As today is the last Wednesday of the month, I was gearing up for a Crosophile puzzle. Since Crosophile provided yesterday’s crossword and for no apparent (thematic) reason, I assumed that there must be a particular reason for today’s puzzle by eXternal to occupy this slot. Having examined clues, solutions and grid carefully, I can see no such reason, but perhaps I have overlooked something, as is my wont? Perhaps the editor simply chose to ring the changes in terms of whose puzzles appear when?
I found this a tricky but highly entertaining puzzle, not least because the first two solutions across were for words I didn’t know at all. The clay-pigeon shooting term in 27 was also unfamiliar to me, as was this definition of the entry at 13. 25 took me a while to parse, although I wondered why I had been so slow on the uptake when I finally saw how the clue worked.
A further complication stemmed from the fact that there appear to be two clues to 14 in circulation, depending on which version the solver has before him, and potentially the right clue missing at 17. As such, I have parsed all the clues that I have been made aware of.
There is much to admire in this puzzle. My personal favourites are 1, for its saucily smooth surface as well as for teaching me a new word; 5, for its clever reference to Messrs Barker and Corbett; and 15, for exploiting the cluing potential of the Shadow Chancellor’s surname.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in double-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | BOOTYLICIOUS | Attractively curvaceous Scot you oil, bi-curious
*(SCOT YOU OIL BI); “curious” is anagram indicator; bootylicious is US slang, formed from booty (=a person’s bottom) and delicious |
| 09 | BODACIOUS | Really good person promises to pay on account
BOD (=person) + AC (=account) + IOUs (=promises to pay); bodacious is also US slang |
| 10 | EXIST | Former champion’s last
EX (=former) + 1ST (=champion, i.e. number one); to exist is to last, continue, remain |
| 11 | ENAMEL | Basque’s the clothing for celebrity and glossy coat
NAME (=celebrity) in EL (=Basque’s the, i.e. the Spanish for the) |
| 12 | SINISTER | Left at home to be minded by sibling
IN in SISTER (=sibling) |
| 13 | TOOTSY | Piggy Cockney’s lust for tucking into trifle
<h>OTS (=lust, as in to have the hots for; “Cockney” means initial letter “h” is dropped) in TOY (=trifle); piggy and tootsy are both childish words for toe |
| 14 | TOUGH GUY | Ruffian that’s not nice, taken in by gouty criminal
UGH (=that’s not nice, as an exclamation) in *(GOUTY); “criminal” is anagram indicator
Alpha male that’s gross banging gouty nurses UGH (=that’s gross, as an exclamation) in *(GOUTY); “banging” is anagram indicator |
| 17 | AUTOCRAT | Powermonger’s gold company involved in cutting back
AU (=gold) + [CO (=company) in TART (=cutting); “back” indicates reversal)] |
| 19 | MOROSE | Sour-tempered animals sometimes hunted around river
R (=river) in MOOSE (=animals sometimes hunted) |
| 21 | YARMOUTH | Port, something damaging, teenager’s drunk
ARM (=something damaging) in YOUTH (=teenager); Yarmouth is a port on the Isle of Wight |
| 23 | METEOR | Alien in Rome crashing, it comes from outer space
ET (=alien) in *(ROME); “crashing” is anagram indicator |
| 25 | EVICT | Target of internet fraudsters? I’m left put out
E-VICT<im> (=target of internet fraudsters, where e=electronic, as in e-mail); “I’m left” means letters “im” are dropped |
| 26 | CONVIVIAL | Have sex twice, everyone wanting the end to be jolly
CON (=have, i.e. dupe) + VI VI (=sex, i.e. 6 in Latin; “twice” = x2) + AL<l> (=everyone; “wanting the end” means last letter dropped) |
| 27 | SKELETON KEYS | Fifty to enter clay-pigeon shoot on islands – they make many entries possible
L (=fifty, i.e. in Roman numerals) in SKEET (=clay-pigeon shoot) + ON + KEYS (=islands); cryptically, skeleton keys make many “entries” possible, i.e. open many doors |
| Down | ||
| 02 | ODD MAN OUT | Misfit not popular following double-date in Arab state
[D D (D=date; “double” = x2) in OMAN (=Arab state)] + OUT (=not popular) |
| 03 | TICKERS | Indicators of good working hearts
Cryptically, a ticker, one who gives a tick when marking, would be indicating that good work has been done |
| 04 | LAOS | The French charters for country
LA (=the French, i.e. the French word for the) + OS (=charters, i.e. Ordnance Survey, producers of maps) |
| 05 | CAST-IRON | Hard to find actor to play one of comedy duo
CAST (=to find actor to play) + 1 RON (=one of comedy duo, i.e. one of the Two Ronnies) |
| 06 | OPENING | First love, nearly ten, upset in PG film
O (=love, i.e. a zero score) + [ENIN (NINE=nearly ten; “upset” indicates vertical reversal) in PG]; opening is first as in opening number, opening gambit, etc |
| 07 | SWIFT | Cornish newspaper accepting Independent writer
I (=Independent) in [SW (=Cornish, i.e. from the south west) in FT (=newspaper, i.e. Financial Times)]; the reference is to Gulliver’s Travels author Johnathan Swift |
| 08 | STORMY PETREL | Look after setter’s juice, when hearing seabird
Homophone (“when hearing”) of “store my petrol” (=look after setter’s juice) |
| 09 | BREATHALYSER | When drunk, her betrayal’s made by this
*(HER BETRAYAL’S); “when drunk” is anagram indicator; & lit-ish |
| 15 | GLOBESITY | One Tory disheartened after Balls reveals worldwide problem of great proportion
GLOBES (=balls) + I (=one) T<or>Y (“disheartened” means all but first and last letters are dropped); globesity is obesity viewed as a global problem |
| 16 | PASTICHE | First person in Berlin to get enthralled by pulp composition based on other works
ICH (=first person in Berlin, i.e. the German for I) in PASTE (=pulp) |
| 18 | CHORTLE | Laugh about career when university’s over
C (=about, i.e. circa) + H<o for u>RTLE (=career, as a verb; “when university (=U)’s over (=O, i.e. in cricket)” means letter “u” is replaced by “o” |
| 20 | OBELISK | Bloke is building pillar
*(BLOKE IS); “building” is anagram indicator |
| 22 | REINS | Good to leave rules for director’s equipment
REI<g>NS (=rules); “good (=G) to leave” means letter “g” is dropped; the “director” here is anyone in control, managing |
| 24 | INTO | Enthusiastic about top piebald horse
<p>INTO (=piebald horse); “(to) top” means to remove first letter |
Comments are closed.