My first Gumm puzzle.
I think this is Gumm's third appearance in the FT, but it's the first time I have come across this setter. I started out quite well, and had the puzzle all but complete in a few minutes, then three answers in the SE corner held out for a while, with GHOST being my LOI.
Thanks, Gumm
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | CHANCE |
Churches grasping a new opportunity (6)
|
|
Ch. (church) + CE ("Church" of England) grasping A + N (new) |
||
| 4 | SMUGNESS |
Start to shroud face with cape, revealing conceit (8)
|
|
[start to] S(hroud) + MUG ("face") with NESS ("cape") |
||
| 10 | VITRIOL |
Musical group overwhelmed by endless nasty, harsh criticism (7)
|
|
TRIO ("musical group") overwhelmed by [endless] VIL(e) ("nasty") |
||
| 11 | NOISIER |
Editing loses volume, then turns louder (7)
|
|
[turns] <=REISION, where REISION is RE(v)ISION {"editing" losing V (volume)) |
||
| 12 | NORM |
Standard portion of protein or meat (4)
|
|
Hidden in [portion of] "proteiN OR Meat" |
||
| 13 | NEAPOLITAN |
Italian citizen staggering into a plane (10)
|
|
*(into a plane) [anag:staggering] |
||
| 15 | REGENT |
Ruling on information technology, primarily (6)
|
|
RE ("on" ) + GEN ("information") + T(echnology) [primarily] |
||
| 16 | ALL TOLD |
On the whole, boring thing rang out loud (3,4)
|
|
Homophone [out loud] of AWL ("boring thing") + TOLLED ("rang") |
||
| 20 | USHER IN |
Introduce American narcotic with nothing taken out (5,2)
|
|
US ("American") + HER(o)IN ("narcotic" with O (nothing) taken out) |
||
| 21 | INCOME |
Proceeds company invested in abandoned mine (6)
|
|
Co. (company) invested in *(mine) [anag:abandoned] |
||
| 24 | PLAYWRIGHT |
Coward, perhaps, unusually wary in sticky situation (10)
|
|
*(wary) [anag:unusually] in PLIGHT ("sticky situation") |
||
| 26 | JAIL |
Nick’s positive response in Germany and Israel (4)
|
|
JA ("positive response in German") + IL (International Vehicle Registration code for "Israel") |
||
| 28 | AFGHANI |
A series of four letters entertains an Asian (7)
|
|
A + FGHI ("series of four letters") entertains AN |
||
| 29 | STATION |
Boy captures French director in channel (7)
|
|
SON ("boy") captures (Jacques) TATI ("French director") In this instance, "channel" is a TV channel (station) |
||
| 30 | SOLFEGGI |
Exercises for singer if legs go wobbly (8)
|
|
*(if legs go) [anag:wobbly] |
||
| 31 | STREET |
Box, for example, in extremely soft way (6)
|
|
TREE ("box, for example") in [extremely] S(of)T |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | COVENTRY |
Keen to take over outlet in place of exile (8)
|
|
CRY ("keen") to take O (over, in cricket) + VENT ("outlet") If you ignore someone, you are said to send them to Coventry, hence Coventry could be considered a "place of exile". |
||
| 2 | ALTER EGOS |
Curiously agree with lots of trusted friends (5,4)
|
|
*(agree lots) [anag:curiously] |
||
| 3 | CRIB |
Josh is under Charlie’s bed (4)
|
|
RIB ("josh") is under C (Charlie, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) |
||
| 5 | MONOPOLY |
Cut back in funds? Nothing replaces European domination (8)
|
|
<=LOP ("cut" back) in MON(e>O)Y (nothing (O) replaces E (European) in MONEY ("funds")) |
||
| 6 | GUILLOTINE |
Piece of office equipment popular after many become involved in craft (10)
|
|
IN ("popular") after LOT ("many") become involved in GUILE ("craft") |
||
| 7 | EXIST |
Live departures with a twist in the tail (5)
|
|
EXITS ("departures") with its tail (i.e. last two letters) twisted becomes EXI(ST) |
||
| 8 | STRAND |
Upcoming races taking in northern beach (6)
|
|
[upcoming] <=DARTS ("races") taking in N (northern) |
||
| 9 | FLEET |
Many ships are fast (5)
