A great way to start the day.
A most enjoyable puzzle from Monk. Great clueing and a nice steady solve. Monk has included a fun repeated theme, which I admit I only saw after completion. Many thanks to Monk.
(HITS WICKET)* (*unexpectedly)
9. Instant parasite (4)
Double definition
ANNEE (year in Provence, i.e. in French) plugged by X (times)
GNAT< (fly, <around) + RAMS (crowds)
CE< (church, <backing) + CEL<TIC (Glasgow team, given <turnaround of first half)
CE = Church of England; Celtic FC is a Glasgow football club
The word ‘catholic’ (lowercase) is unrelated to the church and means ‘universal’ or ‘all-inclusive’ or of course ‘eclectic’
[z]ANY (wacko, faceless) + WHO (cycled)
IN (home) + AWAY (not home)
MEDIC (doctor) + I[ncident] (first to)
(TWIT (fool) + S (society)) about S[uccess] (source of)
(YALE GANG)* (*disastrously)
OMANI (Gulf national) in AGE< (period, <retrogressive)
CRO[p] (whip, mostly) cuts ASS (bottom)
A cryptic clue, as ‘this’ is an across clue
H (hours) ahead of EA (each) + R (Republican)
HEARING (judicial investigation) surrounding TEN (X, Roman numeral)
CHIN[a] (friend, mostly)
(T[ussl]E (both sides in) + CREATE)* (*struggles)
[n]ASCENT (emerging, topless)
KIN (family) in SCARE (panic)
S[a]TURD[a]Y (24 hours, after A, A (adults, two) go missing)
SCH (school) + SING (chant) smothers MOO (low)
I would usually spell this with a ‘z’ but this spelling seems to be acceptable
[d]I[g]N[i]T[y] A[s]C[o]T (observed on a regular basis)
CHI[cly] (semi) before (W (wife); NAGGED (scolded) hosts)
(HABIT + N[e]E[d]S (periodically))* (*to be reviewed)
[s]IGNO[r] (bloke from Spain, uncovered) + RANT (tirade)
ALP (high mountain) + C (caught) between A, A (areas, two)
B[i]R[d] (odd bits of) found in SOME (a little)
Y, Y (years, two) admitting EAST (point)
[convict]S IN G[aol] (sequence of)
A most enjoyable and surprisingly kind grid from Monk.
Favourites were ABSINTHE, IN A WAY, ANYHOW, MEDICI and ANNEXE.
I too would spell ‘schmoosing’ with a ‘z’, perhaps why there is a question mark.
The repetitions were a lovely idea but, I confess, I didn’t spot them till coming here.
Thanks to Monk and Oriel.
I saw ‘sing’ and ‘sing’, but didn’t think to look for the other couples. Good fun, thank you, Monk and Oriel
I enjoyed this although I would never have got about 5 of them. My favourites were 15A, 22A and 25A although there was much to like.
Thanks to Monk and Oriel.
SCHMOOSING just looks wrong but it is in Chambers. I thought SIGNOR was Italian not Spanish.
You have a point, Hovis; ‘señor’ (Sp) and ‘Signor’ (It).
Thanks Monk and Oriel
No one seems to have commented that the four-letter repetitions form expressions in their own right.
Thanks for the blog and the grid , I sort of noticed some repetition , especially the Across clues that followed each other but did not see the whole picture at all . Very good set of clues although Chambers93 does agree with Hovis@4 for Signor but only has shmoose , no C unless it is schmooze .
A neat way to give the US indication for LAY AN EGG .
Drinking ABSINTHE always makes me feel more affectionate .
Thanks, Oriel, for pointing out the mini theme which I also missed – many lovely constructions and surfaces here. Thank you Monk for the puzzle.
Roz@7: Apparently when the actor who starred in Barbarella and Cat Balou decided to do exercise videos, she was advised not to bother and just drink anise and wormwood liquor to make her heart grow.
A very accommodating puzzle, and I certainly quickly got on the setter’s wavelength from first to last; ‘though the spelling of SCHMOOSING seemed awry ( indeed, the spell-checker on here just agreed with me ).
YEASTY as “insubstantial” is new to me, but in the book.
As for TANGRAM, I know the word in context, but don’t ask me what it is!
Some nice surfaces, and accurate wordplays, and I enjoyed myself. I even spotted the couplets (!) – I think I’ve only heard ” TICK,TICK” in the movies, used by the villain to mock the hero…a la, “time is running out” .
So, THUMB THUMB in the upwards orientation to Monk and Oriel
Tick Tick is the new sound of a clock for those who are boycotting social media. Very enjoyable puzzle, and thanks for the absinthe jokes.
ACROSS made me put in time about half as much again. But I’m glad I persevered. Would have felt glum revealing. Nice xword.
Roz @7. Yes, I did miss the fact that Chambers has SHMOOSE not SCHMOOSE as an alternative spelling.
Marvellous and so superior to yesterday’s offering, in this humble solver’s opinion.
25 across ACROSS was also my LOI.
Elegant, witty, clever, and most importantly, fair, clues.
Thanks Monk for a great set of clues with my top picks being ECLECTIC, IN A WAY, MEDICI, LAY AN EGG, CHIN, SKINCARE, and STURDY. I found this on the gentler end of Monk’s spectrum but just as clever as his more challenging puzzles. Thanks Oriel for the blog.
Collins lists SCHMOOSE as a variant spelling of SCHMOOZE so Monk is supported on that score. However, I think ‘signor’ as a ‘ bloke from Spain’ is just a mistake.
Thank you Oriel. Reaching for a word at random for this one, I don’t know, how about yeasty?
Got there in the end; but some stretchy definitions (cheats = TWISTS? I’ll save the Chambers merchants’ time to tell you it’s not there), the Medici chestnut and crucially, the Signor blunder, have not put me in the most sympathetic mood.
‘Chicly’ is in Chambers but surely not a word one encounters very often, and as for ‘semi-chickly’ …
A fairly gentle puzzle, though, as Monk’s puzzles go, but the bloke in 18dn is surely Italian, not Spanish. We liked ECLECTIC and TANGRAMS.
Thanks, Monk and Oriel.
“Schmoosing” just seems wrong compared to “Schmoozing”. Dictionary or otherwise, I wonder who uses this variant. Do I just happen to read the Americanized version of British books?
Looking in out of interest. I do not have access to my print copies of Chambers (2011, 2014, and 2016), but, like any of you, I can look at Collins online I can confirm Tony S@ 15 re schmoose.
20ac: Collins online gives twist in British English verb 11. (transitive) British informal to cheat; swindle.
I echo the positive comments. My ticks went to WHITE STICK, ET CETERA, and SKINCARE for their surfaces. Although I had to look up Celtic, I liked the use of catholic to mean ECLECTIC with church CE (reversed of course). I thought STURDY was clever (and took some thought to solve). Also liked IN A WAY for its cleverness.
I was not happy with the need to shorten a rhyming slang word to get CHIN. All parsed
Thanks Monk and Oriel
For IGNORANT I was trying to think of a way to connect to IGNACIO, but not sure how to make “uncovered” indicate removing the ACI from the middle.