A great puzzle and not at all easy (downright hard in fact).
All the across clues have the symbol for a chemical element omitted from the wordplay. I liked the way the instructions are worded, it is not at all clear what to do until one has twigged, then it is perfectly clear. Just the way it should be. I sat staring at a blank grid for quite a while until the penny dropped, and then confidently expected to clear up in no time. I ground to a halt again and for a while was facing the embarrassing prospect of having to ask for help to complete the puzzle. Luckily I was saved by a couple of flashes of inspiration and all was well again. Thank you Loroso for a really super puzzle.
| Across | ||
| 1 | FETISH | This cryptic obsession (6) |
| FE (Iron) THIS* cryptic=anagram | ||
| 4 | NIJINSKY | Juliet’s fying dancer (8) |
| NI (Nickel) J (Juliet, phonetic alphabet) IN SKY (flying) | ||
| 10 | RACQUET | What Nadal would use within court (7) |
| RA (Radium) QUE (what in Spanish, as Nadal would say) in CT (court) – definition is &lit | ||
| 11 | LITOTES | Is “humping” an understatement? (7) |
| LI (Lithium) TOTES (carries, is humping) | ||
| 12 | ACNE | Extremely nice spots (4) |
| AC (Actinum) NicE (extremes of) | ||
| 13 | MONSTRANCE | Proof in non-smoker’s possession? (10) |
| MO (Molybdenum) NS (non-smoker) TRANCE (posession) – according to Chambers a monstrance is “a recepticle in which the consectated host is exposed in Roman Catholic churches for the adoration of the people”, so presumeably this is a proof? See Pelham Barton @5 for an explanation. | ||
| 15 | LACKEY | Charlie’s most important servant (6) |
| LA (Lanthanum) C (charlie, phonetc alphabet) has KEY (most important) | ||
| 16 | ARC LAMP | Device used to fix electric light (3,4) |
| AR (Argon) CLAMP (device used to fix) | ||
| 20 | CLUTTER | Absolute mess (7) |
| CL (Chlorine) UTTER (absolute) | ||
| 21 | BRONCO | Horse offcer’s riding to the front (6) |
| BR (Bromine) ON (riding) CO (commanding officer) | ||
| 24 | INDICATION | Sign language that article appears in (10) |
| IN (Indium) DICTION (language) containing A (indefinite article) | ||
| 26 | HELP | Beatles single and album (4) |
| HE (Helium) LP (album) – definition is ‘Beatles single’ | ||
| 28 | BAPTISM | Religious ceremony’s point is initially made (7) |
| BA (Barium) PT (point) IS M (initial letter of made) | ||
| 29 | CUISINE | Cookery’s single function (7) |
| CU (Copper) I (one, single) SINE (function, maths) | ||
| 30 | TITANESS | Small house almost rejected big girl (8) |
| TI (Titanium) then S (small) SENATe (house, almost) both reversed (rejected) – a female giant | ||
| 31 | RHYMES | Verses certainly should encompass metre (6) |
| RH (Rhodium) YES (certainly) containing (encompassing) M (metre) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | FORMALLY | Make a friend without ceremony (8) |
| FORM (make) ALLY (a friend) – seriously, without a fuss | ||
| 2 | TECHNICAL | Expert starts to turn left, negotiating awkward chicane (9) |
| T L (starting letters of turn and left) going round (negotiating) CHICANE* anagram=awkward | ||
| 3 | SOUP | Perhaps starter’s really wrong? (4) |
| definition and cryptic definition – to be ‘in the soup’ is to have gone badly wrong. A better suggestion is SO (really) and UP (wrong) – thanks to ernie | ||
| 5 | ILLUSORY | Well, no, yours may be fancied (8) |
| ILL (well, no) YOURS* anagram=may be – definition is ‘fancied’ | ||
| 6 | INTERFLORA | High Street shop one refurbished for rental (10) |
| anagram (refurbished) of I (one) and FOR RENTAL | ||
| 7 | SATIN | Smooth material – it’s metal (5) |
| SA (it, sex appeal) has TIN (metal) | ||
| 8 | YES-MEN | Society embraced by country they obey (3-3) |
| S (society) in (embraced by) YEMEN (country) | ||
| 9 | STOOL | Motion that results in rifes being raised (5) |
| LOOTS (rifles) reversed (raised) – definition is ‘motion’ | ||
| 14 | KENTUCKIAN | Know how to enjoy food without a US resident (10) |
| KEN (know how) TUCK IN (enjoy food) going round (without) A | ||
| 17 | MANNERISM | Peculiarity of bloke’s alarm over maiden (9) |
