A Saturday in May – a tussle with Nestor. Always a taxing time
Lots of interesting clues from Nestor.
Certainly not a run of the mill crossword – barely a simple clue in sight but nothing remotely unfair in the clues either.
I’ve listed some of, what I consider to be, the more unusual constructions below.
- 1ac – one word inside another and then both words become devoid of the same letter
- 10ac – an answer where the same letter is twice replaced by another
- 19ac – an oblique reference to a chemical element losing the middle 2 letters
- 20ac – a three component reversal in a six letter word
- 24ac – 3 components inside a fourth component
- 27ac – 2 elements strung together then moving a third to get the answer
- 6dn – the answer to 5dn as an anagram in another word
- 11dn – an anagrammed word and another word inside a word
- 14dn – a double toilet reference in the components
- 23dn – Simply sublime – one word defined then a letter to be changed for two others with a lovely surface reading too.
Many thanks Nestor – a truly cryptic crossword.
Key
* anagram
rev. reverse
Underline definition
ACROSS
1. Mint to join into money supply without any francs (6)
Fuse (to join) in Fund (money supply) – f’s (francs) = UNUSED
5 Tipped as a well-fitting cover? (8)
Cap sized – well-fitting cover = CAPSIZED
9 Check a bit of land in flooded ditch; the woman provides a buffer (7, 7)
Ch (check) + a + isle (bit of land) in moat (flooded ditch) + her (the woman) = CHAMOIS LEATHER
10 Parking warden always needing pence for minutes, he remains immature (5, 3)
Meter man (parking warden) swapping m’s for p’s = PETER PAN
12 Forces gesture, extremely urgent, in auction, say (6)
Ut (extremely urgent) in sale = SALUTE
13 Bloodsucker following inconclusive tip-off? (4)
F (following) + lead (tip-off) – d (inconclusive) = FLEA
15 Ride pig around northern area for saucy use of its flesh? (9)
Car (ride) + boar (pig) around n(northern) + a (area) = CARBONARA
17 Revolution going nowhere fast? (9)
Cryptic definition WHEEL SPIN
19 O, heartless beasts (4)
Oxygen(O) – yg(heart) = OXEN
20 Returning pleasurable comments, that is good for hostess (60
Rev (Ahs (pleasurable comments) + ie (that is) + g (good)) = GEISHA
22 Wrack and ruin of Argos invaded by fool (8)
(argos)* around ass (fool) = SARGASSO
24 Disheartening post packages in last month, whenever in charge (14)
[Ult (last month) + if (whenever) + ic (in charge)] in station (post) = STULTIFICATION
26 Price of opera teen only wasted (8)
(teen only)* = LEONTYNE (Opera character)
27 Film with variable cuts, shifting afterthought to prologue (60
Y (variable) + chops moving ps (afterthought) to start = PSYCHO
DOWN
2 Ironically careless, injecting heroin in hollow (5)
Nice (ironically careless) around h (heroin) = NICHE
3 Spooner’s masculinity in a no-win situation (9)
Male state as a spoonerism = STALEMATE
4 Couple expected to have debts for auditor (3)
Homonym of [Due (expected) + owe (to have debts)] = DUO
5 Hollywood actor was a liability for cruel emperor mostly … (7)
Cost (was a liability) + Nero (cruel emperor) – o = COSTNER
6 …getting him tangled in loose rope is grave for writers (5, 6)
(Costner)* in (rope)* = POETS CORNER
7 Information that’s partial to disappoint electorate (5)
Hidden disappoINT ELectorate = INTEL
8 Keeping stretched upward, almost made smooth turn out (9)
Rev. taut (stretched) in evened – d (made smooth) = EVENTUATE
11 Unfortunate thing about botched cue one misleading foible (11)
Pity (unfortunate thing) about (cue)* + liar (one misleading) = PECULIARITY
14 Toilet space in lavatory lacking in advisory office (3, 6)
Wc (toilet) + en (space) in latrine (lavatory) – in = LAW CENTRE
16 Attorney is to hold over and nail criminal going off the scale? (9)
Atty (attorney) around o(over) + (nail)* = ATONALITY
18 After sexual advance Nestor’s unresisting (7)
Pass (sexual advance) + I’ve (Nestor’s) = PASSIVE
21 Where hair may be done pale pink’s not masculine (5)
Salmon (pale pink) – m (masculine) = SALON
23 Name of Indian religion, no god for its king (5)
Sikh (Indian religion) – k (king) + ng (no good) = SINGH
25 An old-fashioned record’s high point (3)
A + lp (old-fashioned record) = ALP
I’d just like to point out that in 26ac, Leontyne Price is a famous opera singer, not a character in an opera.
As usual, I don’t remember much about solving this except I really liked 27ac. I had a brain failure trying to parse 15ac. I’ve a horrible memory that I was confusing boar and bore! I also couldn’t parse 13ac, so thanks for that.
I thought this was a good puzzle, and as twencelas said it contained some devious constructions. At the end of the puzzle I had to tease STULTIFICATION out from the wordplay because the checkers weren’t overly helpful, and LEONTYNE was my LOI as a best guess from the anagram fodder and I was pleased to see the congratulatory message appear. If I had come across Leontyne Price before I had forgotten her, and Leontyne isn’t exactly a common first name, but I was pretty sure that the clue was asking for the first name of a singer called Price.
Superb puzzle, just the thing to occupy a lazy Saturday. Echo comments about Leontyne Price.
Not that it matters, I had assumed the tip-off in 13A was lea{k}.
Thanks to Nestor and twencelas.
What an enjoyable puzzle. And what a wonderful, intricate blog – it’s clear how much you also enjoyed this, twenceldas!
For some reason (possibly its contortions and a lack of time) I’d put to one side only partially completed. I finished it at weekend and only now visiting fifteensquared in a catch up.
I do agree with gwep – also had lea[k] in FLEA.
Once again thanks to Nestor for a great puzzle and twencelas for an outstanding blog (I hope, and believe, more people will have visited than have commented – if not, more fool them!)
Another waste of time for the general readership of the i, it might have been ok for the egg heads of the Independent in 2015. My only hope that the i runs out of these regurgitated puzzles and starts printing new & fresh puzzles oh! I forgot they will have to start to pay the new compilers. & I suppose another price hike will be required, ah! well looks like I will have to be satisfied with the 5 clue crossword & the concise & codeword puzzles , or shall I be brave and re start taking th the Daily Telegraph again. VM
Not the Telegraph! 😮