After a well-received debut last month, Jeemz is back again with the opening puzzle of the week in the Independent. I enjoyed this one: the clues are carefully crafted and varied with some nice twists here and there.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Stream where jumping in is frowned upon
QUEUE
A cd. In Britain, at least. It’s de rigueur in Italy, allegedly.
4 Turntable parts used as visual aid?
FLIP CHART
A charade of FLIP for ‘turn’ and CHART for ‘table’. ‘Parts used as’ is the instruction to do the lift-and-separate manoeuvre.
9 One price, no frills, to enter new gallery complex
INTRICATE
A charade of I and [P]RIC[E] inserted into N TATE. The insertion indicator is ‘to enter’.
10 Favoured by a boring Liberal Welsh relative
IN-LAW
A charade of IN and A inserted into L and W. The insertion indicator is ‘boring’.
11 Huge amount of evil pervading religious community
ZILLION
An insertion of ILL in ZION. The insertion indicator is ‘pervading’.
12 Dissident former pupil ousted by European sort of bouncer?
EJECTOR
Jeemz is inviting you to replace the OB in OBJECTOR with E.
13 Out of the trap comes 26’s rider?
CLAUSE
26’s points you to TALONS. CLAUSE is a soundalike (‘out of the trap’) for CLAWS.
15 Paint finish for instance embeds good protective covering
EGGSHELL
A charade of G inserted into EG and SHELL. The insertion indicator is ’embeds’.
18 Get ahead of crazy golfer, nailing a putt at first
LEAPFROG
An insertion of A and P in (GOLFER)* The anagrind is ‘crazy’ and the insertion indicator is ‘nailing’.
20 Church officer’s given to unrestrained rich language
CELTIC
A charade of CE, LT for lieutenant or ‘officer’ and [R]IC[H]. A group of languages, strictly.
23 Upbraid a retrogressive tramp
REPROVE
A charade of PER reversed and ROVE. ‘The pears are £1.50 a/per kilo.’
24 Lots of candied cake decoration – lovely
ANGELIC
ANGELIC[A]
26 This could grip you, a short story about …
TALON
A charade of TAL[E] and ON.
27 … disorganised Paul Haley presenting Norse fire festival
UP HELLY AA
(PAUL HALEY)* with ‘disorganised’ as the anagrind. The Shetland tradition where a longboat is burned on the last Tuesday of January each year. Along with processions and no doubt the occasional wee dram.
28 Exiled uncouth first son comes to the fore
STATELESS
We need to move the first S of TASTELESS to the front.
29 Red Cross taken aback by hospital food
SCRAN
An insertion of RC reversed in SAN, short for sanitorium. The insertion indicator is ‘taken’.
Down
1 Fifty under interrogation over vice uncovered in South Africa – curious!
QUIZZICAL
An insertion of [V]IC[E] in ZA for ‘South Africa’, under QUIZ but over L for ‘fifty’. The instructions work because it’s a down clue.
2 Acclaim expressed from Sussex to Lancashire
EXTOL
Hidden in SusEX TO Lancashire.
3 Schools with education provided by twice unfrocked priests
EDIFIES
A charade of ED, IF and [P][R]IES[T][S]. ‘Twice unfrocked’ tells you to remove the end letters twice.
4 Loudly release time for church parade
FLAUNT
A charade of F for the musical ‘loudly’ and LAUNCH with the CH replaced by T.
5 Mainly undisclosed risks that could impact those cruising
ICEBERGS
A cd.
6 Screws, ones used by carpenters?
CHISELS
A dd. CHISEL for ‘screw’ or ‘swindle’ is AmEng, so will incur the displeasure of some (including me, as it goes).
7 Wholly effusive about fellows helping
ALLOTMENT
A charade of ALL and MEN inserted into OTT. The insertion indicator is ‘about’.
8 Control centre to work originally over start and end of Easter
TOWER
A charade of TO, W for the first letter of ‘work’ and ER for the outside letters of ‘Easter’.
14 An international such as Fitzgerald embraces power performance style
A CAPPELLA
A charade of A and P inserted into CAP and ELLA. The insertion indicator is ’embraces’.
