It’s my turn to cover for Eileen today, and my first time blogging a Guardian puzzle.
As a relative novice solver and blogger this was more of a challenge than I’d hoped; I didn’t complete it unaided and I haven’t managed to parse everything completely. I did want to get the post up before bed in whatever state and I’ve at least done that.
I’m sure commenters will step in to complete/correct my attempt and I’ll update the post in the morning.
It’s certainly a different game to be solving a puzzle with a mind to also writing the blog for it, but this was still enjoyable to work through.
Many thanks to Vulcan for the puzzle.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | TICKLISH |
Liable to involuntary laughter in such a tricky situation (8)
|
| It’s not something I’d come across before, but Chambers includes difficult/tricky as meanings for ticklish and I’ll try to remember to use that in future conversations when such situations arise. | ||
| 5 | BICARB |
I say purchase pasta, for example, that goes in kitchen cupboard (6)
|
| Homophone/aural wordplay of BI (buy/purchase) + CARB (pasta being a good source of carb-ohydrates), for a term for bicarbonate of soda, a kitchen cupboard staple. | ||
| 9 | CONSCRIPT |
One called up to study one’s lines (9)
|
| CON (???) + SCRIPT (lines). I’m sure someone can help me with where the CON from ‘study [one’s]’ comes into it! | ||
| 11 | KNOCK |
Criticise minor injury in time at the crease (5)
|
| Triple definition – knock can mean to criticise, a small or minor injury, or having your turn to knock some balls when batting at the cricket crease. | ||
| 12 | CONTAMINATED |
Possibly made radioactive, so no admittance, unfortunately (12)
|
| Anagram (‘unfortunately’) of NO ADMITTANCE | ||
| 15 | FROG |
Food for Nancy that may stick in the throat (4)
|
| Nancy is a city in France so this is referring to the association of frogs’ legs with French cuisine, as well as ‘having a frog in one’s throat’. | ||
| 16 | UNDERSCORE |
Emphasise how one’s counted as a teenager? (10)
|
| Someone aged 13-19 would be aged ‘under [a] score’ i.e. less than 20 years old. | ||
| 18 | PATRICIDAL |
Irish saint almost laid out, harbouring unfatherly thoughts? (10)
|
| PATRIC[K] (Irish saint, almost) + IDAL (LAID out/anagrammed). A quite understated definition for thoughts of murder… | ||
| 19 | SHUN |
Avoid attention (4)
|
| In military contexts the command for ‘attention’ may be abbreviated to attenSHUN. | ||
| 21 | TRANSPARENCY |
Lack of guile in what may be shown on the screen (12)
|
| Double definition – lack of cunning and an overhead projector slide. I suspect OHPs are rarely used these days. | ||
| 24 | INTER |
Italian team doesn’t take the lead in some three months (5)
|
| Referring to the the common name Inter Milan for Football Club Internazionale Milano. I think this is WINTER (some three months) minus the first letter (doesn’t take the lead). | ||
| 25 | EXTRADITE |
From abroad obtain more unusual diet (9)
|
| EXTRA (more) + DITE – anagram (unusual) of DIET. Requiring the mental insertion of a comma for the definition. | ||
| 26 | GADFLY |
Irritating person after wander about has to race away (6)
|
| GAD (wander about) + FLY (race away). | ||
| 27 | ALLEGORY |
Pilgrim’s Progress for example involves travel right through narrow lane (8)
|
| GO (travel) + R (right) inside (through) ALLEY (narrow lane) for the literary device, of which Pilgrim’s Progress is an example. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | TUCK |
Friar stabbed, not the first (4)
|
| [S]TUCK meaning stabbed, minus the first letter, for the ubiquitous religious chap. | ||
| 2 | CONE |
Calorie associated with single ice-cream (4)
|
| C (abbreviation for Calorie) + ONE (single) | ||
| 3 | LECTOR |
Reader in church sounds like Hannibal? (6)
|
| Homophone/pun/aural wordplay of Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal from the book & film series. | ||
| 4 | SPITTING IMAGE |
Emitting gasp, I staggered to see my double (8,5)
|
| Anagram (‘staggered’) of EMITTING GASP I | ||
| 6 | INKINESS |
Gathering family I head for black state (8)
|
| I think this is INK (gathering/anagram of KIN i.e. family) + I (from surface) + NESS (head[land]). I always think of Loch Ness but in that case the ‘ness’ refers to a river. No doubt someone will correct me if there’s a better parsing. | ||
| 7 | APOSTROPHE |
Mark address wrong too, perhaps (10)
|
| Anagram (wrong) of TOO PERHAPS. I’m not sure what ‘address’ is doing here though it could be read as part of the anagrind. | ||
| 8 | BAKED BEANS |
Something on toast for hotheads? (5,5)
|
| BAKED (hot) + BEANS (heads/brains – ‘use your bean’), referring to the the under-appreciated (IMO) British delicacy. | ||
| 10 | TEMPERAMENTAL |
Moody secretary taking age without using any paper (13)
|
| TEMP (secretary) + ERA (age) + MENTAL (i.e. performing some task in one’s head, so ‘without using any paper’) | ||
| 13 | OFF-PUTTING |
Disconcerting, to be away on the golf course? (3-7)
|
| Cryptic definition, one may be OFF (away) PUTTING (playing golf/on the golf course). | ||
| 14 | CONTRACTED |
Signed up, but got less (10)
|
| DD – signed a contract/shrank. | ||
| 17 | MINSTREL |
Singer in large church lifting one hand, then the other (8)
|
| MINSTER (a large church) with the R shifted up (lifting one hand), + L (the other hand) | ||
| 20 | SCRAPE |
Bad scare about parking: a scuff (6)
|
| Anagram (bad) of SCARE + P (parking) | ||
| 22 | LIDO |
Cover over swimming pool (4)
|
| LID (cover) + O (over, in cricket scoring) for the type of outdoor swimming pool. | ||
| 23 | DEWY |
Married over a year, so eyed as naive (4)
|
| DEW (wed, i.e. married, reversed – ‘over’) + Y (year). Not a meaning I’m familiar with but I’ll bank it associating it with wetness/dampness. |
Thanks Vulcan for the nice puzzle.
Welcome and congratulations to simonbyc on their great first blog.
CONSCRIPT
I think
one’s lines=SCRIPT
study=CON
Or we can take the whole thing together (study one’s lines).
INKINESS
my reading
gathering KIN (I+NESS)—->KIN is gathered by I NESS
PATRICIDAL
The def should include the word ‘harbouring’.
Thanks very much for the blog, a very clear exposition for your first (or any!) outing.
In 9ac CON is a chestnut for study. It is so long since I learned it – at least 60 years – I have forgotten the origin of it.
I agree about WINTER 2ac and I had the same parsing as you for 6d. In 2d, the definition needs underlining.
I found this a toughy for a Vulcan. DEWY eyed my LOI.
Thanks V too
! srelbboc fo daol a tahW
APOSTROPHE
As a literary figure of speech, apostrophe is an address to an inanimate object etc.,
Maybe that’s the reference in the clue as the second def.
Great job simonbyc! I thought the puzzle was very enjoyable and pretty straightforward, certainly more straightforward than its’ FT brethren today. Thank you to Vulcan! My favorites were FROG, GADFLY and BICARB.