I found this is a bit trickier than the last couple of Beelzebub puzzles and I even had to use Bradford’s on a couple of occasions. There are a couple of clues – 15A and 16D – where I’m not convinced I’ve got the right answer, or I don’t understand the wordplay.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 4 | TO in DIT,LOGY – one of the great things about solving advanced cryptics is the unexpected words you come across. This one means “a twofold intepretation”, usually of a Scripture text. |
| 10 | GO,RI[v]ER |
| 11 | I,CARUS[o] |
| 13 | ME<, BREAD – a really good clue which had me foxed for a while as I thought I was looking for (HERES ME)*. “Ready” (as in money) was also very well disguised. |
| 15 | SCARP – not sure if this is right. The full clue is “Half the band run away, abandoning one”. |
| 19 | SUR[e],[a]MOUNT – what I liked about this clue was the way the setter manages to indicate two incomplete words and still retain a natural sounding surface. |
| 22 | (AND,O,RATS)* – ONDATRAS. |
| 26 | E,RULE (move the R to the end) |
| 29 | BI,(TONIC)* – BIONTIC. In Chinese medicine, BI is a blockage in the circulation of qi. |
| 32 | A,BAT,[o]UT< – ABATTU, somewhat unexpectedly for me, means gloomy or miserable. Tough word, easy wordplay. |
| Down | |
| 1 | AGAPE,M,ONE – a Greek word meaning “abode of love”. It was, apparently, “an English religious community of men and women, holding all goods in common” |
| 2 | Y,ODE |
| 3 | AP,A in CRUD |
| 4 | DIG,I in ANY (going up) |
| 6 | (COMICAL TRAIT)* – TIMOCRATICAL. A timocracy is a form of government in which “love of honour is the dominant motive of the rulers”. |
| 9 | A,RANT in GUY |
| 16 | PUTTER OUT – not sure if this is right. The P comes from 15A, which I’m also not sure about so perhaps these are both wrong. The full clue is “Someone who annoys ancient emigrant”. |
| 18 | VAN,[s]QUISH – VAN (a shortening of “vanguard”, meaning forefront) always catches me out. |
| 21 | (PUB)*,EATS |
| 23 | O in (FELT)* |
| 24 | E in BEND (going up) – DENEB is a first-magnitude star in the constellation Cygnus. |
| 25 | A,L[o]TO |