A fun solve – my favourites were 10ac, 11ac, and 12ac. Many thanks to Brummie.
Edit: …and thanks to Davey and others in the comments for pointing out the theme around Mars (the RED PLANET, and many other associated solutions)
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | ORBIT |
Exorbitant housing revolution (5)
|
| definition: revolution as in to revolve around something
letters are found/housed inside: [Ex]-ORBIT-[ant] |
||
| 10 | CURIOSITY |
Our city is removing cat killer? (9)
|
| definition refers to the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’
anagram of (Our city is)*; with “removing” => ‘re-moving’ i.e. ‘moving again’ to indicate the anagram |
||
| 11 | ETERNALLY |
Always on the outside, having no vote (9)
|
| E-[x]-TERNALLY=”on the outside”, with no ‘x’ (symbol that can be used to mark a “vote”) | ||
| 12 | TRIAD |
Some notes one introduced in jazz revival (5)
|
| definition: a chord of three tones
I=”one” in TRAD (traditional jazz and its revivals) |
||
| 13 | DOVECOT |
A place for fliers to act almost timid when held in check (7)
|
| DO=”to act”; with CO-[y]=”almost timid” inside VET=”check” | ||
| 15 | DREDGER |
Working vessel’s doctor – creep, right? (7)
|
| definition: a marine vessel used for excavation
DR (doctor) + EDGE=”creep” (to edge/creep/move towards something) + R (right) |
||
| 17 | NUDGE |
Jog without clothes, without much money (5)
|
| definition as in e.g. to jog/nudge one’s memory or e.g. to give a jog/nudge with one’s elbow
NUDE=”without clothes”, outside of/”without” G (grand, a thousand pounds, “much money”) |
||
| 18 | RED |
Wine that’s often put in a pocket (3)
|
| double definition: red wine; or in snooker, a red ball to be potted into a pocket | ||
| 20 | GILET |
Maybe get laid after ace date’s removed top (5)
|
| anagram/”Maybe” of (get laid)*, with A (ace) and D (date) removed | ||
| 22 | SOFT TOP |
Frequently to be found in station vehicle (4,3)
|
| OFT=”Frequently”, inside STOP=”station” (e.g. on a railway line) | ||
| 25 | MARINER |
Prospector collecting top grade river tar (7)
|
| definition: “tar” as slang for ‘sailor’
MINER=”Prospector”, around A (top grade) + R (river) |
||
| 26 | PENCE |
Pressure, therefore, to dispose of hard cash (5)
|
| P (Pressure) + [h]-ENCE=”therefore” losing ‘h’ for “hard” | ||
| 27 | ALL THE WAY |
What alley twists to the very end? (3,3,3)
|
| anagram/”twists” of (What alley)* | ||
| 30 | THE CAVERN |
Legendary music venue later hosting explorer (3,6)
|
| definition: The Cavern Club in Liverpool [wiki]
THEN=”later” around CAVER=”explorer” |
||
| 31 | ROVER |
Collar at last on dog? (5)
|
| “last” letter of [Colla]-R; plus OVER=above=”on” | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | HOPE |
Old comedian has pee in garden (4)
|
| definition: Bob Hope, the late comedian [wiki]
P (letter of alphabet, pronounced as ‘pee’), inside HOE=to “garden” |
||
| 2 | OBSERVED |
Bedsore very inflamed and spotted (8)
|
| anagram/”inflamed” of (Bedsore v)*, including v for “very” | ||
| 3 | STUN |
Tipped fanatic’s bowl over (4)
|
| NUT’S=”fanatic’s” (e.g. a football nut, a football fan), reversed/”Tipped” | ||
| 4 | SCULPTOR |
‘Curst LP’ smashed over Old Moore? (8)
|
| definition: Henry Moore the sculptor [wiki]
anagram/”smashed” of (Curst LP)* around O (Old) |
||
| 5 | FRAYED |
After battle, English duke’s worn out (6)
|
| FRAY=”battle” + E (English) + D (duke) | ||
| 6 | BOOTLEGGER |
Sack Latin person encouraging a criminal (10)
|
