This is a super-quick blog write-up to fill in for Turbolegs, who reports technical difficulties. Please note any deficiencies, and I will edit at leisure.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PURCHASE |
Modest in receipt of Charles’s acquisition (8)
|
| PURE (modest) around (in receipt of) CHAS (Charles) | ||
| 5 | UTOPIA |
Universal sun shade? Answer for a perfect place (6)
|
| U (universal) + TOPI (sun shade) + A (answer) | ||
| 9 | OLD-TIMER |
Perhaps Grandad’s sandglass (3-5)
|
| Double/cryptic definition | ||
| 10 | PATROL |
Keep under surveillance half of police collaring unruly rat (6)
|
| POL[ICE] (half of “police”) around (collaring) anagram of (unruly) RAT | ||
| 12 | ENCOUNTER |
Bump into opposite after a short dash (9)
|
| EN (short dash) + COUNTER (opposite) | ||
| 13 | EDICT |
Regulation lexicon app? (5)
|
| Double/cryptic definition, i.e., short for “e-dictionary” | ||
| 14 | SCAR |
Damage small motor (4)
|
| S (small) + CAR (motor) | ||
| 16 | PRIMATE |
Archbishop’s formal afternoon leads to this event (7)
|
| PRIM ( |
||
| 19 | USELESS |
Like an unsafe plug? Fine to be discarded as kaput (7)
|
| [F]USELESS (like an unsafe plug) minus (to be discarded) F (fine) | ||
| 21 | CONE |
Cold and individual — the defining image of Cornetto or similar (4)
|
| C (cold) + ONE (individual) | ||
| 24 | THEIR |
Term for newest beneficiary’s pronoun (5)
|
| Last letter of (“term for”) [NEWES]T + HEIR (beneficiary) | ||
| 25 | STAIRCASE |
Flight in which celeb carries one bit of luggage (9)
|
| STAR (celeb) around (carries) I (one) + CASE (bit of luggage) | ||
| 27 | EXTANT |
Surviving navigator’s instrument with south rubbed off (6)
|
| [S]EXTANT (navigator’s instrument) minus (rubbed off) S (south) | ||
| 28 | BADINAGE |
Chaff is worthless in time (8)
|
| BAD (worthless) + IN + AGE (time) | ||
| 29 | SCREEN |
Blind test (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 30 | TENEMENT |
Opinion about soldiers finding quarters (8)
|
| TENET (opinion) around (about) MEN (soldiers) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PHONEY |
Quiet sweetheart is unreal (6)
|
| P (quiet) + HONEY (sweetheart) | ||
| 2 | REDACT |
Correct day in answer (6)
|
| D (day) inside (in) REACT (answer) | ||
| 3 | HAIKU |
Lofty expression of surprise as expressed in poem (5)
|
| Homophone of (as expressed) HIGH (lofty) + COO (expression of surprise) | ||
| 4 | SHELTER |
Lee lets her off (7)
|
| Anagram of (off) LETS HER | ||
| 6 | TRAGEDIAN |
Euripides, eg, ain’t struggling to contain fury with god (9)
|
| Anagram of (struggling) AIN’T around (to contain) {RAGE (fury) + D (god, i.e., Deus) | ||
| 7 | PARTISAN |
Unfair share is a focus for fiances (8)
|
| PART (share) + IS + A + middle letter of (focus for) [FIA]N[CES] | ||
| 8 | AFLUTTER |
Excited about bet (8)
|
| 11 | DROP |
Doctor covering little work is let go (4)
|
| DR (doctor) + OP (little work) | ||
| 15 | CLEARANCE |
OK, following this we get a new break (9)
|
| Double definition, I think the second being a reference to snooker | ||
| 17 | HUNTRESS |
She turns wildly for Diana, say (8)
|
| Anagram of (wildly) SHE TURNS | ||
| 18 | SEMESTER |
Session at university steers me in a new way (8)
|
| Anagram of (in a new way) STEERS ME | ||
| 20 | SASH |
Son with silvery-grey belt (4)
|
| S (son) + ASH (silvery-grey) | ||
| 21 | CHARADE |
Daily help, we hear, is a ridiculous pretence (7)
|
| CHAR (daily) + homophone of (we hear) AID | ||
| 22 | FACADE |
Dim to assume current guise (6)
|
| FADE (dim) around (to assume) AC ([alternating] current) | ||
| 23 | RECENT |
Modern European Community in split (6)
|
| EC (European Community) inside (in) RENT (split) | ||
| 26 | RAISE |
Lift stew removing its top (5)
|
| [B]RAISE (stew) minus first letter (removing its top) |
Thanks Jason and Cineraria
15dn: The second definition is indeed from snooker. ODE 2010 defines it as “the potting of all the balls remaining on the table in a single break”. This would be followed by the start of a new frame, so with a “new break”, in a slightly different meaning of the word “break”.
