Thanks PHSSTHPOK for this morning’s challenge.
A mixed bag of clues. 15a is quite brilliant, for example. 18a seems quite weak with two definitions of the same root word. However, a generally Monday-esque crossword with a good mix of clue types. Thanks to the setter!
“CRUDE” (blue, “heard”)
(SQUAB (baby pigeon) + BLE[d] (spurted)) (tailless)
CHOPS (severs) masked E[gyptian] (head)
(ON EVIL)* (*misbehaviour) by CE (church)
Double definition
DI’S (Princess is) + TENDING (nursing)
(PSYCH[i]IA[t]RIST SO)* (*misguided, IT is deleted)
COMPREHEND (realise) + E[very] D[iocese] (leaders of)
Double definition
HAL (rogue computer) connected to O (oxygen)
(PIER IS TO) *(*be renovated)
FAVE (favourite) + L.A. (city)
Following LARGE SS (the Titanic perhaps); [donate]E (finally)
Double definition
Unless I’m missing something, was this meant to be ‘heating’?
OCH (alas) broke CLEAR (filter)
(NEVER EAT)* (*shredded)
Double cryptic definition
(TENSES)* (*unfortunately) when injecting into QUINCE (fruit)
Cryptic definition
“Annie Hall” being a well-known Woody ALLEN film, with a film CREW
BAND (gang) has IT (sex appeal)
EMERGE[ncy] (crisis, with a third missing)
Cryptic double definition
LOCO (not sensible) + MOTIVE (reason)
A DJ (a posh outfit, i..e dinner jacket) takes A CENT (a little bit of money)
ADVOCA[a]T (liqueur, but not A double) to get E (energy)
ISP (broadband company, i.e. Internet Service Provider) in DEL (Delaware)
[dr]UG LIE R[eally] (after sampling)
Double definition
I found this very difficult in places, especially the top left. I took KETTLE in 27a to refer to a kettledrum (Shakespearean according to Chambers). Didn’t know SQUAB and wasn’t sure of that meaning for ESPY. I’ve heard of ‘Allen keys’ but not ‘Allen screws’.
I go along with Teacow’s summary and add 13, 24, 6, 16 and 17 as worthy entries.
Having never beaten anything with a kettle, I’m sure Teacow is right about ‘heating’.
I needed help parsing 1d but otherwise, this was an enjoyable puzzle to begin the week.
Thanks to Phsstpok and Teacow.
Hovis,
Your suggestion of ‘kettledrum’ makes sense.
27A. And let the kettle to the trumpet speak. – Hamlet
I didn’t find this so Monday-esque, with the NW corner in particular giving trouble, as for Hovis @1. I discovered my knowledge of ‘Pharaoh(s)’ is sadly lacking and CHEOPS took a long time, even with the helpful wordplay. Agree about the KETTLE(drum) which I did manage to see.
I get the general idea behind ALLEN SCREW but still can’t really explain it, even as a cryptic def; maybe I’m just over-thinking it.
Groan worthy moment of the day (and will probably be for the week) to the LOCO MOTIVE.
Thanks to Phssthpok and Teacow
Thanks for the blog, an ALLEN SCREW is a type of screw ( a fixing) where you use an Allen key instead of a screwdriver. I think it is actually a normal clue, Fixing=ALLEN SCREW is the definition and ALLEN’S CREW is the word play, great spot Turbolegs.
I agree this was quite tough but I really enjoyed many of the clues, especially ASTROPHYSICS of course.
Thanks Roz @6. I missed seeing ‘Fixing’ as a noun, so with this as the def and the rest as wordplay, as you’ve explained, this now makes sense.
Like a few comments above, I did not know Allen Screw although was familiar with the key. I just wish I had the key to the screw!
On a more serious note: re 18A does “comprehended” really mean “embraced”? I comprehend apartheid / nazis / communism / homosexuality / – take your pick; but I don’t embrace any of them.
Got most out, but stumped by a few things. “Och” for “alas”? Is it Scottish? Had no idea what GCHQ is, nor that DJ is a “posh outfit”. Not a follower of Woody Allen, and “squab” is new to my lexicon. No particular favourites.
Geoff. Yes OCH is Scottish, GCHQ is Government Communication Headquarters and DJ stands for ‘dinner jacket’.
Thanks Phssthpok and Teacow
18ac, responding to Peter@8: Chambers 2014 gives “comprehend vt to grasp with the mind, to understand; to comprise or include.” It is the “include” sense that matches “embrace”.
Thank you, Hovis. Ultimately all googlable, presumably. (Hey, I just coined a new word!)
Thanks, Pelham, but I still stand by my original question. To me, to embrace something is to take it to heart, believe in it and accept it; to believe that it is a good thing: after all we “embrace” our loved ones. To comprehend is to acknowledge that something exists even if it is evil or contrary to one’s values or beliefs. I acknowledge / comprehend that Adolph Hitler existed and was a real person but I have trouble “embracing” the concept of his existence as something of value.
Sorry if this is a little too profound for what is, after all, just a crossword.
Re 27A: A kettledrum is an instrument that is beaten: although I’ve never heard it referred to just as a “kettle” and I am a musician.
“Kettling” is a technique used by police to contain rioting crowds. It refers to a cordon of police that surround a crowd and force then to leave through a narrow gap in the cordon: sort of like the way steam is forced through the spot of a kettle.
Peter @ 13
Consider ‘comprehend’ in the same sense as ‘comprehensive’, ie all-embracing.
I finished this but found it challenging, with some of the clues requiring a bit of an unconventional stretch. I was unfamiliar with that usage of DJ, so thanks for the clarification.
This went in fairly smoothly for me. Like others, the NW corner held out longest.
I loved LOCOMOTIVE and had no problem with comprehended and embraced both meaning “included”.
My only mild gripe, which doesn’t seems to have bothered anyone else, is the use of “implant” as the definition of “COCHLEAR”: cochlear is an adjective, which can be used in conjunction with “implant”, but certainly does not mean implant.
Perplexus @17 re 1dn (COCHLEAR): I took the definition as being “with implant”, which fits to the answer being an adjective, but now that I look in Chambers 2014, I cannot get that definition to work. I also found that Chambers has a definition “cochlear n (L) a spoon”, but I do not think that works either.
I only completed about 80% of this so found the blog really helpful.
I thought there were some excellent clues including 1A, 15A, 21A, 26A (which I should have solved – doh!), 3D (clever, but tricky for some overseas folks), 14D, 16D.
Very enjoyable puzzle and blog so thanks to Phssthpok and Teacow.
Thanks Phsstpok and Teacow.
“Comprehend” in an old sense means “surround” or even “overcome.” In the King James Bible, John 1:5 says “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
To echo Pelham and Simon S, ‘comprehend’ with the sense of ‘include’ comes from the French by way of latin, I imagine, (comprendre, meaning both to understand and to include). As such, I had no problem with it.
Jeff’s example is another poetic nuance.