A fun puzzle – I really liked 5ac, 9ac, 21ac, 3dn, and 13dn. Thanks to Anto
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | KITCHEN |
Hunger when in range of where food is made (7)
|
| ITCH=”Hunger”, inside KEN=”range” [of knowledge or understanding] | ||
| 5 | SANCTUM |
Southern corporation holds party in this private space (7)
|
| S (Southern) + TUM=”corporation” as in a paunch/belly; around ANC (African National Congress, political “party”) | ||
| 9 | REMIT |
Issue moderate instructions (5)
|
| triple definition: REMIT as in ‘send’/’pass on’=”Issue”, or as in ‘diminish’/’lessen’=”moderate”, or as in ‘assigned task’=”instructions’ | ||
| 10 | PROFITEER |
Overcharge individual involved in special free port (9)
|
| I (individual) inside anagram/”special” of (free port)* | ||
| 11 | THE THINKER |
One considering work produced by Schrodinger in part (3,7)
|
| work (of sculpture) produced by Rodin, whose name is hidden in [Sch]-Rodin-[ger]
“One considering” also indicates THE THINKER |
||
| 12 | PAL |
Stately home lacking top class china (3)
|
| definition uses rhyming slang: ‘china plate’ = ‘mate’ = PAL
PAL-[ace]=”Stately home” minus ‘ace‘=”top class” |
||
| 14 | DINNER GUESTS |
Duke with private theory about time they arrive to eat … (6,6)
|
| D (Duke) + INNER=”private”, plus GUESS=”theory” around T (time) | ||
| 18 | MICHELIN STAR |
… Charlie’s mint stew, given a culinary award (8,4)
|
| anagram/”stew” of (Charlie’s mint)* | ||
| 21 | AXE |
Cut times in hospital department (3)
|
| X (x, as the multiplication symbol = “times”), in A&E (Accident & Emergency hospital department) | ||
| 22 | THREADBARE |
Simple end to storyline that’s somewhat hackneyed (10)
|
| definition: threadbare meaning ‘overused’
BARE=”Simple”, at the end of THREAD=”storyline” |
||
| 25 | HOUSEHOLD |
Family perhaps talked about method of disposal (9)
|
| sounds like (“talked about”) ‘how sold’=”method of disposal” | ||
| 26 | EXPAT |
Old country lover missing uproar, living abroad (5)
|
| EX=”Old” + PAT-[riot]=”country lover” minus ‘riot‘=”uproar” | ||
| 27 | CLEANER |
Daily for Conservative who’s not so thick (7)
|
| C (Conservative) + LEANER=”not so thick” | ||
| 28 | PILGRIM |
Tough on backside for traveller (7)
|
| I think this is GRIM=”tough”, after PIL from “backside” with a reversal/”back” of LIP=edge=”side” | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | KARATE |
King leads a charge to create defensive system (6)
|
| K (King) + A + RATE=fee=”charge” | ||
| 2 | TIMBER |
Watch over bishop making deal (6)
|
| definition: “deal” as in a soft wood
TIMER=”Watch” around B (Bishop, chess abbrevation) |
||
| 3 | HITCHHIKED |
Looked for a free ride as difficulty increased (5-5)
|
| HITCH=snag=”difficulty” + HIKED=”increased” (as in price hikes) | ||
| 4 | NIP IN |
Call briefly for Ulster fix that works either way (3,2)
|
| NI (Northern Ireland, “Ulster”) + PIN=”fix”; and NIP IN (or NI PIN) is a palindrome and can be read ‘either way’ | ||
| 5 | SLOPE ARMS |
Military order bad food to be given to sick mares (5,4)
|
| definition: a military order to hold a rifle to one’s shoulder at a slope
SLOP=”bad food” + anagram/”sick” of (mares)* |
||
| 6 | NAIL |
Collar that has to be filed? (4)
|
| double definition: the police might ‘nail’ or “Collar” a criminal; and a finger nail may need filing | ||
| 7 | TRESPASS |
Offence caused by very French attempt at seduction (8)
|
| TRES=très=”very” in French + PASS=”attempt at seduction” e.g. ‘to make a pass at someone’ | ||
| 8 | MORALIST |
Puritan it’s said is featured in film (8)
|
| ORAL=”it’s said”, inside MIST=thin layer=”film” | ||
| 13 | BUYANDSELL |
Blues Dylan composed depicting activity of dealer (3,3,4)
|
| anagram/”composed” of (Blues Dylan)* | ||
| 15 | NEIGHBOUR |
Wasted hour being one close to someone (9)
|
| anagram/”Wasted” of (hour being)* | ||
| 16 | EMPATHIC |
Principle covering politician, one having fellow feeling (8)
|
| ETHIC=”Principle”, around MP (Member of Parliament, “politician”) + A=”one” | ||
| 17 | SCHEDULE |
Programme announcing cast away over Christmas (8)
|
| sounds like (“announcing”) ‘shed’ ‘Yule’=”cast away” + “Christmas” | ||
| 19 | CAMPER |
More extravagant type of tourist transport (6)
|
| double definition: ‘camp’ as in affected behaviour; or a camper van | ||
| 20 | RECTUM |
Strange to hold medical procedure where waste emerges (6)
|
| RUM=”Strange” around ECT (electroconvulsive therapy, “medical procedure”) | ||
| 23 | END UP |
Stop over is where you arrive eventually (3,2)
|
| END=”Stop” + UP=”over” as in ‘time’s up!’ | ||
| 24 | HEWN |
Cut up hake woman gutted (4)
|
| H-[ak]-E + W-[oma]-N, with their insides removed i.e. “gutted” |
Thanks for explaining 25, I was at a loss.
