Buccaneer gets a rare midweek outing today.
A gentle puzzle from Buccaneer, which I completed pretty quickly. A couple of parsings held me up for a while (EMIRATE and TRAVAIL), but I think I got there in the end. Only slight disappointment was with the clue for PAYEES , where I thought “they’re paid” and PAYEES are too similar (“they get money”?). I don’t think there’s a theme or a Nina, but I may be wrong.
Thanks, Buccaneer.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | EMANCIPATE |
Free issue entertains Charlie with current page (10)
|
| EMANATE (“issue”) entertains C (Charlie, in the NATO phonetic alphabet) with I (symbol for electrical “current”) + P (page) | ||
| 6 | PSST |
What attention-seeker says in Bishop’s Stortford (4)
|
| Hidden [in] “bishoPS STortford” | ||
| 9 | BALONEY |
Horse getting fed single humbug (7)
|
| BAY (“horse”) getting fed LONE (“single”) | ||
| 10 | EMIRATE |
Country in Middle East, to the west, up in arms (7)
|
| <=ME (Middle East, to the west) + IRATE (“up in arms”) | ||
| 12 | WAITRESSES |
Servers with great hair (10)
|
| W (with) + A1 (“great”) + TRESSES (“hair”) | ||
| 13 | PAH |
Husband chasing secretary? I’m appalled! (3)
|
| H (husband) chasing PA (personal assistant, or “secretary”) | ||
| 15 | ATTIRE |
Get up weary, needing a tea we hear to start with (6)
|
| Homophone [we hear] of A T (“a tea”) + TIRE (“weary”) | ||
| 16 | DRUBBING |
Hiding from Democrat causing friction (8)
|
| D (Democrat) + RUBBING (“causing friction”) | ||
| 18 | AMORALLY |
Gold stolen by American friend without ethics (8)
|
| Am. (American) + ALLY (“friend”) steals OR (“gold”) | ||
| 20 | CRUSOE |
Stranded sailor, one leaving pleasure trip touring round (6)
|
| I (one) leaving CRU(i)SE (“pleasure trip”) touring O (round) | ||
| 23 | RUE |
Nice way perhaps to experience sorrow (3)
|
| RUE is the French for “street”, so “way” in Nice (the French city) | ||
| 24 | IMPROVISER |
Jazz musician, say, is stopping one getting better (10)
|
| IS stopping IMPROVER (“one getting better”) | ||
| 26 | MADONNA |
Singer has divine gift, holding note (7)
|
| MANNA (“divine gift”) holding DO (“note”) | ||
| 27 | TRAVAIL |
Labour Party losing energy in the end (7)
|
| RAV(e) losing E (energy) in TAIL (“the end”) | ||
| 28 | NOEL |
Coward in Spanish city making a retreat (4)
|
| <=LEON (“Spanish city”, making a retreat) | ||
| 29 | CHANGE GEAR |
What driver might do to generate rage? (6,4)
|
| A reverse anagram – if you CHANGE the letters of GEAR , you “generate RAGE” | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ELBA |
Where Napoleon was clever following revolution (4)
|
| <=ABLE (“clever”, following revolution) | ||
| 2 | AT LEAST |
Ultimately ingesting drug, if nothing else (2,5)
|
| AT LAST (“ultimately”) ingesting E (ecstasy, so “drug”) | ||
| 3 | CONSTERNATION |
Business people limiting firm’s dismay (13)
|
| Co. (company, so “business”) + NATION (“people”) limiting STERN (“firm”) | ||
| 4 | PAYEES |
They’re paid to notice gas rising up (6)
|
| <=(SEE (“to notice”) + YAP (“gas”), going up) | ||
| 5 | TREASURE |
Exchange rate bound to offer value (8)
|
| *(rate) [anag:exchange] + SURE (“bound”) | ||
| 7 | SHAR-PEI |
Acute case of ignorance about possible pet (4-3)
|
| SHARP (“acute”) + <=([case of] I(gnoranc)E, about)
A shar-pei is a muscular Chinese dog with a distinctive face |
||
| 8 | TREE-HUGGER |
Environmentalist, one like Selma or Masha? (4-6)
|
| Both (s)ELM(a) and (m)ASH(a) could be described as HUGGING TREES | ||
| 11 | INSUBORDINATE |
Defiant U-boat crew here rationed after rioting (13)
|
| IN SUB (“U-boat crew here”) + *(rationed) [anag:after rioting] | ||
| 14 | CAVALRYMAN |
Parisian greeting large army moving north, one on horse (10)
|
| ÇA VA? (“Parisian greeting”) + L (large) + *(army) [anag:moving] + N (north) | ||
| 17 | SLAPDASH |
Facial adornment – careless (8)
|
| Double definition, the first referring to roughcast ( a plaster mixed with stones, used to coat (adorn) the outside walls (faces) of a building.
