Greetings from York! This puzzle can be downloaded here.
Although solving a preview copy before the big event, I did rope in a friend to get into the S&B spirit. We enjoyed the puzzle and expect others will too.
There are a few answers of a kind, highlighted below. We wondered if the theme was S&B locations, because who could forget the notorious 1987 S&B Yugoslavia? (I haven’t actually heard about that one because we never speak of it and it was a little before my time (I was still in primary school). Perhaps in a butterfly effect, it set off the Great Storm of that year …)
Lots of nice stuff here. Our favourite was PIPPIN (21a) just because it tickled. Thanks Exit!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Diver swallowing odd bits of seaweed in lake (6) |
| LAGOON — LOON (diver) taking in (swallowing) odd letters of (odd bits of) AlGa (seaweed) | |
| 4a | Starts to buy oranges with special short ceremony in Spar (8) |
| BOWSPRIT — Initials of (starts to) Buy Oranges With + SP. (special) + all but the last letter of (short) RITe (ceremony) | |
| 10a | Fellow in church acquires a new sponsor (7) |
| FINANCE — F (fellow), IN and CE (church) receives (acquires) A and N (new) | |
| 11a | Panini, say, that is following a drink? (7) |
| TOASTIE — IE (that is) following TOAST (a drink) | |
| 12a | Heard small fruit put underground (4) |
| BURY — Sounds like (heard) BERRY (small fruit) | |
| 13a | Do a favour to politician (not European) – it’s compulsory (10) |
| OBLIGATORY — OBLIG[e] (do a favour to) A TORY (politician) without E (not European) | |
| 16a | Shoe, type unknown, found in old car (6) |
| OXFORD — X (mathematical unknown) found in O (old) FORD (car) | |
| 17a | Phew! Sir’s on the rampage – speak quietly! (7) |
| WHISPER — PHEW! SIR’s anagrammed (on the rampage) | |
| 20a | Thumbin’ a lift in Hertfordshire? (7) |
| HITCHIN — HITCHIN’ (thumbin’ a lift) with the G dropped as in the clue. Hitchin is a market town in Hertfordshire | |
| 21a | Spot access code for Apple (6) |
| PIPPIN — PIP (spot) + PIN (access code) | |
| 24a | Viola, as guy, lost: “What country, friends, is this?” (10) |
| YUGOSLAVIA — VIOLA, AS GUY anagrammed (lost) | |
| Exit helpfully supplies further explanation in his notes, and I can’t put it better: An allusion to Viola’s question in Act 1, scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, to which the reply is ‘This is Illyria, lady.’ The ancient region of Illyria encompasses much of modern Slovenia and Croatia, parts of the former Yugoslavia. (To be pedantic, Viola does not adopt her male disguise until scene 4.) | |
| 25a | Lady missing publicity about old instrument (4) |
| LYRE — L[ad]Y missing AD (publicity) + RE (about, concerning) | |
| 27a | Artist and writer joining abstainers for coffee? (7) |
| ARABICA — RA (artist) and BIC (writer) entering (joining) AA (abstainers) | |
| 29a | Honours Hardy O’s partner (7) |
| LAURELS — LAUREL, S(tan) – partner of Hardy, O(liver) | |
| 30a | Piece broken off incomplete pedestal in series (8) |
| SPLINTER — Without the last letter (incomplete) PLINTh (pedestal) in SER. (series) | |
| 31a | Sort of optional extra benefit covering officer (4-2) |
| BOLT-ON — BOON (benefit) surrounding (covering) LT (lieutenant, officer) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | “Biography?” young man declared, “it keeps one afloat” (8) |
| LIFEBUOY — LIFE (biography) + BUOY, which sounds like (… declared) BOY (young man) | |
| 2d | Tidying fringe up after daughter leaves making neighbourhood improvements? (11) |
| GENTRIFYING — TI[d]YING FRINGE anagrammed (up) without D (after daughter leaves) | |
| 3d | Call for attention not known at first, a beastly noise (4) |
| OINK — OI (call for attention) + Not Known at first | |
| 5d | Published entitlement is clear (8) |
| OUTRIGHT — OUT (published) + RIGHT (entitlement) | |
| 6d | Main phases in development of nautical skill (10) |
| SEAMANSHIP — MAIN PHASES anagrammed (in development) | |
| 7d | Traitor in military uprising (3) |
| RAT — Hidden in miliTARy reversed (uprising) | |
| 8d | Colour restrained you formerly? (3-3) |
| TIE-DYE — TIED (restrained) + YE (you formerly) | |
| 9d | Cheese hat race (5) |
| DERBY — A triple definition | |
| 14d | Excess fee for deliveries? (11) |
| OVERPAYMENT — An OVERPAYMENT could whimsically be a fee for overs (cricket deliveries) | |
| 15d | Cripes! Soon could be March! (10) |
| PROCESSION — CRIPES! SOON could be anagrammed to give the answer | |
| 18d | Depravity mostly leads to a furious outburst in Church House (8) |
| VICARAGE — VICe (depravity) without its last letter (mostly) + A + RAGE (furious outburst) | |
| 19d | Trendy chap actually present? (2,6) |
| IN PERSON — IN (trendy) + PERSON (chap) | |
| 22d | Ring road surgery? (6) |
| BYPASS — Double definition | |
| 23d | Mexican revolutionary a homeless rogue (5) |
| VILLA — VILLA[in] (a rogue) without IN (homeless). The revolutionary is Pancho Villa | |
| 26d | “Writer, embrace love, … (4) |
| HUGO — HUG (embrace) + O (love) | |
| 28d | … it’s piercing”, everyone said (3) |
| AWL — A soundalike (… said) of ALL | |
This was the first puzzle I tackled in the Marcia Inn, and I found it very enjoyable. It was slightly frustrating that the clue for 27a was missing from the printout so I couldn’t complete the grid. I was distracted for a while trying to make 24a end in AGUAY. Thanks Exit and Kitty.
Firstly, sincere apologies for the missing clue to 27ac. I don’t know how I came to leave it out of the printed copy; it was there in the parsing notes supplied for the blogger. It was only afer I e-mailed the puzzle to a few friends yesterday that a couple of them poined out the omission. One of them guessed the answer correctly and supplied a possible alternative clue: ‘Middle Eastern Institute of Contemporary Art supplies coffee (7)’
Secondly, many thanks to Bert and Joyce for arranging to provide copies and to Kitty for the comprehensive blog. (If I’d known Kitty would be the blogger I’d have tried to include a feline-themed clue!)
And finally I hope everyonr enjoyed the event – I’m only sorry I couldn’t make it this year. Maybe next time, or if there’s a Midlands S&B before then I might be able to get there.
Best wishes to all.
An enjoyable puzzle, despite the missing clue, which did at least give us a talking point!
Thanks to Exit and Kitty
Sorry for my failure to notice the missing clue in the pdf. As is my usual habit I solved an Across Lite version generated from the Crossword Compiler file supplied, which was why I didn’t spot it.
It was great to see those at York, and if there is an S&B Midlands sometime I will do my best to make it, so maybe see you there. 🙂
We enjoyed this and even guessed arabica 😀 Thanks Kitty and Exit
2d unless I’m going blind there’s too many Is in the anagram fodder
Nice one. I posited ARABICA for the missing clue, which was fortunate.
I agree with flashing @6 about the fodder for GENTRIFYING, which did puzzle me.
The very clever, multilayered clue for YUGOSLAVIA is splendid.
Thanks to Exit and Kitty