Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,830 by Vulcan

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Vulcan kicks off the week for us.

Standard Monday fare – nothing too difficult although two or three answers near the bottom took a wee while to show themselves. BANKROLLS gave me the letters I needed to get all bar RADA, which was my LOI and also my favourite clue.

Thanks, Vulcan.

ACROSS
9 LAUGHABLE
Playing with a huge ball is ridiculous (9)

*(a huge ball) [anag:playing with]
10 PURSE
Contract for prize money (5)

Double definition – for the first, think of pursing lips.
11 BLINI
Taking back popular one-pound pancake (5)

[taking back] <=(IN ("popular") + 1lb (one pound))
12 SHORT-HAUL
Inadequate lobby speaking for such transport (5-4)

SHORT ("inadequate") + homophone/pun/aural wordplay [speaking] of HALL ("lobby")
13 BREAKER
Wave from vandal? (7)

Double definition – for the second, think of someone who breaks things.
14 ANTIGUA
Where to find St John’s University amid a giant redevelopment (7)

U (university) among *(a giant) [anag:development]
17 ANGER
Reason for swearing as bumper at front drops off rusty old car (5)

B(umper) [at front] drops off (b)ANGER ("rusty old car")
19 MME
Frenchwoman shortly married me (3)

[shortly] M (married) + ME, Mme. being short fro Madame.
20 TEEMS
Pours money into driving centres (5)

M (money) into TEES (golf "driving centres")
21 DEADPAN
God that’s passed on without expression (7)

DEAD PAN ("god that's passed on")
22 HEADS UP
Warning: boss is on trial (5,2)

HEAD'S ("boss is") + UP ("on trial")
24 MODERATOR
Arbitrator to order a revised mark to start with (9)

*(to order a) [anag:revised] with M (mark) to start with
26 EPOCH
Long period hard to manage in retrospect (5)

<=(H (hard) + COPE ("to manage"), in retrospect)
28 ROUND
18 holes in a sandwich? (5)

Double definition
29 BANKROLLS
Finds money for riverside picnic items (9)

ROLLS ("picnic items") on the river BANK
DOWN
1 BLUB
Burst into tears as tulip falls over (4)

<=BULB ("tulip") [falls over]
2 LUPINE
Like wolf to be leading in procession (6)

UP ("to be leading") in LINE ("procession")
3 SHRINK-WRAP
Protective plastic to fall off drug package (6-4)

SHRINK ("to fall off", as in to "reduce in size") + WRAP ("drug package")
4 ABUSER
A British employer who behaves insultingly (6)

A + B (British) + USER ("employer")
5 DEMO TAPE
Audition piece poet made is distributed (4,4)

*(poet made) [anag:is distributed]
6 SPIT
Turning over dumps in light rain (4)

[turning over] <=PITS ("dumps")
7 TRIANGLE
A frame of snooker (8)

Cryptic definition, frame being both a game of snooker and the wooden triangle used to put the 15 red balls in the correct formation at the start of the game.
8 FELL
Knock down member of college: no cry of pain (4)

FELL(ow) ("member of college") with no OW ("cry of pain")
13 BEARD
It’s hairy to give birth to a daughter (5)

BEAR ("to give birth to") + D (daughter)

The "a" in the clue is superfluous, in my opinion.
15 TETRAHEDRA
Read threat to demolish pyramids (10)

*(read threat) [anag:to demolish]
16 AESOP
Fabulous ancient author (5)

Cryptic defintion (because Aesop wrote fables)
18 GRANDEUR
Majesty offering a K and no end of currency (8)

GRAND (1,000, so K) and [no end of] EUR(o)
19 MANITOBA
Wild enthusiasm about computer program picked up in province abroad (8)

MANIA ("wild enthusiasm") about <=BOT ("computer program", picked up)
22 HIRING
Taking on husband, with one thing to exchange? (6)

H (husband) with I (one) + RING ("thing to exchange" (at a wedding))
23 SLOWLY
By degrees small and mean (6)

S (small) and LOWLY ("mean")
24 MARK
Take notice of good book (4)

Double defintion, the second being one of the Gospels of the New Testament.
25 RADA
Play school? (4)

Cryptic definition, RADA being the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where one could go to learn how to act in plays.
27 HASH
A number sign for meat dish (4)

Double definition, the first referring to #

9 comments on “Guardian Cryptic crossword No 29,830 by Vulcan”

  1. Woke up, decided to try Vulcan puzzle.

    Finished it – though RADA took a while.

    Surprised to see an early blog.

    Had to be first – doesn’t happen very often.

    Back to sleep now.

    Thanks s’er and b’er.

  2. Started off thinking What’s fabulous about Aesop … talk about dim! Nice Monday potter, thanks V and loona.

  3. Perfectly pitched for early on a Monday, though RADA was a bu**er to winkle out of its shell, and had to convince myself that there’s no such word as PANDIED.

  5. It went SLOWLY… maybe because I was sleepy, and the words just didn’t pop readily into my head… but also because the vocabulary, esp. snooker&golf, isn’t that familiar to me. Thanks loonapick and Vulcan

  6. RADA was a bit mean for us in the Antipodes, I thought. (We have NIDA — National Institute of Dramatic Art.) ‘Twas the only one I couldn’t solve, although I also had no idea for TRIANGLE. All else tickety-boo.

  8. Thanks loonapick
    Another where RADA was LOI. Knew it would be good when I got it, and so it was. Lots of great surfaces. Good fun.
    MANITOBA favourite.
    I liked HIRING as the whole clue leads to the answer.
    Still not clear about SHRINK-WRAP.. Haven’t heard of a drug package referred to as “wrap”. Is it just the same as protective plastic around medications, another clue where Vulcan was being helpful?

  9. Interestingly, RADA went straight in for me. The SE corner took patience, though, EPOCH, SLOWLY, HASH (LOI).
    Thanks Vulcan and Loonapick.

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