Why is it that I find writing a preamble more difficult than solving/parsing the clues? Probably because I have a analytical mind rather than a creative one. Anyway, to business.
The introduction indicated we needed to omit a letter from eight of the across entries, add one to eight of the down entries and that the remaining clues contained sixteen superfluous words which defined the actual grid entries.
My starting point was to run through all the clues trying to spot the additional words, which led to some entries and a toehold into the grid. After that I made steady progress, shuffling between across and downs, until I was left with just 23dn to complete.
I thought the solution must be SEAL (confirmation) but that left S?E?L for which I couldn’t find a word that fitted. By that time I had worked out that the missing/additional letters could spell TRANSFER and it appeared that I was missing an R in the down clues. However, the light eventually dawned. If a T is added instead it can make STEAL (bargain, the definition in 5ac). Revisiting 6dn, where I had used the T, I found that I had T+RAPPINGS rather than the correct R in TAPPINGS. All was now clear.
It is not unknown for there to edits/amendments to Genius puzzles after publication. If there have been this time, I haven’t seen them (I don’t revisit the page after downloading the pdf unless there is an obvious error).
Across
1 Most pale wine is swallowed by nuisance (7)
PASTIEST – ASTI (wine) in (is swallowed by) PEST (nuisance)
PASTIES – 20dn pies – -T
5 Cent to be plated with gold in {bargain} month (7)
OCTOBER – C (cent) TO BE in (plated with) OR (gold)
9 Turned down work aboard sleigh (5)
SLOPED – OP (work) in (aboard) SLED (sleigh)
LOPED – 27ac ran – -S
10 Tanning? Tan oil is on, smeared (9)
INSOLATION – an anagram (smeared) of TAN OIL IS ON
ISOLATION – 2dn quarantine – -N
11 Set aside weapon given to vessel in swirling {dark} river (9)
EARMARKED – ARM (weapon) ARK (vessel) in DEE (river) reversed (swirling)
12 Indian religious follower is to discuss returning {colourful clothes} (5)
PARSI – IS RAP (discuss) reversed (returning)
13 {Assessing} part of opera as central in it (5)
SCENA – CEN (central) in SA (it)
15 Scamp {steals} final thing in the immediate future (9)
IMPENDING – IMP (scamp) ENDING (final thing)
18 Startled mouths gape, {particularly} after dismissing University’s brief comments (9)
APOTHEGMS – an anagram (startled) of MO[u]THS AGAPE
19 About to enter bet, but not last — successful run? (5)
STREAK – RE (about) in (to enter) STAK[e] (bet, but not last)
STEAK – 16dn cut – -R
21 Spoke endlessly about reduced meat in sausage (5)
SALAMI – SAi[d] (spoke endlessly) around (about) LAM[b] (reduced meat)
SALMI – 5dn ragout – -A
23 Pieces reassembled by collaborator, chiefly (9)
ESPECIALLY – an anagram (reassembled) of PIECES plus ALLY (collaborator)
SPECIALLY – 18ac particularly – -E
25 Steps taken with instruction not working regarding Kiwis? (9)
FLIGHTLESS – FLIGHT (steps taken) LESS[on} (instruction not working)
LIGHTLESS – 11ac dark – -F
26 Colourful sailing ship heads for home today (5)
BRIGHT – BRIG (sailing ship) H[ome] T[oday (heads for home today)
BIGHT – 18dn bay – -R
27 {Ran} theatre production — returned amount I reckon should be reduced (7)
MUSICAL – SUM (amount) reversed (returned) I CAL[l] (reckon should be reduced)
28 Poor information about old {pagan} produces resentment (7)
DUDGEON – DUD (poor) GEN (information) around (about) O (old)
Down
1 They build up bridge supports, crossing lake (7)
PILERS – PIERS (bridge supports) around (crossing) L (lake)
PILFERS – 15ac steals – +F
2 Comic figure animated our {quarantine} sphere (9)
SUPERHERO – an anagram (animated) of OUR SPHERE
3 {Being scrupulous} in raising support for country (5)
INDIA – IN AID (support) reversed (raising)
4 Bit of lint in cloth of mattress is irritating (9)
TICKLING – L[int] (bit of lint) in TICKING (cloth of mattress)
STICKLING – 3dn being scrupulous – +S
5 {Ragout}, like eggs, beginning to offset emptiness (5)
OVOID – O[ffset) (beginning to offset) VOID (emptiness)
6 Percussive sounds from a pair of pianos amidst bell sounds (9)
TAPPINGS – A PP (a pair of pianos) in (amidst) TINGS (bell sounds)
TRAPPINGS – 12ac colourful clothes – +R
7 Last support that is to be pumped into old rail company (5)
BIER – IE (that is) in (to be pumped into) BR (old rail company)