| BOOT=get rid of=”Sack” + L (Latin) + EGGER (someone egging on i.e. “encouraging” others) | ||
| 7 | VIKING |
Raider: short woman married to ruler (6)
|
| VI (short for Violet, a woman’s name) + KING=”ruler” | ||
| 8 | BYRD |
English composer’s ‘Lark’ broadcast (4)
|
| definition: William Byrd the composer [wiki]
sounds like (when “broadcast”): ‘bird’ e.g. a “Lark” |
||
| 13 | DUNES |
Deserts surrounding northern hills (5)
|
| DUES=what is deserved=”Deserts”, around N (northern) | ||
| 14 | CHEW THE FAT |
Gas: large escapes from hatch we left undone (4,3,3)
|
| definition: to chat, to gossip
anagram/”undone” of (hatch we left)*, with ‘L’ for “large” removed/escaping |
||
| 16 | ROTOR |
Run after Troy punches Joey Turner (5)
|
| R (run, cricket abbreviation); after T (for Troy, as in troy weights) punching into ROO=”Joey” (a young kangaroo) | ||
| 19 | DUMPLING |
Throw away fish pudding (8)
|
| DUMP=”Throw away” + LING=”fish” | ||
| 21 | LONG WAVE |
Extended gesture used by some broadcasters? (4,4)
|
| definition refers to long wave radio broadcasts
LONG=”Extended” + WAVE=”gesture” |
||
| 23 | FINDER |
Small telescope of superior quality includes detachable cap (6)
|
| definition: a small telescope, attached to a larger one
FINER=”of superior quality”, around the first letter/”cap” of D-[etachable] |
||
| 24 | PLANET |
Mercury makes tree gain temperature? (6)
|
| PLANE=a type of tree species + T (temperature) | ||
| 26 | PATH |
Way to get bed less cold (4)
|
| PAT-[c]-H=”bed” in a garden; minus ‘c’ for “cold” | ||
| 28 | HERA |
One pursuing female character in mythology (4)
|
| definition: a goddess in Greek mythology
A=”One” after HER=”female” |
||
| 29 | YARN |
Drug-free period, end of addiction – do not swallow one! (4)
|
| definition: a yarn is a made-up story, not to be believed/’swallowed’
Y-[e]-AR=”period” minus ‘e’ for ecstasy=”Drug”; plus end of [addictio]-N |
Fun. A space theme, I think.
I liked CURIOSITY and LONG WAVE. I could see the PATH but not the PATCH which is the opposite of my overgrown allotment.
Liked ETERNALLY, DOVECOT, NUDGE, MARINER, OBSERVED,
BOOTLEGGER, LONG WAVE and PATH.
Thanks Brummie and manehi.
Davey@1: A Mars theme in fact – “red planet” along with “Curiosity Rover”,”Path finder”, “Viking” all being landers there.
thanks Manehi and Brummie
Quite an extensive theme by my count. I can see at least thirteen references to Mars explorations.
Can someone help me understand DUNES, please? If it’s DUES as what is deserved, wouldn’t that be desserts with double S?
Many thanks to Brummie and manehi!
FINDER was the only one I hadn’t come across before, and therefore last one in. The cat killer was great fun – top notch puzzle from Brummie today, I thought…
‘Trad’ jazz only exists as a revival I think, unless the original musicians called themselves ‘trad’ (which seems unlikely). Lots to like here, especially SOFT TOP, DUNES and FINDER.
Good challenge.
New for me: spelling of DOVECOT; FINDER = small telescope.
Favourite: DUNES.
Calabar Bean@6 re deserts/desserts, I found this in my online dictionary (which is not Chambers so maybe others can clarify better than me):
If a person gets their just deserts they get what they deserve. Deserts here is related to deserve, and is spelled with one -s- in the middle; a dessert is a sweet course eaten at the end of a meal. The -ss- spelling in the sense ‘what a person deserves’ is regarded as an error, although in the Oxford English Corpus it is as common as the correct spelling.
