The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/30082.
Anto on his best behaviour for a fun puzzle.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | FOOT FAULT |
Splitting payslip results in bad service? (4,5)
|
| ‘Splitting payslip’ gives FOOT (‘pay’-) plus FAULT (-‘slip’). ‘Results in’ might be regarded as part of the definition, or as connective tissue. | ||
| 6 | BEES |
Occasional brewers who will deliver honey? (4)
|
| Alternate letters (‘occasionally’) of ‘BrEwErS‘. | ||
| 10 | BLUFF |
Deceive friendly bank (5)
|
| Triple definition. | ||
| 11 | YOUNGSTER |
Gutsy Nero wrestled child (9)
|
| An anagram (‘wrestled’) of ‘gutsy Nero’. | ||
| 12 | LEECHES |
Suckers taking shelter before short game (7)
|
| A charade of LEE (‘shelter’) plus CHES[s] (‘game’) minus its last letter (‘short’). | ||
| 13 | INTROIT |
Sacred music at heart of saintly shroud rite (7)
|
| Interior letters (‘at heart of’) of ‘asINTly shROud rITe’. The actual letters are chosen to give the required result. | ||
| 14 | SERIOUS DAMAGE |
Acute harm horrible images aroused (7,6)
|
| An anagram (‘horrible’) of ‘images aroused’. | ||
| 17 | FRUIT MACHINES |
For example, Apple devices providing gambling opportunities (5,8)
|
| A charade of FRUIT (‘for example, apple’) plus MACHINES (‘devices’). | ||
| 21 | PARSNIP |
Assigns blame when returning vegetarian food (7)
|
| A reversal (‘when returning’) of PINS (‘assigns’) plus RAP (‘blame’). | ||
| 22 | PRIAPIC |
Chap so excited as couple make comeback in film (7)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of RIAP, a reversal (‘make comeback’) of PAIR (‘couple’) in PIC (‘film’). I think that Anto can be forgiven the adjectival answer (with extended definition?). | ||
| 24 | HANDS DOWN |
Passes on instruction to tellers when bank heist’s over (5,4)
|
| The instruction during a bank heist wiuld be HANDS UP, so that when the heist is over that command would be cancelled, although I doubt that the tellers would need explicit instructions. | ||
| 25 | TUTTI |
All together now – express disappointment at what comes before do (5)
|
| A charade of TUT (‘express disappointment’) plus TI (‘what comes before do’ -the full solfa do-re-mi-fa-so-la-TI-‘do’) | ||
| 26 | TWEE |
Sentimental short message made even shorter (4)
|
| A subtraction: TWEE[t] (‘short message’ – the burning question is whether one still tweets {if one does} now Twitter is X) minus its last letter (‘made even shorter’). | ||
| 27 | LISTENS IN |
Catalogue standard no good bugs (7,2)
|
| A charade of LIST (‘catalogue’) plus ENSI[g]N (‘standard’ – military colours) minus the G (‘no good’). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FABULIST |
One telling stories featuring fantastic, very minor celebrities (8)
|
| A charade of FAB (‘fantastic’) plus U LIST (‘very minor celebrities’ – way down from the A-list, with perhaps a hint of the German prefix U) | ||
| 2 | OF USE |
Beneficial to add oxygen to blend (2,3)
|
| A charade of O (chemical symbol, ‘oxygen’) plus FUSE (‘blend’). | ||
| 3 | FIFTH COLUMNIST |
Internal enemy in appropriate position here? (5,9)
|
| Indeed, 3D occupies the FIFTH COLUMN of the crossword grid. | ||
| 4 | ULYSSES |
Element of July’s session is something hard to understand? (7)
|
| A hidden answer (‘element of’) in ‘jULYS SESsion’; the definition must be a reference to the James Joyce novel, which perhaps some find difficult to understand in parts. | ||
| 5 | TOURIGA |
Travel around Wigan central to find Portuguese wine (7)
|
| A charade of TOUR (‘travel around’) plus IGA (‘wIGAn central’). Touriga Nacional, to give its full name, is a grape varietal much used in Port, and also vinified on its own, and maybe so labelled. | ||
| 7 | EAT NO LEAN |
Mrs Sprat’s dietary requirement processed at lane one (3,2,4)
|
| An anagram (‘processed’) of ‘at lane one’. | ||
| 8 | SCROTA |
Gutted scientific programme providing containers for seed producers (6)
|
| A charade of SC (‘gutted ScientifiC‘) plus ROTA (‘programme’). | ||
| 9 | AGATHA CHRISTIE |
She made crime novels airtight as each evolved (6,8)
|
| An anagram (‘evolved’) of ‘airtight as each’., with an extended definition. | ||
| 15 | REFERENCE |
Endorsement after president would indicate top choice (9)
|
| With a P (‘president’) in front, the answer becomes PREFERENCE (‘top choice’). | ||
| 16 | C-SECTION |
Conservative faction working to gather information for delivery option (1-7)
|
| An envelope (‘to gather’) of I (‘information’) in C (‘Conservative’) plus SECT (‘faction’) plus ON (‘working’). | ||
| 18 | TOPSOIL |
Labour adopts works creating best medium for growth (7)
|
| AN envelope (‘adopts’) of OPS (‘woks’) in TOIL (‘labour’). | ||
| 19 | ALPINES |
In Scotland all large trees produce small flowers (7)
|
| A charade of A’ (‘in Scotland all’ – “a man’s a man for a’ that”) plus L (‘large’) plus PINES (‘trees’). | ||
| 20 | UPSHOT |
Trophies stolen, clubs eliminated – it’s a result! (6)
|
| A charade of [c]UPS (‘trophies’) minus the C (‘clubs eliminated’) plus HOT (‘stolen’). | ||
| 23 | PATES |
Heads or livers chopped up? Depends how you say it (5)
|
| Double definition, with the second using the French pronunciation (and spelling) PATÉS. |
Good fun. I was not familiar enough with Scottish to fully parse ALPINES, and the wordplay for FOOT FAULT eluded me. New to me: FIFTH COLUMNIST FRUIT MACHINES, TOURIGA, PRIAPIC.
