The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hi all. I really enjoyed this puzzle from Coot. I can’t pick a favourite clue, but don’t confuse indecisiveness with lack of enthusiasm! Or brevity of blog, for that matter; I’m just away from home and the usual routine at the moment. Thanks Coot!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Cake and stiff drink fed to cold animal (7) |
| CRUMPET — RUM (stiff drink) put inside (fed to) C (cold) PET (animal) | |
| 5a | Oil producer’s area of operation? Hour away east (3,4) |
| TEA TREE — T[h]EATRE (area of operation) with H (hour) taken away + E (east) | |
| 9a | Irish city’s workers take indirect route? (9) |
| CORKSCREW — CORK’S CREW (Irish city’s workers) | |
| 10a | Reasonable to run away (5) |
| LEGIT — LEG IT (to run away) | |
| 11a | Monkey bars cut down, abuse received (6) |
| BABOON — BANs (bars) without the last letter (cut down), BOO (abuse) taken in (received) | |
| 12a | Football team without wingers got grief and, ultimately, lost (6) |
| ORIENT — Missing outer letters (without wingers), gOt gRIEf aNd + the last letter of (ultimately) losT | |
| 14a | Leather eye protector (4) |
| LASH — A double definition | |
| 16a | Some revolting eyesore that’s attached to the ceiling (4) |
| ROSE — Some reversed (revolting) eyESORe | |
| 18a | Writer left to tour huge wine region (5) |
| MOSEL — ME (writer) and L (left) going around (to tour) OS (outsize, huge) | |
| 20a | Schedule has first couple returning on American vessel (5) |
| AORTA — ROTA (schedule) has its initial two letters reversed (first couple returning) by (on) A (American) | |
| 23a | Fresh drink supplier opening late (4) |
| AIRY — Skipping the first letter (… opening late), dAIRY (drink supplier) | |
| 25a | You once learnt he ‘entertains’ nurses (4) |
| THEE — LearnT HE ‘Entertains’ holds (nurses) the answer | |
| 27a | First half of specified number leave semi-public body (6) |
| QUANGO — The first half of QUANtity (specified number) + GO (leave) | |
| 28a | Manipulate old laundry equipment, overturning the front (6) |
| WANGLE — MANGLE (old laundry equipment), overturning the front letter M to become a W | |
| 32a | Novelist’s out of order (5) |
| AMISS — AMIS’S (novelist’s) | |
| 33a | Rower adlibs desperately going around in unfamiliar craft? (9) |
| SAILBOARD — OAR (rower) with an anagram of (… desperately) ADLIBS going around it. The definition refers to the face that a sailboard might be an unfamiliar craft for a rower | |
| 34a | Space to tuck into pudding, the 3rd for Jodie Marsh (7) |
| FENLAND — EN (space) going inside (to tuck into) FLAN (pudding), + the 3rd for JoDie | |
| 35a | Strips of meat, good French cuts (7) |
| RIBBONS — RIBS (meat), which BON (good French) goes into (cuts) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Male rugby player initially doubled in value? (4) |
| COCK — With the first letter (initially) doubled in value, in Roman numerals, from L to C, lOCK (rugby player) | |
| 2d | Expert breaking suspect exposed bursar’s rackets (7) |
| UPROARS — PRO (expert) going into (breaking) an anagram of (suspect) bURSAr without outer letters (exposed …) | |
| 3d | Here we find Basil and Coot asleep occasionally, having retired (5) |
| PESTO — Regular letters of (… occasionally) cOoT aSlEeP, backwards (having retired) | |
| 4d | City suffering torn parts excessively (7) |
| TORONTO — An anagram of (suffering) TORN parts TOO (excessively) | |
| 5d | What one lacking drive might need to move forwards? (3,4) |
| TOW ROPE — A cryptic definition | |
| 6d | Discrimination – is blame misdirected? (7) |
