Another thoughtfully constructed puzzle from Filbert. Which is what you always get from this setter.
Is there a theme? It being the night before Christmas, I suppose you could count TRUE LOVE, MATTHEW and NOËL as being in contention, but I’m not convinced there’s a deliberate or widespread theme. You may have spotted otherwise. There are certainly a couple of delightful examples of the clue as definition, or cad.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 French teacher produced wine, around one
MADEMOISELLE
A charade of MADE and I inserted into MOSELLE. The insertion indicator is ‘around’. In the same way as UK children address their female teachers as ‘Miss’, this is what French children call theirs.
9 School pictures brought back home
TRAIN
A charade of ART reversed and IN.
10 Post office worker admits second-rate, shoddy work
POTBOILER
A charade of PO and B for ‘second-rate’ inserted into TOILER. The insertion indicator is ‘admits’. ‘An artistic work, usually of low quality, that has been created quickly just to earn money’ is the definition given in the Cambridge Dictionary.
11 Arch they converted to a fish delivery business
HATCHERY
(ARCH THEY)* with ‘converted’ as the anagrind.
12 A little oregano in the oil
ANOINT
Hidden in oregANO IN The.
13 Scratch using pencil
WITHDRAW
A charade of WITH and DRAW.
15 Show Tory how to be cool
AIR-CON
A charade of AIR and CON.
17 Leading couple in play given moderate cheer
PLEASE
A charade of PL for the first two letters in ‘play’ and EASE.
18 The one time to regret nothing
TRUE LOVE
A charade of T, RUE and LOVE.
20 Irish drink, dead smooth
IRONED
A charade of IR, ONE and D. ‘Will you have another one before you go?’
21 Cornice excited English tour guide
CICERONE
A charade of (CORNICE)* and E.
24 Make too little of magic drink, wanting the power to vanish?
SELL SHORT
A charade of S[P]ELL and SHORT.
25 After halfway, swim back, butterfly?
IMAGO
A charade of [SW]IM and AGO. The IMAGO is the last stage in insect metamorphosis, hence the question mark at the end of the clue.
26 Realty there’s for doctoring
HARLEY STREET
(REALTY THERES)* with ‘for doctoring’ as the anagrind, and a very cleverly constructed cad. Property in Harley Street, London W1, is mainly given over to private medical practices.
Down
1 Evangelist taking part in scam at the weekend
MATTHEW
Hidden in scaM AT THE Weekend.
2 Two head out with toddler sound asleep
DEAD TO THE WORLD
(TWO HEAD TODDLER)* with ‘out’ as the anagrind.
3 Artist Norway greatly takes to heart
MUNCH
An insertion of N in MUCH. The insertion indicator is ‘takes to heart’. Another clever cad.
4 Sovereign put in danger keeps close to Camilla
IMPERIAL
An insertion of A for the last letter of ‘Camilla’ in IMPERIL. The insertion indicator is ‘keeps’.
5 Gets down from saddle after cycling
EATS
SEAT with the first letter moved to the end – the usual meaning of ‘cycling’ in crosswordland.
6 Smell’s back, is anyone cooking with onions?
LYONNAISE
A charade of L for the final letter of ‘smell’ and (IS ANYONE)* The anagrind is ‘cooking’. LYONNAISE is a style of French cooking characterised by the use of onions.
7 Henry punches unattractive clown behind dark bar
PLAIN CHOCOLATE
A charade of PLAIN, H inserted into COCO, and LATE. H is for ‘Henry’ the SI unit, and the insertion indicator is ‘punches’.
8 Greek bronze found after sailors docked
CRETAN
A charade of CRE[W] and TAN.
14 Wavy dippy seas troubled tummy
DYSPEPSIA
(DIPPY SEAS)* with ‘wavy’ as the anagrind.
16 Pose painter set up to test skills
ARTISTRY
A charade of SIT RA reversed and TRY.
17 Father forces open boot, at last
PRIEST
A charade of PRIES and T for the final letter of ‘boot’.
19 Square English archdeacon with no secret desires
EVEN OUT
A charade of E, VEN and OUT.
22 One at the top in English literature
ELIOT
Another very clever cad. An insertion of O for the ‘top’ letter of ‘one’ in E LIT, and referencing T S Eliot, who could certainly be considered one of the top poets in the English language. The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, certainly; but it being the 24th December, I will indulge myself by offering you the first lines of my favourite poem of his, Journey of the Magi.
‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
Check it out if you haven’t come across it before.
23 A Christmas Carol‘s a heartless book
NOËL
NO[V]EL
Many thanks to Filbert for this Sunday’s puzzle.
It may be a theme not related to Christmas or Christianity. Still, I was looking for only one theme and unable to think differently.
ANOINT, PRIEST, MAGI (In IMAGO-stretching it a bit), CRETAN (all Cretans are…), EVE(N OUT)…
JONAH-YONAH—YONNA? Not there, I guess.
ELIOT (Found online this: The 1660 Eliot Indian Bible-the first complete Bible printed in the Western Hemisphere).
A delightfully constructed puzzle for Christmas Eve with some cracking &littish clues. I ran into difficulties in the far SE: ELIOT beat me – it’s an excellent example of the genre – and then HARLEY STREET opened up allowing the solve to conclude with ARTISTRY. Which seemed fitting. My only raised eyebrow was English = E used three times (in solutions that actually intersect). At the very least, CICERONE could probably have utilised European.
Thanks Filbert for a splendid year of puzzles and Pierre for a typically smooth blog. Happy Christmas all.
I had ELITE for ELIOT until HARLEY STREET put me right ( a rare case of private medicine not supporting the elite) and I also thought of George rather than T.S. Though, as T. S. Eliot was a lover of crosswords, we should allow him the posthumous pleasure of appearing in one without an anagram of toilets. Thanks to Filbert and Pierre and Merry Christmas one and all.
I’m full of admiration for this wonderful crossword puzzle – thanks and well done to Filbert. And merry Christmas to all.
Petert@4 – I had one in the Listerner years ago entitled LITOTES (more apropriate than toilets, I think) themed around the last line of the Four Quartets, where two conflicting answers could be FIRE-WATER, ROSE-WATER and FIRE BUG, ROSEBUG, and the fire and the rose had to be replaced with a 1 in the grid.
excuse me for asking but what does cad Mean?
Worworcrossol @6 Clue as definition.
Thanks Filbert. I’m sure I’ve overused the word excellent in describing Filbert’s work but here I go again — that was excellent. My top picks were WITHDRAW, TRUE LOVE, SELL SHORT, the very clever HARLEY STREET, MATTHEW, MUNCH, and CRETAN. I guessed ELIOT but should have seen. Thanks Pierre for the blog.
[Worworcrossol @6: CAD means clue as definition. Generally the definition is part of the clue but occasionally the entire clue defines the answer ]
And in my defence, cad is listed in all my puzzles under the ‘Abbreviations’ rubric. Thanks to all for their comments.