Tough in places…
…and had me looking in the wrong [?] direction for a theme at first, with a few birds appearing in THROSTLE/SCOTER/WHITECAP/ROOK.
WHITE[cap] and ROOK instead go with PIECE, OPPONENT, OPENING, ROOK, CHECK, MOVE, DEVELOP, PIN, DIAGONAL, DEFENCE, ATTACK, MATING, and RANK as words relating to Chess.
Favourites were 10ac, 14ac and 3dn. Thanks, Brummie
| Across | ||
| 8 | THROSTLE | Gag: “Time to be replaced by sun bird” (8) |
| =a song thrush THROtTLE=”Gag” with t[ime] replaced by s[un] |
||
| 9 | PIECE | Cook’s offering coated egg starters, man! (5) |
| “man”=a chess PIECE PIE=”Cook’s offering”; plus the starting letters of C[oated] E[gg] |
||
| 10 | FTSE | Under-the-table activity is said to be a financial indicator (4) |
| sounds like ‘footsie’=”Under-the-table activity” | ||
| 11 | GREEN STUFF | Party takes volcanic rock to be healthy food (5,5) |
| GREENS=”Party”; plus TUFF=an igneous “volcanic rock” | ||
| 12 | SCOTER | Round fired by low-powered transporter — duck! (6) |
| “duck” as in a bird SCOoTER=”low-powered transporter”, with a round O removed |
||
| 14 | OPPONENT | Pop off before a bid for the other side (8) |
| (Pop)*; plus ONE NT=”One No Trump”=”bid” in a game of Bridge | ||
| 16 | OPENING | Supposing one’s knocked out by Earth’s opportunity? (7) |
| OPINING=”Supposing” with I=”one” replaced by E[arth] | ||
| 18 | INROADS | What invaders hope to make (7) |
| cryptic def – ‘inroads’ are incursions into enemy territory, as well as “making inroads” in the more general sense of making progress | ||
| 21 | NASCENCE | Beginning one’s comeback, one abandons discipline (8) |
| reversal/”comeback” of AN=”one”; plus SCIENCE=”discipline” with I=”one” removed | ||
| 23 | MAENAD | Ms West, wild and frenzied woman (6) |
| MAE West the actress; plus (and)* | ||
| 24 | ATTACHMENT | Meant to chat about releasing ring accessory (10) |
| (Meant to chat)*, minus the O=”ring” | ||
| 26 | ROOK | Jumper cut at back end — rip off! (4) |
| =to cheat or fleece [kanga]ROO=”Jumper” with “cut” hinting at the abbreviation; plus [bac]K |
||
| 27 | CHECK | Control tongue, when speaking (5) |
| sounds like ‘Czech’=”tongue” as in language | ||
| 28 | CANON LAW | Prison supported by city with body of rules (5,3) |
| CAN=slang for “Prison”; plus ON=”supported by”; plus L[os] A[ngeles]=”city”; plus W[ith] | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | WHITECAP | Flyer‘s pace with winds (8) |
| =a bird with a light-coloured head (pace with)* – the anagrind is “winds” as in a winding path |
||
| 2 | MOVE | Little time to put on top half of underwear (shift) (4) |
| MO[ment]=”Little time”; plus the top half of VE[st]=”underwear” | ||
| 3 | STAGER | Old actor‘s theatrical entry point? (6) |
| =an archaic word for actor STAGE R[ight]=”theatrical entry point” |
||
| 4 | DEVELOP | Make negative positive? That’s progress (7) |
| double definition – the first referring to developing photographic negatives | ||
| 5 | UPON | Excited about getting over (4) |
| UP=”Excited”; plus ON=”about” | ||
| 6 | LEFT UNDONE | Direction on getting seduced is not finished (4,6) |
| LEFT=”Direction” on UNDONE=”seduced” | ||
| 7 | SEA FAN | Coral‘s a devotee of the drink (3,3) |
| FAN=”devotee”, of the SEA=”drink” | ||
| 13 | TONIC WATER | Want erotic stimulation? It could enhance the spirit (5,5) |
| =often mixed with gin=”spirit” (Want erotic)* |
||
| 15 | PIN | Secure parking at home (3) |
| P[arking]; plus IN=”at home” | ||
| 17 | NAN | That is taken from vacuous pet name (3) |
| i.e.=”That is”; taken from iNANe=”vacuous” | ||