BRIER – 24dn pipe – +R
8 Family presented in newspaper as being dissolute (7)
RAKING – KIN (family) in (presented in) RAG (newspaper)
RANKING – 13ac assessing – +N
14 Believing that man is tenor featured in movement (9)
THEISTIC – HE (that man) IS T (tenor) in (featured in) TIC (movement)
ATHEISTIC – 28ac pagan – +A
16 Had {cut} core of dissent repeatedly in school (9)
POSSESSED – [di]SSE[nt] [di]sse[nt] (core of dissent repeatedly) in POD (school)
17 Adherent {goes downhill} — record held in University is restricted by Derrida’s notion (9)
IDEOLOGUE – LOG (record) in OU (University) in (is restricted by) IDEE (Derrida’s notion)
18 Rebellious son, sailor, almost — almost — ruined {bay} (7)
ABSALOM – AB (sailor) plus an anagram (ruined) of ALMOS[t] (almost – almost)
20 Home for 2 ornate tiny pork {pies}, not one (7)
KRYPTON – an anagram (ornate) of T[i]NY PORK (tiny pork, not one)
22 Bullets missing head? Clumsy fools (5)
LUGS – [s]LUGS (bullets missing head)
LUGES – 17dn goes downhill – +E
23 Nurse alone can provide confirmation (5)
SEAL – contained in (can provide) ‘nurSE Alone’
STEAL – 5ac bargain – +T
24 Lodge {pipe}, black, running into one sea (5)
IMBED – B (black) in (running into) I (one) MED (sea)
Thanks Gaufrid and Pangakupu.
This was good – bringing in completion by offering definitions to the 16 grid entries.
Worked our TRANSFER which was helpful, esp with finding home for the two Rs.
INSOLATION was new to me though sore thumb ‘quarantine’ confirmed 10a. Enjoyed this.
After failing completely with my first effort at a genius last month I was a bit hesitant about this but compared to last month, this month’s rubric was very clear and unambiguous. Going from Pastiest to PASTIES without any trouble I settled down to give it a go. Helped by being away from home for some days with no access to a printer for other crosswords, I found working through this puzzle a delight. Thanks Gaufrid for your blog and Pangakupu for a puzzle that has given my confidence a boost! Given the cryptics don’t arrive until 11am our time at this point in the year I like to have some other puzzles in play for breakfast periods. Learnt APOTHEGMS.
Thanks Gaufrid. I thought this was very good. ?Is Pangakupu a new setter? I don’t remember seeing the name before. A Google search suggests it is the Maori word for “crossword puzzle”.
Yet another original Genius puzzle. I completed this one in less time than any of the other four I have attempted (and completed), but I got a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from grappling with the two types of clue and matching the superfluous words in the clues to words in the grid.
Like Gaufrid, I found myself in a dilemma with TRAPPINGS. To be consistent with the Across clues (where the eight letters made TRANSFER) the shorter word had to be TAPPINGS (with the TINGS of the bell), releasing R instead of T.
The preamble was crystal clear, and the gridfill was impressive, accommodating all those edjusted words.
Thanks to Pangakupu and Gaufrid.
Thanks Pangakupu and Gaufrid.
Very clever and well crafted, I thought the extra word(s) were well hidden and in most cases didn’t jump out immediately, which made for a nicely challenging yet achievable solve.
Good to see you’re back in the saddle Gaufrid, hope your convalescence is going well.
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I found this very well paced – I made a decent enough start with several of the clues falling on the first pass including a number I could not write in as they had to be amended. Then a few crossers made a couple of the amendments unambiguous and then I came to a halt. I came back to it over the next couple of days, finding the break had made clear things that had previously been foggy and so it finally fell with a good sense of satisfaction. It wasn’t a puzzle where I found myself exclaiming at the beauty of the clues or surfaces (though I had naught to complain about there) but one where the extra twist made the whole solve feel like a real achievement.
I’ve nothing clever or insightful to say about the puzzle or my solving of it, but simply dropped in to say many thanks Pangakupu for the lovely, clever puzzle and thank you Gaufrid for the blog and the site.
I found this very enjoyable. Not much more to say than that – just a consistently really good puzzle. Good job.