A nice puzzle – I particularly liked 10ac, 13ac, 7dn, and 8dn. Thanks to Pasquale
I think I have heard of 11ac/21ac BLUE JOHN before, but did have to look it up to fully understand the clue.
| ACROSS | ||
| 5 | GALOOT |
Crude guy also accompanying prisoner on return (6)
|
| definition: a clumsy or inept person
TOO=”also” plus LAG=slang for “prisoner”; all reversed/”on return” |
||
| 6 | MUTANT |
Greek character with blemish, not one monstrous type? (6)
|
| MU=Greek letter/character; plus TA-[I]-NT=”blemish” minus I=”one” | ||
| 9 | SNITCH |
Steal money going round in school (6)
|
| 10 | TOULOUSE |
‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ perhaps heard in French city (8)
|
| sounds like (“heard”): ‘two loos’ (two toilets, one for Ladies and one for Gentlemen, perhaps) | ||
| 11, 21 | BLUE JOHN |
Sad saint may be found in Derbyshire cave (4,4)
|
| definition: a rare mineral that can be found in the Blue John Cavern in Derbyshire [wiki]
BLUE=”Sad” + [saint] JOHN |
||
| 12 | DELECTABLE |
Delicious cold food served after sign to remove something (10)
|
| C [cold] + TABLE=”food”; after DELE=a proofreader’s instruction to delete/remove something | ||
| 13 | SYMPATHETIC |
I tap my chest, animatedly commiserating (11)
|
| anagram/”animatedly’ of (I tap my chest)* | ||
| 18 | VINTAGE CAR |
Minister transporting a gent around in old vehicle (7,3)
|
| VICAR=”Minister” around anagram/”around” of (a gent)* | ||
| 21 | BLUE JOHN |
See 11
|
| 22 | MARCUS AURELIUS |
See 23
|
| 23, 22 | MARCUS AURELIUS |
What disturbs us – a mercurial US ‘emperor’ (6,8)
|
| definition: a Roman emperor
anagram/”disturbs” of (us a mercurial US)* |
||
| 24 | DEFUSE |
Brill employment brings ease (6)
|
| definition: to defuse as in to reduce the tension in a situation
DEF=slang for ‘excellent’=”Brill”; plus USE=”employment” |
||
| 25 | GANESH |
He sang about an Indian god (6)
|
| anagram/”about” of (He sang)* | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FLUTTERY |
Like something flapping – say, insect going round (8)
|
| UTTER=”say”, with FLY=”insect” going round | ||
| 2 | NOSHED |
Disciple upset before he had had some loaves and fishes? (6)
|
| for definition, to nosh = to eat
SON=”Disciple”, reversed/”upset”; plus HED=he’d=”he had” |
||
| 3 | FURUNCLE |
Sore member of the family hiding under something warm (8)
|
| definition: a type of boil or sore on one’s skin
UNCLE=”member of the family” after/under FUR=”something warm” |
||
| 4 | TACOMA |
Jazz fan turned up with old mum in American city (6)
|
| CAT=”Jazz fan” reversed (turned up); plus O (old) + MA=”mum” | ||
| 5 | GENTLE |
Intelligent leader – kind inside (6)
|
| hidden inside [Intelli]-GENT LE-[ader] | ||
| 7 | TUSSLE |
Union less troubled or fighting? (6)
|
| TU (Trade Union) + anagram/”troubled” of (less)* | ||
| 8 | ATHLETICISM |
Requirement to do well in heat? This climate is awful (11)
|
| definition refers to a ‘heat’ or preliminary round in an athletics competition
anagram/”awful” of (This climate)* |
||
| 14 | PIGGIEST |
I spit egg out, being most disgusting at the meal? (8)
|
| anagram/”out” of (I spit egg)* | ||
| 15 | INJURIES |
Damages home fitting panels below (8)
|
| definition has “Damages” as a noun
IN=[at] “home” + JURIES=”panels” |
||
| 16 | PIQUED |
Got to the top – said to be so offended (6)
|
| sounds like (said to be): ‘peaked’=”Got to the top” | ||
| 17 | CHOUGH |
Top of country house that’s horrible for bird (6)
|
| definition: a type of bird in the crow family
top letter of C-[ountry] + HO (house) + UGH=exclamation of disgust=”that’s horrible” |
||
| 19 | TEEOFF |
Be a swinger at the club, stripped to the waist? (3,3)
|
| definition: to tee off is to make a swing while at the golf club
to have one’s TEE or T-shirt taken OFF = “stripped to the waist” |
||
| 20 | RAMEAU |
Musician and artist married overlooking water abroad (6)
|
| definition: a French composer
RA (Royal Academician, “artist”) + M (married) + EAU=”water” in French i.e. “abroad” |
Agree with manehi – a nice puzzle. FURUNCLE was new to me, but other than that all familiar, GANESH from my granddaughter’s cuddly toy, Used to live just over the Pennines from the BLUE JOHN mines, so almost a write-in. Liked 23,22 for obvious reasons and the definition of 8d as well. Thanks to Pasquale and manehi
I enjoyed making fluttery progress through this one. It felt very anagram-heavy at the start but it turned out to be mere coincidence that I exhausted the whole supply early on; I work by grid design and enumeration rather than going in clue order.
