A delightful puzzle from Amoeba. Apart from a couple of NHO oddities (both eminently guessable from the wordplay), this solve was smooth sailing. The puzzle may be found here: https://www.fifteensquared.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Amoeba-SB-2024.pdf
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GATWICK AIRPORT |
Flying to Riga with Patrick – from here? (7,7)
|
| Anagram of (flying) {TO + RIGA + W (with) + PATRICK} | ||
| 8 | AGAMA |
A Trumpist slogan initially repelled cold-blooded creature (5)
|
| {A + MAGA (Trumpist slogan “initially”)} reversed (repelled). A lizard. | ||
| 9 | NUISANCE |
Trouble in church after religious woman pinches savings (8)
|
| {NUN (religious woman) around (pinches) ISA (savings)} + CE (church) | ||
| 11 | DOGFISH |
Shark‘s tail beginning to flap a bit (7)
|
| DOG (tail) + first letter of (beginning to) F[LAP] + -ISH (a bit) | ||
| 12 | IBERIAN |
Soviet police chief charges in from Southern Europe (7)
|
| BERIA (Soviet police chief) inside (charges) IN, referring to Lavrentii Beria | ||
| 13 | AORTA |
Large vessel in a harbour, losing power and acceleration (5)
|
| {A [P]ORT (a harbour) minus (losing) P (power)} + A (acceleration) | ||
| 15 | POLITBURO |
Left-wing committee books back massage in breach of motion (9)
|
| {LIT. (books) + RUB (massage) reversed (back)} inside (in breach of) POO (motion) | ||
| 17 | TEDDY BEAR |
Debt ready to be restructured for sleeping partner? (5,4)
|
| Anagram of (to be restructured) {DEBT READY} | ||
| 20 | SHEET |
Film finally ends with incredible motorbike stunt (5)
|
| Last letters of (finally) [END]S [WIT]H [INCREDIBL]E [MOTORBIK]E [STUN]T | ||
| 21 | RE-EQUIP |
Provide new supplies to Parisian who’s been captured by aristocrat in revolution (2-5)
|
| QUI (Parisian “who,” i.e., in French) inside ([has] been captured by) PEER (aristocrat) reversed (in revolution) | ||
| 23 | BOATMAN |
Sailor stole north, having acquired source of cash (7)
|
| {BOA (stole) + N (north)} around (having acquired) ATM (source of cash) | ||
| 25 | KILLDEER |
Butcher does bird (8)
|
| KILL (butcher) + DEER (does) | ||
| 26 | INURN |
Bury one after another when temperature drops (5)
|
| IN [T]URN (one after another) minus (when . . . drops) T (temperature) | ||
| 27 | AGATHA CHRISTIE |
Writer‘s doctor agitates a rich nursing hospital (6,8)
|
| Anagram of (doctor) {AGITATES A RICH} around (nursing) H (hospital) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GRANDMASTERS |
Those you might expect to finish playing with mates? (12)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 2 | TWANG |
Back in Parliament, worry about nasal sound when speaking (5)
|
| Last letter of (back in) [PARLIAMEN]T + GNAW (worry) inverted (about) | ||
| 3 | IMAGINARY |
Pretend wise men must visit Zion fairly regularly (9)
|
| MAGI (wise men) inside (must visit) alternate letters of (regularly) {[Z]I[O]N [F]A[I]R[L]Y} | ||
| 4 | KINSHIP |
Man on board boat lacking good connection (7)
|
| KIN[G] (man on [chess]board) minus (lacking) G (good) + SHIP (boat) | ||
| 5 | INITIAL |
At home I run out of sample first (7)
|
| IN (at home) + I + T[R]IAL (sample) minus (out of) R (run) | ||
| 6 | PLACE |
Record rising star’s set (5)
|
| LP (record) inverted (rising) + ACE (star) | ||
| 7 | RECTITUDE |
Leader of faction leaving before it gets involved in rough justice (9)
|
| {[S]ECT (faction) minus first letter (leader of . . . leaving) + IT} inside (gets involved in) RUDE (rough) | ||
| 10 | INCONTINENCE |
Tendency to go where you shouldn’t? (12)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 14 | REDEEMING |
Judge in Niger unexpectedly providing reprieve (9)
|
| DEEM (judge) inside (in) anagram of (unexpectedly) NIGER | ||
| 16 | TOSCANINI |
Conductor to study in Italy (9)
|
| TO + SCAN (study) + IN + I (Italy) | ||
| 18 | EMPYEMA |
Build-up of unpleasant stuff in novel describing Prince Harry and Kate’s bottoms (7)
|
| EMMA (novel) around {P (prince) + last letters of (bottoms [of]) [HARR]Y + [KAT]E}. A collection of pus in any cavity, according to Chambers. | ||
| 19 | REBIRTH |
Part of Kurdish tribe riding northwards to make a fresh start (7)
|
| Hidden in (part of) [KURDIS]H TRIBE R[IDING] inverted (northwards) | ||
| 22 | UNLIT |
Gloomy student inspired by assembly (5)
|
| L (student) inside (inspired by) UNIT (assembly) | ||
| 24 | MOULT |
Fall out with doctor with no stomach for chaos (5)
|
| MO (doctor) + [TUM]ULT (chaos) minus TUM (stomach) |
Liked DOGFISH, TEDDY BEAR, IMAGINARY, GRANDMASTERS, INCONTINENCE, TOSCANINI and MOULT.
Thanks Amoeba and Cineraria.
Thank you Cineraria, and I hope others enjoyed it too 🙂 There is now an interactive version online here: https://www.mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/2060
I enjoyed making smooth but not too rapid progress through this puzzle, the two longest answers coming quite early on to help things along. Four short ones were my last to go in: AGAMA, SHEET, INURN and MOULT.
I liked the innocent misdirections like ‘does’ for deer and ‘stole’ for boa. It’s just as well that these little things are part of solvers’ as well as setters’ crossword knowledge!
Thanks to Amoeba and Cineraria.