THe puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29484.
Anto has often used innovative techniques which many have felt are not always successful, but here I think he is working within acceptable bounds, and has produced an enjoyable puzzle.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | DIATRIBE |
Criticism of crowd after benefits rejected (8)
|
| A charade of DIA, a reversal (‘rejected’) of AID (‘benefits’) plus TRIBE (‘crowd’). | ||
| 5 | BOW-WOW |
Boo trio of women barking – like this (3,3)
|
| An anagram (‘barking’) of ‘boo’ plus WWW (‘trio of women’), with the definition referring back to ‘barking’. | ||
| 9 | MARINATE |
Steep harbour with three sides (8)
|
| A charade of MARINA (‘harbour’) plus TE (‘ThreE sides’). | ||
| 10 | STOKER |
One who fuelled interest in central European bloodsucker (6)
|
| Cryptic definition: Bram Stoker was the author of Dracula, and there is the play on STOKER as ‘one who fuelled’ | ||
| 12 | LEAD BALLOON |
Damaged label on load? It goes down like this (4,7)
|
| An anagram (‘damaged’) of ‘label on load’. The definition refers to eg “I thought my idea was very reasonable, but when I presented it, it went down like a lead balloon” – lead as the heavy metal. | ||
| 15 | DUSTS |
Wipes unduly costly lists from the centre (5)
|
| Middle letters (‘from the centre’) of ‘unDUly coSTlt liSts’. | ||
| 17 | ON OR ABOUT |
Praise a fight that’s reportedly close enough (2,2,5)
|
| Sounds like (‘reportedly’) HONOUR A BOUT (‘praise a fight’). The placement of ‘reportedly’ in the clue is ambiguous, but the ambiguity is readily resolved. | ||
| 18 | RIGHT AWAY |
Immediately left home when opposed (5,4)
|
| Antonyms (‘when opposed’) of RIGHT (‘left’) plus AWAY (‘home’). | ||
| 19 | LENDL |
Tennis champion is fifty-fifty to clinch final (5)
|
| An envelope (‘to clinch’) of END (‘final’) in L L (Roman numerals, ‘fifty-fifty’). | ||
| 20 | LITTLE-KNOWN |
Obscure definition of ignorance (6-5)
|
| Definition and literal interpretation. | ||
| 24 | ACIDIC |
Harsh having American agents return to arrest British detectives (6)
|
| An envelope (‘to arrest’) of CID (Criminal Investigation Department, ‘British detectives’, although the same acronym is used in other countries for the same words, and CID, for Criminal Investigative Department, is a part of the American FBI) in AIC, a reversal (‘return’) of CIA (Central Intelligence Agency, ‘American agents’). | ||
| 25 | ABSURDER |
Barred us frolicking and being more silly (8)
|
| An anagram (‘frolicking’) of ‘barred us’. | ||
| 26 | DOG-LEG |
Part of course raised facilitating removal of lab’s waste? (3-3)
|
| The ‘lab’ being a Labrador dog; definition and literal interpretation. Very droll. | ||
| 27 | OCCLUDED |
Distressing condition includes evidence about director being obstructed (8)
|
| A double envelope (‘about’ and ‘includes’) of D (‘director’) in CLUE (‘evidence’) in OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, ‘distressing condition’) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DUMBLEDORE |
Light mineral sat on by silly wizard (10)
|
| A charade of DUMB (‘silly’) plus LED (‘light’ emitting diode) plus ORE (‘mineral’), for the character in the Harry Potter books. | ||
| 2 | AIR PASSAGE |
Ultra cheap part – in non-medical terms – it lets one breathe (3,7)
|
| A charade of AIR (‘Ultra cheap’ as in “free as air”) plus PART (‘passage’ eg of a book). | ||
| 3 | R AND B |
Music label second rate from top to bottom (1,3,1)
|
| BRAND (‘label’) with the B (‘second rate’) moved ‘from top to bottom’. | ||
| 4 | BATTLE OF WITS |
Intellectual challenge if two tablets must be reconfigured (6,2,4)
|
| An anagram (‘must be reconfigured’) of ‘if two tablets’. | ||
| 6 | OUT ON BAIL |
Dismissed over scoop revealing criminal’s temporary release (3,2,4)
|
| A charade of OUT (‘dismissed’ eg in cricket) plus ON (‘over’) plus BAIL (‘scoop’ eg water in a boat). | ||
| 7 | WOKE |
Came to being appreciative of injustice (4)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 8 | WARD |
Charge for conflict diamonds? (4)
|
| A charade of WAR (‘conflict’) plus D (‘diamonds’, suit in cards). | ||
