Typically tough crossword from Monk, obscure words and devious constructions. There are still two solutions I cannot fathom, so any help appreciated.
We have to sets of anagrams in this puzzle: BEAST, ABETS,BATES,BASTE and GENISTA,TAGINES,TEASING,EASTING and two further clues derived from these. Without these eight linked solutions the puzzle would have been really very difficult indeed. Luckily I guessed this early, otherwise I might have barely got started. Thank you Monk.
| Across | ||
| 1 | EXCALIBUR | Brand that’s well-known without needing statement of quality (9) |
| EX (without) and CALIBUR sounds like (stated) calibre (quality) – a famous sword (brand) | ||
| 6 | VETCH | Plant one well-versed in service at front of church (5) |
| VET (an old soldier, long time in the services) in front of CH (chuch) – a plant | ||
| 9 | GENISTA | Low-down volunteers holding one’s broom (7) |
| GEN (low-down, information) TA (Territorial Army, volunteers) containing I’S (one’s) – the genus of plants containing brooms | ||
| 10 | DOWAGER | Old girl wants silver included in endowment (7) |
| AG (silver) in DOWER (endowment) – an old woman | ||
| 11 | TERSE | Concise section of chapter seven (5) |
| a section of chapTER SEven | ||
| 12 | TRIPLANES | Transport found in slip roads (9) |
| TRIP (slip) LANES (roads) | ||
| 13 | SPOKESMAN | Voice of wheelwright? (9) |
| definition and cryptic definition | ||
| 15 | BASTE | HQ quashing end of wildcat strike (5) |
| BASE (HQ) covering (quashing) T (end of wildcat) – to beat with a stick | ||
| 16 | ABETS | Assists dealer, say, as stakes come in (5) |
| BET (stakes) come in AS – definition is ‘assists’. I think a ‘dealer’ is an example of a criminal, so could be ‘aiding and abetting’? | ||
| 18 | RUSSOPHIL | Hours slip away for old unionist? (9) |
| (HOURS SLIP)* away=anagram – an admirer of the Soviet Union (old name for Russia) | ||
| 20 | INSIDE JOB | Doing time post criminal activity (6,3) |
| INSIDE (doing time) JOB (post) | ||
| 23 | DEFOE | He wrote in edge of notes off and on (5) |
| eDgE oF nOtEs off and on (every other letter)- Daniel Defoe | ||
| 25 | ERITREA | State prisoner I treated on the inside (7) |
| found inside prisonER I TREAted | ||
| 26 | TEASING | Drinks in gallons – that’s worrying (7) |
| TEAS (drinks) IN G (gallons) | ||
| 27 | SAGGY | Inclined to yield, rugged husband’s gone (5) |
| SHAGGY (rugged) missing H=husband | ||
| 28 | ABSIT OMEN | Touch wood, I’m no 4, 15 across, 16, 22 criminal (5,4) |
| (I’M NO BEAST)* criminal=anagram – Latin for ‘may the omen be absent’, ie may what is said not come true | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | EIGHT | A number reportedly put away (5) |
| sounds like ATE (put away) | ||
| 2 | CON BRIO | Having spirit found in bars (3,4) |
| literally ‘with spirit’, musical term (found in bars) | ||
| 3 | LISTENERS | They follow advice of Frenchman elevated in heels (9) |
| RENE (Frenchman) reversed (elevated) in LISTS (heels) | ||
| 4 | BEAST | Savage opinion about uneven arse (5) |
| BET (opinion) about ArSe uneven=no even numbered letters | ||
| 5 | RED GIANTS | Dr 7, 9, 17 or 26 treated stars (3,6) |
| (DR TAGINES)* treated=anagram | ||
| 6 | VOWEL | Facetiously puts one – and others like it – in order (5) |
| the vowels A,E,I,O, and U are found in order in the word facetiously | ||
| 7 | TAGINES | Having silver forks, partly eating stews (7) |
| AG (silver) in (eaten by) TINES (part of a fork, a prong) – a mediterranean stew | ||
| 8 | HARDSHELL | Uncompromising, aggressive advertising that’s hard to stop (9) |
| HARD SELL (agressive advertising) that has H (hard) inside (stopped by, blocked by, eg by a cork) – definition is uncompromising | ||
| 13 | SHAKINESS | Has caged cattle on board, trembling (9) |
| HAS (containing (caging) KINE (cattle) in SS (on board a steamship) | ||
| 14 | MARIJUANA | Spanish woman has Spanish man in grass (9) |
| JUAN in MARIA | ||
| 15 | BROADCAST | Programme made by outspoken actors (9) |
| BROAD (outspoken) CAST (actors) | ||
| 17 | EASTING | Buffet fnally served in relaxing oriental course? (7) |
| bufffeT (last letter) in EASING (relaxing) – an easterly course | ||
| 19 | HAFNIUM | Central characters in The Fifth Element (7) |
| The central characters of tHe fiFth are Hf, symbol for the element Hafnium – thanks to Gaufrid et al | ||
| 21 | DERBY | Team race (5) |
| double definition, football team and horserace | ||
| 22 | BATES | Mad about European moderates (5) |
| BATS (mad) about E (European) – to bate is to moderate | ||
| 24 | EGG ON | Prod mine and proceed! (3,2) |
| EGG (mine, bomb) ON (proceed) – definition is PROD. Originally I had DIG IN: triple definition – to prod, to dig into something, to proceed (to eat a meal) | ||
I think I have a mistake in 24 down, blog updated soon…
23 is Defoe -alternate letters in the clue.
