A toughie from Bobcat this morning.
I started this one confidently, slotting in the first two across answers immediately, then proceeded to get only one more across and one down answer in place on my first pass. Because I had solved 1 across, I at least had a few letters, so I gradually managed to work my way around the quadrants but the south east corner took a while to complete with OPERATIVE and ACETYLENE being my last two entries, both of which proved difficult to parse, but I think I got there in the end. There was some obscure general knowledge required, so it may not be to everyone's taste, but I'm just glad I finished it in time to get ready for work.
Thnaks, Bobcat.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | DEPERSONALISES |
Production of ideal responses renders one inhuman (14)
|
|
*(ideal resposnes) [anag:production of] |
||
| 10 | REFIT |
Restore relations with whistleblower (5)
|
|
IT (sexual "relations") with REF ("whistleblower") |
||
| 11 | EUMENIDES |
Dreadful trio managed D minus and three Es (9)
|
|
*(d minus eee) [anag:managed] Eumenides is another term for the Furies in Greek mythology. |
||
| 12 | PLUMPED |
Chubby head regularly flopped (7)
|
|
PLUMP ("chubby") + (h)E(a)D [regularly] |
||
| 13 | DERANGE |
Abandoned garden on verge of complete disorder (7)
|
|
*(garden) [anag:abandoned] on [verge of] (complet)E |
||
| 14 | AXIOM |
Basis of argument in Times article about tax haven (5)
|
|
<= (X ("times") + A ("article")) + IOM (Isle of Man, so "tax haven") |
||
| 16 | UNADVISED |
Imprudent one in Rome contrived to dispose of ecstasy (9)
|
|
UNA ("one in Rome") + D(e)VISED ("contrived" to dispose of E (ecsasy)) |
||
| 19 | TIME-LAPSE |
Sort of multiple shooting that accelerates progress in screening? (4-5)
|
|
Cryptic definition |
||
| 20 | READY |
Studied accountancy — ultimately to make money (5)
|
|
READ ("studied") + (accountanc)Y [ultimately] |
||
| 22 | PICCOLO |
Instrument displaying little capacity to disrupt horseplay? (7)
|
|
1 CC (1 cubic centimetre, so "little capacity") to disrupt POLO ("horse play") |
||
| 25 | YEAR DOT |
Earliest date for constructing Spooner’s prized vessel? (4,3)
|
|
If uttered by the Reverend Spooner, DEAR YACHT ("prized vessel") may have become YEAR DOT ("prized vessel") |
||
| 27 | OPERATIVE |
Effective fusion, at last, of music dramas from east and west (9)
|
|
OPERA + EVITA (two "music dramas"), when the latter is reversed [from east] to become ATIVE, could be joined by their last letter ("fusion, at last") to become OPER(A)TIVE |
||
| 28 | BROKE |
Bankrupt fellow changed sides (5)
|
|
B(L)OKE ("fellow") changed sides (from L (left) to R (right)) becoming B(R)OKE |
||
| 29 | LARGE INTESTINE |
Retaining steel used for section of canal (5,9)
|
|
*(retaining steel) [anag:used] |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | EFFLUVIUM |
Somehow, I muffle ultraviolet emission (9)
|
|
*(i muffle uv) [anag:somehow] where UV = ultraviolet |
||
| 3 | EAT UP |
Finish off unrestricted deal backing option (3,2)
|
|
[unrestricted] (d)EA(l) + [backing] <=PUT (a Stock Exchange "option") |
||
| 4 | SPEED BUMP |
Impact of drug trafficking measure? (5,4)
|
|
SPEED ("drug") + BUMP ("impact") |
||
| 5 | NOMAD |
He’s wandering, though patently sane (5)
|
|
NO MAD ("patently sane") |
||
| 6 | LAND ROVER |
Something to drive pirate underground? (4,5)
|
|
ROVER ("pirate") under LAND ("ground") |
||
| 7 | SEDAN |
Raise hell after husband’s scratched new car (5)
|
|
[raise] <=(h)ADES ("hell" after H (husband) is scratched) + N (new) |
||
| 8 | SUSPEND |
FT probes pay out put on hold (7)
|
|
US ("FT") probes SPEND ("pay out") |
||
| 9 | GRAPPA |
Spirit of old king not half apparent (6)
|
|
GR (George Rex, so "old king") + [not half] APPA)rent) |
||
| 15 | MELIORATE |
Sage losing heart at Epiphany’s beginning to improve (9)
|
|
MEL(ch)IOR (wise man in the Bible, so "sage", losing heart) + AT + E(piphany) ['s beginning] |
||
| 17 | ACETYLENE |
Outstanding material not primarily employed rashly for fuel (9)
|
|
ACE ("outstanding") + T(er)YLENE ("material", not [primarily] E(mployed) R(ashly)) |
||
| 18 | STAND DOWN |
Put up with this type of clue or throw in the towel? (5,4)
|
|
STAND ("put up with") + DOWN ("this type of clue") |
||
| 19 | TOPSOIL |
Stuff for bed that beats lubricant (7)
|
|
TOPS ("beats") + OIL ("lubricant") |
||
| 21 | YATTER |
Too much talk arising from Margaret Taylor (6)
|
|
Hidden backwards in [arising from] *margaRET TAYlor" |
||
| 23 | CLEAR |
Pass over cycling article without note (5)
|
|
[cycling] AR(ti)CLE (i,e, "article without TI (note)") |
||
| 24 | ONION |
Head’s two points shy of 111 (5)
|
|
Two E's ("points") shy of ON(e) + I + ON(e) |
||
| 26 | ABBOT |
Community leader — a baronet — in bad odour? The opposite (5)
|
|
A + BO (body odour, so "bad odour") in Bt (Baronet) |
I am not sure that “toughie” quite describes this bruiser. I completed the grid, but I gave up trying to parse MELIORATE and ACETYLENE (I got ACE + ???), and it is just as well, since I do not think I would have ever arrived at your explanations. I guess those clues are fair, but Melchior and terylene are both pretty obscure, IMHO. I agree with the rest. Thanks.
