Stamp has provided our mid-week teaser this Wednesday.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty, truly entertaining puzzle, through which I made steady progress. I was just about to announce to readers that Stamp had had the last laugh on me today when I twigged how the wordplay at 21 worked. I think that I am happy with my parsing of everything else, since these clues are so carefully crafted that there is little in the way of ambiguity – many thanks, Stamp!
As for my favourite clues today, quite a few of them caught my eye: the & lit. clues at 1A and 24, coincidentally the first and last clues by number in this crossword; 7 and 25, for their well-hidden definitions; 16, for the use of “lush”; and 21, for sheer flair.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; a break in underlining separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| ACROSS
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| 1 | EMIGRANTS |
Who might be streaming abroad? (9)
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| *(STREAMING); “abroad”, out of place, is anagram indicator; & lit. | ||
| 6 | MIRED |
Bogged down setter about to punch boss (5)
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| [I (=setter, i.e. Stamp) + RE- (=about, regarding)] in MD (=boss, i.e. Managing Director) | ||
| 9 | INSET |
Some poinsettias displayed in a corner (5)
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| Hidden (“some”) in “poINSETtias”; an inset is a small map or figure inserted in a spare corner of another, hence “displayed in a corner” | ||
| 10 | INSOLENCE |
Hotel chef periodically checking fish sauce (9)
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| SOLE (=fish) in [INN (=hotel, tavern) + C<h>E<f> (“periodically” means alternate letters only)] | ||
| 11 | TYPEWRITER |
Collection of keys I sort in the van (10)
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| TYPE (=sort, kind) + WRITER (=I, i.e. of this puzzle, Stamp); “in the van” means at the front | ||
| 12 | POOL |
Kitty‘s eye looking the wrong way (4)
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| LOOP (=eye, ring, for a hook); “the wrong way” indicates reversal; a kitty is a pool or fund of money held in common | ||
| 14 | PADDING |
Bear, having lost weight, treading softly (7)
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| PADDING<ton> (=bear, from the stories by Michael Bond); “having lost weight (=ton)” means letters “ton” are dropped | ||
| 15 | TOTTERS |
One counting, presumably, on first of Scottish reels (7)
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| TOTTER (=one counting, presumably, i.e. one who tots up, adds up) + S<cottish> (“first of” means first letter only) | ||
| 17 | SOY BEAN |
Cultivate ebony as cash crop (3,4)
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| *(EBONY AS); “cultivate” is anagram indicator | ||
| 19 | LEGIONS |
Soldiers run away from restraints (7)
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| LEG–I<r>ONS (=restraints, shackles); “run (=R, on cricket scorecard) away” means letter “r” is dropped | ||
| 20 | URNS |
State makes vessels to deliver tea? (4)
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| Homophone (“states”) of “earns (=makes, e.g. money)” | ||
| 22 | TOURNAMENT |
Competition solicitor adopting unbalanced manner (10)
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| *(MANNER) in TOUT (=solicitor, as in ticket tout);”unbalanced” is anagram indicator | ||
| 25 | AEROPLANE |
Rock opera track one might take off (9)
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| *(OPERA) + LANE (=track, path); “rock”, disturb, is anagram indicator | ||
| 26 | IVIES |
I struggle with suspicion of social climbers (5)
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| I + VIE (=struggle) + S<ocial> (“suspicion of” means first letter only) | ||
| 27 | EASED |
Spending last month dead relaxed (5)
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| <dec>EASED (=dead); “spending last month (=Dec, i.e. December)” means letters “dec” are dropped | ||
| 28 | ESTONIANS |
Marry off sensationally lively Europeans (9)
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| *(SENSATION<ally>); “marry (=ally) off” means letters “ally” are dropped from anagram, indicated by “lively” | ||
| DOWN
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| 1 | ELIOT |
Revolutionary work introduced by English writer (5)
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| E (=English) + LIOT (TOIL=work; “revolutionary” indicates vertical reversal); the reference is to English writer George Eliot (1819-80) | ||
| 2 | INSIPIDLY |
Boringly spin around, lazily following current (9)
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| I (=current, in physics) + *(SPIN) + IDLY (=lazily); “around” is anagram indicator | ||
| 3 | ROTTWEILER |
Dog otter struggling with large weir (10)
