Anglio is occupying this week’s Thursday slot, offering me a first opportunity to blog one of his puzzles.
I found this to be a fairly challenging puzzle to solve and quite an intricate one to blog. The puzzle uses a grid quite familiar to Guardian and Times solvers, but not one that I have seen that often in the Indy. I think I have managed to parse everything correctly, having needed Chambers to explain BEF at 1D and 12.
My favourite clues today were 2, for overall construction; 28, for the device involving “bolts”; and 3, 9 and above all 21, all for surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | BACK-TO-BACK | On Tuesday, he died amid gunfire after beginning to burgle house
B<urgle> (“beginning to” means first letter only) + {[T (=Tuesday, on calendar) + OB. (=he died, i.e. obiit)] in ACK-ACK (=gunfire, i.e. anti-aircraft fire)} |
| 06 | DRAB | Tradesmen finally leaving brand new flat
*(BRA<n>D); “tradesmen finally, i.e. last letter only, leaving” means letter “n” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “new”; “flat” as an adjective means drab, dull |
| 10 | FALLACY | Female associate embraces current misconception
AC (=current, i.e. alternating current) in [F (=female) + ALLY (=associate)] |
| 11 | FAIRWAY | A tree-covered approach? On the contrary
[A in FIR (=tree)] + WAY (=approach); cryptically, a fairway on a golf course would be anything but tree-covered! |
| 12 | GYROSCOPE | One maintains stability, seeing large policeman in grey pants
[OS (=large, i.e. outsize) + COP (=policeman)] in *(GREY); “pants (=rubbish)” is anagram indicator; gyroscopes can assist stability in bikes, motorbikes and ships |
| 13 | DINAR | What may be deposited in Arab banks?
Hidden (“banks”) in “depositeD IN ARab”; & lit. |
| 14 | RADIO | Resistance has trouble keeping one hidden?
R (=resistance, in physics) + [I (=one) in ADO (=trouble); & lit.; the Resistance movement in WWII would have kept its radios hidden! |
| 15 | TASK FORCE | Military group has time to request ceasefire at the borders
T (=time) + ASK FOR (=to request) + C<easefir>E (“at the borders” means first and last letters only) |
| 17 | FUNK MUSIC | After festival Mick travels around America, listening to this?
FUN (=festival, celebration) + [US (=America) in *(MICK)]; “travels” is anagram indicator |
| 20 | ARMED | Having a heater raised the temperature, though not at first
<w>ARMED (=raised the temperature); “not at first” means first letter dropped; “heater” is old slang for gun, pistol |
| 21 | CROAT | EU citizen having right to enter Ulster?
R (=right) in COAT (=Ulster) |
| 23 | CRO-MAGNON | Roman gods originally included in study of early Europeans
[G<ods> (“originally” means first letter only) in ROMAN] in CON (=study, pore over); Cro-Magnon relates to an early type of Homo sapiens, of late Palaeolithic times |
| 25 | OUTWORN | Our number two admitted being tired
TWO in [OUR + N (=number)]; “outworn” is a synonym for worn-out |
| 26 | KNITTED | One is foolish, King Edward accepts, to get so closely entwined
NIT (=one is foolish) in [K (=king, in cards) + TED (=Edward)] |
| 27 | YUCK | Your cake lacks regular ingredients – it’s horrible
Y<o>U<r> C<a>K<e>; “lacks regular ingredients” means alternate letters are dropped |
| 28 | GOODNESS ME | My attempt, ultimately, to send back some old bolts
GO (=attempt) +<t>O (“ultimately” means last letter only) + DNES (SEND; “back” indicates reversal) + S<o>ME (“old (=O) bolts” means letter “o” is dropped) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | BEFOG | Dunkirk veterans turn up underneath cloud
BEF (=Dunkirk veterans, i.e. British Expeditionary Force) + OG (GO=turn (at doing); “up” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 02 | COLORADAN | In America, say, black woman has support from New Statesman
COLOR (=in America, say, black, i.e. US spelling of colour) + ADA (=woman) + N (=new) |
| 03 | TRANSFORMATION | For shift, doctor sat in for matron
*(SAT IN FOR MATRON); “doctor” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | BOYCOTT | Refuse to engage with son too much, having caught cold
C (=cold) in [BOY (=son) + OTT (=too much, i.e. over-the-top)] |
| 05 | COFFERS | Conservative has proposals for treasury
C (=conservative) + OFFERS (=proposals) |
| 07 | ROWAN | Managed to squeeze down inside tree
<d>OW<n> (“inside” means middle letters only are used) in RAN (=managed) |
| 08 | BOYFRIEND | Surprisingly bone dry if given squeeze, perhaps
*(BONE DRY IF); “surprisingly” is anagram indicator |
| 09 | BIRD OF PARADISE | After training, RAF bod is paired with highly decorated flyer
*(RAF BOD IS PAIRED); “after training” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | REFECTORY | With regards to fridge being empty, roar over to eating place
RE (=with regards to) + F<ridg>E (“being empty” means all but first and last letters are dropped) + [TO in CRY (=roar)] |
| 16 | RUMINATES | Considers journey that takes in motorway, having a cake to pick up
[M1 (=motorway) in RUN (=journey)] + A + TES (SET=cake, harden; “to pick up” indicates vertical reversal) |
| 18 | SECONDO | Uplifting verses to include study for vocal part
CON (=study, pore over) in SEDO (ODES=verses; “uplifting” indicates vertical reversal); the secondo is the lower part in a duet |
| 19 | CLOCKED | Jammed to Clapton’s first hit
C<lapton> (“first” means first letter only) + LOCKED (=jammed, stuck) |
| 22 | OPTIC | Procedure held up by involuntary movement of the eye
OP (=procedure, i.e. operation) + TIC (=involuntary movement) |
| 24 | NUDGE | Push dune buggy, essentially getting knackered
*(DUNE + <bu>G<gy>); “essentially” means middle letter only needed in anagram, indicated by “knackered” |
Comments are closed.