CRUX kicks things off this week…
A bit more challenging than we are used to on a Monday, with a lot more cryptic definitions than usual, but highly enjoyable nonetheless.
The NW corner was the last to go in for some reason. 18d and 25a (typo aside) probably our favourites.
Thanks CRUX!
Across
1 Mark gets Oscar – he had two! (6)
BRANDO
BRAND (mark) gets O (oscar)
Marlon Brando
4 Speak terribly posh,like company bosses may do (4,4)
TALK SHOP
TALK (speak) + (POSH)* (*terribly)
9 Bowler, perhaps,for the East Enders (6)
TITFER
Cryptic definition
Cockney rhyming slang, tit for tat = hat
10 Brings in twigs (8)
REALISES
Double definition
12 More sound without depth can be colossal (8)
ENORMOUS
(MORE SOUN[d] (without D (depth))* (*can be)
13 Rejected is story of tennis star (6)
AGASSI
(IS SAGA (story))< (<rejected)
15 Avoid car crash but lose time (4)
SHUN
SHUN[t] (car crash, lose T (time))
16 Girl almost in first place appears deceptive (10)
MISLEADING
MIS[s] (girl, almost) + LEADING (in first place)
19 A musical may, without a blonde (2,4,4)
MY FAIR LADY
M[a]Y (without A) + FAIR LADY (blonde)
20 Our problems usually seem to start with work (4)
OPUS
O[ur] P[roblems] U[sually] S[eem] (to start)
23 Old Cardinal has modern ideas, it seems (6)
NEWMAN
NEW MAN (has modern ideas, it seems)
John Henry Newman
25 An Americanism like “steetcar depot” (8)
TERMINUS
TERM IN US (an Americanism)
27 Supplied the ultimate in farce and told jokes (8)
EQUIPPED
[farc]E (ultimate in) and QUIPPED (told jokes)
28 Provider of minimum cover (not for men!) (6)
BIKINI
Cryptic defintion
29 Misshapen empty shell (undyed) is out of the blue (8)
SUDDENLY
(S[hel]L (empty) UNDYED)* (*misshapen)
30 Condescends, like Old and Young Hamlet for the audience (6)
DEIGNS
“DANES” (old and young Hamlet, “for the audience”, sounds like)
Down
1 Upsets monks? Not right! (7)
BOTHERS
B[r]OTHERS (monks, not R (right))
2 Four start off in play area possibly (9)
ASTROTURF
(FOUR START)* (*off)
3 We may wish for sweet ones on retirement (6)
DREAMS
Cryptic definition
Sweet dreams
5 Heads lose carbon copies (4)
APES
[c]APES (heads, lose C (carbon))
6 Kipling’s extremes shown in full measure (8)
KILOGRAM
K[iplin]G (extremes, shown in full)
7 Spirits not good for those entertaining guests (5)
HOSTS
[g]HOSTS (spirits, not G (good))
8 Heavy defeat often followed by hanging (7)
PASTING
Double defintion (reference to wallpaper hanging)
11 Distinct bulge, oddly, on back of German car (7)
AUDIBLE
B[u]L[g]E (oddly) on back of AUDI (German car)
14 Blister results from Bannister’s first run in stockings (7)
BLADDER
B[anister] (first) + LADDER (run in stockings)
17 Demon, close and threatening (9)
IMPENDING
IMP (demon) + ENDING (close)
18 New York’s generous daily medical insurance? (3,5)
BIG APPLE
BIG (generous) + APPLE (daily medical insurance, an apple a day keeps the doctor away)
19 Courtesy shown when the missus welcomes old queen (7)
MANNERS
MRS (missus) welcomes ANNE (old queen)
21 Close relation adopts others like little birds (7)
SISKINS
SIS (close relation) adopts KINS (others like)
22 His judgments were crucial to 13, say (6)
UMPIRE
Cryptic definition
24 Twisted something that’s painful (5)
WOUND
Double definition
26 We shall briefly appear in the spring (4)
WELL
WE’LL (we shall, briefly)
Interesting how we all find crosswords different – I thought this was particularly Monday-ish – it didn’t take long to solve even allowing for tutting at the typo in 25a
Thanks to Crux and Teacow
Thanks both. Mostly straightforward, but why does BLISTER = BLADDER? I seem to be missing something which is no doubt obvious.
Bracoman @2
One of Chambers definitions for ‘blister’ is “a thin bubble or bladder on the skin, often containing watery matter”.
Thanks Gaufrid.
Thanks to Crux and Teacow. I’m another who parsed but did not understand BLADDER-blister and did not get TITFER.
Quite easy, COD AUDIBLE.
Thanks Crux & Teacow.
There are a couple of entries that I do not understand. In 6 down how does shown in full generate the other letters of kilogram? And in 21 down I thought that others meant other relatives, with like being just a joining word, giving SKIN (other relatives) in SIS (close relation): SI SKIN S.
psmith, ino 6dn it is like Teacow explained above. The extremes of Kipling, KG, mean in full ‘kilogram’. It’s a ‘device’ often used by Wanderer.
What you say about SISKINS (21d) reflects my thoughts about that clue too. I didn’t see it either. Still don’t. And there is no such thing as ‘kins’.
Thanks Sil.
Thanks Crux and Teacow
Entertaining puzzle that I found not too easy and not too hard. Started off easily enough with APES and HOSTS and worked my way around the grid from there to finish up in the top right corner. Had to trawl through a Cockney slang dictionary to eventually find TITFER to finish it off.
Had originally parsed 21d with SISS as the first relation, but see that it isn’t supported in any of the dictionaries that I looked it up in. Missed the spelling error at 25d until it was pointed out here – had just glimpsed over it after constructing the wordplay and seeing ‘terminus’.
Thought that both 28a and 22d were quite weak clues.