Phew! A meaty, but quite exceptional challenge from IO.
Thanks to IO for the challenge – extremely creative, witty and fun. Certainly not 16/19, but well worth the perseverance.
ON AIR (broadcasting); BE (live) takes
CO (business) collects [ar]AUCAR[ia]* (strain extracted from, *growing wild)
R[e]AL GRUB< (authentic food, <for backsliding, scrubs E (drug))
MEN (players) + (U (united) + IN taking H[alle] (overture to))
J (Jack) + (UP A LANE)* (*molested)
“BRA’S ILL” (supporter’s misfortune, “discussed”)
CH (Switzerland) acquires ILE (island, from the French)
To understand this clue, we must have clocked the five groups hidden in the grid – as highlighted. Each group is themed and has words starting with the letters A, B, C. Masterful.
AS (like) + SASS (the impudence of Drake) + IN
Not certain on this one – ‘sassy Drake’ is a viral meme
To ‘ice’ someone is to assassinate them
V[e]A[l] R[i]B[s]< (periodically, <turned) + O (over)
(ESC (key) dresses PRO (for))< (<sent back)
CHURN (agitator) catching ([train]S (last of) + TO)
CHAR (one does) + LIE (stretch)
PENNI[n]G (composition, using only two N (note)s), receiving F (fine)
A pfennig is one hundredth of a Mark – old German currency
HEX (put the mockers on) + BILL (Spooner’s namesake) – as a Spoonerism
Bill Spooner presumably referring to the musician from The Tubes
[h]AND OVER (transfer, H (hotel) despatched)
PULE (pipe) in [b]ONCES (heads, having put away B (billion)
‘Bonce’ is UK slang for one’s head; ‘pule’ is to pipe/chirp/make a high pitched sound
R (resistance) encountered by A GENT (a man) + IN A
[p]LEA[s][u]RA[b]LE* (*brews, PUBS withdrawing)
Roger Protz is a world leading beer writer, campaigner and taster
(“EWES” (ovine females) and “A BULL” (a bovine male)) (“reportedly”)
A (academy) + R (run) + [o]U[t] B[y] A (off and on)
A (an) + LIBI[do] (urge, to leave DO (the same, ditto))
[actu]AL FA[ct] (in)
Alfa is a grassy plant used for papermaking
Double definition
Lord Privy Seal is the role of Baroness Smith of Basildon in UK parliament
([Hamilto]N (rear wing) + IS ALMOST)* (*out)
A + LOG (fine) being in POISE (balance)
Nautically, a sailor could have had his name logged for an offence for which he would be fined
(LAIC (non-churchy) + EPs (recordings))< (<uplifting)
Double definition
‘Nick’ can be slang for a police station, or a name for the devil/a bogy, as in ‘Old Nick’
FUEL* (*liquid) in BIN (apparently refused)
O (oxygen) taken up in CH[o]RE (e.g. washing or cleaning)
ORC (evil goblin) blocking PH (pub, public house)
Phew indeed. I thought I was doing well until I hit the wall in the southeast corner, which took me forever. Lesson learned about feeling too good with this setter. I did not spot the theme. Kudos to Oriel and thanks as always to Io.
Well done Oriel. A masterful blog, which I needed for several clues. A very tough puzzle but worth persevering as you said.I missed the groups for 16/19d. Bunged in LPS although I was ignorant of Lady Smith’s role. You needed to have extensive general knowledge and all your wits.
Thanks IO and Oriel.
Thanks for the blog and the coloured grid , a great effort .
Fortunately I have a lot of time on Wednesday for crosswords and started at 6 am .
A nuclear theme , very well done but perhaps more obscurity than usual . I know Devon quite well but CHURSTON is new to me . I asked in the English Faculty about JEAN PAUL , over ten people before I got someone who knew about him . Most thought it must be Sartre but that would not do .
Don’t know if Io had this in mind when constructing the surface for 19a but (Bobby) Drake is the name of the Iceman in the X-Men.
As usual, fell well short of completing this, mostly unknowns to me. I had 9 answers missing and didn’t parse LPS and couldn’t fully explain 16/19. That’s pretty good for me on an Io though.
In 29, is it possible that “his namesake” refers to Rev. William Spooner himself? He could be a Bill…
10 right today.
A new IO record for me.
Excellent puzzle. Superb blog.
Thanks Io and Oriel. You are a great pair.
Difficult to pick faves.
AS EASY AS ABC was my COTD.
While grouping, I had ASSASSIN, BURGLAR and CORPSE in one group.
I didn’t know the Sue Grafton connection. Googled after seeing the
grouping in the blog.
I thought ‘so’ referred to the solution itself. I may be wrong.
ASSASSIN
I thought about Drake in Iceman as the def (Hovis@4 took a similar route, I see).
Then ‘of’ had to stand for ‘IN’. Not sure, that is okay.
BRAZIL, USEABLE and several others were very good.
