Phi has brought another set of mid-week puzzles to an end today.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty Phi puzzle, through which I made steady progress. I faltered at the final hurdle with the 4-letter entry at 7, but when I took a break and came back to the puzzle, I realised what the answer had to be and then checked the definition in Chambers.
I think that I am satisfied with my parsing of the solutions, perhaps with the exception of “exhausted” at 16. I was expecting a theme or a Nina today, but I have spotted neither – please let me know if I have missed something that was staring me in the face!
My favourite clues today were 6, for the misdirection around “spot”; and 11 and 25D, both for smoothness of surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are underlined; a break in underlining separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| ACROSS
|
||
| 8 | CLOTHING |
Heavy shoe enclosing sheer garments (8)
|
| THIN (=sheer, fine, of material) in CLOG (=heavy shoe) | ||
| 9 | RAISIN |
Dried food is submerged in water (6)
|
| IS in RAIN (=water) | ||
| 10 | ACIDIC |
One repeatedly interrupts Australian band, generating sharp response? (6)
|
| I I (=one; “repeatedly interrupts” means that two letter “i” s are introduced separately) in AC/DC (=Australian band, formed in 1973) | ||
| 11 | LOATHING |
Disliking Liberal’s pledge in Government (8)
|
| L (=liberal) + OATH (=pledge) + IN + G (=government) | ||
| 12 | DEMOCRATIC |
Scoundrel, after a lot of funny stuff, returned in charge of a sort of Government (10)
|
| DEMOC (COMED<y>=funny stuff; “a lot of” means last letter is dropped; “returned” indicates reversal) + RAT (=scoundrel, cad) + I/C (in charge) | ||
| 14 | RICK |
Stack building items, removing first and last (4)
|
| <b>RICK<s> (=building items); “removing first and last” means first and last letters are dropped; e.g. a hayrick is a haystack | ||
| 16 | TRESSES |
Exhausted soils within forest, say, providing shock (7)
|
| S<oil>S (“exhausted” means all middle letters are dropped, it seems) in TREES (=forest, say); the “shock” of the definition refers to hair! | ||
| 17 | GUESSES |
Visitor having time off – she’s dodging husband’s suggestions? (7)
|
| GUES<t> (=visitor; “having time (=T) off” means letter “t” is dropped) + S<h>E’S (“dodging husband (=H)” means letter “h” is dropped) | ||
| 20 | CHEF |
Soccer team backed bringing in that chap, top man in hot surroundings? (4)
|
| HE (=that chap) in CF (FC=soccer team, i.e. football club; “backed” indicates reversal); the “hot surroundings” of the definition are the kitchen! | ||
| 22 | OVERBURDEN |
Finished refrain in swamp (10)
|
| OVER (=finished, done) + BURDEN (=refrain, i.e. part of a song) | ||
| 23 | CLAMMILY |
Following Frenchmen in France he gets covered in earth with a sticky feel (8)
|
| [MM (=Frenchmen, i.e. Messieurs) + IL (=in France he, i.e. the French word for he)] in CLAY (=earth) | ||
| 25 | MUTINY |
Surprised comment about world leader yielding power in rebellion (6)
|
| <p>UTIN (=world leader, i.e. the Russian President; “yielding power (=P)” means letter “p” is dropped) in MY! (=surprised comment) | ||
| 26 | DAHLIA |
Flower trouble kept returning (6)
|
| AIL (=trouble, pain) + HAD (=kept, held); “returning” indicates reversal | ||
| 27 | RICHNESS |
Depth? Start to relish one board game involving knight (8)
|
| R<elish> (“start to” means first letter only) + I (=one) + [N (=knight, in chess) in CHESS (=board game)]; e.g. a deep colour is rich, intense | ||
| DOWN
|
||
| 1 | BLACK EARTH |
Some nonsense about racket that’s carved up fertile ground (5,5)
|
| *(RACKET) in BLAH (=some nonsense, bunkum); “that’s carved up” is anagram indicator; black earth is a fertile deposit covering wide regions in Russia and India | ||
| 2 | STUDIOUS |
Macho guy promises on paper to be intellectual? (8)
|
| STUD (=macho guy) + IOUs (=promises on paper) | ||
| 3 | DISC |
Detective receiving cut, having secured second data storage item (4)
|
| S (=second) in DIC<k> (=detective; “receiving cut” means last letter is dropped); e.g. a floppy disc was a “data storage item”! | ||
| 4 | AGILITY |
Swiftness shown by father, out of delicacy (7)
|
| <fr>AGILITY (=delicacy, weakness); “father (=FR) out of” means letters “fr” are dropped | ||
| 5 | BREADCRUMB |
Ready with odd book about origin of computer navigational aid (10)
|
