To begin with a semi-important announcement: ![]()
keriothe and I are planning to have a crosswordy meetup on April 12th, probably at that old stalwart the George Inn near London Bridge. It is after all almost exactly the midway point between the 2016 and 2017 Championships, which means we won't have seen a lot of people for 6 months! It would be great if you could make it and/or spread the word to any other potentially interested parties...
Anyway, to today's business. I did this enjoyable and skilfully clued puzzle offline and in about 8.15 according to my stopwatch. Most of the surfaces are rather smooth and I particularly liked 1ac, 8dn and 20dn. I'll make that last my Clue of the Day because a![]()
verlaine always likes a clue which could be about a drop of the hard stuff if you squint at it (and today is St Patrick's Day, after all).
I predict 1dn will also have many admirers, though I do feel we've seen it clued very similarly at least once before in my lifetime as a blogger. If I were to quibble I'd say I didn't really feel that the income in 21ac is any more useful for retaining services than its opposite? Not that that really matters I suppose but it would have been lovely if it had managed to be more &littish.
I've been reading the brilliant essay collection Inside The Whale all this week so 14ac should probably have been a write-in; which provides a nice segue into saying that I need to go away and catch up on the TLS puzzle that's been blogged today and maybe you should to. A raised glass to the setter and a hearty "Sláinte" to anyone planning to partake later today!
Across
1 Rook perhaps next to knight, king or queen? (5)
CROWN - CROW [rook, perhaps] next to N [knight]
4 Novel is made complicated for radio, TV, etc (4, 5)
NEWS MEDIA - NEW [novel] + (IS MADE*) ["complicated"]
9 Immediately performing after that trouble (2, 3, 4)
ON THE NAIL - ON THEN AIL [performing | after that | trouble]
10 Gather behind strike leader, flummoxed (5)
STUCK - TUCK [gather] behind S{trike}
11 What Bren guns can do seconds after bombing (6)
STRAFE - S [seconds] + (AFTER*) ["bombing"]
12 Group of wives from Home Counties tease celebrity endlessly (8)
SERAGLIO - SE RAG LIO{n} [Home Counties | tease | celebrity, "endlessly"]
14 N African port guards fine one - evocative of repressive state? (9)
ORWELLIAN - ORAN [N African port] guards WELL I [fine | one]
16 Classify third man "to the right of left" (5)
LABEL - ABEL [third man (after Adam and Cain)] to the right of L [left]
17 Pulling over, finds records (5)
DISCS - DISC{over}S [finds, "pulling" over]
19 Stopped working outside small bar and parted company (9)
DISBANDED - DIED [stopped working] outside S BAND [small | bar]
21 The sort of income you ultimately require to retain a service (8)
UNEARNED - {yo}U NEED [require] to retain A RN [service]
22 Highland water in church that encourages growth (6)
CLOCHE - LOCH [highland water] in CE [church]
25 European airline expanding axes its currency (5)
ZLOTY - LOT [European (Polish) airline] "expanding" Z + Y [axes]
26 Pines block assistant nearby (9)
ALONGSIDE - LONGS [pines] block AIDE [assistant]
27 Tube complaint? It is on record (9)
ENTERITIS - IT IS on ENTER [record]. Tubes as in one's intestines!
28 Circle late notice about Republican (5)
ORBIT - OBIT [late notice] about R [Republican]
Down
1 This producer's slow, laboriously enlisting a pair of unknowns (9, 6)
CROSSWORD PUZZLE - (PRODUCER'S SLOW*) ["laboriously"], "enlisting" Z + Z [a pair of unknowns]
2 Creature that swims from pilot, terrified (5)
OTTER - hidden in {pil}OT TER{rified}
3 Injection, perhaps, to remove foreign article necessary (7)
NEEDFUL - NEED{le}FUL [injection, "removing" LE (foreign article)]
4 Bread articles placed end to end (4)
NAAN - AN reversed placed next to AN
5 Passionate about climbing headland to get the bush? (10)
WILDERNESS - WILD [passionate] + RE reversed [about, "climbing"] + NESS [headland]
6 Wrongly identify one's car at first in London road (7)
MISCALL - I'S C{ar} in MALL [London road]
7 Dangerous section of road, maybe, nameless crash site? (6, 3)
DOUBLE BED - DOUBLE BE{n}D [dangerous section of road, "nameless"]. "Crash site" as in place to sleep!
