Perhaps a little harder than last week. I managed about two thirds unaided, then hit Chambers pretty hard for the rest.
I don’t know whether this one was set by Phi, but either way, fans of Beelzebub should be pointed towards yesterday’s Inquisitor, which is a terrific puzzle even for those like me who had zero knowledge of the theme.
*=anagram, []=dropped, <=reversed.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CRUSTY – CRU[x] + STY. |
| 5 | BONISM – (SIN in MOB)<. |
| 9 | AUGER-HOLE – (U in AGE) + (H in ROLE). The definition “Result of boring” is very nicely hidden. |
| 12 | FLEURET – [harbo]UR in FLEET. |
| 13 | ANTARA – TAR in ANA. |
| 15 | PHONOCAMPTIC – (HO + (CAMP in NOT)) in PIC. |
| 16 | ENTER – [betwe]EN TER[races]. As in boarding a ship or bus, for example. |
| 18 | FAITH – (A in FIT) + H. |
| 19 | OVERT – OVER + T[rail]. |
| 20 | DECOY – DECO + Y. |
| 21 | RISORGIMENTO – (TIRING MORE SO)*. |
| 24 | SODAIN – SODA + IN. From the French for “sudden”, I would imagine. |
| 26 | SCIARID – S + C + ARID. |
| 27 | MISTRUSTS – MIST + RUSTS. |
| 28 | SHEATH – HEAT in SH. |
| 29 | BETRIM – BET + RIM. |
| Down | |
| 1 | CATAPHORESIS – A TAP in (CHORES + IS). |
| 2 | RUIN – I in RUN. |
| 3 | SEMANTRON – NAME< in STRON[g]. |
| 4 | TRURO – R in (O + RUT)<. |
| 5 | BOLLARD – LOB< + LARD. |
| 6 | OLEO – O + LEO. |
| 7 | IRRATIONAL – (RAT + I) in (IRON + [t]AL[e]). |
| 8 | METACHRONISM – M + (HITS ROMANCE)*. |
| 10 | LEVITY – IT in LEVY. |
| 11 | STONE SNIPE – (SEEN IN SPOT)*. |
| 14 | SPACED OUT – DATE* in SPOUT. |
| 16 | EVINCE – N in [d]EVICE. |
| 17 | ROGUISH – R + [v]OGUISH. |
| 22 | MOIRE – (O in MIR) + E. |
| 23 | GRIT – G + RIT. |
| 25 | INTI – INTI[mate]. |
The parsings of 1ac and 5dn had eluded me, so thanks for that. Don’t think I knew those definitions of “lob” and “lard”.
Actually, something about the wording of 9ac meant that I guessed early on what the definition was going to be, although it that took a while to get the answer.
I must admit I only knew those two meanings from doing crosswords. They don’t crop up much in everyday conversation, certainly!
Count me as another victim of lob and lard. The whole answer was plain enough from the crossers but the parsing defeated me.
I even ran it past two eminent bloggers from this site, and even they couldn’t help.
Simon, I don’t have my copy of the puzzle any more. Do you think you could repeat the clue for 5 down here, please. It has attracted some interest.
5 D. Lout upset with stuff in post (7).
Thanks Caren.
The other one this week. Glad you enjoyed the IQ – a setter’s blog will follow around the closing date (though as that’s my birthday, it may not be exactly then).