A really top-notch crossword from Io today, great stuff (if you like your puzzles to be a challenge). If you are looking an easy ride then best head for one of the other newspapers today! Thank you Io.
The puzzle can be downloaded here…
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | ONE-TWO |
Testing on-field exchange (3-3)
|
| double definition – testing a microphone and two quick passes in football | ||
| 9 | OLOROSOS |
Return average toffee drinks (8)
|
| SO-SO (average) and ROLO (a toffee made by Nestle) all reversed (return) – Sherry | ||
| 10 | SCENE OF THE CRIME |
Suspect: “I’m scot-free” – hence not returning to it? (5,2,3,5)
|
| anagram (suspect) of I’M SCOT FREE HENCE – the suspect does not return to “it” (the solution, scene of the crime) | ||
| 11 | SKEAN DHU |
Part of the ceremonial Celtic attire of Treliske and Hugus (5-3)
|
| found inside tresliSKE AND HUgus – a dagger worn in Scottish and Irish ceremonial dress. For the benefit of overseas readers Treliske and Hugus are two tiny places in Cornwall, which is not necessary to know for the wordplay, but may be relevant for the definition, I’m not sure. Out of interest, are there any Cornish readers who have worn traditional Cornish-Celtic dress with a skean-dhu? I would be interested to know. | ||
| 12 | YAFFLE |
Fairies got over woodpecker (6)
|
| ELF FAY (two fairies) reversed (got over) | ||
| 14 | ROCKY IV |
City troubled after rolling my film (5,2)
|
| KYIV (capital of Ukraine, a troubled city) following (after) COR (my, exclamation) reversed (rolling) – one of the films from the Sylvester Stallone boxing franchise | ||
| 16 | DUA LIPA |
Two of the same please, landlord, for singer and songwriter (3,4)
|
| DUAL IPA might be a request to the landlord for two of the same sort of beer (IPA, India Pale Ale) – British singer songwriter and fashion model | ||
| 18 | SKOPJE |
The first of practical jokes played around city (6)
|
| the first letter of Practical inside (with…around) anagram (played) of JOKES | ||
| 19 | EIGHTEEN |
Weighted rent, ignoring the shackles of age (8)
|
| wEIGHTEd rENt missing the outer letters (shackles) – the coming of age | ||
| 21 | AT A LOSS FOR WORDS |
After resignation of Hammerstein, Rodgers this gobsmacked? (2,1,4,3,5)
|
| Richard Rogers would have no words for his musicals if Oscar Hammerstein resigned | ||
| 23 | STREAKER |
With a single dash, we see him lose his get-up-and-go! (8)
|
| cryptic definition – get-up is clothes, the definition requires “get-up and go” to have a single dash |
||
| 24 | AROUND |
All the drinks one’s got in local (6)
|
| if you buy A ROUND you get all the drinks in | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | KNOCK-KNOCK |
Doorstepper alert (funny?) – but neither Neil nor Glenys get in (5,5)
|
| KinNOCK and KinNOCK (Neil and Glenys Kinnock, former leader of the Labour party and his wife) missing IN – the sound “nock-knock” alerts you to someone at the door, and (funny?) s a reference to jokes of the form “Knock knock / Who’s there? / Tank. / Tank who? / You’re welcome.” | ||
| 2 | STANZA |
Vineyard out of Santa Cruz in new production lines (6)
|
| CRU (vineyard) missing from (out of) anagram (in new production) of SANTA CRUZ | ||
| 3 | FOR OLD TIMES SAKE |
Toast ox cryptically in desert? (3,3,5,4)
|
| OLD TIMES (ox, O and X, cryptically) inside FORSAKE (desert) | ||
| 4 | ROOT OUT |
Discover good news for England’s opposition at Lord’s? (4,3)
|
| if England batsman Joe Root is out then that is good news for the opposition – Lords is a cricket ground | ||
| 5 | LOVE’S YOUNG DREAM |
Move dangerously to shatter teenage romance? (5,5,5)
|
| anagram (to shatter) of MOVE DANGEROUSLY | ||
| 6 | MOURNFUL |
Second collection of ashes causing sorrow (8)
|
| MO (moment, second) then URNFUL (a collection of ashes) | ||
| 7 | BOOM |
Advertise to promote Spar (4)
|
| double definition – “to boost by advertising” and a long beam | ||
| 13 | LIP-READING |
Character-forming interpretation for Spooner to tear up (3-7)
|
| a Spoonersim of RIP (to tear) and LEADING (up) | ||
| 15 | KAPIL DEV |
Talked-about international lived for spinning? Yes and no (5,3)
|
| KAP sounds like (talked about) “cap” (an international sportsperson) then anagram (for spinning) of LIVED – yes, this is what the wordplay states; but no, in real life Kapil Dev was known more as a medium paced bowler and a batsman | ||
| 17 | PERFORM |
Do a class (7)
|
| PER (a, two-a-penny) then FORM (class) | ||
| 20 | TOO-TOO |
Gushing report of degree class (3- 3)
|
| sounds (report of) like “two-two” (a class of university degree) | ||
| 22 | TA-TA |
All the best art at auction houses (2-2)
|
| found inside (housed by) arT AT Auction |
After the first pass yielded precious little, I was pretty much 21a. But the latter provided the spur to progress until admitting defeat, with my last two: 14a and 15d (I don’t follow cricket).
