We begin the crosswording week in the Independent with a puzzle from Gila that fits perfectly into a weekday paper serious cryptic slot, I think.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
7 Renowned fellow – a mostly quiet sort
FAMOUS
A charade of F, A and MOUS[E].
8 What may help you write CV on a PC?
SHIFT KEY
I so wanted to enter SPACE BAR here, but of course that is exactly what you don’t need to capitalise letters on a keyboard.
9 Exquisite brownstone the realtor takes on
ETHEREAL
Hidden in brownstonE THE REALtor.
10 Possible route from a sports arena?
AVENUE
A charade of A and VENUE.
11 Gambling business infiltrated by hot new exploit
CASH IN ON
An insertion of H in CASINO followed by N. The insertion indicator is ‘infiltrated by’.
12 Butterflies seen in gardens, parks, and fields?
COMMAS
Took me ages to see this, but it’s a good clue. A dd. It contains the execration that is the Oxford comma, but we’ll pass that over.
13 Need a month off around the beginning of summer even more
AND THEN SOME
An insertion of S for the initial letter of ‘summer’ in (NEED A MONTH)* The insertion indicator is ‘around’.
18 Antipodean in Paris too exhausted to get going
AUSSIE
A charade of AUSSI, the French word for ‘also’ or ‘too’ and E for the initial letter of ‘exhausted’.
20 Body of soldiers in Saigon manoeuvred to protect both sides of river
GARRISON
An insertion of RR for the outside letters of ‘river’ in (SAIGON)* The insertion indicator is ‘to protect’ and the anagrind is ‘manoeuvred’.
22 Fiery feeling of hatred periodically shared by us
ARDOUR
A charade of ARD for the even letters of hAtReD and OUR.
23 Additional working hours in public institutions, maybe excessive at first
OVERTIME
A charade of OVERT and IME for the initial letters of ‘institution’, ‘maybe’ and ‘excessive’.
24 I’m after a lift, and this could be just the tonic!
PICK-ME-UP
A cd cum dd.
25 Left buzzing, having taken cocaine
EXITED
EX[C]ITED.
Down
1 Limited power of the military initially disregarded
PARTIAL
A charade of P and [M]ARTIAL.
2 Now, their frolicking became tiresome
WORE THIN
(NOW THEIR)* with ‘frolicking’ as the anagrind.
3 Plant with Jennies in the middle and at the back
ASTERN
A charade of ASTER and N for the middle letter of JenNies.
4 Intended somehow to start acquiring new sources of cash
FINANCES
An insertion of N in FIANCÉ and S for the initial letter of ‘somehow’.
5 Online broadcast of games might ultimately be boring?
STREAM
A charade of S and T for the final letters of ‘games’ and ‘might’ and REAM in its drilling sense.
6 Normal person frequenting a local pub
REGULAR
A dd.
8 Extraordinary ruler stopping breakaway faction
SPLINTER GROUP
(RULER STOPPING)* with ‘extraordinary’ as the anagrind.
14 Ideas that guy fed to right wing politicians
THEORIES
An insertion of HE in TORIES. The insertion indicator is ‘fed to’.
15 Principal type of metal covering a support
MAINTAIN
A charade of MAIN and A inserted into TIN. The insertion indicator is ‘covering’.
16 Cattle illness resulting from rise of strange, nasty weather?
MURRAIN
A charade of RUM reversed and RAIN. An archaic umbrella term for a number of diseases; but the word is ultimately derived from the Latin mori, ‘to die’, and many of the diseases can be fatal.
17 Mallet regularly grabbed by savage sculptor
GORMLEY
An insertion of MLE for the odd letters of MaLlEt in GORY. The insertion indicator is ‘grabbed by’. He of Angel of the North fame (and much else, to be fair).
19 Weird crap covered by national broadcaster
SPOOKY
An insertion of POO in SKY. The insertion indicator is ‘covered by’.
21 Something used for smoking jacket
REEFER
A dd.
Many thanks to Gila for the start to the puzzling week in the Independent.
COMMA, my COTD: lovely pdm. But, as Pierre says, just one of many very stylish clues in this puzzle. SHIFT KEY is a lovely cd; ETHEREAL has a convincing US surface; WORE THIN and SPLINTER GROUP are both delightful anagram spots and the surface for GORMLEY made me smile. Splendid job.
Thanks Gila and Pierre
For 4d, you’d need to see whether a finance ever = a source of income; not a white-collar crime though.
Like Pierre, took ages to remember the butterfly comma. (As for the Oxford one, yes learnt the rule, but I often break it to ensure that the final list member gets attention).
Can’t remember the last time I saw reefer jacket, the smoke being much more frequent 🙂 .
Fun puzzle, succinct clues, lovely blog, ta Gila and Pierre.
Couldn’t parse STREAM as I only knew REAM as a quantity of paper.
Minor alteration needed for 20a. ‘Manoeuvred’ is the anagram indicator and ‘to protect’ for the insertion.
Top faves: CASH IN ON, COMMAS, ARDOUR (shared by us!), SPLINTER GROUP (for the anagram) and SPOOKY (surface).
Thanks Gila and Pierre.
A very tough grid, due to so many unchecked opening squares. I’ve seen some setters ease up on the difficulty of wordplays to somewhat compensate, but I can’t say that Gila has. The NE corner was a right battle, for me.
I have encountered a similar clue before, to 12(ac), COMMAS, but, like SHIFT KEY, I was a bit slow to cotton on.
A few of the wordplays did not quite gel, with me: 4(d), are FINANCES “sources of” cash? 5(d), does “be boring” equate to “ream” in syntax?
8(ac) is clever, but does the wording ” what may help you” work; I felt, “what enables you to”.
I’m old-fashioned, and CRAP=POO, is not a device I warm to.
I don’t object to setters resorting to the “French word” trick,
( my French is passable); 18(ac) AUSSIE, is a nice invention. But….is the device itself getting a bit passe?
All-in-all, a very solid puzzle, with a lot of very smart surfaces. Good stuff, Gila et Pierre
Thank you, Hovis. Blog corrected.
E.N.Boll&@5
STREAM
Agree with you on “Is ‘be boring ‘ =REAM?”
FINANCES
Collins says ‘revenue’ in American English. In British English, I find ‘funds’ and ‘monetary resources’.
The def is not exact as you say (someone might justify it soon).
SHIFT KEY
I find it OK.
Does this project have enough finances/sources of cash? Yep, works fine, don’t need a singular eg, quibblet revoked.
Stylish is right PostMark @1. Lovely surfaces, clever devices and several smiles along the way. Spot on.
Thanks Gila and Pierre
Took a bit of time to get going on this but then it just sailed in. Maybe I’m not familiar with this setter. Great puzzle though.
A couple I couldn’t parse but got there from the definitions and crossers. Atleast I get to read more of the blog.
Favourite: CASH IN ON
Thanks,KVa@7
As an accountant, (long since retired), ” the finances”, means the state of play on the money side of things, and not a source of money. e.g. “How are the finances looking”?
Financers/ Financiers might be sources.
SHIFT KEY. Aha. My better-half has enlightened me. It’s not the only method, and therefore “must” be used to type “CV”.
There’s “CAPS LOCK”, too. She has given me one of her looks of pity. They’re getting more frequent, lately.
The Oxford comma is often necessary. Consider: “I would like to thank my parents, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.”
MrP……Lynne Truss, perhaps?