It has become almost the norm for the Tuesday Indy to have a theme and today is no exception …
… we have a 22dn 9dn. As well as the obvious 5ac, 16ac and 21dn there are 10ac 12ac, 17ac mushroom, 6dn mushroom and 20dn mushroom in the grid. Whether they are all 1ac is another matter, but certainly some types of the theme are 26ac.
An entertaining solve with some amusing clues so thanks Radian.
Across
1 Old racing ground developed naturally (7)
ORGANIC – O (old) plus an anagram (ground) of RACING
5 Ceps cut over in Italy (7)
PORCINI – CROP (cut) reversed (over) IN I (Italy)
10 Fox snaffles one layer of eggs (4)
TOAD – TOD (fox) around (snaffles) A (one)
11 Warn of heads getting chopped in Foreign Office dispute (10)
FORESHADOW – an anagram (getting chopped) of HEADS in FO (Foreign Office) ROW (dispute)
12 GPs request samples of these small implements (6)
STOOLS – S (small) TOOLS (implements)
13 Stop motion tales work (3,5)
LIE STILL – LIES (tales) TILL (work)
14 More than one wader in swell loses strength (6,3)
TRAILS OFF – RAILS (more than one wader) in TOFF (swell)
16 Agent in rising still keeps arsenic (5)
YEAST – YET (still) around (keeps) AS (arsenic)
17 Mike harbours occasionally large illusions (5)
MAGIC – MIC (mike) around (harbours) [l]A[r]G[e] (occasionally large)
19 Make boxes in mine rattle (9)
CREPITATE – CREATE (make) around (boxes in) PIT (mine)
23 Boost or raise hopes, initially in confidence (8)
UPTHRUST – UP (raise) plus H[opes] (hopes, initially) in TRUST (confidence)
24 Reddish unexplained craft seen in western part of Russia (6)
RUFOUS – UFO (unexplained craft) in (seen in) RUS[sia] (western part of Russia)
26 Catching a coin got us in trouble (10)
CONTAGIOUS – an anagram (in trouble) of A COIN GOT US
27 Common condition among soldiers (4)
RIFE – IF (condition) in (among) RE (soldiers)
28 Platform with struts (7)
CATWALK – cryptic def.
29 Drama writer restricted space for tots (7)
PLAYPEN – PLAY (drama) PEN (writer)
Down
2 Gutted co-op boss? He bounces back nearly (7)
ROOSTER – ROO (he bounces) STER[n] (back nearly) with a cryptic def., ‘gutted co-op’ = coop
3 Sound detective intercepts gold ring (5)
AUDIO – DI (detective) in (intercepts) AU (gold) O (ring)
4 Does overrun popular woods or elsewhere (7)
INFESTS – IN (popular) F[or]ESTS (woods or elsewhere)
6 Funny story about English aphrodisiac? (6)
OYSTER – an anagram (funny) of STORY around (about) E (English)
7 Most devious guerrillas mount one during trial (9)
CRAFTIEST – FARC (guerrillas) reversed (mount) plus I (one) in (during) TEST (trial)
8 Fools about, abandoning pets (7)
NOODLES – [ca]NOODLES (about, abandoning pets)
9 Big number in favour of helping to save energy (13)
PROLIFERATION – PRO (in favour of) RATION (helping) around (to save) LIFE (energy)
15 Woman with chisel nicks stone dish (5,4)
IRISH STEW – IRIS (woman) plus HEW (chisel) around (nicks) ST (stone)
18 Sample of camphorated oil used to be carried in this (7)
AMPHORA – hidden in (sample of) ‘cAMPHORAted’
20 Soldier who drops very large item on beach (7)
PARASOL – PARA (soldier who drops) SO (very) L (large)
21 Starter of tasty nettle delicacy (7)
TRUFFLE – T[asty] (starter of tasty) RUFFLE (nettle)
22 Like Candida entertaining girl (6)
FUNGAL – FUN (entertaining) GAL (girl)
25 Sally‘s over breaking engagement (5)
FORAY – O (over) in (breaking) FRAY (engagement)
Very fine ]ndeed.
Thanks for the blog, Gaufrid.
A lovely puzzle, producing several smiles along the way.
I loved the definition for 1dn, which inevitably called to mind the Two Ronnies sketch, to which I provide a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hKnJFX0q74 whenever I can. 😉
Many thanks, as ever, to Radian for brightening up another miserably wet morning.
Thank you Radian and Gaufrid.
That was fun. There is also the RUFOUS milk-cap, and one of the main signs of allergy in mushroom pickers, whether professionals or those who go on FORAYs, is CREPITATions heard in the lungs caused by INFESTation with fungal spores etc.
Good to have such an original theme and entertaining puzzle. Of the theme related clues I thought FUNGAL was v. clever – almost a cryptic def. The ‘Gutted co-op boss’ and the ‘Soldier who drops’ also brought a smile.
A big thanks to Radian and to Gaufrid.
By coincidence, FUNGAL appeared a couple of weeks ago in a FT Rosa Klebb [Arachne] puzzle: Jolly lass like Candida? 96).
Oops – sorry! ‘Jolly lass like Candida (6)’.