The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/30060.
It’s deja vu all over again. No, I have not quite reaced the stage of forgetting that I blogged yesterday’s Guardian, but scchua needed a substitute, and as no-one else leapt in, you are stuck with me again. This one was distinctly easier than the Paul, but it did have traces of Anto’s quirks, or thinking outside the box to put it more positively. These were more prominent in his earlier offerings, and seem to have been toned down more recently.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BLOATED |
Shifting a lot into base that’s feeling full (7)
|
| An envelope (‘into’) of LOAT, an anagram (‘shifting’) of ‘a lot’ in BED (‘base’). | ||
| 5 | TEARS UP |
Causes damage to and gets emotional (5,2)
|
| Double definition, with different pronunciations of TEARS. | ||
| 9 | CHASM |
Partially staunch a smoking fissure (5)
|
| A hidden answer (‘partially’) in ‘staunCH A SMoking’. | ||
| 10 | BARRICADE |
Block local commercial involvement in staple food (9)
|
| A charade of BAR (‘local’, drinking establishment) plus RICADE, an envelope (‘involvement in’) of AD (‘commercial’) in RICE (‘staple food’). | ||
| 11 | UNINSPIRED |
Like church’s addition to wedding without ring? It’s so dull (10)
|
| A charade of UNI[o]N (‘wedding’) minus the O (‘without ring’) plus SPIRED (‘like church’; the church that I attend has a tower, not a spire). | ||
| 12 | ERE |
Atmosphere that’s spoken of before in poetry (3)
|
| Sounds like (‘that’s spoken of’) AIR (‘atmosphere’). | ||
| 14 | GRAPHOLOGIST |
You must write to get her to analyse you (12)
|
| Cryptic definition. | ||
| 18 | ONE FOUR SEVEN |
Maximum break adds up to 12 (3,4,5)
|
| 1 + 4 + 7 = 12 (‘adds up to 12’); one hundred and forty-seven, 147, is the maximum break in snooker (unless the player has been awarded a free ball as a result of a foul, when the break could reach 155). | ||
| 21 | GUT |
Wind has no singular source from which it comes (3)
|
| i find it hard to pin down the wording of this clue, although (I think) I understand its components: the ‘wind’ is the gut, the area of skin over the stomach – the solar plexus if a boxer manages to land a punch; and wind as flatulence comes from the guts. | ||
| 22 | DOUBLE DATE |
Repeat take out – it needs to feed two couples (6,4)
|
| A charade of DOUBLE (‘repeat’) plus DATE (‘take out’); any relevance of ‘it needs to feed’ is just tangential. | ||
| 25 | AMERICANO |
On camera, I spilt coffee (9)
|
| An anagram (‘spilt’) of ‘on camera I’. An Americano is a coffee made with an espresso roast, but with boiling water poured over the grounds, rather than using an espresso machine. | ||
| 26 | RANCH |
Farm starts to rear another new cattle herd (5)
|
| First letters (‘starts’) of ‘Rear Another New Cattle Herd’. | ||
| 27 | TOP HOLE |
Spot on jumper? That’s just great (3,4)
|
| A charade of TOP (‘jumper’) plus HOLE (‘spot’ – perhaps in the sense of a “drinking hole”). | ||
| 28 | FASTEST |
Most secure force when cold war sides abandoned leaders (7)
|
| A charade of F (‘force’) plus [e]AST plus [w]EST (‘cold war sides’) minus their first letters (‘abandoned leaders’). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BUCK UP |
Become encouraged as dollar gaining value (4,2)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 2 | ON A BIT |
Performing one piece that’s old? (2,1,3)
|
| A charade of ON (‘performing’) plus A (‘one’) plus BIT (‘piece’). This needs a context: “getting on a bit’ / “getting old’. | ||
| 3 | TIME’S ARROW |
A worm tries wriggling but it always goes forward (5,5)
|
| An anagram (‘wriggling’) of ‘a worm tries’. | ||
