A mixture of simpler and far trickier clues from IO this morning.
I always feel like I’ve done a mental workout after completing an IO puzzle! Some really great clueing in IO’s signature creative style. Much fun, and thank you for the challenge IO.
[h]A[r]B[o]U[r] (even characters occupying) + JA (Hamburg agreed, i.e. in German)
Abuja is the capital of Nigeria
(SAY SET)* (*in brew)
CORRIE CAT (Spoonerism):
Corrie is the colloquial name for the British soap opera Coronation Street, set in the fictitious Weatherfield, and a ‘moggy’ is a CAT, therefore CORRIE CAT
Double definition
I NEED (I want) to retain D (director)
ROM (gypsy) brought into NICHE (market place)
AT (doing) + OP (work)
WAGS (moves) to close WINTER (season, cycling)
Within SS (on board, on steamship): CREW (hearties) having WINES (vintner’s stock) to share W (with)
Double definition
CAR USER (maybe cabby) collects O (old)
R (reading, perhaps) + H[eroic] (primer for) + ODES (verse)
In education, we refer to ‘the three Rs’: reading, writing and arithmetic
Rhodes was an English mining magnate in Southern Africa
KING (man, in chess) + IS< (<about) to mask his face (i.e. to cover his first letter: K) – &lit
(SONGWR[it]ER)* (*suspect, lost IT)
(ARTS (music, poetry etc) + OR)< (<retro)
[o]VE[r] N[a]T[uri]S[m] (at prime sites: position 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, i.e. prime numbers)
[de]BT RE-E[stablishing] (in)
A B-tree is a data structure in computer science
JACK IN (quit) + S (square) having picked (K (£1,000) + WAD (bundle))< (<up)
Double definition
Estimated Time of Arrival; Greek alphabet letter
SUCH (that) keeps (PER (a) + RI (Bible class, Religious Instruction))
SCAN (quickly read) + HELLO! (mag)
[no]T UNLAW[ful]< (cases, <lifted)
Cryptic definition
Murder (i.e. STONE to death) the CROWS (for which the collective noun is a murder, therefore ‘the same’)
(I (one) + S[hould] (initially) + BROOK (bear)) in CARE (mind)
PIES (pastries); (I GO + RE (on))< (<about) filling
CRACKER[s] (off one’s trolley, not all)
PE (games) during which I ERR (exhibit human behaviour)
Pierre is the capital city of South Dakota
[f]OUGHT (went into battle, no F (female))
[linin]G A R[iver] (to catch)
Thanks Io and Oriel!
Loved the puzzle and the blog!
Top faves: ATOP, SCREWINESS, SKIING, JACK DAWKINS, CARISBROOKE and PIEERE.
Nearly gave up very early but decided to look up ‘famous castles’ which gave me CARISBROOKE and then I got on a bit of a roll and nearly finished. Didn’t get ALPHAS, SUPERRICH, RHODES & PIERRE. Some of this was caused by incorrectly putting in RUSE for 20a. I was working on ‘ruse’ = ‘stunt’ and ‘may deceive drug addict’ = anagram of ‘user’. Far too devious a construction for any setter bar this one methinks.
The crossword states ‘fifteen solutions identify all the members of a family’, so I await what this refers to.
Might it be an idea to mention the rubric & theme?
@Hovis…not my field but birds (corvids?) both included in solutions like CROW, ROOK, JACKDAW and found between solutions like JAY, CHOUGH, MAGPIE and so on
Another tricky and enjoyable crossword, the solving of which was helped when I remembered I was supposed to be looking for fifteen members of a family
Thanks to Io and Oriel. I’m off for a sit in the garden, the summer equivalent of a lie down in a darkened room
11a ALPHAS – “Prominent part of range”= ALP, “gets” = HAS
Also: RAVEN, NUTCRACKER, and TREEPIE. Spotting the theme helped a lot in completing the grid.
I think 11A is: ALP (prominent part of range) + HAS (gets). (Just crossed with FrankieG @6, I see.)
I was not sure I quite understood the parsing of SKIING; I guess that works.
I could not parse JACK DAWKINS, other than the K, (and NHO “jack in”) so thanks. Even explained, that one seems extra-farfetched, even for an Io clue.
I was looking for 15 different corvids, but there’s only 9, with 6 of them across two clues, like (2d) BTREE PIEROGIES (16d)
Thanks for the blog , really good puzzle .
Baerchen @4 I can add RAVEN , TREEPIE and NUTCRACKER but nowhere near 15, or does it mean 15 solutions with some combined ?
Roz@9: A total of 15 solutions contain either a whole or a part of the theme family words. Of course, Io’s hint is also cryptic.
Sorry for repetition , I was too slow.
The CORRIE CAT was quite famous many years ago, on the roof in the opening sequence.
L2i: 6d SUPERRICH – because it should have had a hyphen, then 20d HYPE.
…I had the RUSE USER anagram like you, Hovis@2, till I’d solved…
…21d PIERRE – “To err is human, to forgive divine”…
… — Alexander Pope, and, as we all know, ‘He wrote The Ancient Mariner (6)’
“ruse” was the only word i’d entered on the first (and second) pass!
This was a dnf for me.too many clues inho.
Thanks to IO and Oriel
Finally finished.
Struggle – took three sessions.
Thanks io and Oriel
Theme hunting now
Just for completeness
Downs
Nut cracker 8 19
Tree pie 2 16
Jackdaw 3
Crow 9
Rook 14
Chough 6 24
Magpie 7 21
Acrosses
Jay 1 4
Raven 28 29
That is indeed 15 solutions giving the 9 members (genera) of the Corvidae family
Great themed. Not distracting, helpful but no spoiling of enjoyment if theme is completely ignored. Kudos Io
But where were the African piapiac…
…and the Hawaiian ʻalalā?
Thanks IO&O
Jack Dawkins is the Artful Dodger, which helped a bit… but not enough to get SUPERRICH… I actually enjoyed ALP HAS, n WATERWINGS, as well as quite a lot more than it seemed at the time… sadly I also forgot all about the extended family.. even straightforward stuff seems cloaked in mystery when IO gets started.. but always a good learning experience..
Thanks IO n Oriel
I feel pleased to have completed as many as I did in this very challenging puzzle
I dont remember seeing Dodger’s name mentioned in OT-good excuse to read it again.
I wondered if that was part of the theme
Thanks to all for ornitholigcal info.