| MAN (bloke) SIREN (alarm) reversed (over) M (maiden) | ||
| 18 | SEPTIMUS | Charges brought up about Pastor Timothy Harding (8) |
| SUES (charges) reversed (brought up) going round (about) P (pastor) TIM (Timothy) – Septimus Harding was a character in Anthony Trollope’s Barsetshire Chronicles | ||
| 19 | COMPRESS | Crush about 1,000 rotten corpses (8) |
| CORPSES* (rotten=anagram) containing M (1,000, Roman numeral) | ||
| 22 | GIBBET | The rope major lifted is put on back (6) |
| BIG (major) reversed (lifted) is put on BET (back) – the hangman’s rope | ||
| 23 | JOYCE | Author’s delight over cruise, needing vacation (5) |
| JOY (delight) on (over) CruisE (empty, having been vacated) – author James Joyce | ||
| 25 | DEPOT | Remove grass from garage (5) |
| DE-POT (remove grass) | ||
| 27 | WITH | Reason husband gets by (4) |
| WIT (reason) H (husband) – definition is ‘by’ | ||
*anagram
A real belter. Thanks PeeDee and Loroso. It set the endorphins whirring all right.
Many thanks PeeDee & Loroso. Very challenging and enjoyable.
However, there’s a typo in 10a … it should be singular.
Thanks, fixed now.
I do quite a lot of crosswords but I haven’t recently solved a puzzle that I enjoyed as much as this one!
What a smashing crossword!
My way in was 26ac (HELP).
After I looked at the preamble, I instantly forgot about it.
Surely, 26ac had to be HELP and while I saw the LP bit, I thought perhaps HE is (a) single (man). But then we would have some double duty here – impossible in a Loroso.
Just on time, I remembered the preamble: He, Helium, bingo!
Great Fun, with a capital F.
Very neat to have only 2-letter elements ie to avoid elements like C or K.
Thanks, PeeDee, for the blog.
And Loroso for the brilliant work!
Thanks Loroso for an excellent idea well executed and a real joy to solve, and PeeDee for the blog.
13ac: After a bit of hunting, I found “monstrance – proof by a process of argument or a series of proposition proving an asserted conclusion” at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/monstrance
1dn: This was the last one I solved. In most of its meanings, I would associate FORMALLY as indicating “with ceremony”, but I can see a sense that fits the definition given here. Perhaps if someone is formally awarded a degree, it can mean without attending the graduation ceremony, but there must be a better example.
In critical mood, I would question the use of linking words when definition and wordplay are indicating different things. Taking 26ac as an example, we can think of the clue as really being “Beatles single and element album”, where the linking word “and” can fit, and then the word “element” has been removed to produce something that makes sense. On that basis, I think linking words are perfectly acceptable in this structure.
Having overcome these small scruples, I can award unreserved praise to Loroso for this puzzle.
Thanks PeeDee and Loroso. The SW corner defeated me here but nonetheless a fine puzzle. 9d raised a chuckle!
Thanks to Pelham Barton @5 for the definition of MONSTRANCE. I couldn’t reconcile “proof” with the definition in Chambers.
I’m not sure about the definition in 22 down. A GIBBET is a gallows (or the arm of a crane), so is the framework from which someone is suspended by a hangman’s rope, not the rope itself.
Hi Tom_I
I don’t think there is much of a problem with 22dn because ‘rope’ and ‘gibbet’ are synonymous in the sense of capital punishment by hanging as in “He was sentenced to the gibbet/rope” (see Oxford On-line under gibbet and rope).
What a little gem!
For 3d I was thinking so (for really) plus up (for wrong)= soup (starter).
I also had misgivings about 1D as I think that without ceremony equates with ‘informally’.
Thanks to Loroso and PeeDee
Thanks ernie, I think you have the right explanation for SOUP.
I took 1D as a deliberate misdirection from Loroso, the less obvious reading of ‘without ceremony’ is the one needed.
I subsequently wondered whether 1D had been written originally as one of the themed across clues with ‘in’ (indium) not clued giving the answer as ‘informally’.