Thank you to Serenos. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
8. Singer’s strong emotion in costume (8)
WHEATEAR : HEAT(strong emotion/passion) contained in(in) WEAR(outfit/costume).
9. Do not apply for ring (5)
ARENA : [ARE NA(abbrev. for “not applicable”)](do not apply/are not relevant or appropriate).
10. Bargain I secured in party (4)
SNIP : I contained in(secured in) SNP(abbrev. for the Scottish National Party, a political party in Scotland).
11. Steps in dog mess clearly marked (10)
SIGNPOSTED : Anagram of(… mess) STEPS IN DOG) .
12. Fraud involving press ticket (6)
COUPON : CON(a fraud/a swindle) containing(involving) OUP(press/a business that prints books, in this case, the Oxford University Press).
14. Yankee dropping in moving near jam pot (4,4)
MARY JANE : Y(letter represented by “Yankee” in the phonetic alphabet) contained in(dropping in) anagram of(moving) NEAR JAM.
Defn: Like “pot”, a slang term for marijuana.
16. Excuse me: shut away poison (7)
HEMLOCK : HEM(in written form, the sound of clearing the throat to attract someone’s attention, similar to saying “Excuse me”) + LOCK(to enclose securely/shut away).
18. David, say, has not succeeded as fortune-teller (7)
PALMIST : “psalmist”(a writer of sacred songs or hymns, in this case/say, King David of the biblical Book of Psalms) minus(has not) “s”(abbrev. for “succeeded”).
Defn: … who reads palms.
21. Extremely happy in financial district, not going anywhere (8)
ECSTATIC : EC(postal code for East Central London, that includes the City of London, part of that city’s financial district) + STATIC(remain as is/not going anywhere)
23. Rock band’s half season (6)
BASALT : 1st 2 of 4 letters of(…’s half) “band” + SALT(season/to add ingredients that add to the taste of food, in this case, to add salt).
Defn: Volcanic ….
24. Stamp coin on reverse, incising line (5,5)
PENNY BLACK : PENNY(a coin in UK currency equal to one-hundredth of a pound) plus(on) BACK(to reverse/go in the opposite of forward direction) containing(incising) L(abbrev. for “line”).
26. Scottish island? Objection: English (4)
BUTE : BUT(word introducing an objection/a disagreeing with) + E(abbrev. for “English”).
27. Join together, but it turns loose (5)
UNTIE : UNITE(to join together/combine) with reversal of(but … turns) “IT”.
28. Ill-educated, go in for rambling tirade (8)
IGNORANT : Anagram of(… for rambling) GO IN + RANT(tirade/a loud angry critical speech).
Down
1. Excelled protecting one note well: it may be hacked (8)
SHINBONE : SHONE(excelled/performed brilliantly) containing(protecting) [ I(Roman numeral for “one”) + NB(abbrev. for “nota bene”, denoting, in text, that the reader should note well/pay attention to what follows) ].
Defn: In sport, that which may be hacked/kicked or struck with a stick by one player on another.
2. Charge covering mass swindle (4)
RAMP : RAP(a criminal charge for a specific offence) containing(covering) M(abbrev. for “mass” in physics).
3. Concerned about a youngster’s sanity (6)
REASON : RE(with regard to/concerned about) + A + SON(an informal form of address for a youngster).
4. Birth almost taking a month, but this shouldn’t end in tears (7)
ORIGAMI : “origin”(birth/the beginning) minus its last letter(almost) containing(taking) [ A + M(abbrev. for “month”) ].
Defn: The “this” in the definition that involves only folding and no tearing.
5. Buzzer didn’t make much noise? (4)
WASP : [ WAS P(abbrev. for “piano”, musical direction to play softly) ](did not make much noise).
6. Two judges see a mess, after torturing outlaw (5,5)
JESSE JAMES : Anagram of(…, after torturing) [ J,J(2 x abbrev. for “judge”) + SEE A MESS].
Defn: American ….
7. As a precaution putting in last protein (6)
CASEIN : [ IN CASE ](as a precaution/as a provision against something happening or becoming true) with IN moved to the end( putting …last).
13. A classical language has spread outside old German province (10)
PALATINATE : [A + LATIN(a classical language) ] contained in(has … outside) PÂTÉ(a rich savoury paste/spread).
Defn: …, ruled by a palatine.
15. Memorial needs much slimming down for narrow inlet (3)
RIA : “Memorial” minus all but 3 letters(needs much slimming down).
