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Hi all. Yippee! – another Filbert to blog. The crossword overlapped well with things I know, but I had to ponder for a few long minutes at the end before getting TRECENTO.
My favourites today come from the across clues: TWADDLE (15a), CHARLIE (25a) and TURPS (26a). I was also amused by the surfaces of 9a (MORALLY) and 12d, with the image of a serious sorcerer squirrelling his nuts inside a GRAVEN IMAGE. Thanks Filbert!
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 | Italian butterflies passenger catches drop dead (8) |
| FARFALLE — FARE (passenger) takes hold of (catches) FALL (drop dead). My Italian is mostly limited to musical terms, but I knew the pasta shape so it wasn’t a big stretch | |
| 6a | Function on back street expected award for successful party (5) |
| COSTS — COS (function) on reversed (back) ST (street) | |
| 9a | Maiden using her mouth in a virtuous way (7) |
| MORALLY — M (maiden) + ORALLY (using her mouth) | |
| 10a | Brown most of duck, turning that in pot (7) |
| TANKARD — TAN (brown) + most of DRAKe (duck), reversing (turning) that | |
| 11a | What was the point of Nelson’s greatest triumph? (4,9) |
| CAPE TRAFALGAR — A cryptic definition, punning on two meanings of point | |
| 14a | Spark from burning church tower (7) |
| INSPIRE — IN (burning – “the fire is in”) + SPIRE (church tower) | |
| 15a | Couple with no last make rotten cobblers (7) |
| TWADDLE — TWo (couple) with no last letter + ADDLE (make rotten). The surface reading makes brilliant use of a shoemaker’s last; the definition is rhyming slang | |
| 16a | Show rug I want shortened (7) |
| MATINEE — MAT (rug) + I + NEEd (want) without the last letter (shortened) | |
| 19a | Fed outside shelter, an old minstrel (7) |
| GLEEMAN — G–MAN (Fed) outside LEE (shelter) | |
| 21a | Fresh coin not dim, in this initially? (4,9) |
| MINT CONDITION — An anagram of (fresh) COIN NOT DIM IN and This initially | |
| 23a | Discussion yearly with former champion at Wimbledon (7) |
| PALAVER — PA (per annum: yearly) with LAVER (Rod Laver, former champion at Wimbledon) | |
| 25a | Bucket boy got from cleaning lady by dishonesty (7) |
| CHARLIE — The answer is obtained from CHAR (cleaning lady) by LIE (dishonesty). Nicely done definition: Charlie Bucket of the chocolate factory | |
| 26a | Thinner version of Proust in which nothing is forgotten (5) |
| TURPS — An anagram of (version of) PR[o]UST without (in which … is forgotten) O (nothing). The surface recalls À la recherche du temps perdu, translated originally into English as Remembrance of Things Past | |
| 27a | Modern stretches to 14C in the art world (8) |
| TRECENTO — RECENT (modern) goes in between (stretches) TO. 14C is the 14th Century, at the dawn of the Italian renaissance | |
| Down | |
| 2d | Fitting a large person in the front row, so getting up (7) |
| APROPOS — A + PROP (large person in the front row – of a rugby scrum) + SO reversed (getting up, in a down entry) | |
| 3d | Dividing piece of fish, allow fighter no steak (5,6) |
| FILET MIGNON — Inside (dividing) FIN (piece of fish) we have LET (allow), MIG (fighter) and NO | |
| 4d | Reveal unqualified lawyers bet on losing case (3,4) |
| LAY BARE — LAY (unqualified) + BAR (lawyers) + bEt on removal of its outer letters (on losing case) | |
| 5d | Remove surplus empty chest (7) |
| EXTRACT — EXTRA (surplus) + ChesT without the inner letters (empty …) | |
| 6d | & 24. A vessel for storing and one for piping oil? (6) |
| CANVAS — CAN (a vessel for storing) and VAS (one for piping, in anatomy) | |
| 7d | Icarus, finally ready to have feathers attached, played the hero (7) |
