Jason is today's compiler.
I would describe this as medium difficulty. A couple of passes still left a few unsolved clues, but enough crossers to at least see the answer even if the parsing wasn't obvious. My LOI was ABET after MARITIME at last came to mind, but the hardest clue to parse was CARD READER. There were some really good clues in the puzzle, including those for LEMMA, MARITIME, TROUGH, RECONCILES and REAL ESTATE but my favourite was ASSUMPTION.
Thanks, Jason.
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | SATIRE |
Spoof modelled on indignation (6)
|
|
SAT ("modelled") on IRE ("indignation") |
||
| 9 | AGONISED |
Intensely worried since end is changing (8)
|
|
AGO ("since") + *(end is) [anag:changing] |
||
| 10 | BRIE |
Cheese is skimpy, skipping it is fine (4)
|
|
BRIE(f) ("skimpy") skipping F (fine) |
||
| 11 | OUTRAGEOUS |
Ghastly rogue’s auto is truly dreadful (10)
|
|
*(rogues auto) [anag:ghastly] |
||
| 12 | FACT |
Reality is profitable Conservative admitted (4)
|
|
FAT ("profitable") with C (Conservative) admitted |
||
| 13 | CARD READER |
Who gets jittery near jam jar? One dealing with bar codes (4,6)
|
|
DREADER ("who gets jittery") near CAR ("jam jar" in Cockney rhyming slang) |
||
| 17 | VETO |
Rule out one who served with Oscar (4)
|
|
VET(eran) ("one who served") with O (Oscar, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) |
||
| 18 | LEMMA |
Argument of large novel set in Highbury (5)
|
|
L (large) + EMMA (Jane Austen "novel set in Highbury") |
||
| 19 | SLAP |
Buffet buddy’s knocked back (4)
|
|
<=PAL'S ("buddy's", knocked back) |
||
| 21 | AFTERSHAVE |
Pud or similar to hold fragrance (10)
|
|
AFTERS ("pud or similar") + HAVE ("to hold") |
||
| 23 | MITE |
Tot’s vocal power (4)
|
|
Homophone/pun/aurak wordplay [vocal] of MIGHT ("power") |
||
| 24 | CONSULTANT |
Stupid clot with suntan finds someone giving advice (10)
|
|
*(clot suntan) [anag:stupid] |
||
| 28 | TORY |
Flirt round Westminster’s last traditionalist? (4)
|
|
TOY ("flirt") round (westminste)R ['s last] |
||
| 29 | MARITIME |
Seaside play about a luxurious hotel which doesn’t close (8)
|
|
MIME ("play") about A + RIT(z) ("luxurious hotel" which doesn't close) |
||
| 30 | TROUGH |
With the ultimate in contempt unpleasant beasts scoff at this (6)
|
|
[the ultimate in] (contemp)T + ROUGH ("unpleasant") |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FAIR GAME |
Aunt Sally, say, is a legit target (4,4)
|
|
Double definition, the first referring to a traditional game, played at country fairs, which involved throowing balls at a wooden figure to smash pipes in its mouth. |
||
| 2 | MINESTRONE |
Cook sent in more soup (10)
|
|
*(sent in more) [anag:cook] |
||
| 3 | RECONCILES |
One cleric’s free and brings back union (10)
|
|
*(one clerics) [anag:free] |
||
| 4 | DAFT |
Potty craze on the up over time (4)
|
|
<=FAD ("craze", on the way up) over T (time) |
||
| 5 | CODA |
Sham answer closing piece (4)
|
|
COD ("sham") + A (answer) |
||
| 6 | DICE |
Two diamonds cut into little squares (4)
|
|
D (diamond) + ICE ("diamond") |
||
| 7 | DEDUCE |
Figure out the Devil will cover its head (6)
|
|
DEUCE ("the Devil") will cover D (it's (the Devil's) head) |
||
| 14 | RUMBA |
Strange and mostly disagreeable dance (5)
|
|
RUM ("strange") and [mostly] BA(d) ("disagreeable") |
||
| 15 | REAL ESTATE |
You’ll see this in redeveloped Seattle area for the most part (4,6)
|
|
*(seattle are) [anag:redeveloped] where ARE is ARE(a) [for the most part] |
||
| 16 | ASSUMPTION |
When draining depression changed into expectation (10)
|
|
AS ("when") + SUMP ("draining depression") + *(into) [anag:changed] |
||
| 20 | ALTER EGO |
Intimate friend to change, for example, nothing (5,3)
|
|
ALTER ("to change") + e.g. (for example) + O (nothing) |
||
| 22 | FLORAL |
Like one blooming loud Latin viva voce (6)
|
|
F (forte, so "loud") + L (Latin) + ORAL ("viva voce") |
||
| 25 | SHIP |
Schooner or the like from hotel with sample outside (4)
|
|
H (hotel) with SIP ("sample") outside |
||
| 26 | LAID |
Assistance under Labour’s opening show is put down (4)
|
|
AID ("assistance") with L(abour) ['s opening] |
||
| 27 | ABET |
Promote a punt, perhaps (4)
|
|
A + BET ("punt", perhaps) |
I thought this was a gentle grid offering, as it did, so many anagrams for the longer entries and a large number of those four-letter words where one either added a letter (d.ice) or took one away (brie.[f]) That said, I took longer than I should have to spot DAFT.
