Hello everyone
“To err is human, to nearly blog the answers to a national paper crossword a day early: moronic”
Due to a mostly human error I dutifully blogged tomorrow’s Filbert a day early. Thankfully an early start and my usual morning crossword routine saved my blushes, although I did wonder quite a few times why Filbert was being published on a Saturday!
Apologies in advance then if this hastily assembled blog contains more than the usual ration of errors. This was a pearl of a grid from Mog. I found it at a medium level of difficulty, and with the elegant clueing it was a pleasure to solve.
Thanks to Mog for the puzzle (and Filbert for tomorrow’s)!
ACROSS
Mog [CAT] hugging Republican [R] after rally [DEMO]
Asian soup [PHO] mostly prejudice [BIAS]
Anagram [“sorted”] Complete [ALL] + OGRE
Belt out maybe [SING] with rented [LET]
Present [HERE] president’s [FORDS] take on [HIRE]
A [A] huge [VAST]
To choose [ELECT] right [R] composition [ODE]
Endless amusement [PLAY] with setter [CEMENT]
Introductory [first] letter from bank [B] and loan [LEND]
Anagram [“arranged”] CHEESY SAMPLES
Regularly [alternate letters of] disappearing in nature, or into
Tea [CHAR] grader outwardly shunned [GRADER]
Cattle [OXEN] securing [around] tails on [last letters of] violently passing [V G]
Footballer [STRIKER] essentially out for each [swap I for EA]
DOWN
Charge [WARD] around [backwards]
Often [MUCH] coats [around] landscaper’s nose [L]
Anagram [“strange”] ERECT GAIT
Curry house potatoes [ALOO], fine [F]
Both side of Harrods = “H AND S”
Brummie dish [BALTI] with added [MORE]
Anagram [“confused”] THEYRE + DATA
Use a browser [SURF] link [TIE], looking up [reversed]
Top [CAP] star of opera cut [PUCCINI] over [O]
Rock frontman [ADAM ANT] eviscerated legally [LEGALLY]
Person booted from Genesis [EVE] before others [REST]
Flat tuba ultimately [last letters = T A] ruined [BLEW] live [ARE]
Double definition
Current [AC] ruptures [inside] your once [THY] capsized [reversed]
Quiet [SH] thing taking animals [ARK]
With [W] a bit of cereal [EAR]
I think Mog, in 1(ac), is “cat”?
ENBoll&: well spotted and corrected. TYVM
Agree with ENB @1 ref CAT. Very nice puzzle from Mog – lovely succinct yet meaningful surfaces. Only undone by CAPPUCCINO which I, for some reason, thought was spelled with an A in the middle. Really there are too many faves to list – SHARK is perhaps my COTD but I could have listed three quarters of the others. Great fun.
Thanks both
I enjoyed this puzzle immensely, but it took me an age to get started, until Mog’s M.O. clicked with me.
Some great surfaces, and cunning routes to the solutions. I’m not sure that I get why, “survive=wear”, in 23(d), I must be missing something.
26(ac) seemed a rare clunky surface, but I warmed to it ( PS, LC- it’s [YG] not [VG] for the insertion ). Typo of course.
As PM@3 concludes, this was indeed, “great fun”.
Fun seems to be missing in some puzzles lately.
Thanks to our blogger, for a clear and succinct analysis, after what sounds a mare!
Both thumbs up, Mog & Leedsclimber
I couldn’t parse TABLEWARE for the life of me. Can’t imagine why now.
Strange, having lived in England my entire life (just approaching 70 years), I’ve only just spotted the 1 letter change to get Herefordshire from Hertfordshire.
I think the definition of SHARK is just “from the water”, otherwise “animals” is doing double duty (and is arguably the wrong tense). Edit – just realized it’s the whole clue as definition!
Many thanks to Mog and Leedsclimber
For once the setter is a cat rather than a dog. A great crossword with, for me, SHARK being the best of a very fine bunch.
Lots of fun; agree with all the above re: SHARK. I failed to parse a few and put in BEAR instead of WEAR thinking of bear-shaped cereals, which – at least I’d like to think so – also seems to work. Thanks Mog and Leedsclimber!
Thanks Mog for the Saturday fun. I thought this was a great crossword with my favourites being HEREFORDSHIRE, HANDS, AT THE READY, CAPPUCCINO, ADAMANTLY, and SHARK. I couldn’t parse TABLEWARE. Thanks Leedsclimber for the blog.