A fun challenge from XELA !!
FF: 10 DD: 8
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | NEUROSIS |
New money overseas is complex component? (8)
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N ( new ) EUROS ( money overseas ) IS |
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| 5 | DREADS |
Cringes at the thought of certain hairstyle (6)
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double def; the second being more colloquial than formal ( short for dreadlocks ) |
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| 9 | REASSESS |
Once again evaluate animals kept in reserve (8)
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ASSES ( animals ) in RES ( reserve ) |
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| 10 | LA-DI-DA |
Pretentious agents principally worked in the Hollywood area (2-2-2)
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[ A ( Agents, first letter ) DID ( worked ) ] in LA ( hollywood area ) |
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| 12 | ADAMS |
Commercials featuring American president (5)
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ADS ( commercials ) containing AM ( american? ) |
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| 13 | CHANTEUSE |
Each tune’s remixed for singer (9)
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[ EACH TUNES ]* ; elegant surface |
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| 14 | THESES |
The things here initially sublate academic papers (6)
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THESE ( the things here ) S ( Sublate, first letter ) |
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| 16 | TREACLE |
Both ends of tube clogged with strangely clear, viscous substance (7)
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[ CLEAR ]* in TE ( TubE, end letters ) |
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| 19 | PODCAST |
Downloadable recording of school performers (7)
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POD ( school ) CAST ( performers ) |
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| 21 | OFFISH |
Word meaning ‘cool’ derived from ‘brill’? (6)
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cryptic def; read as OF FISH ( derived from brill, a fish ) |
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| 23 | CELEBRANT |
Wedding official’s tirade about named individual? (9)
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CELEB ( name individual ) RANT ( tirade ) |
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| 25 | LEAVE |
Don’t take time off (5)
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double def |
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| 26 | AVATAR |
Moving picture in franchise that’s grossed billions (6)
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double def; or cryptic def ? |
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| 27 | AMBITION |
Enterprise confines current working (8)
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AMBIT ( confines ) I ( current ) ON ( working ) |
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| 28 | ELANDS |
Creatures from eastern territories (6)
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E ( eastern ) LANDS ( territories ) |
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| 29 | IN DEMAND |
Popular GOP adversary also much sought-after (2,6)
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IN ( popular ) DEM ( gop adversary, democrat ) AND ( also ) |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | NORWAY |
Get out of town to tour heart of vibrant country (6)
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NO WAY ( ~get out of town ) around R ( vibRant, central letter ) |
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| 2 | UNABASHED |
Prior to strike, one Italian editor is not ill at ease (9)
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UNA ( one, italian ) BASH ( strike ) ED ( editor ) |
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| 3 | OASIS |
Old, unchanged rock band (5)
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O ( old ) AS IS ( unchanged ) |
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| 4 | INSECTS |
What an examiner does to eliminate the first sign of potential bugs (7)
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INSpECTS ( what an examiner does, without P – Potential, first letter ) |
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| 6 | ROAST BEEF |
Travelling Boers ate fine, cooked meat (5,4)
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[ BOERS ATE ]* F ( fine ) |
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| 7 | ADIEU |
Having addressed fifty people publicly immediately after the start, I’m leaving (5)
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2nd letters of ( implied by 'after the start' ) of "hAving aDdressed fIfty pEople pUblicly.." |
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| 8 | SEA LEVEL |
Flood barriers put up to protect a lake — is it a rising concern? (3,5)
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reverse of LEVEES ( flood barriers ) containing [ A L ( lake ) ] |
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| 11 | TACT |
Diplomacy ultimately at the centre of Aussie politics? (4)
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T ( aT, ultimately ) ACT ( Australian Capital Territory, referenced by centre of aussie politics ) |
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| 15 | STARBOARD |
Leading group of directors not left out at sea! (9)
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cryptic def; read as STAR BOARD ( leading group of directors ) – right side of a ship |
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| 17 | COSTA RICA |
Country clubs close to beaches in Croatia, possibly (5,4)
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C ( clubs ) { S ( beacheS, finally ) in [ CROATIA ]* } |
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| 18 | SPACE AGE |
Sophisticated step taken by wise person (5,3)
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PACE ( step ) in SAGE ( wise person ) |
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| 20 | TEAL |
Colour of toenails occasionally (4)
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alternate letters of "..ToEnAiLs.." |
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| 21 | OTTOMAN |
Furniture got to manufacturers’ stores (7)
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hidden in "..gOT TO MANufacturer's" ; i thought this was particularly well disguised |
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| 22 | PERNOD |
Fellow sales exec up for a drink (6)
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reverse of [ DON ( fellow ) REP ( sales exec ) ] |
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| 24 | LHASA |
Capital isn’t lacking among the Spanish (5)
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HAS ( isnt lacking ) in LA ( the, spanish ) |
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| 25 | LOIRE |
Stories passed on around one area of France (5)
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LORE ( stories ) around I ( one ) |
Yes, fun was how I’d describe this puzzle from Xela with a handful of ticks.
