A trademark Zamorca puzzle
This is my fourth Zamorca blog, and the fourth pangram. I didn't actually notice it was a pangram until it was finished, which may indicate that I was too busy solving the puzzle or that I just wasn't looking for it. Either way, this was an enjoyable solve, which would have taken about five minutes less if I hadn't fixated on DRAW LEVEL instead of DEAD LEVEL for my LOI – it's obvious now but I just couldn't see it at first.
Thanks Zamorca
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | POSTMAN |
Fix stamp on and he delivers (7)
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*(stamp on) [anag:fix] |
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| 5 | SHALLOW |
Everything in programme’s lacking depth (7)
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ALL ("everything") in SHOW ("programme") |
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| 9 | EXULT |
Delight in lute playing to eat by (5)
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*(lute) [anag:playing] to eat X (multiplied or "by") |
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| 10 | T-JUNCTION |
Finally get judge’s agreement – court to stop road intersection (1-8)
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[finally] (ge)T + J (Judge) + CT. (court) to stop UNION ("agreement") |
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| 11 | UPPERMOST |
Prompts EU action at the highest level (9)
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*(prompts eu) [anag:action] |
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| 12 | ADD TO |
Notice odd parts of dot-com on increase (3,2)
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AD ("notice") + [odd parts of] D(o)T(c)O(m) |
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| 13 | LIKED |
Enjoyed Conservative leaving beaten (5)
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C (Conservative) leaving LI(c)KED ("beaten") |
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| 15 | ARROGANCE |
Recall artist repaired organ that’s church’s pride (9)
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[recall] <=R.A. (member of the Royal Academy, so "artist") + *(organ) [anag:repaired] + CE ("Church" of England) |
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| 18 | HERBAL TEA |
Drink ale the bar brewed (6,3)
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*(ale the bar) [anag:brewed] |
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| 19 | LAWNS |
Grassed areas have new rules to comprehend (5)
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N (new) comprehended (as in "grasped") by LAWS ("rules") |
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| 21 | GRILL |
Barbecue half of grub poorly (5)
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[half of] GR(ub) + ILL ("poorly") |
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| 23 | POT POURRI |
Tip liquid in basin drain regularly, it gives a nice smell (3,6)
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POUR ("tip liquid") in POT ("basin") + (d)R(a)I(n) [regularly] |
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| 25 | ALLEVIATE |
Ease brief passage through the borders (9)
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[brief] ALLE(y) ("passage") + VIA ("through") + T(h)E [borders] |
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| 26 | HAIKU |
Endlessly laud revolutionary country in poem (5)
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[endlessly] HAI(l) ("laud") + [revolutionary] <=U.K. ("country") |
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| 27 | DISPLAY |
500 images initially spread out for exhibition (7)
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D (500 in Ruman numerals) + I(mages) [initially] + SPLAY ("spread out") |
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| 28 | FORESEE |
Expect payment to protect mineral deposits (7)
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FEE ("payment") to protect ORES ("mineral deposits") |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PREQUEL |
Backstory is Queen in Peru furious with the Spanish (7)
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Q (queen, in chess notation) in *(peru) [anag:furious] with EL ("the" in "Spanish") |
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| 2 | STUD POKER |
Learn to reduce jabber in card game? (4,5)
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STUD(y) ("learn", reduced) + POKER ("jabber") |
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| 3 | METER |
Gauge to measure temperature rising inside (5)
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Hidden backwards in [rising inside] "measuRE TEMperature" |
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| 4 | NOT SO FAST |
Hang on! Over 100’s very quick (3,2,4)
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[over] <=TON (100) + SO ("very") + FAST ("quick") |
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| 5 | SPURT |
Almost certain last of group’s in time for jet (5)