Specifically Martian theme, i think. RED PLANET was explored on ground or in ORBIT by VIKING, MARINER, ROVER and CURIOSITY. Slow typing!
Thanks both.
Michelle @9 – My Chambers says the same thing, i.e. just deserts
The surface of 8dn is of course meant to evoke Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’, even if he hailed from a rather different period than William Byrd (both English though). Also, despite being a bit of a space nerd, the RED PLANET theme completely passed me by. Thanks both.
Ever reliable Brummie with another good crossword. However, I totally missed the space theme.
Couldn’t parse NUDGE. In my defence though I think a grand gets you Freddo and loaf of bread in this day and age.
Liked CURIOSITY, LONG WAVE, FINDER and DUNES.
Thanks Brummie and Manehi
Great fun with CURIOSITY, EXTERNALLY and CHEW THE FAT favourites although I totally missed the theme. If you get the chance, it is worth visiting Kew Gardens to see Henry Moore’s monumental sculptures on display throughout.
Ta Brummie & manehi.
michelle@19
Many thanks for the clarification on deserts/desserts. I read that merely seconds after we’d had exactly the same discussion.
michelle@19, Crispy@11 That’s fascinating! I don’t recall ever encountering the (correct) “just deserts” in the wild. That’s one more thing I can now be insufferable about 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to help!
I’ve always found Brummie a bit middle of the road, but this was right up my street. Brilliant fun from start to finish.
Cheers B&M
Entertaining. BOOTLEGGER was clever with “person encouraging” = EGGER. Other favourites were DUMPLING (very neat) and CHEW THE FAT (for the misleading surface and definition).
Just a minor quibble. In the clue for PLANET, the question mark is presumably supposed to indicate the definition by example, but it’s at the opposite end of the clue to the relevant word. Spelling it out, “Mercury makes tree gain temperature for example” seems to me to suggest “temperature for example” (or “gain temperature for example”) rather than “Mercury for example”. But maybe that’s just me.
Thanks to Brummie and manehi.
Thanks both. Re 17a, I wonder whether the average Guardian reader regards a grand as that much money, I thought they were all champagne socialists. (Sorry, could not resist.)
As I’m on self-imposed lockdown in the heatwave, I had more time to spend wrestling with a cryptic crossword. I didn’t know BYRD the composer or FINDER as a small telescope but figured it all out in the end. I liked CURIOSITY and BOOTLEGGER. The theme passed me by – it usually does.
Good fun. Thanks to Brummie and Manehi.
My only disappointment is that the composer wasn’t (couldn’t be) Holst, who would have fitted very nicely with the Mars theme!
Also worth noting that Mars has plenty of DUNES and that the Perseverance rover carried the Ingenuity helicopter (drone?) which operated with a ROTOR.
Mostly straightforward with a few chewy ones, I thought. I liked removing a GILET to get laid, the SOFT TOP at the station, and the good anagram for CHEW THE FAT with a nicely misleading surface.
Thanks Brummie and manehi.
This went in straightforwardly and I parsed everything. Smooth and enjoyable. I’ve always spelled It dovecote but the answer was obvious. As always I missed the theme. Nothing otherwise to add to previous comments.
Thanks Brummie and manehi.
HERA space mission flew by Mars and Deimos last year and took some nice pictures. Lovely composition, more than just a great set of clues, thank you Brummie and manehi!
Thanks for the blog , good set of clues . Well done Davey@1 , JackOFT and others . Alas no room for Rosalind Franklin in the theme . SCULPTOR a minor constellation and spectacular starburst galaxy discovered by Caroline Herschel , I see no link to Mars except for the confectionary .
Missed the theme, of course. But enjoyed the puzzle.
Resisted DOVECOT for ages — it couldn’t be right! (Well, it was.)
