A proper headscratcher from SOLOMON.
Need help parsing 10a.
FF:9 DD:9
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | STRAW |
Rats fidgeting with bedding (5)
|
| [ RATS ]* W ( with ) | ||
| 4 | PRINCIPAL |
Read out rule that’s most important (9)
|
| sounds like PRINCIPLE ( rule ) | ||
| 9 | BELATED |
Overdue book was a thriller (7)
|
| B ( book ) ELATED ( ~ was a thriller ) | ||
| 10 | LION CUB |
Chocolate bars one left out for one taking part in Pride (4,3)
|
| This one is for someone else to enlighten | ||
| 11 | ESPERANTO |
A colonial subject thus grasps after European language (9)
|
| E ( european ) [ SO ( thus ) containing { PER ( a ) ANT ( colonial subject ) } ] | ||
| 13 | DRIER |
Motorcyclist moving back to Thailand to get rained on less (5)
|
| RIdER ( motorcylist, with D – thailanD, last letter, moving to the front ) | ||
| 14 | HYENA |
One might be spotted in hotel with Enya, tiddly (5)
|
| H ( hotel ) [ ENYA ]* | ||
| 15 | BISECTION |
Cut the investment of depleted stockpile into Bitcoin, following crash (9)
|
| SE ( StockpilE, depleted i.e. without inner letters ) in [ BITCOIN ]* | ||
| 18 | MUSKETEER |
Old soldier — one holding ball aboard Queen Elizabeth — put on fragrance (9)
|
| MUSK ( fragrance ) [ TEE ( one holding ball ) in ER ( queen elizabeth ) ] | ||
| 20 | FETCH |
Get off the edges of cliff (5)
|
| [ THE CF ( edges of ClifF ) ]* | ||
| 22 | SYRUP |
Your drink contains sugar water (5)
|
| YR ( your ) in SUP ( drink ) | ||
| 24 | LIGHTBULB |
How a great idea’s illustrated by fair, young Hyacinth? (9)
|
| LIGHT ( fair ) BULB ( young hyacinth ) | ||
| 26 | EXPLAIN |
Justify former scheme to take over India (7)
|
| EX ( former ) [ PLAN ( scheme ) containing I ( india ) ] | ||
| 27 | SLEEPER |
The end for homeless pill-popping outcast who’s lost consciousness (7)
|
| S ( homelesS, end of ) [ E ( pill, ecstasy ) in LEPER ( outcast ) ] | ||
| 28 | DISCOVERY |
Find two circles with revolution about axis (9)
|
| DISC O ( two circles ) VER ( reverse of REV – revolution ) Y ( axis ) | ||
| 29 | ENTRY |
One guarding gate denied opening gate (5)
|
| sENTRY ( one guarding gate, without first letter ) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SABRE |
Weapon found in bakeries — a breadknife? (5)
|
| hidden in “..bakerieS A BREadknife” | ||
| 2 | RELAPSE |
Turning more ashen and exhausted, some get worse (7)
|
| RELAP ( more ashen = PALER, reversed ) SE ( SomE, exhausted i.e. without inner letters ) | ||
| 3 | WATERGATE |
Warwickshire’s opener worried about great sporting scandal (9)
|
| W ( Warwickshire, first letter ) ATE ( worried ) [ GREAT ]* | ||
| 4 | POD |
One leaving Apple device in pea coat? (3)
|
| iPOD ( apple device, without I – one ) | ||
| 5 | IGLOO |
Roofless large toilet that’s surprisingly warm (5)
|
| bIG ( large, without first letter ) LOO ( toilet ) | ||
| 6 | CLOUD |
Obscure pair of musicians returning to support 10cc (5)
|
| CL ( 10cc, centiliter ) [ reverse of DUO ( pair of musicians ) ] | ||
| 7 | PUCCINI |
Italian scorer lifted cup before the commencement of celebrations in Italy (7)
|
| PUC ( reverse of CUP ) C ( Celebrations, first letter ) IN I ( Italy ) | ||
| 8 | LABYRINTH |
Film featuring Bowie, thin, and, ably dancing, grasping Sarah’s middle (9)
|
| [ THIN ABLY R ( saRah, middle letter of ) ]* | ||
| 12 | NOBLE |
Stately dictator’s honest (5)
|
| double def? i am not sure what dictator implies other than a sounds like clue which i cant figure out | ||
| 14 | HOMESTEAD |
Grange with converted shed and moat encircling the back of house (9)
|
| [ SHED MOAT E ( homE, last letter of ) ]* | ||
| 16 | SHRUG |
Mum put on wig that covers both shoulders (5)
|
| SH ( mum ) RUG ( wig ) | ||
| 17 | CAFETIERE |
Coffee pot thought to be broken by iron strap (9)
|
| CARE ( thought ) containing [ FE ( iron ) TIE ( strap ) ] | ||
| 19 | SCRAPES |
Get rid of Euro and start to suffer difficulties (7)
|
