The original puzzle may be found here.
A typical Gemelo puzzle with concise clues and tight definitions. The right hand side was fairly easy, but until I got HUGGER-MUGGER, the left hand side held out for a bit.
Thanks, Gemelo.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | HOLT |
Orchard refuge (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | TIGHTER |
Increasingly tipsy game involving chasers, with three shortly drunk (7)
|
| TIG (playground “game involving chasers”) with *(thre) [anag:drunk] where THRE is (thre)E [shortly] | ||
| 11 | GOLF COURSE |
Where one may be putting gallons naturally around lake (10, 2 words)
|
| G (gallons) + OF COURSE (“naturally”) around L (lake) | ||
| 12 | GATEAU |
Ancient German district welcoming alternative to coffee cake (6)
|
| GAU (a territorial “district” of “ancient Germany”) welcoming TEA (“alternative to coffee”) | ||
| 14 | DEMI-WOLVES |
One’s educated about football team’s crosses in play (10)
|
| <=(I’M (“one’s”) + ed. (educated), round) + WOLVES (“football team”)
DEMI-WOLVES is a Shakespearean term for half-wolf, half dog crosses, hence “crosses in play” |
||
| 15 | ELANET |
Way to cut frame of elegant kite (6)
|
| LANE (“way”) to cut [frame of] E(legan)T | ||
| 17 | BOOKS |
Sounds of derision surrounding king in Old Testament, say (5)
|
| BOOS (“sounds of derision”) surrounding K (king) | ||
| 18 | REND |
Hot, naked – and separate (4)
|
| (t)REND(y) (“hot”, naked (i.e. with outsides removed)) | ||
| 19 | OTARINE |
Old black stuff in base of seals (7)
|
| O (old) + TAR (“black stuff”) + IN + E (“base” of natural logarithms) | ||
| 20 | MACHETE |
The clumsy chopping weapon? (7)
|
| *(the) [anag:clumsy] chopping MACE (“weapon”) and &lit. | ||
| 21 | IDEM |
Gemelo reflecting on 1d – it’s the same in Latin (4)
|
| <=ME (“Gemelo”, reflecting) on ID (1d) | ||
| 23 | URENT |
Burning ironing, ultimately from more than just pressing? (5)
|
| (ironin)G [ultimately] from UR(g)ENT (“more than just pressing”) | ||
| 25 | REVERB |
Feature of semibreve resounding back? (6)
|
| Hidden backwards in [feature of…back] “semiBREVE Resounding” and &lit. | ||
| 26 | GARAGE BAND |
Chat about Madness, along with less sophisticated rock group (10, 2 words)
|
| GAB (“chat”) about RAGE (“madness”) + AND (“along with”) | ||
| 29 | ARROBA |
At least 25 pounds for Spanish queen to board Asian carriage (6)
|
| R (Regina, so “queen”) to board AROBA (Central “Asian carriage”)
Arobba is a weight of at least 25lbs used in Iberia and South America. |
||
| 31 | ERGOMANIAC |
American working to cling onto work – as she might? (10)
|
| *(american) [anag:working] to cling onto GO (“work”) | ||
| 32 | REGREDE |
Old person’s to go back and take new degree (7)
|
| R (recipe, Latin for “take”) + *(degree) [anag:new] | ||
| 33 | WISE |
Scottish guide is well-informed (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | HUGGER-MUGGER |
Press shoot sport informally, starting late in confusion (12)
|
| HUG (“press”) + GERM (“shoot”) + (r)UGGER (“sport informally”, starting late) | ||
| 2 | ORACLE |
Medium or large initially claimed by one (6)
|
| OR + L(arge) [initially] claimed by ACE (“one”) | ||
| 3 | TOE |
Accent losing northern brogue, to a certain extent? (3)
|
| TO(n)E (“accent”, losing N (northern))
The toe of a brogue would be one of the extents of the shoe. |
||
| 4 | FLAMELET |
Bit of light conflict abruptly ended when wearing uniform (8)
