The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hello everybody. Bertandjoyce are away so I am sitting in. Solving took longer than the average Indy puzzle, largely because there were quite a few elements I had to infer from the wordplay. I miraculously managed most of these, but slipped up at my last in, opting first for YR over UR in 14a.
Quite spicy in places, which is ok by me. I enjoyed the love poetry at 16a – noting that the setter chose to specify a news boss rather than “my boss”! And for fans of silly clues, we have 3d. Thanks Wiglaf.
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Film with endless sex due for distribution having received approval (4,4,4) |
| EYES WIDE SHUT — An anagram of (… for distribution) WITH, endless SEx and DUE containing (having received) YES (approval) | |
| 8a | Not now an official papal residence? It was once (7) |
| LATERAN — LATER (not now) + AN | |
| 9a | Stop by the side of the road to pick up old females (4,3) |
| PULL OFF — PULL (to pick up) + O (old) + F F (females) | |
| 11a | Busy pair going round North, say (2,3,2) |
| ON THE GO — OO (pair, in cricket – a pair of ducks, represented 00) surrounding (going round) NTH (North) and EG (say) | |
| 12a | Heartless theatrical princess keeps dictionary in school (7) |
| ROEDEAN — Without the central letter (heartless) REgAN (theatrical princess) holds (keeps) OED (dictionary) | |
| 13a | I spy a toff (5) |
| AGENT — A GENT (a toff) | |
| 14a | Maybe Ruth will take your family to see Captain Traoré? (9) |
| BURKINABÉ — BABE (maybe Ruth – Babe Ruth) will include (take in) UR (your) and KIN (family). The military leader of Burkina Faso | |
| 16a | Love poetry for adults only – news boss in need of a lot of it (9) |
| OVERSEXED — O (love) + VERSE (poetry) + X (for adults only) + ED (news boss) | |
| 19a | In essence, Le Bon is a star (5) |
| CELEB — Hidden in essenCE, LE Bon | |
| 21a | Drop in business after Christmas period (7) |
| DECLINE — LINE (business) after DEC (Christmas period) | |
| 23a | Country girl in pursuit of a male (7) |
| AMERICA — ERICA (girl) following (in pursuit of) A and M (male) | |
| 24a | Modern woman nursing broken heart? Quite the reverse, pet (7) |
| HAMSTER — MS (modern woman) in (nursing? … Quite the reverse) an anagram of (broken) HEART | |
| 25a | Disabled and unsound (7) |
| INVALID — Two definitions | |
| 26a | Bloke in library performing with pained expression – not the critics’ choice? (5,7) |
| BARRY MANILOW — MAN (bloke) in an anagram of (… performing) LIBRARY + OW (pained expression) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | French article supports being less variable in style (7) |
| ENTITLE — LE (French article) goes underneath (supports) ENTIT[y] (being) without Y (less variable) | |
| 2d | Serious composer imprisoned in Estonia (7) |
| EARNEST — ARNE (composer) inside (imprisoned in) EST (Estonia) | |
| 3d | A silly place to grow plants? (6,3) |
| WINDOW BOX — A whimsical cryptic definition, with silly meaning on or by a sill | |
| 4d | Bash a drug supplier (5) |
| DOPER — DO (bash) + PER (a) | |
| 5d | Italian composer unsettled by Israeli (7) |
| SALIERI — An anagram of (unsettled by) ISRAELI | |
| 6d | What’s described by Uyghur ode? Large amphibians (7) |
| URODELA — The answer is what’s encircled by (described by) UyghUR ODE? LArge | |
| 7d | A cook involved in cooking halal food gets very agitated (3,2,1,6) |
| ALL OF A DOODAH — A plus DO (cook) inside (involved in) an anagram of (cooking) HALAL FOOD | |
| 10d | Fretful ones touch food items finally (12) |
| FINGERBOARDS — FINGER (touch), BOARD (food) and the last letter of (… finally) itemS | |
| 15d | God! An idiot’s triggered a nuclear hazard (9) |
| RADIATION — RA (god), after which AN IDIOT is anagrammed (triggered) | |
| 17d | Enthusiastic tributes come in a wave (7) |
| ENCOMIA — COME IN A anagram (wave) | |
| 18d | Tot’s feet caught in flipping straps (7) |
| SNIFTER — FT (feet) caught in backwards (flipping) REINS (straps) | |
| 19d | Companion book from France about French parsley (7) |
| CHERVIL — CH (companion) + LIVRE (book from France) reversed (about) | |
| 20d | Without help, left deeply incapacitated by illness (4,3) |
| LAID LOW — Outside (without) AID (help), L (left) and LOW (deeply) | |
| 22d | Memory of online concert (5) |
| EPROM — E (online) PROM (concert). Erasable programmable read-only memory | |
Very clever. Too clever for me, I failed on BURKINABE despite twigging the African president. Never really come across ALL OF A DOODAH but at least Wiglaf has!
Other than finding ON THE GO a little too convoluted and not actually parsing the whimsical WINDOW BOX I found the rest to be most enjoyable.
Thanks to W & K
I’m pretty new to Indy cryptics but generally do OK & mostly get a max score for the day.
When I look at the leader board though, some solvers have almost double my points.
Does anyone know how they manage that? It doesn’t seem possible.
Oof! LATERAN, BURKINABE, BARRY MANILOW defined as ‘not the critic’s choice’, URODELA, ALL OF A DOODAH, EPROM … I was wondering what, if any, theme or device had forced those on the compiler. Everything bar the African went in eventually – I have never heard of the Captain or, to my undying shame, of the description of someone from that country. And I doubt I shall remember either if and when I need to in the future.
Thanks both
Liked ON THE GO, BURKINABE, WINDOW BOX, ALL OF A DOODAH and LAID LOW.
BURKINABE
Just an extra bit: A Lesotho national is called Mosotho (Plural: Basotho) in Sesotho.
Not sure they have a single-word English equivalent for a mosotho.
Thanks Wiglaf and Kitty.