Thanks Anto and manehi
Much more Mondayish than yesterday’s but I enjoyed it. I loved the high quality mint stew in 18, and the deal in 2d.
Our American friends will be thrown by SCHEDULE!
One quibble – “hackneyed” and THREADBARE are not all that close.
Loved KITCHEN and PIL for backside but a puzzle with many smooth surfaces and clues. Definitely up for more Anto. Thanks for the blog too. I needed help for SCHEDULE and HOUSEHOLD. I agree with ‘fun’ puzzle. I’ve finished two G’s in a row. Methinks it’s gonna get tougher tomorrow.
I’d have been happier with TIMBER if the clue had included something suggesting a definition by example. Good fun otherwise, especially the neat trick for Le Penseur.
Great puzzle Anto! Thanks. Lovely neat blog manehi! Thanks to you.
Loved THE THINKER (a novel def), HOUSEHOLD, PILGRIM (parsed it as manehi did)
and SCHEDULE.
THREADBARE (I was thinking…)
BARE end to THREAD= one end of BARE is put next to THREAD. Hardly
makes a difference, I guess.
Nice crossword.
Was confused by profiteer which I was struggling to see as the correct part of speech. Literally had to say it out loud before I realised it was just a mental block
Just out of curiosity – do young people know what hitchhiking is? Haven’t seen it for years now out in real world
Thanks Anto and manehi
I beg to differ from muffin@2, having definitely encountered THREADBARE in the sense of a literary device that is overused to the point of being worn out.
This wasn’t all that tough but contained some entertainingly quirky offerings, of which HOUSEHOLD was a favourite. One of the more inventive homophones I’ve seen in recent times.
Thanks to Anto and manehi.
I would never ever not pronounce the second h in household, thus was stymied on parsing of 25ac though answer was obvious. Some superb surfaces in this crossword, eg the dinner guests and the expat. Thanks all round.
Thanks Anto and manehi.
That was fun – I didn’t twig how sold for 25 but loved ‘backside’, the Rodin, DINNER GUESTS and ‘Charlie’s mint’.
thanks A and M! very helpful blog — especially shedding light on the Schrödinger clue which I simply couldn’t parse (maybe because I had just spent 1/2h reading the wiki page about the many-worlds interpretation and had quantum mechanics on my mind (don’t worry, I didn’t understand a word).
Loved the intersection of SCHEDULE and HOUSEHOLD and PILGRIM for the lip reversal
Cheers M&A
Struggled with the top left hand corner, but kicked myself when I finally got them. D’oh! Thanks Anto and manehi
Thanks both. Not having knowledge of Rodin’s work (and can only claim vague awareness of Rodin being some form of artist) the parsing of this was completely beyond me so glad of the enlightenment. My only tenuous parsing was by linking to thought experiment.
Fun puzzle. I really enjoyed this one.
Favourites: PILGRIM, TIMBER, THE THINKER.
Thanks, both.
muffin@2 re hackneyed + threadbare. I was doubtful at first then found this in my online dictionary:
threadbare/hackneyed = of an argument, excuse, idea, etc.) used so often that it is no longer effective -> his threadbare/hackneyed excuses
I didn’t find it “Mondayish”. I liked the ingenious definition for THE THINKER. Didn’t spot “how sold” (though I have no complaints about it), the missing “riot” in EXPAT or the middle definition of REMIT. And I got seriously confused by thinking it was ORAL+IS in the middle of MORALIST and then being unable to account for the M…T.