But by no means did the grid’s relative ease spoil my pleasure.
My favourites were DEDUCE and, like Loonapick, TROUGH.
Thanks to him and Jason.
Most enjoyable if quite challenging.
I needed the excellent blog to parse CARD READER as inho of jam jar for car. Unlike loonapick, ABET was in quickly for me. Nor did I know LEMMA although the clue was quite straightforward .
Thanks to both.
Liked CARD READER, FAIR GAME, TROUGH, DEDUCE and REAL ESTATE.
Thanks loonapick and Jason.
CARD READER was the only one I couldn’t parse — Cockney rhyming slang strikes again! And at first I’d forgotten cod/sham — unknown in this part of the world as far as I’m aware. I’d not heard of LEMMA nor Aunt Sally.
All good fun, thanks Jason & Loonapick.
Especially liked the central 18a LEMMA, for which oed.com introduced an ‘Additional’ Lexicography sense in 1997.
It’s the dictionary definition of a dictionary definition, very appropriate in a crossword.
(Unfortunately it’s a definition that’s hard to follow, needlessly introducing Latin terms from Mathematical Logic.)
The clue also includes the football ground I often attended in my youth. Half-a-crown in the boys’ enclosure, but we paid five bob to stand on the North Bank.
[Yes, I know it’s not that Highbury. – We did Pride And Prejudice for GCE O Level.]
Thanks J&L
18A: Lemma was unknown to me but gettable (is that really a word?) from the definition and cross letters.
7D: I had not known of “deuce” as a name for the devil but, again, the definition and cross letters made it relatively easy to complete.
13A: I guessed the answer but, even after the comments above, I am not really sure that I understand it. I know of some London rhyming slang but who would want to use two words (jam jar) instead of one (car)?
Again, thank you to the setter, Jason and the contributors.
Frieda
Frieda
I quite understand your bafflement about Cockney rhyming slang. Economy of expression does not enter the equation . Two examples : apples and pears for stairs and trouble and strife for wife.
The way rhyming slang works is that only part of the full phrase is used in practice. Hence, “apples” for stairs, thereby both obscuring the underlying meaning (which was part of the original purpose,) and achieving economy.
Thank you, SM and John. My knowledge of rhyming slang is limited, but I just assumed that it was an abbreviation, rather than what you have both described. I still do not understand why a two syllable word – apples – is a substitute for a single syllable word meaning “stairs”. Nor how “trouble” with two syllables is shorthand for the single syllable “wife”.
Maybe I should have moved from Germany to England instead of coming to Australia.
Thanks again to you all. I promise that I shall improve. Vielen Dank – or “”Thanks mate” as they say here.
You’re doing brilliantly, Frieda!
As for cockney rhyming slang, it was less about economy and more about subterfuge or secrecy. Of course, these days, many expressions, like those SM cites, are widely known.
Frieda, good luck in trying to use any kind of logic to explain rhyming slang. 😉
🙂
What GDU@4 & @11 wrote
Additionally, I found this straightforward and enjoyable, with only the last couple taking a bit of time. Like Diane@1, I thought it a gentle grid. It is one we have seen before and I quite liked it. Favourites were SATIRE, DAFT, OUTRAGEOUS, DEDUCE, ALTER EGO, and CONSULTANT.
Thanks Jason and loonapick
Thanks Jason. I found this to be medium difficulty but worth the effort due to clues like SATIRE, TROUGH, MINESTRONE, RUMBA, REAL ESTATE, ASSUMPTION, and ALTER EGO. I failed to parse CAR READER and DEDUCE. Thanks loonapick for explaining.
As an actual speaker of the argot, jam jar is a police car to me – helped by the orange stripe along all the local ones (so no, parsed that one wivawt bovver).
I found this straightforward too.
Thank you to Jason and loonapick.
For 9a I entered INCENSED, an anagram of SINCE END. Thus answers to 4d and 8d eluded me. NHO “lemma”! I am not the “John” @ 8 above and have been commenting for some years! Do I have to change my monicker, or will he?
Another INCENSED.
We thought of ‘incensed’ but weren’t totally convinced so only pencilled it in and DICE soon kicked it into the long grass. Apart from that, no problems, it all flowed in smoothly. Favourites were MINESTRONE and ALTER EGO.
Thanks, Jason and loonapick.