Always a pleasure when Stamp turns up as the setter for the Monday Independent slot and I am on duty. A thoughfully constructed, occasionally challenging daily cryptic with a wide range of subject matter and some clever misdirection. What’s not to like?
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 Lover of Scotland’s back to back articles making a grand?
JOANNA
A charade of JO and ANNA for two indefinite articles back to back. Ah, JO for the Scots word for sweetheart, dear or ‘lover’. The one where I think, every time I come across it in a cryptic, ‘I must store that away for next time.’ And never do. It’s gender-fluid and is a shortening of the word ‘joy’. And of course yer JOANNA is yer piano, innit?
4 Stay supportive of nasty piece of work
PROROGUE
A charade of PRO and ROGUE. ‘Stay’ in its ‘suspend’ or ‘postpone’ sense here: think BoJo deciding that parliament should be PROROGUED for five weeks at the height of the Brexit crisis in 2019, only for Lady Hale and ten other Supreme Court judges to tell him he was talking bollocks.
10 Professional record inhibited by modest use of obscenity
COPROLOGY
An insertion of PRO and LOG in COY. The insertion indicator is ‘inhibited by’. I only knew this word in its ‘study of faeces’ sense, but my Collins has:
coprology (n) the use of obscenity in speech, literature or art
11 Companion that is married wears ring
CHIME
A charade of CH for Companion of Honour and M inserted into IE for id est or ‘that is’. The insertion indicator is ‘wears’.
12 Gradually introduce current after voicing concern
PHASE IN
A charade of PHASE, aural wordplay (‘voicing’) for FAZE and IN.
13 Enemy forces at the Front, combined, poured forth
EFFUSED
A charade of EF for the initial letters of ‘enemy’ and ‘forces’ and FUSED.
14 Gather food
TUCK
A dd. The first element is in its dressmaking sense; the second is most often heard in TUCK SHOP, mainly if you went to public school.
16 Stressed diner, due luncheon, extremely agitated
UNDERLINED
(DINER DUE L[UNCHEO]N)* with ‘agitated’ as the anagrind.
19 Nervous wreck in Spooner’s depot supplying coffins?
BASKET CASE
A Spoonerism for CASKET BASE.
20 Three seconds to illustrate problem on green?
MOSS
A charade of MO, S and S, three ‘seconds’.
23 Puzzles are not included in broadcast applications
BEMUSES
And here’s another one which I always forget: A for ‘are’, the measurement of area. A charade of BE[A]M and USES.
24 Lout lying about criminal youth
BOYHOOD
A charade of YOB reversed and HOOD.
26 Bit of offal I found in Indian wrap
LUNGI
A charade of LUNG and I.
27 Rat cleans out family
ANCESTRAL
(RAT CLEANS)* with ‘out’ as the anagrind.
28 Bouquets console supplier quite disheartened following refusal
NOSEGAYS
A charade of NO, SEGA and Y[E]S. SEGA is a supplier of consoles for video games.
29 Suspicion of student clerics stealing rector’s suit
SPADES
A charade of S for the initial letter of ‘student’ and PAD[R]ES.
Down
1 Pool ball’s on top of pocket
JACKPOT
A charade of JACK and POT. ‘On top of’ works because it’s a down clue. ‘He needs to pocket/pot the black to win.’
2 Brightest star has finally dropped behind mountain
ALPHA
A charade of ALP and HA[S]. Alpha Centauri, for example.
3 On pest being uncovered, without delay put up traps
NOOSES
A charade of SOON reversed and P[ES]T.
5 Like some poetry by Frost, recited at bar
RHYMELESS
Aural wordplay (‘recited’) for RIME followed by LESS. The equivalence is in the phrase ‘bar none’.
6 Everything deposited beneath base of cliff, following shock?
ROCKFALL
This is a really clever cad. It’s a charade of ROCK, F for the last letter of ‘cliff’ and ALL; but the whole clue is also the definition.
7 Travel around islands working out musical direction
GLISSANDO
An insertion of (ISLANDS)* in GO. The insertion indicator is ‘around’ and the anagrind is ‘working out’.
8 Revised pieces checked by one editor after another
EMENDED
An insertion of MEN for [chess] pieces in ED, followed by another ED. The insertion indicator is ‘checked by’.
9 Nora Batty’s a nag
ROAN
Great clue. (NORA)* with ‘batty’ as the anagrind. Don’t know of Nora Batty? Google her.
15 More than one window sticks when installed
CASEMENTS
An insertion of AS for ‘when’ in CEMENTS. The insertion indicator is ‘installed’. A setter with less decorum than this one would have inserted semen into cats; but not Stamp. Propriety is his middle name.
17 Shift scenery as required
NECESSARY
(SCENERY AS)* with ‘shift’ as the anagrind.
18 Going hungry about beginning of Eid? Quite the reverse
FEASTING
An insertion of E for the initial letter of ‘Eid’ in FASTING, and an extended definition. The insertion indicator is ‘about’.
19 Newborn cat one’s lost in garden city?
BABYLON
A charade of BABY and L[I]ON.
21 Warship essentially goes off tack
SADDLES
A charade of S for the middle letter of ‘warship’ and ADDLES.
22 Husband picked up corsage containing small aromatic plant
HYSSOP
A charade of H and S inserted into POSY reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘containing’.
24 Support line missed by player in game
BACK
A BACK is of course a player in a game like rugby; but BLACK is also a player in chess, so this is B[L]ACK.
25 Amateur cutting old ruby with blades
OARED
An insertion of A in O and RED. The insertion indicator is ‘cutting’ and the definition refers to another sport, rowing.
Many thanks to Stamp for the Monday entertainment.
Pierre’s summary is spot on.
I found the NW particularly challenging, partly because 10a was a new word for me, but the whole thing was a pleasure to solve.
Many thanks to Stamp and to Pierre.
Great puzzle. Somewhat tough in places, but that was only adding
to the pleasure of solving the puzzle.
Liked COPROLOGY (didn’t know the word, but the WP was helpful), PHASE IN, BASKET CASE, MOSS,
LUNGI (was looking for a hidden word for a while), RHYMELESS and ROCKFALL.
Thanks Stamp and Pierre.
Took a while to get on the wave length but eventually everything fell into place. Likes for LUNGI which I was originally thinking of as a wrap that you eat and JACKPOT once I had smoked out the J. Excellent blog and puzzle. Thanks Pierre and Stamp.