This is the first time Magus and I have met on Fifteensquared.
And it was a very one-sided contest, I’m afraid. It’s a fine cryptic with some brilliant clues, but I can’t remember a puzzle I’ve blogged where I have had to use a wordsearch so often, and certainly not where there are numerous clues I still can’t parse. The Indy regulars are very kind, and I’m sure a collective effort will get us over the line.
There is a political element, which is usually right up my street, but my fun was dulled a little by the level of difficulty I found. We have mentions, either in clues or answers, for Gordon Brown, Nicola Sturgeon, Kemi Badenoch, Boris Johnson, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and the orange one. There may be nuances I have missed, but I am retiring hurt for the minute and looking forward to others filling in the gaps.
Edit: all the gaps have been kindly filled by our regular commenters. Rather than amend the blog, I thank them all and direct you to the comments below.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Extra work that’s from The Sun?
MOONLIGHTING
A dd.
9 Stew over review of “beige” Hamlet?
PANATELLA
An insertion of TAN reversed in PAELLA. The insertion indicator is ‘over’.
10 Tired old PM must change direction …
BLOWN
Magus is inviting you to change the R from [Gordon] BROWN to an L.
11 … line from article penned by bonkers Boris
ISOBAR
An insertion of A in (BORIS)* The insertion indicator is ‘penned by’ and the anagrind is ‘bonkers’.
12 What will gamer do in first-person shooter Inferno?
HELLFIRE
HELLFIRE can be read as HE’LL FIRE, which a gamer might do in a video game, and HE is a third-person pronoun as opposed to I, the first-person pronoun, but beyond that …
13 S&M gear seen across naked cult’s camps
GULAGS
An insertion of [C]UL[T] in GAGS. The insertion indicator is ‘seen across’ and S&M GAGS are BDSM tools designed to restrict speech and hold the mouth open, often featuring adjustable head harnesses with balls, rings, or muzzles. So now you know. Don’t forget your safe word.
14 Minister ultimately crushed by wagging tongues?
STURGEON
An insertion of R for the final letter of ‘minister’ in (TONGUES)* and a very clever cad. The insertion indicator is ‘crushed by’ and the anagrind is ‘wagging’. The reference is to Nicola STURGEON, ex-leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland, whose eventual downfall was certainly hastened by noises off.
17 Count’s about to break wind in front of Lord Lieutenant
ROLL-CALL
More tea, vicar? An insertion of CA for circa or ‘about’ in ROLL and LL. The insertion indicator is ‘to break … in front of’.
19 Firm training received by Himmler’s baby spies
SCOPES
An insertion of CO and PE in SS, the Schutzstaffel, which had Himmler as its Reichsführer. The insertion indicator is ‘received by’.
22 Bats flap over water
CLUB SODA
A charade of CLUBS and ADO reversed. CLUB SODA is mostly water, but …
24 Deliver prompt following short pause
RESCUE
A charade of RES[T] and CUE.
26 Rat run sent back through Parisian thoroughfare
ROGUE
An insertion of GO reversed in RUE. The insertion indicator is ‘through’.
27 Traditional style sold in fashion houses close to Edinburgh
OLD-SCHOOL
An insertion of H for the final letter of ‘Edinburgh’ in (SOLD)* and COOL. The insertion indicator is ‘houses’ and the anagrind is ‘in fashion’.
28 Kamala Harris, originally filling for Joe Biden, came unstuck as leader
KEMI BADENOCH
Another really cleverly constructed clue with a great surface. An insertion of ([J]O[E] BIDEN CAME)* in KH for the initial letters of the former US Vice-President. And pretty much the story of the last election.
Down
1 Male topless, doing spring cleaning
MOPPING
A charade of M and [H]OPPING.
2 OMG! Mike’s dropped a clanger
OWN GOAL
O[M]G gives you OG, which is short for OWN GOAL.
3 Sluggish Raleigh cyclist exhausted on Tour
LETHARGIC
(RALEIGH C[YCLIS]T)* with ‘on Tour’ as the anagrind.
4 Drink Bash Street kid chucked up
GULP
A reversal of PLUG, one of the original Bash Street Kids. The one with the overbite and the sticky-out ears.
