A fun challenge from ROSA this Friday.
FF: 8 DD: 8; yet to complete parsing for 1 clue but am putting the blog up in the interest of time.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GARAGE |
Refuse to drop bishop in petrol station (6)
|
| GARbAGE ( refuse, without B – bishop ) | ||
| 4 | COGNAC |
Conservative may pass round brandy (6)
|
| C ( conservative ) [ reverse of CAN ( may ) GO ( pass ) ] | ||
| 8 | BUMPKIN |
Rustic prince adopted by wrong family (7)
|
| P ( prince ) in [ BUM ( wrong ) KIN ( family ) ] | ||
| 9 | REGNANT |
Fury about Australian state ruling (7)
|
| REGNA ( fury = ANGER, reversed ) NT ( australia state, Northern Territory ) | ||
| 11 | SPOILSPORT |
Killjoy prizes strong wine (10)
|
| SPOILS ( prizes ) PORT ( strong wine ) | ||
| 12 | LAND |
Oddly learned to find oneself (4)
|
| LeArNeD ( odd letters of ) | ||
| 13 | BEERY |
Weird bachelor advancing, smelling of alcohol (5)
|
| B ( bachelor ) EERY ( weird ) | ||
| 14 | TAPESTRY |
Tense chimps perhaps attempt needlepoint (8)
|
| T ( tense ) APES ( chimps ) TRY ( attempt ) | ||
| 16 | BACTERIA |
Bugs and insects heartily devoured by unnamed camel (8)
|
| E ( insEcts, heartily ) in BACTRIAn ( camel, unnamed i.e. without N ) | ||
| 18 | IDIOM |
Fool cut short maiden speech, characteristically (5)
|
| IDIOt ( fool, cut short ) M ( maiden ) | ||
| 20 | AMMO |
Shells perhaps found in hammock (4)
|
| hidden in “..hAMMOck” | ||
| 21 | HIT PARADES |
Pirates had inaccurate charts (3,7)
|
| [ PIRATES HAD ]* | ||
| 23 | INUTILE |
Useless retired university lecturer getting into bind (7)
|
| reverse of UNI ( university ) [ L ( lecturer ) in TIE ( bind ) ]; had to resort to wordfit to solve this having not come across the word | ||
| 24 | RESIDUE |
Desperate desire to edge closer to you remains (7)
|
| [ DESIRE ]* around U ( yoU, closer, final letter ) | ||
| 25 | EMPLOY |
Use trick to follow setter back (6)
|
| EM ( reverse of ME, setter ) PLOY ( ruse ) | ||
| 26 | CYGNET |
Reportedly ring young bird (6)
|
| sounds like SIGNET ( ring ) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GRUMP |
Crosspatch sampling disgusting rum punch (5)
|
| hidden in ‘..disgustinG RUM Punch” | ||
| 2 | REPTILE |
Malcontent let rip about English lowlife (7)
|
| [ LET RIP ]* around E ( english ) | ||
| 3 | GAINSAYER |
One who denies throwing Gary in sea (9)
|
| [ GARY IN SEA ]* | ||
| 5 | OVERT |
Patent concluded on time (5)
|
| OVER ( concluded ) T ( time ) | ||
| 6 | NONPLUS |
Indefinite number regularly doing extra puzzle (7)
|
| N ( indefinite number ) ON ( dOiNg, regularly ) PLUS ( extra ) | ||
| 7 | CONUNDRUM |
Enigma Code endlessly enthrals religious eccentric (9)
|
| [ CODe ( endlessly ) containing NUN ( ~religious ) ] RUM ( eccentric ) | ||
| 10 | POST HASTE |
Spooner’s mob walked as fast as possible (4-5)
|
| spoonerism of HOST ( mob ) ~PACED ( walked ) | ||
| 13 | BEAU MONDE |
Upper-class bores bemoaned dissolute high society (4,5)
|
| U ( upper class ) in [ BEMOANED ]* | ||
| 15 | PHILATELY |
Hobby that’s surprisingly hip in recent times (9)
|
| [ HIP ]* LATELY ( in recent times ) | ||
| 17 | TWO STEP |
Finally taught tame pig to get up and dance (3-4)
|
| T ( taughT, finally ) [ reverse of PET SOW ( tame pig ) ] | ||
| 19 | ICARIAN |
Single Scotsman pursuing vehicle of hubristic high-flyer (7)
|
| I ( single ) CAR ( vehicle ) IAN ( scotsman ) | ||
| 21 | HALLO |
Greeting everyone in house (5)
|
| ALL ( everyone ) in HO ( house ) | ||
| 22 | EXULT |
Glory of topless sex cult (5)
|
| sEX cULT ( topless, without first letter ) |
A puzzle doesn’t have to be particularly knotty to be enjoyed, as evidenced by today’s grid from Rosa Klebb.
