Thanks to Kite for a puzzle that was not too tricky for a Friday, helped by …
… the obvious CIRCUS (5 across) theme, with the BIG TOP featuring JUGGLER, ACROBAT, RING, TRAPEZE, TUMBLER, TIGHTROPE and STRONGMAN.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1 | STRAYS | Good person traces lost dogs (6) ST (Saint, good person) + RAYS (traces) |
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| 5 | CIRCUS | Cloud having rain, at first becoming cold in 25 (6) CIRRUS with one R[ain] changed to C[old} |
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| 8 | JUGGLER | Juliet and relative returned boxing boot to tosser (7) UGG (brand of boot) in J + reverse of REL. The word for J in the NATO phonetic alphabet is actually spelled Juliett |
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| 9 | ACROBAT | Steal a pet? Entertaining for 24 perhaps (7) ROB in (entertained by) in A CAT |
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| 11 | MOTORING OFFENCE | Convertible roof coming free on Tesla, or missing – this leads to a penalty (8,7) Anagram of ROOF COMING FREE ON T[esla] less OR |
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| 12 | SHOP | Bear’s going back half-heartedly for rat (4) Reverse of PO[O]H’S |
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| 13 | IMMATERIAL | Author’s one with a large mother, boring and insignificant (10) MATER in I’M I A L[arge] |
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| 17 | THE PLANETS | Nervous Stephen at the back of bridal suite (3,7) Anagram of STEPHEN AT [brida]L, referring to Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite |
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| 18 | RING | Sound meringue cakes (4) Hidden in (“caked by”) meRINGue |
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| 20 | AWARD CEREMONIES | Troubled America worsened for Oscar and Emmy? (5,10) (AMERICA WORSENED)* |
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| 23 | TRAPEZE | Returning squeeze, partner embraces swinger (7) Hidden in reverse of squEZE PARTners |
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| 24 | TUMBLER | Glass corporation dim rejecting advance (7) TUM (stomach, corporation) + BLEAR less A |
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| 25 | BIG TOP | Large sweater that protects entertainer against the elements (3,3) A large sweater is a BIG TOP |
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| 26 | COCCYX | Chicken, half a dozen having pronounced tail (6) Sounds like “cock six” |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 2 | TIGHT ROPE | 9 might use this firm with painter maybe (5,4) TIGHT (firm) + ROPE (painter) – I would write this a single word, and Chambers agrees with me |
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| 3 | ALLURE | Pull left in a trap (6) L in A LURE |
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| 4 | STRONGMAN | Stumped by agent protecting Reagan, a tough guy (9) RON (Ronald Reagan) ST[umped] (cricketing term) + G-MAN (FBI agent) |
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| 5 | CLARO | Catholic said to be upset getting something that’s smoked (5) C[atholic] + reverse of ORAL. A Claro is a light-coloured cigar |
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| 6 | RAREFIED | One artist, judge and journalist saving noble (8) I “saved by” RA (artist) + REF (referee, judge) + ED (editor, journalist) |
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| 7 | URBAN | City, old one, facing sanction (5) UR (ancient city) + BAN (sanction) |
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| 8 | JAMES STUART | A master just assassinated king (5,6) (A MASTER JUST)* |
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| 10 | THEOLOGISER | Priest perhaps and others lie and go adrift (11) (OTHERS LIE GO)* |
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| 14 | AUTHENTIC | Sterling represents gold, credit’s mostly limiting at a later date (9) THEN (at a later date) in AU (gold) + TIC[k[ (credit) |
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| 15 | INITIALLY | Primarily enjoying success with one friend (9) IN IT (enjoying success) + I ALLY |
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| 16 | GLADDEST | Happiest day, good boy is in Nice housing (8) D[ay] in G LAD EST (French “is”) |
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| 19 | COSMIC | Universal Cinemas (15) smelly (6) C (Cinemas INITIALL) + OSMIC (relating to smell) |
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| 21 | AMATI | Who made bows and manufactured arrows targeting inexperienced beginners? (5) First letters of And Manufactured Arrows Targeting Inexperienced. The Amatis were a family of violin makers |
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| 22 | EYE UP | Admire articulate author in residence (3,2) Homophone of “I” (the author) + UP (in residence at a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge) |
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I found this quite tricky but, as Andrew says, perhaps not for a Friday. Plenty to enjoy, especially the nervous Stephen and the smattering of linked clues. Oh, and AMATI for the cunningly disguised def (which I think should include the word ‘bows’). Didn’t realise the Nato Juliett had two Ts! Many thanks to Kite and Andrew.
