GAFF kicks off the week…
A fairly challenging puzzle for a Monday, and clearly themed.
Thanks GAFF!
ACROSS
1. Runner-up in competition for best service (6)
SILVER
Double (cryptic) definition
4. Criticism troubles island nation (8)
BARBADOS
BARB (criticism) + ADOS (troubles)
10. Turning over tip-off to get level (7)
RANKING
[c]RANKING (turning over, tip-off)
11. He takes flight while running (7)
HURDLER
12. Lizard quite justified in being content (4)
TEJU
[qui]TE JU[stified] (in being content)
13. Set played live on site (10)
TELEVISION
(LIVE ON SITE)* (*played)
15. Mould in part of the ear (6)
HAMMER
16. Service leads to fool’s release (3,2,2)
LET GO OF
LET (service) leads to GOOF (fool)
20. Leaves grower with broken heaters (3,4)
ASH TREE
21. Allowed to start to look grim (6)
LAWFUL
L[ook] (start to) and AWFUL (grim)
24. Welsh motto involved bugs (5,5)
OWLET MOTHS
(WELSH MOTTO)* (*involved)
26. Grape may be small and spicy (4)
SHOT
S (small) and HOT (spicy)
28. Weapon of vile criminal in early days (7)
JAVELIN
(VILE)* (*criminal) in JAN (early days)
29. Aspire to be above the church (7)
STEEPLE
Cryptic definition (a spire)
30. Turn, retreat and point out lack of cover (8)
NUDENESS
(U (turn) + DEN (retreat)) and NESS (point) out
31. Curve surrounding pupil makes eye sore (6)
BLIGHT
BIGHT (curve) surrounding L (pupil, learner)
DOWN
1. Irritating characteristic of old record (8)
STEEPLE
Double (cryptic) definition
2. Hunger starts attempts that end in pits (4-5)
LONG-JUMPS
LONG (hunger) + JUMPS (starts attempts)
3. Go out with old girlfriend with sex appeal (4)
EXIT
EX (old girlfriend) with IT (sex appeal)
5. Lets heat damage field (8)
ATHLETES
6. Villa home turned up bone china covering meat (10)
BIRMINGHAM
(RIB)< (bone, <turned up) + MING (china) covering HAM (meat)
7. Old capital punishment for Hildebrand’s early letters (5)
DELHI
(HILDE[brand] (early letters))* (*punishment)
8. Swap sides in support for race (6)
SPRINT
SPLINT (support, swap sides, i.e. R (right) for L (left))
9. Settle match (5)
AGREE
14. Irish town cut off after restricted event (10)
PENTATHLON
ATHLON[e] (Irish town, cut short) after PENT (restricted)
17. How pre-fabricated gear may slip? (3-3-3)
OFF-THE-PEG
18. Man backs mature brave women (8)
HEROINES
HE (man) + (SENIOR)< (mature, <backs)
19. Problem with arches as supports under apartment (4,4)
FLAT FEET
FEET (supports) under FLAT (apartment)
22. Grow up! Not even Jesus of Nazareth sources bits of chicken (6)
GOUJON
G[r]O[w] U[p] (not even) + J[esus] O[f] N[azareth] (sources)
23. Chevy amongst others in race (5)
CHASE
Double (cryptic) definition
27. Ring saviour (4)
BELL
Thanks Gaff and Teacow. I was a little thrown by “goujon” being defined in the plural as “bits of chicken” – surely that would be “goujons”?
I was surprised to find that a word meaning”red-faced” (“livid”) can also mean “pasty” as in when the blood drains from your face. It is its own antonym which is fun.
Good fun and presumably marks either the end of the Commonwealth Games or the start of the European Athletics Championships.
Thanks for the blog , even I could not miss this theme . European Athletics Championship starts in BIRMINGHAM today .
Did not know TEJU but the clue was very fair .
I had BELL as a cryptic definition , saved by the bell for a boxer in the ring .
LONG JUMPS
I think starts=JUMPS and
Def: attempts that end in pits
OFF-THE-PEG
Looks like double(cryptic) def
Def 1: pre-fabricated
Def 2: How gear may slip (clothes slipping off a clothes peg?)
Thanks Gaff and Teacow.
PS: Many defs not underlined. Some tech glitch?
I struggled with this for a while until suddenly a lot of solutions came to me in a flurry, getting me almost to the end. I failed, however, with LIVID which I did not know (and would never have guessed) can also mean ‘pasty’. Ho hum….
Thanks Gaff and Teacow.
Comment #5
Thanks Gaff and Teacow
22dn further to Jack@1: Chambers 2016 and ODE 2010 only allow goujons in the plural. Collins 2023 (p 845) allows goujon, but only defined as “a small strip of fish or chicken, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried”. But I decided years ago to accept the fact that Gaff is less precise in his language than most other setters and enjoy his work at its own level. Mind you, I still cannot approve of 29ac with the unindicated splitting of “Aspire”.
I had a similar experience to Sourdough @4: it was a struggle, and then all of a sudden it wasn’t. The theme certainly helped with a few athletics-related ones in the second half of the solve (notably PENTATHLON and HAMMER). I liked the fact that at least in the online version, the puzzle has the special instructions “On your marks, get set…solve!”
PB @6: I kind of liked “aspire”; it’s very much a dad-joke clue.
We saw the theme (but not the occasion for it) but as usual found Gaff a bit ‘quirky’. ‘Nudeness’ may be in the dictionary but who ever uses the word in preference to ‘nudity’? And ‘goujon’ as a plural?
Thanks, though – and to Teacow.
Ucd hardly get more disparate actions than moulding and hammering, but they both can result in shaping. Interesting, and true too 😉
KVa@3 yes… tech issues. My laptop was being difficult, so I had to do the blog on my phone… and it’s a bit fiddly. Hopefully OK now.