Thanks to Vulcan for a smooth Monday offering.
Once again I’m off to hills, aiming to bag my hundredth Munro (this one) so won’t be able to respond to comments till later.
For anyone still reading, I can confirm that Bla Bheinn was well and truly bagged, in perfect conditions. Some photos in my Strava recording:
https://www.strava.com/activities/18463793781
| Across | ||||||||
| 1 | FLIP-FLOP | Wearing this, somersault a failure (4-4) FLIP (somersault) + FLOP (failure) |
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| 6 | MUGGLE | Simpleton with broken leg he can’t magically fix (6) MUG (simpleton) + LEG*. Muggles are non-wizards in the world of Harry Potter |
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| 9 | SPOT-ON | Something to eat with tea say coming in? Exactly (4,2) T (sounds like “tea”) in SPOON (something to eat with). I tried to make tea=POT work for a while |
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| 10 | MARINADE | Pelting rain made a liquid mixture over some food (8) (RAIN MADE)* |
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| 11 | RELAY RACE | One may start this contest, but one won’t finish (5,4) The person who starts in a relay race will not finish it |
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| 13 | FREED | Fine supplier of venison returns, out of jail (5) F[ine] + reverse of DEER (the unwilling “supplier” of venison) |
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| 15 | TALENT | Story books, a special gift (6) TALE + NT (New Testament, books) |
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| 17 | FLY-TIP | End of insect: illegally dispose of it (3-3) The end of an insect could be a FLY TIP |
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| 18 | RENDER | Hand over a first thin coat (6) Double definition |
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| 19 | BARREL | Large quantity of beer over which one is powerless (6) Double definition – if someone has you over a barrel then you’re powerless |
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| 21 | MARSH | On planet, hot waterlogged area (5) MARS + H[ot] |
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| 22 | WOLVERINE | Drunken wine lover is a glutton (9) (WINE LOVER)* – Chambers doesn’t mention the “glutton” sense, but the French for wolverine is glouton |
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| 25 | INCIDENT | As part of detective force, sent first off to disturbance (8) IN CID (part of detective force) + [s]ENT |
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| 26 | DAMAGE | Barrier to become weaker perhaps, a likely result of crash (6) DAM *barrier) + AGE (to become weaker, perhaps) |
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| 28 | CRISES | Crucial moments for which Charlie gets up (6) C[harlie] RISES |
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| 29 | BERGAMOT | Essential oil for a car test on mass of ice (8) BERG (mass of ice) + A MOT (test of a car) |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 2 | LAP | Part of body disappearing as one stands (3) I think I’ve seen this idea as a children’s riddle: What part of your body disappears when you stand up? Your lap! |
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| 3 | PITTA | Bread is mine, thank you (5) PIT (mine) + TA (thank you) |
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| 4 | LONE RANGER | Wild West law enforcer, one separating two hands with fury (4,6) ONE between L and R, plus ANGER. My hero in the 1950s, when I used to go to my Granny’s house on Saturdays to watch the programme before we had a TV at home |
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| 5 | PUMICE | Abrasive, turned up with computer peripherals (6) Reverse of UP + MICE (computer devices) |
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| 6 | MARE | Horse that appears on the moon (4) Double definition – a Mare is one of the “seas” on the moon |
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| 7 | GENERATOR | Shivering, got nearer source of energy (9) (GOT NEARER)* |
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| 8 | LED ZEPPELIN | Band of light aircraft (3,8) L.E.D. (light) + ZEPPELIN (airship) |
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| 12 | ENTERTAINER | Somehow retrain teen for job in showbiz (11) (RETRAIN TEEN)* |
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| 14 | EL SALVADOR | Salad lover moved to the country (2,8) (SALAD LOVER)* |
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| 16 | LANDSLIPS | Naturally, they may fall off a cliff (9) A not-very-cryptic definition |
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| 20 | HOT TUB | Centre installs unwarranted bath (3,3) OTT (over-the-top, unwarranted) in HUB |
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| 23 | RUMBA | A Cuban export, strong drink, going by airline (5) RUM + BA (British Airways) |
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| 24 | MEWS | Ponder aloud in old stables (4) Sounds like “muse” (to ponder) |
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| 27 | GOO | Sticky stuff not entirely satisfactory (3) GOO[d] |
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Yes, I tried to get tea=pot into SPOT ON (and GUM as the sticky stuff, until the second crosser was in). Found LANDSLIPS disappointing: I’d hoped there might be more to it than the rather feeble CD. however, I liked the other CDs BARREL and LAP, also LED ZEPPELIN and FLY TIP. Glutton as a synonym for WOLVERINE crops up quite often – I’m surprised that it isn’t in Chambers.