Thanks Kite and Andrew
A DNF – I had to reveal CLARO, which I didn’t know, and neither did Google until I added “smoked” to the search criteria!
The theme certainly helped me finish the rest. Favourite COCCYX.
Thanks Andrew. Agree, not too tricky. Just what I needed today in 44 C heat. I think the definition for AMATI needs to have the underlining to include “bows”.
My last one in was STRAYS ( just couldn’t break down the grammar, thinking lost might be an anagrind, or get rays/traces, but there is a “ray of hope”). And shouldn’t there be a question mark for definition by example?
CLARO was clear from the wordplay, but unfamiliar to me. AMATI a good acrostic clue.
My picks were AWARD CEREMONIES, CLARO, THE PLANETS, and COSMIC for the wry humour in their surfaces.
A lot of ‘write in and parse later’ action with this one, as many of the answers were guessable, particularly when the theme emerged. Still enjoyable, of course!
Thanks Kite and Andrew
Another high quality puzzle from Kite. Thoroughly enjoyed this one despite having had almost no sleep
I even spotted the theme and found it helpful
And it’s stopped raining 🙂
Cheers K&A
Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite… An enjoyable theme which helped a lot with some of the answers. Like others I hadn’t heard of CLARO and revealed it. How do RAYS=traces?
A really good puzzle, very chewy – for me at least. Like others I hadn’t heard of CLARO, but it was very gettable. Favourites were TRAPEZE, CIRCUS and THE PLANETS. Many thanks to K & A.
I’m another one who had to get CLARO from the wordplay and look it up after. Other than that the theme was a big help. ACROBAT seemed obvious from the crossers and the theme, but for some reason (possibly lack of sleep) took me a long time to parse. Never heard THEOLOGISER rather than theologian before, but again was clear enough. Liked (and like) THE PLANETS and COCCYX when the penny dropped. Thanks to Kite and Andrew
Haha – good connection, Gladys@6 !
…ah, yes, Gladys@6, that particular earworm and connection to the wonderful Sergeant Pepper album and the setter’s name hadn’t occurred to me, even though for once even I saw the theme today.
A pleasant and straightforward solve, I thought. The theme was unmissable of course – though the connection noticed by gladys@6 is new to me – and it allowed me to solve TIGHT ROPE, ACROBAT and TUMBLER in “reverse order” which was itself fun as it involved a different sort of lateral thinking based on definitions alone. I also enjoyed SHOP, having spent a while wondering how a four-letter word could the the half-hearted version of anything. (I also rather wanted it to be “sing” at first but of course couldn’t make it work.)
It’s not often that an anagram is my fave (nothing against them but they don’t usually give me the greatest enjoyment) but today’s an exception: I thought THE PLANETS was brilliant for the surface, unusual anagrind and lovely divide-and-conquer of bridal suite.
Nho the Amatis so I was very grateful for it being a clue where that didn’t matter.
Thanks both!
I hadn’t heard of the cigar either, but the answer was clear – in every sense!
Thanks to Kite and Andrew
Like AP @11, I spent time wondering what half-hearted word could end up with four letters: very cunning. A nicely done theme – and an unusual topic for one, too.
Thanks both
Every time I’ve done a crossword by Kite the song mentioned by Gladys@6 has popped into my mind, and now he’s finally made used it as a theme! The story behind the song is interesting too.
Liked CIRCUS, COCCYX, INITIALLY and AMATI.
CIRCUS
The definition is just 25, I think (‘in’ being a linkword).
Thanks Kite and Andrew.
After a stalled start last night, this morning’s go at Mr Kite’s(*) charming puzzle was a pleasure from start to finish. For once I spotted the theme (hard to miss!) early enough to help with a few clues (ACROBAT for one).
LOI was CLARO: as with DuncT@12, nho but well-signposted by the clue.
Lots to like, but the long anagrams MOTORING OFFENCE and AWARD CEREMONIES had such smooth and appropriate surfaces that they get my joint CotD.