Enjoyed DINNER GUESTS and MICHELIN STAR (which could have made the centrepiece of a theme, but didn’t), also AXE, PILGRIM and NEIGHBOUR.
A lot of this went in, or half went in, on first read through, but those that didn’t took ages, but I like the way Anto makes me think. It had to be HOUSEHOLD from the definition and crossers, but “how sold” passed me by. I missed Rodin in Schroedinger – because I also went down the quantum mechanics route, and I saw the umlaut there, because I expected to.
I parsed PILGRIM with the flipped lip too.
Thank you to manehi and Anto.
Was anyone else led up the Schrodinger garden path of wondering if the first 3 letter word might be CAT?
Needed crossers for slope; after all those war movies, you’d think … And only saw Rodin post-entry, d’oh. Ken for range is gently oblique. Pretty gentle overall in fact, thanks Anto and manehi.
Gladys@17 Yes. Once I had dismissed Cat Scanner as a solution for THE THINKER, it became my favourite clue. I thought this was Anto at his best. Thanks.
Enjoyed this, though I too failed to hear the homophone in 25, thanks Anto and Manehi
Yes, me gladys @17, but I got there eventually. 🙂
Oh, and I loved the pun in HOUSEHOLD
Like Petert, I thought this was Anto at his best – lots of fun and I really enjoyed it.
I loved the Schrodinger clue – very clever – and had ticks, too, for 14/18 DINNER GUESTS / MICHELIN STAR – always pleased when ellipses actually mean something and the clues themselves were very good, 16 EMPATHIC, and 17 SCHEDULE – I think the US alternative is well enough recognised not to have caused too much consternation and it made me smile.
I wonder if anyone else was charmed by the memories of Captain Snort and his soldier boys conjured up by 5dn? http://www.t-web.co.uk/trumpcam.htm
Thanks to Anto and to manehi.
CAMP as a synonym for extravagant was a bit of a reach.
Me too, Gladys @17. In fact, I was trying to make an anagram out of Schrodinger (in part = less one letter), until the crossers indicated I needed two Es.
I also thought (Blaise @ 4) TIMBER needed something further.
Enjoyable, but needed the parsings that others had also missed, so thanks manehi and Anto
Lovely puzzle.
THE THINKER was my FOI – just bunged it straight in but didn’t spot the hidden Rodin – very clever.
Liked the two short ones AXE and PAL – neat
Also liked: DINNERGUESTS, HITCH-HIKED
Thanks Anto and manehi
Thought THE THINKER an absolute stonker of a clue, closely followed by NEIGHBOUR. One or two I wasn’t quite clear why, especially PAL and MORALIST, therefore many thanks Manehi for the enlightenment. And spent some time at the very end convincing myself about loi REMIT. Greatly enjoyed the fun while it lasted today…
…just been reading an excellent biography about Augustus John by Michael Holroyd, and the artist’s sister Gwen John’s involvement with Rodin in Paris…
I thought THREADBARE might have been the other way round: “Simple” as the definition, with “somewhat hackneyed” giving BARE, as in the slang term for “very” – it’s hardly used any more, hence “hackneyed”.
I really disliked THE THINKER. I think it’s bad form to have a clue that is itself cryptically defined. That way lies the madness of having to find a synonym to use in an anagram!
Flatfrog@29 I would have been happier if the clue had just been:
Work by Schrodinger in part
Completed but annoyed with myself for not spotting Rodin. Good puzzle.
Thanks both
Generally enjoyable, but am I alone in thinking 17d doesn’t quite work? Why include the word OVER, or is it simply to mislead perhaps….
Stumbled by first biffing in RUFF at 6D despite no homophone indicator, but soon saw the error.
MAC089@24-totally agree
But liked THE THINKER
I would have loved 21 ac to be ATE, so that 12ac+21ac would have given ‘palate’, in accordance with what seems to emerge as a (mini)-theme (kitchen, Michelin, dinner), including the allusion to the wastes that 23down passing through the 20 down. Désolé. Bon appétit quand même.
Nice one from Anto. I add my votes to THE THINKER, MICHELIN STAR and PILGRIM but I’ll also add TRESPASS, which has a really good surface.
I missed the parsing for HOUSEHOLD as I always pronounce the middle H – but this isn’t a complaint.