Like the Vulcans of old. Barely any resistance but enjoyable nonetheless. The Munro will be more challenging.
A good start to the week. I liked LED ZEPPELIN, EL SALVADOR and MUGGLE.
Thanks Vulcan and I hope it went well Andrew.
Shot through this with the exception of RENDER which took some thinking. Quite a lot fitted those checking letters.
Did have to think about LANDSLIPS. It seemed, as the blogger says, not very cryptic plus having already put in an incorrect LANDSLIDE i did wonder if there was more that fitted.
Enjoyed INCIDENT, EL SALVADOR and BARREL (I’m sure I’ve used the clue as an excuse to my wife)
Thanks Andrew (enjoy your hike) and Vulcan.
Tricky in parts and mildly enjoyable.
Favourites: SPOON, LED ZEPPELIN, MUGGLE.
New for me: LANDSLIPS.
Good luck bagging your 100th Munro, Andrew – well done!
I do admire the elegantly economical clues such as Bread is mine, thank you that this setter so often produces.
Took an age over LOI RENDER. So many words fit R_N_E_.
Had to look up the airship band to decide on PP or LL.
Lovely start to the week, enjoy your Munro, Andrew.
16 was one of those “I know what the concept is but there isn’t enough info in the clue to tell me which word the compiler is thinking of”, and hence my LOI. Thanks Andrew and Vulcan.
Mamy thanks to setter and blogger.
I was familiar with glutton as another name for the wolverine, so I entered the answer with smug satisfaction.
RENDER was my LOI. It took me a long while – after much wrangling with wordplay – to twig that it was a DD.
The thought that tea=pot held me up for a while in the parsing of 9ac.
Congratulations on your 100th, Andrew. It is a fine peak – which I climbed with teenage friends a few days after the Chernobyl incident which dates me somewhat. I hope you enjoy(ed) your walk.
A typical Vulcan Monday – a bit of thinking around a couple of unusual anagrinds plus deciding what fitted RENDER, the only things to delay me today.
Thanks both
Another one here with RENDER as LOI and finding LANDSLIPS a bit weak.
LONE RANGER was neat.
“Who was that masked man?”
“Search me, pal, he had a mask on!”
Thanks both!
There are plenty of wolverines here in Finland. The Finnish word is ahma, which also means gluttonous, verbs like ahmia and ahmaista, to bolt down food.
I thought at first of the apocraphal LEMMINGS, but luckily not enough letters.
Thanks both.
This went in easily. Didn’t know WOLVERINE was a glutton but it had to be given the crossers.
Loi BERGAMOT as I was thrown by essential.
Liked PUMICE.
Thanks to Vulcan and Andrew.
This was SPOT ON for a Monday with much to enjoy. One of my favourite bands LED ZEPPELIN, and footballers, Rodney MARSH made it even better. I did laugh at FLIP-FLOP and FLY-TIP and INCIDENT was nicely done.
I hope your climb went well Andrew, very impressive.
Ta Vulcan & Andrew.
Is the LAP a “part of the body”?
I thought the def in 10a very clunky. A marinade is something food is steeped in or basted with, not really “a liquid mixture poured over …”. It’s not exactly wrong, it just sounds dreadful to my ear.
I didn’t know that meaning of RENDER and had to check.
As so often, it’s Reverse Day for me. RENDER was one that went in easily, being familiar with the second definition. MEWS was my LOI, even though I knew the word perfectly well. Glutton as a synonym for WOLVERINE was new to me, but the crossers made it mandatory, and I had to look up a list of essential oils, that not being any area I know anything about.
Favorites were EL SALVADOR and the retrained ENTERTAINER.
TY Andrew and Vulcan.
poc @14
From Chambers:
the fold of the clothes and body from waist to knees of a person sitting down
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew for a nice start to the week.
