A solid offering from GAFF this Friday.
FF: 9 DD: 8
nina on the perimeter ….
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CUFFED |
Restrained hit (6)
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double def |
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| 4 | OLYMPICS |
Spoil my first child playing games (8)
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[ SPOIL MY C ( Child, first letter ) ]* |
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| 9 | ICE AGE |
Watch intellectual report on freezing time (3,3)
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sounds like EYE ( watch ) SAGE ( intellectual ) |
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| 10 | ENERGISE |
Inspire structure redesigned without theologian (8)
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[ REdESIGNEd ( without DD – theologian ) ]* ; lovely misdirection of the anagrind |
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| 12 | BASKETRY |
Maybe hampers revel with the final attempt (8)
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BASK ( revel ) E ( thE, last letter ) TRY ( attempt ) |
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| 13 | STAY UP |
Avoid drop of drink involving river (4,2)
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SUP ( drink ) containing TAY ( river ) |
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| 15 | RAYS |
Beams at fish (4)
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double def |
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| 16 | PSEUDO-CODE |
Footnote to poem about European medic program (6-4)
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[ PS ( footnote ) ODE ( poem ) ] containing [ EU ( european ) DOC ( medic ) ] |
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| 19 | HIEROGLYPH |
Rope highly shaped character of the Pharoahs (10)
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[ ROPE HIGHLY ]* |
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| 20 | EPIC |
Some depict characters as legendary (4)
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hidden in "..dEPICt.." |
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| 23 | ROWING |
Bitter end due to arguing (6)
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R ( bitteR, end ) OWING ( ~ due to ) |
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| 25 | CRITERIA |
Spies accept tradition of first rate tests (8)
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CIA ( spies ) containing [ RITE ( tradition ) R ( Rate, first letter ) ] |
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| 27 | LOLLIPOP |
Sweet revolutionised mere swallowing of medicine (8)
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reverse of [ POOL ( mere ) containing PILL ( medicine ) ] |
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| 28 | STROKE |
Seizure is blow to achievement of pet (6)
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triple def? |
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| 29 | SISTERLY |
It’s like nuns to be caring (8)
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cryptic def |
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| 30 | SEVENS |
Cardinals give legendary golfer directions (6)
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SEVE ( legendary golfer ) NS ( directions, North South ) |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CLIMBER |
First class graceful clematis, perhaps (7)
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C ( Class, first letter ) LIMBER ( graceful ) |
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| 2 | FREESTYLE |
Improvised release with panache (9)
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FREE ( release ) STYLE ( panache ) ; the entire clue could be marked as def too ( rap music ) |
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| 3 | EAGLES |
Scores of drivers at convocation (6)
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double def; golf and collective noun for the group of birds by the same name |
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| 5 | LONG |
Nailhead in stump of pine (4)
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N ( Nail, head of ) in LOG ( stump ) |
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| 6 | MARATHON |
Running battle (8)
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double def / cryptic def depending on how you look at it |
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| 7 | ICILY |
Remove head of island in hostile way (5)
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sICILY ( island , without first letter ) |
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| 8 | STEEPLE |
Tower’s costly loose ends (7)
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STEEP ( costly ) LE ( LoosE, end characters ) |
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| 11 | WRESTLE |
Struggle for partners to take break on lake (7)
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WE ( partners, bridge – West East ) containing [ REST ( break ) L ( lake ) ] |
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| 14 | JUMPERS |
Means to start to warm tops (7)
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double def |
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| 17 | ON PURPOSE |
Supper soon cooked without salt deliberately (2,7)
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[ SUPPER sOON ( without S – salt ) ]* |
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| 18 | COINCIDE |
Correspond with detectives closing case that’s tracking money (8)
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COIN ( money ) CID ( detectives ) E ( casE, last letter ) |
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| 19 | HURDLES |
Rushed learner wrecked barriers (7)
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[ RUSHED L ( learner ) ]* |
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| 21 | CHASERS |
Drinks for hunters (7)
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double def |
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| 22 | STATUE |
Memorial to time-out law (6)
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STATUtE ( law, without T – time ) |
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| 24 | WALKS |
Watch a little kid’s stumbling first steps (5)
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first letters of "Watch A Little Kid's Stumbling.." |
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| 26 | FOIL |
Could be kitchen counter (4)
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cryptic def |
COINCIDE
Is the ‘with’ to be excluded from the def & considered as a link?
