Coot has provided this Thursday’s teaser. I haven’t blogged many of his puzzles, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect today.
As it was, what lay in store for me today was a medium-difficulty puzzle with lots of entertainment to be had along the way. In the end, Coot has had the last laugh, as I needed to search Chambers to find 11, and indeed also to parse it. I found the SW quadrant to be the hardest, with the intersecting 9-letter entries at 14A, 14D and 15D holding me up for a good long while, despite being perfectly fair clues.
As for my favourite clues today, I particularly liked the tennis-theme in the linked clues at 12 and 14A, which led to a well-disguised definition in the latter; the “crack” device in 19; and the “leak” in 2D appealed to the schoolboy in me.
Here’s hoping that we all still find some time for crosswords as we work through the pre-Christmas rush. I wonder what delights our compilers have in store for us over the festive season.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; a break in underlining separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| ACROSS
|
||
| 1 | SAN ANDREAS FAULT |
At Arsenal, United fan starts to dance so wildly it makes ground shake (3,7,5)
|
| *(AT ARSENAL + U (=United, as in Man U) + FAN + D<ance> S<o> (“starts to” means first letters only)); “wildly” is anagram indicator; cryptically, one can say that, as a cause of earthquakes, the San Andreas Fault “makes (the) ground shake”! | ||
| 9 | MIMIC |
Mock host screening film ‘Big’ regularly (5)
|
| <f>I<l>M <b>I<g> (“regularly” means alternate letters only are used) in MC (=host, i.e. Master of Ceremonies) | ||
| 10 | EXECRABLE |
Odious businessman backed ban on the French (9)
|
| EXEC (=businessman, i.e. executive) + RAB (BAR=ban, disallow; “backed” indicates reversal) + LE (=the French, i.e. a French word for the) | ||
| 11 | PEEPSHOW |
Erotic film produces high-pitched sound – what caused it? (8)
|
| PEEPS (=produces high-pitched sound, like a chicken) + HOW (=what caused it?, as question) | ||
| 12 | SWERVE |
Tennis shot entertains with change of direction … (6)
|
| W (=with) in SERVE (=tennis shot) | ||
| 14 | GO OUT WITH |
… and following shot not in court (2,3,4)
|
| GO (=shot, stab, attempt) + OUT (=not in) + WITH (=and); to court is to go out with, date | ||
| 16 | RECAP |
Supporter on track about to get run over (5)
|
| PACER (=supporter (to athletes) on track, pacemaker); “about” indicates reversal | ||
| 18 | OBESE |
Very large wardrobe separates clothes (5)
|
| Hidden (“clothes”) in “wardrOBE SEparate” | ||
| 19 | ACCESSION |
Crack cocaine around ship – coming onboard (9)
|
| SS (=ship, i.e. steamship) in *(COCAINE); “crack” is anagram indicator; to accede to an organisation or treaty is to join it, come onboard | ||
| 20 | INDEED |
Quite popular thing to do (6)
|
| IN (=popular, trendy) + DEED (=thing to do, action); Quite! is an interjection signalling agreement, hence Indeed! | ||
| 22 | ASIAN FLU |
A Welsh woman reportedly avoided illness in pandemic (5,3)
|
| A + SIAN (=Welsh woman, i.e. a typical Welsh female forename) + homophone (“reportedly”) of “flew (=avoided, fled from)”; the deadly Asian flu pandemic swept across the world in 1957-8 | ||
| 26 | EXTRADITE |
Hand over old business, it’s stuffed (9)
|
| EX- (=old, former) + [IT in TRADE (=business)] | ||
| 27 | GRUEL |
Mean ratbag finally knocking out cold, unappetising meal (5)
|
| CRUEL (=mean, nasty); “ratbag finally (=last letter, i.e. G) knocking out cold (=C)” means letter “g” replaces letter “c” | ||
| 28 | STOCKBROKER BELT |
Posh area‘s reputation ruined with start of rock band (11,4)
|
| STOCK (=reputation, estimation, according to Chambers) + BROKE (=ruined, destroyed) + R<ock> (“start of” means first letter only) + BELT (=band, stripe) | ||
