Vulcan in Monday mode.
This was a largely straightforward puzzle, but still a fun solve. I’m not sure how to categorise clues such as those for REVOLUTIONARY and CAT’S EYE as they’re not quite cryptic definitions and not quite double definitions. I really liked the alliterative short story in the clue for FIELDFARE.
Thanks, Vulcan.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PROCURE |
Manage to obtain expert remedy (7)
|
| PRO (“expert”) + CURE (“remedy”) | ||
| 5 | WARLOCK |
Fight to secure wizard (7)
|
| WAR (“fight”) + LOCK (“to secure”) | ||
| 10 | CARMEN |
The opera for petrolheads? (6)
|
| Male “petrolheads” could be described as CAR MEN. | ||
| 11 | ENTIRETY |
Eternity may be represented as wholeness (8)
|
| *(eternity) [anag:may be respresented] | ||
| 12 | GUV |
Gaffer seen in good sort of light (3)
|
| G (good) + UV (ultraviloet, a “sort of light”) | ||
| 13 | THRONE |
Disconcerted in hearing having elevated seat (6)
|
| Homophone [in hearing] of THROWN (“disconcerted”) | ||
| 14 | ONRUSHES |
Charges and unhorses criminal (8)
|
| *(unhorses) [anag:criminal] | ||
| 15 | BRIEF |
A lawyer, but not for long? (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 16 | QUALIFIED |
Given a certificate with some reservations (9)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 19 | AYE AYE SIR |
Two words of compliance in song, or three such at sea (3,3,3)
|
| YES + YES (“two words of compliance”) in AIR (“song”) | ||
| 21 | LEARN |
Major Shakespeare role, new, to memorise (5)
|
| (King) LEAR (“major Shakespearean role”) + N (new) | ||
| 24 | MUNCHKIN |
Small child to eat with family (8)
|
| MUNCH (“to eat”) with KIN (“family”) | ||
| 26 | ENDIVE |
Salad plant: I have the last bit first (6)
|
| I’VE (I have) with END (“the last bit”) first | ||
| 27 | AIM |
I am moving round train (3)
|
| AM [moving round] I | ||
| 28 | SUPERIOR |
No ordinary lake? (8)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 29 | PLAINT |
Obvious time for old lament (6)
|
| PLAIN (“obvious”) + T (time) | ||
| 30 | DENTIST |
She leads a hand-to-mouth existence (7)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 31 | CREEPER |
Ivy for one in a soft shoe (7)
|
| Double definition | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | REACHER |
Child hero involved in treachery (7)
|
| Hidden in [involved in] “tREACHERy”)
Jack Reacher is the hero of a serious of thriller novels by Lee Child. |
||
| 3 | COMMON ERA |
More usual answer for these days (6,3)
|
| COMMONER (“more usual”) + A (answer) | ||
| 4 | RANGER |
Park-keeper’s great annoyance following run (6)
|
| ANGER (“great annoyance”) following R (run) | ||
| 6 | AFTER ALL |
Coming in last in spite of everything? (5,3)
|
| If you “come in last” you are AFTER ALL other competitors. | ||
| 7 | LORIS |
Primate leads off responses in services from the front (5)
|
| L(eads) O(ff) R(esponses) I(n) S(ervices) [from the front] | ||
| 8 | CAT’S EYE |
How Tom sees road safety feature (4,3)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | REVOLUTIONARY |
Lenin for one turning in his grave? (13)
|
| REVOLUTIONARY (“turning”) | ||
| 17 | FIELDFARE |
Bird fled a fire, flying off (9)
|
| *(fled a fire) [anag:flying off] | ||
| 18 | WEEKLIES |
Feeble-sounding stories in magazines (8)
|
| Homophone [sounding] of WEAK (“feeble”) + LIES (“stories”) | ||
| 20 | YOUTUBE |
Solvers on underground platform (7)
|
| YOU (“solvers”) on TUBE (“underground”) | ||
| 22 | REVENUE |
Receipts are concerning meeting place (7)
|
| RE (“concerning”) + VENUE (“meeting place”) | ||
| 23 | TEMPER |
Moderate rage (6)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 25 | CHEAT |
Luckily avoid both cold and high temperature (5)
|
| C (cold) + HEAT (“high temperature”) |
REACHER took me a moment: “Child hero” a nice bit of misdirection.