A few quiblets, as usual: ‘deal’ does need a DBE indication as it refers only to softwood, RECTUM is where waste is held, not where it emerges (emerges FROM would work), the hospital dept is A and E, not AE, though this device has appeared before. But these are very minor points.
Thanks to S&B
Thanks for the blog, good to see Anto and the usual neat and clever clues.
My only quibble is for the ellipses, I only like to see them when the ANSWER to the first clue plays some role in deriving the answer to the second. Here both clues work perfectly well without them .
Muffin@2, re: schedule
Indeed. I find my younger colleagues exclusively use Sked-ule. I suspect some of these US pronunciations will win out in the end.
Good fun from Anto.
I really liked THE THINKER; Flatfrog @29, as it says in the blog, the definition can be ‘One considering’ with the rest being the wordplay. I also liked the backside in PILGRIM, the surfaces for TIMBER and SCHEDULE, the SLOPE ARMS wordplay, and the good anagrams for BUY AND SELL and NEIGHBOUR.
Thanks Anto and manehi.
That was a pleasant puzzle today. I needed the blog for parsing HOUSEHOLD and SCHEDULE – even though I’m in the “shed-ule” rather than “sked-ule” camp.
Thanks Anto & manehi for today.
KateE@32
SCHEDULE (This was among my faves…now being reviewed)
You have a point. As it is a homophone of ‘Shed Yule’, the ‘over’ seems redundant.
Unless Yule means ‘over Christmas’ in some way…
Or stretch the cryptic reading to
‘announcing ‘SHED’ over (above in a down light) announcing ‘Yule’.
Are we missing something?
Thanks Anto for an entertaining crossword. My top picks were MORALIST, TIMBER, SCHEDULE, RECTUM, and MICHELIN STAR. I couldn’t parse THE THINKER and HOUSEHOLD so thanks manehi for the blog.
Well, I’m out on a limb, but I found that as much fun as pulling teeth. Not helped that I pronounce schedule as skedule and always have. Afraid the RECTUM made my skin crawl too.
Oh well, on to tomorrow.
Gladys@17: Me too. I’m reading a very accessible overview of the history of quantum mechanics at the moment: Too Big For A Single Mind by Tobias Hurter, and I went around the houses a bit on that clue before the penny finally dropped.
KateE@32 and KVa@41. It’s a down clue. The announced castaway is on top of – over – Christmas. I don’t think the “over” is either redundant or misleading.
Very enjoyable until the last three or four clues held me up for an inordinately long time. I put in THREADBARE and REMIT in hope more than expectation and was pleased to see no blanks after clicking ‘check all’, but needed the blog to learn a couple of new meanings for the words. I liked THE THINKER, MICHELIN STAR (great anagram!) and SCHEDULE – although I tend more toward ‘skedule’ and have been wondering recently what is the difference between that and ‘shedule’, so am happy to be enlightened by others here re US/ UK pronunciation. KARATE raised one eyebrow, as it is generally regarded as an attacking martial art, with judo being an example of a more defensive kind of system. But I suppose people might learn it for self-defense, which is good enough in crosswordland. Thank you Anto and manehi.
Charles @45
SCHEDULE
I mentioned about that possibility (over=above in a down clue) but it is a stretch. The clue leads you to
‘A homophone of Shed above Yule’. It has to be:
‘A homophone of Shed Yule’
If the word is spelt SCHEDYULE then the clue works fine with a correction applied to the number in the brackets & to the grid.
There could certainly be a better explanation. I will stand corrected with due apologies to Anto.
Thought 25a homomophone was ‘house (the) old’ ie a method of disposing of them! Nobody could accuse me of being ‘empathic’.
Initially went ‘ruff’ for collar that has to be filed. Still rather like it!
Absolute delight for a Monday, thanks.
KVa@47: I read it as two homophones, one over the other.
Very enjoyable – thanks Anto, & also manehi for the blog.
The surface to 18A was pleasing.
Like others, I pronounce the 2nd H in 25A, but it had to be that…
I’m another who was so sure 11A began with “cat” and, because I was mentally including the umlaut or the e, took an eternity to see “Rodin”. It’s now my fave clue.
Enjoyed the puzzle, got almost all of it last night. Nice to read chat about it with my virtual friends.
Thanks to Anto and manehi.
I failed to parse PAT[riot] in 26A but feel less ashamed to see I was not alone. I also had CAT SCANNER for 11A before having second thoughts and the crossers led me to the Aha!
Lots to like here.
