Another beautifully constructed puzzle from Filbert. I am a big fan of scribble paper when solving, because I often need to see things written down to work them out. My recycling bin is always that bit fuller after I’ve wrestled a Filbert offering into submission.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Box opened by wizard with bishop’s long key
SPACE BAR
An insertion of ACE and B in SPAR. The insertion indicator is ‘opened by’.
6 Lip turned grey – effect of heat, you see
MIRAGE
A charade of RIM reversed and AGE.
9 Half of Stilgoe’s Bitter ordered for Tim Rice?
LIBRETTIST
(STIL[GOES] BITTER)* with ‘ordered’ as the anagrind.
10 Sister reported an absence
NONE
A soundalike clue (‘reported’) for NUN.
11 Leaflets now distributed round work all together
AT ONE FELL SWOOP
A charade of (LEAFLETS NOW)* O and OP. The anagrind is ‘distributed’. The phrase is, surprise surprise, Shakespeare’s, from Macbeth. FELL in this adjectival sense dates from the late 13th century and means ‘fierce, cruel, ruthless; terrible, destructive,’ according to the OED. Shakespeare used it this way (to describe the murder of MacDuff’s family using the metaphor of a kite swooping to take them) but nowadays it refers to any actions taken all at once.
13 Frank‘s a hundred, with evidence to prove it
CANDID
A charade of C, AND and ID.
14 Woman on the street delighted to fit into parking space
BAG LADY
An insertion of GLAD in BAY. The insertion indicator is ‘to fit into’.
15 Temper made Gauss add brackets the wrong way
ASSUAGE
Hidden reversed in madE GAUSS Add. Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician, so the ‘brackets’ will be the ones used in equations.
17 Groom heartlessly pinched gold rings
OSTLER
An insertion of ST[O]LE in OR for ‘gold’. The insertion indicator is ‘rings’.
20 Weed in cool river tickles bathers on the bottom
HIPPOPOTAMUSES
An insertion of POT in HIP and PO, followed by AMUSES. The insertion indicator is ‘in’. It takes some skill to take a word like HIPPOPOTAMUSES, see how to break it into constituent parts, and then write a sensible surface to guide solvers to the solution. Elegant.
22 Composer who wanted quiet shut up
CAGE
A dd. The composer is John CAGE, whose most famous silent composition is 4′33″ (Four Minutes and Thirty-three Seconds), created in 1952, where no instruments are played.
23 Loss of brightness, with black day between spells of bad weather
BRAIN DRAIN
A charade of B and D inserted into RAIN twice. The insertion indicator is ‘between’.
24 One contributing to very little?
PEANUT
A cd. ‘That $15m fine is peanuts for Meta.’ I think Filbert is intimating that we need the plural to make the expression: hence ‘one contributing to’.
25 Vegan option really kind hosts left for Yolanda in the morning
SOYA MILK
An insertion of Y for the first letter of ‘Yolanda’ and AM in SO and ILK. The insertion indicator is ‘hosts’.
Down
2 Italian’s first proper answer
PRIMA
A charade of PRIM and A.
3 E.g. Calvin and Hobbes love getting into wagon and going
CARTOON
An insertion of O in CART and ON. The insertion indicator is ‘getting into’.
4 Charming parent stuck with Aunt Ethel every so often
BUTTERING UP
An insertion of UTTE, the even letters of aUnTeThEl in BRING UP. The insertion indicator is ‘stuck with’.
5 One could be cavalryman crossing area’s frontier
RAIDER
An insertion of A for the initial letter of ‘area’ in RIDER, and a cad. The insertion indicator is ‘crossing’.
6 Police came to rally
MET
A dd.
7 We learn in a forced way, repetition
RENEWAL
(WE LEARN)* with ‘in a forced way’ as the anagrind.
8 Prisoner charges grand less than original charge for weapons
GUNPOWDER
An insertion of POW in G and UNDER. The insertion indicator is ‘charges’.
12 Big spender delays start of ambitious moon shot
LOADSAMONEY
(DELAYS A MOON)* with ‘shot’ as the anagrind.
13 Exit from garden behind shed I slam
CASTIGATE
A charade of CAST, I and GATE.
16 Many men up there in trouble without her
UMPTEEN
(MEN UP T[HER]E)* with ‘in trouble’ as the anagrind.
18 Liberal America curtailed president’s five year term
LUSTRUM
A charade of L, US and TRUM[P]. Wishful thinking, sadly.
19 Queen wearing corset gets out of control
STRAYS
An insertion of R in STAYS. The insertion indicator is ‘wearing’.
21 Boiling apparatus not bubbling yet
STILL
A triple definition.
23 Club spa where Henry has gone
BAT
BAT[H]
Many thanks to Filbert for another fine Sunday cryptic.
Great fun as always from this superlative setter. I did enjoy the Calvin and Hobbes clue, with its relevant surface. One of my all-time favourite cartoon strips. After all these years of countless (not really) Trump clues, I don’t recall seeing that one before – a beaut. Very enjoyable throughout (I even enjoyed the enumeration of 11a – am I weird?).
This puzzle has just about everything one could possibly wish for, I won’t use the dreaded G****LOCKS reference, but dammit, I have done.
So many superb clues, no point listing favourites.
But best in show, the elusive PEANUT, 24(ac), wherein ” one” might also be “me”, so ” me contributing” a sly NUT allusion? Or, like Hovis @1, am I weird?
Calvin & Hobbes is the best cartoon known to man. I won’t go that far, but this Filbert is the best crossword I’ve tackled in donkeys years.
Hats off + both thumbs up, Fil et Pierre