Yet again, my failure to check that the utilities site had the right puzzle meant I originally blogged an IOS puzzle from long ago. Apologies for that.
This was quite an enjoyable puzzle of middling difficulty. I thought the clues were well-constructed and deceptive in places, with some of my initial attempts to parse them being wide of of the mark. For that reason, I liked 4D and 26A.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BASILISK |
Monster herb is leek in the end (8)
|
| Basil(=herb) + is + [lee]k | ||
| 5 | BOOMER |
Pensioner, possibly one banging on? (6)
|
| DD. I think the first def refers to Baby Boomers, who will mostly but not entirely be pensioners now. | ||
| 9 | DOMINION |
Power to impersonate cartoon henchman (8)
|
| Do(=impersonate, as in “I can do Donald Trump”) + minion(=yellow henchman from the Despicable Me franchise) | ||
| 10 | HIATUS |
Knock about answer with puzzlers on break (6)
|
| (Hit around a{nswer}) + us(=puzzle setters) | ||
| 12 | CREDO |
I believe workers mostly party (5)
|
| Cre[w](=workers) + do(=party) | ||
| 13 | ENTANGLED |
Caught folk rockers hiding leader and daughter (9)
|
| [P]entangle + d{aughter}. Pentangle are a British folk rock group that I’d never heard of. | ||
| 14 | RESURRECTION |
Wild intercourse keeps Romeo coming back (12)
|
| Intercourse* around R{omeo}(phonetic alphabet) | ||
| 18 | ORCHESTRA PIT |
Start to conduct others, snarling “hit it” here? (9,3)
|
| &lit. (C[onduct] others)* + rap(=hit) + it. | ||
| 21 | FREELANCE |
Independent swimmer cracks far side of the Channel (9)
|
| Eel(=fish, a swimmer) in France(=far side of channel) | ||
| 23 | TAMPA |
You shouldn’t have elected politician with a Florida resort (5)
|
| Ta(=you shouldn’t have) + MP(=elected politician) + a | ||
| 24 | ACUITY |
A place like Cambridge maintains universal sharpness (6)
|
| (A city(=place like Cambridge) around u{niversal}(abbrev used in cinema classification) | ||
| 25 | SPLENDID |
Brilliant child loses head after second place finish (8)
|
| [K]id after (s{econd} + pl{ace} + end) | ||
| 26 | TIERED |
Match official’s card shown in rows (6)
|
| Tie(=match) + red(=official’s card) | ||
| 27 | CERULEAN |
Ecru? Dreadfully thin colour (8)
|
| Ecru* + lean(=thin) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BODICE |
Top fellow to chill with (6)
|
| Bod(=fellow) + ice(=chill) | ||
| 2 | SUMMER |
Problem solver when things heat up (6)
|
| DD | ||
| 3 | LONDON EYE |
Ferris wheel marathon nearly finished you (6,3)
|
| Lon[g](=marathon) + done(=finished) + ye(=you) | ||
| 4 | STONECUTTING |
Geordie singer claims accent hurt work in rock (12)
|
| Sting(=Gordon Sumner) around (tone(=accent) + cut(=hurt)) | ||
| 6 | ORION |
Stars lit up drinking port (5)
|
| On(=lit up) around Rio, port in Brazil. | ||
| 7 | METALLIC |
Police force completely in charge of copper? (8)
|
| Met{ropolitan police} + all(=completely) + i{n} c{harge} | ||
| 8 | RESIDENT |
Local piano exported from Cleveland? (8)
|
| [P]resident. Grover Cleveland is famous for being the only president before Trump to serve two non-consecutive terms. | ||
| 11 | STARGAZEY PIE |
Graze pasty, shocked that is Cornish fare (9,3)
|
| (Graze pasty)* + i.e.(=that is) | ||
| 15 | COINTREAU |
Drink money docked to pay for university (9)
|
| Coin(=money) + trea[t](=pay for) + u{niversity} | ||
| 16 | BOUFFANT |
Fit social worker bored by old hairdo (8)
|
| (Buff(=fit) + ant(=worker ant)) around o{ld} | ||
| 17 | SCHEDULE |
Avoid getting up, following school calendar (8)
|
| Elude<(=avoid) after sch{ool} | ||
| 19 | SMIDGE |
Small insect bit (6)
|
| S{mall} + midge(=insect) | ||
| 20 | PARDON |
Sorry fellow, below standard (6)
|
| Don(=fellow) after par(=standard in golf). The def is used in the sense of a response to not hearing someone. | ||
| 22 | LATKE |
Passed on eating last of duck pancake (5)
|
| Late(=passed on/dead) around [duc]k. A latke is a Jewish pancake. |
Enjoyed the puzzle (found it medium tough like our blogger). Thanks Mog.