17. Pretend not to see prune (3)
CUT : Double defn: 1st: …/to ignore; and 2nd: …/remove superfluous or unwanted parts.
19. Hairy bit of damage in small place I look after (5,3)
SPLIT END : S(abbrev. for “small”) + PL(abbrev. for “place”) + I + TEND(to look after/to care for).
20. Scuffle that is a problem for flock (7)
SCRAPIE : SCRAP(a scuffle/a minor fight) + IE(abbrev. for “id est”/that is).
Defn: …, ie. a disease affecting a flock of sheep.
22. Butcher has no time to train darling child (6)
CHERUB : Anagram of(… to train) [ “Butcher” minus(has no) “t”(abbrev. for “time”) ].
23. No good cycling on island, not much cover (6)
BIKINI : “g”(abbrev. for “good”) deleted from(No …) “biking”(cycling/riding a bike) placed above(on, in a down clue) I(abbrev. for “island”).
Defn: A two-piece swimming costume with ….
Named after the island in the Bikini Atoll, where nuclear bombs were once tested.
25. In speech, Oxbridge representative breathed hard (4)
BLEW : Homophone of(In speech) “blue”(Oxbridge representative/one who has represented Oxford University or Cambridge University in a particular sport).
26. Difficulty over bit of ribbon that may stick to one’s coat (4)
BURR : Reversal of(… over) RUB(a difficulty/problem in a situation) + 1st letter of(bit of) “ribbon”.
I have been looking forward to this setter’s second offering after the splendid debut in September. I ticked so many delightful clues, especially SIGNPOSTED, MARY JANE, PALMIST, BASALT, UNTIE, WASP, JESSE JAMES, CHERUB and BIKINI. More please.
I noticed BE WEIRD across the bottom row, highlighted by Paddymelon on the G site, and apart from the quirky style, like her I’m not sure if it has any significance.
Ta Serenos & scchua for the colour.
Enjoyable crossword, though I do wish the Graun would pension off this grid, which has four lights with a majority of unchecked letters and very few crossers giving the initial letters of the words they cross. For that reason I struggled for a long time before seeing SHINBONE. Entertaining blog from sschua as well.
Thanks, both.
Very nice puzzle. I got stuck at the end with CASEIN and ARENA, but finally got there. Couldn’t parse SHINBONE – seems a bit iffy to me. Favourites were ORIGAMI, SIGNPOSTED and MARY JANE. Many thanks to S & s.
Thanks Serenos and scchua
I had a slow start – FOI, clues taken in order, was JESSE JAMES – but once a few more went in it went smoothly. Some inventive clueing,a nd a lot of fun!
I wonder if Serenos didn’t know that BIKINI is an island. Its clue is a bit odd if he did.
One minor point – a RIA isn’t necessarily narrow. It’s a river valley that has been inundated by sea level rise (in the same way that a fjord is a flooded galcial valley). There are several in the southwest of England. Plymouth Hrabour is one, and it certainly isn’t narrow.
I liked the wordplay for SHINBONE, but was the definition a bit oblique? I don’t want to fall into the trap of blaming my own obtuseness on the setter, but I found this quite hard. In retrospect I liked ORIGAMI and PENNY BLACK. A very nicely illustrated blog as always.
Challenging, mostly because of odd usages of words. I’m not particularly a fan of that, but certainly fair. Thank you Serenos and Scchua.
On September 18th, I blogged Serenos’ first puzzle, which many of us thought remarkable for a début offering. Just two days later, the solution at 1ac in the Saturday Prize puzzle, by Enigmatist, celebrating his 250th Guardian crossword, was a repeat of the entry at 10dn (OCCLUDED FRONT) in the Serenos puzzle.
Orense was the pseudonym used by John Henderson for his puzzles in the FT …
Thx Eileen @7: I remembered your glowing blog. Paddymelon mentioned on the G site, that Serenos was in fact a very experienced setter, so that explains the polish.
I agree with muffin@4: I am looking out my window at the Derwent estuary, which is a RIA but is most certainly not narrow. Most of this went in OK, but I had real trouble with the NW. RAMP = swindle? NHO it, though no doubt someone will point to a dictionary somewhere. Not did I know a WHEATEAR. Thanks, Serenos and scchua.
It’s past my bedtime so I won’t go into the crossword here except to say I enjoyed it and if there is a nina at row 15, it could be related to related to mind-altering drugs and alternative stuff like palmistry.