You have a little typo at 19a – it should be YEA + YES in AIR.
Me too, Mich @1.
Also, I’m ashamed to say the she threw me for DENTIST. There must be thousands of lady dentists but not in my era.
AYE AYE SIR was neat.
Many thanks, both.
Nothing held me up except AYE AYE SIR. Took a while to get away from ACE, AGE ARE or AXE for the A_E in the middle. Pleasant and straightforward. Thanks to Vulcan and loonapick.
AYE AYE SIR was my last one in. I checked PLAINT but with confidence; English has a surprising numbers of words for dirges. I think REACHER and YOUTUBE were the sneakiest, but there were no real hold ups.
Thanks Vulcan and loonapick
William @2 – SHE threw me too.
Apart from that I found this at the easier end of Vulcan’s repertoire.
Ticks for REACHER and CARMEN.
Thanks both.
Admired Vulcan’s ability to produce a Monday-level puzzle that still provided satisfaction to the solver. I think the ‘Child hero’ clue has featured previously, but I still had to get a couple of crossers before remembering. Enjoyed CARMEN and DENTIST. FIELDFARE reminded me that I haven’t seen any for some time. I hope they’re not under threat. I didn’t know that CREEPER was a name for a soft shoe, so I just thought it was a cryptic definition. Thanks to Vulcan and loonapick.
Tomsdad @6 – There used to be things called BROTHEL CREEPERS, a sort of leather/suede shoe.
Thanks loonapick – I’ll echo the thoughts of those who admire Vulcan’s ability to devise a straightforward puzzle, whilst preserving some wit and ingenuity: a Monday, but without making you feel you’ve gone back to nursery school.
HYD@7- ah yes, thanks. I remember that description of those shoes, but never heard them referred to without the ‘brothel’ tag.
@loonapick – there’s a minor error in the solution for 19ac – “yea and yes” not “yes and yes”. Thanks for the parsing, I guessed the answer fairly soon but I couldn’t see the parsing, and it’s one of those where even with a couple of crossers you can’t be certain without parsing it. A very neat clue.
I thought briefly there might be a primate’s theme with aye aye and loris, but two does not make a theme.
Thanks Vulcan and loonapick
Nice puzzle, some of which I found a bit harder than a typical Vulcan.
Tomsdad @6 – fieldfares (and redwings) are winter visitors in the UK, so will have gone by now (though I have seen them in midsummer in Cologne!)
At least the female dentist did not throw me as I have a check up with mine tomorrow. There things tend to concentrate the mind
Never heard of the bird, but being an anagram a fair guess
Thanks Vulcan & loonapick
My faves: AYE AYE SIR, DENTIST, COMMON ERA and AFTER ALL.
REVENUE
The ‘are’ doesn’t seem to sit well in the cryptic reading. No?
Thanks Vulcan & loonapick
My excellent dentist is female, and I’m seeing her next week for a routine check-up), but I’m ashamed to say that I was nevertheless thrown by 30, the crossers making me look first for an ‘ess’. I need to be better.
Lovely crossword though, with excellent surfaces. AYE AYE SIR my favourite for its ingenuity.
The Carmen clue reminds me of going to see Matthew Bourne’s re-working of the opera, set in a Mid-West car repair garage.
Defeated by dentist but I think it was a lack of thinking skills rather than unconscious bias. Not sure I would have got it with He or any other pronoun at the start.
Enjoyed REACHER, YOUTUBE and CARMEN
Thanks Vulcan and Loonapick