This blog was compiled on my lovely new Surface Pro 4 tablet/laptop thingy, sitting outside in the Kent sunshine with a nice glass of red; so, apologies in advance for any typos or (more likely) solecisms..
This crossword seems to be a denominational delight, with Hindu, Islam, Christianity, Jews, Romans, Greeks and Marxists all getting a look-in .. it is unusual in another way too, in that it has several answers I biffed.. and it isn't easy to biff a word you've never heard of. I wrote them in quite happily, despite being totally unable to parse them. 4ac, 4dn & 20 dn .. and sorting them out for the blog took me a while. Actually it is another thing I love, about this best of all cryptic crosswords. Some clues are quite normal, and would fit easily into a daily cryptic. Some have horns and a tail; and it is not straightforward telling which is which.
cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are *(--), homophones indicated in ""
ODO means the Oxford Dictionaries Online, OED = Oxford English Dictionary, etc.
This crossword seems to be a denominational delight, with Hindu, Islam, Christianity, Jews, Romans, Greeks and Marxists all getting a look-in .. it is unusual in another way too, in that it has several answers I biffed.. and it isn't easy to biff a word you've never heard of. I wrote them in quite happily, despite being totally unable to parse them. 4ac, 4dn & 20 dn .. and sorting them out for the blog took me a while. Actually it is another thing I love, about this best of all cryptic crosswords. Some clues are quite normal, and would fit easily into a daily cryptic. Some have horns and a tail; and it is not straightforward telling which is which.
cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, anagrams are *(--), homophones indicated in ""
ODO means the Oxford Dictionaries Online, OED = Oxford English Dictionary, etc.
| Across |
| 1. Observe male trailing copper’s deputy (5) locum - LO (observe) + CU (copper) + M(ale). A useful easy starting clue, well within normal cryptic range... |
| 4. Yellow flowering plant in heavy demand bordering the way round narrow street (6-3) thorow-wax - ...less so this one though. It is ROW (narrow street) in HOW (the way), all in TAX (heavy demand): T(HO(ROW)W)AX. The plant in question was "once widespread in cornfields," but no longer, like many wildflowers and weeds. |
| 9. Weir injured shag in Scottish inlet (4-5) fish-garth - *(SHAG) in FIRTH. Shag being a reference to the cormorant family of birds, stop sniggering at the back.. |
| 10. Sultan’s monogram painter put on powerful boat (5) tugra - TUG (powerful boat) + RA (Royal Academician, ie a painter accepted by the Establishment) |
| 11. Baker possibly into quick and funny food: some Australians eat it (9,4) witchetty grub - CHET (Baker) in WITTY (quick and funny) + GRUB (food). A food beloved of Aborigines and fading celebrities |
| 14. Beginner’s advantage ebbing? (4) noob - BOON (advantage) rev. |
| 15. Soft and hard sports fabric’s ordered back for run, producing small blister (10) phlyctaena - another tricky one: P (soft) + H (hard) + LYCRA but with NEAT (ordered) rev. instead of the R( |
| 18. Established clear identity encompassing large and small finches (10) estrildids - EST( |
| 19. Briefly open, like a door by old privy (4) Ajax - AJA(r) (open, like a door) + X (by). I wasn't aware of the def., a pun on "jakes," but it didn't surprise me. We Brits do so love lavatory humour (though we don't have an "ass" fixation, like some countries.. :-) |
| 21. Sign area on page after paragraph with flowery adornment for later additions (13) paraleipomena - PARA( |
| 24. Old blue painting maybe extended over Miró’s frame (5) amort - M( |
| 25. Hindu teacher graduate, strict one accepting instructor’s lead (9) maharishi - MA (graduate) + I( |
| 27. Supreme court figure is only more aloof with answer for case’s conclusion (9) justiciar - JUST (only) + ICIER (more aloof), with the E replaced by A |
| 28. Island in southern land given to American Indian son of 20 (5) Nizam - I(sland) in NZ (Southern land) + AM(erican). I'm not sure how accurate this definition really is, Chambers defines it fairly precisely as the ruler of Hyderabad, but I rather disapprove of the whole concept of "royalty" anyway, so let it pass .. |
| Down |
| 1. Article in Libération (French) about short-lived pain for socialist (4-6) left-winger - TWINGE (short-lived pain) in LE FR. |
| 2. Casual as army bosses? (3) cos - COs (army bosses). And 'cos as a casual word for because/as |
| 3. When I doubt something it makes ... a lot of resistance? (6) megohm - ... ME GO HM .. lovely clue. Really one supposes it should be spelt megaohm, but even though Chambers puts it in under mega-, it leaves out the a. I find this more annoying than I should, I admit; just like pronouncing kilometre to rhyme with gasOmeter, instead of with kiloeverythingelse. KilOgram, anyone? KillOwatt? No, thought not .. |
| 4. Local shoved to the other side, spread across companion (9) thrutched - CH (Companion of honour) in THRU (to the other side, if you can't spell) + TED (spread). If you spread new-mown grass to dry, you are a tedder. You are tedding. One teds. I did actually know this, once I had reminded myself by poring over the dictionary for far longer than I should have. |
| 5. Carbohydrate ingredients on cereal, mostly yellowish (5) ochry - OCH (carbohydrate ingredients) + RY( |
| 6. Adjust outer tab stop (8) obturate - *(OUTER TAB) |
| 7. Ring-maker almost secures loose jib, tie being something thorny (3-1-7) wag n' bietjie - *(JIB TIE) in WAGNE(r), Ring maker.. so not Sauron after all. Afrikaans for "Wait-a-bit," a thorny plant |
| 8. Ten months since ... Caruso’s birthday? (4) Xmas - X (ten) + M (months) + AS (since). Enrico Caruso was born on 25 February, it turns out, so Xmas is 10 months later! So an &lit. |
| 12. Reveals parking among golf course’s enticements for certain sportspeople (5,6) trout spoons - OUTS (reveals) + P( |
| 13. In God’s embrace, Christian and I mark ideas about class struggle (10) marxianism - XIAN (Christian) + I in MARS (god) + M( |
| 16. Year before the writer would scorn the woman who uses vernacular language (9) yiddisher - Y( |
| 17. Contribution from pinch-hitter billed to overturn score-books? (8) libretti - hidden, rev., in pinch-hITTER BILled |
| 20. Traditional monarch in Victorian days’ latter times upset knight (6) sovran - ARVOS, rev. + N (knight, in chess). It transpires that our Antipodean cousins call tiffin time "arvo," a convenient shortening of "afternoon" for those who find saying the whole word fatiguing... must be all those 4X. So Victorian means "Australian" for present purposes. A vicious clue, and no mistake! |
| 22. Member meeting first of immigrants in unsettled states (5) limbi - LIMB (member) + I( |
| 23. Requirement of faith in judges after chap’s inside (4) hajj - ( |
| 26. Informal apology from more than half-cut drunk (3) soz - SOZ( |