Clearly this setter didn’t come down in the last shower. I wonder if he is Jeremy Mutch, with similar names/anagrams, ORENSO from the FT, EL SORENSO from the DT, posts as ORENSO-Jay on Big Dave’s crossword. Can’t do too many links here. But there’s this from Best for Puzzles (scroll down to Mutch.)
I don’t have any personal experience of this setter, if this is right, in the FT or DT. Maybe others have and can comment.
Eileen @7 I thought Orense was Jeremy Mutch, not John Henderson?? I would love to know who it is!
Eileen @7 I didn’t see your post when I posted @10. So much for my sleuthing. 🙁
Edit: And now Amdrew thinks it’s JM too, not JH.
Doesn’t matter. I liked the crossie. Beddie byes now..
Petert @5, unfortunately not so obtuse for me – memories of school football where hacking (kicking your opponents’ shinbones as hard as possible) seemed to be the dominant and accepted strategy, but I suppose that was the era of Norman “bites yer legs” Hunter.
Amdrew @11 and paddymelon @12- it seems you’re right, according to Michael Curl / Orlando, – not the first time I’ve been found with egg on my face. 🙁 My apologies all round.
(I still think the repeated OCCLUDED FRONT is not a coincidence, though.)
Loved this, especially the creative definitions – ‘it may be hacked’, ‘shouldn’t end in tears’ and ‘not much cover’.
Thanks to Serenos and scchua
No, TassieTim@9, I didn’t know RAMP=swindle either. I did know the WHEATEAR, but got so hung up on it being a human singer that I finally revealed it, and then kicked myself. The other reveal was CASEIN: love the clue but didn’t know the name of the protein. Also failed to parse PALMIST.
Whoever Serenos is, they’re a fine setter. Liked ARE N/A, WAS P, BUT E, BASALT, BIKINI and UNTIE. And an answer that actually is a Disease Of The Sheep! My last in was SHINBONE: I don’t play any of the games where hacking it is an acceptable tactic.
Thanks Serenos and scchua.
Like AlanC @1, I’d been really looking forward to a second appearance from Serenos and this was no disappointment.
I had a long list of ticks, reluctantly whittled down to MARY JANE, PALMIST, ECSTATIC, SHINBONE, ORIGAMI, JESSE JAMES, PALATINATE and SPLIT END.
Another who didn’t know RAMP = swindle.
Many thanks to Serenos and scchua.
Loved the crossword generally, but felt it was a little spoiled by some bonkers surface readings. Yankee dropping in moving near jam pot isn’t a sentence one’s likely to meet often!
Having got that of my chest, CASEIN & CHERUB are both examples of elegant cluing, and I had an unworthy thought that 28a might possibly be referring to the current occupant of the White House?
Many thanks, both.
I found this hard, could not get a start without checking letters. But appreciated the puzzle once it was done…. Needed this site for a few parsings
Nho RAMP=swindle, but fairly gettable. However I initially had BEEP for 5d (BEE-P), given that in my experience bees buzz and wasps don’t, and was thus flummoxed by 9a until I decided to use the check button. I think I prefer my answer.
[gladys @16
I remember an awful day at school when the pitches were too frozen for senior rugby practice, so coach had the genius idea of getting us to play hockey instead. Putting hockey sticks in the hands of aggressive rugby players was not a good plan! Hacking was rife.]
Poc@20: I also first put in beep in 5d
BEEP is a better answer really, as poc explains @20.
Does 8ac need a bit of wrangling to work, like The team’s new sportswear/ sports costume is stylish …? There may well be better egs. And in 24ac, doesn’t incise mean cut into rather than contain? Otoh, ‘No good cycling’, for bikin[g], just feel a bit cheeky. So, yes, quibblettini aside, clearly a confidant setter. Enjoyed it, ta both Ss.
PS someone please tell me where scchua’s 9ac amphitheatre is …
[GinF @25
Is it the one in Arles? Google Lens would tell me, but I can’t get it to work!
Have now – it’s Verona]
BEEP from me too.
GinF @25: I think it’s the Verona Arena in Italy.
Very tricky, perhaps I was not on this setter’s wavelength.
Favourites: WASP, ECSTATIC.
New for me: RIA = inlet; David = psalmist (for 18ac); Isle of BUTE in Scotland (but I do know Bute Park in Cardiff); RAMP = swindle.
Enjoyable puzzle with some clever constructions, albeit with some nonsensical surfaces. I agree with muffin et al that a RIA isn’t narrow – they’re usually rather wide, unlike fjords.
