A new setter for me to blog. Single celled organisms are more cerebral than they used to. Happy new year to all – may peace spread faster than war.
Some high quality and quite challenging clues. And a message round the perimeter I BROKE FREE ON A SATURDAY MORNING a song by the Mountain Goats which is a rousing start to the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii6kJaGiRaI
1 Down was an interesting construction as I think of confiscate to take away but it quite rightly reflects seizure. Loved the surface of 16dn and the ingenuity of 19dn. I’m pretty sure my parsing of 14ac is not correct
Thanks Amoeba – I did enjoy this – quite a hard workout
Key * anagram; underline definition; Rev reversed DD double definition
Across
8 Called back, cross, but not initially getting more ill-tempered (8)
Rev rang (called) +Liger(cross) – g (not initially getting) = GNARLIER
9 Lackey occasionally returns bearing cake (6)
Rev. LaCkEy + air(bearing) = ECLAIR
10 With nothing on television, you played Solitaire in the end (4)
televisioN yoU playeD SolitairE = NUDE
11 Classy fellow? (10)
Cryptic definition SCHOOLMATE
12 Setter’s almost broken foot (6)
I am (setter’s) + bust(broken) – t = IAMBUS
14 Get workers together in country club and celebrate after leader’s departure (8)
UN(country club) + lionise (celebrate) – l (leader’s departure) = UNIONISE
15 Contradicted requirement to conceal firearm (7)
need (requirement) around gat (firearm) = NEGATED
17 Fascist force gets OAP shot (7)
(gets oap)* = GESTAPO
20 Exorbitant demand for payment from drivers in Scotland known to cross river (4-4)
Rac(drivers) + kent(Scotland’s known) around r(river) = RACK-RENT
22 Home help recalled New Delhi resident, perhaps (6)
in (home) + Rev. aid(help) + n(new) = INDIAN
23 Some revolutionary odourless resin agronomist gives runners? (10)
Hidden Rev. odourlesS RESIN AGROnomist = ORGANISERS
24 Portion of ground dark meat with no sides at all (4)
dARk mEAt = AREA
25 Somewhere in Africa, Anglican causes ill-will (6)
Mali (somewhere in Africa) + CE(Anglican) = MALICE
26 Terrible heartless sins nutter commits (8)
(sins + nutter – in)* = ENTRUSTS
Down
1 Cruel and pointless to confiscate drone (8)
inane(pointless) around hum(drone) = INHUMANE
2 Bank of Scotland steadier once cocaine’s banned (4)
brace(steadier) – c(cocaine) = BRAE
3 Gets up around noon and has a wash (6)
rises(gets up) around n(noon) = RINSES
4 Rue posh, distressed musician mourning his wife (7)
(rue posh)* = ORPHEUS
5 Is mineral up in Orkney essentially close to miracle fuel? (8)
Rev. is ore (Is mineral) in kn(Orkney essentially) + e (close to miracle) = KEROSINE
6 Got rid of the best diamonds, receiving old money (10)
elite(the best) + d (diamonds) around mina(old money) = ELIMINATED
7 Equal parts stiff and hot after exercising (6)
(stiff + h)* = FIFTHS
13 New IRA cabal covering distance in police vehicle (5,5)
(IRA cabal)* around km(distance) = BLACK MARIA
16 Spoke movingly of English city briefly invaded by foreign soldiers (8)
e(english) + leeds(city) – s around GIs (foreign soldiers) = ELEGISED
18 Put books on top of Allen organ (8)
place(put) + nt(books) + a (top of Allen) = PLACENTA
19 Top copper sees support for uniform going up more sharply (7)
Super(top copper) replacing u(uniform) with tee(support) = STEEPER
21 Passage in part of course missing introduction (6)
fairway(part of course) – f = AIRWAY
22 Where it should be popular, pose for all to see (2,4)
in (popular) + sit(pose) + u(for all to see) = IN SITU
24 Sit next to monkey that’s animated and tense (4)
abu(monkey that’s animated (Alladin)) + t(tense) = ABUT
14a UN country club (United Nations) + (L)IONISE
I found this quite tough especially in the SW corner.
I noticed the Nina but was puzzled by its relevance. I agree with cranberryfez @1 about the parsing of UNIONISE. I’ve always spelt 5d …ENE.
STEEPER was my last to parse and favourite.
Thanks to Amoeba and to twencelas.
Also had UN + (L)IONISE.
Sneaky 8a (‘getting’ shouldn’t be underlined)
ORGANISERS is a nice backwards inclusion.
To add to my previous comment, RACK RENT and MINA (in 6d) were new to me. Always like the experience of a setter I’m not familiar with. Enjoyed it from start to finish. The nina is a nice extra although I don’t know the band.
