A solid challenge from BRADMAN which I couldnt completely solve on my own. Thanks for the workout, BRADMAN!
FF: 9 DD: 9
I had 3 clues where I needed help with either the solve or the parse. I have noted the same in the blog.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PENELOPE |
Woman to run off after writer (8)
|
| ELOPE ( run off ) after PEN ( writer ) | ||
| 5 | IDLERS |
Non-workers led astray in the grip of wicked sir (6)
|
| [ LED ]* in [ SIR ]* | ||
| 9 | PRIMEVAL |
Proper English girl before Man came along? (8)
|
| PRIM ( proper ) E ( English ) VAL ( girl, valerie ) | ||
| 10 | AMERCE |
It’s fine in the morning before a hint of cloud comes in (6)
|
| AM ( morning ) [ ERE ( before ) containing C ( hint of Cloud, first letter ) ]; didnt know this word so needed help to solve. | ||
| 12 | ASHES |
Female with outer oomph about to become a trophy (5)
|
| SHE ( female ) in reverse ( about ) of SA ( Sex Appeal, oomph ) | ||
| 13 | IMMUNISED |
I am maiden with fancy undies given protection from something nasty? (9)
|
| I’M ( i am ) M ( maiden ) [ UNDIES ]* | ||
| 14 | BOWLEG |
Curved pin in vessel, say (6)
|
| BOWL ( vessel ) EG ( say ) | ||
| 16 | ARCHIVE |
Cunning this writer has used to produce document (7)
|
| ARCH ( cunning ) I’VE ( this writer has ) | ||
| 19 | CORINTH |
My home – this is demolished in Greek city (7)
|
| COR ( my ) IN ( home ) THis ( IS demolished i.e. without IS ) | ||
| 21 | PILLOW |
Expression of pain? First take tablet – it may help you sleep (6)
|
| PILL ( tablet ) OW ( expression of pain ) | ||
| 23 | FINALISTS |
Winners and losers ultimately (9)
|
| ( not so ) cryptic def | ||
| 25 | LIANA |
Plant, one found in particular wood (5)
|
| I ( one ) in LANA ( particular wood, either referring to american actress LANA wood or to the wood of the genipap tree ); i needed help to solve this. | ||
| 26 | OUTCRY |
Protest in court unusual – last thing royalty needs (6)
|
| [ COURT ]* Y ( royaltY, last letter ) | ||
| 27 | BIG STICK |
GB is getting awkward moment – there’s a nasty threat (3,5)
|
| [ GB IS ]* TICK ( moment ) | ||
| 28 | DISUSE |
Order issued – our pits were destined to fall into this (6)
|
| [ ISSUED ]* | ||
| 29 | INFERNAL |
It’s hellish inside – fright’s beginning, not ending (8)
|
| INtERNAL [ inside, with F ( Fright’s starting letter ) replacing T ( frighT’s ending letter ) ] | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | POPLAR |
The heart’s gone out of well-liked part of London (6)
|
| POPuLAR ( well-liked, without central character ) | ||
| 2 | NEIGHBOUR |
No regional accent heard from someone in our area? (9)
|
| sounds like NAY ( no ) BURR ( regional accent ) | ||
| 3 | LOESS |
Foolish candidates ultimately lose deposit (5)
|
| [ S ( candidateS, ultimately ) LOSE ]* | ||
| 4, 20 | PLAYING HOST |
Extending hospitality? That could get you shot! (7,4)
|
| reverse clue with PLAYING as anagram indicator -> [ HOST ]* = SHOT | ||
| 6 | DOMINICAL |
Sunday’s party skirt above the knee term “short” (9)
|
| DO ( party ) MINI ( skirt above the knee ) CALl ( term, short i.e. without the last letter ) | ||
| 7 | EARLS |
Lords offering bits of wisdom, but not quietly (5)
|
| pEARLS ( bits of wisdom, without P – quietly ) | ||
| 8 | STEADIER |
Tread is wobbly with age finally creeping in? In younger days one was this! (8)
|
| [ TREAD IS ]* containing E ( agE, finally ) | ||
| 11 | EMMA |
In the afternoon Pip’s abandoned girl (4)
|
| pM ( without P – Pip ) expanded as a signaller would; guessed the answer and had to get help to parse | ||
| 15 | LANDLORDS |
Letters descend on Westminster house (9)
|
| LAND ( descend ) LORDS ( westminster house ) | ||
| 17 | ISOLATION |
Liaison to break up – loneliness resulting (9)
|
| [ LIAISON TO ]* | ||
| 18 | SCAFFOLD |
Platform providing timeless facts about group of followers (8)
|
| [ FACtS ( timeless i.e. without T ) ]* FOLD ( group of followers ) | ||
| 20 |
See 4
|
|
| 21 | PASSION |
Indication of lust with one about to show great desire (7)
|
| PASS ( with ? ) I ( one ) ON ( about ) | ||
| 22 | JACKAL |
Wild animal sailor brought over a lake (6)
|
| JACK ( sailor ) A L ( lake ) | ||
| 24 | NOTES |
Records revolutionary attack (5)
|
| SET ON (attack ), reversed | ||
| 25 | LISLE |
Material left on land cut off by water (5)
|
| L ( left ) ISLE ( land cut off by water ) |
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
25ac: With other setters one would be less confident about this, but with Bradman, the lower case “w” in “wood” makes me feel that the reference must be to the genipap tree rather than the actress.
