A nice crossword from Gemelo but probably not one of his most difficult. The construction is often quite simple and one just has to see it.
He has made a rod for his back by having the clues written in iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme. This is very clever and must have made it quite difficult for him, but I can’t see the point. The solver is in just the same position as normal; all the extra difficulty is with the setter: one can admire his ingenuity but doesn’t have to do anything special.
Definitions underlined, in crimson. Anagram indicators indicated (like this)*.
I think I’ve explained everything that needs to be explained except for 13dn, where I simply can’t understand the wordplay. Please help!
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SHAKESPEARE |
Be quiet as a keeper kicks a pen (11)
|
| Sh (as a keeper)* | ||
| 10 | OOZE |
Escape The Royal Oak? Remove its rind (4)
|
| [b]ooze[r] — The Royal Oak is an archetypal name for a pub | ||
| 11 | TERRENE |
Mundane to sin through grief of older men (7)
|
| t(err)ene — ‘of older men’ indicates the archaism — I’m not quite convinced that ‘through’ is a satisfactory insertion indicator | ||
| 12 | LARGE-HEARTED |
Behold The Reader: German; somehow kind (12)
|
| la! (the reader G)* | ||
| 17 | REEMERGE |
Come back about, say engineers from right (8)
|
| re (eg REME)rev. — re = about, ‘from right’ is the reversal indicator | ||
| 18 | TRYE |
What opens up the whisky choice for Ed (4)
|
| t[he] rye — ‘What opens up’ is the first letter indicator — Ed in the definition is Edmund Spenser, whose spelling for a synonym of the adjective ‘choice’ was ‘trye’ | ||
| 19 | RENAL |
Organic fat from Rio grabbing knight (5)
|
| re(N)al — fat is a slang word for money — organic not in the sense used by supermarkets etc but referring to the |
||
| 21 | GENII |
Some spirits deign to dance with one less dead (5)
|
| ([d]eign)* 1 | ||
| 22 | CO-OPT |
Select, through voting, Christian hiding ring (5)
|
| Co(0)pt — the Copts are Christian descendants of the ancient Egyptians | ||
| 24 | KIOSK |
Where public may call Kansas chap around (5)
|
| (Ks oik)rev. | ||
| 26 | LONE |
Unmarried Latin witch avoids the king (4)
|
| L [cr]one — King Charles III (the king) is CR | ||
| 27 | ALL THERE |
In losing silver, having head that’s sound (8, 2 words)
|
| all the r[ag]e — in = all the rage | ||
| 31 | POSTAL BALLOT |
Support a pound to share election form (12, 2 words)
|
| post a lb allot — Chambers says that it’s the submission of votes by post, and is this an election form? My first thought was that this is ever so slightly wrong, but I suppose Gemelo is using ‘form’ in some sense such as a way of being, system, behaviour | ||
| 33 | SEMISES |
As halves of former collars worn by male (7)
|
| se(m)ises — an old spelling of seize, to collar (verb) — the definition I didn’t fall for as I did once when Azed did something similar (‘As of old’, so far as I remember): an as is an old coin, and a semis is half of one; its plural is of course semises | ||
| 34 | ABLE |
Accomplished heartless battle with Reform (4)
|
| (ba[tt]le)* | ||
| 35 | TO THE LETTER |
Exactly add up three – let’s almost fail (11, 3 words)
|
| tot (three let'[s])* | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SOLAR ECLIPSE |
Police with lasers lost when light is gone (12, 2 words)
|
| (police lasers)* | ||
| 2 | HOAXED |
Did fool cut through in wake of spring that’s short? (6)
|
| ho[p] axed — it’s sometimes hard to realise that a word like ‘cut’ (as in this case) can be in the past tense | ||
| 3 | KEGS |
Where beer is special under king, for one (4)
|
| (k eg) s — under because it’s a down clue | ||
| 4 | ELEMENTAL |
Like basics from the Spanish base of thought (9)
|
| El E mental | ||
| 5 | PEEP |
Begin to show and go and lastly stop (4)
|
| pee [sto]p | ||
| 6 | ERA |
Important date whenever art’s consumed (3)
|
| Hidden in whenevER Art’s | ||
| 7 | RETURN KEY |
I’m much depressed concerning name in flop (9, 2 words)
|
| re tur(n)key | ||
| 8 | ENEW |
To drive into the water, earl resumed (4)
|
| E new — the definition is from falconry | ||
| 9 | RED LEICESTER |
For Spooner, ushered leaner food that’s hard (12, 2 words)
|
| “led rester” | ||
| 13 | RATE |
How much is charged to fix declining cast (4)
|
| Here I can’t help I’m afraid. The answer is I’m sure right but as for the wordplay I’ve looked at it for ages and still can’t see it. Maybe I have the definition wrong and ‘to fix’ is part of it; maybe it’s just ‘How much’. Nothing works and someone will have to explain. Sorry. [As many point out, it’s [cast]rate. Actually I did know that, because I consulted a friend, but decided to leave it as it was, just to see whether the readers were paying attention.] | ||
| 14 | PERONISMO |
