What an excellent puzzle! Some may disagree with this statement but I enjoyed every minute of it.
As normal when blogging, I started at the beginning (I often start at the end and work backwards) and 1ac, 4ac and 10ac went straight in. 10ac gave me 5dn which in turn led to the second part of 8/9. Usually I would progress steadily through the clues but today I darted back and forth to whichever clue containing 8 9 caught my eye first.
I knew that the first part of 8/9 had to be an anagram indicator and it wasn’t long before I had enough checked letters to be able to determine what it was. A visit to Wikipedia confirmed the film/novel which was previously unknown to me. As it turned out, the first part of 8/9 was both an anagram and a reversal indicator. Not only that but the full solution itself was skilfully used as part of the wordplay in two clues (13ac & 3dn).
Despite the ‘theme’ there was a lot of variety in the clues and it was a pleasure winkling out the wordplay in some of them. So thanks Hob.
Across
1 Show how to get rid of an old Scotsman? (6)
DEPICT – def. & cryptic indicator – DE-PICT
4 Desire couple has to get back (6)
RECOUP – hidden in (has) ‘desiRE COUPle’
10 One clearing back passage damaged 5 no end (5)
ENEMA – an anagram (damaged) of ENAME[l] (5 no end)
11 Standing before court, nothing but the truth? (4)
FACT – FA (nothing {Fanny Adams or f**k all}) in front of (standing before) CT (court)
12 Free toilet training, initially, on 8 9 (6)
VACANT – AV reversed (8 9) CAN (toilet) T[raining] (training, initially)
13 Use one’s authority to reject one view excoriating 8 9 – it deserves everyone’s first places (8)
OVERRIDE – initial letters (first places) of O[ne] V[iew] E[xcoriating] R[evolutionary] R[oad] I[t] D[eserves] E[veryone]
14 Places selling drinks and gas to American savage (9)
BARBAROUS – BAR BAR (places selling drinks) O (gas {oxygen}) US (American)
16 Get on with book, 8 9 (5)
BOARD – B (book) plus an anagram of ROAD (8 9)
17 Show that someone scored sex in 8 9 (5)
EVITA – IT (sex) in AVE reversed (8 9)
19 Buzz, perhaps, if it’s a girl they produced (9)
LIGHTYEAR – an anagram (if it’s … produced) of A GIRL THEY
23 African guy nursing Spice Girl (8)
ALGERIAN – ALAN (guy) around (nursing) GERI (Spice Girl)
24 Battered Fiat crosses 8 9 without direction or steering (6)
ADRIFT – an anagram (battered) of FIAT around (crosses) RD reversed (8 9)
26 8 9? No, that’s boring! (4)
YAWN – WAY reversed (8 9) N (no)
27 You are texting in a hat that’s ghastly (5)
LURID – U R (you are texting) in LID (a hat)
28 Wartime act by female flipping a switch in 8 9 (4)
DORA – double def. + double wordplay – Defence of the Realm Act / female / A ROD (a switch) reversed (flipping) / an anagram of ROAD (8 9)
29 Award housing for everyone in 8 9? That’s stupid! (6)
OBTUSE – OBE (award) around (housing) U (for everyone) in ST reversed (8 9)
30 Bodies of men fighting bad backs in 8 9 (6)
TROOPS – POOR (bad) reversed (backs) in ST reversed (8 9)
Down
1 3-D scene from 8 9, cut by one Mendes authorised originally (7)
DIORAMA – an anagram of ROAD (8 9) around (cut by) I (one) plus M[endes] A[uthorised] (Mendes authorised originally)
2 School on 8 9 where awards are handed out (5)
PODIA – POD (school) A1 reversed (8 9)
3/22 Seats person on throne (WC) after 8 9 (13)
CHESTERFIELDS – CHE (8 {revolutionary}) ST (9 {road}) ER (person on the throne) FIELDS (WC {Fields})
5 The writer in 8 9 put coat on? (6)
ENAMEL – ME (the writer) in LANE reversed (8 9)
6 Volunteer to repay contents taken from church collection (9)
OFFERTORY – OFFER TO (volunteer to) R[epa]Y (repay contents taken from)
7 Spanish lancer in short film before 8 9 (7)
PICADOR – PIC (short film) plus an anagram of ROAD (8 9)
8/9 Filmed novel way of making duck’s arse circle river briefly? (13,4)
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – an anagram (REVOLUTIONARY) of ROAD is a ‘way of making’ DA (duck’s arse) O (circle) R (river briefly)
15 Type of squash fanatic carrying some fat (9)
BUTTERNUT – BUTTER (some fat) NUT (fanatic)
18 An example of which turns up in Dante’s Inferno, potentially (7)
VOLCANO – Etna (a volcano) is a hidden reversal (turns up in) ‘dANTE’s inferno’
20 That woman screening 8 9 for Magpie? (7)
HOARDER – HER (that woman) around (screening) an anagram of ROAD (8 9)
21 Manages to pay for a car, breaking into limits of funds (7)
AFFORDS – A + FORD (car) in (breaking into) F[und]S (limits of funds)
25 Set that’s current in 8 9 (5)
RADIO – I (current) in an anagram of ROAD (8 9)
As usual with a Hob puzzle, it did take me a while to get on the ‘wavelength’ but I am so glad I persevered as I did enjoy sorting out the ‘revolutionary’ roads.
