Italicus makes the Monday morning commute to deliver us the Indy crossword. A good example for me of a solid, serious cryptic for a national daily.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Returning prisoner changed shoes for protective footwear
GALOSHES
A charade of LAG reversed and (SHOES)* with ‘changed’ as the anagrind.
5 Smashes holes in sides of barrels
STAVES
A dd.
9 Tracks run out from separate holding centre in Wolverhampton
PATHWAYS
Italicus is inviting you to remove the R from PA[R]T WAYS and add instead H, the central letter of ‘Wolverhampton’.
10 Outgoing leader rings daughter as instructed
BIDDEN
An insertion (‘rings’) of D in BIDEN. One of the delights of English for me is its strong verbs, many of which are, if not archaic, at least reassuringly old-fashioned. Slay, slew, slain; smite, smote, smitten; bid, bade, bidden. Old Testament territory.
12 Jump jet regularly starts to nosedive during flip
UP-END
A charade of UPE for the even letters of jUmP JEt and ND for the initial letters of ‘nosedive’ and ‘during’. I would write this without the hyphen, but either way is acceptable.
13 Unite enraged about partisan report’s conclusions, say
INTEGRATE
An insertion of NT for the final letters of ‘partisan’ and ‘report’ and EG for ‘say’ in IRATE. The insertion indicator is ‘about’.
14 Dishevelled robe on heavenly body
OBERON
(ROBE ON)* with ‘dishevelled’ as the anagrind. OBERON is one of the major moons of the planet Uranus.
16 Fiendish new setter caught on tape?
DEMONIC
A charade of DEMO, N, I for ‘setter’ and C.
19 Uniform covered in strong-smelling, phosphorus-free ointment
UNGUENT
An insertion of U for the phonetic alphabet ‘uniform’ in [P]UNGENT. The insertion indicator is ‘covered in’ and P is the chemical symbol for ‘phosphorus’.
21 Immature lout taken aback by silence on island
BOYISH
A charade of YOB reversed, I and SH.
23 Damage from vehicle left one in confused state
VANDALIZE
A charade of VAN and an insertion of L and I in DAZE. The insertion indicator is ‘in’. I am going to call foul on this, because the unwritten rule is that setters stick to -ISE endings in crosswords for British papers. Conceptualize, prioritize, incentivize, vandalize … all would be standard spellings in AmEng, but BrEng would always have the -ise suffix. So the solution needs to be VANDALISE or there needs to be an American indicator.
25 Religious scholar cut short talk
RABBI
RABBI[T]
26 Organised group that chases criminals off
RANCID
A charade of RAN and CID.
27 Burly, Welsh scoundrel becomes carnival attraction
BIG WHEEL
A charade of BIG, W and HEEL.
28 Dull clergyman touring Dordogne on vacation
DEADEN
An insertion of DE for the outside letters of ‘Dordogne’ in DEAN. The insertion indicator is ‘touring’.
29 Humiliates German artist partaking in perverse deeds
DEGRADES
An insertion of G and RA in (DEEDS)* The insertion indicator is ‘partaking in’ and the anagrind is ‘perverse’.
Down
1 Mineral from isthmus pygmies sent north
GYPSUM
Hidden reversed in isthMUS PYGmies. ‘Sent north’ works because it’s a down clue.
2 One with no respect for environment butchered big turtle
LITTERBUG
(BIG TURTLE)* with ‘butchered’ as the anagrind.
3 Upstanding detective protecting easily-led female gets stitched up
SEWED
An insertion of EWE in DS reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘protecting’. Sheep follow each other, don’t they?
4/22 Paradise Island? Yes, life is sorted!
ELYSIAN FIELDS
(ISLAND YES LIFE)* with ‘is sorted’ as the anagrind. Better known as Les Champs Élysées.
6 Slender, toothless gizmo
THINGUMMY
A charade of THIN and GUMMY.
7 Central characters in novel about Colditz liked a drink
VODKA
The central letters of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh words of the clue, followed by A.
8 Condemn structure in speech
SENTENCE
A dd.
11 Infection consuming upper-class womaniser
STUD
An insertion of U in STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease, but you knew that already). The insertion indicator is ‘consuming’.
15 Troubled ex-Marine given drug test again
RE-EXAMINE
A charade of (EX MARINE)* and E. The anagrind is ‘troubled’.
17 Home Counties captivated by aristocratic journalist’s nasal outburst
NOSEBLEED
An insertion of SE for South-East (crosswordspeak for ‘Home Counties’) in NOBLE ED. The insertion indicator is ‘captivated by’.