| 11 | MONOSYLLABIC |
This clue is a bit like that (12)
|
| Indeed, the answer describes every word in the clue. Would one describe it as a cryptic definition? | ||
| 13 | DOWNLOADED |
Acquired from the net when depressed and drunk (10)
|
| A charade of DOWN (‘depressed’) plus LOADED (‘drunk’). | ||
| 14 | STALINGRAD |
Old city girl sat and cooked (10)
|
| An anagram (‘cooked’) of ‘girl sat and’, for the city now known as Volgograd. | ||
| 16 | SATELLITE |
Heavenly body modelled by learner in cream (9)
|
| A charade of SAT (‘modelled’) plus ELLITE, an envelope (‘in’) of L (‘learner’) in ELITE (‘cream’). | ||
| 21 | KNURL |
Knob heads on kerb never use red lights (5)
|
| First letters (‘heads’) of ‘Kerb Never Use Red Lights’. | ||
| 22 | BAND |
Class given B+ (4)
|
| A charade of ‘B’ plus AND (‘+’). | ||
| 23 | PING |
Send quick message showing good support for bank security measure (4)
|
| A charade of PIN (Personal Identification Number, ‘bank security measure’) plus G (‘good’). |
A mix of easy and difficult clues with some interesting cluing. I had BATTLEDORE to start with wondering where the Y we tend had to look up Hogwart’s headmaster. Are dumb and silly synonyms?
Anyway, I enjoyed it, thanks both.
Thanks PeterO for the explanation of the cryptic part of R AND B. Just couldn’t see it.
While we are not expected to do sums to solve clues like 11d (MONOSYLLABIC), I think there is a mathematical basis behind what we think of as fair or gettable. In this case it boils down to whether the unusualness of 11d as written corresponds to the typical narrowing of options in regular clues.
[I’m going to use some hand-waving arguments here, so be kind. While there may be thousands of types of birds, say, or rivers, or cities, there are relatively few of each of which that show up in cryptics without special qualification. Say for argument’s sake there are order of magnitude 100 names in such sets. A rough estimation of the number of words that could show as a cryptic answer is 50,000 (average people’s vocabulary is 20-30k, add some more for unusual words and proper nouns). So the answer sets represent about 1/500 of the crossword vocabulary. If the answer sets are much bigger, representing more of the allowed vocabulary, people tend to get upset. Now, monosyllabic words represent about a half of all the clue words (in this puzzle at least). So a 7-word clue with 7 monosyllables would occur by chance 1/2 to the power 7, or 1/128 of the time. This, by prior argument, is not surprising enough. Two more words in the clue would have nailed it nicely.]
Finished in two fairly quick sessions – is Anto becoming easier or am I now used to his style?
With the couple of crossing letters I already had, 11d leaped out for me.
Not sure a tribe is a crowd?
I enjoyed dog-leg, LOI.
Thanks Anto and PeterO. And so back to bed..
26a DOGLEG: LOL
I parsed 2D as TRACHEA (part of “ultra cheap”) “in non-medical terms”.
thanks Peter for explaining air passage!
Good spot, Rimapapa@5, I think you have got the correct parsing of 2d. I didn’t see that, and now I’m impressed with the quality of that clue.
Commenting this early, I’ll be curious to see how many people find fault with this puzzle (because it’s by Anto), and how many say that it is an unusually fault-free puzzle (for an Anto).
I enjoyed it, but then I enjoy most of Anto’s puzzles. I especially liked the great surface of 10a STOKER, the deceptive 11d MONOSYLLABIC (for which I needed some key crossers before seeing it), and the neat anagram with a good surface at 14d STALINGRAD.
Thanks Anto for the fun and PeterO for the excellent blog.
Thanks Anto and PeterO! Lovely puzzle and excellent blog.
AIR PASSAGE
Agree with Rimapappa@5.
Liked LEAD BALLOON, ON OR ABOUT, R AND B and AIR PASSAGE.
Also liked STOKER. Didn’t parse MONOSYLLABIC
Rimapappa@5: wonderful spot – that completely passed me by. I enjoyed MONOSYLLABIC for the penny drop moment, though I needed all the crossers. And I cannot believe that DUMBLEDORE was my LOI – came to me unbidden when we went out for a walk. Misled by the silly wizard. Lots to like here. Thanks, Anto and PeterO.