Being a Pasquale, there were a few where I had to cross fingers and hope: GALOOT, BLUE JOHN, TACOMA and RAMEAU. Alas I couldn’t come up with the FUR for FURUNCLE.
I loved the incongruence of the playful word NOSHED in the biblical context of the surface, and enjoyed ATHLETICISM and TEE OFF because I was on to them early (though wouldn’t it be a swinger of the club at the ball?). I was also pleased to remember DEF[USE] from an earlier puzzle.
A special mention for PIQUED for the misleading positioning of the soundalike indicator; and similarly for GENTLE for a less typical example that refutes the misconception that the definition must necessarily be found at the beginning or end of the clue.
Thanks both
Hi Manehi. You haven’t actually parsed SNITCH – you’ve just written the clue.
Gave up, could not finish – I failed to solved 9ac, 24ac as well as 1, 2, 19 down.
New for me: FURUNCLE; the Blue John Cavern in Derbyshire; Rameau, Jean-Philippe (for 20d); GALOOT; DELE = delete (12ac)
Favourites: ATHLETICISM, VINTAGE CAR.
9ac I would parse as reverse of TIN =money in SCH=school. Def = steal.
Great fun but as usual with Pasquale I had to have my fingers crossed for GALOOT, FURUNCLE and SNITCH (in that context). Not hear of BLUE JOHN either but very fairly clued once the J was checked.
Not helped by putting in MARCUS TIBERIUS (whoever he may be) from the checking letters. Had to actually do the anagram to correct it and get to the last one in PIQUED.
Liked TEE OFF and VINTAGE CAR
THANKS Pasquale and Manehi
Enjoyable (and hopefully uncontroversial) cryptic. I didn’t know GALOOT or FURUNCLE – both great words – and revealed a couple of answers. I was annoyed with myself for failing to get PIQUED as it’s a perfectly good clue and I like soundalikes.
Thanks Pasquale and manehi.
BLUE JOHN (a minuscule point)
Took ‘saint, maybe’ as JOHN and ‘found in…cave’ as the def.
Agree with Amma @6. Had to go with a clue solver to get FURUNCLE . Also didn’t know def is brill. Showing my age I suspect.
Apart from the words I didn’t know, it went in easily. I took too long to see GENTLE.
Some good giggles along the way, but too many unknowns.
I remembered GALOOT from corny cowboy stories, but nho a FURUNCLE (guessed the relative from analogy with CARBUNCLE, but ended up using a wordfinder for the FUR bit), and I’m not sufficiently down with the kids for def=brill. Son=disciple was unfamiliar, and I was surprised to find that PIGGIEST is an actual word.
But an appreciative OUCH for TOULOUSE, and I liked the topical surface of MARCUS AURELIUS. Thanks Pasquale and manehi.
Typically well-constructed puzzle from the Don, with trademark sprinkling of rarities and a biblical reference.
Luckily, there was nothing here that was completely unfamiliar, though I had a long search in the mental attic for FURUNCLE and GALOOT (LOI – I’ve only come across it in Arthur Ransome novels, which I haven’t read for many decades). BLUE JOHN was a write-in if you’ve been to that part of the Peak District, but probably mystifying otherwise. The mineral, fluorite aka fluorspar, is not itself especially rare – what is unusual is the bluish-purple veining.
Favourites: NOSHED, ATHLETICISM, MARCUS AURELIUS (we can’t get away from references to the orange one).
Thanks to Pasquale and manehi
Snitch is very parsable (9a) but doesn’t really mean steal. I had this as snatch?
Worth it just for GALOOT, a word frequently used by my dad. Reasonably straightforward although the grid looked scary at first. I also liked TOULOUSE, SYMPATHETIC, MARCUS AURELIUS, VINTAGE CAR, GENTLE and PIQUED. I agree with Nigel @12, that SNATCH seems better than SNITCH, which surely means to inform on someone. I doubt that this puzzle will cause the handbags of yesterday.
Ta Pasquale & manehi.
The other thing I liked about MARCUS AURELIUS was the contrast between the surface and the famously Stoic emperor. I couldn’t decide between PIQUED and peaked.
… although I see that it can also mean to steal. TILT along with FURUNCLE and CHOUGH. I presume the 4 letters at the bottom are accidental.
Here in France it’s spelt FURONCLE so thanks to the crosser with TOULOUSE that one took me ages, even though it’s something I’ve experienced. BLUE JOHN cavern too, but that’s a happy memory…
AlanC @13 GALOOT was a frequent feature of my father’s vocabulary too, and never having heard it south of Hadrian’s Wall, I have always thought of it as Scottish, It is not surprising, therefore, that it has currency also in the lexis of Protestant Northern Ireland.
Nice highlighting from AP#2 of Pasquale’s little touches of misdirecting brilliance. Never heard of GALOOT but I’m going to use it from now on, I know enough candidates.. Thank you P&m
A tough puzzle with some satisfying solves, but a decidedly preferable bottom half.