Another fine Sunday puzzle from Filbert, in a slot that he is pretty much making his own these days.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Pilot has relocated, getting better place
HOSPITAL
(PILOT HAS)* with ‘relocated’ as the anagrind.
5 Son turning Dutchman out of yard – he’s untidy
SCRUFF
A charade of S and CRU[Y]FF, referencing Johan CRUYFF, the Dutch footballer and manager who died in 2016. Total football, the Cruyff Turn and all that.
10 Act like a woman whose little hand is frozen with cold
MIMIC
A charade of MIMI and C. MIMI is a character in La Bohème by Puccini and is referenced in the aria Che gelida manina, which translates as ‘What a frozen little hand’.
11 Wrong choice crucial in rough game with sticks and blades
ICE HOCKEY
A charade of (CHOICE)* and KEY. The anagram is ‘wrong’, but you can’t say the description of the game as ‘rough’ is.
12 Forbidding university jargon fills tedious course
RULING OUT
An insertion of U and LINGO in RUT. The insertion indicator is ‘fills’.
13 Maybe Schmidt drained his one?
STEIN
A charade of ST for the outside letters of ‘Schmidt’ and EIN, the German word for ‘one’. A cad, and a beautifully constructed one at that.
14 E.g. press secretary rung by no press after work
SPOKESPERSON
A charade of SPOKE and (NO PRESS)* with ‘after work’ as the anagrind.
18 Slight twitching of torso settled
PUT DOWN ROOTS
A charade of PUT DOWN and (TORSO)* with ‘twitching of’ as the anagrind.
21 Work can be sociable
OPT IN
A charade of OP and TIN.
22 BLT, Caesar salad? Mayo’s capital
CASTLEBAR
(BLT CAESAR)* with ‘salad’ as the anagrind. CASTLEBAR is the county town of the Irish county of Mayo.
24 Attractive spies wearing buff and navy perhaps wanting uniform
FANCIABLE
An insertion of CIA in FAN and BL[U]E. The insertion indicator is ‘wearing’. He was a music fan/buff.’
25 A little short on gasoline, land in the sea
TONGA
Hidden in shorT ON GAsoline.
26 Volcanic rock at the bottom beginning to topple
BASALT
A charade of BASAL and T for the initial letter of ‘topple’.
27 Big Data Institute’s announced acronym for what Big Brother keeps on you
BEADY EYE
If Big Date Institute became an acryonym, it would be BDI, which would sound a lot like BEADY EYE if you ‘announced’ it.
Down
1 Joker 50% down in hustings, pollsters admitted
HUMORIST
An insertion of MORI for the well-known polling organisation in HUST[INGS]. The insertion indicator is ‘admitted’.
2 Not one large citrus fruit turned white
SEMILLON
A reversal of NO, L and LIMES.
3 Antique coins Len traded worth nothing
INCONSEQUENTIAL
(ANTIQUE COINS LEN)* with ‘traded’ as the anagrind.
4 Friend‘s gone across motorway
AMIGO
An insertion of MI in AGO. The insertion indicator is ‘across’.
6 Statistician’s compared angry Irish band member with happy
CROSS-CORRELATED
A charade of CROSS, CORR and ELATED. The Corrs are an Irish folk-pop band formed by four siblings, one of whom would be a CORR.
7 Maintenance on battlements?
UPKEEP
I guess if you were UP [on the] KEEP, you’d be ‘on battlements’.
8 Fellow in a horizontal position doing a Superman impression?
FLYING
A charade of F and LYING.
9 Awful tower had grim cells
DEATH ROW
(TOWER HAD)* with ‘awful’ as the anagrind.
15 Man in photo with muscles cycles with passengers
PEDICABS
An insertion of ED in PIC, followed by ABS. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
16 Brothers brought up unruly, none learning place
SORBONNE
A charade of BROS reversed (‘brought up’, since it’s a down clue) and (NONE)* with ‘unruly’ as the anagrind.
17 American eagle all over American’s ID
USERNAME
A charade of US and an insertion of AM in ERNE. The insertion indicator is ‘all over’.
19 Have lovely chat
CONFAB
A charade of CON and FAB.
20 Sadist periodically traps brown bears
STANDS
An insertion of TAN in SDS for the odd letters of SaDiSt. The insertion indicator is ‘traps’.
23 European tied knot in middle of abseil
SWEDE
An insertion of WED in SE for the middle letters of abSEil. The insertion indicator is ‘in’
Many thanks to Filbert for this Sunday’s puzzle.
I think the def for 1a might be ‘getting better place’, Pierre? Like SORBONNE is ‘learning place’.
Very clever as always, lots of misdirections and plenty of fun surfaces. SWEDE, SORBONNE, DEATH ROW, UPKEEP, HUMORIST, TONGA, MIMIC and HOSPITAL are my little clutch of faves today.
Thanks Filbert and Pierre
That makes more sense, PostMark. I’ll amend the blog.
Charade City today from Fil.
I loved the synonym, HOSPITAL as a “getting better place”.
5(ac): the wordplay seems a bit awkward, for dismissing the Y from CRUYFF ?
Only one for my WHY LIST, (PEDICABS), and all in all, the usual high standard from Fil, something to enjoy in every clue.
Thanks F + P
Parsed 1a HOSPITAL as PostMark@1. [E.N.Boll&@3, 5a SCRUFF: “turning Dutchman” = CRUYFF; “out of yard” = –Y.]
FrankieG@4, thanks: yes, I get that the “turning Dutchman” is Mr Cruyff of the legendary turn, just felt a bit awkward to me. Then again, I’m often out of step with clue syntax and constructions.
I assumed at first the ‘better place’ was going to be a casino, but ‘getting better place’ was, well, even better. Loved that and DEATH ROW in particular, along with the appearances of the CORRs (not BONO or Edge then…) and the Dutch master. I didn’t know the wine, the Irish county capital, or the lady with the frozen hand, but thankfully didn’t need to.
Thanks both.
Ice-hockey on BBC today, quite rough
Amoeba@6
“better place” is a very fine play, for CASINO.
There must be a very good crafty clue, for your shout.
I see our setter has beat me to the mention of the US/Canada hockey donnybrook from yesterday. It’s not normally quite that rough, I should point out.
EN @8: Brutal savage forsaking a better place? (5)
I hadn’t heard of the Dutch footballer or the Irish band, so I have much to thank Pierre for today. Thank you also to Filbert.
[Oh, and re Mimi (from MIMIC), here’s a plot summary of La Boheme I wrote back in college:
He lives in a loft in Paree,
She comes in and loses her key.
They go out and they sup,
Fall in love and break up,
And then she dies of TB.]
I mostly biffd my answers, thanks blogger for the parsing. COD HOSPITAL
mrpenney @9
I am working on it !
That’s a superb poetic summary of La Boheme.
Doh. VEGAS.
Also thought “better place” meant casino or some such. “Getting better place” is better, but loving the dialogue, E.N.Boll& and mrpenny (and the limerick). Favourite STEIN despite all that. Thanks to Filbert and Pierre
Well this was lovely – and, exactly as Amoeba@6, what I didn’t know didn’t hurt me.
E.N.Boll&@5, I took “out of yard” to be like “out of milk”, i.e. lacking, wanting for; which I assume is what FrankieG@4 was also getting at.
Thanks Filbert and Pierre