Snooker again! Have mercy!
Anybody else put -ER for “ruler” at the end of 7dn?
In San Francisco there is a chain of pastry shops called Just Desserts.
Thanks, Bummie and manehi.
A good puzzle albeit a couple of parsings passed me by so thank you manehi. CURIOSITY went in immediately, misleading me into thinking I was in for an easy ride… And of course, I missed the theme entirely.
Regarding deserts and desserts, I was only a little younger than today when I realized that a desert island is an island that is deserted, rather than one that receives no rainfall.
I can’t see ‘just deserts’ without thinking of the Porridge episode ‘Just Desserts’ (a pun that possibly adds to the desert/dessert confusion?). Fletcher has his tin of pineapple chunks stolen and utters the immortal line “I don’t know quite how to put this gentlemen, but there is a thief among us”.
Jacob@27, ha! I’d never given it thought before.
This was a very enjoyable ride. STUN was my LOI, with the lovely CURIOSITY and seemingly unanagrammable SCULPTOR not far behind. I also liked BOOTLEGGER but thought it was ever so slightly let down by the superfluous ‘a’ in the surface.
I frowned at T for Tory in ROTOR, only to discover on here that the clue said Troy 😅. But I’d never heard of troy weights anyway, so that’s another TILT.
Thanks both
Well dnf here as chucked in CHEW THE CUD at 14d which completely stymied me on the music venue. Failed to disentangle and then, on top of that, saw in the blog that it was HERA not, as I had, HERO. So definitely one for the ‘fuddle’ part of the moniker today.
Not much on the first pass, but gradually worked my way from E to W, with NW last to fall, and 11a ETERNALLY loi with a fun pdm. Many fine surfaces and pleasant surprises. Carelessly slipped up on 30a, THE TAVERN instead of CAVERN. No excuses. Missed the theme
Favourites 9a ORBIT (surprisingly well hidden), 12a TRIAD (musical clue), 17a NUDGE (funny surface), 1d HOPE (“garden” verb, remembering the great comedian), 2d OBSERVED (surface), 13d DUNES (“Deserts” = DUES), 19d DUMPLING (“Throw away fish”), 23d FINDER (surface)
4d SCULPTOR, Toronto also has a fine collection of Moore’s work
A fairly gentle offering, but I’m another who failed to spot the theme.
Furthermore, I’ve been educated by the comments on here and now better understand “just deserts” and “desert island”!
Thanks Brummie and manehi
Lord Jim@18, I think I remember Brummie generally uses a question mark to imply a def-by-example somewhere in the clue, rather than sticking a „maybe“ or similar in the obvious place, perhaps I recognise this from his Cyclops guise. But I was disappointed not to see the Lark in 8d similarly highlighted, though it is not the definition itself of course, maybe that’s why. Anyway, enjoyed it too, thanks manehi, Brummie and all who pointed out theme items.
Gazzh@33 re BYRD and “Lark”, I regard the speech marks as achieving the same end. Well disguised, I thought, given that one can be misled into thinking they merely signal the name of an artistic work.
Redrodney@8 Only a British revival at that under that name. Your name suggests you might be part of a bebop revival.
I get confused about deserts/desserts because I read a silly short story ages ago called “Just Desserts” where a sinner (glutton presumably) dies and goes to a place which serves just desserts which taste like ash. But desert seems to be an inflection of deserve, what is due you, hence with a single s.
Thanks both.
HOPE is another theme word: it’s a probe launched by the UAE.
Lovely. I did spot the RED PLANET connections, but too late to be of much use. As well as the missions mentioned above, there was a Mars OBSERVER: I wondered why that wasn’t the answer to 2D (it would fit just fine if 17a was NERVE, NORSE, NURSE).
Coming from Liverpool, DOVECOT is the only acceptable spelling.
I looked for a theme but completely missed it. Obvious when pointed out… but that’s nearly always the way for me with Brummie.