On 15d thanks to loonapick for the parsing. I wrote it in without working it out.
As it turns out though, Melchior is not referred to in the Bible. In fact the Bible does not speak of three kings at all, only that wise men came from the east. Three is assumed because there are three gifts. The names given to the kings comes later and still persists today which is why on mainland Europe you will see CMB + 2024 (the year) on the doorposts of houses.
There’s a customary feline nina.
Failed to parse MELIORATE.
@Hovis – yes you are right. I completely failed to spot it!
This was quite the challenge but certainly not without reward.
MELIORATE was fine for me but I did need help parsing (take a bow, Loonapick) ACETYLENE and PICCOLO.
Thought OPERATIVE, YEAR DOT, ONION and TOPSOIL were all clever.
I did finally winkle out that feline nina but today was not my speediest solve.
Thanks to Bobcat.
I agree that this was very hard, especially for a non-native speaker of English. That is not a complaint; it is; after all, an English newspaper.
One query re 12A: Doesn’t one “plump” a cushion get air into it to make it larger whereas “flopped” means that it gets flatter and smaller?
So you ‘spotted’ the nina, Diane 😀
My comment was deleted. Have I offended someone? I’ll try again.
I agree that this was very hard, especially for a non-native speaker of English. That is not a complaint; it is; after all, an English newspaper.
One query re 12A: Doesn’t one “plump” a cushion get air into it to make it larger whereas “flopped” means that it gets flatter and smaller?
Liked TIME-LAPSE, OPERATIVE, NOMAD and ONION.
Thanks Bobcat and loonapick.
Frieda@7 Yes, that is one meaning of “plump”. There are other meanings given in Chambers, one of which is “to flop down”.
Thanks Loonapick. My solving strategy is to find only one answer from scratch, then try to get the next twenty-eight (or however many) using at least one checked letter each time and gaining a checked letter for clues not yet solved, with only one answer using all the checked letters when there are no other unsolved clues. This worked smoothly for me today, starting by solving 1ac and finishing at 19dn, although I did take ACETYLENE on trust.
In 6dn, I suppose “underground” does mean “under ground”, so this could be taken as a clue to a clue rather than an unsignalled splitting of a clue word. I still do not like it, although I know that many other people do. Thanks Bobcat for the rest of the puzzle: I particularly liked the device in 27ac.
Loonapick, there is an error in the parsing of 25ac as I type this. The second “(“prized vessel”)” should be deleted, or possibly replaced by “(“Earliest date”)”.
Thanks Hovis for that hint, which got me on the right bearing to find the Nina.
Very hard and struggled mightily to finish. Eventually all in correctly though with LAND ROVER and ONION unparsed and the Nina unidentified, until the hint from Hovis. At least I remembered MEL(CH)IOR from a recent appearance in crossword land and worked out the difficult parsing for OPERATIVE and ACETYLENE.
Thanks to Bobcat and loonapick
What cineraria@1 wrote
I didn’t have a problem with MELIORATE when I’d stopped trying to stuff AMELIORATE in the space.
The house blessing/chalking at Epiphany is 20 C M B 24 for this year. It is said to stand for Christus Mansionem Benedicat (may God/Christ bless this house) and also references Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. In our current form of the Bible, the magi aren’t named, but they are remembered in Orthodox Christianity, which considers far more of the early Biblical writings as part of the canon. The Protestant church only has 66 books in their Bibles, the RC church has 70 odd and the Orthodox churches accept more (depending on which Orthodox tradition). There were lots of arguments about which books to include in the Bible when it was codified, and there are a lot of non-canonical books around; you may have come across The Gospel of Thomas or the Shepherd of Hermes. Some are very, very odd having read a few, some leave you wondering why they were excluded when considering those that were included.
Thank you to loonapick and Bobcat.
Can someone please explain/identify the Nina, rather than just hinting at it?
Adders@15: Reading diagonally from bottom left to top right of the grid gives the word LEOPARDS, hence the comment about spotting the Nina.
Thank you @Pelham Barton.
I actually enjoyed puzzle and completed the grid even though a couple of the word plays eluded me. I got Meliorate (not sure where in my subconscious Melchior was lurking but it must have been a major retrieval) but missed the word plays for Acetylene and Operative. Year Dot was a new term for me but it popped nicely from Spooner’s Dear Yacht. Thanks Bobcat and Loonapick. Only a few more days till our time differences realign and I get the puzzles at 4PM instead of 5PM. I hate losing that hour of afternoon solving time.
I had a hard time. And lost even more time some how thinking their could be a Halloween theme. This required more college level cryptic background knowledge than I yet have! Thank you all
I have a soft spot for Meliorate as it came up as a niner when I was on Countdown. I was trying to be clever by choosing 5 vowels alternately but I didn’t get the archaicism though the ploy did put my opponent off
As one who rarely attempts FT crosswords I am diffident about crying foul for 19A TIME-LAPSE – I don’t see anything ‘cryptic’ about the definition. (And loonapick I feel sure you meant ‘the south west corner took a while to complete with OPERATIVE and ACETYLENE…’ because that’s where I stalled as well.) Also I don’t get ‘head’=ONION (but then I can’t be in the same room as an onion so am no expert.
Moan over. I thoroughly enjoyed the encounter and should register my appreciation of the efforts of both setter and blogger, which I hereby do.