Special ticks also for AMATI, where the long clue did a neat job of concealment, and THE PLANETS.
My dabbling in sailing meant TIGHTROPE went in easily.
Thanks to Kite and Andrew (* and to Gladys@6 – I didn’t spot that!).
After a stalled start last night, this morning’s go at Mr Kite’s(*) charming puzzle was a pleasure from start to finish. For once I spotted the theme (hard to miss!) early enough to help with a few clues (ACROBAT for one). No major sticking points, just a steady and satisfying solve.
LOI was CLARO: as with DuncT@12, nho but well-signposted by the clue.
Lots to like, but the long anagrams MOTORING OFFENCE and AWARD CEREMONIES had such smooth and appropriate surfaces that they get my joint CotD.
Special ticks also for AMATI, where the long clue did a neat job of concealment, and THE PLANETS.
My dabbling in sailing meant TIGHTROPE went in easily.
Thanks to Kite and Andrew (* and to Gladys@6 – I didn’t spot that!).
[apologies for near-duplicate entries I kept getting 503 errors and it wasn’t clear what had posted successfully and what hadn’t. Andrew, could you please delete me@16?]
A little tougher for me than for most here, but I got there in the end. New to me were AMATI, CLARO, and OSMIC, which I needed DuckDuckGo to confirm. I even spotted the theme for once.
Thank you Kite and Andrew
…and tonight Mr. Kite is topping the bill!
(just to follow up on what gladys@6 and many others have mentioned).
I thought the puzzle was very good; the theme did help. A minor quibble is that, when an insertion indicator is placed at the very end (as in “Author’s one with a large mother, boring” or “One artist, judge and journalist saving”), it sounds rather unnatural and Yoda-ish. Didn’t know CLARO; LOI SHOP (a good one). Thanks Mr. K and Andrew!
Kite is one of those setters I seem to struggle with although this went in quite smoothly, much quicker than previous Fridays. Either I am getting used to their style or am getting better,
Spotted the theme for this one, which is rare, but it was quite clearly signposted. It helped with STRONGMAN with g-men for an FBI agent being new to me.
CLARO the only unknown for me which also helped.
Pick of the bunch today to THE PLANETS
Thanks Kite and Andrew
Satisfying for a Friday, in that I found it challenging, but managed to get to one short of completion. Frustrating (not the puzzle, which I did enjoy) that my mind often switches off when there are one or two left to solve, and that was the case today, leaving me to reveal STRAYS. But then, I wouldn’t personally have associated ‘traces’ with ‘rays’.
All good, anyway.
Thankfully today is the day,I’ll fully dedicate my spare time honing my skills on chess,and also badminton.This endeavour,my late dad’s pastime,has somehow not struck a chord with me.He used to tell me “son,the clues are there,you read them forwards or backwards,they’re staring at you”.Perhaps it was much easier when he used to tackle them,but I just can’t get myself deciphering a mishmash of incomprehensible words/sentences only to get a pat on the back by a community who seems relish at this avocation.
8d: What justifies ‘assassinated’ as an anagrind?
10d: According to Chambers a theologiser is “a theological statement that is not agreed to be a divine revelation or an inspired doctrine“, i.e. not a person, though other sources equate it to a theologian. I’d never come across myself.
About OSMIC. The slightly obscure metal osmium is so named because it (more exactly its oxide) is apparently very smelly.
Back in the day, some of the research projects I was involved in used osmium powder for making alloys. It was ludicrously expensive. The oxide is poisonous as well as smelly, so sniffing it was not in the list of acceptable lab procedures…
Nice puzzle, solving definitely helped by the theme. When I twigged it, went looking for, and found, TUMBLER and ACROBAT, but lion tamer was nowhere to be found.
Re cOSMIC: some may remember from chemistry lessons the element osmium. Apparently it was so-named because of the strong smell of its oxide.
Did not know CLARO, but it was the top returned answer by issuing C?A?O to OneLook. Should have got it from the wordplay, though.
Shame about the Amati error. The Amati family, like the vast majority of string instrument makers, didn’t actually make bows.
I happily join others in congratulating Gladys on her spot, but i wonder why no one has answered her question @6 re rays and traces?
