This was a puzzle in 3 parts. The 1st part was solving the clues that seemed ready for parsing. The 2nd was correcting for the wrong numbering in the second half of both the across and down clues. This had to be done after removing 2 black squares which shouldn’t have been, along 2dn and 7dn. The 3rd part was trying to put 1 and 2 together. Barring these minor inconveniences, I really had a fun time attacking this grid, so thanks to Redshank (yet again!) for making this a meaty challenge.
So many nice clues, but if I had to pick a few, it would have to be 26ac, 28ac, 2d and 15d.
FF: 9 DD:8
| Across | ||
| 1 | REPORTER | Bang on about journalist (8) |
| REPORT (bang) ER (on = re, about = reversed) | ||
| 5 | ISOBAR | Is pub introducing oxygen line? (6) |
| IS BAR (pub) introducing O (Oxygen) | ||
| 9 | EYEGLASS | Yours truly, say, slags off viewer (8) |
| EYE (Sounds like I, Yours truly) GLASS (anagram of SLAGS) | ||
| 10 | SACRUM | Bone of contention initially in Salisbury (6) |
| C (contention initially) in SARUM (earliest settlement in Salisbury) | ||
| 12 | MUSIC | This ELO played in Coliseum (5) |
| Cryptic clue, taking the letters of ‘elo’ away from ‘Coliseum’ results in “music”. I initially underlined the entire clue as the cryptic definition, but since then corrected it to read as MUSIC, ELO played (i.e. anagrammed) would result in Coliseum. If memory serves me right, Gaff used ELO a few weeks ago in a devious clue as well. | ||
| 13 | ENDORPHIN | Upper Rhine pond suffers pollution (9) |
| Anagram of RHINE POND (the slang meaning of upper is stimulant) | ||
| 14 | NOUGHT | Go and hunt wild duck (6) |
| Anagram of GO HUNT | ||
| 16 | ELEVATE | Nice pupil touring centre of Bath gets a lift (7) |
| ELEVE (french for Pupil, Nice being the city in France) around AT (Centre of bATh) | ||
| 19 | RAFFLED | Fliers escaped being randomly drawn (7) |
| RAF (Royal Air Force) FLED (escaped) | ||
| 21 | POLYPS | Main growths in college and primary school heads (6) |
| POLY (college) PS (Primary School heads) | ||
| 23 | AEROSPACE | This business arose controversially on Cape complex (9) |
| Anagram of AROSE CAPE | ||
| 25 | SIEGE | Investment by army is over, say, at end of June (5) |
| SI (IS, over) EG (say) E (end of June) | ||
| 26 | BUNION | Author reported his progress hampered by it? (6) |
| Sounds like |
||
| 27 | BLUEBELL | It grows from different bulbel the Spanish planted (8) |
| Anagram of BULBEL containing EL (‘the’ in Spanish) | ||
| 28 | NIECES | A German upset these French relations (6) |
| NIE (A German = 1 in German = Ein, reversed) CES (french for ‘these’) | ||
| 29 | SYMPATHY | Pity setter’s return route cuts suburbs of Sydney (8) |
| [YM (setter’s = MY, returned) PATH (route) ] cuts SY (suburbs of SydneY) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | RHEUMY | It’s described as spacious but it’s unhealthily damp (6) |
| Sounds like ROOMY (spacious) | ||
| 2 | PRESS CONFERENCE | How to get some perry for media gathering? (5,10) |
| DD. In addition to the usual meaning, Conference is also a type of pear, the pressing of which results in an alcoholic drink called perry. | ||
| 3 | RELIC | Corporal remains Catholic priest at heart (5) |
| RC (Roman Catholic) with ELI (priest, at heart = contained in). Didnt know about this plural usage of the word. | ||
| 4 | EASIEST | It couldn’t be calmer so some take a siesta (7) |
| Hidden in takE A SIESTa | ||
| 6 | STAIRWELL | Flights here increase, preserving tense atmosphere (9) |
| SWELL (increase) preserving [T (tense) AIR (atmosphere)] | ||
| 7 | BIRTHDAY PRESENT | By now, a third suspect is arrested – case wrapped up? (8,7) |
| 8 | REMINDER | Prompt those left after amateur quit (8) |
| REMaINDER (those left, without ‘a’ – amateur) | ||
| 11 | IDLE | Workshy bunch withdrawn in panel discussion (4) |
| Hidden in panEL DIscussion, reversed (withdrawn) | ||
| 15 | GALLSTONE | Calculus produces a line dividing longest ground (9) |
| Anagram of A L(line) LONGEST – I didnt know Calculus had this meaning. The things that you learn doing cryptic crosswords !! | ||
| 18 | BREAD BIN | With putrid slice, this could become indescribable (5,3) |
| With SLICE, BREAD BIN can be rearranged to spell Indescribable. | ||
| 20 | DRAT | Who’s time machine is departing, going up in blast? (4) |
| DRAT (TARDIS is Dr.Who’s Time Machine, without ‘IS’ = TARD, going up = reversed) | ||
| 21 | PRESLEY | King’sfitful sleep disturbed by Queen by ending . . . . (7) |
| Anagram of SLEEP with R (queen) Y (bY ending) – Elvis | ||
| 22 | REALLY | . . . . in fact as befits her, after George has slipped away (6) |
| REgALLY (as befits her = regally, her being Queen from the previous clue, with G [george] slipping away ) | ||
| 23 | SWEEP | Lottery’s not big in Spain (5) |
| WEE (not big) in SP (Spain) | ||
*anagram
Many thanks, Turbolegs
I was totally put off by the numerous errors.
