Steerpike is this morning’s setter.
A comparatively straightforward offering from Steerpike with a good range of clues and surfaces that make sense. Possibly a good puzzle for beginners?
Thanks, Steerpike.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GOTHIC |
Spooky ghost occasionally starts to howl in cemetery (6)
|
| G(h)O(s)T [occasionally] + [starts to] H(owl) I(n) C(emetery) | ||
| 4 | HEIRLOOM |
Familiar piece of tune heard by maiden on privy (8)
|
| Homophone/pun/aural wordplay [heard] of AIR (“tune”) by M (maiden, in cricket) on LOO (“privy”) | ||
| 9 | SLEEPY |
Lethargic mole takes shelter inside (6)
|
| SPY (“mole”) takes LEE (“shelter”) inside | ||
| 10 | HEADLESS |
Lashed out about English society lacking leadership (8)
|
| *(lashed) [anag:out] about E (English) + S (society) | ||
| 12 | ABATTOIR |
Moderate detailed public disorder around site of slaughter (8)
|
| ABAT(e) (“moderate”, detailed) + <=RIOT (“public disorder”, around) | ||
| 13 | SUITOR |
Diamonds, perhaps, and gold for plaintiff (6)
|
| SUIT (“diamonds, perhaps”) and OR (“gold”, in heraldry) | ||
| 15 | SHAM |
Mock somewhat boorish American (4)
|
| Hidden in [somewhat] “booriSH AMerican” | ||
| 16 | PILOT LIGHT |
Airman left battle having first dropped incendiary device (5,5)
|
| PILOT (“airman”) + L (left) + (f)IGHT (“battle” having first (letter) dropped) | ||
| 19 | LANDOWNERS |
Clan discovered knight drugs squires (10)
|
| (c)LA(n) [discovered] + N (knight, in chess notation) + DOWNERS (“drugs”) | ||
| 20 | INCH |
Measure weight suspended from lifting device (4)
|
| W (weight) suspended from (w)INCH (“lifting device”) | ||
| 23 | NICEST |
Least unpleasant relative heartlessly sent on vacation (6)
|
| NI(e)CE (“relative”, hearltessly) + S(en)T [on vacation, ie with its middle letters vacated] | ||
| 25 | DECOROUS |
Do course about getting fit (8)
|
| *(do course) [anag:about] | ||
| 27 | ALARMING |
A fish devouring limb? That’s scary! (8)
|
| A + LING (“fish”) devouring ARM (“limb”) | ||
| 28 | PLEDGE |
Promise Liberal journalist say about pursuing power (6)
|
| L (Liberal) + Ed. (editor, so “journalist”) + <=e.g. (“say” about) pursuing P (power) | ||
| 29 | ETERNITY |
Registry regularly includes bird’s age (8)
|
| (r)E(g)I(s)T(r)Y [regularly] includes TERN (“bird”) | ||
| 30 | SWORDS |
Something that’s said aboard ship’s cutters (6)
|
| WORD (“something that’s said”) aboard SS (steam”ship”) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GASBAGS |
They keep talking while bishop cracks jokes (7)
|
| AS (“while”) B (bishop, in chess notation) cracks GAGS (“jokes”) | ||
| 2 | THEN AGAIN |
Alternatively, a giant cunningly traps chicken (4,5)
|
| *(a giant) [anag:cunningly] traps HEN (“chicken”) | ||
| 3 | IMPUTE |
Attribute that is keeping politician extremely upbeat (6)
|
| i.e. (id est, so “that is”) keeping MP (Member of Parliament, so “politician”) + [extremely] U(pbea)T | ||
| 5 | EDEN |
European fox’s dwelling in garden (4)
|
| E (European) + DEN (“fox’s dwelling”) | ||
| 6 | REDOUBLE |
Intensify colour; essentially employing Byzantine blue (8)
|
| RED (“colour”) + [essentially] (empl)O(ying) + *(blue) [anag:Byzantine] | ||
| 7 | OVERT |
Public uprising in violent revolt (5)
|
| Hidden backwards in [uprsing in] “violenT REVOlt” | ||
| 8 | MUSKRAT |
In Montana, American vessel served up rodent (7)
|
| US (“American”) + <=ARK (“vessel”, served up) in MT (Montana) | ||
| 11 | VISIONS |
One appearing in children under six’s dreams (7)