Got more of this puzzle this morning than last night, with a little help from the check button for letters to try.
Nobody else has mentioned this, but Oscar and Emmy are awards, not ceremonies. Okay, you might say “Did you watch the Oscars last night?” but that’s a stretch.
‘
Like others, OSMIC and CLARO were new to me. And I live in a tobacco-growing state!
My last in was COCCYX (after unsuccessfully trying to work VI in somewhere) and is one of my faves, along with nervous Stephen.
Good going, Gladys. I never would have spotted Mr Kite’s benefit, not knowing Sgt Pepper at all. And I join your question about rays.
Thanks, Kite and Andrew.
Thanks Kite and Andrew
poc @ 20 fwiw the OED gives THEOLOGIZER (sic) as “one who theologizes”.
William @ 28 effectively paddymelon preempted it @ 3.
William & Gladys @6 + @28
My take is that , as in “A ray of hope”, the meaning might be ” a glimmer of”, ergo , a hint or a trace.
Not the brightest link, I agree
Simon S @30: many thanks, missed that.
E.N.Boll& @31: yes, I think that’s what Paddymelon was getting at but, I agree, a bit of a strain as a link.
Thanks Andrew for a comprehensive blog and others for their comments. The Oxford Thesaurus gives this example for ray/trace; there was just one small ray of hope. Although, the NATO alphabet in some places give Juliett, most of the main dictionaries prefer Juliet.
William@28, Gladys@6 – about rays and TRACES. Ray Tracing is a technique used in computer graphics for generating realistic images: it’s also a numerical method in optical physics for tracking light paths through regions with optical properties that vary from place to place.
Thanks Kite & Andrew.
Gladys@6
William@28
Rays of hope?
PS
I liked IMMATERIAL and THE PLANETS.
Not seen the edit option lately – is it just me?
Aha! I have just summoned it up. Who’d a thunk it?
Re COCCYX, I think cock-six is the “normal” pronunciation (so no complaint about this excellent clue), but I know quite a lot of people who pronounce it cock-ix.
Re 4 Down.
Why do you use just ST from Stumped?
How do you decide when to use only the initial letters of a word.
It not logical, and incredibly annoying
Re 21 Down.The Amati family did not make the bows used in their violins. They were made by several different manufacturers.
This Crossword is flawed in several places. Not at all enjoyable
A pleasant Friday work-out. Got to learn something too, as I had to look up CLARO, which was new to me. Some nice constructs and all relatively easy to parse.
Agree with LAYMAN’s comments on word ordering. I particularly resent it when it is not necessary to make a sensible clue – e. g. 6d, “One artist, judge and journalist saving noble” is used when “Artist, judge and journalist saving one noble” is more usual English for the cryptic construct and reads just as sensibly.
Ed @39 – I assume it’s the abbreviation from a cricket scorecard.
Ed @39 It is cricket stuff again, which may well not diminish your annoyance. When a batter is put stumped, on the scorecard this is abbreviated to ST with the name of the wicketkeeper who accomplished the stumping..
Ed@39: see here for a very full list of cricket terms. There will be a short test later…
Good fun especially COCCYX and THE PLANETS. AWARD CEREMONIES can be a bit of a CIRCUS sometimes as well. And thanks Gladys @6.
Ta Kite & Andrew.
Given the complex nature of light, is a RAY just a way of tracing the path of the photons/light waves? That’s how I read it anyway.
From Google: The Amati family, particularly Andrea Amati, who invented the modern violin, made bows as part of their workshop’s output in Cremona.
[The NATO folks went with Juliett so that French speakers knew not to say Juliay. Similarly, it’s alfa instead of alpha so that Spanish speakers don’t give it a P sound.]
Petert@47 et al. : it’s a reflection (ha!) of my mindset and background that that was the only meaning that occurred to me when doing the puzzle.
Thanks, Kite, for an enjoyable quibble-free solve. I needed Andrew’s explanation for 24 across – I got TUM, but couldn’t see where BLER came from.
I found this quite impenetrable at first, but got going, unusually for me, with the long anagrams at either side. A steady solve after this. Nho CLARO either.
I didn’t think LURE in 3d was close enough to trap, so not convinced by the wordplay for that one, but it was easy enough to get.
