My first IoS blog, and also my first Nitsy puzzle I think.
This was good stuff, with a wide range of clue types and a nice difficulty level. I’ll admit I had to cheat on 18D though as that was a new one on me.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | ARCH – Double def. |
| 3 | FORENSIC – FOR + (SCIEN[-ce])* |
| 10 | HORSESHOE MAGNET – HORSE + A G(ood) in (THOSE MEN)* |
| 11 | EXISTENCE – EX + (NICE SET)* |
| 12 | OATH – Hidden in hullabalooO AT Having |
| 13 | EMPEROR – PER(son) in (ROME)* |
| 15 | TEAPOT – TEA[-k] + POT (stakes) |
| 17 | FAUCET – F(emale) + (A CUTE)* |
| 19 | FREESIA – FREE (not tied up) + (IS A)* |
| 20 | GULP – PLUG rev. |
| 21 | PYROMANiA – Cryptic def. |
| 24 | SHOOTING GALLERY – Cryptic def. |
| 25 | OILCLOTH – OIL (bribe) + LOT in CH(urch) |
| 26 | BEAT – B[-L(iberal)]EAT |
| Down | |
| 1 | ACHIEVER – (H[-urdling] + RACE I’VE)* |
| 2 | CORGI – R(uns) in COG + I(sland) |
| 4 | OVEREAT – Hidden in alcOVE REATtempyed |
| 5 | EVAPORATED MILK – EVAPORATED (gone) + MILK (to extract)D |
| 6 | SANCTIONS – S(mall) + N(umber) in ACTIONS |
| 7 | CUTE – CUT (score) + E(uropean) |
| 8 | VENTURE CAPITAL – Cryptic def. |
| 9 | SHINER – (IS + HER + N[-on-stop])*. |
| 14 | PEANUT OIL – (I ALONE PUT)* |
| 16 | CATALYST – ([-da]Y + AT LAST + [-mechani]C)* |
| 18 | TOPKNOT – Double def.R |
| 19 | FORAGE – OF rev. + RAGE |
| 22 | NIECE – E (drug) in NICE |
| 23 | ASBO – Hidden reversal in jOBS Aparently |
Thanks Ali and Nitsy.
I think you’ve got a leftover explanation from a previous blog for 9D SHINER : anagram of(barking) [IS + HER + N(on-stop)].
I don’t know how Ali compiles his blogs but the snafu at 9d isn’t the first time that’s happened, I found it tricky, but I was sleep deprived. I think shooting gallery is just a CD but there seemed to be far too many coincidental letters but I couldn’t see it.
Isn’t 24a a double definition? Shooting as in injecting drugs to get high?
Yes, I think it is a double definition – “Where one might get high targets here to aim at?” The split would, I think, be at high/targets. But it was such an excellent smooth surface reading that I could see why cryptic definition would come to mind. Not too difficult a puzzle overall, thanks Nitsy and Ali (who I’m glad to see back on the 15 sq beat).
Gah, apologies for the error at 9D. I often use previous blog templates and overwrite the answers, which is clearly a bad idea. Time to create a blank template!