A good Thursday work-out from Crosophile. We started quickly, completed almost half the grid and then came to a sudden halt!
All of the clues were fair but some of the more devious ones needed a number of checking letters before the penny finally dropped. There were also a number where the answer was obvious but it took a lot of head-scratching’ to work out the parsing.
Our COD was 26D. The answer was obvious from the start but the ‘story’ behind the clue reminded us of one of our favourite programmes!
| Across | ||
| 1 | With backing track editor put on over new single’s intro | |
| SPONSORED | SPOOR (track) around or ‘over’ N (new) + S (first letter or ‘introduction’ of single) + ED (editor) = with backing | |
| 6 | A lot of hot air from second eleven | |
| STEAM | S (second) + TEAM (eleven) = lot of hot air | |
| 9 | Day after day caught up in hassles and problems | |
| RIDDLES | DD (day after day) inside or ‘caught up in’ RILES (hassles) = problems | |
| 10 | Comes for old documents church put aside for rector | |
| ARRIVES | AR(ch)IVES (old documents) with CH replaced or ‘put aside’ for R (rector) = comes | |
| 11 | Struck somebody initially by glove | |
| SMITTEN | S (first letter of somebody or ‘initially’) + MITTEN (glove) = struck | |
| 12 | Diagnosis when a man is confused about experience lately? | |
| AMNESIA | Anagram of A MAN IS about E (final letter of experience or ‘lately’) = if you were confused about your experiences this may well be the diagnosis | |
| 13 | Not quite the smallest meadows | |
| LEAS | (LEAS)t (smallest) with final letter removed or ‘not quite’ = meadows | |
| 15 | I pitch into worn-out crawler | |
| TRILOBITE | I + LOB (pitch) inside TRITE (worn-out) = crawler | |
| 19 | Fumble finishing off beery drink added to lime cocktail | |
| MISHANDLE | (SHAND)y (beery drink) with last letter missed or ‘finishing’ off inside an anagram of LIME (anagrind is ‘cocktail’) = fumble | |
| 20 | Dashed off second page to editor | |
| SPED | S (second) + P (page) + ED (editor) = dashed off | |
| 22 | Without restrictions live at the limits – what’s left? | |
| RESIDUE | RESIDE (live) outside or ‘at the limits’ outside U (without restrictions) = what’s left | |
| 25 | European politician’s mistake gutted leader | |
| EMPEROR | E (European) + MP (politician) + ER(r)OR (mistake) with middle missed out or ‘gutted’ = leader | |
| 27 | Predators on the web? I’d press for a change | |
| SPIDERS | Anagram of I’D PRESS (anagrind is ‘for a change’) = predators on the web! | |
| 28 | Banger with a couple of turnovers to allay hunger perhaps | |
| ASSUAGE | SAUSAGE (banger) with SA and US turned over = to allay hunger perhaps | |
| 29 | Like shielding for instance an individual | |
| AEGIS | AS (like) around or ‘shielding’ EG (for instance) + I = like shielding or protection/patronage which may be for an individual | |
| 30 | Confused text about wanderer he’s turned out | |
| EXTROVERT | Anagram of TEXT (anagrind is ‘confused’) about ROVER (wanderer) = a person who is mainly interested in the world external to himself or ‘turned out’. One of us hadn’t realised that there is a verb ‘extrovert’ – to turn outward. | |
| Down | ||
| 1 | Cause of crack in originally solid lock | |
| STRESS | S (first letter of SOLID or ‘originally’) + TRESS (lock) = cause of crack | |
| 2 | They’ve seen it all lost and mired in chaos | |
| OLD TIMERS | Anagram of LOST + MIRED (anagrind is ‘in chaos’) = they’ve seen it all | |
| 3 | A break somewhere on the Adriatic? | |
