Another superb Sunday puzzle from Filbert
There’s a huge amount to enjoy here, with Filbert’s customarily smooth surfaces providing many a titter along the way. I could pick out any number of candidates for Clue of the Day, but overall I think it has to be THE TWO RONNIES, which is so clever it’s worthy of the great Gerald Wiley himself. Thanks to Filbert for the fun.
Moh’s cruciverbal hardness scale rating: Calcite
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | RISK-AVERSE |
Careful, Kelvin insists during climb (4-6)
|
| K (Kelvin) AVERS (insists) inside (during) RISE (climb) | ||
| 6 | BURP |
Back massage ending in chap’s rude emission (4)
|
| Reversal (back) of RUB (massage) + [cha]P (ending in chap). Oo-er | ||
| 10 | PRATTLE |
Silly speech old PM curtailed on electoral system (7)
|
| ATTLE[e] (old PM curtailed) on (after, in this case) PR (proportional representation) | ||
| 11 | UTOPIAN |
Perfect work dons distributed at uni (7)
|
| OP (work) inside (dons) anagram (distributed) of AT UNI | ||
| 12 | DAHLIA |
Garden plant had trouble, each part being twisted (6)
|
| Two separate reversals (each part being twisted) of HAD and AIL | ||
| 13 | SHRAPNEL |
Her plans unexpectedly change (8)
|
| Anagram (unexpectedly) of HER PLANS | ||
| 15 | THE TWO RONNIES |
“No, Os!” went their funny show (3,3,7)
|
| Anagram (funny) of NO OS WENT THEIR. “No, Os!”, for those who haven’t come across it before, refers to one of the Two Ronnies’ best-known sketches | ||
| 18 | REINFORCEMENT |
Glue on strap to provide extra strength (13)
|
| CEMENT (glue) after (on) REIN (strap) + FOR (to provide) | ||
| 22 | TIGERISH |
Spice Girl shut up after it turned catty (8)
|
| GERI (Spice Girl) + SH (shut up) after reversal (turned) of IT | ||
| 24 | WEIRDO |
Eccentric party on wet embankment (6)
|
| DO (party) after (on) WEIR (a wet embankment, sort of, though it’s built across a watercourse rather than along its sides) | ||
| 26 | CAMPARI |
Party with dry, mostly red booze (7)
|
| CAMP (party, as in which party/camp do you support?) + ARI[d] | ||
| 27 | EMANATE |
Issue from energy our species consumed (7)
|
| E (energy) + MAN (our species, I shall refrain from making the obvious point regarding sexual dimorphism) + ATE | ||
| 28 | LIED |
Cap worn by European was not what it seemed (4)
|
| E inside (worn by) LID (slang for a hat or cap) | ||
| 29 | SKEDADDLED |
Also note light on desk badly bolted (10)
|
| ADD (also note) + LED (light) after (on) an anagram (badly) of DESK | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | RAPIDS |
Power in river helps where the current’s strong (6)
|
| P (power) inside R + AIDS | ||
| 2 | SPAGHETTI |
Brittle strands break up – it’s the cooking binds it (9)
|
| Anagram (cooking) of ITS THE around (binds it) reversal (up) of GAP (break) | ||
| 3 | ASTRIDE |
In riding position since start of that bike trip (7)
|
| AS (since) + T (start of that) + RIDE (bike trip) | ||
| 4 | EVEN |
Still four at the back for football team? (4)
|
| Four last letters (four at the back) of [el]EVEN. My LOI. I tried for a long time to justify EVER, thinking that adding something meaning “four” to it would give us Everton, but I eventually realised that “ton” doesn’t really have anything to do with “four” | ||
| 5 | SOUTHERNER |
Texan possibly freaks out her nervous hosts (10)
|
| Hidden (hosts) in freakS OUT HER NERvous | ||
| 7 | UNION |
Short measure of alcohol immediately after wedding (5)
|
| UNI[t] (short measure of alcohol) + ON (immediately after – as in, you will feel very smug on completing this puzzle) | ||
| 8 | PENALISE |
Write a story about saint subject to punishment (8)
|
| PEN A LIE (write a story) about S (rather than the more familiar – in this country, at least – ST, but just as valid an abbreviation). Subject as a verb rather than an adjective | ||
| 9 | DOMAIN |
Complete electricity, gas or water supply for territory? (6)
|
| DO (complete, as in a task, for instance) + MAIN (electricity, gas and water are all “mains” utility supplies) | ||
| 14 | SWORDSTICK |
Son promises to get teacher’s approval for concealed weapon (10)
|
| S (son) + WORDS (promises) + TICK (teacher’s approval) | ||
| 16 | INTERRAIL |
Home ground unfinished, left to train abroad? (9)
|
| IN (home) + TERRAI[n] + L. I shall spare you my reminiscences of Interrailing round Europe in the late 70s and early 80s… | ||
| 17 | PROTOCOL |
Etiquette for returning stolen goods fences start to consider (8)
|
| PRO (for) + reversal (returning) of LOOT (stolen goods) around (fences) C[onsider] | ||
| 19 | FORMAL |
Marines in future mount ritual (6)
|
| RM (Royal Marines) in FOAL (future mount) | ||
| 20 | EMERALD |
Green from mal de mer, miles out at sea (7)
|
| Anagram (at sea) of MAL DE MER minus only one of the Ms (miles out – M can of course be an abbreviation for the singular or plural) | ||
| 21 | TOP-END |
High-class warehouse filled with new flip-flops (3-3)
|
| Reversal (flip-flops) of DEPOT (warehouse) around (filled with) N | ||
| 23 | GIMME |
Piece of cake swallowed by pig immediately (5)
|
| Hidden in (swallowed by) piG IMMEdiately | ||
| 25 | LEAD |
Roofing material guide (4)
|
| Double definition |
Just love doing Filbert crosswords. Always feel I’m going to fail badly and end up completing (usually). Finished today’s and enjoyed just about all the clues. I’ll single out EMERALD for the clever construction.
Yep, sweet puzzle, thanks Filbert. And ta for the Wiley link, moh, didn’t know that. [I loved the little R’s long shaggy monologues, finally resolving after repeated digressions. (Bit like Anna Russell … “remember Alberich?”)]