Light on its feet with lovely surfaces throughout, like that for BEAU MONDE. I think my favourite mental image was that of the dancing pet sow in 17d!
Thanks to Rosa Klebb and Turbolegs. Can’t help with full parsing of ’tile’ part of INUTILE; just had ‘uni’ reversed.
I found this puzzle not as fiendish as others from this most enjoyable setter.
For 23 ac I had. INU( UNI retired) L (lecturer) in TIE (bind)
Thanks to Rosa and Turbolegs for the usual excellent blog.
A lovely surprise to find this treat from Rosa Klebb
I parsed 23a in the same way as SM did
Many thanks to Rosa, please come back again soon, and to Turbolegs
Every frame a Rembrandt.
I was just about to write ‘What a treat!’ – after Vlad in the Guardian – then ‘refreshed’ and found crypticsue , unsurprisingly, had done so already.
Like her, I parsed 23ac as SM did: the word caused no problem – it’s actually the Latin word for ‘useless’ – but it took a minute or two to lift and separate ‘University lecturer’ to get the parsing.
I had ticks for 4ac COGNAC, 14ac TAPESTRY (lovely picture!) 16ac BACTERIA (another), 21ac HIT PARADES (great anagram and surface), 24ac, RESIDUE, 13dn BEAU MONDE, !5dn PHILATELY (both for the surface – but the latter will get you nowhere) 17dnTWO-STEP (it made me smile, too, Diane) and 19dn ICARIAN – I loved the hubristic highflyer. And, no real fan of Spoonerisms, I always know Rosa’s will be meaningful and amusing.
I’ve just refreshed again and found that copmus, as ever, is so much more succinct. 😉
Many thanks to Rosa – yes, please come back soon! – and to Turbolegs.
Ah yes, thanks SM and others; I see 23a clearly now. I just knew INUTILE from the French.
I agree with Eileen about this particular Spoonerism.
Eileen @5 don’t Spoonerisms make you laugh when you see them? They do me anyway!
Yes, POST-HASTE, positioned bang in the middle of the grid, clearly deliberately chosen, rather than constrained by the crossers – many single words would fit, contralto, for example – my LOI & COTD. I like Spoonerisms…
And everything else everyone else liked.
Diane@1: My favourite mental image is the chimps doing needlepoint.
The useless retired lecturer was a bit too close for comfort. Fortunately I was only a college lecturer.
Thanks Rosa. Maybe I’m smitten but few setters give me as much joy. I had many favourites including COGNAC, TAPESTRY, EMPLOY, REPTILE, NONPLUS, CONUNDRUM, POST-HASTE, PHILATELY, TWO-STEP, and EXULT. I could have easily listed more because there were no bad clues or clunky surfaces. BEAU MONDE, ICARIAN ( love that word), and INUTILE were new to me but all were obtainable through the wordplay. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.
On today’s Guardian blog:
Eileen said “If there’s anyone here who still doesn’t know, the FT’s Rosa Klebb is the Guardian’s Arachne”
Sagittarius said “for anyone wanting a real Arachne binge, she sets in this week’s Spectator as well (as La Jerezana)”
pog said “The Spectator online lets you register for 3 articles a month free. That way you don’t have to read anything but 3 crosswords. There are prizes of £30 & 2x£20, so you might even make money out of it!”
Thanks Rosa Klebb and Turbolegs
Very enjoyable puzzle, thanks, Rosa & Turbolegs. Like Diane, I know INUTILE from French. I always enjoy a good spoonerism and this was definitely a good one.
Thanks Turbegs, while I enjoyed this a lot the eyebrow did twitch a couple of times (NT of last in 9a not exactly a state, and I thought ‘advancing’ in 13a a bit odd as the B was not part of the weird, would have preferred “to the fore” perhaps) but very happy to learn a few new words from excellent clueing (after I had decided that “timtile” was unlikely because of the “mt” conjunction), and how can I knock a puzzle referencing a topless sex cult? Thanks Rosa Klebb.
Sorry Turbolegs I think your name got autocorrected just then although I will have to graduate to Azed to see what “Turbegs” might mean.
Thank you Rosa! I found 12a simply superb, and last in 6d was right tricksome.
I spent too much time trying to fit NSW (Australian state) into an answer for 9a. Also agree with Gazzh @ 15 that NT is not a state but a territory.