Goliath is back in the Wednesday slot.
And on top form as well. Goliath showcases some of his trademark ‘lift and separate’ clues. (Essentially we need to occasionally separate words into parts of words to create new meanings.) Some very creative clueing going on, with great surfaces. Many thanks to the setter!
LESS ON (wearing fewer clothes)
Reverse anagram clue
(ATRIUM with CAT)* (*going wild) could be TRAUMATIC
We need to work backwards on this to solve for ATRIUM
TRY (attempt) to trap I (1) + NIT (parasite)
‘5’ refers to the clue numbered 5.
PRONE (liable) to hide FA (note)
‘Note’ as in do re mi etc.
RE (note) + (SILENCE (be quiet) about I (one))
R[ight] (to start) + AT + [th]E (end)
(IT LAB)< (computer workplace, <sent back)
ACROSS (like this clue) in LE (the, French)
STAMPED (get your passport this) before E[urope] (entry to)
[a]N[y] [f]AKE[d] [a]D[s] (uncovered)
“MUSE” (inspiration, “picked up”)
(ION (one charged) by CT (court)) in DIARY (journal)
[h]UMANITI[es]* (*possibly, SHE dropped out)
FAIR (reasonable) + WAY (course)
GUESTS* (*pants) – semi &lit
MODELS* (*fashion)
[socia]L [medi]A [influence]R [gettin]G [fam]E (at last)
SUN (star) supported by LAID< (<back)
(HOT IN)* (*surprisingly) + NICE (Mediterranean resort)
Cryptic clue
This is clue number 5. If you subtract 2, you get 3, which is also the number of the preceding clue.
INFER (reach a conclusion) + there’s NO
MONE (baroness) before TIDES* (*changed)
IN (home) + FLU (sickness) + [r]E[e]N[a]C[t]E[d] (every now and then)
BORING (tedious), THE (article) is enclosed
CANDID (frank) + ATE (had lunch)
MUMS (parents) secure USE (employment)
DRINK* (*cocktail) and E[vening] D[ress] (primarily)
[undergroun]D RIVE[r] (obtained from)
REAL (authentic) + M[ast] (head)
Apart from the baroness (which also flummoxed Google AI for a while) an enjoyable pursuit.
I was going to say that a louse is a parasite rather than a nit (its egg). However, a check in Chambers says that a nit can also be a young louse so I learned something there.
Lovely puzzle from Goliath. Loved how ‘she dropped out of humanities’, the ‘drink cocktail’ and the ‘trousers, partly’.
And a few more miles smiles besides.
Thanks Goliath and Oriel.
Lovely puzzle indeed!
I particularly enjoyed the reverse anagrams in ATRIUM and MINUTIA, the homesickness in INFLUENCE, the witty reference to the baroness in MONETISED (GDU @1 see here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyvqqr51pno ) plus STAMPEDE, DICTIONARY and GUSSET.
I took RATE as simply the initial letters of Right At The End but it works either way.
Many thanks to Goliath for a lot of fun and to Oriel for a fine blog.
A Titan of a puzzle from Goliath: I started early on by ticking the outstanding clues, but gave up, because I was just ticking every darned one. The surfaces are skilfully apt, economic, and flow perfectly. The definitions are as tight as a drum.
I will steal Oriel’s word….creative, because it’s spot on.
I actually completed in a quick time, but the credit for that goes entirely to the quality of the setting, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I am waving my cap high, in the direction of Goliath & Oriel
In 25ac, does ‘pants’ have to do double duty and be included in the def? I guess Oriel’s ‘semi &lit’ suggests that …
Eileen@4
Concerning RATE, 12(ac), I did it your way ( as the song didn’t go ).
But I made a mental note, should there be a different device if a sequence of first letters, i.e.not from just the single following word, is to be used?
For example, “Speed starts right at the end” .
Is there a cryptic convention that using multiple first letters and/or final letters is indicated differently?
Eileen@4, she was a colourful character, it seems.
Thanks for the blog , very good set of clues with so many neat touches .
I think RATE must be as Eileen@4 has it . For the other way we would not need – to start – in the clue at all .
Roz@9 nicely spotted, and you’re certainly correct.
Most enjoyable. I liked the -2 device and the lift & separate for homesickness.
Thanks, Goliath and Oriel
All went well except I could not get “profane”. I don’t know why!
Great stuff from Goliath. All good fun/fair. GUSSET was probably my favourite for getting so much done on just THREE words. A big boo to 7D for including the evil MONE, waiting for the tides to change on the mega-yacht we paid for (good clue though). And it was surely R-AT-E, for me.
Thanks G & O
I agree this was creative, which I loved. Was I the only one to find it difficult, too?
My favourites were INFERNO, SUNDIAL, and MINUTIA. Thanks to Oriel for showing me how to parse ATRIUM and DICTIONARY. I believe Baroness MONE is of no interest and so largely unknown outside UK (I learned the name from another crossword and it took me quite some time to remember, after having the same experience with google as GDU@1).
Thanks Goliath and Oriel
THREE was my favorite. While in retrospect it doesn’t seem hard, trivial in fact, before hand i was stumped. I’ve never seen a clue like that and i respect innovation in the field!
Thank you all
I enjoyed this too. Mostly easy enough but it took me quite a while to finish everything off. I liked INFLUENCE and BOTHERING. It was all very good.
Thanks Goliath and Oriel.
Too late to add anything but praise.