Spring has sprung as they say, but for those who prefer an indoor puzzle to an outdoor pursuit, Klingsor provides the entertainment.
A reasonably light workout so for those who combine the two, impeccable timing.
Some lovely surface readings as I’ve come to expect from Klingsor, with some very simple answers once you see the answer, but some took a while to get to that point. Particularly liked 9ac, 15ac, 4dn, 17dn and 22dn. My favourite was 3dn.
Thanks Klingsor – I must admit my gardening skills are limited so a pleasant break from the sunshine.
Key: rev. reverse; DD double definition; * anagram; underline definition
Across
1 Overseas budget’s foremost, in a way (6)
b (budget’s foremost) in a road (way) = ABROAD
5 Miss going around star’s place in America (3,5)
Lass (miss) around Vega (star) = LAS VEGAS
9 Strongly criticise article about memorial (8)
Pan (strongly criticise) + the (article) + on (about) = PANTHEON
10 Right for first daughter, to run food store (6)
ladder (to run) swapping r (right) for d (first daughter) = LARDER
11 Fellow is after tea? No, wine (10)
don (fellow) after char (tea) + nay (no) = CHARDONNAY
13 Pelt Henry with fish (4)
h (henry) + ide (fish) = HIDE
14 Pee-pee or leak (4)
Wee (pee) + p (pee) = WEEP
15 Meandering river confined inside another (10)
r (river) + pent (confined) in Seine (another (river)) = SERPENTINE
18 Toilets placed around stage will offer advantages (10)
privies (toilets) around leg (stage) = PRIVILEGES
20 Scruff going about in threadbare pants (4)
Rev. hidden threabarE PANts = NAPE
21 Buddy takes first bit of ladies’ wear off (4)
pal (buddy) + l (first bit of ladies) = PALL
23 Gossip’s about entertaining northern composer and playwright (10)
Rev. dirts (gossip’s) around n (northern) + Berg (composer) = STRINDBERG
25 Relish announcement of secretary’s demise? (6)
pa (secretary) + late(demise) = PALATE
26 Speed limits for vehicle? 50 round urban area (8)
ve (limits for vehicle) + l (50) + o (round) + city (urban area) = VELOCITY
28 Out late, imbibing dram after last of wine? Unlikely, being this (8)
(late)* around tot(dram) + e (last of wine) = TEETOTAL
29 Sleepy and Doc returned without Bashful, heartlessly (6)
dr (doc) + Rev. wo(without) + shy (bashful) – h DROWSY
Down
2 Speedos for one newfangled cab, we hear (9)
(cab we hear)* = BEACHWEAR
3 Part of rock formation cut off more than the rest? (7)
out (more than) crop (cut off) = OUTCROP
4 Last of all, removed unsightly urine stain (3)
removeD unsightlY urinE (last of) = DYE
5 Row over new bedclothes perhaps (5)
line (row) + n (new) = LINEN
6 Time for trivial news, one ass implied? (5,6)
(one ass)* implied indicates an anagram indicator i.e silly = SILLY SEASON
7 Struggling to hear, getting outside of this finally? (7)
ear shot (struggling to hear) = EARSHOT
8 Daphne paid regularly in advance (5)
dApHnE pAiD (regularly) = AHEAD
12 Old bass has fish smell, going past sell-by date (11)
o(old) + b (bass) + sole(fish) + scent (smell) = OBSOLESCENT
16 Paper trail initially lost (3)
drag(trail) – d = RAG
17 Hipster in for treatment – it’s a kidney problem (9)
(hipster in)* = NEPHRITIS
19 Courageous fighter stops vehicle on time (7)
ali (fighter) in van (vehicle) + t (time) = VALIANT
20 Company supports mounting Caribbean opera (7)
Rev. Cuban(Caribbean) + co (company) = NABUCCO
22 Australian PM’s spoken? Wow! (5)
a (australian) + Maze (homonym of May’s) = AMAZE
22 Victor disrupts dance party (5)
v (victor) in reel (dance) = REVEL
27 Boy has rising pulse (3)
Rev. Dal (pulse) = LAD
Excellent puzzle. I don’t think there is a single poor surface clue! Impossible to choose a favourite.
Tiniest of niggles; I don’t think the comma is necessary in 10a and it’s presence somewhat spoils the flow of the sentence.
Oh dear…iPhone apostrophe syndrome again!
The trouble with Klingsor is that he is too good 🙂 I like to mark up clues that are particularly good and I end up marking up too many. Loved VELOCITY, TEETOTAL, EARSHOT, OBSOLESCENT and had a laugh at the very simple HIDE.
There is more to EARSHOT than in blog. It is an &lit being an anagram (struggling) of TO HEAR around (outside of) S (this finally).
Also, I think in 10a “first” is referring to the first D in LADDER being replaced by R.
Thanks to Klingsor and twencelas. I hope people don’t miss out on this one due to the holiday.
Thanks, twencelas.
I agree with absolutely all of the above. I have to mention BEACHWEAR, too, for the ‘we hear’ misdirection.
Many thanks, as ever, Klingsor, for a great start to the day.
Eileen @4. BEACHWEAR was also one of my marked up clues, mainly for the reason you mention. SERPENTINE was clever as was the use of the 3 dwarves in 29a. In solving AMAZE, I did waste a bit of time trying to retrieve the crossword favourite “Arvo” from the old grey matter, which proved to be a dead end.
I think that the parsing here of 3 down would be better as: “outcrop” meaning “crop more than”, just as “outdo” means “do more than”?
Geooff @6 – that’s how I read it, too.
Geoff @6/ Eileen @7 – That is exactly what I was trying to say crop more than is a questionable way of saying OUTCROP with out used as meaning more than as you say in outdo or indeed in outgrow.
Another pleasant solve in the afternoon sunshine. Almost impossible to nominate a CoD but we’ll go for BEACHWEAR and STRINDBERG as prime contenders. Thanks, Klingsor and Twencelas.
Thanks to twencelas and Klingsor
Klingsor is always a pleasure, sometimes fiendish and sometimes a little more gentle (perhaps designed for sultry bank holidays), but always fair and fluid.
I agree with gsolphotog @1 that the comma in 10a seems unnecessary but I think it is there because the setter is striving to combine a meaningful surface with a valid cryptic reading. IN RUN would better indicate the site of substitution, but make a nonsense reading. The comma allows us ,almost, to insert our own applied, or some such into the pause.
I don’t think he quite pulls it off on this occasion but it only stands out because of the exceptional high standard of his cluing.
I also agree 100% with Hovis@3’s parsing of 7d – an excellent clue.