Radian has given us a good test for Tuesday
I did about threequarters of this without too much difficulty but the last quarter took me longer than the previous three.
My last pair in were the DEPLETE / PERICARPS intersection at (13 across / 14 down) as it took me a long time to see the parsing of DEPLETE. I also took a while to deduce how TOMBSTONE (27 across) worked but I think I got there in the end.
I couldn’t see an obvious theme. We’ve got doctor and nurse in a couple of clues. We also have petrol, fuel and a PRIMUS in three others. There’s a couple of sports, cricket and football and there’s a few French allusions but I think it’s all just coincidence.
I suppose there were a couple of references to lines as well. I liked the clue for EQUALS (15 across) with its parallel lines.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Pakistan’s opener banned from test cricket, say (6) |
INSPECT (test) excluding (banned from) P (first letter of [opener] PAKISTAN)
|
INSECT (a cricket is an example of an INSECT)
|
|
4
|
Old wheels popular with a music-maker (7)
|
O (old) + CAR (wheels) + IN (popular) + A
|
OCARINA (a fluty-toned wind instrument, egg-shaped, with a long mouthpiece)
|
|
9
|
The public eye minor pocketing grass (9)
|
SLIGHT (minor) containing (pocketing) POT (marijuana; grass) S (POT) LIGHT |
SPOTLIGHT (focus of attention; in the public eye)
|
|
10
|
Start performing with group (5)
|
ON (performing) + SET (group)
|
ONSET (beginning; start)
|
|
11
|
Backcombed nap possibly comes off in layers (5)
|
SLEEP (a nap is a short SLEEP) reversed (backcombed) PEELS< |
PEELS (comes off in layers)
|
|
12
|
Fish product occupies schooner for one (9)
|
IS IN (occupies) + GLASS (a schooner is an example of a GLASS)
|
ISINGLASS (a material, mainly gelatine, obtained from sturgeons’ air-bladders and other sources; fish product)
|
|
13
|
Scrub both sides of muffled exhaust (7)
|
DELETE (erase; scrub) containing (both sides of) P (piano; quiet; muffled) DE (P) LETE |
DEPLETE (exhaust)
|
|
15
|
Matches in two parallel lines (6)
|
An EQUALS sign is two parallel horizontal lines (=)
|
EQUALS (matches)
|
|
17
|
Proper Yankee stove (6)
|
PRIM (proper) + US (United States; Yankee)
|
PRIMUS (type of portable cooking stove burning vaporized oil)
|
|
19
|
Tidy where brothers live (2,5)
|
IN (where) ORDER (reference members of a religious ORDER [brothers]) – the brothers live IN an ORDER
|
IN ORDER (tidy)
|
|
22
|
That man in hotel’s after mostly white and old red (2,3,4)
|
HOCK (a white wine from the Rhine area) excluding the final letter [mostly] K + HIM (that man) + IN + H (hotel)
|
HO CHI MINH (reference HO CHI MINH [1890 – 1969], Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam)
|
|
24
|
Stewed pears and prunes (5)
|
Anagram of (stewed) PEARS PARES* |
PARES (cuts;trims; prunes)
|
|
26
|
Leading duke entertains king (5)
|
FIST (duke) containing (entertains) R (Rex; king) FI (R) ST |
FIRST (leading)
|
|
27
|
Queen’s consort’s mood inspires black memorial (9)
|
(TOM’S [a QUEEN is an adult female cat. Her consort would be a TOM {adult male cat}] + TONE [mood]) containing (inspires) B (black as in the description of a pencil lead) TOM (B) S TONE |
TOMBSTONE (memorial)
|
|
28
|
He covers nurse working in Ireland (7)
|
Anagram of (working) NURSE contained in (in) IR (Ireland) I (NSURE*) R |
INSURER (someone who provides cover against accident, burglary etc)
|
|
29
|
This time doctor welcomes new arrival (6)
|
AD (anno domini, the year of our Lord; current time) + (VET [{animal doctor} containing [welcomes] N [new]) AD VE (N) T |
ADVENT (arrival)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Tasteless modern papers describe drink (7)
|
(IN [modern] + ID [identity papers]) containing (describe) SIP (drink) IN (SIP) ID |
INSIPID (tasteless)
|
|
2
|
Get lucky music result (5)
|
SCORE (achieve a success; get lucky) SCORE (piece of music) |
SCORE (result) triple definition
|
|
3
|
Short article about petrol upset old circus (9)
|
COLUMN (newspaper or magazine article) excluding the last letter (short) N containing (about) (ESSO [chain of petrol stations. I can’t find a dictionary definition of ‘ESSO‘ equating to ‘petrol’] reversed [upset; down clue]) COL (OSSE<) UM |
