Neo steps up to the setters’ plate this morning.
This was a typical Neo puzzle – a good range of devices, a littel general knowledge required, and clean surfaces, although I think I must be missing something with 16ac, as it seems like a straight definition to me?
Thanks, Neo.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SHOVE-HALFPENNY | Game society girl round Sussex town given drink (5-9) |
| S (society) + PENNY (“girl”) round HOVE (“Sussex town”) given HALF (“drink”), so S(HOVE-HALF)PENNY | ||
| 10 | ARMED | Hekmatyar mediates to provide with weapon (5) |
| Hidden in [to provide] “hekmatyAR MEDiates” | ||
| 11 | INELASTIC | Not giving in, knocked back beer with staff endlessly (9) |
| IN + [knocked back] <=ALE (“beer”) with STIC(k) (“staff” endlessly) | ||
| 12 | MANDALA | Buddhist figure – bloke a boy follows around (7) |
| MAN (“bloke”) followed by <=A LAD (“a boy”, around) | ||
| 13 | EVEN OUT | Still incorrect – become equal (4,3) |
| EVEN (“still”) + OUT (“incorrect”) | ||
| 14 | TO WIT | That is chump catching ball (2,3) |
| TWIT (“chump”) catching O (“ball”) | ||
| 16 | LADIES MAN | Such a person is male and flirtatious (6,3) |
| Can’t see anything cryptic here? | ||
| 19 | MAYFLOWER | Incredibly low fare with my old transport (9) |
| *(low fare my)[anag:incredibly] | ||
| 20 | TONGA | Around noon, what Roman put on vehicle (5) |
| Around N (noon), TOGA (“what a Roman put on”)
A tonga is a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage in India. |
||
| 22 | NOTEPAD | Secretary coming in recognised writer’s block (7) |
| PA (personal assistant, so “secretary”) coming in NOTED (“recognised”) | ||
| 25 | AVIATOR | Flyer sees V1 in two areas approaching hill (7) |
| VI in A+A (two areas) approaching TOR (“hill”) | ||
| 27 | CONSTRAIN | Force rips off part of dress (9) |
| CONS (“rips off”) + TRAIN (“part of dress”) | ||
| 28 | DEMUR | To be hesitant is not entirely modest (5) |
| [not entirely] DEMUR(e) (“modest”) | ||
| 29 | ROCKY MOUNTAINS | Yank consortium designed skyscrapers there? (5,9) |
| *(yank consortium) [anag:designed] | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | HEMINGWAY | Author sees ambassador on road touring China (9) |
| HE (His or Her Excellency, so “ambassador”) on WAY (“road”) touring MING (“china”) | ||
| 3 | VODKA | Old duke regularly seen in V&A shows spirit (5) |
| O (old) + D(u)K(e) [regularly] seen in V + A | ||
| 4 | HEIR-AT-LAW | One might succeed with a real burst (4-2-3) |
| *(with a real) [anag:burst] | ||
| 5 | LIEGE | Superior pork pie on case of Grenache (5) |
| LIE (“pork pie”) on [case of] G(renach)E | ||
| 6 | PLACEMENT | Scheme shortly to secure job assignment (9) |
| PLA(n) (“scheme” shortly) + CEMENT (“to secure”) | ||
| 7 | NITRO | Explosive beginning in which one appears late (5) |
| (i)N(I)TRO (“beginning” (intro) in which I appears late) | ||
| 8 | YUCATAN | Mexican state feline found in Chinese capital (7) |
| CAT (“feline”) found in YUAN (“Chinese capital” ie money) | ||
| 9 | MARMOT | Two males mounting Alpine animal (6) |
| <=TOM + RAM (“two males” mounting) | ||
| 15 | TELEPATHY | Record in contrived tale your religious clairvoyance (9) |
| EP (“record”) in *(tale) [anag:contrived] + THY (“your” in religious texts) | ||
| 17 | D’ARTAGNAN | Silver given by relative to support flash swordsman (9) |
| Ag (“silver”) given by NAN (“relative”) to support DART (“flash”) | ||
| 18 | MINUTEMAN | ICBM takes sixty seconds reaching island (9) |
| MINUTE (“sixty seconds”) reaching (Isle of) MAN A minuteman is a three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile. | ||
| 19 | MINICAR | Criminal endlessly tinkered with small motor (7) |
| *(crimina) [anag:tinkered with] where crimina is CRIMINA(l) [endlessly] | ||
| 21 | AURORA | Gold in atmosphere and light in sky (6) |
| OR (“gold” in heraldry) in AURA (“atmosphere”) | ||
| 23 | TONIC | 199 finding remedy? (5) |
| TON (100) + IC (99 in Roman numerals) (100+99 = 199) | ||
| 24 | DRACO | Harsh legislator sending old humorist to Heaven? (5) |
| <=(O(old) + CARD (“humorist”)) sent to Heaven i.e. upwards) | ||
| 26 | INDIA | Home help going up country (5) |
| IN (“home”) + <=AID (“help”, going up) | ||
*anagram
LADIES MAN=(is male and)*
Typical Neo fun – thanks to him and loonapick
Apart from 99 = IC in 23d – which relies on misunderstanding/ignoring the subtraction rules in Roman numerals – I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. It was a blessed relief after failing with yesterday’s tough Io. I especially liked the sneaky direct ‘in’ in INELASTIC.
Thanks to all.
Despite my failures in the SW corner I found this generally enjoyable esp. MINUTEMAN, TOWIT, and INELASTIC. Thanks Ilan for parsing #11 and Loonapick for the remainder.
Sorry, Ilan, I meant #16, LADIES MAN.
I tried TONXCIX, but, y’know, damn.
Thanks all, esp loona. All the best.
Thanks Neo and loonapick
Late to this again, with an entertaining puzzle that had a bit of grist and took just under the hour in a single sitting with some electronic help required with a couple of the clues.
Started off easily enough with HEIR-AT-LAW, a term that I wasn’t familiar with but was able to construct easily enough from the fodder. Finished down the bottom with MINICAR, CONSTRAIN and the very tricky D’ARTAGNAN.
Thought that the anagram for LADIES’ MAN was very cleverly disguised … and it brought an ‘aha’. Liked NITRO also.