|
| MELE(e) (“conflict”, abruptly ended) when wearing FLAT (“uniform”) | ||
| 6 | ICE WATER |
Splashing it, are we cold? (8, 2 words)
|
| *(it are we c) [anag:splashing] where C = cold, and &lit. | ||
| 7 | GOGO |
Erotic Greek monster killing one in three (4)
|
| GO(r)GO(n) (“Greek monster”, killing one in three) | ||
| 8 | HULLO |
Welcome outer cover beginning to open (5)
|
| HULL (“outer cover”) + [beginning to] O(pen) | ||
| 9 | ESSE |
Being the Ricardos was forgettable, ultimately (4)
|
| (th)E (Ricardo)S (wa)S (forgettabl)E [ultimately] | ||
| 10 | REASSEMBLAGE |
Reckless gambler, holding 9 without ace, is rallying again (12)
|
| *(gambler) [anag:reckless] holding ESSE (solution to “9” down) without A (ace) | ||
| 13 | AVOIDED |
Did Miss Delaware love interrupting temperamental woman from the south? (7)
|
| <=(DE (Delaware) + O (“love”, in tennis) interrupting DIVA (“temperamental woman”), from the south) | ||
| 14 | DANCERS |
Skippers mark floating crew – rest regularly dismissed (7)
|
| DAN (a buoy, so a “mark floating”) + C(r)E(w) R(e)S(t) [regularly dismissed] | ||
| 16 | TO THE BAD |
In deficit that bode ill (8, 3 words)
|
| *(that bode) [anag:ill] | ||
| 17 | BALEARIC |
Eg Ibizan beer stocked by Italian city clubs (8)
|
| ALE (“beer”) stocked by BARI (“Italian city”) + C (clubs) | ||
| 22 | EREBUS |
Infernal part of eastern riddle (6)
|
| E (eastern) + REBUS (“riddle”) | ||
| 24 | NAGOR |
Antelope curry – no joke! – served up (5)
|
| <=(ROGAN, served up) where ROGAN is ROGAN JOSH (“curry”) with no JOSH (“joke”) | ||
| 27 | AYRE |
Elizabethan tune adopted by lay reader (4)
|
| Hidden in [adopted by] “lAY REader” | ||
| 28 | GAME |
Business school professor’s central point (4)
|
| GAM (“school” of whales) + (prof)E(ssor) [‘s central point] | ||
| 30 | RAW |
Naked Attraction originally cancelled (3)
|
| (d)RAW (“attraction”, originally cancelled) |
When I first read 11a, I guessed the correct meaning of ‘putting’ but this caused me to try to fit GREEN into the answer, and I took to long to get REGREDE because I wasn’t thinking of an anagram of ‘degree’. I originally tried to make REASSEMBLING work at 10d, and got the WOLVES part of 14a a while before I could see the rest. I really liked the &lit clues to MACHETE and ICE WATER.
ARROBA tested my desire to guess the answers before looking them up because I didn’t know the answer and knew the carriage could also be ARABA, and when I did look it up I found was wrong to expect that ‘At least 25 pounds’ to mean the plural of word meaning ’12½ pounds’.
It seems that Chambers gives REGREDE as rare, rather than old.
Thanks, loonapick and Gemelo.
Thanks for the blog , a solid Plain puzzle with a good set of clues . MACHETE and ICE WATER were neatly done .
16dn: I thought the surface read oddly (surely it should be “that bodes ill”?); then I wondered if “bode” was also the past tense. However, my Chambers doesn’t give a past tense for bode (suggesting it would be the normally-formed boded); as a past tense, bode would be the past of bide, which also doesn’t make sense in the clue. Does the latest Chambers have anything more helpful?
Nice blog.
MM@3: “bide” can mean “remain,” so to speak of something “that bode/remained ill” is not completely nonsensical (but not particularly intelligible, either). I read this as a misdirection from the usual meaning of “bode” = “portend.”