The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hi everyone – I hope this festive season finds you well and happy. Filbert remains one of my favourite setters, and this crossword is full of reasons why. I had plenty of fun from the temporary vintage carrier (1a) to the drinker (21d), particularly enjoying the 12a hoodies and the 17a hampered event. The SW corner held out longest with COCOON my last in. Thanks Filbert!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Temporary vintage carrier bag for one girl (9) |
| WINEGLASS — WIN (bag) + EG (for one) + LASS (girl) | |
| 6a | Handle fuse with electric current through it (5) |
| WIELD — WELD (fuse) containing (with … through it) I (electric current) | |
| 9a | Movement Republican party guards against (5) |
| RONDO — R (Republican) and DO (party) surrounds (guards) ON (against) | |
| 10a | Lame man’s right to jog (9) |
| HAMSTRING — MAN’S RIGHT anagrammed (to jog) | |
| 11a | Mark US agent covered around his neck (7) |
| SCARFED — SCAR (mark) + FED (US agent) | |
| 12a | These house torsos with head hidden (7) |
| HOODIES — HO (house) + bODIES (torsos) missing the first letter (with head hidden) | |
| 13a | Trademark on counterfeit jewel, back-to-front little flowers (6-2-4) |
| FORGET-ME-NOTS — TM (trademark) on FORGE (counterfeit) + STONE (jewel) back-to-front | |
| 17a | Old couple going round ruined castle hampered event (8,4) |
| OBSTACLE RACE — O (old) + BRACE (couple) going round an anagram of (ruined) CASTLE | |
| 20a | Dull Mondays regularly boring princess (7) |
| ANODYNE — Alternate letters of (… regularly) mOnDaYs going into (boring) ANNE (princess) | |
| 21a | End of term decided on by start of last period (3,4) |
| DUE DATE — A cryptic definition | |
| 22a | Doctor visually very attractive, swanky surgery admits (9) |
| PHOTOSHOP — HOT (very attractive), which POSH (swanky) plus OP (surgery) takes in (admits) | |
| 23a | Well-to-do urbanite keeps something to sniff (5) |
| ODOUR — Well-tO–DO URbanite contains (keeps) the answer | |
| 24a | Principle superficially true and clear (5) |
| TENET — The outer letters of (superficially) TruE + NET (clear) | |
| 25a | Metal zip’s inside covered by plastic dummy one (9) |
| NEODYMIUM — Here, zIp’s middle letter (inside) is covered by an anagram of (plastic) DUMMY ONE | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Magnetism reversed like that very strongly repels (5,3) |
| WARDS OFF — DRAW (magnetism) reversed + SO (like that) + FF (very strongly) | |
| 2d | Agree offhand about Norway suiting vegans (3-5) |
| NON-DAIRY — NOD (agree) and AIRY (offhand) around (about) N (Norway) | |
| 3d | English cricket side wearing grey refuse to use old bat (8,7) |
| GEOFFREY BOYCOTT — E (English) and OFF (cricket side) in (wearing) GREY + BOYCOTT (refuse to use) | |
| 4d | Pest turned up every year then disappeared (5) |
| APHID — Reversed (turned up) PA (every year) then HID (disappeared) | |
| 5d | Bit of music in Psycho arranged for orchestra (9) |
| SYMPHONIC — The first letter of (bit of) Music and IN PSYCHO anagrammed (arranged) | |
| 6d | Informally, jam makers turning more to chutney (7,8) |
| WITHOUT CEREMONY — WI (jam makers) + an anagram of (turning) MORE TO CHUTNEY | |
| 7d | Obelix irreversibly imbued with magic potion (6) |
| ELIXIR — ObELIX IRreversibly is imbued with the answer | |
| 8d | Pass on joke you hear in summarised version (6) |
| DIGEST — Sounds like (… you hear) DIE (pass on) JEST (joke) | |
| 14d | Fussy manager runs through ground then home (6,3) |
| MOTHER HEN — R (runs) goes into (through) an anagram of (ground) THEN HOME | |
| 15d | Graduate arranged air-con for penguin (8) |
| MACARONI — MA (graduate) + an anagram of (arranged) AIR–CON | |
| 16d | Message shortening tenancy brought over (8) |
| TELEGRAM — MARGE (shortening) and LET (tenancy) reversed (brought over) | |
| 18d | Roast beef out of this world (6) |
| CARPET — CARP (beef) + ET (out of this world) | |
| 19d | Shelter for longer beneath palm tree (6) |
| COCOON — ON (for longer) beneath COCO (palm tree) | |
| 21d | Drinker really after drop (5) |
| DIPSO — SO (really) after DIP (drop) | |
A case of great setting and blogging and mediocre solving today, as I had to use a few word searches to complete. WINEGLASSES, GEOFFREY BOYCOTT and PHOTOSHOP were my favourites. Should the definition of SYMPHONIC be “for orchestra”?
Thanks Petert. Yes it should – I’ll extend the underline now.
I’m afraid a few clues felt quite tired, and laboured, to me.
For example, 21(ac), DUE DATE. Cryptic? More like a rambling dubious explanation.
25(ac), NEODYMIUM, that boring trick of looking for the most abstract elements in the periodic table.
Still, 90% enjoyable.
Thanks to Kitty.
I really appreciated the mix of clues here. Just slightly disappointed that “hampered event” didn’t turn out to be a picnic.
Thanks to Filbert and Kitty
DuncT nice idea. Strange that a picnic can be both hampered and unhampered.
DuncT @4: you are not the only one to have thought along those lines …
Another entertaining Sunday morning challenge from the maestro. I thought I would never get started and then that I would never finish. Perfect. Liked WINEGLASS and PHOTOSHOP primarily for the definitions but there was so much to like. WITHOUT CEREMONY also. Thanks for the excellent blog Kitty and thanks Filbert for the magic.
Another fan of Filbert here. Had to reveal the first letter of COCOON so didn’t quite finish it unaided but enjoyed it very much.
Thanks Filbert for the Sunday treat. I missed PHOTOSHOP & NEODYMIUM but all else fell into place with my favourites being RONDO, ANODYNE, APHID, SYMPHONIC, MOTHER HEN, & CARPET. I didn’t know WI as ‘jam makers’ or MACARONI as ‘penguin’. Thanks Kitty for explaining.
Could somebody explain 18d to me please? I get ET but not carp = beef or carpet = roast. Thanks to Filbert and Kitty.
Balladeer @10: CARPET and roast can both mean to criticize, beef and carp can both mean to complain. (I think it’s a great clue using slang & misdirection.)
Thanks Tony! Carpet in that sense a NHO, beef in that sense a BHO. Today I have learned.
I only got to this last night. I don’t think there is a better setter than Filbert.