I never know the bands mentioned here! (Hovis @4). Another puzzle themed or nina’d on classical/light music would be welcome – the last one (featuring Ronald Binge) was a long time ago. This one induced much head-scratching but was thoroughly enjoyed, so thanks Amoeba and Twencelas.
More than one brain cell required to complete this Amoeba, tough but fair.
Lots of deft wordplay and surfaces. I did’t get LIGER for 8(ac), but it’s a crafty use of CROSS. I didn’t get MINA, in 6(d), either…..not quite as clever, and a bit of a spoiler, for me.
I must stop flagging up these “Grids of Death”, with all their unches in the first row and column: they seem be cropping up more and more. I suppose the setters might want to exploit the NINA opportunity, round the perimeter? ( which I failed miserably to spot here).
Super puzzle, and blog, rgds Amoeba & twencelas
Nicely done puzzle. Funnily enough, I glanced briefly for a nina but did not actually spot it – albeit I’d not have recognised it if I did. A few unusual elements – cross = liger (not 100% sure I like these portmanteau crosses, especially in the canine arena where I am constantly encountering new combos, but they are what they are), the old money (nho) and the animated monkey (which was my departure into Google). I agree with earlier commenters re UNIONISE.
ECLAIR for the lovely surface, NEGATED for similar reason and for its succinctness, GESTAPO for the super anagram, INHUMANE – FOI and a lovely use of ‘drone’/HUM, BLACK MARIA for a cracking anagram/surface combo albeit I never like to be reminded of the terrorists plus STEEPER for a neat substitution were my favourites.
Thanks Amoeba and twencelas
[8a def is just “more ill-tempered”, minus the “getting”. 14a UN = “country club” + [L]IONISE = “celebrate”, after leader’s departure.
22a def is just “Delhi resident”, minus the “New”; 23a “odourlesS RESIN AGROnomist” – (that anagram needs another S)]
“I am going to make it through this year if it kills me … Ready for the bad things to come …
The scene ends badly, as you might imagine | In a cavalcade of anger and fear | There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem next year”
Fun puzzle! 🙂
My faves: GNARLIER, SCHOOLMATE, UNIONISE, RACK-RENT, ORGANISERS and STEEPER.
Enjoyed the puzzle a lot. Nice blog.
Thanks Amoeba & twencelas.
INDIAN (minor point)
As New is used in the WP, the def is just Delhi r…(FrankieG@8 has said that already).
Slightly fooled by the unusual spelling of kerosene; otherwise hard but fair with inhumane our loi. Nina helped a little even if I’d no idea where it came from.
I liked the surface of 18d: helps if you know that an Allen organ is an electronic organ found in some cathedrals and churches.
Thanks to twencelas for the blog, and to you all for taking the time to solve & comment. I wouldn’t have expected anyone to recognise the Nina, but if it brings more people to The Mountain Goats, so much the better. May we all make it through this year!
Gnarly is a word I know and love, so gnarlier went in, though with a shrug, as I was too dim to click liger minus g, d’oh. In contrast, the wp for rack rent was crystal, but I’d never heard the expression.
I like keeping some of the old Grrek etym, like aesthetic and amoeba. Lynn Murgulis, who I love [evolutionary biologist and co-author with James Lovelock of Gaiaia theory] spells it ameba. Ugh.
Where was i, oh yes nice puzzle, ta both.
Thanks both. An enjoyable challenge. The Nina helped completion, though its relevance escaped me. If this is a newish setter, we are hardly modernising with the police in their BLACK MARIA assisting ORPHEUS to continue to look for his wife. I was of the opinion that ELEGISED meant ‘wrote’ not ‘spoke’ movingly, but doubtless I am mistaken.
Thanks for dropping in, Amoeba, and for an excellent and very enjoyable crossword. More please?
Are you able to confirm (or rule out) my suspicion that you are in some way involved in church music? My singing and organist friends particularly enjoyed the surface of 18d!
TFO. Dictionaries certainly back you up on this. Mind you, one of the definitions of ‘speak’ (Chambers) is ‘to give expression, information or intimation by any means’ which covers ‘in writing’ to me. Wrote movingly would have been better I think.
Thanks Amoeba for a superb crossword. I spotted the Nina forming early in my solve and it helped me complete the tough SW corner. (I didn’t recognise it as a song, however.) I used Chambers to help me with the nho RACK-RENT with its nho elements ‘rac’ and ‘kent’. All else fell into place with ECLAIR, NUDE, MALICE, INHUMANE, BRAE, KEROSINE, and ELEGISED topping my list of favourites. Thanks twencelas for the helpful blog.
23 is more simply parsed as a hidden reverse than a subtractive composite anagram
Thoroughly enjoyed this, and it took me quite a while, but I couldn’t possibly have parsed GNARLIER on my own. All other clues I thought were from good to delightful.