Excellent blog. Thanks NealH.
My faves: O PIT (CAD falling short of an &lit by ‘here’), FREELANCE, TIERED, L EYE, STONECUTTING and COINTREAU.
BOOMER (my take was slightly different):
Def 1: Pensioner, possibly.
Def 2 (whimsical, I think): one banging on?
SUMMER
Does SUMMER mean a problem solver or is it a whimsical def?
Thanks both. Agree that this was of medium difficulty; I was grateful for a few crossword regulars e.g. Rio being the port in ORION where ‘on’ for ‘lit up’ felt like being short-changed, the eel in FREELANCE apparently dominating the world of swimmers, and Sting in STONECUTTING is the only Geordie ever to hold a note. I was not entirely convinced by either definition for BOOMER which was my LOI.
Didn’t find this too difficult.
TFO@2: I don’t know if he is technically a Geordie, but the singer I remember from my childhood was the Tyne and Wear born opera singer Owen Brannigan. He was famous for his version of the Tyneside song Cushy Butterfield, which even appeared in a beer advert when I was growing up.
I heartily concur with Mog’s admonition to American voters in 23across. My list of favourites matches KVa’s. STARGAZEY PIE came quickly to mind, because I tried to make it work as an answer in another recent puzzle. Wrong county for that one, though.
Did the original blurb say this was straightforward? I was thinking it was anything but whilst solving. Some tricky bits in there.
I don’t usually do the Indy puzzle but saw Mogs’ name, a setter I have enjoyed in the past. I was not disappointed.
Favourite today: TIERED for the great misdirection.
Thanks blogger and setter.
Staticman1, you might have been looking at the blog I incorrectly posted for a different puzzle, which was much easier. I didn’t find this particularly easy, although obviously for some people Azed and Inquisitor puzzles are on the easy side.
Dormouse, my first thought for 4D was Emeli Sande, who is from Sunderland. It seemed to work really well, giving possibly both sand and stone, which was one of the reasons I was convinced for a while the answer must be a type of rock.
Being a grumpy old boomer I thought Why can’t minion be clued by ‘old darling’ or ‘young deer’ and not some damn animation … What’s that? It’s the highest grossing animated film franchise of all time? … oh, well, all good then. Enjoyed this, thanks Mog and Neal.
NealH@6: Well, if they are from Sunderland,, they are technically a Mackem, not a Geordie, and the Sunderland born singer I immediately think of is Sir Thomas Allen.
Mild objection to TAMPA being defined as a resort. While they get their share of tourists in Tampa, the actual resorts in the Tampa Bay area are across the bay in Clearwater and St Petersburg. The attractions in Tampa itself are urban ones: a couple museums, a historic district (Ybor City, the former center of the US cigar industry, now remade into a pale shadow of the New Orleans French Quarter), a few promenades on the harborside and the river, etc. But yes, the surface of the clue does allude nicely to the Orange Menace, so it can be forgiven.
Just checking in and see I came at 5a from a different angle (though still a DD): I thought FORMER for pensioner in the sense of erstwhile – this is a stretch I grant you – but can also be the name for the shape that a sheet metal worker would hammer (bang) the metal blank on, to make it conform to the mould.
Think I prefer BOOMER though!
Thanks to Mog and NealH