| 19 | DIAGONAL | Slanting support raised along breaks (8) |
| AID=”support”, reversed/”raised”; plus (along)* | ||
| 20 | DEFENCE | Journalist bowled over by criminal plea (7) |
| ED[itor]=”Journalist” reversed/”bowled over”; plus FENCE=”criminal” trading in stolen goods | ||
| 22 | ATTACK | Belligerent act from America’s leader: time to change course (6) |
| A[merica] plus T[ime] plus TACK=”change course” | ||
| 23 | MATING | Married giant — disastrous wedding (6) |
| M[arried] plus (giant)* | ||
| 25 | HIKE | Increase steps taken (4) |
| double definition – e.g. a price HIKE vs a walking journey | ||
| 26 | RANK | Author’s not in, causing row (4) |
| IAN RANK[in] is the “Author” [wiki] | ||
I agree with the “tough in places” summation, manehi. I cheated some of the NW as I got stuck.
And oh bugger, I was so cross with myself for giving up and using the “check” button that I failed to look back and beyond the mini-theme of birds that I did spot. What a very clever succession of connected clues, providing a theme that is now so glaringly obvious. I was definitely “checkmated”.
Favourite, which I failed to get, was 10a FTSE!!!!
Thanks to Brummie and manehi.
What part of the world do whitecaps live in?
Like Julie, I found this difficult and had a favourite that I didn’t solve: DEVELOP in my case. As a non bridge player I couldn’t parse OPPONENT and originally had OPPOSING (“for the other side”) – which I couldn’t parse either. Not a good day.
Thanks Brummie and manehi
Well, I finished, but with quite a lot I didn’t understand. Naturally I didn’t see the chess theme. I’ve never heard of a WHITECAP either, though I did know the other birds.
Of the bits I did understand, there were several things I didn’t like. FTSE is (1,1,1,1) (I know that this isn’t Guardian policy). INROADS is barely cryptic. “Supported” in CANON LAW doesn’t seem right for an across clue. DEVELOP is just wrong; the developing process makes the negative, printing makes the positive. Is a DEFENCE a “plea”?
I did like SEA FAN, MAENAD and DIAGONAL.
Having read the blog more carefully, I withdraw my objection to CANON LAW!
My Chambers gives whitecap as a male redstart [wiki] – or other birds with similar head colouring
I’ve not been able to find a bird just called a “whitecap” in 4 pages of Goggle, using “whitecap bird” as the criteria (half the references were to “White Cap and Bails”, Dickie BIRD’s autobiography!); just two vague references to “any of a number of birds with white caps”.
We crossed, manehi. That’s my point – it’s called a “white-capped redstart”, not a “whitecap”. I found a white-capped parrot too.
Thanks manehi. I thought 18 was pretty weak as a CD – it’s as if Brummie pencilled in a definition and forgot to go back and finish off the clue.
muffin,
‘Whitecap’ is an entry in Chambers. Perfectly acceptable.
Thanks to manehi and Brummie. Re 4 down – developing is what is done to exposed photographic film after its removal from a camera to create negatives. Turning the negatives into positives is called printing.
I have to confess I got nowhere fast with this one – perhaps it’s the sea air here in Porto.
Still admire the ingenuity of it all, though. Thanks Brummie and manehi.
Thank you Brummie and manehi.
A very enjoyable puzzle, even though I have a few quibbles.
Having been chuffed with myself for getting THROSTLE, I bunged in WHEATEAR at 1d – I agree with muffin @3 & 6 as regards WHITECAP – Chambers (Contarian @9) means nothing to me, can anyone find a reference in the OED? Also agree with Epeolater @12 about DEVELOP.