Tougher than normal for Bradman. Didn’t know the plant LIANA nor the wood LANA, so a word fit here. Also need similar help to get LOESS, another unknown and an unlikely looking word. Finished off with ASHES. Vaguely remembered AMERCE but looked it up to check.
I took ‘pass’ in 21d to be an ‘indication of lust’, ie, ‘make a pass’ at.
Not that I fared particularly well with today’s grid, needing help with BOWLEG, CORINTH, NEIGHBOUR and, naturally, AMERCE.
I did like the surface for 8d, along with 27 and 6.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs.
I took 21dn the same way as Diane @3.
Re 9A: isn’t there a “a: missing in the answer?
Just like “paedophile” has become “pedophile” – is this an American incursion?
As a follow up to my last comment: why do people say “pedofile” but still say “peedotrician”? Both have the same root: “paedo” – pronounced “peedo”, not “peddo”.
Re, 11D, PIP EMMA meaning PM, afternoon, was deployed by Bradman in his Guardian alter ego, Pasquale, on March 2nd, as the solution to 1A: “Very good Austen novel when keeping quiet in the afternoon (3,4)”
Completed without help but also without parsing eg LIANA – thanks to Turbolegs for that. Pip Emma, Amerce and Loess I’ve come across before, so they were OK. An adequate puzzle, but not particularly impressive apart from the neat reverse anagram in 4,20.
Peter @5. To be honest, I’ve always used PRIMEVAL and Chambers doesn’t say it’s US. It may be like EON/AEON?
I’ve always been surprised by the different pronunciations of ‘chiro’ in CHIROPRACTOR & CHIROPODIST, where the latter is usually with a SH sound at the start.
Don’t get the parsing of passion sry to say
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
This was a toughie which took a couple of solid sittings to complete. Only a couple that I couldn’t parse – INFERNAL (where was stuck on IN (inside) + F + trying to fit ETERNAL into the process somehow) and DOMINICAL (where had the DO MINI and thought that he had it wrong and should have been ‘below the knee term’ = CAL[F]).
Think that 23a is more than a (not so) cryptic definition – had it as FINAL ISTS (as the winners) and whoever was beaten in the final as the ‘losers’ – thought that it was quite clever.
Made trouble for myself by trying to force BOWING (unparsed) into 14a and ARTICLE (last bit unparsed) into 16a.
Finished in the SE corner with BIG STICK, JACKAL and LIANA (what used to be a favourite crossword vine and remembering Lana Wood eventually) as the last few in.
Alanjc123@10 re 21dn. I took it this way:
Indication of lust = PASS (as in “make a pass at someone”)
with = followed by
one = I
about = ON
to show = link from wordplay to answer
great desire = PASSION (main definition)
It looks as though Diane @3 had it this way as well.
That was my parsing too.
Tough but ultimately satisfying — AMERCE (new to me), CORINTH (forgot cor = my), ARCHIVE, and FINALISTS were the clues I could not get; there were others where I played the game of “guess, then parse.” Favourites included PENELOPE, PILLOW, EARLS, and PLAYING HOST. Thanks to both.
Thanks for the blog, late again, did enjoy some of the neat clues here.
Diane@3 with “make a pass ” is surely correct for PASSION.
Really like the Bruce@11 explanation for FINALISTS, the losers are usually called the finalists and the winners just the winners, so FINAL ISTS seems very neat.
PRIMEVAL I did not like, means the very young Earth before life really began, humans have occupied only a tiny fraction of the time since life did exist.