24 is egg on
No, still stuck. I thought 24 could be EGG ON, 23 DEFOE and 19 HAFNIUM but I can’t explain why. DIG IN seems to fit the clue better than EGG ON.
Thanks PeeDee
24dn is EGG (mine) ON (proceed!). This then allows 23ac to be DEFOE – [e]D[g]E [o]F [n]O[t]E[s]. 19dn is HAFNIUM because its chemical symbol is [t]H[e] [fi]F[th].
We must differ then Pee Dee until and unless Monk tells us. I took egg to be ‘mine’ and proceed to be ‘on.
But I am as stuck as you on hafnium.
I did enjoy the two sets of clues which were anagrams of each other, then both ‘extended’ slightly. Typical of the cowled and tonsured one’s quiet virtuosity.
19 is HAFNIUM – H and F are the central characters of “The” and “fifth” and Hf is the symbol for Hafnium.
I agree with Conrad Cork about DEFOE and EGG ON. I assume Egg = grenade = mine, and on! = proceed.
Re VOWEL – Abstemious(ly) is another example, and quodlibetal or uncomplimentary are complementary.
Thanks all. I eventually figured out DEFOE and EGG ON for myself once I realised I had DIG IN wrong, but Hafnium completely defeated me. I had not heard of mine=egg before. In fact I spent a great deal of time checking things up in Chambers all the way through this puzzle.
Conrad @6 – I don’t disagree with you. Unfortunately neither of your comments @4 and@5 were visible when I wrote mine.
Thanks for the blog PeeDee.
I’ve got two clues in 25 mins, read your introduction, looked at the answer to one across.
Oh dear!
I’ll now concentrate on enjoying my lunch instead.
Thanks for the blog, PeeDee.
The two sets of anagrams were a great help. I was struggling to get a foothold early on.
4dn: I’m sure you meant to parse BEAST as BET about AS, the odd (uneven) letters of ‘arse’.
Muffyword @7: Thanks for the interesting complementary information.
For me, the outstanding clue today was MARIJUANA: a risqué rustic scene conjured up so
simply in seven words! Thanks for the fun, Monk.
Thanks mike04, fixed now.
Very enjoyable puzzle in which the linked clues were of great help. I saw the idea more or less rigth from the start, so (because of that) I cannot say that this crossword was a struggle for me.
That said, it took me some time to finish the NE corner.
Before I had TRIPLANES (12ac), I tried to make RAGOUTS work at 7d.
Then I remembered the plant that was needed at 6ac from Monk’s recent Indy puzzle – problem solved.
I liked 6d (VOWEL) very much but perhaps it is an old gag – if not, full marks to Monk. I wasn’t familiar with it.
Also very fine the splendid anagram (plus indicator) in 18ac’s RUSSOPHIL.
While there’s a lot more to admire, I found a couple of things in the NE a bit of a pity.
The double use of AG (silver) in crossing words (10ac/7d).
And HARD being part of the clue and the solution in 8d (although I liked “that’s hard to stop” as such).
Thanks PeeDee.
Thanks, PeeDee.
Sil @13: We must have been on the same wavelength here. I also tried RAGOUTS before catching on that I needed an anagram of EASTING/TEASING. I was also going to pick the same nits about AG and hard.
The word nerd in me appreciated 6d, and I also liked 19d once the penny dropped.