Rimapappa@5. Excellent spot, missed that completely. Thanks to blogger and setter.
As usual with Anto, I found this easy enough, and enjoyable. Liked DOG-LEG, STOKER and AIR PASSAGE now that I see the parsing (thanks Rimapappa@5). MONOSYLLABIC would be almost impossible without crossers, but unlike Dr.WhatsOn@2 I liked it – the crossers made it unambiguous. I thought a KNURL was a small ridge e.g. on a ‘knurled’ knob to make it easier to grip – but I learn it also can mean the knob itself.
Thanks Anto and PeterO.
Given the challenge issued by cello manic @7, I’m happy to be one of the first to put myself in the ‘I enjoyed this more than I enjoy most Anto puzzles’ camp. He has always produced colourful surfaces and I do not deny there is regular wit and creativity. I am often frustrated by Anto’s looseness which was far less in evidence today. STALINGRAD is a lovely clue and I also had ticks for LITTLE KNOWN, DUMBLEDORE, BATTLE OF WITS, SATELLITE and BOW WOW which made me smile.
Thanks Anto and PeterO
As usual with Anto’s puzzles, I found this a mixture if very good and rather weak. I failed to parse 2d.
The phrase ‘lead balloon’ always puzzles me. Surely such a balloon would go down very well.
Enjoyable puzzle.
Favourites: STOKER, LENDL, DOG-LEG, BAND (loi).
New for me: KNURL.
I couldn’t parse 2d – I didn’t think of AIR= ultra cheap and can’t really see how these would be used interchangeably. I like the way Rimapappa@5 has parsed it.
Thanks, both.
Loved MONOSYLLABIC and the word “that” is monosyllabic so “this clue is a bit like that” gives it an extra dimension?
Top marks for ON OR ABOUT, DOG-LEG and R AND B although I’m sure it’s almost always writen R&B
Nice to see tennis champ Ashe taking a well-earned break
Cheers P&A
Good to see more recent words/definitions (WOKE, DOWNLOADED, PING, and DUMBLEDORE) but I don’t see the ”leg” in DOG-LEG wordplay.
Good one Anto. Favourites WARD for the misleading definition, and LENDL. Thanks PeterO.
Really amusing surfaces, which I particularly like in a puzzle. Favourites included DOG-LEG, OCCLUDED, BOW WOW. Many thanks to A & P.
Totally agree with KVa @8. Thoroughly enjoyed this morning’s cryptic. Smiles all round. Thank you Ant and PeterO
JW@18 the whole dog-leg is what the (male) lab raises to pee/poop
Thanks bodycheetah @22, doh, obvious now!
I thought this was excellent. Not excellent in spite of, or for, the setter. Just excellent. “Steep harbour…” was a beautiful example of elegance. However, for me, I admire clues like “One who fueled interest…”. It absolutely breaks the rules in that the first part is doing double duty as a definition on its own and as part of the other definition, but it’s not a CAD. It’s just a clever and (with hat tip to Dr. WhatsOn, very gettable) clue. Ditto “dog-leg” – witty, good surface and once you get it you know you have it right.
Even if I’d have guessed “monosyllabic” before having all the crossers, I think I’d have only pencilled it in (as it were…I solve online) because it’s not the kind of clue you can be sure you have right and I think that, to me, is more of an issue than narrowing down choices.
Rimapappa@5 – you’ve turned what I thought a weak clue into the strongest!
Absolutely agree with JOFT @24. This was an excellent puzzle, with too many favourites to list.
Me@22 my dog’s just pointed out that they only lift their leg to pee not poop. I apologise for any offence caused to the canine community
This felt fairly straightforward, with some very clear, precise definitions a great help and a couple of inviting anagrams in LEAD BALLOON and BATTLE OF WITS. Couldn’t parse AIR PASSAGE. Had a great uncle, a Chief STOKER, who went down with his ship and almost all of its crew of well over a thousand in the HMS Queen Mary at the BATTLE OF Jutland…
Many thanks Anto and PeterO
For some reason I have tended not to enjoy Anto’s puzzles in the past; there have always seemed to be a few clues that really annoyed me.
And this one I thought was quite superb. Some very neat anagrams – LEAD BALLOON, BATTLE OF WITS, STALINGRAD. A bit of Paul-like mischief with DOG-LEG. Some ingenuity as with BOW-WOW and MONOSYLLABIC. A little pointed comment with WOKE. And not a false note anywhere. Delightful.