|
| I (one) appearing in SONS (“children”) under VI (“six” in Roman numerals) | ||
| 14 | COURTED |
Brief defending old Earl and daughter tried to win (7)
|
| CURT (“brief”) defending O (old) + E (earl) + D (daughter) | ||
| 17 | GUNPOWDER |
Exciting new group touring Germany is explosive (9)
|
| *(new group) [anag:exciting] touring D (International Vehicle Registration code for “Germany”) | ||
| 18 | HORSEMAN |
Junior doctor registrar ultimately brought in for posh equestrian (8)
|
| HO(u)SEMAN (“junior doctor”) with (registra)R [ultimatley] brought in for U (“posh”, as opposed to non-U), becomes HO(R)SEMAN | ||
| 19 | LINEAGE |
Stock range of products on page 10 (7)
|
| LINE (“range of products”) on [headless] (p)AGE (indicated by the 10 in the clue referring to the solution to 10 across) | ||
| 21 | HOSTESS |
One who entertains crowds besieging centre of Fresno (7)
|
| HOSTS (“crowds”) besieging [centre of] (fr)ES(no) | ||
| 22 | HOLLOW |
Worthless government department initially denied permit (6)
|
| HO (Home Office, so “government department”) + (a)LLOW (“permit”, initially denied) | ||
| 24 | CRANE |
Bird darted into church (5)
|
| RAN (“darted”) into CE (“Church” of England) | ||
| 26 | GNAT |
Flying insect strong odour repelled (4)
|
| <=TANG (“strong odour”, repelled) |
I will go first….
….It went fairly quickly. loonapick wrote that there is a good variety of clues, but I t thought it was very heavy on charades. More importantly, I thought many clues were easy to solve but needed time to parse.
I ticked SLEEPY, HEIRLOOM, OVERT (clue of the day), and PILOT LIGHT
I could not parse HORSEMAN given I had no idea a junior doctor is a houseman (is this used outside UK?). I did not see HO = Home Office in HOLLOW. I solved LINEAGE early and the parsing only came to me when I solved HEADLESS
Thanks Slormgorm and loonapick
I don’t think we have housemen in Australia. And my research indicated they are something else in the US. The other UK thing, the Home Office, was more familiar. We had a lot of those during covid lockdowns.
Good fun.
Well, I’m put firmly in me place….if it’s a beginner’s puzzle, I need to try harder.
Well-balanced on devices and difficulty, in fact I thought container clues were the more common. Surfaces- polished, tick. Definitions nicely disguised – tick.
Any quibbles? none- tick.
It’s a big “yes” from me.
Thanks, Steerpick & loonapike
A pleasant enough solve with no real problems although we were a bit slow to undertand a few of the clues. We think there’s a bit of a ‘horror’ theme with GOTHIC as the first across and SLEEPY, HOLLOW, HEADLESS and HORSEMAN elsewhere in the grid. Can’t see anything else, though.
Thanks, Steerpike and loonapick.
Well spotted Big Al. Yes, there is a mini-theme of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. As well as the clues you mentioned, there is also Ichabod CRANE (24), and his horse GUNPOWDER (17). A few other words (suitor, courted, landowners, visions and swords) are more loosely connected.
Thanks to Loonapick for the blog and everyone else who commented
Very late to this after day at the allotment, so I’ll just echo ENB@3. A nicely unobtrusive theme.
I think my iq is falling: made hard work of it but finished unassisted. Thanks both
I didn’t find this particularly easy either, in fact more difficult than other puzzles Loonapick identified as tricky. Perhaps it’s a matter of being on the same wavelength as the compiler.