Favourite clues were those for FTSE, SCOTER and MAENAD.
Perhaps the birds are relevant to the theme, there is the Bird’s Opening, and the birds do open the puzzle…
Thanks Brummie for a good entertaining puzzle; for once I spotted the theme!
Thanks manehi; DEVELOP was my LOI.
Cookie @12 – I’m not sure what is wrong with Chambers, but here is the entry for WHITECAP in the OED: Any of several birds having a white or pale patch on the head. In later use Eng. regional (west midl.). Now rare.
GREENSTUFF is one word in all the major dictionaries. I liked SCOTER and ATTACHMENT.
… and there can be a Double Duck Formation after a few moves with this opening.
Robi @14, thank you, but that is muffin’s argument @6 & 7.
Themed crosswords often have tortuous word play and weird surfaces. Arachne, Nutmeg, Puck etc. so much more elegant.
I’ll forgive WHITECAP if my bird theory @13 is correct.
Theme and son, I could call this. Very fine puzzle.INROADS was very Rufus.
Thanks manehi and Brummie.
Thanks Brummie and Manehi.
Like muffin@3 I was unhappy with DEFENCE as a solution to ‘plea’.
Surely the DEFENCE is the argument leading to the plea? SELF-DEFENCE is ok ‘He pleaded Self Defence’ – but has anybody ever pleaded DEFENCE?
‘plea’ is given as a synonym for DEFENCE, and vice versa, by google online.
I don’t normally think of Brummie as one of the Guardian’s toughest setters, but I found this a real struggle despite spotting the theme about halfway through. The birds in the top left didn’t help and there were a couple of others that required rather specialised knowledge, but it was NAN and NASCENCE that held me up for longest. A fair challenge in retrospect.
Thanks to Brummie and manehi
Thanks to Brummie and manehi. I too found this tough going with a high number of substitutions and eliminations. I eventually got
WHITECAP but at first did not see “winds” as the anagrind, did not know SEA FAN as coral or tuff as igneous rock, and did not fully parse NASCENCE. Still, I enjoyed the puzzle.
A perfectly fair but not particularly enjoyable puzzle for me. I came here to once again discover there was more to appreciate than I realised but I had only one smiley whilst doing it – and that was FTSE. Thanks Brummie and manehi.
23 Down appears to have a different clue in the online edition (which I print out daily):
“Married giant – disastrous wedding (6)”
The solution being MATING.
Unusual to find a different clue in different versions.
Gah – sorry, was looking at 23 across! Late Friday…
Since when does MATING = wedding?
Do wild animals marry now?
Didn’t get the theme you’ll be astonished to learn – and I found this tough going in places. Well,quite a lot of places actually!The Eastern side took the longest. I had POP FAN originally for 7 dn which seemed fine at the time- the Coral being a pop group! However there was some good stuff here-FTSE,MAENAD,CANON LAW,THROSTLE and ROOK. I had to look up WHITECAP-which I found quite easily- but it had to be right.
A bit of a curate’s egg but mostly Ok.
Thanks Brummie.
Ps Tuff=volcanic rock. Who knew?
Hi Peter @28
Did you find WHITECAP online? If you did, could you post the link please? – I gave up looking after 4 pages of results.
(Sorry, I knew TUFF as a volcanic rock. It’s a porous rock a bit like pumice, which you might know from bath or front-step scrubbing stones.)
Thanks Brummie, Manehi
A very enjoyable and tricky puzzle.
Here’s a whitecap link:
http://wikidiff.com/whitecap/bird
This is the silliest quibble (among hot competition) I think I’ve ever seen on here.
Is ‘bird’ only allowed to clue an identifiable species? What is a whitecap if not a bird (or a wave, according to US sources)?
