The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hello everybody. Bluejacket entertains us today, and entertained I was. I particularly liked 22a, COME THROUGH and 2d, RONDO. I’m not hot on Spanish architects, but the one at 5d was clearly clued. Other answers I got from wordplay were REDUX (8d) and UDINE (24d) which went in last with fingers crossed, and I was pleased to find it was right. Also very happy to see a couple of cats! Thanks Bluejacket.
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 | Henry discovered fortune-telling method, making money (9) |
| ENRICHING — Without outer letters (… discovered) hENRy + I CHING (fortune-telling method) | |
| 6a | Did live broadcast generate buzz? (5) |
| WHIRR — WERE (did live), as it sounds (broadcast) | |
| 9a | Do OK as intern (7) |
| CONFINE — CON (do, swindle) + FINE (OK) | |
| 10a | In league with French, one provided bomb (7) |
| UNIFIED — UN (French, one) + IF (provided) + IED (improvised explosive device: bomb) | |
| 11a | Slow-burning biomass ultimately crumbling to dust (11) |
| SMOULDERING — The last letter of (… ultimately) biomasS + MOULDERING (crumbling to dust) | |
| 12a | Raincoats reportedly greatest value (3) |
| MAX — MACS (raincoats), homophone (reportedly) | |
| 13a | I mark zero incorrect in pile of papers (5) |
| INBOX — I + NB (nota bene: mark) + O (zero) + X (incorrect) | |
| 15a | Plantation area run well by corporation (9) |
| ARBORETUM — A (area) + R (run) + BORE (well) by TUM (corporation) | |
| 18a | Part of biome in Spain with warm spring (9) |
| ECOSYSTEM — E (Spain) + COSY (warm) + STEM (spring) | |
| 20a | Target of left-leaning clubs, periodically (5) |
| FOCUS — OF reversed (left-leaning) + ClUbS, taking regular letters (periodically) | |
| 21a | News agency attached to Echo and Mirror (3) |
| APE — AP (Associated Press: news agency) attached to E (echo) | |
| 22a | Celestial body with hot, turbulent weather (4,7) |
| COME THROUGH — COMET (celestial body) + H (hot) + ROUGH (turbulent) | |
| 25a | Wine company accepts credit cards (7) |
| PLASTIC — ASTI (wine), which PLC (company) takes in (accepts) | |
| 26a | Ring with lithium-infused glass resembling a gem (7) |
| OPALINE — O (ring) + PANE (glass) which has been infused with LI (lithium) | |
| 27a | Old Iberians regularly rise late (3,2) |
| LIE IN — Alternate letters of (… regularly) oLd IbErIaNs | |
| 28a | Cat catching beam displays assertive behaviour (9) |
| PUSHINESS — PUSS (cat) holding (catching) SHINE (beam) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Over-the-top misrepresentation of exes’ vices (9) |
| EXCESSIVE — An anagram (misrepresentation) of EXES’ VICES | |
| 2d | Rocker to start playing party piece (5) |
| RONDO — The first letter of (… to start) Rocker + ON (playing) + DO (party) | |
| 3d | Be cool kid, endlessly undisciplined (7) |
| CHILLAX — CHILd (kid) without the last letter (endlessly) + LAX (undisciplined) | |
| 4d | Wild eglantine not cultivated (9) |
| INELEGANT — An anagram of (wild) EGLANTINE | |
| 5d | Spanish architect inspired by oblong auditorium (5) |
| GAUDI — The answer is inside (inspired by) oblonG AUDItorium | |
| 6d | Mangle radio version of Spitting Image (7) |
| WRINGER — A soundalike (radio version) of RINGER (spitting image) | |
| 7d | “Keeping mum” is silly vernacular (9) |
| IDIOMATIC — Containing (keeping) MA (mum) is IDIOTIC (silly) | |
| 8d | Brought back king to protect knight, sacrificing bishop (5) |
| REDUX — REX (king) surrounding (to protect) DU[b] (knight), removing (sacrificing) B (bishop) | |
| 14d | Financial business ruined by latest trend (9) |
| BROKERAGE — BROKE (ruined) by RAGE (latest trend) | |
| 16d | Snooty arse sanctimonious about “end of art” (9) |
| BUMPTIOUS — BUM (arse) + PIOUS (sanctimonious) around (about) the last letter of (end of) arT | |
| 17d | Pranks fail to entertain boss (9) |
| MISCHIEFS — MISS (fail) containing (to entertain) CHIEF (boss) | |
| 19d | Feline inhabiting China’s green peninsula (7) |
| YUCATAN — CAT (feline) inside (inhabiting) YUAN (China’s green) | |
| 20d | Dread overtaking Rolls-Royce with current car (7) |
| FERRARI — FEAR (dread) surrounding (overtaking) RR (Rolls-Royce) + I (current) | |
| 21d | Drink father upset in dismay (5) |
| APPAL — LAP (drink) and PA (father) reversed (upset) | |
| 23d | Animation technique about to crack messy hair (5) |
| MOCAP — CA (about) going into (to crack) MOP (messy hair). Short for motion capture | |
| 24d | Take courses at university somewhere in Friuli (5) |
| UDINE — DINE (take courses) next to (at) U (university). A city and municipality in northeastern Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region | |
Thanks both. A short exercise to complete, and I also particularly liked COME THROUGH. LOI was YUCATAN where I am still uncertain whether we use ‘green’ as slang for money generally, or that the Chinese bank notes, like Dollars, are so coloured. INBOX for me is solely electronic, so I didn’t recognise the definition of ‘pile of papers’ – that was the fearful in-tray back in the day for me.
Thought likewise, TFO, then remembered those racks of pigeon-hole inboxes after which no doubt the e-ones are named.
A couple beat me, but I almost abandoned early on with the sound of fingernails scraping a blackboard ringing in my ears when 3d went in. Ugh.
[PeteHA3 @3: there was an interesting discussion on BlueSky recently where someone new to cryptics had a go at the setter community – whose average age he surmised to be 109 – for the old-fashioned stuff with which we populate our crosswords. As he put it, I have no interest in the Bible or cricket … And that prompted a number of other newer and I assume younger solvers to join in. I would imagine that newer community being delighted by CHILLAX – which is in both Chambers and Collins whether we like it or not]
Yeah, totes. 🤣
Language keeps on evolving. I think my enjoyment comes from discovering archaic words. My bad… 😂
(Really though, I tend to enjoy everything the setters and bloggers do for us.)