Favourites COUPON, ORIGAMI, PALATINATE.
Etymological note: WHEATEAR is a corruption of ‘white arse’ – see scchua’s picture. And the related redstart is also etymologically ‘red rump’; the expression ‘stark naked’ was originally ‘start naked’ (like ‘butt naked’).
Thanks to Serenos (whoever he be) and scchua
I’m not a fan of clues that require in-depth knowledge of the bible so PALMIST was a thumbs down from me. But thumbs-up for ARENA, UNTIE and WASP among many others
Cheers S&S
Yes, pleasant solve. I liked the hacked SHINBONE, the tearless birth in ORIGAMI, the good surface and anagram for JESSE JAMES, the precaution of CASEIN, and the untrained darling girl of CHERUB. I wondered about the definition for BIKINI, but I suppose it has to be read as a cover consisting of not much.
[muffin @21; I played in the rugby team at school and when we started to play hockey most of the team were rugby players. We tended to win all our hockey matches, despite not being very skilled – it was probably more like hackey than hockey.]
Thanks Serenos and scchua.
Nobody much calls pot MARY JANE nowadays. We – I mean they – have plenty of other terms for it.
I tried BEEP too, until it didn’t fit. Liked CASEIN and the NB part of SHINBONE.
Very nice puzzle–a lot of clues that were off the beaten path but made sense when they clicked. Like a couple others I had trouble with RAMP and WHEATEAR in the northwest–and revealed PALMIST but kicked myself when I saw how it worked. (CULPTURE didn’t fit.)
Thanks Serenos and scchua!
DrW@33 here’s Snoop Dogg from just 6 months ago with Last dance with MARY JANE and I believe he’s something of an expert 🙂
ORIGAMI brought back fond memories of an exhibition in Clichy of Ty Sovann’s work, ranging from a 3mm horse to a life-size giraffe. I did plan to go back, but by the time I had a spare day it had folded.
Had to reveal far too many answers for this to be enjoyable. Thanks for parsing quite a few for me too.
NHO RAMP as ‘swindle’ and the bird is new to me, so no surprise, given that they cross, that they were the two that scuppered me today. ORIGAMI was great. Thanks to setter and blogger, as ever.
Very enjoyable after a slow start. Snip seems to have turned up one way or another recently. Thanks.
As Chaucer wrote about the hockey player: pleasures in life ne hadde he but oon, to hitten folk upon the shinny boon.
Thanks both,
Did anyone mention JM also sets as El Sereno in the Oldie?
I know I’m not getting any further, so throwing in the towel with seven remaining, especially the NW and a couple in the NE. A good decision as most were nho or definitions I’d never get (1d SHINBONE may be hacked? Really?). I see now I also made a mistake at 5d with BEEP (quiet buzzer!) instead of WASP (like poc@20 and others). Favourites 11a SIGNPOSTED (“steps in dog mess”), 12a COUPON (good surface), 23a BASALT (ditto), 22d CHERUB (decent anagram)
27a UNTIE could of course be UNITE
Blaise@36, folded! Well done! 🙂
Good to meet Serenos again. Thanks for the puzzle, and for the blog with the fine pictures, scchua.
When the penny black stamp was issued there were 240 pence in a pound. Incredible that you could send a letter with so little. That’s what they call inflation.
Liked this Crossword. First time for this setter for me, although I’m a daily old-school newspaper solver – about the fight level of difficulty for me with a mix of straightforward and more challenging with some satisfying solving. To be churlish I have to agree with the criticism of 24ac – the use of incising as an adjective for line is possibly acceptable, but is certainly abstruse.
On the other hand, I was unfamiliar with the word RIA, so I looked it up it after completing and, for all those geologists out there, every definition I found in standard dictionaries includes the word “narrow”, so I think this criticism is unfair
WASP and UNTIE were my favourites. I see a couple of people put in ‘beep’ and I can see why, but I don’t think that “bee p” this works as well as “was p” to satisfy the clue “didn’t make much noise”. Thanks Serenos – hope it not a long wait until your next puzzle – and thanks scchua.
To Neil’s point on the Penny Post – this was the universal rate for a letter anywhee in the UK until 1918 – and in many areas, there were several deliveries a day
Good puzzle. The anagram in SIGNPOSTED was excellent (though the surface was a bit unpleasant). CUT really made me smile. And I thought WASP was very clever. (I can see why people toyed with the idea of BEEP but I don’t think that really quite works with the clue.)
Many thanks Serenos and scchua.