Monk has provided a puzzle to get our teeth into this Tuesday morning.
As is customary, Monk gave me a real workout, and I really had to solve this puzzle in two sittings, having solved virtually no clues in the right-hand side of the grid at my first attempt. Eventually, I worked out 9 and 11 and that got me going again. That said, I was expecting to need to turn to fellow solvers for an explanation of the wordplay at 6, but then I realised what was going on – I am often caught out by words like “following” when they are used to indicate part of a word and not the order of other elements in a clue.
I think there may be something happening around the perimeter, which contains four 3-letter words when read clockwise from the top left-hand corner. It seems that each of these words when run together with the 3-letter word that goes before or comes after forms a 6-letter word or expression, e.g. SUNSET + SETTEE. Perhaps there is more going on than this here …
My favourite clues today were 3, 4A, 23 and 18, all for smoothness of surface reading; 4D, for the quirky definition around “bucks”; and 7, for keeping me guessing for so very long and yet being a scrupulously fair clue. Incidentally, I did not know the meaning of “unction” used at 15.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 04 | OVERSUPPLYING | Region very worried about reservoir flooding
SUPPLY (=reservoir) in *(REGION + V (=very)); “worried” is anagram indicator |
| 08 | EARPHONE | Old marshal, the first to hide single listening device
EARP (=old marshal, Wyatt Earp, of O.K. Corral fame) + H<ide> (“first to” means first letter only) + ONE (=single) |
| 09 | CALLAS | Soprano makes a bid to tour America
A (=America, as in USA, NA, SA) in CALLS (=makes a bid, in bridge); the reference is to American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas (1923-77) |
| 10 | HATED | Found odious cheat they’d oddly missed
<c>H<e>A<t> T <h>E<y>D; “oddly missed” means that all odd letters are dropped |
| 11 | POLICES | Controls action plans shunned by Independent
POLIC<i>ES (=controls); “shunned by Independent (=I)” means that letter “i” is dropped |
| 12 | HELPING | Guiding puppy without lead in last part of training
<w>HELP (=puppy; “without lead” means first letter in dropped) + IN + <trainin>G (“last part of” means last letter only) |
| 14 | GUMSHOE | Sticks with garden tool, getting busy
GUMS (=sticks) + HOE (=garden tool); “gumshoe” and “busy” are both colloquial terms for police officer |
| 17 | TRAPEZE | Swing music genre absorbed by kid using 8s?
RAP (=music genre) in homophone (“using earphone, i.e. entry at 8) of “tease (=(to)kid)” |
| 19 | CYCLE | Age discrepancy clearly included
Hidden (“included”) in “discrepanCY CLEarly” |
| 21 | TIRING | Taxing top-level cover after a change of hands
TILING (=top-level cover, i.e. on a house roof); “after a change of hands” means L (=left) becomes R (=right)” |
| 22 | RAINCOAT | Artist sporting outdoor gear – this?
RA (=artist, i.e. Royal Academician) + IN (=sporting, wearing) + COAT (=outdoor gear) |
| 23 | GREASE MONKEYS | Mechanics mix my kerosene with gas
*(MY KEROSENE + GAS); “mix” is anagram indicator |
| Down | ||
| 01 | SEXPOT | Woman that pulls stone around exhibition
EXPO (=exhibition) in ST (=stone); “pulls” in the definition refers to succeeding in having a (sexual) relationship with |
| 02 | UP-TEMPO | Well-informed substitute wants nothing played quickly
UP (=well-informed, as in to be up on the news) + TEMP. (=substitute, of e.g. a secretary) + O (=nothing) |
| 03 | NIBLICKS | Writers embracing beat in clubs
LICK (=beat, defeat, as verb) in NIBS (=”writers”, i.e. parts of pens); niblicks are old-fashioned golf clubs for lofted shots |
| 04 | ON A SHOESTRING | Cast shopping near small down in Bucks?
