The puzzle is available here.
Hello everyone. Klingsor puzzles can be counted on to be completely sound as well as entertaining, so I am happy with my blogging lot today.
It wasn’t all plain sailing as I had a complete blank on 7a, and then found that I had carelessly entered the homophone of the answer in 21d, despite the “is” clearly pointing to the definition. Shoddy solver! Ah well, it gives me something to talk about here. And at least the 17a plant did turn out to be of the name the wordplay directed me to.
Once again I can’t pick out favourite clues, but that is certainly not for want of candidates. Thanks Klingsor!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
Across
1a Be dismissed, finally paying their debt off (3,3,4)
GET THE BIRD
The last letter of (finally) payinG + THEIR DEBT anagrammed (off)
7a Not quite a sacred river (4)
ALPH
Without its last letter, (not quite) ALPHa (a, in the NATO alphabet)
9a Returning loved ones cross the threshold (8)
DOORSTEP
PETS (loved ones) and ROOD (cross) reversed (returning …)
10a On ship overseas, Rex travels east (6)
ABOARD
ABROAD (overseas), in which R (Rex) moves to the right (travels east)
11a Housing unit, number one of two (6)
EITHER
Containing (housing) I (one: unit), ETHER (number, i.e. anaesthetic)
13a Idiots read his adult novel (8)
AIRHEADS
An anagram of (… novel) READ HIS with A (adult)
14a One’s against touching, showing 23 (12)
ANTIPATHETIC
ANTI (one’s against) + PATHETIC (touching). 23 = 23a, AVERSION
17a Plant business with meagre capital backing (12)
TRADESCANTIA
TRADE (business) + SCANT (meagre) + AI (capital) reversed (backing)
20a Josh bores porter perhaps with single complaint (8)
BERIBERI
RIB (josh) goes inside (bores) BEER (porter perhaps) + I (single). This is hyphenated in Chambers but one word in Collins, which is the main reference dictionary for Independent puzzles
21a On reflection, look into Native American cooking style (6)
CREOLE
The reversal of (on reflection) LO (look) goes into CREE (Native American)
22a Catchy tune‘s beginning to jar and grate (6)
JINGLE
The first letter of (beginning to) Jar + INGLE (grate)
23a Declare nothing will stop crime, creating disgust (8)
AVERSION
AVER (declare) + O (nothing) which is to go inside (will stop) SIN (crime)
25a Smear most of material for jacket? (4)
BLUR
All but the last letter of (most of) BLURb (material for jacket – a book jacket)
26a Keen son fills post? It’s for the better (10)
SWEEPSTAKE
WEEP (keen) plus S (son) goes inside (fills) STAKE (post)
Down
2d More than one feeling stressed at heart about proposal (8)
EMOTIONS
The middle letters of (… at heart) strESsed around (about) MOTION (proposal)
3d Politician not close to Harry Hill (3)
TOR
TOR[y] (politician) without (not) the last letter of (close to) harrY
4d Embark upon undertaking, wanting to pry (5)
ENTER
ENTER[prise] (undertaking) lacking (wanting) PRISE (to pry)
5d Call in question statement by vain woman? (7)
IMPEACH
I’M PEACH could be a statement by a vain woman
6d I had picked up a commentator’s accent? (9)
DIACRITIC
I’D (I had) reversed (picked up) + A + CRITIC (commentator)
7d A benefit one’s not seen in discipline for youth (11)
ADOLESCENCE
A + DOLE (benefit), then I (one) is removed from (not seen in) SC[i]ENCE (discipline)
8d Staff must split wages? That’s a mockery (6)
PARODY
ROD (staff) is to be inserted into (must split) PAY (wages)
12d Very sensitive atmosphere feeds high tension on boat (4-7)
HAIR-TRIGGER
AIR (atmosphere) goes inside (feeds) HT (high tension, abbreviation used in electronics) + RIGGER (boat)
15d In a strange sense, conflict leads to understanding (9)
AWARENESS
Between (in) A and an anagram of (strange) SENSE, is WAR (conflict)
16d Pruning tool sick husband kept in reserve (8)
BILLHOOK
ILL (sick) and H (husband) is inside (kept in) BOOK (reserve)
18d One runs into pal after initially entering Kuwait? (7)
EMIRATE
I (one) and R (runs) inserted into MATE (pal), all after the first letter of (initially) Entering
19d Earl is involved in a row (6)
SERIAL
EARL IS anagrammed (involved)
21d Twitter, I tell you, is shoddy (5)
CHEAP
CHEEP (twitter), homophone (I tell you)
24d Dipso, tosspot? That covers it (3)
SOT
DipSO, Tosspot contains the answer (that covers it)
The usual excellent clueing from Klingsor, although I found this a lot harder than normal. Had to cheat on the unknown plant – could reasonably guess TRADE to start with but would never have come up with the rest. Also cheated on ANTIPATHETIC so not a particularly good outing from me.
