A fun and witty challenge from MUDD this Friday.
FF: 9 DD: 8
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | STUNNING |
Divine use of taser? (8)
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cryptic def; debated a bit on whether this counts as a double def |
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| 5 | SPIRIT |
Backbone in ghost? (6)
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double def |
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| 10 | ASSAM |
Service withdrawn by a state in India (5)
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A [ reverse of MASS ( service ) ] |
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| 11 | RIVERBANK |
Brave swimming in something icy, land found out of the water (9)
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RINK ( something icy ) containing [ BRAVE ]* |
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| 12 | ON THE BALL |
Bright, looking to pass, perhaps? (2,3,4)
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cryptic def |
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| 13 | GAMMA |
Reviewed in the morning journal, character of Greece (5)
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reverse of AM ( morning ) MAG ( journal ) |
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| 14 | CLOCHE |
Hat he put on counter, briefly (6)
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CLOCk ( counter, briefly ) HE |
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| 15 | EPISTLE |
Letter in pile set to be sorted (7)
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[ PILE SET ]* |
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| 18 | REDOUBT |
Fortification on reservation (7)
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RE ( on ) DOUBT ( reservation ) |
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| 20 | BEETLE |
Insect let loose, coleopteran (6)
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BEE ( insect ) [ LET ]* |
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| 22 | CIVIC |
City centre in Recife has cut crime (5)
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CI ( reCIfe, centre of ) VICe ( crime, without its last letter ) ; the dictionary def says the def should be relating to a city? |
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| 24 | RIGMAROLE |
Awfully grim, a part in pantomime (9)
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[ GRIM ]* A ROLE ( part ) |
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| 25 | IMPLICATE |
Incriminate little devil, prowler wrapped up in deceit (9)
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IMP ( little devil ) [ CAT ( prowler ) in LIE ( deceit ) ] |
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| 26 | CEDAR |
Partially knocked over, poplar, a deciduous tree (5)
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hidden reversed in "..poplaR A DECiduous.." |
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| 27 | GARAGE |
Wrath at shortage of gas in petrol station (6)
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GAs ( ~shortage i.e. without last letter ) RAGE ( wrath ) |
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| 28 | FRONT ROW |
King in town for dancing — best place to watch? (5,3)
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R ( king ) in [ TOWN FOR ]* |
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| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SHADOW |
Outline included in broadcast (6)
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HAD ( included ) in SOW (~ broadcast ) |
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| 2 | UNSETTLED |
Anxious — as bill still to pay? (9)
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cryptic def |
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| 3 | NUMBER-CRUNCHING |
Processing of data that’s less sensitive breaking down (6-9)
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NUMBER ( less sensitive ) CRUNCHING ( breaking down ) |
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| 4 | NARRATE |
Tell when rodent is in trap, lifting lid (7)
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RAT ( rodent ) in sNARE ( trap, without first letter ) |
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| 6 | PEREGRINE FALCON |
Winger replacing ref, one proving incompetent (9,6)
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[ REPLACING REF ONE ]* |
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| 7 | REALM |
Americans’ very male kingdom (5)
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REAL ( very, american ) M ( male ) |
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| 8 | TAKE A PEW |
Sit awake, pet barking (4,1,3)
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[ AWAKE PET ]* |
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| 9 | EVOLVE |
Mature Valentine gutted after sweetheart stood up (6)
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EVOL ( sweetheart = LOVE, reversed ) VE ( ValentinE, gutted i.e. without inner letters ) |
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| 16 | TALL ORDER |
Big ask for a big ask! (4,5)
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TALL ( big ) ORDER ( ask ) |
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| 17 | CRACKING |
Dynamite creating a fissure? (8)
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double def |
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| 19 | THROAT |
Passage which is lined with gold, running vertically (6)
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RO ( gold = OR, reversed ) in THAT |
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| 20 | BUGBEAR |
After illness, large omnivore imagined threat (7)
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BUG ( illness ) BEAR ( large omnivore ) |
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| 21 | REDRAW |
Design again coloured green (6)
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RED ( coloured ) RAW ( green ) |
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| 23 | VIPER |
Number of boxed eggs, perhaps, for each snake (5)
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VI ( number of boxed eggs perhaps, 6 ) PER ( for each ) |
I enjoyed this one, and also have never been the first person to comment😳😳. I’m sure I’m not the first solver to finish.
