A slightly tricky themed crossword from IO this morning.
The across clues are thematic. (I didn’t highlight it in 10a below, but presumably COD is thematic). I found this to be a very enjoyable challenge with some great cryptic clues. As we know, IO is a wonderfully creative setter who sometimes bends the rules a little, so lateral thinking caps on!
PERON (Argentinian leader) admitting (TO WAR COULD)* (*somehow)
Cryptic definition
(VANS AREN’T I GLAD)* (*chip)
‘They’re here!’ refers to the flavour of chip being available at a chip van
E (online, i.e. electronic) + COD (order, i.e. cash on delivery)
‘ECOD’ meaning egad! archaically/in the past
Double definition
Cryptic definition
If the ‘PICK’ is the elite, and they LED, that puts you behind them
‘Brahms and Liszt’ is rhyming slang for ‘pissed’ which means drunk/tipsy in the UK
SAY (perhaps); LOVE* (*aroused, inside)
ET (alien) + C (about, circa) to be received by HANOI CID (Vietnam police)
[ma]NACL[es] (taken in)
‘Briefly’ refers to the fact that this is a shorter version of the term – in this case the chemical symbol.
‘Another one’ follows on from the previous clue, i.e. COMPOUND. This is indicated by the ellipses.
Cryptic definition
TATE[r] / HAS[h] BROWN / TUBE[r]
All examples of potatoes that have been ‘chipped’
Cryptic definition
LO-CAL means low in calories
“ARK + TICKS + QUEUER” (rescue vessel + is checking + one waiting, “on air”)
IN boarding CO-ED (school)
([b]U[c]K[i]N[gha]M [p]A[l]A[c]E)* (every second, but H (husband’s missing), *stirring) + A
COCO (Poliakoff’s persona, the clown) stays (RE (on) + AT) + R (Reading?)
For R (reading), remember the three R’s of education: reading, writing, arithmetic
[tim]E TO V-E D[ay]< (displays, <whirling)
E.G. (say) + G[o] (but not O (love))
(ELI (Samuel’s teacher, biblical) + OR); A MATE (a friend) on tour
‘On tour’ in this instance means ‘going/travelling around’
TZ (time zone) crossed by CHINESE* (*fresh)
(ESSEX DUO)* (*engineering)
I (one) C[old] (with OLD (age) wearing away) and PACE< (speed, <picking up) – &lit
(B[iceps] (tip of) + LAT (muscle)) in A and E
[p]ADDED (with cushions, P (piano) lifted)
1p (not much) ADDED (i.e. the solution to 20) to [had]D[ock] (in essence)
Loved the puzzle. Enjoyed the blog as much.
Thanks Io and Oriel.
Difficult to pick faves. Still…
top faves: SALT AND VINEGAR, ETHANOIC ACID, CHIPPED POTATOES, ARCTIC SKUA, CO-CREATOR, ICECAP and DIP.
E ACID
(a minor omission)
about=CA
ICECAP
I read ‘with age wearing’ as ‘old’. Or could it be ‘age-wearing’?
8d and 22d also part of the theme
Pickled egg a chip shop staple!
Filled it in but needed the blog to understand why the answers were right in quite a few cases.
I could not parse DIP past the “D,” of all things.
I thought 23A was: reverse anagram of (CHIPPED) {TATE + ‘S (has) + POO (brown tube?)}. I think your parsing is plausible, and probably what was intended.
I agree with KVa@1 about CA.
Because of the “. . . ,” I think 10A and 11A are supposed to read as one cryptic clue, i.e., a piece of “E-COD” might be an online order from a fish and chips (thematic) TAKEAWAY.
As KVa says enjoyable blog of a lovely puzzle with a very helpful theme. I do like Io when he is in fairly friendly mode
Thanks to him and Oriel
Also, why is POUR COLD WATER ON thematic? Something to do with boiling potatoes???
Or soak potatoes in cold water before deep frying?
This was fun although I couldn’t parse CHIPPED POTATOES and had to reveal the anagrammed NHO volcano. Also took me ages to see ARCTIC SKUA because I was hung up on the rescue vessel being AR…..K containing CTICS. Loved “a blast from the past” and the Essex duo. Clue of the day SALT AND VINEGAR.
Thanks Io and Oriel for clearing up the last couple
As near as I have ever been to finishing an Io. Had no chance with the nho ECOD and couldn’t parse CHIPPED POTATOES. Guessed MAUNA KEA and googled it.
My heart always sinks when I see IO is the compiler.
I shall now see if I can at least understand the answers.
This brought on a vision of a chippy in Barnsey at 1am with a queue
Luverly stuff/
13d a curious entry in the context– wonder if the Ubermensch liked salt and vinegar on his cod and chips.
Gif@11 Much as I’d like to think so, I think he’s there for the fresh Chinese (takeaway). CHIPPED POTATOES is brilliant now I’ve seen the parsing. I sort of completed but only with a lot of help from the Chambers App.
Don’t usually do the FT solely because of the interface not agreeing with my computer but thought I would give this a go to try and get redemption for my 4 solved in the Guardian on Friday.
Got just over half done which for this setter I take as a victory.
Liked ABLATE
Thanks blogger and setter.
Truly special crossword – a surprising treat for a Wednesday!
Slight correction/alternative to the parsing of 17d (Icecap) – “with age” = old, which “[wears] away”.
Thanks Io and Oriel
I found that very tough (no surprise with JH) and needed aids to finish.
I thought the second half of “Chip vans — aren’t I glad they’re here” cross-referenced 21 and 18/19, where the two elements of S&V appear individually.
@Simon S. I agree with your latter paragraph which is a nice spot. I guessed ETHANOIC ACID from the wordplay and checked it existed but didn’t check it was acetic acid and so ‘vinegar’.
Unusually for me, I chipped away at this through the day (pun became intentional as I was typing). I had the majority fully parsed and all but one of my unparsed guesses turned out to be correct.
I spotted the fact that SALT AND VINEGAR reappeared as SODIUM CHLORIDE and ETHANOIC ACID but not the cross-reference identified by Simon@15, which looks as though it is the setter’s intention.
Last time it was Io I think I got over half of it, but I’m afraid I found today’s puzzle completely baffling, and only managed six answers. I didn’t get SALT AND VINEGAR despite having an N V N and on reading the explanation, I’m still not convinced that “They’re here!” Is a satisfactory definition. (They’re there” would surely be more plausible.)
I got EXODUSES. We were talking the other day about ugly words. Surely that has to be a contender.
Glad I managed to complete this from the dreaded IO, unlike the Enigmatist horror in the Graun on Friday.
Cineraria @5 maybe PCWO as ‘batter’? Interestingly you can get a better batter by using (ice) cold water in the mixture.
Seemingly like some of the others I did a detour for this to get to grips with JH’s setting. Two days and only ECOD unfilled (nho so tried SCUD as in the missile) but still too many unparsed so thanks to Oriel for the blog.
The 1p is also subtracted from 20d to get ‘added’.
Great puzzle. Thank you Io and Oriel.