Monk is always good. There are some excellent clues here and one or two where I’d be grateful for a little explanation. We differ over the matter of CDs, but Monk isn’t the only setter who uses them. However, if there were no well-known setters who dislike them I’d keep quiet.
Surprise surprise — I’ve seen the Nina, or at any rate as much of it as I’m likely to see: look at the horizontal unchecked letters in the middle followed by the vertical unchecked letters in the middle, but quite where the climax of it all is I can’t see.
Definitions in italics.
Across
1 Launch punch immediately before being grabbed (8)
BLASTOFF
I think this is b(last)off with boff = launch punch, which is there although I’d never really heard of it, and last = immediately before
5 Runs out of worn copper parts, causing malfunctions (4,2)
ACTS UP
(cu parts)* – r — malfunctions as a verb
9 Lightly scored work? (8)
OPERETTA
A CD so far as I can see — an operetta is light and is scored. As a result although I thought this was quite likely it remained only a possibility for a long time — that’s why I so dislike CDs: you never know that you’re right — with a normal clue there are two ways to the answer, the wordplay and the definition, so you can be pretty sure you’re correct. I can’t understand why CDs exist: ‘lightly scored work’ would be quite a nice definition in a clue that also contained some wordplay; this wordplay could easily be provided, yet the setter seems to say “this is such a good definition that I’m going to leave it at that and not give you any wordplay”.
10 Black compound formed by iron crust turning yellow on the inside (6)
NIELLO
(i{ro}n)rev. {y}ello{w} — iron crust = iron’s crust
12 It’s a dream – peppered ham (9)
DRAMATISE
(It’s a dream)* — ham as in acting
13 Scrawny busybody regularly put out a rumour (3-2)
SAY-SO
S{cr}a{wn}y {bu}s{yb}o{dy} — when you see something like ‘regular’ in a crossword it’s nearly always either the odd or the even letters, but Monk tends to find variations on this
14 Rob perhaps/ cut/ off/ collar (4)
NICK
3 definitions, unless somehow it’s 4 and ‘off’ is one of them, which I can’t see — ‘off’ as a verb is American slang for ‘kill’, but how does off = nick? — rob perhaps = nick, cut = nick, collar = nick, and somehow ‘off’ gets in there, but I’m not sure where — maybe it’s only 3 defs, rob, perhaps cut off, and collar
16 Say nothing about stupid cretin, the selfish one (10)
EGOCENTRIC
eg 0 c (cretin)* — egocentric as a noun
17 Note system of actions loony left introduced (5,3-2)
TONIC SOL-FA
(of actions)* round l
19 Bowled very well, despite these? (4)
BYES
b yes — you might say that byes are more to do with the wicket-keeper than with the bowler, but if there are byes there is a good chance that the bowling is wayward, hence the question mark
21 Absolute maniac losing his head (5)
UTTER
{n}utter
22 Traveller‘s old stuff returned by car (5,4)
MARCO POLO
(o cram)rev. Polo — the VW Polo, excellent car, at least it was in the early 1980s when I had one
24 Crudely painted plot follows exposed odd man out (6)
DAUBED
{o}d{d} {m}a{n} {o}u{t} bed — ‘exposed’ indicating the removal of the outer letters
25 Strip then flatten outdated equipment (4,4)
TAPE DECK
tape deck — tape = strip, deck = flatten
26 Adelphi’s principal has to stop mostly dreadful turn (6)
ROTATE
A{delphi} in rotte{n}
27 Character‘s name altered by a single stroke? (8)
IDENTITY
I don’t quite see this: it seems to be identify [= name] and if you remove the cross-stroke from the f you make it into a t — but you don’t really and perhaps this is wrong — actually yes if you look at F and T and move the little cross-stroke halfway up the F to the top and to the left you get a T
Down
1 Sensational blonde had rotund bum (5-3-7)
BLOOD-AND-THUNDER
(blonde had rotund)*, bum the anagram indicator
2 Some Sloane Rangers going round O2, for example (5)
ARENA
Reverse hidden in SloANE RAngers — in the printout I was sent it’s simply O2, and it is in this software that I’m using; it would be interesting to know if anywhere the 2 is a suffix, as it should be I think — actually as I’m preparing this blog it seems to be a bit more as I would have thought (but I’ve seen it on the actual site and it’s back to square one)
3 Base one legend on brief madness (6)
TOERAG
You have to read ‘legend’ as ‘leg end’, so it’s toe [= leg end] rag{e} — something that not everyone likes but it happens from time to time in the Independent and ‘leg end = toe’ is quite a well-known little joke — I have no problem with splitting of words like this, just so long as you know that it is a possiblity, which you do, here
4 Using which gear changes can be effected (7,5)
FITTING ROOMS
Another CD; gear as in clothing — I haven’t changed my views since commenting on 9ac above
6 Short flute composition that could be deep and rich (7)
CRIMSON
Not sure what is happening here and I suspect that there is some flute composition of which I’m unaware: the definition is probably as here, with ‘that’ a demonstrative pronoun — Gaufrid has it right: it’s crim{p} son{g}
7 Crack troops who aim to spread the word? (5,4)
SALLY ARMY
sally army — sally = crack, army = troops, ref the Salvation Army
8 Primate put mark under trunk on locker (9,6)
PROBOSCIS MONKEY
proboscis m on key — proboscis = trunk as in elephant’s trunk, not torso
11 Away on account of attraction, returning after this (12)
HENCEFORWARD
hence for (draw)rev. — hence = away as an interjection
15 Make bed spanning round short poles (9)
CONSTRUCT
(curt SN)rev. in cot
18 I will also be widely received (7)
CURRENT
2 defs, one of them one word, with ‘will also be’ the link
20 Borders of Great Britain toured during control (6)
GOVERN
The borders of Great Britain are G and n, which tour [= surround] over [= during]
23 Strokes caused by strobe lighting in part (5)
OBELI
Hidden in strOBE LIghting
*anagram
Much too hard for me but thanks to setter and blogger.
