Filbert has produced this week’s Tuesday puzzle. It is the second time in a row that it has fallen to me to blog a crossword by this setter.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle through which I made steady progress from beginning to end. I needed Chambers to help me with the parsing of 5 and 6, and I would appreciate fellow solvers’ confirmation of my parsing at 4 and 19.
My favourite clues today were 14, for sauciness; and 9, 16D, 17 and 20, all for smoothness of surface.
Since Tuesday is theme day in the Indy, there should be a theme hidden here somewhere, but I have failed to spot it. I look forward to being enlightened during the course of the day – many thanks for the enlightenment, blog now updated!
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; a break in underlining separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| ACROSS
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||
| 1 | HIPPIC |
Greek’s equine haunch photo (6)
|
| HIP (=haunch, of body) + PIC (=photo, i.e. picture); hippic derives from hippos, from the Greek for horse, hence “equine” | ||
| 5 | OFFEND |
Injure heel on driver’s side (6)
|
| OFF (=driver’s side, in car) + END (=heel, of loaf or cheese) | ||
| 10 | GIRLFRIEND |
Steady hands split bananas in fridge (10)
|
| RL (=hands, i.e. R=right and L=left) in *(IN FRIDGE); “bananas” is anagram indicator; as a noun, a steady is a regular boyfriend or girlfriend | ||
| 11 | SO-SO |
A couple of stitches in your ear, tolerable (2-2)
|
| Homophone (“in your ear”) of “sew (=stitch) + sew (=stitch)” | ||
| 12 | AT EASE |
A kid with feet up, perhaps (2,4)
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| A +TEASE (=kid, rib, as verb) | ||
| 13 | SKELETON |
Half of drawing revealed secret bones (8)
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| SKE<tch> (=drawing; “half of” means 3 of 6 letters only are used) + LET ON (=revealed secret) | ||
| 14 | COCKATOO |
Member on visit to zoo saving unknown parrot (8)
|
| COCK (=(male) member, colloquially) + AT (=on visit to) + <z>OO (“saving unknown (=Z, in algebra)” means letter “z” is dropped) | ||
| 16 | PINNER |
London suburb close to Ruislip, nearer the heart (6)
|
| <ruisli>P (“close to” means last letter only) + INNER (=nearer the heart); Pinner is a suburb in NW London in the borough of Harrow | ||
| 17 | STONER |
Pothead skinned knee in brief rage (6)
|
| <k>NE<e> (“skinned” means first and last letters are dropped) in STOR<m> (=rage; “brief” means last letter is dropped); colloquially, a stoner is a person who habitually takes drugs, especially cannabis, hence “pothead” | ||
| 19 | BIRDS-EYE |
Costa recalled seedy nuts, as seen below (5-3)
|
| BIR (RIB=costa, in anatomy; “recalled” indicates reversal) + *(SEEDY); “nuts (=crazy)” is anagram indicator; a bird’s-eye view, i.e. from above, is “as seen below” | ||
| 21 | COMMUTER |
Traveller‘s stomach flipped during arrival (8)
|
| MUT (TUM=stomach; “flipped” indicates reversal) in COMER (=arrival, as in newcomer/new arrival) | ||
| 23 | SMOOCH |
Cosmo doctored front of Heidi’s neck (6)
|
| *(COSMO) + H<eidi> (“front of” means first letter only); “doctored” is anagram indicator; to neck is to smooch, snog, canoodle | ||
| 25 | MAKE |
Every so often my ankles turn (4)
|
| M<y> A<n>K<l>E<s>; “every so often” means alternate letters only are used; to turn is to form, cast, fashion, hence “make” | ||
| 26 | CHEWING GUM |
Red footballer repelled attack, getting the bit between his teeth? (7,3)
|
| CHE (=red, i.e. Che Guevara) + WING (=footballer, i.e. position on pitch) + GUM (MUG=attack, rob, on street; “repelled” indicates reversal); cryptically, chewing gum could be described as “the bit between his teeth”! | ||
| 27 | HASTEN |
Hare isn’t missing any toes, perhaps (6)
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| Cryptically, if a person “has ten”, then he “isn’t missing any toes, perhaps”!; to hare is to rush, hurry, hasten | ||
| 28 | GARTER |
Strap around thigh compressing artery walls (6)
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| Hidden (“walls (in)”) in “compressinG ARTERy” | ||