Thanks Anto and manehi
Was thrown for a bit by SCHEDULE which I pronounce skedjul but “Yule” filled in the end pretty well and then I remembered the UK pronunciation. (Or are there two UK pronunciations? I’m pretty sure Americans only say “skedjul.”) Very nice puzzle overall, thanks Anto and manehi.
KVa @47 – I read it as above in a down clue, but also that Yule does not directly equate to Christmas, it’s a pagan festival superceded by the Christianisation of the Germanic tribes that celebrated it, along with Saturnalia and the solstice celebrations.
Charles@51 and Shanne@56
SCHEDULE
We differ on the ‘over’ bit.
Shanne@56
Thanks for the info on Yule. Nowadays it means Christmas (as well). Right?
I’ve been thinking back on how I say SCHEDULE. I think (with no justification) I tend to say “shedule” as a noun and “skedule” as a verb.
Matt w @55: Merriam-Webster (which is American) has (leaving out some marks I can’t reproduce on my phone): “ske-()jül, Canadian also she-, British usually she-()dyül”. Which I think is probably an accurate description of frequency of use.
I took the “over” in SCHEDULE to be there to show the order of the elements in a down clue, though the clue would work without it.
Excellent fare from one of my favourite setters. I’m in the French Alps and really enjoyed TRESPASS.
Ta Anto & manehi.
Interesting discussion on THE THINKER. I didn’t feel it was indirect, although the definition probably should be something like “a certain one considering “, but it does seem odd to add an extra layer by hiding one name inside another, for no reason other than to make the clue harder.
On the other hand, PAL is indirect in that “china”, being CRS, is cryptic for mate, and a second step is needed to get to PAL.
Anto pushing envelopes. But that’s a good thing.
Thanks, A&m.
[ AlanC , so skiing is the cover for your latest Special Branch mission ?
There was a lovely obituary for Stanley Bowles in the Guardian yesterday, I expect that you can find it online . The Hugo puzzle you were so close to the reference to KPR but you needed the ANSWER for that clue. ]
[Roz@63: amazing how Stan was loved by everyone. The reason I supported KPR as a wain in NI. Anyways, off to complete Mission Impossible 16].
Re 25a HOUSEHOLD, there are 3 or 4 homophoners in the comments and only one punner. Thanks TimC @22 for setting the record straight. Note that neither the setter or the blogger asserted that it was a homophone. When I got the parsing I said “aw!” (= aural wordplay).
I inexplicably failed on 20d RECTUM, which became my favourite clue once I saw it – a classic tea-tray moment.
Thanks Anto and manehi for the fine puzzle and blog. Thanks
…and I also liked the conjoined 14 and 18 clues, for the image of the duke and his friends arriving for dinner, not suspecting that mint stew would be the main course. I wonder if they were expecting some kind of minced stew.
Surely EXPAT does not mean ‘living abroad’ but ‘ONE living abroad’. and END UP is a verb phrase and certainly does not mean ‘where you arrive eventually. Similarly, ‘activity of dealer’ is BUYING AND SELLING surely? These inaccurate parts of speech spoilt the crossword for me.
EXPAT(RIATE) can be adjective or noun. [EXPATRIATE can be verb, too]
END UP – “where you” are just link words – manehi’s underlined definition in the blog is “arrive eventually”.
‘activity of dealer’ = what a dealer does: BUY AND SELL
SCHEDULE – Its Ancient Greek etymology — like school, scheme, schism, schizophrenia — means it should really be pronounced the American way. Even Italian scherzo has a “sk” sound. Only German: schadenfreude, schnapps, schnauzer, schnitzel, Schliemann, Schroeder, Schubert, Schwarzenegger… Or Yiddish: schul, schlub, schmaltz, schlemiel, schlimazel, schlep, schmooze, schmuck, schlock, schmo, schnook, schtick, schnorrer, schnozzle, schmear, schmegegge…
have the “sh” sound. But then the clue wouldn’t work.
FrankieG@69 I wish the people who insist on pronouncing “bruschetta” as brushetta would read your post. They all pronounce it like Schultz instead of like scherzo.
In Australia, this was the Guardian Weekly puzzle for the 8 March edition, following two toughies by Brendan (29,292) and Picaroon (29,298). This was a nice change of pace, and I was a particular fan of the RODIN clue, like others, having been pre-occupied with the CAT possibilities at first. Needed some enlightenment on the SANCTUM and MORALIST clues. Very enjoyable, and thanks, Anto 🙂