I also was mystified by WOLVERINE, especially as it wasn’t in Chambers on first check – then I looked up GLUTTON and found it there 🙂
This certainly fitted the Monday brief, and like others I was just held up at the end by RENDER and LANDSLIPS. I agree that the latter wasn’t very cryptic. My favourite was PITTA for the very economical and neat surface.
poc @14: the clue for MARINADE doesn’t say “a liquid mixture poured over some food”, just “a liquid mixture over some food”.
AlanC @13: I thought you would like INCIDENT.
Many thanks Vulcan and Andrew.
Good Monday fare. My top picks were the IN CID ENT, the LONE RANGER separating two hands, and the light LED ZEPPELIN. Some unusual anagrinds that fooled me at the beginning. I was another one with RENDER as my LOI.
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.
Straightforward
Enjoyable and not too taxing. I especially liked RENDER, BARREL and RELAY RACE. I’ve seen wolverines at the zoo but I didn’t know the connection with GLUTTON.
Thanks Vulcan & Andrew.
I hope it’s good visibilty – to give you a panoramic view of the whole Cuillin range opposite
At my level but I fear that Blaven may no longer be so. Hope it went well Andrew and thanks for the blog and to Vulcan for the puzzle
Admin@16, quite – so not really part of the body then! Still, I enjoyed trying to parse “lip” for a few moments.
RENDER was LOI by some way. I also thought it a bit odd to have an intersecting salad lover and wine lover; it made me think there might be a theme.
I needed the M to get me to MARINADE. I’d already decide that the liquid mixture must be an ADE and so even with a possible anagram of RAIN somewhere I couldn’t see where the final letter could come from!
Fave was the lovely PITTA.
Thanks both and congrats Andrew on the milestone.
Nicely constructed puzzle. Vulcan in top form. Highlight for me was several excellent anagrams, beautifully integrated into readable surfaces. 10a MARINADE (“Pelting rain made”), 22a WOLVERINE (“Drunken wine lover”), 7d GENERATOR (“Shivering, got nearer”), 12d ENTERTAINER (“Somehow retrain teen”), 14d EL SALVADOR (“Salad lover moved”)
Other favourites 9a SPOT ON (“Something to eat with” misdirection), 15a TALENT (“Story books”), 3d PITTA (fun surface), 8d LED ZEPPELIN (“light aircraft”)
Congratulations on your century Andrew!
ayeaye@11 I, too, first thought of LEMMINGS for 16d!
Admin@16: yes, I’d read that definition before commenting. Still not entirely convinced that a “fold” counts as a body part. Is a wrinkle a body part?
Thanks for the blog , good set of clues and seems right for a Monday . I liked SPOT ON for the something to eat WITH being deceptive . BERGAMOT the essential oil for proper Earl Grey tea .
If I want to be picky a GENERATOR is not a source of energy , it is a transducer .
I assume you weren’t going to attempt this in your FLIP-FLOPs, Andrew. Hope it’s going well. This went as smoothly as ever for a Monday Vulcan, with loi in my case, RENDER, a nice double definition that had me scratching my head for quite a while at the finish…
Just to add to the wolverine story. The German for wolverine is Allesfresser or eater of everything, I.e. glutton.
“RENDER unto Caesar…”, ah, yes…
Regarding WOLVERINEs, older viewers may recall that in 1985, the satirical TV series Spitting Image amusingly portrayed former PM James Callaghan as a breeder of these ‘dogs’, possibly contrasting this with his generally genial and avuncular public image.
Thanks Vulcan and Andrew
I was disappointed by LOI LANDSLIPS too, and also didn’t see why BERGAMOT was an essential oil (to be pedantic. it’s not an oil at all – it’s a flowering plant from which the oil can be derived).
However I did like WOLVERINE (I knew the glutton meaning) and HOT TUB for the “OTT”.
Failed on LAP.
Bla Bheinn was #127 on 12/9/1995. Saw nothing.
[Did you complete, jellyroll? I only got into the eighties. Only one of my favourite Scottish mountains is a Munro. though – An Teallach. Top favourite Suilven.]
Great puzzle – some laughs. Thank you!
I don’t usually get on with Vulcan, something to do with their cryptic defs seems to stump me. But this time around it seemed to fall into place more easily. Almost felt Sundayish. Still took me a couple of visits to get through it. I liked LED ZEPPELIN, WOLVERINE and EL SALVADOR. LANDSLIPS was last in after I had all the crossers. Thanks Vulcan, and Andrew.