| DOWN
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||
| 2 | IDIOT |
Revolutionary addressing African dictator of little brain (5)
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| TO (=addressing, of letter or speech) + IDI (=African dictator, i.e. Idi Amin of Uganda); “revolutionary” indicates vertical reversal; here, idiot appears to be being used adjectivally, idiotic | ||
| 3 | POLLACK |
Fish like cod don’t have tails cut up (7)
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| POL (LOP=cut, chop; “up” indicates vertical reversal) + LACK (=don’t have) | ||
| 4 | CARPENTER |
Worker putting nail through tongue, perhaps nurse keeps confined (9)
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| PENT (=confined, held in) in CARER (=nurse); a tongue is a carpentry term, as in a tongue-and-groove joint | ||
| 6 | FUDGE |
Sweet Glaswegian’s bottom ogled regularly (5)
|
| FUD (=Glaswegian’s bottom, i.e. a Scottish word for buttocks) + <o>G<l>E<d> (“regularly” means alternate letters only) | ||
| 7 | EASTERN |
European back from China, say (7)
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| E (=European) + ASTERN (=(towards) back (=of vessel)) | ||
| 8 | DISCOVERY |
Find nothing really under layer of cartilage (9)
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| DISC (=layer of cartilage, between vertebrae) + O (=nothing, pictorially) + VERY (=really); as a noun, a find is a discovery | ||
| 9 | BEAST OF BURDEN |
E.g. ass working Bude seafront, carrying British (5,2,6)
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| B (=British) in *(BUDE SEAFRONT); “working” is anagram indicator | ||
| 15 | OSTEOPATH |
13 expert thought a poet’s oesophagus somewhat twisted (9)
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| Hidden (“somewhat”) and reversed (“twisted”) in “thougHT A POET’S Oesophagus”; an osteopath is a “skeleton (=entry at 13) expert” | ||
| 16 | PERISHING |
Wearing PE kit, lower leg’s very cold (9)
|
| SHIN (=lower leg) in [PE + RIG (=kit, gear)] | ||
| 18 | NUMBERS |
Unable to feel American casualty’s digits? (7)
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| NUMB (=unable to feel, lacking sensation) + ER (=American casualty, i.e. Emergency Room)’S | ||
| 20 | SPONGER |
Parasite in nose GP treated right (7)
|
| *(NOSE GP) + R (=right); “treated” is anagram indicator | ||
| 22 | TACHE |
Growth on lip hurt after time (5)
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| T (=time) + ACHE (=hurt, pain); a tache is a moustache, hence “growth on lip” | ||
| 24 | CRUDE |
Vulgar Conservative showing too much cheek? (5)
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| C (=Conservative) + RUDE (=showing too much cheek, insolent) |
Came here for enlightenment about the theme, so only pausing to say that we couldn’t see any problem with the parsing of 4 and 19.
Will check back later!
Thanks to setter for the entertainment and to blogger too.
I always enjoy Filbert. Is the theme related to parts of the body?
Every clue seems to contain a part of the body, in fact. Quite an achievement.
Brilliant! Great spot Petert @2/3. We were nowhere near seeing that, even though it’s obvious when you point it out.
All very excellent, as expected. Cleverly worked. Favourite was SKELETON for smoothness and simplicity.
Minor unease with a carpenter putting a nail into a tongue-and-groove. Surely not? He’d have his credentials revoked.
But thanks both.
Very well spotted, Petert @2/3 – of course, it is the clues that accommodate the theme, not the solutions. And this would explain the less than obvious reference to “tongue” in 4.
Xmac @5, nails go through the internal angle of the tongue at an angle. The nails heads are hidden by the grooved end of the next plank, so you get a nailless finish. Annoying when you want to pull a board up, though.
Thanks Filbert for a brilliantly written crossword. Naturally I missed the theme (never thought to look at the clues) so a tip of the chapeau to Petert. There was lots to enjoy including AT EASE, SKELETON, STONER, COMMUTER, EASTERN, and SPONGER. Thanks RR for the blog.