The puzzle can be found here.
Hello folks. Me again, sorry! I’ve been on the Weekend Indy blogging rota for very nearly two years, but incredibly it has taken until now for me to get a Tees puzzle to blog. I’m very happy to break that drought — especially as, with lots of work on and (whisper it) other hobbies than crosswords, I’m not doing many “extra-curricular” puzzles at all these days. So a lovely way to wrap up the weekend. Many thanks to Tees for ensuring 4d.
I found this pretty friendly for the most part, but hit a little sticky patch in the bottom left for reasons hard to fathom looking back. It was seeing LOLITA as a possibility for 19d, then remembering faintly she was Dolores Haze, which unlocked it all.
One doesn’t need a great FUND of intelligence to know which was my favourite, but I also liked LESBIANS (another which took a little fathoming out) and THREESOMES. How was it for you?
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
Across
9a Blunt statement in house encountered with sorrow (4,5)
HOME TRUTH
HO (house) + MET (encountered) with RUTH (sorrow)
10a Something nasty afoot sees leader deserting alliance (5)
UNION
[b]UNION (something nasty afoot) has the first letter removed (sees leader departing)
11a Former lover two boys lavishly praised (7)
EXALTED
EX (former lover) + AL and TED (two boys)
12a Managed game in large part and cattle farms (7)
RANCHES
RAN (managed) + most of (… in large part) CHESs (game)
13a Complete report (5)
SOUND
A double definition (and not for UTTER, which was what I entered first!)
14a Point about much reduced page is so long (6-3)
TOODLE-PIP
TIP (point) around (about) all but the last letter of (… reduced) OODLEs (much) and P (page)
16a Disguised in Emerald Isle, a spy: Tees won’t blab (2,4,3,6)
MY LIPS ARE SEALED
Our setter’s assurance of his silence is found anagrammed (disguised) in EMERALD ISLE A SPY
18a Royals partying are changing the whole calendar (5,4)
SOLAR YEAR
ROYALS anagrammed (partying) + ARE anagrammed (changing)
20a South American greeting tasty Asian dish (5)
SUSHI
S (south) + US (American) + HI (greeting)
21a Jazz group touring see capital city (7)
COLOMBO
COMBO (jazz group) around (touring) LO (see)
22a Enduring a considerable noise inside (7)
ABIDING
A (a) + BIG (considerable) with DIN (noise) inside
23a Don’t declare weapon (5)
BATON
BAT ON (don’t declare)
24a Hot tureen needs stir in addition to that (9)
THEREUNTO
HOT TUREEN needs to be made into an anagram (needs stir) to give us the answer
Down
1d Ménages à trois seem to her at odds with society (10)
THREESOMES
SEEM TO HER anagrammed (at odds) plus (with) S (society)
2d Novel name used occasionally with Handel’s last Messiah (8)
EMMANUEL
EMMA (novel) + N (name) + alternate letters of (… occasionally) UsEd + handeL’s last letter
3d Washington agency to go into declaration (5,10)
STATE DEPARTMENT
DEPART (to go) goes into STATEMENT (declaration)
4d Kitty has delightful day (4)
FUND
FUN (delightful) + D (day). 🙂
5d Joy surrounds a funny person — circus performer? (10)
CHARIOTEER
CHEER (joy) surrounds A RIOT (a funny person)
6d Pub dinner feels wrong without whiskey for Aussie native (6-3,6)
FUNNEL-WEB SPIDER
PUB DINNER FEELS anagrammed (wrong) around (without) W (whiskey)
7d Hearts put into joint work making music (3-3)
HIP-HOP
H (hearts) put into HIP (joint) and OP (work)
8d Extra cash, not British, becomes burden (4)
ONUS
[b]ONUS (extra cash) without (not) B (British)
14d Deter a tour abroad that caravans might have taken (5,5)
TRADE ROUTE
DETER A TOUR anagrammed (abroad)
15d Stuffing not put back in bear (10)
PADDINGTON
PADDING (stuffing) + NOT reversed (put back)
17d Such women could be out in north, beset by male prejudice (8)
LESBIANS
N (north) surrounded by (beset by) LES (male) and BIAS (prejudice)
19d Haze affected toil in smoggy city (6)
LOLITA
An anagram of (affected) TOIL in LA (smoggy city)
21d Youngster close to stone block (4)
CUBE
CUB (youngster) + the last letter of (close to) stonE
22d Woodsman thus given the push? (4)
AXED
I think this works best as a double definition, though when solving I just took it as a cryptic definition. In any case, there’s a pun on two meanings of AXED
A thoroughly enjoyable Sunday solve that really hot my wavelength. Thanks Kitty and Tees. So many good clues it was hard to pick a favourite, but the Hot Tureen was rather lovely.
