This was my first go at a puzzle on MyCrossword and I found it to be fairly tricky.
Some of the surface readings were a little strained but there was good variety in the clues and a lot of unusual devices were used. I liked sometime for ex in 19A (quite a modern usage) and also EST in 29A.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | LET RIP |
Behave uncontrollably, beginning to love experience on MDMA (3,3)
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L[ove] + E trip(=experience on Ecstasy or MDMA) |
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| 5 | COLD SORE |
Heart broken by mature son with herpes infection (4,4)
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Core with (old(=mature) s{on}) inside. |
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| 9 | BALUSTER |
Graduate: one desiring support post (8)
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BA(=graduate i.e. Bachelor of Arts) + luster(=someone lusting or desiring) |
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| 10 | GARAGE |
Place to fill up kid about 10 years old? (6)
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Rag<(=kid as a verb) + age(=10 years old would be an example of an age) |
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| 11 | FOLDEROL |
File exposed bold nonsense (8)
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Folder(=file) + [b]ol[d]. A completely new word for me. |
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| 12 | WINTRY |
Hostile Welsh at home score in rugby match (6)
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W{elsh} + in(=at home) + try(=score in RU) |
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| 13 | QADI |
Judge commercial during panel show (4)
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Ad{vertisement}(=commercial) in QI(=BBC panel show currently hosted by Sandi Toksvig and previously by Stephen Fry). A qadi is an Islamic judge. |
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| 15 | AFTERSHOCK |
Reduced impact of plates moving sweet ham joint (10)
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Afters(=sweet i.e. dessert) + hock(=ham joint) |
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| 17 | PEN FRIENDS |
Refs nip out to check goal for correspondents (3,7)
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(Refs nip)* around(=check) end(=goal) |
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| 19 | EXAM |
Test sometime before 12 (4)
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Ex(=sometime, as in "sometime boyfriend") + AM(=before twelve) |
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| 20 | TOM TOM |
Revolutionary tests drum (3-3)
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MOT< twice |
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| 22 | GENDARME |
Nice police officer to stop weapon held by group of lawbreakers essentially (8)
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Not sure on this but the only thing I can think is (end(=stop) arm(=weapon)) in g{roup} [lawbr]e[akers], but the "of" seems redundant. Nice of course refers to France. |
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| 24 | PINATA |
Party figure prompting strikes? (6)
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CD |
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| 26 | TEA TOWEL |
Wet, with a lot flowing around back of tumble dryer in kitchen (3,5)
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(Wet a lot)* around [tumbl]e |
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| 27 | NEPENTHE |
Drug writer after short novel and article (8)
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(Pen(=writer) after ne[w](=shortened word for novel)) + the(=article) |
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| 28 | LATEST |
News from city: tense time in New York (6)
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LA(=city i.e. Los Angeles) + t{ense} + EST(=Eastern Standard Time, which is the time zone of New York) |
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| DOWN | ||
| 2 | ELABORATE |
Detailed when you are expected to steal beer from basement (9)
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(ETA(=expected time of arrival) + rob(=steal) + ale(=beer))<, reversal indicated by "from the basement". |
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| 3 | ROUND |
Heat drinks (5)
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DD, the first def referring to the round of a tournament and the second a round of drinks. |
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| 4 | PATERNALISM |
Authority’s excessive interference in master plan I developed (11)
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(Master plan I)* |
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| 5 | CIRCLET |
One out of order removed from new electronic band (7)
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El[e]ctr[on]ic*(letters of one removed not in order) |
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| 6 | LEG |
Sign you’ve not yet passed, say, bit of stool (3)
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I don't really get this one. Might be something to do with the leg of a race. |
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| 7 | SCRUNCHIE |
Second process that is for lockkeeper? (9)
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S{econd} + crunch(=process, as in "crunch the numbers") + i.e.(=that is). The def refers to the band used to keep hair(=locks) in place. |
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| 8 | ROGER |
We caught you on exit climbing right on top (5)
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(Re(=about) + go(=exit))< with r{ight} on top |
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| 12 | WARTS AND ALL |
Fight case to tribunal about shoe showing defects (5,3,3)
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(War(=fight) + t[ribuna]l(=case i.e. outer letters of tribunal)) around sandal(=shoe) |
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| 14 | INFATUATE |
Arouse excited auntie drinking stout (9)
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Auntie* around fat(=stout) |
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| 16 | CHARMLESS |
Unattractive Conservative posing no threat (9)
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C{onservative} + harmless(=posing no threat) |
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| 18 | NIGHTIE |
Close item worn formally? Quite the opposite! (7)
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Nigh(=close in the sense of near) + tie(=item worn formally) |
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| 21 | ON ICE |
Suspended when investigation’s head probes (2,3)
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Once(=when) with i[nvestigation] inside(=probes) |
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| 23 | ABORT |
Terminate one bribed in reports (5)
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A + hom of bought(=bribed) |
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| 25 | APT |
Fitting some cheap tiles (3)
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Hidden in cheap tiles |
The G in GENDARME is actually the abbreviation for ‘Group of’ as in G7 – the Group of Seven – and, indeed, that is the def given in Chambers so the ‘of’ is not redundant. And LEG is L – the sign that a driver has not yet passed their test – and say = EG.
TOM TOM made me smile – as, I’m afraid, did WINTRY, given the poor Welsh performance in the Six Nations.
Thanks both
Thanks for both gendarme and leg, PM @1, I just biffed them and went back to binging a mindless cop show. But agree, NeilH, a puzzle not without a bit of chew, ta Iguess.
Chewy in a good way. I liked ELABORATE and SCRUNCHIE.
As others have said this was chewy in places.
Liked LET RIP and SCRUNCHIE
Thanks both
Quite chewy for me as well, got there with a bit of dictionary assistance. Scrunchie was a nice PDM. A lot of new words for me, most gettable by word play (nepenthe, qadi, folderol, baluster) but needed more help on gendarme. Still, it was fun, the clues were fair, good wp and surfaces, cheers Iguess and NeilH
I solved part of this myself then managed to catch a crossword streamer on Twitch (hi Liari) doing a live solve of it, so followed the rest of it there and let someone else do the hard work. As others have noted, quite a tricky puzzle in parts but also full of some very nice clues such as LET RIP, TOM-TOM, PINATA, TEA TOWEL, ROUND, LEG and APT.
Many thanks both
Really enjoyed this! Thanks Iguess and NealH