Evita’s partner’s views on promise marred (9)
|
| (on promise)* — Eva Peron’s partner was Juan Peron | ||
| 15 | ARAK |
Fermented juice a playboy dropped at last (4)
|
| a rak[e] | ||
| 16 | NEGOTIATE |
Get round to info, spinning current bit (9)
|
| (to gen)rev. I ate — ‘spinning’ is the reversal indicator, applying to the two words before it, I = current, ate = bit | ||
| 20 | LILO |
Inflated mattress – air not wholly old (4)
|
| lil[t] o | ||
| 23 | PELT |
At first, perhaps, Erasure loved this hit (4)
|
| p[erhaps] E[rasure] l[oved] t[his] — such a simple construction that one would hardly expect it in a Gemelo puzzle | ||
| 25 | ORIOLE |
Before, before, I cheer for bird of gold (6)
|
| or I olé — or is an old word for before | ||
| 28 | POET |
Preferred to carry over 1 across? (4)
|
| p(o)et — pet = preferred, o = over — I don’t really understand the question mark, since there’s no doubt that Shakespeare, as well as being a playwright, was a poet | ||
| 29 | GLEE |
Delight in run, removing top for good (4)
|
| flee with its top (it’s a down answer) removed and replaced with g | ||
| 30 | CLAT |
Rejected treat with powder lump for Ross (4)
|
| (talc)rev. — talc is a verb here — ‘for Ross’ indicates that it is a Scottish word | ||
| 32 | ASH |
All sections in the end relinquish wood (3)
|
| AS [relinquis]h — AS is an insurance term |
I’ll admit that I entered 13d before understanding how it works, which I probably wouldn’t do on paper but is so easy to do online, but I think it’s just [cast]RATE.
I agree that the clue gimmick makes things harder for the setter and not the solver, and I wonder if it actually makes it easier for the solver because it’s hard to do anything very complicated in 10 syllables. I didn’t solve very many clues when I first went though them, but after getting a few checking letters I didn’t have too much trouble. It took me a while to see that ‘cut’ had to give AXED not just AXE in 2d, and I didn’t understand that ‘As’ was important to the definition of SEMISES until I looked the answer up in Chambers afterwards.
I think the question mark in 28d is supposed to indicate a definition by example. I was confused when I first opened the interactive puzzle and 28d was shaded in grey. It turns out that when one of 1a or 28d is selected then the other is shaded, which is presumably related to the cross-reference but I can’t see the need for it.
Thanks, John and Gemelo.
Agree with Matthew@1 regarding castRATE. Chambers has…
fix /fiks/
transitive verb
10. To castrate or spay
A few technical issues with online entry last weekend and you were advised not to move away from the page which I did and lost a half filled grid. I note the warning is not there today, so hopefully all fixed.
Thanks, John and Gemelo.
Agree with (cast)rate as above and, like Matthew@1, I thought the question mark in 28dn was just indicating “for example”. Overall, I found this very straightforward for Gemelo – and more enjoyable. My heart sank when I saw it was another of his “clever gimmicks”, but was pleasantly surprised to start reading the clues and find a few write-ins.
John, I feel a bit of a fraud making a comment on this puzzle because I didn’t attempt it, but I do like looking through these blogs to see how to parse more difficult clues. In your comment on 19 ac RENAL, I think you mean kidneys rather than liver.
PS: re 31ac, to submit a vote by post (as in snail mail), you need to complete a form. I agree that “postal ballot” would normally refer to the process – which might be called a “form” of election – but casually I think it could also refer to the actual form that an individual posts.
I agree with our blogger that you have to get it. The problem I’m having is that I don’t get it. I think I did slightly better than the previous week, but nowhere near finishing it. Mind you, it was the same when I first attempted Azed back in the seventies, but there are more pleasant things to do on a Sunday. As to the verse, I completely forgot about it after I started.
Well, I completely missed the iambic hexameter trick, which at least proves that I don’t move my lips when reading! I don’t really see the point of the self-inflicted challenges Gamely sometimes sets himself. Found this about average difficulty for these puzzles. (Spot the auto-‘correct’ at work!) Thanks to ‘Gamely’ and John.
This certainly felt like a slightly less challenging Gemelo puzzle – especially as I managed to parse everything for the first time including (cast)rate. Gemelo has previously produced enjoyable challenges by introducing clever mechanisms such as the one involving angrams recently. It would be great if he always aimed at something interesting for the solver – as it was, the iambic pentameter business seemed just an irrelevance. Thanks to both.