| 4 | DUBAI |
Name top class capital (5)
|
| A charade of DUB (‘name’) plus AI (A1, ‘top class’). Dubai is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven Emitates of the United Arab Emirates; the capital of the UAE is Abu Dhabi, although Dubai is its largest city. | ||
| 5 | THREESOME |
See mother cavorting in erotic adventure (9)
|
| An anagram (‘cavorting’) of ‘see mother’. | ||
| 6 | AKIN |
Like coming around without clothing (4)
|
| A subtraction: [w]AKIN[g] (‘coming around’) minus its outer letters (‘without clothing’). | ||
| 7 | SNAKE OIL |
Dodgy treatment leads to almost bare ground outside (5,3)
|
| An envelope (‘outside’) of NAKE[d] (‘bare’) minus its last letter (‘almost’) in SOIL (‘ground’). | ||
| 8 | PRESENTS |
Bushes, for example, I’d left as gifts (8)
|
| A subtraction: PRES[id]ENTS (‘Bushes, for example’ – George H W and George W) minus ID (‘I’d left’). | ||
| 13 | LOVE HEARTS |
Fancy suit will send sweet messages of endearment (4,6)
|
| A charade of LOVE (‘fancy’) plus HEARTS (‘suit’). Love hearts are confectionary inscribed with love messages. | ||
| 15 | PERFORATE |
Bore winding up for repeat (9)
|
| An anagram (‘winding up’) of ‘for repeat’. | ||
| 16 | POIGNANT |
Moving location where gunman occasionally hides (8)
|
| An envelope (‘where … hides’) of GNA (‘GuNmAn occasionally’) in POINT (‘location’). | ||
| 17 | SETTLE UP |
Pay to have seat lifted (6,2)
|
| A charade of SETTLE (‘seat’) plus UP (‘lifted’). | ||
| 19 | SARNIE |
Snack, core part of unsafe carnal diet (6)
|
| A sandwich; ‘core parts’ of ‘unSAfe caRNal dIEt’ | ||
| 20 | RED HOT |
Extremely rare dish, opulent and very popular (3,3)
|
| Outer letters (‘extremely’) of ‘RarE DisH OpulenT‘. | ||
| 23 | BE OFF |
Live abroad? Get lost (2,3)
|
| A charade of BE (‘live’) plus OFF (‘abroad’). | ||
| 24 | LIFO |
Initially it’s used to determine the order of firing (4)
|
| An initialism of “Last In First Out”. |
21a Gust less s. Thanks Peter and Anto.
My picks: BARRICADE, UNINSPIRED, GRAPHOLOGIST, GUT,
FASTEST, AKIN and POIGNANT.
Thanks Anto and PeterO.
24 down is a bit iffy. It could just as easily be FILO, FIFO or LILO. Not sure even context saves 2 down. While getting on a bit means old, on a bit by itself doesn’t.
Other than those two, a pleasant solve.
Desmodeus@3 – agreed. I guess LIFO is more like “order of firing” than the others, but an obscure “word” with only a CD? Meh. And agree re: 2d.
That said, fun puzzle with a lot of nice clues and only the one or two quibbles.
In 27, I took SPOT = HOLE = a bit of trouble.
Thanks Anto and PeterO (especially stepping in to do double duty!)
Agree with Jeffrey T #1 re Gust minus s in 1ac
27ac ‘hole’ = ‘spot’ in the sense of being in trouble?
Juan Dango #5 must have pressed send just before me!
Had to drag LIFO and TOP-HOLE from somewhere in my memory. As already said alternate answers are just as acceptable but thought LIFO is the most commonly used in that context and was luckily what I opted for. Otherwise not too much trouble with this one.
Liked PRESENTS and LOVE HEARTS
Thanks PeterO and Anto
FIFO is – stupidly perhaps – a firing strategy; a companies longest employed staff will often be the best remunerated . You lose all the knowledge base and experience (and tend to go bust) but it’s far from unknown (especially if asset stripping)
Lifo and On a bit were pretty bad clues. I still enjoyed crossword but I think a clear and unsettleable ambiguity is a cardinal sin
I didn’t enjoy this, it reminded me of Anto’s early efforts.
Without crossers, how are you supposed to know which of AIR/ERE is the required answer?