*(SHOPPING NEAR + S (=small, of sizes)); “cast” is anagram indicator; the “bucks” of the definition refers to dollars, cash |
| 05 | SNOWDON | Extremely stupid to wrap present on a mountain
[NOW (=(the) present (time)) in S<tupi>D (“extremely” means first and last letters only)] + ON |
| 06 | LOCAL | Large following abandoning central pub
L (=large, of sizes) + <f>OCAL (=central; “following (=F) abandoning” means letter “f” is dropped) |
| 07 | GLADSTONE BAGS | Cases of flowers not sent over – Spain has plenty
GLADS (=flowers, i.e. gladiolis) + TON (NOT; “sent over” indicates reversal) + E (=Spain, in IVR) + BAGS (=plenty, lots of, as in bags of money) |
| 13 | PHARISEE | Husband invested in foreign capital with extremely evasive hypocrite
[H (=husband) in PARIS (=foreign capital)] + E<vasiv>E (“extremely” means first and last letters only); a Pharisee is a self-righteous or hypocritical person |
| 15 | UNCTION | Losing face in ceremony, showing divine grace
<f>UNCTION (=ceremony); “losing face” means first letter is dropped |
| 16 | DEARY ME | I’m dismayed by tedious setter right away
D<r>EARY (=tedious) + ME (=setter, i.e. Monk); “right (=R) away’ means letter “r” is dropped |
| 18 | EDGES | Inches cut off top of shrubs
<h>EDGES (=shrubs); “cut off top of” means first letter is dropped |
| 20 | CACHET | Stamp collection takes time
CACHE (=collection) + T (=time) |
A nice work out of the cryptic grey matter with several good smile-inducing clues along the way. I too spotted the words round the edge but I’m no sure if THE SUN/SUNSET/SETTEE/TEETHE has any particular significance
Thanks to Monk and RR
I was told once that a true Agelino is someone who cut their teeth in Sunset Strip/Boulevard.
Otherwise, until I am further enlightened, i was as usual delighted to see Monk.
So elegant and today i didnt struggle much.
Lovely puzzle and thanks to Monk and RR
Marvellous stuff. I feel there is more going on relating to detectives. As well as GUMSHOE, we have SHOESTRING (a TV detective); Columbo was well known for his RAINCOAT; and there is also POLICES. I feel there must be more. Was Gladstone a detective?
Thanks to Monk and RatkojaRiku.
I wondered about the detective angle as well, but couldn’t take it any further than Hovis @3. Ditto the Nina round the periphery which I tried unsuccessfully to link with EDGES.
I did struggle, as usual with Monk, but it was worth it for the plenty of good stuff such as the ‘down in Bucks’ def, NIBLICKS and GLADSTONE BAGS.
Thanks to Monk and RR.
I didn’t do this puzzle, but I note that in the group of words THE SUN/SUNSET/SETTEE/TEETHE, the last three letters of one word are the first three letters of the next word.
Re 1dn. Since every woman may not be a sexpot, should the definition have been more specific?
I hope readers don’t mind my asking this question as I did not do this crossword.
Rishi @6 The definition of ‘woman that pulls’ sort of implies some sexual allure. The def. wasn’t simply ‘woman’
In the preamble you’ll see RR had already spotted your point @5! Although I have nothing more to add on the nina/theme front, certainly feels like there might be more going on.
Thanks to Monk & RR
Thanks, Doofs. Indeed, I note that ‘Woman that pulls’ is italicised. I should not have been hasty in making the comment. But I saw all words from ‘that pulls to exhibition’ as ins ind. My apologies to the setters and readers.
We ground to a halt in the NE corner and had to call on electronic help for 3dn and 7dn. We decided that 6dn was LOCAL but couldn’t see the parsing – we thought that there had to be a word beginning OC and ending AL meaning ‘following’ from which its centre had to be removed. We did find an obsolete meaning of ‘occasional’ that might at a pinch mean ‘following’ but thought it a bit too obscure even for Monk.
Quite a tough workout all told but there was a lot to like, such as EARPHONE, TRAPEZE and RAINCOAT.
As for the nina we googled ‘the sunset tee’ and found a lot about sunset tee-shirts – maybe someone has given Monk one?
Thanks, Monk and RatkojaRiku.
Thanks to RatkojaRiku and Monk
Very nice, but 1d is a little odd. I’m sure Tom Jones and others were referred to as sexpots when that term was used at all, so why not ONE THAT PULLS?
I’m not keen on the definition @20d either.
(General comment)
These are the times when newspapers avoid use of words such as actress. Does a paper with that policy expect setters too to follow the style?
Women solvers objected to the use of the word TART in the sense of ‘a sexually attractive woman’ in an Indian crossword and setters received a note from the editorial dept saying such words may be avoided.
The argument that a word such as ‘tart’ or ‘sexpot’ by itself is not offensive and becomes as such only when someone is called by that term was not accepted.
Do UK setters have any list of words to avoid in grids?