| SCRAP ( get rid of ) E ( Euro ) S ( Suffer, first letter ) | ||
| 21 | TRUMPET |
Sound of horn from Tesla going over strange dog? (7)
|
| T ( Tesla ) RUM ( strange ) PET ( dog ) | ||
| 23 | PIANO |
Gently turn on a copper (5)
|
| reverse of [ ON A IP ( copper, Imperial Police ) ] | ||
| 24 | LUNGE |
Charge electronic organ in advance (5)
|
| LUNG ( organ ) E ( electronic ) | ||
| 25 | BERRY |
Slip in alongside Chuck? (5)
|
| ERR ( slip ) in BY ( alongside ) | ||
| 27 | SKY |
‘What’s up?’ says bunny, finally, eating one end of carrot-stick (3)
|
| SY ( “..sayS bunnY..”, final letter sof ) containing K ( carrot-sticK, end of ) |
Lion and Club are names of UK chocolate bars , one left out is precise , just the L from C(L)UB
For 12 Down, honest = no bull (spoken)?
Thanks Turbolegs
Thanks Solomon and Turbolegs
10ac: LION and CLUB are types of chocolate bar – remove the L from CLUB. (I see I am now crossing with Roz @1)
23dn: I think the copper is one penny (1p = IP) in British currency
Lion and Club are chocolate bars, so Lion C(l)ub leaving one L out.
I thought perhaps 23D was ON A reversed following PI for private investigator, but now think it’s 1 penny.
I came here for enlightenment as I pppoam also struggling with 1ac LION CUB and 12d NOBLE.
For the latter could it be a double definition with NOBLE for stately and no bull for honest?
For 12ac there is a chocolate bar called a club when the L is left out gives CUB. A lion would make part of a pride.
I would rank the puzzle 10 for difficulty.
Thanks to Solomon and Turbolegs
An alternate explanation for Lion Cub might be C (chocolate) + Bulion (Bullion = Bar minus 1 L), anagram, although I will defer to Roz, being American and not familiar with UK brands.
Comment #8
Thanks for the blog , a very good set of clues with lots of neat wordplay . The CL for cloud is very nicely done and I like the bulb bit for LIGHTBULB .
I think Tony@2 has it for NOBEL , perhaps honest is a bit too close to a second definition .
I agree with the 1p for copper .
I enjoyed this – especially as not having time to look at other puzzles this week
Loved: MUSKETEERS, LIONCUB (had no difficulty solving this as I used to love club biscuits with their thick chocolate coating – I seem to remember my favourite had raisins in it), LIGHTBULB, PUCCINI, BERRY
Thanks Solomon and turbo legs
Thanks Solomon. I found this on the more challenging end of Solomon’s spectrum and I resorted to the check button to validate a few guesses. There were several I couldn’t parse including LION CUB, being unfamiliar with the chocolate bars. My favourites included BELATED, BISECTION, ENTRY, POD, and LUNGE. Thanks Turbolegs for the blog.
Greyhound@10 the Fruit Club were purple and had raisins in , Orange Club were orange , Golf Club were green and tasted a bit minty .
Really enjoyable. No bull, in particular, made me smile. Took me far too long to see the organ in LUNGE and the definition in SKY, after I had got all the hard ones.
I thought this was on the easier side – luck of clicking with the setter, I guess. As a solver who prizes clues that read naturally, I really appreciated this puzzle. Almost every clue has a nice surface and I could have ticked any number. LIGHTBULB was perhaps my favourite.
I did not have the knowledge to grasp the parsing of the parochial LION CUB, so thanks all for the help. I was not too happy that the definition of IGLOO is “surprisingly warm” and I also had NOBLE = “no bull” (with a question mark to myself).
Thanks Solomon and Turbolegs
I didn’t find this especially difficult, but too many clues that I could not adequately parse. Too clever by half, wordplay for this solver.
I did this in two sessions and was finding it a bit of a struggle at the first go, then when I was able to pick it up again everything just went in smoothly. Odd how that happens sometimes….
Comment #17
Didn’t really enjoy this. I thought a number of the clues were too convoluted/obtuse.