| DOWN
|
||
| 1 | SUM UP |
Review first three parts of music? (3,2)
|
| Cryptically, the “first three parts (=letters) of music” are MUS, which corresponds to “SUM” up (=vertically reversed)! | ||
| 2 | NUMBER ONE |
Initially nervous individual seals off brownish leak (6,3)
|
| UMBER (=brownish) in [N<ervous> (“initially” means first letter only) + ONE (=individual)]; to go for a number one is to go for a wee, take a leak! | ||
| 3 | NICKS |
Help oneself to son’s chips (5)
|
| NICK (=help oneself to, steal) + S (=son); a chip is a dent, hence nick | ||
| 4 | RHETORICAL |
Ignoring wife, write choral works over-elaborate in style (10)
|
| *(<w>RITE CHORAL); “ignoring wife (=W)” means letter “w” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “works” | ||
| 5 | AHEM |
National Trust eschews God Save the King? I doubt that! (4)
|
| A<nt>HEM (=God Save the King, i.e. the national anthem; “National Trust (=NT) eschews” means letters “nt” are dropped) | ||
| 6 | FIREWORKS |
Wire melts in separate small explosions (9)
|
| *(WIRE) in [FORK (=separate, split, of e.g. road) + S (=small, of sizes)] | ||
| 7 | UNBAR |
Permit entry into godless Scottish town? (5)
|
| (d)UNBAR (=Scottish town; “god -less” means that letter “d (=God, i.e. Deus)” is dropped | ||
| 8 | THEREUPON |
Pure note played capturing hearts immediately (9)
|
| H (=hearts, in cards) in *(PURE NOTE); “played” is anagram indicator | ||
| 13 | CHUCK STEAK |
Cut and hurl piece of spruce wood (5,5)
|
| CHUCK (=hurl, toss) + S<pruce> (“piece of” means first letter only) + TEAK (=wood); chuck is a cut of beef extending from the neck to the shoulder blade | ||
| 14 | GOOFINESS |
Inane nature of noises fashioned by beginner in guitar (9)
|
| G<uitar> (“beginner in” means first letter only) + *(OF NOISES); “fashioned” is anagram indicator | ||
| 15 | THEME PARK |
In Disneyland, maybe politician takes refuge in wooden shelter (5,4)
|
| MEP (=politician, i.e. Member of European Parliament) in THE ARK (=wooden shelter, i.e. Noah’s ark in OT) | ||
| 17 | COIFFEUSE |
Foreign Office to employ locks expert (9)
|
| *(OFFICE) + USE (to employ); “foreign” is anagram indicator; the “locks” of the definition refer to hair! | ||
| 21 | DITTO |
Papers lying about excessive returns as before (5)
|
| DI (ID=(identity) papers; “lying about” indicates reversal) + TTO (OTT=excessive, i.e. over-the-top; “returns” indicates reversal) | ||
| 23 | ANGER |
Put out stove, sinking last of lobster (5)
|
| RANGE (=stove, e.g. Aga; “sinking last (=last letter) of lobster” means letter “r” moves to end of word; to put out is to offend, upset, hence anger | ||
| 24 | UNLIT |
Perhaps squadron guards left in the dark (5)
|
| L (=left) in UNIT (=perhaps squadron, in army) | ||
| 25 | LIAR |
Suffering 50% cut, like army’s pork pie supplier (4)
|
| LI<ke> AR<my>; “suffering 50% cut” means 2 of 4 letters are dropped from each word; a pork pie is a lie in Cockney rhyming slang |
A pleasingly diverse range of devices and definitions, and some craftily evasive.
PEEPSHOW, (11ac), held me up, because I thought it would be (4,4), and I don’t associate it with “film”, but Coot has both right.
7(d) UNBAR: I’ve never seen “godless”, as “delete the D”, and not too impressed with it.
The only bummer, in an otherwise entertaining and smartly-compiled puzzle.
Big thanks, Coot & RR
Nice puzzle and, as EN Boll& says, a good range of ideas in both constructions and defs. Good anagram/surface for SAN ANDREAS FAULT. Other faves inc SWERVE, OBESE, ASIAN FLU, NICKS, FIREWORKS, CHUCK STEAK and COIFFEUSE.
Thanks both.
Good puzzle and I enjoyed solving it. Thanks Coot.
Nice blog. Thanks RR.
My top picks were: S A FAULT, MIMIC, RECAP, SUM UP, FIREWORKS, COIFFEUSE and LIAR.