A delightful Bank Holiday puzzle from Twin, with concise and precise clueing accompanied by some delightful surfaces. Bravo.
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 Approach clear river
OVERTURE
A charade of OVERT and URE, the mainly Wensleydale river.
5 Band claiming place in big story
SPLASH
An insertion of PL in SASH. The insertion indicator is ‘claiming’.
10 Tyranny of a tsar not working with militia
TOTALITARIANISM
(A TSAR NOT MILITIA)* with ‘working’ as the anagrind.
11 Shout about extreme characters flipping switch in game
CRAZY GOLF
A charade of AZ inserted into CRY, followed by FLOG reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘about’. ‘Switch’ for FLOG is a usage I wasn’t familiar with, but it’s in all the dictionaries.
12 Wise knight entering lake
ERNIE
An insertion of N in ERIE. The insertion indicator is ‘entering’. Referring to Eric’s partner, ERNIE Wise.
13 Order in official document about author
ASIMOV
An insertion of OM for Order of Merit in VISA, all reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
15 Bathroom units replaced in midweek?
EN SUITE
An insertion of (UNITS)* in EE. The anagrind is ‘replaced’, the insertion indicator is ‘in’ and we need a lift and separate operation for ‘midweek’ to give mid week, indicating the middle letters of the four-letter word. Great surface, btw.
18 Music-maker‘s raincoat shortly getting tailored
OCARINA
(RAINCOA[T])* with ‘getting tailored’ as the anagrind. A little-used musical instrument which appears in crosswordland much more frequently than its popularity would warrant, presumably because naff all else fits O?A?I?A.
20 Religious figure‘s friend had converted
BUDDHA
A charade of BUD and (HAD)* with ‘converted’ as the anagrind.
24 Allowed to take flight
LEGIT
A dd. The second definition requires its separation into LEG IT.
25 Put lid on e.g. German snack
SCOTCH EGG
A charade of SCOTCH, EG and G.
27 Soap opera embracing script’s cordiality
NEIGHBOURLINESS
An insertion of LINES in NEIGHBOURS. The insertion indicator is ’embracing’.
28 Outskirts of city restricting bright grey?
CLOUDY
An insertion of LOUD in CY for the outside letters of ‘city’. The insertion indicator is ‘restricting’. ‘She was wearing really bright/loud colours.’
29 Convince Edward, a US representative, to make a comeback
PERSUADE
A reversal of ED, A, US and REP.
Down
1 Plump spies breaking in, looking professional?
OPTICIAN
A charade of OPT and an insertion of CIA in IN. The insertion indicator is ‘breaking’.
2 Silent actor‘s bonus
EXTRA
A dd.
3 Call from Hunt to agree with House
TALLY-HO
A charade of TALLY and HO. The surface is referring to the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is going to lose his seat for South West Surrey to the LibDems on July 4th in a Portillo moment.
4 Sell out, absorbing current quota
RATION
An insertion of I in RAT ON. I is the symbol for electrical current. The insertion indicator is ‘absorbing’.
6 Award gold for lack of improvement?
PLATEAU
A charade of PLATE and AU, the chemical symbol for ‘gold’.
7 Estranged cadet, a ‘Neil Armstrong’, returned for a bit
ALIENATED
Hidden reversed in caDET A NEIL Armstrong.
8 Minimal settlement for lead in drama
HAMLET
A dd.
9 Contemptuous sporting authority involved in lying
PROFANE
An insertion of FA for Football Association in PRONE. The insertion indicator is ‘involved in’.
14 Noticing flying object, initially unidentified
INCOGNITO
A charade of (NOTICING)* and O for the initial letter of ‘object’. The anagrind is ‘flying’.
16 Head of AC-12 arresting Detective Sergeant etc
AND SO ON
An insertion of DS in A NOON. A is ‘head of AC’ and ’12’ gives you ‘noon’. The insertion indicator is ‘arresting’ and the surface is a clever reference to the popular drama Line of Duty, where AC-12 was Anti-Corruption Unit 12.
17 Charity resettled majority of grey seals
LARGESSE
(GRE[Y] SEALS)* with ‘resettled’ as the anagrind.
19 Did gag take lead from broken-hearted?
RETCHED
[W]RETCHED
21 Monkeys feature in limitless curse
URCHINS
An insertion of CHIN in [C]URS[E]. The insertion indicator is ‘in’ and the reference is to naughty children.
22 Almost register to secure popular health centre
CLINIC
An insertion of IN in CLIC[K]. The insertion indicator is ‘to secure’.
23 Rough journey for auditors
COARSE
Aural wordplay (‘for auditors’) for COURSE.
26 Medical procedure involved in gene mapping
ENEMA
Hidden in gENE MApping.
Many thanks to Twin for the bank holiday entertainment. More like this, please.
I found this pretty difficult with some real teasers. No unfair clues but lots of puzzling out required. Bottom half finished with top half barely started. Might well have thrown in the towel without easy anagrams.
Thanks Twin and Pierre
Having failed to click wavelengths with the Guardian today, it was nice to find I was in synch with Twin – apart from ASIMOV which beat me at the end. I was looking for a different type of construction, did not spot VISA and certainly did not expect the word to end with a V. My bad; the clue is entirely fair. As Pierre observes, solid cluing and good surfaces throughout.
TOTALITARIANISM, EN SUITE, BUDDHA, SCOTCH EGG, OPTICIAN, TALLY HO, ALIENATED (what a neat hidden), PROFANE, INCOGNITO and LARGESSE were my favourites today.
Thanks Twin and Pierre
I needed a bit of help with ASIMOV as well, but I really enjoyed this. I liked EXTRA for the Silent not indicating p or sh and AND SO ON is just brilliant. Thanks to Twin and Pierre.
Totally agree with Pierre: absolutely clear clueing throughout, nothing requiring explanation but still providing a good mental workout. Thanks Twin and Pierre.
Nice… looked more straightforward than it was, e.g. wasn’t expecting PROFANE to be correct but accepted FLOG without question… as Pierre says, it’s all in the dictionaries. Very cunning def for 1d, I was disappointed by the dictionaries when looking for a FATICIAN… great 15 letter anagrams..enjoy your Bank Holiday…
Thanks Twin n Pierre
Undrell @5: you were not the only one looking up FATICIAN this morning!
Thanks both. I too struggled only with ASIMOV, and resorted to a word search, which surprisingly offered him as one of only a few options….having thought ‘visa’ for the official document, I should have shown more patience. OPTICIAN took a while, perhaps owing to the whimsical ‘looking professional’.
So am I the only one who started writing in FRIENDLINESS for 27 before realising it was too short?
We seem to have a lot of ENEMAs of late. Just what the doctor ordered.
No chance with ASIMOV as I wasn’t even looking for an author. Also bombed on PROFANE as I got stuck trying to put ref in as the sporting authority.
Still, mustn’t grumble.
Thanks Thanks Twin and Pierre.
Thanks Twin for a super crossword. The top half was a particular challenge and I eventually used a word finder to solve ASIMOV and HAMLET. All else fell into place with OVERTURE, ERNIE, EN SUITE, LEGIT, SCOTCH EGG, EXTRA, RATION, and ENEMA being my top picks. Thanks Pierre for the blog.
This was exactly on my wavelength and everything went in smoothly. ASIMOV was one of my favourite authors when I was younger and even met him once.