8 Tight low-necked garment not having Queen's acceptance (15)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - (LOW-NECKED GA{r}MENT*) ["tight", "not having Queen"]
13 As cryptically suggested by this conflicted region? (6, 4)
MIDDLE EAST - reverse cryptic - the middle of {e}AS{t} being "as"
15 He was swapped on party duty, stripped and exhausted (6-3)
WASHED OUT - (HE WAS*) ["swapped"] on DO [party] + {d}UT{y} ["stripped"]
18 Rose succeeded with petition (7)
SPRAYER - S [succeeded] with PRAYER [petition]
20 A couple of litres, say, run out rather fast (7)
ALLEGRO - A L L EG RO [a | litre + litre | say | run out]
23 Conservative branch to rise (5)
CLIMB - C LIMB [Conservative | branch]
24 Five missing pacifists is enough (4)
DOES - DO{v}ES ["Five missing", pacifists]
keriothe and I are planning to have a crosswordy meetup on April 12th, probably at that old stalwart the George Inn near London Bridge. It is after all almost exactly the midway point between the 2016 and 2017 Championships, which means we won't have seen a lot of people for 6 months! It would be great if you could make it and/or spread the word to any other potentially interested parties...Anyway, to today's business. I did this enjoyable and skilfully clued puzzle offline and in about 8.15 according to my stopwatch. Most of the surfaces are rather smooth and I particularly liked 1ac, 8dn and 20dn. I'll make that last my Clue of the Day because a
verlaine always likes a clue which could be about a drop of the hard stuff if you squint at it (and today is St Patrick's Day, after all).I predict 1dn will also have many admirers, though I do feel we've seen it clued very similarly at least once before in my lifetime as a blogger. If I were to quibble I'd say I didn't really feel that the income in 21ac is any more useful for retaining services than its opposite? Not that that really matters I suppose but it would have been lovely if it had managed to be more &littish.
I've been reading the brilliant essay collection Inside The Whale all this week so 14ac should probably have been a write-in; which provides a nice segue into saying that I need to go away and catch up on the TLS puzzle that's been blogged today and maybe you should to. A raised glass to the setter and a hearty "Sláinte" to anyone planning to partake later today!
Across
1 Rook perhaps next to knight, king or queen? (5)
CROWN - CROW [rook, perhaps] next to N [knight]
4 Novel is made complicated for radio, TV, etc (4, 5)
NEWS MEDIA - NEW [novel] + (IS MADE*) ["complicated"]
9 Immediately performing after that trouble (2, 3, 4)
ON THE NAIL - ON THEN AIL [performing | after that | trouble]
10 Gather behind strike leader, flummoxed (5)
STUCK - TUCK [gather] behind S{trike}
11 What Bren guns can do seconds after bombing (6)
STRAFE - S [seconds] + (AFTER*) ["bombing"]
12 Group of wives from Home Counties tease celebrity endlessly (8)
SERAGLIO - SE RAG LIO{n} [Home Counties | tease | celebrity, "endlessly"]
14 N African port guards fine one - evocative of repressive state? (9)
ORWELLIAN - ORAN [N African port] guards WELL I [fine | one]
16 Classify third man "to the right of left" (5)
LABEL - ABEL [third man (after Adam and Cain)] to the right of L [left]
17 Pulling over, finds records (5)
DISCS - DISC{over}S [finds, "pulling" over]
19 Stopped working outside small bar and parted company (9)
DISBANDED - DIED [stopped working] outside S BAND [small | bar]
21 The sort of income you ultimately require to retain a service (8)
UNEARNED - {yo}U NEED [require] to retain A RN [service]
22 Highland water in church that encourages growth (6)
CLOCHE - LOCH [highland water] in CE [church]
25 European airline expanding axes its currency (5)
ZLOTY - LOT [European (Polish) airline] "expanding" Z + Y [axes]
26 Pines block assistant nearby (9)
ALONGSIDE - LONGS [pines] block AIDE [assistant]
27 Tube complaint? It is on record (9)
ENTERITIS - IT IS on ENTER [record]. Tubes as in one's intestines!
28 Circle late notice about Republican (5)
ORBIT - OBIT [late notice] about R [Republican]
Down
1 This producer's slow, laboriously enlisting a pair of unknowns (9, 6)
CROSSWORD PUZZLE - (PRODUCER'S SLOW*) ["laboriously"], "enlisting" Z + Z [a pair of unknowns]
2 Creature that swims from pilot, terrified (5)
OTTER - hidden in {pil}OT TER{rified}
3 Injection, perhaps, to remove foreign article necessary (7)
NEEDFUL - NEED{le}FUL [injection, "removing" LE (foreign article)]
4 Bread articles placed end to end (4)
NAAN - AN reversed placed next to AN
5 Passionate about climbing headland to get the bush? (10)
WILDERNESS - WILD [passionate] + RE reversed [about, "climbing"] + NESS [headland]
6 Wrongly identify one's car at first in London road (7)
MISCALL - I'S C{ar} in MALL [London road]
7 Dangerous section of road, maybe, nameless crash site? (6, 3)
DOUBLE BED - DOUBLE BE{n}D [dangerous section of road, "nameless"]. "Crash site" as in place to sleep!
8 Tight low-necked garment not having Queen's acceptance (15)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - (LOW-NECKED GA{r}MENT*) ["tight", "not having Queen"]
13 As cryptically suggested by this conflicted region? (6, 4)
MIDDLE EAST - reverse cryptic - the middle of {e}AS{t} being "as"
15 He was swapped on party duty, stripped and exhausted (6-3)
WASHED OUT - (HE WAS*) ["swapped"] on DO [party] + {d}UT{y} ["stripped"]
18 Rose succeeded with petition (7)
SPRAYER - S [succeeded] with PRAYER [petition]
20 A couple of litres, say, run out rather fast (7)
ALLEGRO - A L L EG RO [a | litre + litre | say | run out]
23 Conservative branch to rise (5)
CLIMB - C LIMB [Conservative | branch]
24 Five missing pacifists is enough (4)
DOES - DO{v}ES ["Five missing", pacifists]