Hovis @2 has provided an alternative parsing to this (ie. SLAP (“make-up”) + the – in the clue (“dash”) |
||
| 19 | OVERDUE |
Conspicuously outstanding depth in new oeuvre (7)
|
| D (depth) in *(oeuvre) [anag:new] | ||
| 21 | SEEPAGE |
What’s leaked in instruction to view document? (7)
|
| SEE PAGE (“an instruction to view document”) | ||
| 22 | SOFTEN |
Figure found under most of seat cushion (6)
|
| TEN (“figure”) found under [most of] SOF(a) (“seat”) | ||
| 25 | SLUR |
Slight noise made by drinker, not quiet (4)
|
| SLUR(p) (“noise made by drinker”, but not P (piano, so “quiet”) |
I enjoyed this, with plenty of smiles. The Parisian greeting stumped me, and I’d never heard of those dogs.
In 17 d, the dash is the dash in the clue(-). In 3d, it is just STERN.
Hovis@2 – thanks – will amend STERN when I get a chance. I think both work for SLAPDASH but your take is more elegant.
Hovis @2, does that mean a slap is a facial adornment?
Slap is slang for make-up
Thanks, loonapick, for explaining 8D. I completed it from the cross letters but couldn’t parse it. I used a search engine for assistance and came across this little gem:
“Tree Hugger is a major Mutation for Selma in Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden.”
I have no idea what that means but it convinced me that my answer was correct, and I just ignored the reference to “Masha”.
Thanks Buccaneer and Loonapick
I had 17dn the same way as Hovis@2 and noted it as a pleasing example of the principle that punctuation should not be ignored.
I was even more SLAPDASH than Peter @6 and entered TREE-HUGGER from the crossers, missing the hidden trees – which did ring a bell when I saw the blog. I was moved to search the archive and – lo and behold – I found, in a puzzle by Puck that I blogged ten years ago, “Environmentalists such as Ethel Merman and Thomas Hardy? (4-7)” – two of my favourite setters using an identical device.
Other favourites were PSST, EMIRATE, ATTIRE, CRUSOE, TREASURE, CAVALRYMAN and SLUR.
Many thanks to Buccaneer for the delicious dessert following Picaroon in the Guardian and to loonapick for a great blog.
Able was I ere I saw… MADONNA which I couldn’t parse. The rest wasn’t too difficult as pointed out and much gentler than our setter’s Picaroon offering, which I attempted after this one.
Plenty of good clues with SLAPDASH à la Hovis @2 and the unusual take on a hidden clue TREE-HUGGER as my picks.
Thanks to Buccaneer and loonapick
I solved this one first as a warm for the Picaroon crossword
Lots to enjoy but I picked 12a and 12d as favourites
Many thanks to Buccaneer and Loonapick
I was half-expecting a palindromic theme after 1 down. I liked CAVALRYMAN, CHANGE GEAR and many others. I had assumed that Selma, like Masha was a famous bear. Thanks, both.
I’m surprised nobody has brought up the Napoleon palindrome for 1d.
Thanks, both.
Enlumined @12 Did you see WordPlodder @ 9?
Or me @ 9?
#11
A very nice puzzle. Enjoyed