3d was hard for me for foot is a leg end to me as in: ‘Michael Foot was a legend in his lifetime’.
Thanks John
I parsed 6dn as CRIM[p] SON[g] (short flute composition).
This was a good challenge of a puzzle, and I was all correct without aids but a few answers were entered from the checkers and definition alone, e.g. CRIMSON, HENCEFORWARD and PROBOSCIS MONKEY. TOERAG was my LOI once I deconstructed the clue in the correct manner. I didn’t spot the nina but I almost never do.
Too hard to be much fun. I’ve never heard of crack=Sally for instance, so I guess I was on a loser there.
9a still confuses me as well.
Thanks for the deconstruction John.
BTW the 2 is a suffix in the dtv of 2 down. I actually got that one!
Thanks to Monk and John. I had to cheat on 4 words, including the one clued as “legend” (a few choice phrases came to mind when I read the parsing above!).
Incidentally, the dictionary on my Mac (Oxford American Dictionary) defines “boff” as “have sexual intercourse” – not something for which I have ever seen punch as a synonym! Does any dictionary define it as “hit/punch” someone?
Re. CDs: With the crosses in place, they don’t seem so frustrating, but if one is having trouble with the crosses…well, choice phrases again!
Every online dictionary I’ve just looked at gives your definition first and “hit” or “punch” second. They all note that it is chiefly North American, but although I used to be North American myself I’ve never seen it used in the first sense (though often in the second).
What a pig to solve, not necessarily a criticism but I’m glad i didn’t cop this one.
Thanks john there were a few I’d given up trying to parse here.
Thanks John – a great blog, but why should there be a “climax” to the Nina? It’s clever, and entertaining, existence is reward enough for me.
I agree somewhat with your comments on “operetta”. But generally I find a good CD (though without a second route to solution) gives one a sigh of pleasure and certainty that it’s the right answer. 4dn is a nice example – sure, it could be “bathing machine” for example but the numeration/crossers should clarify. That’s why it’s a crossword after all?!
I can’t explain why, but there’s something about Monk’s puzzles that I really enjoy; he seems to have a nice broad way of looking at things.
Thanks again, John. And thanks Monk for a lovely puzzle.
William perhaps you’re right and there’s no need for a climax to the Nina, but when you get the first seven notes of the scale you feel the climax is the final eighth note, or Do. I think I’ve been watching The Sound of Music too much.
Many thanks to John for a nice blog, and to all for feedback. Interesting to see solvers’ views on CDs: a “good one” (probably defined as one where the answer is unambiguous once you’ve seen it) is IMHO exactly the sort of thing that gives solvers a nice penny-drop sense of satisfaction, but a bad one can leave them feeling short-changed. They’re not easy to do, and experienced setters don’t use them if, even for a moment, they think it’s not a “good one”.
Re Ian SW3@6, I think it’s fair to say that setters deliberately go down definition lists to find elements that admit good surface readings to clues, but a great majority of us accept that, in a 15-squared daily, going too far down that list is not fair to solvers. To Abhay@5, I too saw the defn of “boff” you mention and, indeed, could think of a pithy surface, but for Private Eye rather than the Indie 😉
No “climax” to the Nina, I’m afraid, and I will hold my hands up and admit that the Ninoid 17ac (which nobody mentioned!) went in by accident rather than design, as the grid had been so globally pinned down by the Nina. So, if I left a sense of anti-climax, all I can say is: “D’oh!” 🙂
John – thanks for replying.
Monk – great that you popped by. Certainly did appreciate 17ac; felt best not to mention it, as unsure of spelling for ‘ninoid’!
Again a waste of time for the general public, why does the i publish these near impossible crosswords. Ok for the small minority of experts, Is it not possible to have two cryptic crosswords one for the experts & one for the general readership?