Punk provides the entertainment this Saturday and brings some anarchic fun.
Punk’s clueing always feels slightly different than the majority of setters – I mean that in a good way. Short punchy clues with polished surfaces – arguably totally unlike the music that is in essence 45 years old this year.
Two clues deserve mention for being more than a little risque – 16ac and 6dn. 16ac well that sums up the current, but thank the lord not for much longer, fake news creator Boris . How any self-respecting MP can give a standing ovation to a downright liar – well words fail me. As to 6dn – words fail me also… It was a new word for me and I don’t think I’ve lived that sheltered a life.
24ac was the trickiest one to parse and 26dn the most fun to parse. I did find the Richard Osman clue highly contrived but totally fair.
Thanks Punk – highly enjoyable and such smooth clues. Didn’t really remind me of a guitar riff from 1977.
Across
8 Hollow bit with cutting edges (7)
dent (hollow) + ate (bit) = DENTATE
9 Exciting soap, perhaps, for bestseller? (3,4)
hot (exciting) + cake (soap perhaps) = HOT CAKE
10 Really short card game ending in walkover for native of New England (9)
very (really) – y (short) + monte (card game) + r (ending in walkover) = VERMONTER
11 Message from Australia, Melbourne, returned (5)
Rev. hidden austraLIA MElbourne = EMAIL
12 Relative keen to cut off cloth (3)
nankeen(cloth) – keen = NAN
13 Fancy nuts in fast (4,5)
like (fancy) + crazy (nuts) = LIKE CRAZY
15 Number are practitioners of meditation? (5)
do zen (practitioners of meditation?) = DOZEN
16 Member of parliament? (7)
DD JOHNSON
18 Company member regrets almost nothing after retirement (7)
Rev. rues (regrets) + nada (nothing) – a = DANSEUR
19 Saucy dance? (5)
DD SALSA
20 Outlaw speared criminal, con (9)
(speared)* + do (con) = DESPERADO
23 Whiskey and port (3)
DD RYE
24 Island left by territorials touring a country (5)
tahiti(island) – ta (territorials) around a = HAITI
25 Another convent resident hit? That’s a problem (9)
co (another) + nun (convent resident) + drum (hit?) = CONUNDRUM
27/22 Best-selling author a shade pointless, giant in Croesus? (7,5)
a red (shade) – e (pointless) + os (giant) in Rich man (Croesus?) = RICHARD OSMAN
28 Central character in custody has justification for crime (7)
t (Central character in custody) + reason (justification) = TREASON
DOWN
1 Waterproof articles protecting yellow cloak in the end (6)
an + a (articles) around or (yellow) + k (cloak in the end) = ANORAK
2 Saucy county? (4)
DD MAYO
3 Check viscous fluid including tar, possibly (8)
resin (viscous fluid) around (tar)* = RESTRAIN
4/8 Reptile in bottom of pit turned on Lucifer (6,5)
t (bottom of pit) + horny (turned on) + devil (lucifer) = THORNY DEVIL
5 House gathering later than late in the evening? (10)
at ten (late in the evening) + dance (gathering) = ATTENDANCE
6 Noted art form piercing low area – add sparkle down there? (8)
vale(low area) around jazz (noted art form) = VAJAZZLE (look it up!)
7 German ship under mass of ice, finally disappearing (8)
berg (mass of ice) – g = liner (ship) = BERLINER
8 See 4
14 Narcotics failing to impress a Central American (5,5)
(narcotics)* around a = COSTA RICAN
16 Meat sauce in that place, right on this spot (4,4)
jus (meat sauce) + there (in that place) = JUST HERE
17 Nick Henry, winger (4-4)
hal (henry) + finch (winger) = HALF INCH
18 Separate outdoor drier with it, peg out clothes (8)
sun (outdoor drier) + it in die (peg out) = DISUNITE
20 Crack fish found in river (6)
cod (fish) in Dee (river) = DECODE
21 A centre on the other side (6)
a + cross (centre) = ACROSS
22 See 27 Across
26 Yule like Yue, reportedly? (4)
homonym of No ell (like Yue) = NOEL
Enjoyed. I’ll leave the ‘vajayjay’ entry alone but it’s always good to know new language and what they’re doing down there in those generations. Some clues took a lot of toil but I got there – ‘Richard Osman’ and ‘half-inch’ – both new. Didn’t fancy 18d but did like ‘Berliner’, ‘email’ and ‘danseur’ (took ages to twig the company in question and it was there as plain as day and as clearly explained). Thanks both.
Welcome back, Punk. Good to see you again after a gap of nearly two years. The expected fun with the unlikely 6d entered in ignorance from wordplay – no further comment!
I liked the other “saucy” and food-related clues, and the v. nice ‘Yule like Yue’ homophone to finish with.
Thanks to Punk – hope we don’t have to wait as long for your next one – and to twencelas
Thanks both. I was losing this battle for a long time. I only solved RICHARD OSMAN owing to the pointless reference, which I assume is deliberate, and says far too much about my knowledge, or lack of it, given Croesus meant nothing to me
Quite hard in places but all ended up satisfactorily solved – bar the one. 6d unknown I am pleased to report and I think I can go without looking it up, thanks!
Particular likes included CONUNDRUM, RESTRAIN, ATTENDANCE, BERLINER and HALF INCH.
Thanks Punk and twencelas
A nice puzzle that is well-written. I had hoped however that the TA could be consigned to the trash after the introduction of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR). I am sure we will see their like in clues for TAVERN etc now that I have alerted the media.
A pleasantly saucy puzzle. I was aware of 6d as a concept, so that was one of the easier ones. Thanks both.
#5 why not.
Thanks both. (More Punk I say). I really enjoyed DISUNITE, followed closely by JOHNSON (which deserves some fame as a clue – very witty and terse).