James
I found that one – one of the silliest pages I’ve ever seen 🙂
“Whitecap” for wave is much more familiar. I think “whitecap” as a bird really ought to be an identifiable species – after all, a “blackcap” is (Sylvia atricapilla)
I’ve not explained that as well as I intended. What I meant was, “whitecap” to me means a wave. I would be quite happy for Brummie to use “bird” to define it if someone could show me a bird actually called a “whitecap”. He could have defined it as “roller” perhaps – both a wave and a bird?
Here’s a better page, and a picture, though I thought wikidiff was quite intelligible for something that must have been written by a computer.
http://www.encyclo.co.uk/meaning-of-Whitecap
https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=firefox-b&dcr=0&biw=1252&bih=611&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=male+redstart+images&oq=male+redstart+images&gs_l=psy-ab.3…18534.24749.0.25303.39.28.0.0.0.0.256.2263.15j3j4.22.0….0…1.1.64.psy-ab..23.9.1545…0j0i67k1j0i8i30k1j0i30k1.pBCEXFOO1aQ#imgrc=_
Incidentally, try googling ‘redstart whitecap’ now and you pop up 5th on the list.
Thanks for your efforts, james. However the redstart isn’t called a “whitecap” (as I said earlier) – the only white capped example is the “white-capped redstart”.
Yet again Muffin you are insisting on prolonging a ridiculous argument.
I’ll repeat the already quoted OED entry
whitecap
…
2. Any of several birds having a white or pale patch on the head. In later use Eng. regional (west midl.). Now rare.
This is repeated almost verbatim in the SOED.
Just for your information here is the SOED entry for “flyer”
flyer noun. Also flier. lME.
1 Something which flies; a creature or thing that flies or is carried through the air. lME.
The definition is “flyer” NOT “A specific species of bird”
I think any of the unspecified birds known as “whitecap” will qualify as “Something which flies”. Of course you’ll probably not agree.
This was a tough but fair puzzle. Of course I didn’t spot the chess theme but as the puzzle was fairly clued I didn’t need to in order to complete it.
Actually, I see your point, BNTO. As a birdwatcher, though, I was curious what a “whitecap” was.
Struggled to get over 3/4 of this – but enjoyed the challenge.
Thanks to Brummie & manehi.
I knew TUFF too (Geology 101 is required for civil engineers) so that’s a bit of a consolation for never having heard of a THROSTLE or being totally unable to parse OPENING.
I’d never heard of a WHITECAP either but it sounded like a bird name so I left it at that.
I’ve never heard of FTSE either and so also had no idea that it wasn’t pronounced as an initialization. Once you know though, it’s a great clue.
Overall I thought it was a good degree of difficulty for a Friday puzzle, meaning that it was a tad too difficult for me.
Another bird joins the puzzle @37, I see!
28A
LA for city is getting rather tired and if it weren’t so often used would need more definition. Besides, as Paul, who lives not far along the coast from LA, could no doubt confirm, it stands for Little’ampton and it isn’t a city.
I found this quite tough and was relieved to finish within the half-hour I allow myself as a maximum for a 15×15 cryptic. Interesting and enjoyable – with the possible exception of 18ac (INROADS) which I’m not entirely convinced by.
to muffin@39
A caprimulgus is one kind of nightjar (I now know from having looked it up, I’d never heard of it) — as is the whippoorwill or recent discussion.
Valentine @42
The scientific name “caprimulgus” derives from the nightjar’s alternative common name, “goatsucker”.
BNTO @35, I now realise that Brummie’s clue for WHITECAP is brilliant, a whitecap can be one of several species, and WHITE (clue number 1) moves first in chess and can be one of several pieces.
Sorry I didn’t respond COOKIE, I’ve only just seen the query. However, others seem to have given you the details you wanted.
Sorry,again.
Question RE: 8A (probably too late to hope to have this answered): if ‘gag’ is at the start of the clue and ‘bird’ is at the end of the clue, and the crossings are the same either way, how do you know the answer is THROSTLE and not THROTTLE?
Hi vynbos – I think we’re meant to read the middle section and assume that if X is to be replaced by Y, then X was in the fodder and Y is to be in the solution.