarding clues only solvable with the help of crossers – surely that’s the norm with definition-only puzzles like the Guardian ‘Quick’ (which my wife tackles most days – she refuses to touch the crypto although I’m sure if she tried she would outpace me…). There are usually at least two words that will match the definition: without wordplay or crossers you’d get nowhere.
Same is true of American puzzles (e.g. in the NYT) which again are usually definition-only – and nearly every letter is a crosser.
Anyway after what I thought was a blunder in my own puzzle, I’ve come round to the general consensus. Reliance on crossers is OK. After all, there are many clues in a puzzle like the above which I’d never have solved without a crosser.
And again … re SAFETY. Yes it’s commonly uttered by the commentators at snooker on TV, but surely also for pool, which I think is played worldwide?
In the iconic 1960s film The Hustler, IIRC, both Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason nominate their shots before playing. If they’re about to play a safety shot they announce “safe”. That ought to furnish a clue.
Relying on crossing letters for a cryptic puzzle means there are some clues you can put in answers straight away but other inferior clues where you have to wait because of lazy/careless setting.
Of course it is a crossword and the crossing letters are there to help, but they are there to help with the hard clues not poorly set clues.
For 26 I was hung far too long (erroneously) on EXIT. All of “IT” and “EXcept” [the start of]. With it being “part of a course” (route) in the dry sense that anything with an entrance has an exit. But couldn’t for the life of me work out how the parts were turned round. There’s the reason – was totally wrong! haha
Dermot Trellis @43 — We have a rule in our household that the word “pedantic” is never to be used pejoratively. I think it’s one that would work well on this site too. Anyway, you’re quite right about O vs. Oh, and it’s one reason that 12ac is unsatisfactory.
Dermot Trellis @43 and Ted @65
O for the wings of a dove
– The anthem Hear my Prayer William Bartholemew, set by Mendelssohn (- the libretto also includes the vocative “O God incline thine ear”).
etc.
We do these 2 weeks late, but refrain/ burden eg The Miller of Dee “ And this the burden of my song forever used to be…..”. Means the chorus or refrain.