Mog’s latest offering has been provided for our entertainment this Thursday in late July.
I found this to be towards the harder end of the Indy spectrum in terms of difficulty, and it took me quite a long time to get into the puzzle. I kept chipping away at it, but in the end I needed to cheat to reveal the solution at 20, which then gave me an idea for 21. However, I knew neither word with the meaning given, and I am still not sure why “Americans” are mentioned in 21.
My favourite clues today were 2, for including so many musical references; 11, for the “Turner” wordplay; 16, for sheer flair; and 18, for the “rock album” part of the wordplay.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are underlined; a break in underlining separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| ACROSS
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||
| 1 | ROBUST |
Hold up, crossworders, the first of these is tough (6)
|
| ROB (=hold up, e.g. a bank) + US (=crossworders) + T<hese> (“the first of” means first letter only) | ||
| 4 | AFFLUENT |
Loaded footballers turned voluble (8)
|
| AF (FA=footballers, i.e. Football Association; “turned” indicates reversal) + FLUENT (=voluble, glib); colloquially, “loaded” means rich, hence “affluent” | ||
| 9 | TOURISM |
Travel business to ancient city is minute (7)
|
| TO + UR (=ancient city, in OT) + IS + M (=minute, i.e. 60 seconds) | ||
| 11 | ROTATOR |
Rubbish art mixed up with old Turner (7)
|
| ROT (=rubbish, tat) + *(ART + O (=old, as in OT)); “mixed up” is anagram indicator; the “turner” of the definition is not the English painter but a turning device, rotor | ||
| 12 | LIGHT |
Weak understanding (5)
|
| Double definition: e.g. weak pressure is light pressure AND understanding is enlightenment, light, as in to see the light | ||
| 13 | THESAURUS |
So keeps bloke from Genesis at front of record book (9)
|
| [ESAU (=bloke from Genesis, i.e. character from OT) + R<ecord> (“front of” means first letter only)] in THUS (=so) | ||
| 14 | SCANDALMONGER |
Scrutinise modern gal spreading gossip (13)
|
| SCAN (=scrutinise, examine) + *(MODERN GAL); “spreading” is anagram indicator; a scandalmonger is someone who spreads or relishes scandal, a “gossip” | ||
| 18 | SCROOGE MCDUCK |
Disney toon to inspire about half of crooner’s rock album (7,6)
|
| [CROO<ner’s> (“half of” means four of eight letters are used) + GEM (=rock, gemstone) + CD (=album, i.e. compact disc)] in SUCK (=to inspire) | ||
| 20 | PAPETERIE |
Case favoured Pennsylvania city beyond its state (9)
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| PA (=Pennsylvania) + PET (=favourite, preferred) + ERIE (=Pennsylvania city); a papeterie is a stationery-case | ||
| 22 | TWILL |
Material desire follows lust in the end (5)
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| <lus>T (“in the end” means last letter only) + WILL (=desire) | ||
| 23 | OIL LAMP |
Light reflected through strip mall I operate (3,4)
|
| Hidden (“through”) and reversed (“reflected”) in “striP MALL I Operate” | ||
| 24 | FITNESS |
Fine to watch stripping with good health (7)
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| F (=fine- + <w>ITNESS (=to watch, observe; “stripping with (=W)” means letter “w” is dropped) | ||
| 25 | BROOKLYN |
Bear left at backwards New York borough (8)
|
| BROOK (=bear, tolerate) + L (=left) + YN (NY=New York; “backwards” indicates reversal) | ||
| 26 | PLAY AT |
Casually try produce coated in bit of butter (4,2)
|
| LAY (=to produce, i.e. eggs) in PAT (=bit of butter) | ||
| DOWN
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||
| 1 | RUTHLESS |
Savage without one book? (8)
|
| RUTH (=one book, of the Old Testament) + -LESS (=without) | ||
| 2 | BLUEGRASS |
Arranged rags in one music genre, and another (9)
|
| *(RAGS) in BLUES (=music genre); “arranged” is anagram indicator; the “another” of the definition refers to another music genre | ||
| 3 | SHIFT |
Key change (5)
|
| Double definition: “Shift” is a key on a computer keyboard AND a shift is a change, a move | ||
| 5 | FORGET ONESELF |
Puck perhaps tacked on to make characters behave improperly (6,7)
|
| FORGE (=make, produce) + TONES (=characters, of sound) + ELF (=Puck perhaps, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; sprite) | ||
| 6 | LETHARGIC |
Low on energy, pureed the garlic (9)
|
| *(THE GARLIC); “pureed” is anagram indicator | ||
| 7 | ENTER |
Go in, letting person cut in front (5)
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| <r>ENTER (=letting person, i.e. person letting (=renting) a property); “cut in front” means first letter is dropped | ||
| 8 | THRUSH |
Singer starts to truly hate prog band (6)
|
| T<ruly> H<ate> (“start to” means first letters only) + RUSH (=prog band, i.e. Canadian group formed in 1968); the thrush is a song bird, hence “singer” | ||
| 10 | METALLOGRAPHY |
In which data plotter probes gathered material like steel? (13)
|
| GRAPH (=data plotter) in [MET (=gathered, assembled) + ALLOY (=material like steel)]; & lit. | ||
| 15 | DIRT TRACK |
Cleared up stretch with races on? (4,5)
|
| DIR (RID=cleared (of), freed (of); “up” indicates vertical reversal) + TT (=races, i.e. Tourist Trophy) + RACK (=stretch, extend); semi- & lit. | ||
| 16 | ROUTINELY |
Regularly see defeat? (9)
|
| Cryptically, a rout in Ely (=a see, in Cambridgeshire) could be described as a “see defeat”! | ||
| 17 | SKILL SET |
Catching show’s opening, pan range of talent (5,3)
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| S<how> (“opening” means first letter only) in SKILLET (=pan, i.e. with a long handle) | ||
| 19 | APLOMB |
Cool doctor under retro dad look (6)
|
| AP (PA=dad; “retro” indicates reversal) + LO (=look) + MB (=doctor); cool is self-possession, coolness, as in to keep one’s cool | ||
| 21 | PALEO |
Pasty and doughnut diet for Americans? (5)
|
| PALE (=pasty, wan) + O (=doughnut, i.e. pictorially, with a hole in the middle); the Paleo (or Stone Age) Diet was pioneered by American scientist Loren Cordain | ||
| 22 | TOTAL |
Absolute child verges on animal (5)
|
| TOT (=child) + A<nima>L (“verges (=edges) on” means first and last letters only) |
PALEO
palaeo is British and PALEO is American?
Tough in places. Failed to get SCROOGE MCDUCK & PALEO (never heard of the latter) and cheated to get PAPETERIE (also unknown to me). Like ROUTINELY.