I didn’t find this as much fun as previous Artexlen puzzles I have blogged.
All the clues in this puzzle are construction/definition clues. There are no cryptic definitions, double definitions, homophones, &lits, spoonerisms or other devices. This made it a very straightforwdard solve as after a while I stopped looking for variations and just picked out the definition and mechanically fitted the construction to match. With a bit of variation I think this would have been a much harder puzzle as some of the constuctions would be quite tricky if they were not so predicatable.
Thanks Artexlen.
| Across | ||
| 1 | COME A CROPPER | Fail company, heartless menace right to be arrested by a policeman (4,1,7) |
| CO (company) MenacE (heartless, no middle letters) then R (right) in (arrested by) COPPER (policeman) | ||
| 8 | PERTURB | Dry salesman backtracking causes worry (7) |
| BRUT (dry) REP (salesman) all reversed | ||
| 9 | PARCHED | Penny, bent over and gasping (7) |
| P (penny) ARCHED (bent over) | ||
| 11 | RANCHER | Cowboy dear to Frenchwoman goes after drove (7) |
| CHER (dear, french) following (goes after) RAN (drove). I think Artexlen chooses Frenchwoman rather than Frenchman so she will speak of her beloved as CHER (masculine) rather than CHERE (feminine) | ||
| 12 | DYNAMIC | Lively game, Andy Murray primarily in charge (7) |
| ANDY* anagram=game (deformed) Murray (first letter of) IC (in charge) | ||
| 13 | CARED | Was anxious about punching bounder (5) |
| RE (regarding, about) in (punching) CAD (bounder) | ||
| 14 | TRUMPED-UP | False bottom in cuddly toy ahead (7-2) |
| RUMP (bottom) in TED (cuddly toy) then UP (ahead) | ||
| 16 | ACCLAIMED | Noted a cold, arranged medical (9) |
| A C (cold) MEDICAL* anagram=arranged | ||
| 19 | POSIT | Advance after crossing India (5) |
| POST (after) contains (crossing) I (India) | ||
| 21 | ORLEANS | One politician leaving impersonal, sprawling French city (7) |
| impERSONAL* anagram=swarming missing I MP (one politician) | ||
| 23 | RULE OUT | Ban hooligan swallowing ecstasy after sport (4,3) |
| LOUT (hooligan) contains (swallows) E (ecstasy) following RU | ||
| 24 | YEARNER | Longer period of time with northern ruler (7) |
| YEAR (period of time) with N (northern) R (ruler) | ||
| 25 | ELASTIN | Protein drink’s repellent small container (7) |
| ALE (drink) reversed (is repellent) then S (small) TIN (container) | ||
| 26 | GET TOGETHERS | Conventions to understand, greet host when partying (3,9) |
| GET (to understand) (GREET HOST)* anagram=partying | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CORONER | Medical practitioner working, in essence, on radius (7) |
| ON (working) in CORE (essence) on R (radius) | ||
| 2 | MOUTHED | Surreptitiously conveyed money revealed, after heroin’s seized (7) |
| M (money) OUTED (revealed) containing (seized) H (heroin) | ||
| 3 | ARBORETUM | Adult tolerated temperature surrounded by odd collection of plants (9) |
| A (adult) BORE (tolerated) in (surrounded by) RUM (odd) | ||
| 4 | RAPID | Express rebuke? I would (5) |
| RAP (rebuke) I’D (I would) | ||
| 5 | PARSNIP | Standard sticks erected for plant (7) |
| PAR (standard) PINS (sticks) reversed (erected) | ||
| 6 | EXHUMED | Variable smell in Scottish river going north brought up (7) |
| X (variable, maths) HUM (smell) in DEE (Scottish River) reversed (going north) | ||
| 7 | APPRECIATORY | Obliged secretary to look up price for corrupting a rightwinger (12) |
| PA (secretary) reversed (to look up) PRICE* (anagram=for corrupting) A TORY (rightwinger) | ||
| 10 | DECAPITATING | Decisively cutting off a pedantic git in flow (12) |
| (A PEDANTIC GIT)* anagram=in flow | ||
| 15 | UNDERWENT | Experienced, one over the Channel on lake (9) |
| UN (one, French, over the channel) on DERWENT (Derwent Water, lake) | ||
| 17 | COLLATE | Departed under army officer’s order (7) |
| LATE (departed, dead) under COL (army officer) | ||
| 18 | AGAINST | Con proceeds, following a head of tourism (7) |
| GAINS (proceeds) follwing A then T (head, first letter, of tourism) | ||
| 19 | PILLAGE | Sack attendant, feeling bad inside (7) |
| ILL (feeling bad) in PAGE (atttendant) | ||
| 20 | SMOOTHS | Irons bizarrely hot in three seconds (7) |
| HOT* anagram=bizarrely in S MO S (second, three times) | ||
| 22 | SPROG | Beginning to smile for good child (5) |
| S (beginning to, first letter of, smile) PRO (for) G (good) | ||
*anagram <br />definitions are underlined
I agree it wasn’t as much fun as some. The clues seemed a bit laboured. 7d was a bit weird. All quite straightforward though.
Thx
Thanks Artexlen and PeeDee.
25ac: I read this as ALE reversed (drink [i]s repellent) + S (small) + TIN (container). ALE’S reversed would give SALE, not ELAS.
Further to my comment at 2, ALE’S reversed would of course give SELA.
Quite right Pelham. Fixed now.
Reversing ALE’S must be harder than it looks.
Hadn’t noticed the lack of clue types but a quick if somewhat mechanical solve.
Thanks PD and artex.
I agree with everybody. Sorry, Artexlen, it wasn’t your exuberant best.
The thing is: what is good, what is bad.
Not the best on the scale of Artexlen/eXternal because perhaps too straightforward, hence easy.
If this were an Everyman, most solvers would surely say: really nice puzzle.
I see exactly where PeeDee comes from (and I feel the same) but it is still a very skillful puzzle. One that was enjoyable but, indeed, over far too quickly because no-one put a bomb on the railway line on behalf of our beloved setter.
Thanks Artexlen and PeeDee
Only late to this and completed it in less than 30 mins, which is very unusual for this setter. None the worsepfor that when one is in catch-up mode like I was! Didn’t notice the lack of clue types but that probably made the solve easier.
Made a mess of the parsing of COME A CROPPER by just trying to take the heart of MENACE and failing :(.
Thought that SMOOTH was quite clever.