5 Waifs exposed without underwear in burlesque
TRAVESTY
An insertion of VEST in [S]TRAY[S]. The insertion indicator is ‘without’ as an antonym of ‘within’.
6 Trump wants one head of BBC arrested by Christmas
NOBEL
An insertion of B in NOEL. The insertion indicator is ‘arrested by’. I’m not planning on going to the USA before I die, so I will mention that the orange man-baby needs to be told that the Norwegian Prime Minister is not the one handing out the Nobel Peace Prizes and he’s done sweet FA to deserve one in any case.
7 Warning: hipsters lifted by US federal agents …
NOTICE
One of the definitions of TON is ‘fashionable society’, so if we take ‘hipsters’ as a definition of that, it’s TON reversed and ICE, the US immigration enforcement agency.
8 … one after another for speaking out can be put in prison
INTERN
Aural wordplay (‘for speaking out’) of IN TURN.
15 Child’s hero hurt, twice snubbed by Adult Choice
RECHERCHÉ
I don’t understand this one, I’m afraid.
16 Fiddle endlessly with once bright bloomers
GLADIOLI
A charade of GLAD and [V]IOLI[N]. GLAD in its ‘bright’ sense is archaic, hence ‘once’ in the clue.
17 Brother inspired by Mick Hucknall album?
RECORD
An insertion of COR in RED. The insertion indicator is ‘inspired by’. Mick Hucknall was a lead singer in Simply Red (and was a ginger). COR is an expression of surprise, as is ‘brother’ (except the set phrase is ‘oh, brother!’) Unless someone has a better idea.
18 Make pass after getting round in bar
LOUNGE
An insertion of O in LUNGE. The insertion indicator is ‘after getting … in’.
20 Music producer in shot: “Cut!”
PICCOLO
I really don’t understand this one. PIC for ‘shot’, sure; but the rest I need some kind soul to explain.
21 Cunning mum ruined late husband
STEALTH
This appears to be a charade of ST, (LATE)* and H, but how ‘mum’ equates to ST, I know not.
23 On reflection, is the First Lady a riddle?
SIEVE
A charade of IS reversed and EVE.
25 Virtually immaculate conception
IDEA
IDEA[L]. Those of a non-religious bent may not know that the Immaculate Conception (capitalised) is the notion, created by the Catholic Church, that Our Lady was born without original sin, thus making her suitable to bear Jesus. Not to be confused with the Virgin Birth. But confused is certainly what I am after trying to parse this crossword.
Thank you to Magus for today’s puzzle.
RECHERCHE
Child’s hero: REACHER
hurt:ACHE
Remove both As
PICCOLO
Shot=PIC
: cut=COLO(n)
STEALTH
St is an interjection equivalent to sh
RECHERCHE is a reference to (Jack) RE(a)CHER (a)CHE by the author Lee Child. In PICCOLO, you need to cut the COLON in the clue.
KVa just beat me. Also, your parsing for 12a is fine. You are just missing the fact that ‘first person shooter’ is the game genre.
For 15d, Jack REACHER is the hero of books by Lee Child and hurt is ACHE, then we twice remove A = adult.
For 20d, I think the “:” needs to give COLON which has the last letter cut.
[As I might have expected, others gave these explanations while I was typing.]
I solved this over three sessions and took much longer than I usually do to solve an Independent puzzle, especially on a Monday.I had never heard of the Bash Street kids so GULP was just a guess from the definition, and PANATELLA was just a guess from the wordplay because even if I had known the word I didn’t know that Hamlet was a brand of cigar.
Thanks, Pierre and Magus.
Comment #4
I see others have beaten me to it! But yes, agree with the Jack Reacher ref in 15d and the colo[n] in 20d.
Slight disagreement with parsing for 27a, where I read it as ‘style’ being the anagrind and ‘in fashion’ cluing COOL. Not that it makes a blind bit of difference to the solution.
Really clever and challenging puzzle, thanks Magus, and especially to Pierre for the valiant struggle!
Agree with moh on OLD_SCHOOL.
Style is the anagrind and ‘in fashion=COOL.
Loved Pierre’s comment below NOBEL.
Thanks Pierre and Magus.