Thanks to Hob for making me work for my fun and Gaufrid for the blog.
I found this very difficult. I should have gone to Halliwell (film guide) straight away, but even then the clueing was very opaque. Congratulations Gaufrid on getting it done by 9. I was still struggling at 12, and had to call it a day.
Well, I found this one really tough, and made it harder for myself by entering wrong answers, eg Donned for 5D, on the basis I can’t parse half the answers anyway. Quite galling that I got the key clue early on, and I knew it was directed by Sam Mendes, referenced in 1D. I also spent a long time trying to decide if the Spice Girl was Mel B or Mel C.
As the late Don Revie was wont to say, it was ‘hard but fair’. He was usually wrong, but it applies this time.
Thanks to both blogger and setter.
Well I have seen the film, although it did not leave much effect on me, so I got the theme quite quickly. Even so, this was very tricky with the wide variety of revolutionary roads on offer. My last one in was Dora, which had to be the answer, but it took me some time to get the double definition and double wordplay.
If you are going to base your entire crossword on an obscure film that is very obscurely clued, you greatly limit the number of people who can join in. But I can see it must have been good fun for those clever enough to get a foothold.
Thanks, Gaufrid. A bit too convoluted for my taste today, although I recognise it’s cleverly constructed. Took me ages to get the gateway clue (in my defence, it’s not a write-in, is it?) so struggled. Ho hum.
Not fun for me. My first attempt got nothing, my second got 27ac. Finally, several hours after first picking it up, in desperation I looked at films directed by Sam Mendes in the IMDb and saw one that fitted the enumeration. But even that was not enough and I only managed to get half a dozen clues after that before giving up.
Found the gateway clue impenetrable, so googled to find it. Would not have got it, so agree with those who have at least mild qualms about a relatively obscure film being used as a gateway clue.
After that, must say it was enormously entertaining and ingenious.
Thanks to Hob and Gaufrid.
Not for me either, I’m afraid. Banged my head against it for a couple of hours before resorting to the internet to figure out what the film must be. That left me feeling a bit “well, sod this” and I didn’t bother to persevere.
Mr. DiCaprio’s 40th birthday, apparently. Clearly the most important event to commemorate on the 11th of November.
A very clever crossword with some lovely clues! I found it hugely enjoyable and not too easy (took a good – emphasis on good – 20 minutes I reckon) …. perfect for a Tuesday. Perhaps I was fortunate in that I made myself solve the gateway first. That did take a couple of minutes of “lateralism” but yielded from wordplay alone. Indeed, I didn’t know the film so disagree strongly with those who insist that such knowledge was required.
I particularly loved FACT, CHESTERFIELD and VOLCANO…
Gaufrid, you’re one of my favourite discoveries of 2014; not just for your dutiful work for us all at Fifteensquared but also the kindness shown me personally when my library’s phantom thief has sought to deprive me of my daily fix. So it’s gratifying to find you also appreciated/enjoyed this fine crossword.
Yes indeed, and not for the first time……
Hob, you’re cooking on gas!!
Well ….. count us in as solvers who enjoyed the puzzle even though we couldn’t complete it last night.
Joyce remembered the film but Bert figured out first that some answers included an anagram of ROAD. The clueing was very ingenious and kept us guessing. A real tour de force but we can understand why people didn’t appreciate it. Perhaps it was one of those occassions when two heads were better than one!
We failed on 26a unfortunately so thanks Gaufrid for the parsing.
Thanks Hob – a very inventive puzzle – much appreciated.
Another one for the chosen few, mind boggling claptrap for the general readership of the i in 2019.
Great puzzle
Too clever by half – 28 across, for example, has tied itself in knots.