Thank you Anto; and thanks to PeterO for the customarily excellent blog, even though this morning I didn’t need it, because the puzzle was so good.
I thought this was excellent and was disappointed when I realised I had finished as I was enjoying the fun and challenge.
Thanks Anto and Peter
I was quite amused by Cellomaniac’s second paragraph @7 and confess to having taken that attitude to Anto’s puzzles in the past: I always have mixed expectations when I see his name on a puzzle.
Today, however, I’m in total agreement with every word of PostMark’s comment @13. I had more ticks than he had – I’ll just mention DOG-LEG, which is neatly symmetrical with his BOW WOW!
Having ‘refreshed’, I see that NeilH has also spoken eloquently for me. 😉
Many thanks to Anto and PeterO (and to Rimapappa for elucidating ‘in non-medical terms’ in 2dn).
7d WOKE is often clued as ‘came to’ because the waking sense of ‘coming to’ can be hidden in the clue by using the ‘starting to’ sense. So when I read the clue I read it as being equivalent to ‘came to appreciate injustice’, then did a double take when I realised that it is ‘to being appreciative of injustice’ rather than ‘to be appreciative of injustice’. There’s nothing wrong with the sentence ‘Came to being appreciative of injustice’, except that it can only mean ‘Woke up, with an appreciation of injustice’ and not ‘started to appreciate injustice’. So in fact there is no misdirection in the clue; if there was one intended, it was fudged.
I’d be interested to know how many others read the clue as meaning ‘came to appreciate injustice’.
Much the best Anto I’ve seen. I haven’t previously been a fan but this is a great improvement. My only niggle would be with 6d, which implies that those out on bail are criminals. They aren’t criminals until found guilty, so ‘accused’ might have been better here.
Excellent, many thanks Andrew and PeterO. My favourites were MONOSYLLABIC and AIR PASSAGE (thanks Rimapappa for elucidating). DOG-LEG and ON OR ABOUT made me smile and groan 🤣.
Thanks Anto for this beautifully and neatly crafted puzzle. And thanks to PeterO & Rimapappa@5 for illumination
poc@22 I was surprised to see this in The Guardian! We should organise some sort of fundraiser for this victim’s legal fees.
The juxtaposition of the following clue, “appreciative of injustice” made me wonder if it was a joke, but I’m probably overthinking it!
Oops, poc@33 not poc@22!
My only complaint is that this was over rather too quickly.
I have no quibble with 11D, other than to wonder why “monosyllabic” is such a long word. I look forward to some future setter cluing “polysyllabic” as “what this answer is but this clue is not”.
Favorites: 9A, 26A, 3D, and the nice anagram at 14D.
Thank you Anto and PeterO.
No complaint about today’s Anto, TTS&B; though surely PASSAGE (not ‘page’) ought to be capitalised in your 2D parsing? Oh, and MONOSYLLABIC isn’t, whereas POLYSYLLABIC is. Just saying 😉
Re 6d, people out on bail are usually awaiting trial, thus not ‘criminals’.
An absolute gem, which has elicited the most appreciative comments I have ever seen for this setter, and rightly so. Coincidentally, I walked past Bram STOKER’s house yesterday (there’s a blue plaque), just south of the Kings Road, Chelsea. LENDL, ACIDIC and DOG-LEG were peaches and well done Rimapappa @5. I get the quibble but a convicted criminal could also be out on bail, so I really don’t see the problem.
Ta Anto & PeterO.
Re 6d, it seems to me people are overthinking this. One can be a criminal (i.e. have committed a crime) yet still be OUT ON BAIL. Indeed, one can be a criminal who is never caught or charged, let alone convicted. And all the clue requires is that there is at least one criminal who is temporarily released, not that everyone on bail be a criminal (as I see AlanC has also roughly said while I was typing).
Re 6d given that the clue says the release is temporary can we conclude that the accused is ultimately returned to prison and is therefore a criminal?
Another one who appreciated this, wishing it had been a larger grid so I could have carried on for longer with it.
This was a rare one-sitting puzzle for me. Though I wasn’t clear on the parsing for R AND B, and I missed the hidden “trachea” in 2 Down, it still feels like a victory when I get on the setter’s wavelength. I think the clue for RIGHT AWAY is one we’ve had relatively recently, which made it a fast solve.
bodycheetah@43 Ooh, good point!
Thanks both.