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[almost] SUR(e) ("certain") with [last of] (grou)P in + T (time) |
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| 6 | ARCHANGEL |
Perhaps Michael’s a moderate between two sides (9)
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A + CHANGE ("moderate") between R + L (right and left, so "two sides") |
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| 7 | LAIRD |
Landowner set’s repressing resistance (5)
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LAID ("set") repressing R (resistance) |
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| 8 | WINSOME |
Succeed in part by charming (7)
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WIN ("succeed") by SOME ("in part") |
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| 14 | DEAD LEVEL |
Late stage to get completely even (4,5)
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DEAD ("late") + LEVEL ("stage", as in a computer game) |
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| 16 | ROAST BEEF |
Worker tucked into pan fried topside for Sunday dinner (5,4)
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BEE ("worker") tucked into ROAST ("pan") + [top side] of F(ried) |
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| 17 | NO WORRIES |
Present rosier version, it’s not a problem (2,7)
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NOW ("present") + *(rosier) [anag:version] |
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| 18 | HAGGARD |
Difficult catching a horse that’s stressed (7)
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HARD ("difficult") catching A + GG ("slang term for "horse") |
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| 20 | SEIZURE |
Makes sure you’re pronounced fit (7)
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Homophone [pronounced] of SEES YOU'RE ("makes sure you're") |
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| 22 | ISLES |
Keys found in gaps between seats when heading off (5)
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(a)ISLES ("gaps between seats", heading off) |
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| 23 | PEAKY |
Exercise over a kilometre and you start being sick (5)
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PE (physical "exercise") over A + K (kilometre) + Y(ou) [start] |
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| 24 | OTHER |
Different characters appear during psychotherapy (5)
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Hidden in [characters appear during] "psychOTHERapy" |
I think the pangram – an added pleasure – appeared quite subtly in this grid which was a quick solve.
HAGGARD, PEAKY and Haiku were favourites.
Thanks to Zamorca and Loonapick.
Very enjoyable. I had to come here to check a couple of parsings. My only quibble — pride and arrogance are a bit different, the first a virtue, the second undesirable.
Pride can be a virtue, but it’s also one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Once I concluded that there is no poem called “HAITI” (26a) I was able to finish with SEIZURE, my LOI. Thanks both.
Once I had concluded that there is no poem called “HAITI” (26a) I was able to finish with SEIZURE, my LOI. Thanks both.
I found this difficult enough and was so happy to finish that I didn’t bother to check for the pangram.
Probably just me, but I don’t like the term PREQUEL. Favourite was SEIZURE, made all the better by the “quality” of the homophone!
Thanks to Zamorca and loonapick
Thanks Zamorca and loonapick
Breezed through this one in a few sessions in between working during the day. Should have remembered that this setter’s puzzles usually entail a pangram – but just forgot to check today.
Sloppily missed the proper parsing of T-JUNCTION not separating the CT and re-defining UNCTION to mean ‘agreement’.
No real stand outs and finished in the SE corner with SEIZURE and PEAKY (a term that I haven’t see with that meaning before).
Thanks Zamorca — it’s not often that I get every answer (unassisted) as well as understand every parsing (without the blog) so I have to like this crossword. ALLEVIATE, ARCHANGEL, and NO WORRIES are among my favourites. Thanks loonapick for the blog.
Thanks Zamorca and Loonapick. A fun solve.
16d. Is pan really synonymous with roast?
Alan @ 10 “The show was panned / roasted by the critics”.
Apart from 14dn, where we too had ‘draw level’ (we read ‘get’ as part of the definition) although we couldn’t fully parse it we solved this all pretty quickly. We didn’t look for a pangram till SEIZURE, our LOI alerted ud to the possibility. Our only adverse comment (and a minor one at that) is that we didn’t think 1ac was very cryptic – the answer was so obvious that we thought it had to be something else till the crossing letters showed it was indeed POSTMAN.
Spoiler alert! Another coincidence, today, too – WINSOME appeared elsewhere, and in the same position in the grid, although differently clued of course.
Thanks, Zamorca and loonapick.