Always love Klingsor’s surfaces with top marks from me for JINGLE.
Fortunately I only had to glance into the conservatory to see TRADESCANTIA. As Hovis says some fine surfaces JINGLE and PARODY, too. I am another who plumped for the wrong cheep.
As soon as I see ‘sacred river’, it has to be ALPH: A Level English to the rescue once more:
“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.”
Great stuff – double tick straightaway!
I agree that picking favourites is invidious, in such a lovely puzzle, so I won’t list any more. Excellent constructions and superb surfaces throughout, as always.
I think ‘showing’ should be underlined in the definition of 14ac.
Many thanks to Klingsor for making a bright morning even brighter and to Kitty for a super blog.
Eileen @3. I once had an O’level English homework to learn the words to Kubla Khan (can probably still recite it to this day). So, like you, ALPH was a write-in.
An excellent cruciverbal start to the weekend, though I did need to resort to a word list for a couple, and I struggled at the crossing 25A/19D. ALPH is also a real river in Antarctica apparently, and a tributary of the Moselle is the ALF – marginally less ridiculous names for rivers than PO. That aside, thanks Klingsor and Kitty.
Think this is the first time I’ve tried a puzzle from Klingsor – it may not be the last.
I knew the plant which was a great help but I’m not very well up on sacred rivers so that was solved from the reference to ‘A’.
My favourite was probably JINGLE – I still have plenty of the ones from many years ago rattling around in my head!
Thanks to Klingsor and also to my favourite feline for the review.
ALPH was a write-in for me, for which I blame Xanadu by Rush, but that lyric was mostly borrowed from Coleridge. Quite a gentle puzzle, but an enjoyable one.
Thanks to Kitty and Klingsor
This was just right for me. I kept thinking I was stuck, but then reread the clue more carefully and there was the answer. LOI was Alph – I’m a sucker for definitions hidden as inconsequential link words (‘as’ for arsenic always holds me up however often I see it).
Thanks for the puzzle Klingsor and Kitty for the blog.
Good puzzle, straight down the middle – very Times-like in style, though easier, like a Telegraph.
Nice reference from Beery Hiker to a song I first heard on surely the best live album of all time, Exit…Stage Left. And 2 Down almost had me looking for a snow dog… Memories come flooding back of the peerless drummer and lyricist Neil Peart (RIP): “his flashing eyes, his floating hair…” indeed!
We must have been on Klingsor’s wavelength as we fairly rattled through this in a couple of passes. We liked EITHER and TRADESCANTIA but our favourite was DIACRITIC.
Thanks, Klingsor and Kitty.
Busy day with a birthday going on in the background so in and out but I enjoyed it over a number of dips – and was compelled to comment so late in the day by my LOI: EITHER, a total thigh-slapper. How clever!
Thanks to Klingsor (I’ll be watching out for you) and to Kitty.
Oh, oh, and ALPH was good too.
Thanks both Ks, I really quite enjoyed the puzzle. Funilly enough I’ve never read the poem but struggled to get the answer till last when the proverbial penny drop happened. I suspect due to only ever hearing it not reading it. My O level lit didn’t do anything like it, mostly first world war poetry.
Late to the party but thank you Klingsor and Kitty both, I very much appreciated this. Last in was ALPH, which I just resisted doing a Reveal on and went through the alphabet .. when I got to L the sound of the penny dropping could be heard three doors don the road.