| ABLEISM — IS BLAME anagrammed (misdirected) | |
| 7d | They take temporary charge of toilets (7) |
| REGENTS — RE (of) + GENTS (toilets) | |
| 8d | Maybe hoovers furniture top to bottom (4) |
| EATS — SEAT (furniture) with the first letter moved to the end (top to bottom) | |
| 13d | Conservative affected by wind when speaking (4) |
| BLUE — Sounds like (… when speaking) BLEW (affected by wind) | |
| 14d | He wrote “ladlecum”, “enkoopia”, “attery” and “runcible” originally (4) |
| LEAR — First letters of (… originally) “Ladlecum”, “Enkoopia”, “Attery” and “Runcible” – and of course the choice of words means the whole clue also works as a definition | |
| 15d | Covers removed from that end for fast bowler? (3) |
| HAT — Outer letters are taken from (covers removed from) tHAt + the last letter of (end for) fasT | |
| 17d | Sports equipment? Inside – ask Ingrid (3) |
| SKI — The answer is inside – aSK Ingrid | |
| 19d | Solicitor covering face in public (3) |
| OUT — Without the first letter (… covering face) tOUT (solicitor) | |
| 21d | District using country club for grand social gathering (7) |
| REUNION — RE[g]ION (district) using UN (country club) for G (grand) | |
| 22d | Agitated international seaman recalling difficulty (7) |
| AMNESIA — An anagram of (agitated) I (international) SEAMAN | |
| 23d | Revel topless, getting director excited (7) |
| AROUSED — Without the first letter (… topless) cAROUSE (revel) + D (director) | |
| 24d | Worried Barking is relatively rough (7) |
| ROWDIER — An anagram of (… barking) WORRIED | |
| 26d | Brief time in hospital by Texan mission, holding strong (4,1,2) |
| HALF A MO — H (hospital) by ALAMO (Texan mission) holding F (strong) | |
| 29d | ‘Moneybags’ Nick admits personal hygiene problem (5) |
| NABOB — NAB (nick) takes in (admits) BO (personal hygiene problem) | |
| 30d | Tip from Chris Ramsey for youngster (4) |
| CALF — The first letter of (tip from) Chris + ALF (Ramsey) | |
| 31d | Poems most peculiar, but not every 3rd (4) |
| ODES — ODdESt (most peculiar), but not every 3rd letter | |
Well normally if Filbert is shunted from Sunday it’s because the replacement is date themed. And Coot is known for date themed puzzles – and sport-related puzzles. But I am not seeing a theme. Rather a lot of short entries which also gets my suspicions aroused. Maybe someone else with spot something. CRUMPET, RIBBONS and REGENTS my podium.
Thanks both
Some old favourites, but a lot of original plays, too. Excellent variety.
For such a simple, short answer, (COCK), the wordplay in 1(d) gets best in show, from me.
Closely followed by HALF A MO, 26(d).
I didn’t whizz through, but I really enjoyed the struggle. Very smart setting.
Thumbs up, Coot & Kitty
27 and 28 give the theme, almost.
PM@1 , yes, I’m sure there’s a theme ….6 Nations, may be?
It’s a poem by 14d. But I can’t see any obvious anniversary.
There is an anniversary. The poem was published 150 years ago on Jan 25th 1876.
Many thanks to Coot and Kitty
Excellent fun. Many thanks to Coot and Kitty.
ENB @4: some way off from the Six Nations it would appear! Having looked at the link kindly provided by DuncT, it is a somewhat more nonsensical nonsense poem than usual. Not one I shall be consigning to memory.
Very good puzzle. Enjoyed solving it.
Neat blog.
Thanks Coot and Kitty.
My faves: ROSE, SAILBOARD, RIBBONS, REGENTS and AROUSED.
Initial reaction to pressing the “Puzzle Info” link…oh no, it’s not Filbert! But once I got into the puzzle it was a totally different story.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you Coot and of course Kitty!