A pleasant start to the day from Artexlen
This was an enjoyable solve. My first pass at the across answers yielded very little, but most of the down answers went in very quickly, leaving me with ample crossers to fill in the remaining solutions. I was left with the ORATE, DYESTUFF and the gnarly KNAPSACK, all three of which went in before I had fully parsed them.
Thanks, Artexlen.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SMOOTH |
Plane low in south (6)
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MOO ("low") in Sth. (south) |
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| 5 | BUDAPEST |
Develop mock stone to make city (8)
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BUD ("develop") + APE ("mock") + St. (stone) |
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| 9 | SUITOR |
Admirer of eg diamonds and gold (6)
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SUIT ("eg diamonds") and OR ("gold", in heraldry) |
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| 10 | APERTURE |
Third of Xmas crackers erupt on opening (8)
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[third of] (xm)A(s) + *(erupt) [anag:crackers] + RE ("on") |
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| 11 | KNAPSACK |
Brought back kilo, roughly, with tan bag (8)
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[brought back]<=(K (kilo) + Ca (circa, so "roughly") + SPANK ("tan")) |
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| 12 | THROBS |
Three obese Europeans all disregarded pulses (6)
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THR(ee) OB(e)S(e) [all E (Europeans) disregarded] |
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| 13 | BLUE |
Second-rate part of crossword, not the first down (4)
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B ("second-rate") + (c)LUE ("part of crossword", not the first) |
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| 15 | UNFILLED |
Lacking sustenance, eating poorly and empty (8)
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UNFED ("lacking sustenance") eating ILL ("poorly") |
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| 18 | MANDOLIN |
Party on island left in cutter (8)
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DO ("party") on (Isle of) MAN ("island") + L (left) + IN |
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| 19 | NAYS |
Denials from lousy anarchists backfired (4)
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Hidden backwards in [from…backfired] "louSY ANarchists" |
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| 21 | SHAKEN |
Alarmed fish netted by Poles (6)
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HAKE ("fish") netted by S + N (South and North "poles") |
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| 23 | OMISSION |
Duck errand, showing disregard (8)
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O ("duck" in cricket) + MISSION ("errand") |
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| 25 | GOLD MINE |
Gem in bust found outside former pit (4,4)
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*(gem in) [anag:bust] found outside OLD ("former") |
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| 26 | KOALAS |
Climbers agreed to turn back regrettably (6)
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<=OK ("agreed" to turn back) + ALAS ("regrettably") |
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| 27 | MESSAGES |
Tangles containing silver wires (8)
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MESSES ("tangles") containing Ag ("silver" on the periodic table) |
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| 28 | DIESEL |
Pass most of traffic getting fuel (6)
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DIE ("pass") + [most of] SEL(l) ("traffic") |
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| DOWN | ||
| 2 | MOURN |
Keen poet’s start to day in auditorium (5)
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Homophone [in auditorium] of MORN ("poet's start to day") |
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| 3 | OUTSPREAD |
Wide-open rolling pasture surrounded by woods regularly overlooked (9)
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*(pasture) [anag:rolling] surrounded by (w)O(o)D(s) [regularly overlooked] |
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| 4 | HERBAL |
Plant-based starters of rolls bearing filling get better (6)
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[starters of] R(olls) B(earing) filling HEAL ("get better") |
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| 5 | BLACKBURN ROVERS |
Team of dark and light dogs (9,6)
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BLACK ("dark") and BURN ("light") + ROVERS ("dogs") |
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| 6 | DYESTUFF |
Colouring no good, accepting the old way (8)
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DUFF ("no good") accepting YE ("the old") + St. (street, so "way") |
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| 7 | PETER |
Boy having time between back-to- back school lessons (5)
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T (time) between [back-to-back] PE (physical education) and <=RE (religious education), PE and RE being "school lessons" |
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| 8 | SHRUBBERY |
Quiet person massaging unknown growth (9)
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SH ("quiet") + RUBBER ("person massaging") + Y (unknown, in maths) |
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| 14 | LOATHSOME |
Vile stewed meal so hot (9)
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*(meal so hot) [anag:stewed] |
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| 16 | LANDSCAPE |
Artwork drops on head (9)
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LANDS ("drops") on CAPE ("head") |
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| 17 | BLINDING |
Learner cutting bandage is excellent (8)
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L (learner) cutting BINDING ("bandage") |
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| 20 | RISKED |
Searched when missing leader is endangered (6)
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(f)RISKED ("searched", when missing leader) |
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| 22 | KUDOS |
Turf our land all round laurels (5)
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<=(SOD ("turf") + U.K. ("our land")) [all round] |
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| 24 | ORATE |
Harangue love cheat with ecstasy (5)
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O (love, in tennis) + RAT ("cheat") with E (ecstasy) |
Not exactly SMOOTH sailing but not too much of a struggle either, unlike some others in the last couple of days. Ticks from me for the parsing for BUDAPEST and DYESTUFF, the complicated reversals in KNAPSACK and the unusual ‘cutter’ in MANDOLIN.
I had to spend a while on BLINDING, my last in. Makes a welcome change from “def” anyway!
Thanks to Artexlen and loonapick
ACD
Thanks to Artexlen and loonapick. Very enjoyable. I slowed myself by starting with underfed rather than UNFILLED, did not parse KNAPSACK, did parse MANDOLIN without knowing the term as a cutter, and wasn’t certain about sell as traffic,
Thanks Artexlen, that was an enjoyable challenge. I liked BUDAPEST, THROBS, and UNFILLED in particular; I didn’t like harangue as a definition of ORATE; I couldn’t parse KNAPSACK or DYESTUFF so thanks loonapick for that.
Thanks for the blog, a nice set of clever concise clues here, will just add BLINDING to the favourites mentioned so far.
An enjoyable solve, despite a few tricky parsings which prompted some ‘aha’ moments when we saw them. We particularly liked MANDOLIN, SHAKEN, OUTSPREAD and SHRUBBERY.
Thanks, Artexlen and loonapick
Thanks Artexlen and loonapick. KUDOS and KNAPSACK went in unparsed, the former perhaps understandably so as I’ve never been to the UK and don’t think of it as “our land”. MANDOLIN gave me a surprising amount of grief as I’ve always thought mandolin = lute, mandoline = chopper, but I got there in the end. BLINDING as “excellent” was new to me too, and was my loi.
Thanks Artexlen and loonapick
Did complete this one yesterday, but only got to check it off tonight. Good puzzle with a bunch of clever but clearly constructed clues. Started off authoritatively enough in the top left corner but then had to move around the grid to find other solvable ones. Eventually got there with all answered parsed for a change and nice to see some KOALAS amongst them all.
Took some time to see the BURN = ‘light’ at 5d and also gave pause to ‘harangue’ = ORATE.
Finished in the NE corner with DYESTUFF, APERTURE and PETER the last one in.