PETO kicks off the week…
An enjoyable puzzle, with a few words that I’d not come across before.
Thanks PETO!
ACROSS
1. Exercises involving, for instance, talk about transition (7)
PASSAGE
PE (exercises) involving (AS (for instance) + (GAS)< (talk, <about))
5. Skintight garment showing body part (back) covered in fat (7)
LEOTARD
(TOE)< (body part, <back) covered in LARD (fat)
9. Big and free for those at it (5)
LARGE
Double (cryptic) definition
free = at large
10. Article looking into design of lariats characteristic of a skilled craftsman (9)
ARTISANAL
AN (article) looking into (LARIATS)* (*design of)
11. Excite the desires of Brown with story set in Iceland? Just the opposite (9)
TANTALISE
TAN (brown) with (TALE (story) set in IS (Iceland), just the opposite)
12. Apparent in queasy Etonian up to now (2, 3)
AS YET
[que]ASY ET[onian] (apparent in)
13. Smoke conveyer is down (4)
FLUE
15. Claim as one’s own in town after husband leaves (8)
ARROGATE
[h]ARROGATE (town, after H (husband) leaves)
18. Continues getting profits from commercial transactions (8)
PROCEEDS
19. Complete revolution in fashion (4)
TURN
22. Excel in polite society party (5)
OUTDO
OUT (in polite society) + DO (party)
24. Stop tailless animal breaking into gallery (9)
TERMINATE
ERMIN[e] (animal, tailless) breaking into TATE (gallery)
26. Criticise accepting hint by unionist to insist on conditions as part of agreement (9)
STIPULATE
SLATE (criticise) accepting (TIP (hint) by U (unionist))
27. Mystic Meg at first taken in by old lover? Not entirely (5)
SWAMI
M[eg] (at first) taken in by SWAI[n] (old (-fashioned word for) lover, not entirely)
28. Factor in the French blocking space in front of hospital department (7)
ELEMENT
(LE (the, French) blocking EM (space)) in front of ENT (hospital department)
29. Rambling letters from a supporter (7)
TRESTLE
DOWN
1. Refined oil spill in Port Erin originally (6)
POLITE
(OIL)* (*spill) in (PT (port) + E[rin] (originally))
2. Student stopping more unusual spreader of fear in Boston (9)
STRANGLER
L (student) stopping STRANGER (more unusual)
3. Contributing to drear enactment of scene of conflict (5)
ARENA
[dre]AR ENA[ctment] (contributing to)
4. Get rid of reticence finally and broadcast around Cuba (9)
ERADICATE
[reticenc]E (finally) and RADIATE (broadcast) around C (Cuba)
5. Flexible hours initially retained by fair I hear (5)
LITHE
H[ours] (initially) retained by “light” = LITE (fair, “I hear”)
6. Concerned with chuckle interrupting saint being offensive (9)
ONSLAUGHT
ON (concerned with) + (LAUGH (chuckle) interrupting ST (saint))
7. Irritate with refusal to enter no matter what (5)
ANNOY
NO (refusal) to enter ANY (no matter what)
8. Cancel permit to dam river (6)
DELETE
LET (permit) to dam DEE (river)
14. The appropriation of common land in French shutdown (9)
ENCLOSURE
EN (in, French) + CLOSURE (shutdown)
16. Resort not half needing immediate attention becoming popular again (9)
RESURGENT
RES[ort] (not half) + URGENT (needing immediate attention)
17. Domineering woman‘s period of time with a German social worker (9)
TERMAGANT
TERM (period of time) with A + G (German) + ANT (social worker)
20. Ruffle all the French? Not quite (6)
TOUSLE
TOUS LE[s] (all the, French, not quite)
21. Decisively influence outcome of scheme curtailed after a month (6)
DECIDE
IDE[a] (scheme, curtailed) after DEC (a month)
23. Time right for something silly (5)
TRIPE
24. Peculiarity of Italian cunning brought up earlier (5)
TRAIT
IT (Italian), (ART)< (cunning, <brought up) earlier
25. Upshot is to prosecute at law (5)
ISSUE
IS + SUE (prosecute at law)
I enjoyed this, although I struggled with many synonyms…
Any/no matter what
Right/ripe
As/for instance
Flue/down (new to me — but I found it in the dictionary)
Fashion/turn (I’ve seen this in previous crosswords, but it still doesn’t make sense to me)
Swami/mystic (I thought a swami was a teacher, although I guess there’s a connection)
Fair enough crossword… mildly disappointed with 21d, where I desperately wanted the answer not to be DECIDE, after Decisively in the clue… I accepted FLUE as in “down-pipe” but didnt confirm, so thanks to Geoff@1, for doing the hard work… I take “turn=fashion” as “turning something on a lathe” or just “turning something out” like knitting a sweater… liked many for the straightfowardness…
A gentle start to the week.
Thanks Peto and Teacow
I had similar thoughts to GDU and Undrell. I missed the parsing of LARGE and thank Teacow for the enlightenment. Thanks also to Peto for the puzzle.
Thanks to Teacow and Peto,
I agree with Undrell regarding 21D DECIDE, toyed with DECREE, but SWAMI settled that. My slight error with 23D TRITE not TRIPE.
Very tough, I thought, with quite a few doubts about some of the clues/definitions.
Like Ken@4, I was in the TRITE camp. Right=ripe is very stretchy. 23(d).
Also in agreement with GDO@1, on all his comments.
21(d), DECIDE, is pretty poor, not only because “decisively” is the first word in the clue, which is questionable, anyway.
22(ac)…I don’t get that “in polite society” = OUT, unless it refers to the “coming out balls” for Debs?
10(ac), ARTISANAL, is one of those, isn’t it?
Not a compelling puzzle for me.
Thanks for blog, Teacow
23d I had Ripe for “right for something” which i think is just fine, and then Tripe = silly not something silly
Thanks to Peto and Teacow, enjoyed it.
Fashion = turn?
Old lover = swain?
FFS. That’s fashioned me off the idea of wasting my time on a Peto again.
I took it to mean that OUTDO is a term for party in polite society.
I too had Trite but agree Tripe is the answer. I couldn’t comfortably see Right = Ripe but I can now. Otherwise fairly straightforward though bottom left took a bit of effort.
Why is Out = polite society? I’m sure it’s obvious…….just not yet.
I thought Turn = Fashion a hmmmm.
Moly@9
A debutante will come out when she
presented at Court and is launched in polite society.
Thanks Peto and Teacow.
BettyS@7, it appears that you are not a lover of old words, so your decision to avoid Peto in future is a good one. And FFS, by the way, is an unfashionable turn of phrase.
This was a rare occasion when I was able to parse all the clues without outside help. So I don’t need to thank Teacow for his fine blog, but I will anyway. And thanks also to Peto for the excellent Monday-level puzzle.