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| *(OTTER + L (=large, in sizes) + WEIR); “struggling with” is anagram indicator | ||
| 4 | NAILING |
In poor health bearing note: it’s catching (7)
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| N (=note, as in NB) + AILING (=in poor health); to nail is to catch, secure | ||
| 5 | SUSPECT |
Fancy South American reportedly grabbed quick kiss (7)
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| S (=South) + US (=American) + homophone (“reportedly”) of “pecked (=grabbed quick kiss)” | ||
| 6 | MALE |
Youth, perhaps, spy ring replaced with adult (4)
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| MOLE (=spy); “ring (=O, pictorially) is replaced with adult (=A)” means letter “o” is replaced with “a” | ||
| 7 | RINGO |
One playing with sticks and hoops (5)
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| RING (=hoop) + O (=hoop, i.e. pictorially); Ringo (Starr, 1940-) was the drummer, i.e. “one playing with (drum)sticks”, with The Beatles! | ||
| 8 | DUELLISTS |
Fighters expected pound to enter field of combat (9)
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| DUE (=expected (to come)) + [L (=pound, as in LSD) in LISTS (=field of combat, for jousting)] | ||
| 13 | STAGNATION |
Lack of activity unsettling antagonist (10)
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| *(ANTAGONIST); “unsettling” is anagram indicator | ||
| 14 | POSTULATE |
Assume position with university behind schedule (9)
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| POST (=position, place) + U (=university, as in OUP) + LATE (=behind schedule); to postulate is to take for granted, assume | ||
| 16 | ESOTERICA |
Mysterious objects in lush heather, buried by earth (9)
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| E (=earth) + SOT (=lush, drunkard) + ERICA (=heather) | ||
| 18 | NEONATE |
Recently delivered gas put away (7)
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| NEON (=gas) + ATE (=put away, demolished, gobbled up); a neonate is a recently delivered baby | ||
| 19 | LARGEST |
Greatest resistance, say, put up in final (7)
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| [R (=resistance, in physics) + GE (E.G.=say, for example; “put up” indicates vertical reversal)] in LAST (=final, end) | ||
| 21 | NERDS |
Dinners for non-Ximenean cruciverbalist geeks? (5)
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| If we split up the word “dinners” into “D in NERS”, we end up with a non-Ximenean, i.e. unorthodox, clue for “nerds”!! | ||
| 23 | TASKS |
Exercises by military vehicles essentially changing direction (5)
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| TANKS (=military vehicles); “essentially changing direction” means that, in the middle of the word, N (=north) becomes S (=south) | ||
| 24 | SPUD |
Désirée possibly, something used principally for mashing? (4)
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| D<esiree> P<ossibly> S<omething> U<sed>; “principally” means first letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “used (…) for mashing”; & lit. |
I thought this was terrific. I did spend quite some while trying to decide if 21d is awful or brilliant. I finally settled on brilliant, and it gets my vote as favourite.
Many thanks to Stamp and to RR.
I thought it was great, too. I liked the one word anagrams and had the same feeling as RD about NERDS. SPUDS was my favourite though.
Thanks Stamp for an excellent crossword with a suitable level of challenge for me. I failed with RINGO and couldn’t parse the clever NERDS and SPUD but all else fell into place eventually. I had many favourites including EMIGRANTS, INSOLENCE, PADDING, IVIES, ELIOT, STAGNATION, LARGEST, and TASKS. (As Petert @ 2 mentioned the one word anagrams were particularly nice.) Thanks RR for the blog.
Thanks both. Very much enjoyed this challenge, with RINGO, SPUD, and TYPEWRITER making my podium, though the parsing for NERDS was unlikely to pay me a visit as XImenean was wholly unfamiliar, as was lists within DUELLISTS (jousting is not so popular here these days). The only raised eyebrow was for MALE, wherein ‘youth perhaps’ felt like a definition by non-exclusion, though I may be missing something.
‘Truly entertaining’ as per above. I liked the quotidian vocabulary, the funky anagrams, the playful surfaces (RINGO, INSOLENCE et al) and the tricks on display in the clues (deletion in 14a, 27a, letter substitution in TASKS and the abrupt homophone indicator in 20a among others). Maybe at the friendlier end of Stamp’s range but no less enjoyable for it. Thanks RR for the blog (I could not parse NERDS) and thanks Stamp.
Very late to the party as we have been busy all day and had a meeting this evening. So, we have only had time to start and finish the puzzle just now.
Given the lateness, we’ll just reiterate what everyone else has said – we couldn’t parse 21 either.
Thanks Stamp and RR.