Liked PERNOD, OASIS (for the ‘as is’), TACT (for the ‘ACT’), LEAVE, CHANTEUSE, TEAL and TREACLE (nice surface).
Completed in one pass but couldn’t parse IN DEMAND. Saw AVATAR as a dd.
Thanks Xela and Turbolegs
Thanks Xela and Turbolegs
7dn: I think “immediately” is part of the indication for specifically second letters of the first five words.
For what it is worth, I took the wordplay of 23ac as RANT about (a) CELEB = CELEB RANT as a phrase; on the other hand, in 15dn, I took STAR and BOARD as separate parts of the answer. The definition of star as an adjective meaning “leading, pre-eminent, brilliant” is in Chambers (2016, p 1518).
Completed over my morning coffee. Good fun. I liked CELEBRANT, something you might hear on a PODCAST?
I don’t think I’ve seen OFFISH without stand- before. Is that Millennial or Zoomer talk?
Challenging but gratifying; unfortunately didn’t get DREADS (put in “freaks” without parsing); didn’t parse TACT. New for me: AMBIT, TEAL, STARBOARD (for which, I’m with Pelham Barton @2), CELEBRANT. Liked OFFISH, OASIS, ADIEU (interesting clue), SEA LEVEL, SPACE AGE, LHASA. I don’t understand why NEUROSIS = “complex component”… Thanks Xela for a great puzzle and Turbolegs for the blog!
1ac: Collins 2023 p 418 has “complex n 6 psychoanalysis a group of emotional ideas or impulses …”, so a neurosis could be a component of a complex.
21ac: Collins p 1382 has “offish adj informal aloof or distant in manner”. SOED 2007 p 1989 has a similar definition and dates the word from the early 19th century.
The blog queries AM = American; it’s common enough here, particularly in combinations: Trans Am (a car); AmEx (American Express, a credit card); AmFam (American Family, an insurance company). I could think of more if I tried.
I thought this puzzle was nice and breezy, with lots of fun constructions. SEA LEVEL is particularly notable for how the wordplay points at the answer–not quite an &lit, but the levees and lakes get you in the right mood, so to speak.
12ac further to mrpenney@6: I would not be happy about taking “Am” out of longer combinations, but Collins 2023 p 58 has it explicitly as “Am. abbreviation for America(n)”
We were held up in the NW corner but eventually saw OASIS and NEUROSIS which opened things up and we managed to finish, although our last ones in were AVATAR (guessed) and DREADS (delayed PDM). And we don’t really see ‘no way’ as equivalent to ‘get out of town’ or SPACE AGE as ‘sophisticated – but no doubt they’re in dictionaries somewhere.
Thanks, Xela and Turbolegs.
1dn: I have not been able to find get out of town in any of my dictionaries with the required meaning: the nearest I could get is ODE 2010 p 735 which has get out 2 (also get out of here) [in imperative] informal, chiefly N. Amer. used to express disbelief: get out, you’re a liar.
18dn: Chambers 2016 p 1491 has space-age adj very modern, up-to-date, using sophisticated modern technology. I would be happy with that for “sophisticated”, although it does seem to require the enumeration as (5-3) rather than (5,3).
PB @9: online Collins has:
Get out of town
New Word Suggestion
[slang] You’re kidding; you’re mistaken; I don’t believe you or it
Submitted By: Unknown – 29/05/2013
Status: This word is being monitored for evidence of usage.
Meantime I’d say the phrase is fair game, based on sundry cultural instances, as in this poignant scene from Back to the Future.