A solid 4 from Anto with the last squeeze of pleasure coming from MARINATE (tick) and finally AIR PASSAGE. I was keen to get the parsing for the latter here and took on PeterO’s parsing with the not infrequent observation that Anto can require one to lean out over the side of the boat to get his drift. But it turns out to be a (new to me) remarkable device where the clue is hidden! Very impressive.
Ticks also for DOG-LEG, R AND B and PING.
A few late titbits.
3d Isn’t it RnB or even r’n’b?
RoddyMac@15 You may have your tongue deep in your cheek, but a balloon is desired to go up, so its going down is a let down.
Bodycheetah@22 I notice that it is only dogs that lift the leg to pee, and often lift it when they have no pee to pee. Bitches are more ladylike and discreetly crouch.
Eileen, you kindly welcomed me as a new commenter the other day (ESSAYIST!). I have made a few tentative noises in the last few months. The company can be alarmingly well-informed, technical, painstaking and witty. I now know why I never made it as an astrophysicist.
And if a crimminal is enjoying temporary release (what the clue says) s/he is OUT ON BAIL?
Well indeed Jacob why use a long word when a diminutive one will do 😉
Re 6d, all bail is temporary. Given that there is no general right to bail after a conviction I would have preferred a different wording.
I tend to agree with those who think there isn’t a problem with OUT ON BAIL. It’s true that someone who is on bail has not yet, and may never be, convicted of the crime for which they have been bailed; though that doesn’t mean they aren’t “a criminal” in the broader sense of someone who has in fact committed the crime, whether or not they are subsequently convicted of it. Also, it is possible to be “out on bail” but then imprisoned pending trial for breaking the bail conditions. Having said all that (!), a most enjoyable puzzle. I drew a blank initially with the NW but after I completed the rest of the puzzle it fell into place. WIth thanks to both.
Alec @48, I had a similar thought – R AND B was my first in, so while I think you’re technically correct, it felt gettable enough to be able to overlook that aspect of it.
Thanks Anto and PeterO. Best puzzle in a while, imho. I missed parsing 2d but now see it as a terrific clue.
TassieTim @42: “Re 6d, it seems to me people are overthinking this.” No shit, Sherlock. The kind of pointless and misapplied nitpicking that preceded and has since followed your comment is one the main reasons I have been several times on the verge of quitting this forum for good.
I was disappointed that the CONDESCENDING didn’t fit in 11D, if you get my drift.
Excellent puzzle! I’m one of those who sometimes has issues with Anto’s puzzle but as Jack of Few Trades@24 says this was excellent by any means. Particularly liked the short and elegant 22d (at first I thought it might be FAIR but why?), 8d, and 3d.
To rashly dive in to the discussion here, I also thought “not only criminals are out on bail,” but I didn’t think it was an actual problem with the clue, since it can be criminals. And that Anto was trying to mislead us with a common anagrind (it seemed like there were a few of these like the “drunk” in DOWNLOADED and “silly” in DUMBLEDORE).
[RoddyMac@15: It seems like the phrase originated in the US as “go over like a lead balloon” and turned into “go down like a lead balloon” when it crossed the Atlantic. Which a lead balloon would fail to do. Perhaps it could be thought of as “went down, like a lead balloon.”]
Good puzzle that I enjoyed solving.
I forgot about Bram Stoker! I liked the good anagram for STALINGRAD and the wordplays for MARINATE and RIGHT AWAY.
Thanks Anto, PeterO and Rimapappa @5.
I’m not one who gets annoyed by Anto’s perceived “looseness”: I do like his willingness to experiment with less common parsings. For instance: MONOSYLLABIC (as Dr.WhatsOn says) isn’t quite monosyllabic enough to be quite convincing, but it’s a good idea and I got it once I had enough crossers. The trick used in DUSTS, uncommon elsewhere, is becoming an Anto trademark.
Couldn’t parse AIR PASSAGE – I sniffed a bit at the “free as AIR” explanation, but the hidden “trachea” is brilliant. I liked DUMBLEDORE, MARINATE and the symmetrically placed BOW-WOW/DOG-LEG. Word I learned today: KNURL.
Apocryphal tale? Rock group Led Zeppelin named themselves when, in their formative days, an unimpressed Keith Moon of The Who told them they would go down like a lead balloon.
A good puzzle from Anto with some neat variations. DOG-LEG raised a smile.
Thanks PeterO
Thanks Peter…very well constructed puzzle and as with Monday’s puzzle, easier than the Quiptic for some bizarre reason
10a was clever and it took far too long for the penny to drop on STOKER.