Okay, that’s a full quota of SCROTA for this year and a second FIFTH COLUMNIST for the month.
I shouldn’t be solving these in the middle of the night but I really enjoyed this and it was as close to a write in as I ever get.
Thanks PeterO for parsing slightly more thoroughly than me; I didn’t stop to think about the 5th column device, which is neat.
I liked OF USE, HANDS DOWN, FRUIT MACHINES and C SECTION among others.
Thanks Anto.
A minor Pauline theme here? (SCROTA PRIAPIC PARSNIP).
A steady, enjoyable solve today. I had to guess the NHO TOUERIGA
Thanks PeterO and Anto
Another who guessed TOURIGA. Solved without aids which is rare for me. This slid down like a good red wine, Portugese or otherwise, a moment of happiness. No quibbles this time with the clueing.
Excellent puzzle, with many favourites. Let’s narrow it down to 1a FOOT FAULT (“payslip” fission), 14a SERIOUS DAMAGE (good anagram and surface), 17a FRUIT MACHINES (“Apple devices”), 21a PARSNIP (good clue, though I hate the vegetable), 24a HANDS DOWN (funny), 1d FABULIST (just how many lists are there??), 16d C-SECTION (surface and “delivery option” definition), and others
Much of it solved between shows at our local Fringe Festival
Thanks Anto and PeterO
“The James Joyce novel, which perhaps some find difficult to understand in parts” – that’s an understatement!
i solved 27a and 19d differently (but think yours are better)
i had 27a as LIST-EN-SIN with en being the much loved standard printers’ measure
And 19d as A-L-PINES with A and L short for All Large and Pines as trees in Scotland
but as i say i prefer yours!
Never tackled ULYSSES and the warning in the clue has not encouraged me to do so!
Thoroughly enjoyable crossword, over disappointingly quickly.
Didn’t know the friendly meaning of BLUFF.
Many thanks both.
Re PRIAPIC for “Chap so excited” being an adjectival answer – is it not rather an adverbial (“so”) answer, and therefore ok?
Favourite: ULYSSES.
New for me: TOURIGA port wine, INTROIT, FIFTH COLUMNIST, and SCROTA (never had to think about the plural of scrotum before today 😉
I could not parse 19d apart from PINES, and wrongly guessed that AL = all in Scotland. I’ll need to locate a decent Scottish dictionary online!
I hope William@8 and others are not put off one of the great novels of the 20th century by 4. Well worth a little effort, and SCROTA and PRIAPIC would be perfectly at home in it. The device in FOOT FAULT took me a while to see after guessing the answer, but I’m always slow to see it. Philistine uses it a lot. I confess I found this puzzle a little unexciting on the whole, but that’s probably just me. Thanks to Anto and PeterO.
Michelle @10 – I can recommend the Dictionaries of the Scots Language (dsl.ac.uk), otherwise known as “Dictionars o the Scots Leid”. I’ve used it a lot in my work, which includes understanding 17th-century Scots.
Great Tuesday morning puzzle – thanks to Anto and PeterO.
Anto used to be one of the more innovative setters but I wonder if too many Quiptics and too much neophobic feedback have cramped his style somewhat? I thought REFERENCE was a good example of the kind of clue Anto used to specialise in. I read the SO as “very” hence PRIAPIC seemed okay to me
Still, all good fun and I was disappointed when it was over
Cheers P&A
Lots to like. FIFTH COLUMNIST especially made me chuckle. Not sure about 4D; perhaps Anto was thinking of Finnegan’s Wake? I couldn’t parse LISTENS IN; like frinton@7 I had list, en and sin, but wasn’t convinced that it worked. Thanks PeterO for the correct explanation and Anto for the fun.
ULYSSES is a wonderful novel, which is admittedly hard, but worth the perseverance and the film version with Milo O’Shea is marvellous. Another great puzzle from Anto, with FIFTH COLUMNIST and FRUIT MACHINES being particularly clever. I wish people would refrain from mentioning Paul when other setters produce FRUIT(Y) clues, they’re just as capable as him.
Ta Anto & PeterO.
Very heartening to know that if a crossword setter were to carry out a bank robbery he/she would have the courtesy to let the terrified staff know they could put their hands down before leaving.
Michelle@10:
There’s a good Scots dictionary here: https://dsl.ac.uk/
I used to use it a bit when the great Caledoniocentric AZED was freely available on the Guardian site.
Thanks, Anto and PeterO; this was fun and quirky enough to be interesting. FIFTH COLUMNIST my favourite, perhaps, and it might not be coincidence that in ULYSSES the sea is described as ‘scrotumtightening’.
Thanks Anto for a fun crossword and PeterO for the excellent blog. TOURIGA and INTROÏT were new for me but both fairly clued. Like others I also liked FIFTH COLUMN and was impressed by the anagram for AGATHA CHRISTIE.