STROKE
Is it a case of quad def with achievement & (to) pet as two separate defs?
FOIL
Alluding to ‘kitchen foil’ as an example?
Thanks Gaff and Turbolegs!
This was an interesting puzzle, very easy in places, very difficult in others. My favourite thing about it was the number
of good double definitions. My favourite clues were HIEROGLYPH, COINCIDE, and JUMPERS
Sometimes I felt on a different plane to the setter, sometimes I felt I was on a different planet and so I had a few unparsed at the end. I still do not understand how STROKE means “achievement of pet” or just “achievement” (sorry KVa), and I cannot see how “could be kitchen” means FOIL. I hope someone more skillful than me will explain.
Thanks Gaff and Turbolegs
Thanks Gaff for the Olympic theme!
Thanks for the blog , and Ub@2 , I have spotted quite a few more now. Good puzzle, neat clues , many very concise.
STROKE , I agree with KVa@1 – she pulled of quite a stroke/ an achievement – to pet also means to stroke ( signs at the swimming baths say NO PETTING ) , so FOUR definitions.
Kitchen FOIL definitely a thing in the UK , it is sold as such . Sometimes called tin foil but has been aluminium for a long time.
Thanks Roz. Pulled quite a stroke to mean achievement is new to me, and I get it now. FOIL still does not sit quite right with me. Let me think it over for a while.
Regards
Martyn maybe just a UK thing, it is in my kitchen drawer now . Thin oblong box , KITCHEN FOIL on the side, it is how it is sold and advertised in the UK .
Surprised to nearly finish this after struggling quite a bit. Like Martyn, I don’t really get FOIL, the only one I missed. Yes ‘kitchen foil’ is a thing and ‘foil’ can mean ‘counter’ but the clue still doesn’t work for me. Perhaps “counter found in kitchen” would be better?
Enjoyable crossword on the Olympics theme, which made filling in easier on some clues.
Thanks Gaff and Turbolegs for the blog
Agree 28a STROKE is a quadruple definition. Especially liked 6d MARATHON for its L&S of a two-word idiom to get the two definitions.
[Could it be that all the setters have noticed something starting today?]
The NE quadrant took me a long time to decipher. STROKE is 4D (remarkable). FOIL is DD. (Where I come from, it’s called “tin foil” or “Reynolds wrap.”) I saw several words that I took to be related to an Olympics theme, but I did not see a nina, unless you mean “steeplechasers”? Can anyone elucidate, please?
There’s “long jumpers” too
Cineraria @10. Yes. I was confusing myself taking it as a cryptic definition. Obviously there are several kinds of ‘foil’, so ‘could be kitchen’ works as one definition.
While still on the subject of foil, we can perhaps add the fencer’s foil to tally with the Olympic theme! Along with the recently added (Rugby) SEVENS at 30ac.
FOIL was one of my last answers as I wanted to put ‘deal’ which, of course, wouldn’t work with LOLLIPOP. Finally, I understand it like Hovis as a thing which counters and a play on aluminum wrap.
I really enjoyed the theme which, to me at least, wasn’t immediately obvious and also the overall pithiness of the clues, especially those double definitions Martyn mentions.
Well done, Gaff, you managed to foil many of us! And thanks (again) to the busy Turbolegs.
FOIL again , I just took the second part as – Could be counterFOIL. ( as in cheques ) .
Thanks all for the discussion & guidance on FOIL. I do not think it is a particularly good clue and it seemed to be LOI (or not in at all) for almost everyone, including me. I also wanted to note I had the same experience as Cineraria@10, as it took me a long time to penetrate the NE corner too.
To continue the. Olympic theme, might I suggest Rowing Stroke.
Poetry used to be an Olympic sport too, and it is indirectly referenced in 16ac.
We had ROLL for 26dn, kitchen roll being an example of a roll (of absorbent paper) – and possibly a roll could be a sort of counter if you think of a roll call. So agreed that it wasn’t a brilliant clue.
But we did like the theme once we got 4ac and realised that several answers were related.
Thanks, Gaff and Turbolegs.
Late question for Turbolegs – I still don’t see the perimeter nina. I see two pluses and two minuses, but that’s all. Can you help me?
Thanks for the blog, and thanks, Gaff, for the good puzzle.