| STARRED — IcaruS finally + TARRED (ready to have feathers attached – when being tarred and feathered) | |
| 8d | Team sounded disappointed without speaking in interview (4) |
| SIDE — A homophone of (… in interview) SIGHED (sounded disappointed without speaking) | |
| 9d | Noisy high speed’s the usual way to show virility (8) |
| MACHISMO — MACH I (noisy high speed – “noisy” referring to the sonic boom)’S + MO (modus operandi: the usual way) | |
| 12d | Object of worship serious sorcerer keeps nuts in (6,5) |
| GRAVEN IMAGE — GRAVE (serious) MAGE (sorcerer) contains (keeps) an anagram of (nuts) IN | |
| 13d | Men alone played a soulful song (4,2,2) |
| LEAN ON ME — MEN ALONE anagrammed (played). Song by Bill Withers. I had to look this up for the blog, but it is an excellent opportunity to roll out an old joke … would someone like to oblige in the comments? | |
| 17d | Rum butler drinks marks glass (7) |
| TUMBLER — An anagram of (rum) BUTLER takes in (drinks) M (marks) | |
| 18d | Passage right through bar (7) |
| EXCERPT — R (right) goes inside (through) EXCEPT (bar) | |
| 19d | New pain after switching silver filling (7) |
| GANACHE — N (new) plus ACHE (pain) after reversing (switching) AG (silver) | |
| 20d | Cycling jersey to post, eBay item perhaps (7) |
| MAILLOT — MAIL (to post) + LOT (eBay item perhaps) | |
| 22d | Valves when turned sprayed droplets (4) |
| SPAT — TAPS (valves) when reversed (turned) | |
| 24d | See 6 |
Does it involve the DRAK[e]< in 10a TANKARD?
It does indeed, Frankie. How do you turn a duck into a soul singer?
Seemed to me that 8D worked just as well without “in interview”. Very enjoyable, so thanks Filbert and Kitty.
I found this quite a tough Filbert to get into. I was some way down the puzzle before the first few answers went in. Speeded up towards the bottom and then crossers helped on the second run through – but I failed on the nho TRECENTO. I was convinced that ‘…to 14C …’ was cunningly instructing me ‘to inspire’ a letter C! I’d agree with Tatrasman that SIDE probably contained too much in the clue, though for me it was the ‘without speaking’ that could have been dropped.
Likes inc FARFALLE for the definition, TWADDLE for the brilliant surface as noted by our blogger, MINT CONDITION for the excellent &lit, TURPS for its clever reference to Proust’s work, APROPOS for the def of PROP, ICARUS and GRAVEN IMAGE, again for their surfaces.
Thanks Filbert and Kitty
[Tell Bill Withers that Ain’t No Sunshine is bad grammar, and he says “I know” twenty-six times.]
I needed a sledgehammer to crack this Filbert.
Even so, I failed: I had SPIT for 22(down), and that little-known pasta, FALFALLE in 1 ( across).
I went Gungadin on TRECENTO, at 27 (across), but with no idea why. I will use it as often as I can, in future.
At 25(across), I thought it was an Albert Finney titular film character. Which is totally wrong, but shows my age.
All-in-All, a DNF. Did Not Filbert.
A cracking crossword, but once again Filbert defeated me.
The ones I got correct, were excellent.
The others were awful. Of course.
Next time, Filbert….next time.
Great puzzle. + blog.
Ta, Ta, Fil & Kitty
A very good puzzle, as one expects form Filbert, and I was very pleased to have been able to finish after a dismal first look at the across clues.
Had to look long and hard to get SPAT, TANKARD, CANVAS, and STARRED although it’s hard to see why in retrospect. I thought the clues for MINT CONDITION, TRECENTO, CANVAS and TWADDLE were particularly fine. Ta, both.
Very clever to have one synecdoche as the definition of another in CANVAS. Great puzzle and blog.