today i do share ur enthusiasm Kitty! amongst many others i found TOODLE-PIP particularly satisfying! now on high Nina-alert I fervently scanned at every new entry… only found MAN, BED, TAD and TREE (in reverse) so I’m guessing there wasn’t one…?
thanks to Kitty & Tees
Enough to keep the mind in gear, but a less taxing challenge than a few hard ones this weekend, including yesterday’s Tyrus. Even so, I had no idea what ‘Haze’ had to do with LOLITA and couldn’t really sort out the parsing for LESBIANS. I did like THREESOMES and TOODLE-PIP; very quaint, even if I doubt anyone outside crossword-land uses the term anymore.
To accompany FUND in particular, the expected pictures of our furry feline friends from Kitty, plus a plate of tempting looking SUSHI. What about some equally appealing images of the Antipodean arachnoid creature appearing at 6d? Now that would be a real challenge.
Thanks to Tees and Kitty
We found this quite straightforward and a fairly quick solve. !9dn looked as if it had to be LOLITA but we had to google to make the Haze connection. Favourite was SOLAR YEAR – one of those crafty clues with two anagram indicators.
In response to WordPlodder, don’t click here if you’re an arachnophobe.
Thanks, Tees and Kitty.
Writing a good crossword is one thing.
Writing a good crossword for the Indy every single week is something quite different.
And knowing that he also writes for The Times and other publications, one cannot else than be in awe of the skills of our setter.
It’s all been said before – enjoyable, elegant, natural surfaces, just the right level etc etc.
I don’t often comment on Tees puzzles but today I do, just to say that it was very good again!
I think, in particular 3dn was a splendid clue.
Many thanks to Kitty & Tees.
I’m in awe of all the setters and hope they get well paid for their skills.
In 2d I read ‘novel’ as an anagrind for’name’ and so for a while didn’t have enough letters for Emmanuel, not helped by being a bit doubtful how many ms or ns! Oh dear, how basic, but it didn’t last long. Enjoyed the solar year. Thanks Tees and Kitty
Jayjay @6: you are not alone with your parsing of 2d. I did the same and was so convinced it was a rare typo in the clue, I never saw the EMMA alternative and the answer was a (rather surprised, given the quality of the rest of the puzzle) shrug and bung. And I totally failed to parse LESBIANS or, like others, recognise the LOLITA connection though the solution was clear. In addition to several ticked clues that have already been mentioned, I’d note TRADE ROUTE for its surface and two delightfully simple ones, AXED and BATON.
Thanks Tees and Kitty
Oh how lovely, after having abandoned yesterday’s Tyrus because we just weren’t on the same wavelength. I find myself in synch with Tees almost all the time.
Can only add to the applause for a lovely crossword: teasing, tricky in parts, but with some checkers the penny drops.
I also didn’t know the Lolita – Haze connection and I couldn’t quite parse toodle-pip or State Department, so especial thanks to Kitty. Charioteer does indeed get a cheer from me.
Many thanks Kitty & Tees.
Thanks everyone, esp Kitty for her bloggle. 4d luckily for me turns out to have been apposite!
Anyway cheers: I’m just having an idea for PURPLE HAZE …