I always enjoy getting to solve and blog a Gozo puzzle, I hope you all enjoyed it too. Thanks Gozo.
Gozo puzzles always have a theme. Today all the across solutions are related to sports and games…
| Across | ||
| 1 | BIRDIE | What to watch for the score! (6) |
| double/cryptic definition – photographers’ catchprase and score at golf | ||
| 4 | HANDBALL | Worker at dance is a sport (8) |
| HAND (worker) at BALL (dance) | ||
| 10 | OLD MAID | Game spinster (3,4) |
| double definition | ||
| 11 | CANASTA | Game bird abandoned railway station (7) |
| CANAry (bird) missing (abandoned) RY (railway) then STA (station) | ||
| 12 | MEET | Fit for the hunt? (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 13 | LAWN TENNIS | Wants linen mangled at court? (4,6) |
| (WANTS LINEN)* anagram=mangled | ||
| 15 | REPLAY | Agent, amateur, at match after draw (6) |
| REP (agent) LAY (amateur) | ||
| 16 | FENCING | Wooden barriers guarding sport (7) |
| double definition, possibly triple definition if ‘guarding’ is considered separately | ||
| 20 | BRIDGES | Poet supports card-games (7) |
| triple definition – poet Robert Bridges | ||
| 21 | ROQUET | Cheese’s not for stroke (6) |
| ROQUEforT (cheese) missing FOR – a type of shot in the game of croquet | ||
| 24 | CROWN GREEN | Five shillings and singular dollar bills for 29? (5,5) |
| CROWN (five shillings) and GREENs (dollar bills, singular) – type of bowls game | ||
| 26 | POLO | Fruit gets cored for car sport (4) |
| POmeLO (fruit) missing middle letters (gets cored) – a Volskwagon car and a game | ||
| 28 | RACKETS | Sport baroque instruments making noises (7) |
| sounds like (making noises) racketts (baroque musical instruments) | ||
| 29 | BOWLING | Bird in Crosby delivering tenpins? (7) |
| OWL (bird) in BING Crosby | ||
| 30 | SPEEDWAY | Wade off into Scottish river for sport (8) |
| WADE* anagram=off in SPEY (Scottish river) | ||
| 31 | JERSEY | Island top on tour? (6) |
| double/cryptic definition – one of the Tour de France race leaders – Yellow, Green or Polka-dot Jerseys | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BLOOMERS | Errors at the bakery (8) |
| double/cryptic definition | ||
| 2 | RED PEPPER | Stop and go for each vegetable (3,6) |
| RED (stop, traffic light) and PEP (go) PER (for each) | ||
| 3 | I SAY | One’s always expressing surprise (1,3) |
| I’S (one) has AY (always) | ||
| 5 | ASCENDED | Rose cut cells and stopped (8) |
| ASCi (cells, cut short) ENDED (Stopped) | ||
| 6 | DANKE SCHON | Waving hand and turning neck. So, thanks! (5,5) |
| anagram (waving and turning) of HAND and NECK SO | ||
| 7 | ARSON | Clergyman is topped for crime (5) |
| pARSON (clergyman) missing first letter (topped) | ||
| 8 | LIAISE | I sail out east to get in touch (6) |
| (I SAIL)* anagram=out with E (east) | ||
| 9 | IDEAL | How I start 11 is standard (5) |
| I DEAL (how I start a card game) | ||
| 14 | MAIDENHEAD | No runs scored by chief at Berkshire town (10) |
| MAIDEN (over with no runs scored, cricket) by HEAD (chief) | ||
| 17 | NEUROTICS | Countries affected nervous folk (9) |
| COUNTRIES* anagram=affected | ||
| 18 | NEBRASKA | State having Tyneside support about request (8) |
| NE (Tyneside) having BRA (support) containing (about) ASK (request) | ||
| 19 | STRONGLY | I left Tony cavorting with girls vigorously (8) |
| I removed from (left) anagram (cavorting) of TONY and GIRLS | ||
| 22 | SCORES | What the batsmen make; 20s (6) |
| double definition – 20 is a score | ||
| 23 | DERBY | Joan’s partner at the races (5) |
| double definition. Tom_I points out that DERBY (horse race) and DARBY (Darby and Joan) have different spellings. | ||
| 25 | ON CUE | A certain copper entered at the right moment (2,3) |
| CU (copper) in (entering) ONE (a certain) | ||
| 27 | TWEE | Affected the way engineers exercised for starters (4) |
| starting letters of The Way Engineers Excrcised | ||
*anagram <br />definitions are underlined
Like PeeDee I always enjoy Gozo. The only clue that left me mystified after I’d solved it was 31ac JERSEY — thanks for explaining it, PeeDee. And thanks to Gozo for a longer than usual breakfast!
23 down must be DERBY from the crossing letters, but Joan’s partner was DARBY, spelt with an A. The clue really needs a homophone indicator to work properly.
Ta PD for explaining polo, didn’t know the fruit. Agree with Tom above that 23d is a slip by gozo in an otherwise excellent piece of gridfill and puzzle.
Thanks PeeDee, for sorting out nebraska and polo. A lovely puzzle indeed.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
My first Gozo – and a quite enjoyable solve. Particularly liked RED PEPPER and I SAY.
Hadn’t heard of BLOOMER as a type of bread loaf before this week and this is the second time it’s appeared … was in a Guardian puzzle earlier.
Rather rare occurrence of seeing a German word clued without reference – often see French ones.
A simple ? would probably have saved 23d.
BTW, PeeDee you do have a slight error in 14d – it should be HEAD not MAIN for chief.