What next?
I battled through it but would not describe it as a “minor inconvenience”!
18d defeated me – I had BREAD BIN and CREAM BUN as candidates but couldn’t see the wordplay. I suppose it’s fair – though putting “container with putrid..” rather than the self-definition would have got me there I think.
Thanks turbolegs and redshank – correct grid next time!
Thanks, Turbolegs – as you say, three puzzles for the price of one, so well done!
Lovely stuff, as ever, from Redshank. Too many good clues to mention really, but I do have to mention PRESS CONFERENCE and GALLSTONE [calculus is Latin for ‘little stone’, so they both come from the same root, but I remember how fascinated I was when I first learned that].
Nice to see old ELI back!
It’s only a little thing but, strictly speaking, 7dn is BY PRESENT, with an anagram of A THIRD ‘arrested’.
And it was John Bunyan who wrote ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’.
Many thanks and much 29ac – it must be really frustrating! – to Redshank for a lovely puzzle.
Yes, the on-line version (I haven’t seen the printed version) should have had a barred puzzle style preamble! Fortunately the cluing was delightful as always from Redshank which encouraged perseverance, and not too testing so all fell into place without too much difficulty. It is a bit of a shame though that such fine work should be overshadowed by something outside the setter’s control. Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs.
Sorry about grid error. Correct version should appear on the website soonish.
Still a great solve – although I admit that I had been tipped off about there being some sort of foul-up so was on the qui vive.
And two comp anags.
Many thanks both.
Thanks everyone for the comments. I really do feel for Redshank, for such a lovely puzzle to be undermined by a technical glitch. I only wish that those who gave up on the puzzle due to the numbering errors, attempt this again as a fresh puzzle once this is corrected on the website and when the memory of reading this blog is long gone.
Bryan @1 – This puzzle deserves your time.
Peterj @2 – I was quite kicked with myself for having decoded 18d. Usually, these clues leave me asking Geoff for a way out but thankfully not today.
Eileen @3 – Thanks as always for your additional inputs. We both seem to have picked the same clues as the highlights.
Jmac@4, Niloci @5, JollySwagman@6 – Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers
This looked like a complete disaster to start with, but I worked out what was wrong with the grid, and I’m glad I persevered with it. A good entertaining puzzle, and I quite enjoyed the extra challenge involved!
I loved it! Of course there was a problem with the grid, but that just added to the pleasure. Redshank was at his best; Turbolegs sorted it. Thanks to all
I’m glad I came to this late. I printed it this morning but, when I came to do it this afternoon, I immediately realised that the grid was wrong. I logged in again and got the correct grid. So I had all the enjoyment without the grief. An excellent puzzle from Redshank with a couple of his subtraction angrams that I am on the lookout for these days.
Yes, there were problems with the grid but it didn’t take long to identify and tweak them.
Another great crossword by Redshank, another ELO too.
Actually, the two long ones were my favourites today.
Along with my LOI, 14ac (NOUGHT).
But I can tick a lot more (the Upper thing in 13ac, for example).
I wasn’t too keen on 25ac (BLUEBELL) as ‘bulbel’ is too close to the solution but I see where Redshank’s coming from.
As Eileen said, great use of ‘calculus’ in 15d.
I’ve said it here before, Redshank and his alter egos in the broadsheets (Radian, Crucible) are quite different in style but all immensely enjoyable.
Yet, I have a secret wish that one day Mr Anderson submits what is a Redshank puzzle to the Guardian (as Crucible).
I bet ‘they’ would like it enormously.
BTW, by saying that I’m not downgrading Crucible.
But I do think it would suit the overall feel of Guardian crosswords (think Qaos, Nutmeg, Picaroon, Imogen).
Meanwhile, the poster @5 should cherish this member of his troupe!
Always great to see a fantastic puzzle get the attention it deserves, so thanks to all from @8 through @11 + jmac@4 who I missed in my earlier post.
Sil @11 – I got 14ac pretty early in the solve (I usually get a leg up with anagrams) – The surface drew a worthy chuckle! My last two in were 23d and 25ac, both which now look like they should have been done earlier than I did.
Cheers,
TL
I really enjoyed every bit of the brain-safari. Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs. I had it finished by breakfast and couldn’t wait for the applause,
I had DRAM for 19d; thinking it referred to a shot or “blast” of strong drink. Not up much on Doc Who.
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
It was a couple of weeks old by the time I got to it, but this was well and truly worth it notwithstanding the physical errors with the grid and clue numbering (yes, I’d printed the original version).
A lot of interesting clue devices and a couple of the complex anagrams where the answer and another word are scrambled to generate another given word. Like lenny, I’m on the lookout for as well.
A bit of foreign language required a couple of times
Now that I remember TARDIS, it was great fun to unravel DRAT at 20d.
Plenty of other great clues with silky smooth surfaces – last in was one of those – BUNION