As a Speleo for over 45 years, it was pleasing to see CAVERS as explorers as part of a clue – I’ve been privileged a few times to be in the position of being the first human to set foot (or knee or elbow) on unknown territory and it is quite a buzz. Sadly, the years are against me being able to so so for the caves on Mars..
CHEW THE FAT was perhaps my favourite; lots else to like in a steady solve that started at the bottom and worked steadily upwards.
Thanks Brummie & manehi!
Not my favourite setter to be honest. I find some of his clueing a bit fast and loose, but maybe it’s because I’m still in that beginner/improving bracket. Didn’t spot the theme but now it’s been highlighted by the commenters here have to say it’s a good one. All in all a good brain exercise so thanks Brummie, and manehi.
Miche@38 , maybe OBSERVED was meant to signify a failed mission like the probe itself .
Once again I know the answer to everything .
I didn’t consciously spot the theme but that’s because I wasn’t looking. The likes of MARINER, CURIOSITY and VIKING make me think of Mars straight away. Subconsciously, I think a theme on a strong topic still helps me jump to solutions. I’m sure I’ve posted this before, probably more than once, I’ll probably reoffend in the future too. Oh well. I’m only shouting into a void populated by clever people I’ve never met.
I liked ETERNALLY, MARINER, BOOTLEGGER and CHEW THE FAT.
Thanks B&M
What a joy. Loved everything. Brummie has been a name to look out for, especially post-nutmeg, and this is him (?) right back to his intuitive best. Great surfaces
I do believe I recently saw on the front of one of those (very expensive) beach huts on the Suffolk Coast at Southwold, the name – Ma’s Bar. With lettering definitely indicating a word play on that well known chocolate bar. And also indicating perhaps that the matriarch of the family enjoyed a tipple whilst gazing at the North Sea. My off the weatherboard contribution to the Red Planet theme today. Which as per usual I didn’t spot…
Brummie also sets the Cyclops puzzle every fortnight in Private Eye , I expect this is easy to find . Quite extreme in many ways , perhaps look at a few blogs on here before trying it .
Isn’t there also a reference to a soft top station wagon in 22ac? Maybe not, but that is how I finally got it!
I didn’t know I’d be able to solve a Wednesday so I’m very pleased as this is the first Wednesday I’ve ever tried given I struggle enough with the Mondays and Tuesdays. Is this a typical Wednesday difficulty? Thanks all
Eddie @48 , getting harder through the week has always been a myth . Traditionally Monday has been the easiest and Saturday the hardest but the others jump around . In the past it would often be – M Th Tu F W S – increasing level . These days nearly every Guardian puzzle is the same standard .
There is no such thing as a dredger,. The machine is always called a dredge. It is like calling a spade a spader!
LONG WAVE made me wistfully nostalgic for the days when France Inter (among other mainland stations) used to broadcast on 162kHz, and I could listen to it in the car on my many long drives, as an antidote to the insular, almost exclusively west-facing Radio Four on 198kHz.
It’s a very simple, durable means of transmission, immune to hostile hacks etc.
Paul the Plumb, my dictionary says Dredger: 2. (Nautical) A barge or boat equipped with a dredge.
Etu@51 , Radio 4 longwave closes in two days time . Our old radio for the kitchen and garden will have to be replaced .
Roz, I think that the search for extra-terrestrial intelligent life will have to accept that the interval between discovering EM waves as a means of mass communication and then that being superseded by say, point-to-point mass fibre installations is, in astronomical terms very short indeed.
We have a similar radio, but which has remained silent since John Humphreys caused us to give up on R4. I gather that things have only got worse…
For me, dumplings are savory things you find in chicken soup. I must have known at some point that the word also refers to a sweet thing.
I don’t recall ever hearing a vehicle referred to as a soft top, but I have occasionally heard of hard-top cars, so it wasn’t too hard to guess the existence of this term.
Despite being an astrophysicist, I missed the theme (as usual).