Thanks Jason for a nicely crafted crossword with PATROL, STAIRCASE, CHARADE, and PHONEY being favourites. I was held up by PHONEY because “plover” was stuck in my head but “unreal” as a definition made no sense. I failed with BADINAGE, a word I’ve seen more than once but only in crosswords. Thanks Cineraria for the blog.
Never got a flutter or clearance but the rest was great fun! Thank you Jason and Cineraria
8dn: I think this is definition “Excited” with wordplay A (about) + FLUTTER (bet). The abbreviation a for about is in Chambers 2016, as is D for god (Deus) in 6dn.
PB@4: Yep, we crossed. I realized the same and made the correction right before your comment posted.
I did not get the chance to do this, but I did sneak a peek at the app and wondered whether you would blog 17,601 Jason, or 17,607 Steerpike, both of which were shown as Friday’s puzzle. Jason was next in numerical order, so what you did makes sense. But, there are clearly a few problems over at the FT.
LIked HIGH COO – proper aural wordplay, and fun.
Didn’t ike A = about and D = God,
Thanks J&C
I solved the Steerpike, too. A worthwhile puzzle–recommended.
Martyn@6, Cineria@8, 2 for the price of 1! Steerpike was fun! Came here to discover there had been a glitch in the space time continuum, so returned to the app to do this one. Also fun..
I’ve always pronounced CHARADE as in FACADE but was able to compromise effectively. Liked HAIKU..
Thanks Jason n Cineria
Peter @ 10 16A has ‘formal’, not ‘form’, so there’s no problem.
I hate some of these clues that have a single letter purporting to be an abbreviation for something or other.
this time it’s 16A with an “A” for afternoon?
why?
Afternoon has always been PM for me.
Peter@10: Oops, typo in the blog re: formal. I posted without proofreading that carefully. I will correct later.
Mark A@13: A for afternoon is in Chambers. (A for about, too).
7dn: The following meanings of partisan can be found in various dictionaries:
Chambers 2016 biased;
Collins 2023 relating to or excessively devoted to one party, faction, etc;
ODE 2010: prejudiced in favour of a particular cause;
SOED 2007: prejudiced, one-sided.
I think you can get “unfair” out of any one of those.
Cinceraria@16
It appears it does, but have you ever seen “a” used for afternoon? I certainly haven’t.
Odd that there doesn’t appear to be an “m” for morning too?
Mark A@18: There has to be some standard that setters can be expected to follow. I have a vague memory of someone saying that the Times (and possibly also the Telegraph) have official lists of which single letter abbreviations may be used. Personally I do not want setters to be bound by a standard which I cannot verify, and so I am happy with a rule that says that any abbreviation appearing in any one of the four dictionaries mentioned in comment 17 could be used, or possibly just the first three of them, which can be called the main single volume dictionaries. Anyway, the FT policy appears to be along those lines.
There are lots of meanings and abbreviations used in crosswords that I do not think I would ever use, but I am not so arrogant as to say that means no one else should be allowed to use them.