| SPLIT | SPLIT(a break) = City on the Adriatic in Croatia | |
| 4 | Part for woodwind includes short composition that’s struck a chord | |
| RESONATED | REED (part for woodwind) around or ‘including’ (SONAT)a (composition) with last letter missing or ‘short’ = struck a chord | |
| 5 | A short chap tailing Dr No? | |
| DRAMA | A + (MA)n (chap) with final letter missing or ‘short’ after DR = |
|
| 6 | Find out about dodgy routine I avoided taxing | |
| STRENUOUS | SUS (find out) about an anagram of ROUT(i)NE with I missing or ‘avoided’ (anagrind is ‘dodgy’) = taxing | |
| 7 | Little people having put £ in days before | |
| ELVES | L (£) inside or ‘put in’ EVES (days before) = little people | |
| 8 | Notes dog’s breakfast taking a long time | |
| MESSAGES | MESS (dog’s breakfast) + AGES (a long time) = notes | |
| 14 | Reportedly remained stood on head for stability | |
| STAIDNESS | STAID (sounds like REMAINED) + NESS (head) = stability | |
| 16 | Rambling eglantine, not the cultivated sort | |
| INELEGANT | Anagram of EGLANTINE (anagrind is ‘rambling’) = not the cultivated sort | |
| 17 | He’s drunk a beer mixed with rum in it? | |
| INEBRIATE | Anagram of A BEER (anagrind is ‘mixed’) with an anagram of IN IT (anagrind is ‘rum’) = he’s drunk | |
| 18 | A target raised – brothers entered Olympic table to hold this? | |
| AMBROSIA | A + AIM (target) reversed or ‘raised’ with BROS (brothers) inside or ‘entering’ = the ‘food of the Greek gods’ which may well have featured on an Olympic table | |
| 21 | Excited tenor tours Italy to get bearings | |
| ORIENT | Anagram of TENOR (anagrind is ‘excited’) around or ‘touring’ I (Italy) = to get bearings | |
| 23 | Removing clothes dive off, do | |
| STING | (dive)STING (removing clothes) with DIVE removed = do | |
| 24 | Make certain to kill king to succeed | |
| ENSUE | ENSU(r)E (make certain) with R (king) removed or ‘killed’ = to succeed | |
| 26 | Trouble with duck and sauce involving Basil | |
| PESTO | PEST (trouble) + O (duck) = sauce made using basil. A lovely clue making reference to this episode of Fawlty Towers featuring Basil Fawlty! | |
Thanks, B&J for a comprehensive blog. Didn’t spot the Fawlty Towers reference in PESTO, but the clue works without knowing that, doesn’t it? Good crossword from Crosophile – not too tricky, with AMNESIA my favourite this morning.
Thanks K’s D – We’d forgotten all about 12ac as a possible COD!
Thanks B&J and Crosophile, very enjoyable stuff.
I haven’t seen the film, nor read the book since the 1960s, but there seems to be a Hobbit theme here, with BILBO and SMAUG hidden across the grid. Wikipedia tells me that Smaug is a dragon from The Hobbit, who captured the Lonely Mountain, EREBOR. The letters of EREBOR seem to come together at the point where 17d, INEBRIATE, crosses with 25a, EMPEROR, but if there’s more going on, I can’t see it.
Well spotted, Wanderer. Amazingly EREBOR is a coincidence but I wish I’d thought of that as it could have appeared as an inverted V perhaps.
But yes, there is a little more.
Well STING is Bilbo’s sword and Gollum asks RIDDLES
And ELVES of course
Hi flashling – you beat me to it!
Well spotted Wanderer and thanks for dropping by Crosophile.
one more! 🙂
A bit of a long-shot – Bilbo called himself Spider-Slayer!
Thanks, Bertandjoyce, for the blog and thanks for the various comments. You’ve got the right grid entry, B&J. There were some very nasty SPIDERS in Mirkwood which very nearly stopped the quest in its tracks. Not quite as horrid as Shelob but its all relative.