9a was mischievously misleading, once I tumbled HARBOUR = MARINA, it jumped out.
Thanks Anto.
Thanks Anto for an excellent crossword. I’ve always been a fan of Anto despite some of the quibbles others note from time to time. I found nothing to criticise here and a lot to enjoy including MARINATE, BOW WOW, ON OR ABOUT, LENDL, ACIDIC, OUT ON BAIL, DOWNLOADED, and STALINGRAD. I revealed DUMBLEDORE (no working knowledge of Harry Potter) and I couldn’t parse the easily guessed AIR PASSAGE. Thanks PeterO for the blog.
Thanks for the blog, excellent as usual from Anto. MARINATE , STOKER , DOG-LEG and AIR-PASSAGE the best of a very good bunch .
OUT ON BAIL. Aren’t we rather missing Anto’s piquant misdirection? Criminal is such a hackneyed anagrind (if I am using the word correctly) that it seems beyond pedantry to parade excessive legal niceties about when and to whom bail can be granted. M’lud.
My ticks have been ticked, so I’ll hold off on that.
I got stuck on NADAL for the tennis champ, but the crossers except for the last wouldn’t cooperate.
I put in MONOSYLLABLE for 11dn, so couldn’t get 27a OCCLUDED till I cheated a little.
I did spot the hidden “trachea” but didn’t know what to do with it till I finally figured it was the definition for AIR PASSAGE.
Thanks, Anto and PeterO for a pleasant evening and morning.
The trio of women also refers to the Beverly Sisters who sang “Daddy wouldn’t buy me a bow wow” so I thought it was a great clue. Also loved Dog Leg
Alec @48
Sorry for missing your previous comments – glad you’re sticking with us. 😉
Valentine @65: I was temporarily stuck with EVERT, who has appeared in these puzzles a fair few times, since her name (if you move the stress to the second syllable) means “to turn upside down”, and she’s also been found, oddly, playing for EVERTON.
Someone up there spoke of misleading anagrinds, and I admit I did spend a few seconds trying to find a silly way of arranging the letters in “wizard.” But that’s one too many unusual letters to be useful as anagram fodder, so I quickly realized I was being silly–a fortiori, DUMB(ledore).
Oh, I also meant to say that “old city” as a way of defining STALINGRAD is nicely misleading, since those of us who have been doing this for too long will then immediately think, “UR!” Also, to add to the misdirection, Stalingrad isn’t an especially old city, by European standards–it’s just an obsolete name.
I’ve certainly come across far tougher offerings from Anto being selected by the editor as Quiptics.
mrpenney@69 – not just Ur, Troy, Tyre and a few others came to mind immediately before the anagram leapt out at me.
I like Anto’s setting, and loved the DOG-LEG today, just think he’s a better fit for the Cryptic slot.
Thank you to PeterO and Anto.
Yes, there is an expression “free as air,” but “air” does not mean “ultra-cheap” in that expression or in any other English sentence I can think of.
Very enjoyable, no quibbles here. Top marks for WOKE and MARINATE.
Also about OUT ON BAIL prisoners can and are recalled to prison if they reoffend and my understanding is that they are temporarily out awaiting trial.
Those out on parole have served some part of their sentence and have been released early on cognisance that they do not break their parole, otherwise they return to prison to serve out their sentence. (The early release of prisoners today, they will be on parole.)
Very enjoyable; DOG-LEG literally had me bursting out! Only minor quibble is with 17 ac. – it would have been much cleaner for “reportedly” to be the first word in the clue. Thanks, Anto and PeterO.
[Jay @75
I’m curious – where and/or what is Pgh?]
[muffin@76 it’s not my place to give a definitive answer, but I took it to mean Jay is in Pittsburgh-with-an-h rather than Pittsburg-without-an-h.]
[Thanks Dr. WhatsOn]
Balfour@55, I quibble with your comment about pointless and misapplied nit-picking. The nit-picking you object to comes from people from all points of the compass and is therefore far from pointless. Also, one doesn’t apply nits, one picks them off, so they cannot be properly described as misapplied. Or am I overthinking your complaint?
Cellomaniac: are you saying that the nit-picking in question was lousy?
mrpenny@80, 🙂 . I’m not going to give Balfour@55 a free pass, unless he adds another l to his moniker.
Marinate – you beat me. Not a meaning of steep that occurred to me.
Woke – beautifully economic and I was pleased to see woke explained in a positive manner