Penelope fills the Tuesday Indy slot this week.
Penelope is a new setter in the Indy, and this is an impressive debut on ‘theme day’. Not too difficult, with some lovely surfaces, innovative anagrinds, and a theme that is referred to directly in 7ac. We are not fans of 7ac music, being much more into 24ac. 2d/7d (aka 15ac) was well known for both music genres and we enjoyed the biopic ‘Walk the Line’ which featured his famous performance at Folsom State 18d. He gave free concerts in several 18ds around the world. He died in 23ac. He did suffer from drug addiction, so we wondered whether we should highlight 17d as well, but decided against it.
Welcome to the Indy, Penelope – here’s to the next one!
DOWN (swallow) with LIE (concoction) in front (‘beforehand’)
An anagram (‘excited’) of OUTCRY round N (new)
First letters of She Would Only Remarry Nervously
IN (fashionable) SPIRES (points) round (‘retaining’) R (rule)
EARL (Lord) ON (working) round (‘across’) Y (year)
A reversal (‘spinning’) of I’M (Penelope is) + RAGE (mania)
An anagram (‘enigmatic’) of LAMBETH NICK AN
TOAST (warm) S (southern)
A homophone (‘sounds like’) of COR (‘blimey’) SIR (‘guvnor’)
An anagram (‘drunken’) of L (learner – ‘student’) and ELVIS NAH
Double definition
DON (mafia boss) ATE (‘put away’) D (diamonds)
An anagram (‘criminal’) of ALIEN TO
Hidden (‘discovered’) in ventuRE NOrth
JOHN (toilet – ‘can’) NY (New York)
ANT (worker) after (‘supporting’) an anagram (‘out’) of DINING
JUne, DIce, CIgs, ALes each missing the last two letters (‘not half’)
UTTER (complete) dANCES (‘cancans, say’) missing the first letter or ‘topless’
A homophone (‘for radio’) of LESSON (sermon)
CA (California – ‘American state’) + SH (hush)
An anagram (‘medley’) of SEEN MY
REHEAR (‘again listen to’) SING (squeal)
ED (editor) after (‘bolstering’) KNACK (talent) ER (hesitation)
An anagram (‘accidentally’) of VOMIT EAT
An anagram (‘wobbly’) of NOTES + D (first letter or ‘beginning’ of duet)
An anagram (‘fighting’) of RIP + SON (junior)
BEAT (pound) after (‘following’) U P (first letters – ‘to begin with’ – of Uruguayan peso)
C (circa) L (50) AD
UN (French for ‘one’) IT (sex appeal)
Thanks Penelope (congratulations on the debut) and BnJ
I think you can add 1D to the thematics: Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues includes the lines “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”.
I also included 17D, as mentioned in the preamble.
Quite an easy one, even though I didn’t know much about the theme; I guess the equivalent of a “quiptic” in the Guardian. But that was pleasant. Thanks Penelope and B&J!
Congratulations on the debut Penelope and double thanks for this is the first one I completed without help for some time, thanks to the theme (I’m a fan) and the nice fairly straightforward clueing. Got held up by looking for a FOLSOM to go with the prison, and the misdirection in 10A where I took the ‘points’ to be the two Ss and couldn’t parse it until the penny dropped. Thanks B&J for the helpful blog.
Congratulations on the debut Penelope and double thanks for this is the first one I completed without help for some time, thanks to the theme (I’m a fan) and the nice fairly straightforward clueing. Got held up by looking for a FOLSOM to go with the prison, and the nice misdirection in 10A where I took the ‘points’ to be the two Ss and couldn’t parse it until the penny dropped. Thanks B&J for the helpful blog.
Nicely done, Penelope. I wondered if the clue for JUDICIAL was also thematic, given his relationship with June Carter and his lifestyle.
Thanks Penelope for the fun. Very nice debut with my favourites being DONATED, ELATION, JOHNNY, CASH, STONED, and CLAD. My only stumble was the nho COURSER. Like Petert @5, I think JUDICIAL is definitely related to the theme. Thanks B&J for the blog.
A very solver- friendly puzzle, which is not a criticism in any way.
The surfaces are nicely constructed, and the wordplays and devices work perfectly.
The theme jumped out a bit, which made some solutions jump out, too.
A pink Rolls Royce of a debut. Maybe more of the Stingray for the next one? ( Which I look forward to).
Lovely stuff, Lady P & BJ
Sorry I’m late here. If we’re going with notable Cash lyrics, you also have, from Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down:
On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
Wishing, Lord, that I was STONED…
(The song wss written by Kris Kristofferson, but popularized by Cash, who said that he identified with every word in the lyrics.)