Theme actually spotted near the end (! – a rarity), helping make JUGGLER a write-in.
Faves, the anagram clues for MOTORING OFFENCE and THE PLANETS.
Thasnks, K&A
Further to Andrew’s comment on TIGHTROPE, can anybody provide a reference to anything that show’s it as two words rather than one?
Crispy@53: as you ask for *anything* – check out the circus poster that became the basis for the eponymous Beatles song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_for_the_Benefit_of_Mr._Kite!#/media/File%3AMr_Kite_-_Full_Color_Photo.png The two words are there 🙂 (I looked it up today that’s how I know)
Curiously Chambers gives TIGHTROPE as one word but SLACK ROPE as two, despite them both being used by funambulists.
The OED offers two words and hyphenated for tightrope, with the observation “Now freq. as one word” but slack-rope as hyphenated only.
Thanks Layman and Simon S
Ed@39, since several commenters have expressed similar dissatisfaction recently, I’ll chip in to say that none of the “initial letter” abbreviations are arbitrary; they’re all sanctioned by at least one of the standard dictionaries used by setters. In other words, if you were to look up the letter ‘r’ for example (which will be the very first entry in R chapter of the dictionary) you’ll find “run(s)” for instance as one of the many things that it can abbreviate. And hence, inversely, “runs” can indicate “r” in crosswords. The dictionaries don’t typically provide the origin of the abbreviations, which can be irritating (and this site is very useful for querying them) – but it’s an established fact that 74% of all abbreviations in the English language come from cricket scorecards.
Setters never abbreviate words arbitrarily. If they want to indicate the first letter of some word then they’ll say things like “bit of cheese” for “c”, i.e. they’ll be explicit.
Am I really the only one with a problem with 7d?!
City is a noun, Urban is an adjective.. If the clue read ‘Like a city, old one, facing sanction’ then ok.. Though I guess you can say ‘a city park’ thus making it an adjective.. Dislike
Also, what about the (15) in 19d?
yonoloco – I don’t think city as an adjective is particularly distasteful..I think “I dislike the country, I prefer the urban/city lifestyle” works either way round?
The (15) in 19D is the 15D answer word initially, giving a direction to the C in Cinemas..
Am I the only one who dislikes the implied equivalence of ‘rob’ and ‘steal’? I know it’s commonly heard, but has the fight already been lost?
Took me ages to get shop! Thanks for the puzzles
Zoot @ 60: robbery is one form of theft, so it depends on the context and wording of the equivalency. (If you define “steal” as “rob,” you need a definition-by-example indicator. In this case, it was the other way round, so he’s in the clear.) The one that grinds my gears, and always prompts a long, didactic, pedantic post from me, is equating robbery and burglary. Not the same crime at all!
Enjoyed this despite its (for me) difficulty. THE PLANETS was my favourite for its surface. I would appreciate the specific website reference to any of the Amati family making bows though; I can’t find the reference quoted in Kite@48. Maybe Google confused the workshop with the maker? Would be fascinating if true. Thank you Kite and Andrew!
Yes, the theme really helped with this one. I still missed two, though — 12a SHOP, 19d COSMIC, so dnf. A lot of great clues, and a good challenge
mrpenney @62
“steal” requires an object: “he stole a loaf of bread”. “rob” just requires a victim “he robbed Peter to pay Paul”. “He robbed a loaf of bread” and “he stole Peter” don’t make sense.
I am rather perplexed by RAT=SHOP, can anyone illuminate me?
Only a K and Q short of a pangram by my reckoning!
Thank you muffin@62.
muffin@62 et al. Surely the quibbles about the difference between rob and steal are based on the unwarranted assumption that the words can only be used with a direct object. “Bonnie and Clyde robbed and stole their way across the United States…” Anything wrong with that?
While I solved this puzzle I found it uncomfortable somehow. Never really tuned into setter’s wavelength. However, massive kudos for anyone who can work the word COCCYX into a crossword.
Blaise@68 Doesn’t the fact that you used both verbs in your example suggest that they do not mean the same. Can you suggest a sentence where they could be swapped?
Naive_springwater @67: ‘Shop’ here in the sense of ‘rat (out)’, ‘betray’, ‘dob in’. E.g. “he shopped his mates in to the police”
Thank you LobeFin!