The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hi everybody. I get to blog quite a few of Filbert’s puzzles and the downside of this is that it can be hard to think of anything new to say about them. What I can say is that there is no other downside!
The only hiccups I encountered today were in the answers (9a, 14a and 20d). I liked the topical 17a, CANTANKEROUS – and could extend a theme from here into some of the answers, but won’t go there. Instead I’ll just spotlight the cleverness of the &lit at 17a. 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 | Critical about weak golf on the back of lessons (8) |
| SCATHING — CA (circa, about), THIN (weak) and G (golf) next to (on) the last letter of (back of) lessonS | |
| 6a | Right leaving rogue aristocrat disinherited (3,3) |
| CUT OFF — R (right) leaving CU[r] (rogue) + TOFF (aristocrat) | |
| 9a | Term for singultus? Have a go at hiccup (4) |
| SNAG — The last letter of (term for) singultuS + NAG (have a go at) | |
| 10a | Tube connected back on Franco’s heart before death (4,6) |
| ANTE MORTEM — METRO (tube) and MET (connected) reversed (back) on frANco’s middle letters (heart) | |
| 11a | Volts inside transformed the inner zoo’s inescapable boundary (5,7) |
| EVENT HORIZON — V (volts) inside an anagram of (transformed) THE INNER ZOO | |
| 14a | Breakdown company tails Italian cars, ignoring Tesla (6) |
| FIASCO — CO (company) follows (tails) FIA[t]S (Italian cars), ignoring T (tesla) | |
| 16a | Highly regarded old partner rang (8) |
| EXTOLLED — EX (old partner) + TOLLED (rang) | |
| 17a | A certain (Liberal perhaps) North American to the west (8) |
| ANGELENO — ONE (a certain), L (Liberal), EG (perhaps), N (North) and A (American) going right to left (to the west). Someone from the city we are about to encounter in 24a | |
| 19a | 15 give evidence (6) |
| DEPOSE — A double definition, 15 being the answer to 15d: OVERTHROW | |
| 21a | Is oiler able to go finally, with America picking quarrels? (12) |
| CANTANKEROUS — CAN TANKER (is oiler able to) + the last letter of (… finally) gO + US (America) | |
| 24a | Last month city turned greener, to announce start of campaign (7,3) |
| DECLARE WAR — DEC (last month) + LA (city) + reversed (turned) RAWER (greener) | |
| 26a | National emblem that’s terrifying on lieutenant’s face (4) |
| LEEK — EEK (that’s terrifying) by Lieutenant’s first letter (face) | |
| 27a | Old lady spat on Republican, giving tissue (6) |
| MARROW — MA (old lady) + ROW (spat) on R (Republican) | |
| 28a | Yeti wanders around some blasted mountain wilderness (8) |
| YOSEMITE — YETI is anagrammed (wanders) around an anagram of (… blasted) SOME | |
| Down | |
| 2d | Easy to reach sister’s house where pigeon regularly nests (10) |
| CONVENIENT — CONVENT (sister’s house) in which sits (where … nests) alternate letters of (… regularly) pIgEoN | |
| 3d | Cub leader’s ramble starting late with tons to carry (7) |
| TIGRESS — Starting from its second letter (… starting late) dIGRESS (ramble) with T (tons) going on top (to carry) | |
| 4d | Turning up halfway through test panicky is not ideal (5) |
| INAPT — The answer is found in the middle of (turning up halfway through) tesT PANIcky | |
| 5d & 12/25 | Now newest yoga moves prevail (3,4,3,3) |
| GET ONE’S OWN WAY — NOW NEWEST YOGA is anagrammed (moves) | |
| 6d | Staunch Titoist cleared out communist dictator’s original closets (9) |
| COMMITTED — TitoisT on removal of inner letters (cleared out), which COMMIE (communist) plus Dictator’s initial letter (original) surrounds (closets) | |
| 7d | Stir cooking fat after hearing how long it lasts (7) |
| TURMOIL — OIL (cooking fat) after TURM, which sounds like (hearing) TERM (how long it lasts) | |
| 8d | Charge pound for love, perhaps (4) |
| FEEL — FEE (charge) + L (pound) | |
| 12d | See 5d |
| 13d | Article taken from old Iranian’s shelter hard to get rid of (10) |
| PERSISTENT — AN (article) taken from PERSI[an]’S (old Iranian’s) + TENT (shelter) | |
| 15d | Obvious method to bag runs – fielding error (9) |
| OVERTHROW — OVERT (obvious) + HOW (method) containing (to bag) R (runs) | |
| 18d | Dealing with story about case of ageism upset correspondent (7) |
| EMAILER — RE (dealing with) and LIE (story) around (about) outer letters of (case of) AgeisM all reversed (upset) | |
| 20d | Left aboard spaceship, Mike’s worry reported to Houston? (7) |
| PROBLEM — L (left) in (aboard) PROBE (spaceship) + M (mike) | |
| 22d | French bread you proved, one hears (5) |
| EUROS — Sounds like (… one hears) YOU ROSE (proved, as in dough) | |
| 23d | Giant gnome gardener keeps inside (4) |
| MEGA — We end with a hidden answer, which gnoME GArdener keeps inside | |
| 25d | See 5d |
Well, as you say Kitty, there is nothing new to say other than “yet another gem from Filbert”.
It’s just great to finish a puzzle with a smile on your face!
Thanks all.
I had to come here for 17a, I was thinking that the definition must be “A” (a chemical? a term in physics? an abbreviation?) and that it would all be backwards, so I had AN.E.ENO and was trying to think of a word meaning “Liberal perhaps” that was “E.E.” (“certainty” being “ON”), but the &Lit didn’t occur to me. Some nice clues though, good start to the day!