I never get more than one or two solutions in an IO crossword, and I got 3 today. I have not read all the comments, but Andover, Bexhill and Churston are the first 3 murder sites in Agatha Christie’s THE ABC MURDERS. Just saying . . . Churston might be “made up” . . . I don’t know.
James Bond in Hong Kong@6
Same here , only ten right, as per.
I’m beginning to think IO stands for 10.
Too tough for me, and I’m not blown away, having seen the completed grid.
CHURSTON sums it up for me. An area of Devon, for gawd’s sake.
What next?
My curiosity was aroused by JEAN PAUL. Merton Libraries are not big on 18th/19th century German Romantic writers, but they do have an e-book version of Des Feldpredigers Schmelzle Reise nach Flatz (1809). Unfortunately I don’t think my German O-level from 60 years ago will enable me to enjoy it to the full.
There’s general knowledge and not-so-general knowledge. Even the omniscient Mrs Bradford seems not to have heard of Herr Paul.
Having read Jean Paul 56 years ago, that was a write in. The rest less so. I got hung up on Five Easy Pieces and completely missed the ABCs. I wonder why Io chose Hotel transfer’s despatched rather than Hotel despatched transfer, which would to my simple brain have indicated that it was the H that had to be despatched.
Peter@11 you have beaten 11 of our English faculty with your Jean Paul knowledge .
I took it as – Hotel (that) transfer has despatched .
Had no idea about several … eg vaguely hought Bill, bill and coo, spoon, nah. Had to reveal the h to get churn, and apologise was obvs, but a biff, log = fine?, hmm. Ditto assassin, nho Drake, not my thing. So, bit of a slog, groangrin for bra’s ill, but yes, five sets of abc themesters, damnably clever, thanks Enigio, and bravo Oriel.
Petert@11: yes, I’m very impressed too.
Roz: might you have had more luck in the German faculty?
Maybe Hector but the one person who knew about him said he was completely out of fashion now and has been for many years . I suppose that must happen to many writers .
19a is even more impressive when you discover that Iceman is the name of a recent album by (sassy) Drake.
Thanks to IO and Oriel
Like some other solvers I made quick work of all but the southeast corner and then hit a wall. There IO became IOU some hard clues. I guess I should be thankful because I usually find most of IO puzzles beyond me. However, the top had me feeling really smart, but the bottom right smacked me back to reality.
Further to myself at #8, Churston is not made up. But Agatha Christie! 19d: ABC, 23a CORPSE, 10a ASSASSIN – just saying.
You must be right Eric@18 , the three placenames are there for the ABC Murders which makes the theme even better and an excuse for the obscure Churston .
Thank goodness for this blog and all of you. I also only got about ten. But seeing the result with the five groups is just beautiful.
Back in the day Churston was the beloved Agatha’s local station to her place at Greenway. It’s on the Dartmouth Steam Railway but has been closed since the pandemic
Well done Oriel and other finishers. I was getting close but stopped for football. I’d already scanned Google maps and Churston was not forthcoming.
Thanks Io and Oriel. I travelled on the Paignton and Dartmouth railway in October 2017, but the name of Churston Station had not stuck in my mind. Despite the name, the railway actually terminates at Kingswear on the other side of the estuary and it was necessary to take the ferry to get to Dartmouth itself.
We complete 99% of Grauniad/FT/Indie puzzles but I can’t recall the last time I gave up with 6 clues outstanding, all in the south east.
This was more worthy of a xmas special where we have a week to chip away at it.
I’ve met the setter and he’s a great bloke, but he doesn’t think like other humans and sometimes it shows.
The ABC Murders is hardly Middlemarch so are we really expected to know Churston?
Or the incredibly obscure fine=log?
Or bin=apparently refused?
Oh well, it’s only once in blue moon. Onto the next one…
TripleJumper@24 , it had to be Churston to fit the theme , obscure but needed .
Fine=log is in Chambers93 , unusual but the setter has cover .
Apparently refused means luef has been put in the bin , refuse in the rubbish sense . B luef IN .
I am glad the FT has puzzles like this once a month , the Guardian has completely given up .
I thought the three clues going down into the bottom right were fine and gave lots of letters to help .
I’m always a huge fan of Io’s puzzles: a real challenge but very satisfying to complete. This one maybe a little less satisfying personally, as in the end I put a lot in unparsed once I spotted the theme(s) (The ABC Murders is one of my favourite books, and I’ve read a few Sue Graftons as well, so that helped). Thanks Io for the workout and Oriel for doing what I couldn’t!
I got Curacao and Brazil and assumed there was a World Cup theme. Then I got Chile and had to go back to the drawing board, a bit disheartened.
Thanks for the blog. I finally completed this but still needed a few parsings and a reason for the ALIBI goup.
SE corner was a real pig for me with a half-parsed PFENNIG loi.
BLUEFIN made me smile through gritted teeth.