Thanks to Monk for the fun this morning.
A most enjoyable puzzle from Monk. I found this mostly straightforward, with a few head scratchers (8 down took a while to parse – what a clue!), but overall completely fair. A forgiving grid structure also helped keep things moving along nicely. Some wonderful anagrams and surfaces.
The perimeter words all contain a double C, but I haven’t worked out whether there is more to it than that – anyone have more time to spot a pattern perhaps?
(CRITICAL CERN ACT)* (*resolved)
L[oathsom]E (extremely) + PUT< (set, <from the east)
S (second) + HARP (mouth organ) found on CARD (witty guy)
(C (cold) + ROQUE[for]T (blue cheese)), FOR abandoning
WHIT (jot) + MAN (piece, as in chess)
(HOME AGENT)* (*mobile)
HAVE[n] (harbour, almost) brings in E (European)
(OTT (excessive, over the top) + OP (work))< (<held back)
(IS following L (line)) into BALTIC (sea)
(SERIAL [k]I[ller] (second))* (*false)
CHICO (Marx brother) takes in AG (silver)
(“HI” (welcome) + “ALTER” (change)) (“delivered”)
TIT[i]AN (artist, missing an I (island))
([i]POD with PLASTIC MICRO)* (*new)
CD = ‘Corps Diplomatique’ from the French
(E (English) PHD CLAIMS LOCAL)* (*fake)
(IT (Italian) + FORT (stronghold)) in [s]TAT[e] (shelled)
[trus]T (at last) entering PURE (clean) + RU (sport, Rugby Union) after exchange
The exchange being to switch the positions of PURE (clean) and RU (sport) so that RU comes first
TACT (diplomacy) surrounding I (India, NATO alphabet)
(CLEAR THE)* (*ground) around W (wide)
[t]IP (dump) + SWI[t]CH (rod), having no T (time) at all
CHAS (Dave’s sidekick) before M (Mike, NATO alphabet)
Chas ‘n’ Dave were an English musical duo
EX (former) + PEN (US prison, penitentiary) + S[ervic]E (voided) + A + C (Conservative) + COUNT’S (peer’s)
(BEIRUT [c]A[p]I[t]A[l] (regularly))* (*damaged)
R (Romeo, NATO alphabet) nailed by (A + TT (dry, teetotal) + ACTOR (performer))
O (old) + ONAGER< (wild ass, <pulled up)
IDIO[ma]TIC (in a manner of speaking, MA (mother) leaves)
GIR[dle]< (half of, <up)
A cryptic reverse clue
R (run) into COG (something with teeth) + I (one)
14D … new one for me.
Thanks Monk and Oriel
25ac and 6dn: It is good to see the precision of “missing an island” in 25ac and “Having no time at all” in 6dn. I had looked at “I.S.I..” for some time without thinking of a port that would fit, and so had to leave 6dn to be the one clue for which I found all the checked letters before the answer, but of course the H made it obvious.
14dn: Once I had “A.B.I.T..” and the anagram fodder, it seemed reasonable that the answer would end in -IA, and there was really only one way in which the other letters would fit comfortably.
Purely guessing, but would CC maybe mean FT puzzle 200 by Monk.
A really enjoyable puzzle. I think Gurney must be right as St. Francis Day is October 4th
Thanks for the blog , very good set of clues with a very friendly grid and perimeter to give lots of help .
Very good Peter@4 and I agree that Gurney must be right . At least it was not Cricket Club .
Thanks Monk for a deeply satisfying crossword with my top picks being ANTARCTIC CIRCLE (good anagram), BALLISTIC, CHICAGO, HIGH ALTAR (great homophone clue), TIT FOR TAT, IDIOTIC, and RIG UP. I needed the blog to understand IPSWICH and I couldn’t find the ‘hidden extra’ characteristic of a Monk puzzle. Thanks Oriel for the blog.
I found this difficult. I never felt myself on the same wavelength as the setter, and finished with several unparsed answers. He broke the NHO limit for me, and I am afraid I still do not understand ON THE GAME.
Despite the frustrations, I still derived a lot of enjoyment
Thanks Monk and Oriel
13ac: Chambers 2016 p 625 has “on the game (inf) workiing as a prostitute”, and of course solictor is the agent noun from solicit vi “(of prostitutes) to make advances so as to win custom” (p 1483).
POTTO was new to me. Only 11 cold solves so harder than yesterday. Struggled towards the end. Loi RIG UP. HIGH ALTAR inexplicably took me ages.
This just reminded me why I usually avoid Monk’s crosswords.
Missed Ipswich
Never realised it was a port
Never realised that Rod was a switch
Otherwise, enjoyable.
Hmm. Does RIG UP really mean to dress suggestively? Seems the usual phrase for that is “rig out”? RIG UP usually means to set up equipment. I’m also not aware of ALL- ACCOMPLISHED being a set expression, though the meaning is clear.