Hello everyone….a grid from Quince to solve today.
Those of you, like me, lucky enough to have got to a state where completing a grid has survived past the “grimly ploughing through” stage will have enough headspace to recognise those moments when the quality, cleverness or sheer audacity of wordplay employed by the setter makes the corners or your mouth involuntarily turn upwards.
There were so many of those in this relatively compact grid, even blogging the solutions was having the same effect! Quince has delivered an absolute treasure here.
Mentions in dispatches go to 16 across for amusement, 23 across for artistry of construction and 4 down for complexity. However, my prize pick was 18 down. It was obvious what the word was from the crossers, but I stared at this for a while before the light slowly dawned. Very simple, but very clever and playful to boot.
Thanks Quince for a masterclass in what those of us who dream of one day being a recognised setter might aspire to.
Definitions are underlined
ACROSS
1 Game birds (4,4,5)
DUCK DUCK GOOSE
Double def: “Duck Duck Goose” is a children’s game
8 Speed, beginning to pass point of no return (4)
PACE
Beginning to pass [P] point of no return [ACE = tennis term for serve not returned]
9 Roll joint, getting one blown away (10)
TUMBLEWEED
Roll [TUMBLE] joint [WEED]
10 I hate this way south for hikes (6)
BOOSTS
I hate this [BOOS] way [ST = street] south [backwards = TS]
11 King Lear’s mad, holding heartless test to reveal snakes (8)
RATTLERS
King [R = Rex] Lear’s mad [anag LEAR], holding [around] heartless test [TEST]
12 Bush changed history in foreign affairs primarily (9)
FORSYTHIA
Changed history [anag] in [inside] foreign affairs primarily [first letters = F A]
14 Survey that is collected by car manufacturer (4)
VIEW
That is [IE] collected by [inside] car manufacturer [VW]
15 Source of fake news about protest (4)
RAIL
Source of fake news [LIAR] about [reversed]
16 100 daguerreotypes? They’re cool (4,5)
COLD SNAPS
100 [C = Roman Num] daguerreotypes? [OLD SNAPS]
20 Time soon mends feelings (8)
EMOTIONS
Anag [“mends”] TIME SOON
21 More than one way to prepare a tomato (6)
SUNDRY
Beautiful double def/pun [“Sun Dry”]
23 Old gangster turned into evil political icon (4,6)
OVAL OFFICE
Old [O] gangster [AL = Al Capone] turned [OFF] into [placed inside] evil [VICE]
24 John Travolta’s beginning to get sack (4)
LOOT
John [LOO] Travolta’s beginning [T]
25 Penalty in the back of the net has decent shot (5,8)
DEATH SENTENCE
Anag [“shot”] NET HAS DECENT + E [“back of THE”]
DOWN
1 Spinner’s round pitch, backing up (7)
DIABOLO
Round [O] pitch [LOB], backing [AID] up [bottom to top]
2 Eats cold cuts (5)
CHEWS
Cold [C] cuts [HEWS]
3 Ta-Da! All the information’s here (7)
DATASET
Clue within a clue. Ta-da = data set e.g. anag
4 No matter what half of all comedies raised, normal show is next (4,4,2,5)
COME RAIN OR SHINE
Half of all COMEDIES RAISED NORNAL SHOW IS NEXT
5 On reflection, love story ending in wedding is sweet (6)
GELATO
On reflection [backwards], love [O] story [TALE] ending in wedding [G]
6 Men fine with one article by Blair? (9)
ORWELLIAN
Men [OR] fine [WELL] with one [I] article [AN]
Eric Blair was the real name of novelist George Orwell.
7 Academic reported on Eastenders for cover of Spectator (7)
EYEBROW
Academic [HIGHBROW] reported on Eastenders [drop the aitch]
13 Scrap Conservative implicated in crime – everyone’s upset with it (9)
SCINTILLA
Conservative [C] implicated in [inside] crime [SIN] – everyone’s [ALL] upset [backwards] with it [+IT]
15 Shed drove me nuts (7)
REMOVED
Anag. [“nuts”] DROVE ME
17 Democrat’s launched opposition (7)
DISSENT
Democrat’s [D] launched [IS SENT]
18 Design colour that’s largely relabelled (7)
PURPOSE
Colour [PURPLE] that’s largely relabelled [L = Large changed to OS = Oversize]
19 One rubbing husband, a halfwit, up the wrong way (6)
LOOFAH
Husband [H], a halfwit [A FOOL], up the wrong way [backwards]
22 Stocking filler for horny loners (5)
NYLON
Hidden word [“filler for”] HORNY LONERS
4D was brilliant, though DNF as the SE corner defeated me. Thanks Quince and Leedsclimber.
[10a: I hate this = BOO; way = ST; south = S]
Agree with Frankie on 10a. Nice to decipher PURPOSE.
15d reminded me of the bloke with a steering wheel stuffed down the front of his trousers saying “This is driving me nuts”.
Agree with the blog about this puzzle. Thought the surfaces were excellent GELATO, SCINTILLA, TUMBLEWEED and EYEBROW being some examples. The ‘stocking filler’, the misdirection of the ‘penalty’, turned for off, etc … liked the joke from Hovis @3 too. Thanks.
Classy puzzle from Quince with misdirection all over the place. Some very smooth surfaces and some exceedingly cunning spots. As our blogger says, somewhat of a masterclass. One of those where most clues could be mentioned in despatches so the absolute standouts for me were: PACE for the point of no return; FORSYTHIA for the spot of ‘history’ lurking in there leading to a very credible surface; COLD SNAPS for the simplicity and the same could be said for EMOTIONS; DATA SET which is just splendid and COME RAIN OR SHINE which is a remarkable construction leading to another very cogent surface.
Thanks Quince and Ledsclimber
The variety of devices within some very pleasing wordplays make this puzzle a quiet little sparkler.
Just the right blend of difficulty too, without resorting to any grandstanding by the setter.
EYEBROW, GELATO, and etc., lovely work.
I say this, having never heard of ” Duck Duck Goose”.
For “Game birds” (4,4,5) at 1(ac), I went immediately for GOOD TIME GIRLS.
No more need be said on that.
Great puzzle + blog, ta Quince & Leedsclimber
For me this was a case of top- class setting meets average solving. The design colour had to be Pantone. I don’t like this was “Hoi” giving me hoists. I agree with Leeds climber and PostMark about the standout clues.
Petert @ 7 Re ‘hoi’, are you referring to 10A, where the solution is BOOSTS? I can’t see where else you might mean.
Simon S@8 Yes. Sorry I wasn’t clearer.
Excellent crossword nicely summarised by Leedsclimber. Special mention for the clever “point of no return” for ACE which I don’t remember seeing before, the unexpected anagram in FORSYTHIA, the silky smooth surfaces of EMOTIONS, OVAL OFFICE, DEATH SENTENCE and SCINTILLA, and the humour of “old snaps” as well as the clues for LOOFAH and NYLON. Thanks Quince and LC.
Lovely. I too enjoyed all the ones mentioned by our blogger and commenters, particularly the point of no return and the daguerreotypes (fascinating technique), and I too got sidetracked for a while with Pantone despite guessing but not understanding purple at the start.
Great stuff. Thanks both