16 Security device in digital ledger rejecting introduction of Bitcoins
LOCK-CHAIN
[B]LOCKCHAIN
17 10’s political self-determination
HOME RULE
A charade of HOME (IN in 10ac) and RULE (LAW in 10ac).
19 Gathered strip‘s an emphatic flop
FLOUNCE
A dd.
21 Loop back going through tortuous fens and swamps
ENGULFS
An insertion of LUG reversed in (FENS)* The anagrind is ‘tortuous’ and the insertion indicator is ‘going through’. A LUG in this context is a leather loop on a harness saddle.
22 Clean old style shaggy dog stories have this
BATHOS
A charade of BATH, O and S.
23 Nonsense tariffs fostering rising prices
RATES
Hidden reversed in NonsenSE TARiffs.
25 Song going round about brickie?
LAYER
A charade of LAY and RE for ‘about’ reversed.
Many thanks to Jeemz for this Monday’s puzzle.
It’s a pangram.
9a parse is missing the N (new).
Beaten by two. nho CHISEL = screw so, although the word fitted, I could see no reason to justify it. And BATHOS: nho the abbreviation OS as Old Style and did not recognise the definition at all. I find bathos a tricky concept to get my head around at the best of times and have no idea why it would be associated with a shaggy dog story. So, a bit of a learning day today. As Hovis observes, it’s a pangram which I did spot but which did not help me.
INTRICATE, LEAPFROG and ALLOTMENT my podium.
Thanks both
A tougher test than the setter’s debut, I think, but the standard is upheld.
I got the impression that some devices were a bit “samey”, and the reversal devices weren’t the best.
In 24(a), “Lots of”, when the synonym only loses its last letter, is a bit miscued, for me, and not a great clue, either. (ANGELIC)
I’m nit-picking, again – it’s a puzzle with lots of intricate setting and nicely elusive definitions.
Thumbs up, Jeemz & Pierre
Great set of clues. 4d very neat. I now remember “You chiseler!” in a cousin’s comic book [no comics chez the ginfling — kulturzealot oldies]. Alas, it didn’t surface, so a dnf. As for guessing the Norse thing ending in aa — too hard! And how is flouncing floppy? Look forward to the 3rd encounter, ta both.
PM @2. Good question re bathos. First, think bathysphere, going deep then surfacing. Then think metaphorically, going from deep to humorously trivial. Well, that is what the punchline of a shaggy dog story does.
I’ve always been a fan of this setter’s puzzles so was delighted to see a follow up to his impressive debut. I found it at the harder end of his spectrum with lots of craft and misdirection making for a tough but very enjoyable solve for which I needed a touch of e-help
Top three for me exactly mirror Post Mark’s #2
Thanks Jeemz and Pierre, top puzzle and blog
managed to solve it other than needing help with what “International ” in the clue / CAP in ACAPPELLA mean?
Sly#7 international sportspeople get a cap when they play eg football for their country
PM@2
BATHOS. I agree, “old style” is iffy, for “OS”.
I usually think of the old saying. Such as, “the film went swiftly from PATHOS to BATHOS”, or “being serious to trivial”.
“From the sublime to the ridiculous”, covers it I think.
Thanks both. Was never likely to complete this unaided, for instance REPROVE was approachable enough if only I knew what ‘upbraid’ meant, and thank God , a Norse one or otherwise, that I started with some research to find UP HELLY AA. The now explained CHISELS didn’t hit home at all; for quite a while I had it in as joiners loosely representing a double definition.
OS for Old Style is common in dates: countries such as Russia that were late to adopt the Gregorian calendar often created dating discrepancies once the switch was finally made. So for dates a few decades either side of the switch, you get [Gregorian date] ([Julian date] O.S.).
Wikipedia on Old Style. I find that I can’t add a link via the edit button, so you get a double post.
Tough; had to guess (and then look up) quite a few, which were unknown to me. Favourites STATELESS, ICEBERG, ZILLION, REPROVE. Thanks Jeemz for a challenging and entertaining puzzle, and Pierre for the blog and especially for explaining HOME RULE, which I couldn’t parse.