Peter’s second puzzle for the Sindy, and for the second time it falls to me to solve and blog it. No sweat – it was a good puzzle with some pleasing surfaces and a nice range of references (although unfortunately no birds). And no, before you ask, it’s not me blogging my own puzzle. We are not related.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
8 Correct account given by copper to judge
ACCURATE
A charade of AC, CU for the chemical symbol for ‘copper’ and RATE. Good surface.
9 Jewish month when female joins club
SHEBAT
My knowledge of the Jewish calendar is limited, so I had to enter cyberspace to see what the possibilities were once I’d got all the crossers. Mrs Google, she say SHEVAT, so I confidently entered that only to find that it wouldn’t parse, because VAT for ‘club’ makes no sense. In fact the solution is the alternative spelling, SHEBAT, which parses perfectly if you divide it into two three-letter words.
10 Clash with restaurant customer about one end of rose in plant pot
JARDINIÈRE
JAR for ‘clash’ followed by I for ‘one’ in DINER and E for the last letter of ‘rose’.
11 Dish covering penny whistle
PIPE
An insertion of P in PIE.
12 Trial involving gold trade
ORDEAL
A charade of OR and DEAL.
14 3 briefly confused about name of brush
UNTANGLE
The solution to 3dn is GAUNTLET, so it’s an insertion of N in GAUNTLE[T]. Think ‘brushing’ long hair.
15 Isn’t able to take a second ace in card game
CANASTA
An insertion of AS in CAN’T, followed by A for ‘ace’.
17 Staff prepared to accept central parts of director’s concerns
AFFECTS
An insertion of EC for the middle letters of ‘dirECtor’ in (STAFF)*
20 Separate police officers visiting Greek island
DISCRETE
A charade of DIS for Detective Inspectors and CRETE.
22 Felt tense about holding plant
NETTLE
Hidden reversed in fELT TENse.
24 Normal time to retire with gin?
TRAP
A reversal of PAR and T.
25 Bird meeting a second legendary monster
COCKATRICE
A charade of COCK for ‘bird’, A and TRICE, only known to me in the phrase ‘I’ll be back in a trice’.
27 First-class reward for service given to party leader
TIP-TOP
A charade of TIP, TO and P for the first letter of ‘party’.
28 Jargon used by members drinking beer close to judge?
LEGALESE
‘Members drinking beer’ is ALE in LEGS, then you need E for the last letter of ‘judge’. I’m not going to say &lit, because I’ll get shouted at, so I’ll just say extended definition.
Down
1 Cake eaten by obsese clairvoyant
ECLAIR
Hidden in obesE CLAIRvoyant.
2 Kitty entertaining daughter
FUND
A charade of FUN and D.
3 Glove drawn on the French Lieutenant’s bottom
GAUNTLET
I’ll give this a tick for an imaginative surface. It’s GAUNT plus LE for one of the words for ‘the’ in French, and T for the last letter of ‘lieutenant’. We’ve purloined this word from the French: Old French had gantelet for a diminutive of un gant, the modern French word for ‘glove’ (although I’ve just discovered that it’s originally Germanic). And LIEUTENANT is also French: LIEU for ‘place’ and TENANT for ‘holding’, so a ‘placeholder’. Why it’s sometimes pronounced LEFF-TENANT, I know not. And a nod to the book The French Lieutenant’s Woman, by John Fowles, which was adapted for a film starring Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep. I’ll shut up now.
4 Income generated by topical show featuring topless fellows
REVENUE
An insertion of [M]EN in REVUE.
5 Help to secure new agreement
ASSENT
Another insertion, of N in ASSET.
6 One providing answers clumsily pretends to keep working
RESPONDENT
Another insertion, of ON for ‘working’ in (PRETENDS)* with ‘clumsily’ as the anagrind.
7 Publication of chart upset extremely posh half of hamlet
PAMPHLET
A charade of MAP reversed, PH for the outside letters of ‘posh’ and LET for the last half of ‘hamlet’.
13 Destroyed anaemic pet for free
EMANCIPATE
(ANAEMIC PET)*
16 Toxic liquid found in sewer under a cold island
ACID RAIN
A charade of A, C, I and DRAIN. Works because it’s a down clue.
18 Admirer getting desperate man to leave dance
FANDANGO
A charade of FAN, DAN and GO. The ‘man’ is DESPERATE DAN, from the character in The Dandy. His meal of choice was cow pie. Scaramouche, Scaramouche, can you do the …
19 Replace faulty fabric
PERCALE
(REPLACE)*
21 Get away from sides of enormous promontory
ESCAPE
A charade of ES for the outside letters of ‘enormous’ and CAPE.
23 Insect emerging from place close to nest
LOCUST
A charade of LOCUS and T for the last letter of ‘nest’.
26 Expensive timepiece missing bottom part
ROLE
Again, this only works because it’s a down clue. It’s ROLE[X] and is referencing the posh watch worn by James Bond (I think).
Many thanks to my namesake for this morning’s puzzle.
Can’t remember Peter’s previous outing. Neither the number nor setter of this crossword shows up on Crossword Solver. I was slow to get started on this then sped up.
Couple of minor queries/points. 14D the anagram indicator * has been inadvertently omitted after GAUNTLE[T]. The wording of the clue for 22A seems a little clumsy and really reads as plant in esNET TLEf.
Liked JARDINIÈRE and FANDANGO.
Thanks to Peter and Pierre.
Morning, gwep. Peter’s previous puzzle was 1366 on 24th April. The editor recently mentioned that the problem with the lack of number and setter name on some devices was being rectified.
We don’t need an anagram indicator for GAUNTLET. It’s just GAUNT for ‘drawn’ followed by LE for ‘the’ in French, and T for the last letter of ‘lieutenant’.
Ah, Sundays. Archers on the radio, herself on a long lie (Scots, ye ken) and a gentle Sindy solve.
ROLEX nearly did for me: excellent misdirection.
NETTLE was fine, gwep, I thought. Depends on which way round you do the operators, like a maths prob (he said, as if he knew).
Thanks to Peters both.
@2Pierre – I was referring to the parsing in 14A, which I incorrectly referred to as 14D.
@3Grant Baynham – I think if you read the clue again, the “about” in the wording can’t refer to plant; it’s felt tense “about” that is holding nettle.
Thanks to Peter and Peirre for an enjoyable puzzle and blog.
The Indy app now has the setter’s name included which is what we asked for at the start. Our crossword app (used to be called Crossword Solver) has the setter’s name as well although you have to make sure the ipad is in portrait mode.
Thanks Peter and Pierre.
In the films, Bond used to be a Rolex man but he switched to Omega about 20 years ago. In Fleming’s books, though, I think he only wore Rolex.