All the same, I had a blast with this; so many clever clues. I loved 9 ( for ‘average toffee’), 10a, 20d (surfaces), 23 (definition), 1d (wordplay) and 12a’s trip down memory lane to Bagpuss.
Probably more besides.
Thanks, Io, for a super puzzle and PeeDee for explaining away the gaps.
STREAKER perhaps the single dash is for get-up and should be removed for and go .
Thanks Roz, that finishes it off nicely.
Thanks for explaining 21A. I had the answer from the cross letters and the format of the words but I just didn’t twig to the definition.
I hadn’t heard of Kapil Dev so had to cheat by looking him up. Nor Joe Root. Obviously, e I’m not a cricket fan.
Also unknown was Olorosos, Skean Dhu, Yaffle, Dua Lipa and Too-Too.
I cannot recall ever having to use the internet to check so many answers. Before www, I would not have been able to finish this puzzle.
Diane, your reference to “cricket” and 14A don’t quite compute. Maybe you mean 4A…
Thanks for a great blog, we do need puzzles like this now and then. Like Diane @1 I get my YAFFLE from Bagpuss. My limited cricket knowledge was just enough for this.
Thanks for the extras on SKEAN DHU , so clever, I was just glad it was a hidden while solving.
So many brilliant clues, just a mention for AT A LOSS FOR WORDS and KNOCK KNOCK, anyone fancying an even harder challenge should try and track down Torquemada’s “Knock knock” crossword.
The tiniest quibble, ROLO were chocolate and caramel, but I suppose a toffee is used to refer generally to a sweet.
Great stuff and disappointing to fail at the last hurdle with the unknown DUA LIPA which I never would have been able to get. Otherwise everything parsed except for the ‘Advertise to promote’ bit of BOOM. YAFFLE (pleasing word) was new. Thanks (again!) to “Bargain Hunt” for SKEAN DHU.
My favourites were the 1d K(IN)NOCK references and the 4d and 15d cricket related clues, especially KAPIL DEV.
Thanks to Io and PeeDee
I was only thinking yesterday that we hadn’t heard from Io for ages and, just like that, my wish was granted.
Splendid stuff as ever from what I always think is the friendliest of all John’s alter egos (although friendliness is relative) I too know the woodpecker from Bagpuss. My favourites were 21a and 1d
Thanks very much to Io and PeeDee
Yeah nah as they say down under. I don’t mind a challenging puzzle even if I don’t finish it. I can visit fifteen squared and understand the ones I missed out on. This puzzle was silly on many levels. The Ka in Kapil is pronounced similar to La as in the musical note and not like cap. If you’re going to use foreign words it names ensure you get the pronunciation right
So welcome after the poor competition. My face lit up seeing IO
Away with 8(“how many road crew to change a light bulb?”
“ONE TWO ONE TWO”
Thought 11 was great as the answer was contained and Cornwall has a certain Celtic connection (as in Tristan und Isolde)
I was that far from getting 14-I saw COR reversed leading to ROCK but failed to make the Ukrainian connection
And GK failed me on DUA LIPA
My bad
Great puzzle
Above my pay grade. After half an hour I’d only solved two clues, so I ducked over to the Guardian. Having briefly looked at this blog, I’m 21a (which was one of the two clues I got!). I’m glad you all enjoyed it…
Rats @8, do Aussies really say “Yeah nah”? I haven’t heard this expression at all. It seems a contradiction. Maybe it’s a Brisbane thing …
Even with all the crossers, I could not get 9, 12 and 16 across or 1 and 15 down. For 1 d, I couldn’t get away from Simon and Johns; so had no hope!
Thanks PeeDee and IO.
Splendid puzzle!
Didn’t know the singer songwriter.
Last one in; With all crossers, worked it out and was delighted to find she exists. Double cheers!
Peter@4,
Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. My brackets were for KAPIL DEV since I don’t follow cricket. ROOT OUT was no such problem because of the definition but by then I had all the crossers too which stopped me entering ROUT OUT.
Separately, and rather annoyingly, I just didn’t spot MY or KYIV in 14a though it was the only film in the Rocky franchise I actually saw.
ilipu @13 – likewise, and not only did I find she exists but that the unlikely sounding DUA LIPA is actually her real name.
When I saw the dreaded IO, I almost gave up but I’m glad I persevered and completed it. LOI ROCKY IV which I watched in 1984.
Peter @11. I hear yeah nah all the time, usually when the man-of-the-match is interviewed after a game. Reporter says “you played very well”. Player says “yeah nah” then qualifies it by saying it was a team effort. But the yeah bit means he really does believe he played well.
Rats @8. Are you suggesting Kapil os pronounced carpal.? I don’t think so.
Peter @11
https://youtu.be/nuAty-KhR_s?t=175
Almost completed – I didn’t get the singer/songwriter, and was held up on the right hand side by initially putting in ‘mourning’ for 6dn which prevented me seeing YAFFLE. Worth the effort, though.
Thanks, Io and PeeDee.
GreginSyd @18, no it’s not pronounced that way. It’s a short Ka. I know the correct pronunciation of Kapil as I am Indian.
Peter @11 and GreginSyd @17 – it’s also common in South Africa with the Afrikaaners. Likewise it’s “Yes, No” (Ja, Nee, I think – never did see it written down) but it sounds “yaa nee-ah”