Two Saturday Klingsors in a row for me, after his ton-up Indy 10,170 five weeks ago…
…and, as always, a pleasure to solve and blog, although no theme-ette or Nina this time, unless I have missed something clever.
I actually solved this fairly quickly, in head-down/blinkers-on mode, and then enjoyed it all again, at a more leisurely pace, when deconstructing the clues for the blog.
Nice touches at 2D CHARISMA (mother is cleaner!); RAVED and B(ook) combining ‘enthusiastically’ at 19D to give ADVERB; and the disapproval of children ‘acting like teenagers’ in DOWN WITH THE KIDS at 6D.
The surfaces of 4A and 4D were quite prophetic – 4D with references to ‘Ecstasy’ and ‘crack’ reflecting the recent Tory leadership campaign confessionals; and 4A predicting a few wash-outs at the cricket World Cup!
Thanks (again) to Klingsor … we managed to cross paths three (every-fifth-)Saturdays in a row recently – Indys 9,961, 9,991 and 10,021 – so I look forward to blogging a Klingsor at 10,230…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | CACTI | Prickly types beginning to cavil before start of play (5) | prickly types / C (beginning letter of Cavil) + ACT I (start of play!) |
|
| 4D | QUIDDITCH | Ready to abandon game (9) | (fictional) game / QUID (pound, money, or ready) + DITCH (abandon) |
|
| 9D | ANARCHIST | Saint oddly embraces chief supporter of lawlessness (9) | supporter of lawlessness / AN_IST (anag, i.e. oddly, of SAINT) around (embracing) ARCH (chief) |
|
| 10D | WREST | Direction to conceal the ending of Oliver Twist (5) | twist / W_EST (direction) around (concealing) R (ending letter of oliveR) |
|
| 11D | SKINNY | Tight-fitting blue clothes in Norway (6) | tight-fitting / SK_Y (blue) around (clothing) IN + N (Norway) |
|
| 12D | SLOWPOKE | Dawdler has to stick on second base (8) | dawdler / S (second) + LOW (base, mean) + POKE (stick) |
|
| 14D | COMMENSURATE | Firm friend possessing millions treated nurse as equal (12) | equal / CO (company, firm) + M_ATE ( friend), around M (millions) + ENSUR (anag, i.e. treated, of NURSE) |
|
| 17D | SUPERNATURAL | Miraculous conversion of errant Saul, heavenward bound? (12) | miraculous / S_ERNATURAL (anag, i.e. conversion, of ERRANT SAUL) around (binding) UP (heavenward) |
|
| 20D | ENDANGER | Close by mountains, moving river is risk (8) | risk / END (close, finish) + ( |
|
| 21D | REHUNG | Spoke about what is displayed afresh in the Tate? (6) | displayed afresh in the Tate / R_UNG (spoke, of a ladder) around EH (interjection, ‘what?!’) |
|
| 23D | OBELI | Having to remain in back, I look daggers (5) | daggers / O_LI (I + LO – look, all back) around (having) BE (remain) |
|
| 24D | APPLICANT | One after job of parish priest in Port of Spain, mostly (9) | one after job / A_LICANT( |
|
| 25D | SUBALTERN | Junior officer in navy, on vessel working late (9) | junior officer / SUB (vessel) + ALTE (anag, i.e. working, of LATE) + RN (Royal Navy) |
|
| 26D | STAIR | Adult stops commotion for part of the flight (5) | part of the flight / ST_IR (commotion) around (interrupted by) A (adult) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | CLASS ACT | Girl’s given account in court – it’s something special (5,3) | something special / C_T (court) around LASS (girl) plus (given) AC (account) |
|
| 2D | CHARISMA | It’s Mother who cleans? An attractive quality (8) | an attractive quality / if one’s mother (MA) is a cleaner (CHAR), then you might say CHAR IS MA (?!) |
|
| 3D | INCONSEQUENTIAL | Petty criminal in one clan’s quiet (15) | petty / anag, i.e. criminal, of IN ONES CLAN QUIET |
|
| 4D | QUIP | Having no Ecstasy, supply crack (4) | crack (gibe, retort) / ( |
|
| 5D | INTOLERANT | One gaining ground learnt not to be impatient (10) | impatient / I (one) plus (gaining) NTOLERANT (anag, i.e. ground, of LEARNT NOT) |
|
| 6D | DOWN WITH THE KIDS | Expression of disapproval of children acting like teenagers? (4,4,3,4) | acting like teenagers? / DOWN WITH (expression of disapproval) + THE KIDS (children) |
|
| 7D | TREMOR | Capital put up after Turkey’s quake (6) | quake / TR (Turkey, IVR abbreviation) + EMOR (Rome, capital, put up) |
|
| 8D | HATRED | Cardinal swaps sides, creating loathing (6) | loathing / RED HAT (cardinal) swapping constituent parts = HATRED |
|
| 13D | ASSEVERATE | Declare a cut in day care finally (10) | declare / A + S_AT (Saturday) around SEVER (cut), plus E (final letter of carE) |
|
| 15D | BROUHAHA | Universal laughter after relative makes a fuss (8) | fuss / BRO (brother, relative) + U (universal) + HA HA (laughter) |
|
| 16D | BLIGHTER | Beggar is baron, short of a few pounds? (8) | beggar / B (baron) + LIGHTER (short of a few pounds) |
|
| 18D | SEROUS | Watery grave I rejected (6) | watery / SER( |
|
| 19D | ADVERB | Raved about book enthusiastically, say (6) | enthusiastically, say / ADVER (anag, i.e. about, of RAVED) + B (book) |
|
| 19D | UPON | In contact with contributor to group online (4) | in contact with / hidden word in, i.e. contributor to, ‘groUP ONline’ |
|
Klingsor once again demonstrates why he is one of my favourite setters. It’s always worth spending a little extra time to appreciate his surface readings. For example, the clues for QUIDDITCH, SKINNY, QUIP and INTOLERANT all read very naturally. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of the others I hasten to add. A quicker solve than is normal perhaps but no complaints.
Got stuck in the SE. Eventually got SUPERNATURAL but resorted to a word fit for BLIGHTER (which I should have got) and that allowed me to get REHUNG as LOI.
New words for me were SEROUS and ASSEVERATE, although I have a feeling the latter has appeared in a previous cryptic and I have since forgotten it.
Many thanks to Klingsor and mc_rapper67.
We solved this fairly quickly. DOWN WITH THE KIDS was a new expression to us but easily worked out; SLOWPOKE was new as well and needed recourse to Chambers. But even as mere Muggles we knew QUIDDITCH. “Mostly” in reference to the Spanish port in 24ac was a wee bit confusing since the name can be spelt without the final ‘e’ – in Catalan, one of the local languages.
But a very enjoyable puzzle with lots to like, so no real Cod.
Thanks, Klingsor and mc_rapper67.
Mostly enjoyed and solved fairly quickly but was unable to parse DOWN WITH THE KIDS. According to the Free Dictionary it’s used of someone who tries to talk or act like members of a younger generation, in which case the clue doesn’t work. But thanks anyway to setter and blogger.
Tatrasman@3. I think the clue works. The definition is just “acting as teenagers” implicitly referring to adults doing this.
Thanks for the various comments and feedback.
Chambers doesn’t seem to have DOWN WITH THE KIDS, per se, but I saw the definition as Hovis does at #4. And as a father of teenage kids I have been derided many times for trying to be so!