18 English churchman taking turn in courtyard trembled
QUAVERED
An insertion of REV reversed in QUAD. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
20 Follow story on the radio
TAIL
Aural wordplay (‘on the radio’) of TALE.
21 Colonial hairstyle?
BEEHIVE
A cd. Bees live in colonies.
24 Assassin kept in isolation in jail
NINJA
Hidden in isolatioN IN JAil.
25 Controversy about contrary athlete
ROWER
A charade of ROW and RE reversed.
Many thanks to Italicus for this Monday’s puzzle.
It’s a pangram. Two in a row following Hoskins’ crossword yesterday.
I wondered about VANDALIZE: Chambers gives both spellings with no indication of one being US. Indeed, it puts the Z spelling ahead of the S. Which surprised me as I would naturally go for the S every time. This puzzle will have been rigorously checked by two editors so I assume the thumbs up has been given. (Out of interest, the word is showing up in my draft comment with the red underlining that indicates a spelling mistake!)
That aside, plenty to like with a nice mix of easy (OBERON, RABBI, TAIL, NINJA) and tougher (PATHWAYS). About right for starting the week. THINGUMMY made me laugh.
Thanks Italicus and Pierre
So it is, skt. Good spot.
I guess that explains VANDALIZE.
Nice Monday morning starter. I liked thingummy for its simplicity
Thanks Italicus and Pierre
This was nicely challenging and extremely enjoyable with THINGUMMY my favourite.
My main comment about the American spelling of VANDALIZE being dictated by the pangram has already been pre-empted by PM.
The anagram in 14a is very weak involving moving only one letter.
Many thanks to Italicus and to Pierre.
Always a pleasure to see a puzzle from this setter although, like others, I was a little concerned about the lack of a US indicator for 23a. Several smiles along the way, particularly for BIDDEN. LITTERBUG & THINGUMMY.
Many thanks to Italicus and to Pierre for the review – no birds again!
The only example I can think of where the meaning is completely different is ‘prise, and ‘prize’. Quite gentle for Italicus I thought, with the left half going in quickly and the right half needing more thought. Very enjoyable, so thanks Italicus and Pierre.
When I was at school, more than half a century ago, I was taught that the -ize ending was American but -ise and -ize were usually both acceptable in UK English (there may have been exceptions to this rule).
All modern style guides for British publications prefer, nay, demand the -ise ending for verbs, including those of all the national dailies and most publishers. The only exception is Oxford University Press, who insist on the -ize ending. for a reason I have never understood (and I am a professional proofreader). But then again, they also insist on the Oxford comma; but they invented it, so you can’t really criticize them for that. Collins lists both options, with the -ize in the main text and -ise given as an alternative. Why it does it that way round, I know not.
Very much enjoyed, just at my level. Smiled at VODKA and RE-EXAMINE. No worries about -ize etc, not knowing how to spell anyway, and clearly clued.
Also smiled at GALOSHES, one for Hans Cristian Andersen fans…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Galoshes_of_Fortune
And thanks I and P
Nice Monday puzzle! Thanks both.
I seem to recall that The Independent’s chief political commentator and watcher-of-the-house-styles, John Rentoul, argues that there’s no great justification for using -ise instead of -ize in British English. I can’t find that particular edition of his Mea Culpa series, but the following site expresses a similar view: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/spelling-spotlight-when-to-use-ize-and-ise/
“But for most verbs, either way is correct in British English and the -ize ending has been in use in English since the 16th century. If the word came into English with its origin in the Greek root -izo, then it can be spelt -ize.”
Some would argue, should!
Vandalize:
If I remeber correctly, Fowler has -IZE as standard English and -ISE as a modern innovation (modern for the 1920s) His reasoning is that it’s a transliteration of the Greek, which I won’t attempt, and the Zeta in the original is better represented by a ‘Z’.
I was taught back in the sixties that -IZE endings were perfectly acceptable and it was only after I started work in the seventies that people told me that this was an Americanism. I even had a letter about this in The Guardian a couple of years ago.
I remember seeing a a baptism certificate for a great aunt (born late in the nineteenth century). It said “Baptism certificate” at the top but included the phrase “was baptized”.
Pierre @10 – but could you criticise them for it? 😉
Anyway, the clue clearly requires the Z spelling so there’s no ambiguity.
Agree with your opening line, Pierre. Solid and serious. Very well put together puzzle. Thanks, Italicus.
Looks like I’ve opened a right can of wormz! Thanks Pierre for an excellent blog, and to everyone else for their kind comments
Thanks Pierre – it may be a solid, serious cryptic but we had quite a few smiles and chuckles this evening. As we are in the States, the ‘ize’ spelling was fine.
Thanks Italicus – we really enjoyed the puzzle.