Great fun from Monk this morning.
This was a very enjoyable and fairly challenging puzzle. Monk usually leaves something extra to find in the grid, including here. Happy to learn a few new terms from Monk as well.
Many thanks to the setter!
HACK (journalist) + SAW (understood)
BITS (small pieces); SEC (dry) on the inside
LIVES (is) + (C (cold) in [s]TOK[e] (after shearing)) – EDITED
M (Mike, Nato alphabet); (A + DAN (prolific martial artist)) engages
(FIERCE + R (Republican) + BLOW)* (*shatters)
[water]MAR[ks] (30% of)
BOHR< (quantum physicist, <revolutionary) embeds M (minute)
B (bishop) + (HELPS A)* (*false) + MY (god)
‘My’ and ‘god’ as interjections
WHOEVER* (*concocted) + L[iberalis]M (vacuous)
Cryptic definition
In ‘HIGH CHURCH’ the most commonly used letter (character) is H
[s]ASS[y] (impertinent, in birthday suit)
‘In birthday suit’ is unclothed, so taking off the outer ‘layers’ of the word
SERIES (succession of things) on ROTIS (Indian flatbreads)
(E (east) then N (north)) around GOA (Indian state) – On the contrary
‘On the contrary’ tells us that instead of x around y as described, we need to use y around x
(EIGHT (8) about IN (wearing)); WO (Warrant Officer) trousers
([ob]SCENE (disgusting) + RY (lines, railway)); OB (old boy) avoiding
[o]N[l]Y (regularly used) + N (north) OR S (south) + K[orea] (‘s first)
“WHOLLY” (completely, “announced”) + RAW< (naive, <cocked up)
(C (caught) on L (lake)); VIA (through, cycling) lines
SIS[kin] (small bird, left by KIN (family))
WOO (court) + (RE (concerned with) supporting D (Democrat) + FIB (lie))
BA[c]KER (benefactor, misses C (constant)
A baker’s output (bread, cakes etc.) will have risen, typically
SE (Swedish domain) eating HAKES (fish) and PEAR (fruit)
‘Domain’ as in websites
MEMBER (board constituent) being eaten by CAT (guy)
Around [Ma]Y (end of), GRE[e]NS< (environmentalists, half-hearted, <going over) + Y (year)
ELBOW (Britpop band) on “GREECE” (country, “broadcast”)
ONCE (on one occasion) broken by BASIE* (*angry)
MISSION (embassy); A.D. (nowadays) introduces
O (Oscar, Nato alphabet) + RANGES (classifies)
Cryptic definition
ASS (from 21 across), in HOCK (owing debt)
The phrase ‘in hock’ means to be owing debt
[Brookl]YN WAT[erworks]< (<turning up, in)
INN (hostelry) linked to ER (former monarch)
N (nitrogen) below H[eavisid]E (limits of)
Thanks for the blog , so many clever clues with a lot of nice touches . I will have to pick RHOMB but also AITCH is very original .
Very minor glitch for LIVESTOCK , Stoke needs shearing on both sides to give TOK .
After a slow start, things picked up, and I found this most enjoyable.
My lexicon expanders — siskin, genoa, Nynorsk, and I’d never heard of the Britpop band.
I enjoyed this and learned a new language.
Thanks Monk and Oriel
Very smart setting, throughout; and a pretty tough challenge to complete, for me.
CAVIL, 2(d), ended up being a process of elimination, I’ve heard the word, but not in any context that I could recall.
After completing, quite a few of the parsings kept me quiet for a while, but very impressed by them.
Spotted the “extra” bit, but I don’t really see any relevance. I wondered if “the cross” layout had a hidden meaning?
Excellent stuff all round, big thanks to Monk & Oriel.
Very enjoyable and surprisingly accessible crossword from Monk.
I Iiked HASSOCK, ASS, OBEISANCE, SCENERY, TAWNY, SIS and the canine added extra lurking in the grid.
Needed the blog to see the workings of a few thanks to Oriel and Monk, naturally.
My picks: WILBEFORCE, RHOMB, AITCH, CAVIL, OBEISANCE, HASSOCK and TAWNY.
Thanks Monk and Oriel.
Thanks Monk for another top-notch crossword. My top picks were LIVESTOCK, SCENERY, CAVIL (great wordplay), WOOD FIBRE (great surface), and ELBOW-GREASE (nho ELBOW but loved the clue anyway). No quibbles at all as is customary for a Monk puzzle. Thanks Oriel for the blog.
We found this quite accessible as Monk’s puzzles go, solved without help apart from confirming NYNORSK in the dictionary. CAVIL was our favourite.
Thanks, Monk and Oriel.
I also enjoyed this a lot. I remember a previous Monk puzzle in which he commemorated his sadly departed dog (also a border collie if I recall). Does this one celebrate a new arrival? Thank you for the blog Oriel.
Thank you very much to all commenters for the positive feedback, and once again to BBBO (black-belt blogger Oriel) for a clinically accurate and clearly presented set of parsings. Well-remembered Jmac#9: I’ve made Nina farewells to three wonderful little best friends (2 JRTs and a BC), but today’s Nina was simply to acknowledge having had the lovely BC Tia for almost 6 years; her pic is my avatar 🥰
I found this difficult with many great clues that I loved, in particular: HACKSAW, WOOD FIBRE, BAKER, OVERWHELM, TAWNY, and AITCH made me both smile and groan when I saw the answer – very clever.
Thanks Monk and Oriel
Lovely to see a canine Nina, and, as one might expect from a Maths professor, his dog’s name is derived via an extended equivalence relation
Beautiful Border Collie = BBC = Auntie = Tia
Do give her lots of strokes from me!
Bravo🫡 Bobcat#12 that’s well-and-truly brilliant 👏, and the Mathispanic relationship is well beyond anything I’d had in mind. Did you use the French version, ChatGPT🤭 to come up with it?
I’ll pass on your offerings to Tia, noting that you might withdraw them were you to see her chasing the local felines🙄. And yes, I’ve discovered how to add emojis from this vast selection🐶🐕.
I didn’t focus on this as much as it deserved. I got there in the end though. I liked RHOMB, WILBERFORCE and LIVESTOCK.
I didn’t know NYORSK or CAVIL.
Thanks Monk and BBBO
A great puzzle. Somewhat challenging for all i didn’t know but clued so well that i could get them – eventually! Feel like the last month has been some wonderful puzzles in the ft. Thank you all.
Enjoyed this but don’t believe elbow are Britpop
NYNORSK was my TILT. I always thought it referred to a Norwegian immigrant to the Big Apple.
Monk, I’m glad you still have the energy to cohabit with a border collie. I used to, but alas I’m too old now. (And she ruined my pitching arm.)
Nice to see that here in crosswordland, cynophiles and ailurophiles happily coexist!
Marvellous crossword. Congratulations to all, but especially Monk. Too many good clues to mention. But all fair, which always gets the highest praise from me.
Fun. I am delighted that I finished it with no Googling or help from wordfinders.
I was looking for a carnivorous theme…. HACKSAW BISECTS LIVESTOCK followed by ROTISSERIES?
Perhaps I’m just hungry.