| C<omputer> (“origin of” means first letter only) in [BREAD (=ready, i.e. cash) + RUM (=odd, strange) + B (=book)]; in the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, a trail of breadcrumbs is left to enable Hansel and Gretel to find their way home, hence “navigational aid” | ||
| 6 | ZITHER |
Spot that woman’s instrument (6)
|
| ZIT (=spot, pimple) + HER (=that woman’s) | ||
| 7 | LION |
Prominent figure elevating new energy source (4)
|
| N (=new) + OIL (=energy source); “elevating” indicates vertical reversal; a lion is any object of interest, especially a famous or conspicuous person much sought after, hence “prominent figure” | ||
| 13 | RHETORICAL |
Broadcast their carol, requiring no response? (10)
|
| *(THEIR CAROL); “broadcast” is anagram indicator; e.g. a rhetorical question is one “requiring no response” | ||
| 15 | CLEVERNESS |
Chapter not so much about French writer’s skill (10)
|
| VERNE (=French writer, i.e. Jules Verne) in [C (=chapter) + LESS (=not so much)] | ||
| 18 | SCRUTINY |
Mostly cancel insignificant investigation (8)
|
| SCRU<b> (=to cancel, abandon; “mostly” means last letter is dropped) + TINY (=insignificant, minor) | ||
| 19 | NEW YORK |
US city’s year satisfactory with Republican brought in after big city upset (3,4)
|
| NEW (WEN=big (congested) city; “upset” indicates vertical reversal) + {R (=Republican) in [Y (=year) + OK (=satisfactory)]} | ||
| 21 | FAMILY |
French boyfriend engaged in surreptitious relations (6)
|
| AMI (=French boyfriend, i.e. the French word for a male friend) in FLY (=surreptitious, sly) | ||
| 24 | LEAK |
Hopeless, after Bishop released stuff not meant for release? (4)
|
| <b>LEAK (=hopeless, grim); “after Bishop (=B, in chess) released” means letter “b” is dropped | ||
| 25 | MACE |
Mark has excellent staff (4)
|
| M (=mark, i.e. former German currency) + ACE (=excellent, brilliant); a mace is a ceremonial staff, rod |
Nice to see our Acca Dacca get a mention (albeit not my taste in music). But yep, quite chewy, needed a bit of help in the SW with clammily to finish. Thanks Phi and RR.
If this Phi, were a horserace, the going report would be, “Good, soft in places, hard in the back straight” .
Like the horses I bet, I was cruising and got collared in the final furlong, by BREADCRUMB*.
But at least I completed the course.
The clues are clever and fair; the solutions are clever and fair; the surfaces and devices are excellent. It may not quite be a classic, but it’s a photo-finish.
Riku spot-on too, by my parsings.
Weighed-in, 2 winners, dead-heat, Phi & RR
* yes, Breadcrumb was a nice racing filly, but that was 40- odd years ago
The pairs of rhyming answers (8 & 11, 16 & 17, 21 & 23) presumably have some significance; perhaps there’s a theme of a poem?
Well spotted, Quizzy Bob. Googling the rhymes led me to Thomas Hood’s poem “The Bridge of Sighs“.
I noticed some rhyming pairs of answers and searching revealed that four pairs of answers appear in Thomas Hood’s poem The Bridge of Sighs: clothing/loathing, scrutiny/mutiny, family/clammily, and tresses/guesses.
EDIT: I was beaten by Quizzy Bob@3 and Andrew@4, but included the fourth pair.
Thanks, RatkojaRiku and Phi.
Brilliant spots, by the 3 posters, never in a month of Sundays could I spot that connection.
Excellent challenging crossword, right for my skill level. ZITHER made me smile. Very good.
A confession – I’ve never read Bridge of Sighs, albeit familiar with some of the catchy bits. As relevant now as it was then. Special thanks to Phi for bringing it to my attention.
Thanks also RR and bloggers
Wen? New to me, and not in my dictionary.
I am steadily working through the Hood poem – I think this is the third raid on its rhyming words as the foundation for a grid. I have always thought CLAMMILY/FAMILY to be one of the oddest rhymes. But it’s a fascinating poem, and I like the way that it snakes down the page. Probably two more to go.
Loved the unraveling of word-play to complete this (only had to reveal 2 letters to progress, a win!)
Still a beginner at cryptics, and I love how I learn some new bit of info every time – never knew ACDC were Aussies, had always assumed they were British.
And now from the comments, introduced to the hauntingly beautiful poem Bridge of Sighs.
@ #8 Ericw my googling found that London was called “the Great Wen” in the 1820s (apparently disparagingy, but I’ve not yet dug deeper to understand why) – but helped to confirm my entry for 19d was right!
For WEN, The Chambers Dictionary has ‘a sebaceous cyst, esp on the scalp; an enormous congested city as in the great wen, ie London’.