|
|
Double definition |
||
| 14 | INTERWEAVE |
Knit pants I wear, even tighter at the front (10)
|
|
*(I wear even t) [anag:pants] where T is T(ighter) [at the front] |
||
| 17 | LOOKALIKE |
See fine boxer, with first of knockouts, start to earn double (9)
|
|
LO ("see") + OK ("fine") + (Muhammad) ALI ("boxer") with [first of] K(nockouts) + [start to] E(arn) |
||
| 18 | VISITING |
Calling on one to protest in very good surroundings (8)
|
|
I (one) + SIT IN ("to protest") in VG (very good) surroundings |
||
| 19 | WELL-KNIT |
Ring wife about large rears becoming muscular (4-4)
|
|
<=(TINKLE ("ring") + W (wife) about L (large)) [rears] |
||
| 22 | SPEAKS |
Special crest associated with southern states (6)
|
|
S (special) + PEAK ("crest") associated with S (southern) |
||
| 23 | GHOST |
Spirit that’s surrendered on dying? (5)
|
|
Cryptic definition – dying could be described as "giving up the ghost" |
||
| 25 | ANGEL |
Heavenly messenger turning up in musical, eg “Nativity!” (5)
|
|
Hidden backwards in [turning up in] "musicaL EG NAtivity" |
||
| 27 | PACT |
Reportedly overcrowded settlement (4)
|
|
Homophone [reportedly] of PACKED ("overcrowded") |
There’s a theme here, not all that many clues admittedly, but I think enough to qualify as a theme.
Thanks for the parsing of GHOST which I just couldn’t see. I don’t think I’d come across REGENT for ‘Ruling’ before, but it made sense and fitted the wordplay, or WELL-KNIT. Glad to have remembered SOLFEGGI but probably could have entered it from the anagram fodder anyway.
Thanks to Gumm for an entertaining puzzle (yes, I believe number three) and to loonapick
WP@1 – yes, I see the theme now… I see 10 (maybe 11) entries – can’t believe I didn’t see it before…
There’s a theme? I give up. Do please elucidate.
I enjoyed this, didn’t get stuck on any unfamiliar British initialisms or geographic features, and managed to solve the lot. I’d never heard of a connection between cry and keen, but sure enough, I now find it in the dictionary. I only know Tati not from life but from Crossword Land … it was in one a week or two ago I think.
Geoff, I believe that the theme is Monopoly (5D) with several board squares named. Example Regent, Street, Chance, Station, Strand, Coventry etc.
Ah, yes! Thank you, Peter!
Loonapick, I can identify twelve themed answers, including 5D. If I had to guess, I’d say that the one that you overlooked is 18D…
Thanks for the blog, totally missed the theme but I enjoyed the clues. NOISIER, WELL-KNIT , GUILLOTINE all put together very neatly plus many more.
The underlining and red colour has gone a bit awry for STREET.
A double shout-out for Wordplodder today both for spotting the theme (quite subtle in the choice of answers of which COVENTRY was my favourite) and for alerting me to a blinder by Rodriguez today.
I feel well and truly sated.
I’ll second your pick of NOISIER, Roz, and add WELL-KNIT.
Thanks to Gumm and Loonapick.
I found this quite difficult, getting stuck in the top left hand corner until the obvious Coventry jumped out and then the rest fell into place. Thanks for helping with the parsing of several of the clues which completely foxed me. Notably Well Knit, Coventry and Monopoly
Cry = Keen was new to me.
Thanks Gumm. Top choices were USHER IN, PLAYWRIGHT, MONOPOLY, and GUILLOTINE. Failed to solve REGENT and VISITING and failed to parse WELL-KNIT. Don’t know the British version of MONOPOLY so seeing the theme was not possible. Thanks loonapick for the blog.
Quite tricky in places but we got there in the end. We missed the theme; hardly surprising since we didn’t look foe one. SMUGNESS, VITRIOL and PLAYWRIGHT were among our favourites.
Thanks, Gumm and loonapick.