COLOSSEUM (large building or stadium, used as a place of entertainment, named after the Flavian amphitheatre in Rome. CIRCUS is defined as a circular or oval building for public entertainments in ancient Rome)
|
|
4
|
Die after flowering, as it happens (7)
|
OUT (flowering) + LIVE (as it happens)
|
OUTLIVE (die after)
|
|
5
|
It’s surrounded by my French silver boxes (5)
|
AG (chemical symbol for silver) containing (boxes) MON (French for ‘my’) A (MON) G |
AMONG (surrounded by)
|
|
6
|
Fitted lines inside instead after alterations (9)
|
LL (lines) contained in (inside) an anagram of (after alteration) INSTEAD INSTA (LL) ED* |
INSTALLED (fitted)
|
|
7
|
Witness a time trial (6)
|
A + T (time) + TEST (trial)
|
ATTEST (bear witness)
|
|
8
|
Set off, heading away from fuel (6)
|
LIGNITE (brown coal; fuel) excluding (away) the first letter (heading) L
|
IGNITE (set off)
|
|
14
|
Nutcases perhaps nearly die eating fish (9)
|
PERISH (die) excluding the final letter (nearly) H containing (eating) CARP (fish) PERI (CARP) S |
PERICARPS (wall of a fruit; nut case)
|
|
16
|
Nice one modelled after work with no rivals (9)
|
UN (French [city of Nice] for ‘one’) + OP (opus; work) + POSED (modelled)
|
UNOPPOSED (with no rivals)
|
|
18
|
Poles provided odd pieces of their glass (7)
|
S (South [pole]) + N (North [pole]) + IF (provided) + TER (letters 1, 3 and 5 [odd pieces] of THEIR)
|
SNIFTER (brandy glass)
|
|
19
|
Cruel missing article put in pit (6)
|
INHUMANE (cruel) excluding (missing) A (indefinite article)
|
INHUME (bury, put in pit)
|
|
20
|
Admire priest in cult after scripture lesson (7)
|
RE (Religious Education; scripture lesson) + (P [priest] contained in [in] SECT [cult]) RE S (P) ECT |
RESPECT (admire)
|
|
21
|
Gander lives up over shed protecting female (6)
|
IS (lives) reversed (up; down clue) containing (over) (HUT [shed] containing [protecting] F [female]) S (HU (F) T) I< |
SHUFTI (look; glance; gander)
|
|
23
|
Bury’s football team (5)
|
INTER (bury)
|
INTER (reference F C INTERnazionale Milano; football team)
|
|
25
|
Catch horse that runs through Lyon (5)
|
RHONE (sounds like [catch] ROAN [bay or dark horse, with spots of grey and white])
|
RHONE (river that runs through the French city of Lyon)
|
A bit gentler than Punk’s offering yesterday; I completed this without help, but had to biff DEPLETE – couldn’t see the parsing at all.
Liked 1ac for its surface but my CoD was EQUALS.
Thanks, Radian and Duncan
I couldn’t parse DEPLETE either but the rest was fairly clear and went in without too many problems. I liked SHUFTI and ISINGLASS, not words I come across very often. EQUALS was good though was almost my first in as it appeared as a very similar clue at St. Elsewhere’s recently.
Thank you to Radian and Duncan.
A bit of a journey from ADVENT to TOMBSTONE via a few others.
Didn’t think I was going to enjoy this but it grew on me.
Particularly liked INSECT, ISINGLASS, HO CHI MINH. Expect not alone with PERICARPS last one in.
Minor quibble with 6D. Clue has “alterations” plural, but the only change to the word “instead” is the swapping of “e” and “a”. I’d call that alteration, singular and the clue reads perfectly well thus.
Thanks to Radian and duncanshiell.
Quite an enjoyable workout in the end with progress much like Duncanshiell’s.
Just to note 2D as a quite neat triple def with SCORE working for ‘result’ as well. Gets me every time so well done to Radian and thanks Duncan.
Turning my phone to one side to see the full table I see this was already mentioned – apologies for thinking it was missed Duncan.
We’ve been on a croosword detox while we have been away and without internet access so it was good to return and find we had a Radian to solve.
Very enjoyable, tough in places and some original ideas – we liked equals.
Our LOI was 14d which required all the crossing letters to guess the fish and then Joyce remembered her A level Biology!
Many thanks Radian and Duncan
Very enjoyable – as expected. Real slow burner for me.
DEPLETE was my LOI but I could see the parsing easily enough.
RHONE I knew it had to be but wasn’t sure of why – obvious now.
Many thanks both.
Sorry, only getting to this one a few days late. I’m sure everyone has noticed by now, but we have PRIMUS INTER PARES and FIRST AMONG EQUALS scattered about the grid.