Thank you for explaining Shadow and I confess to using dictionary to look up Coleopteran. Particularly enjoyed Viper and Cloche
Thanks to all.
I also enjoyed this and I also failed to parade SHADOW. I think ‘had’ = ‘include’ is a bit vague/loose, but maybe that’s just because I didn’t get it.
Thanks to Mudd and to Turbolegs.
Failed to parse…..
Re: civic. I felt that “city” could be an adjective (as in “city centre”) though my Chambers doesn’t list it as such.
Thanks Mudd for the fun. STUNNING, FRONT ROW, and VIPER were my top picks. I saw STUNNING as a double definition. I failed to parse SHADOW, probably because I didn’t think long enough about the clue. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.
Another very enjoyable puzzle. The FT is on a roll. I found it very approachable too and made my way steadily anti-clockwise around the grid, starting in the NE corner.
My first clue ASSAM got a tick and several followed, with PEREGRINE FALCON a stand-out. I parsed everything, even SHADOW. So saying, I did not think 16 works particularly well.
Thanks Mudd and Turbolegs
I agree with Martyn. The last 3 puzzles have been very approachable and enjoyable for someone who has been doing crosswords for a year or two. I found them all of similar difficulty so was surprised this got an 8DD while yesterday’s was considered for beginners. 16d was my favourite. I thought the setter was being generous in not leaving it simply as Big Ask & lit. Thanks to Mudd and Turbolegs.
This was good. I didn’t find it that straightforward but progress was steady. I see there’s a little CERN nina, for the benefit of a regular?
I liked PEREGRINE FALCON, RIGMAROLE and IMPLICATE.
Thanks MUDD and Turbolegs.
Agree with #6 and #7 – three consecutive enjoyable and reasonable challenges.
Failed to get 19D – don’t recall seeing running vertically as a reverse.
Many thanks to Mudd and Turbolegs.
Lem. Mudd/Paul is the only setter I recall that uses ‘vertically’ as a reverse indicator in down clues. I’ve never understood it. Vertical is just as much ‘down’ as ‘up’ so I’ve just learnt to shrug and grudgingly accept it.
Hovis @10: Chambers has a couple of definitions for vertical that can explain its use as a reversal indicator in a down clue:
In strata one above the other
(of a mechanism) in which one part is above another
This was fun though it took me awhile to get on the same wavelength as mudd. It took me time to find the five or more? cryptic definitions! I don’t think of stunning as divine or cracking as dynamite off the bat.
Thank you everyone.
This was pretty much a pen in except for CRACKING and THROAT holding me up for a bit. I had it in my head that it was an anagram of CREATING for the former and didn’t initially see the reversal indicator for the latter.
I’m thinking perhaps 27 across could have been better worded as “Anger after shortage of gas in petrol station”?
Tony @11. Maybe I’m a bit too late replying. I still don’t really see it. The two definitions you refer to are, I believe, just saying things are arranged vertically and could equally have said ‘one below the other’.
Don’t really get City as an adjective for Civic.
Hovis @14: From Collins:
Something that is vertical stands or points straight up
Up implies above. I think this is adequate for crosswordland.
christopher hudson @15: I think ‘city’ and ‘civic’ can be interchangeable as in city laws/civic laws, city centre/civic centre, city pride/civic pride
It amazes me that Mudd and Paul are the same person, as their puzzles are so completely different. Paul has a particular kind of humour that we call “Pauline”, and which seldom appears in Mudd’s work. Ditto the outrageous aural wordplay that polarizes Guardian solvers. And ditto again (ditto ditto?) the long interconnected clues spread out throughout the grid.
I used to say that I preferred one to the other, until I realized it was like comparing Lionel Messi to Jane Austen. There is room in the tent for both, and long may they continue to prosper.
I had included HAD for included. So, in a sense, I had had HAD.
Have we seen two different meanings for RIGMAROLE in recent days?