27514 Thursday, 21 November 2019 Consuming passions

Author   ZabadakPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
An amiable puzzle with not too much to send you diving to the reference books, which I resolved in a tad under 17 minutes, the top right resisting most. There is, for me, an impression of a lot of inclusion clues, perhaps prompted by two adjacent clues that use “consuming” as the indicator. I did like the long and rather apposite anagram at 10, even if the numeration made it a bit of a write-in
My commentary includes clues, definitions and SOLUTIONS
ACROSS
1 Your band playing as a four, sometimes two more (8)
BOUNDARY A rare sight from England’s opening pair in Mount Maunganui (so far, at least) A ball smitten by the batsman that crosses the boundary is a four, and if it does so without bouncing it’s a six. You need to be “playing” with YOUR BAND to score. It’s an anagram
5 Classic of the Chinese to install bible for church in Washington (6)
IRVING Author of Rip Van Winkle (1819) and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820). This is a substitution clue, starting with the I CHING of ancient Chinese philosophy and divination, and replacing the CH of Church with the RV, the now little used Revised Version of the Bible
10 Remarkably unfailing growth that is easy to secure (3-7,5)
LOW-HANGING FRUIT An anagram (remarkably) of UNFAILING GROWTH, an &lit in which the whole clue is the definition
11 Intolerance in art-house, head finding a new position (7)
ALLERGY I see I ignored the wordplay for this one, but it’s GALLERY for art-house, with the head, G, being moved to a new spot.
12 One in the sea grabbed by crazy fool (7)
MISLEAD One in the sea being ISLE “grabbed” by MAD for crazy
13 Perhaps foundation of the universe cracked by alien (8)
COSMETIC Of the universe is COSMIC, ET our alien who cracks his way in
15 The retreat from Moscow? (5)
DACHA A Russian’s country house, this being a cryptic definition playing on “retreat”
18 Tricky part of climb, perhaps, needing some spare tents (5)
ARÊTE “a sharp ridge of rock that is formed between glacially created valleys”, such as on Everest. Today’s hidden, some of spARE TEnts
20 A rule I instilled in fellow African (8)
MALAWIAN A, rule: LAW, I inserted into fellow: MAN
23 Facade awkwardly flat, no rustication initially in it (7)
FRONTAL An anagram (awkwardly) of FLAT NO R(ustication). The words “in it” are only there to enhance the surface, otherwise the NO R would have to go in in that order.
25 Agree artist makes a fabulous creation (7)
CHIMERA Agree is CHIME, and the artist our generic RA, Royal Academician
26 The undoubted leader? (8,7)
DEFINITE ARTICLE A simple charade, leader here being such as found in a newspaper
27 Very funny appeal by a young girl booked (6)
LOLITA “Booked” by Nabukov. LOL for very funny in textspeak plus IT for appeal and A
28 Finally appear with one dropping round security equipment (8)
SHREDDER The last letter of appeaR with SHEDDER for one dropping, surrounding it.

DOWN
1 A couple of lines in dreadful poem (6)
BALLAD A, plus two L(ine)s in BAD for dreadful
2 Almost indisposed to show up, coldly received (9)
UNWELCOME Indisposed gives UNWELL, which you only almost write in, add COME for show up
3 Plan to plunge Indian city into dark (7)
DIAGRAM AGRA is our Indian city, plunged into DIM for dark
4 Finally arriving in Stone, a Midlands town (5)
RUGBY The last letter of arrivinG within RUBY for stone. For what it’s worth, Stone is indeed a Midlands town on the River Trent in Staffs.
6 Wouldn’t agree to be given another meal without our people (7)
REFUSED Given another meal could be REFED, without here means outside as US is “our people”
7 Engaged by English paper, I turned up (2,3)
IN USE E(nglish) plus our beloved sister paper, the SUN, plus I all “turned up” or reversed
8 Be overambitious, sacking Romeo from production of tragedies (3,5)
GET IDEAS Remove NATO Romeo from TRAGEDIES, then make a new production of the remaining letters. I was very slow to spot how to do that.
9 Consuming mineral, I love being hostile (8)
INIMICAL I love gives you I NIL, and the mineral is MICA to be “consumed”
14 Model of Parthenon, say, consuming a ton (8)
TEMPLATE More consuming to the same end: A T(on) inside TEMPLE, of which the Parthenon is an example
16 Integrated student drinking beers at clubs (9)
COALESCED The student is a CO-ED drinking (more consuming) ALES for beers and C for clubs
17 In parliament, stand up to remove one waving a trumpet (8)
DAFFODIL The brand of Parliament you need is the Irish DAIL, then within it “stand up” DOFF for remove
19 Not burning to be incorporated into new text (7)
EXTINCT Incorporated provide the abbreviation INC, (placed) into and anagram (new) of TEXT
21 Vainly seek suit for Londoner (7)
WHISTLE Vainly seek gives WHISTLE as in the phrase “you can whistle for it”. WHISTLE (and flute) is also CRS, Lahndonese for suit
22 Full of energy, social worker makes progress at work (6)
CAREER For once, the social worker is not an ant, but a CARER. Fill with E(nergy)
24 Refuse to kill American, a Liberal (5)
OFFAL Chambers indeed lists OFF for kill as US slang, though I wild goose chased it around Shakespeare believing it might be there too. The AL comes from A Liberal
25 Argument from Conservative whip (5)
CLASH And to preserve political balance, the Conservative donates his C to LASH

75 comments on “27514 Thursday, 21 November 2019 Consuming passions”

  1. Bottom left took several minutes at the end, with coalesced, shredder and whistle finally tumbling together. I guessed whistle must mean suit in CRS, but couldn’t work out how. Nothing too hard , but a challenge nonetheless. Many thanks.
  2. 34 mins, so a bit of a slowcoach on this one. SE corner last to fall, of course; LOI shredder. Nice puzzle. Thanks z.
  3. 13:45. A steady solve.
    I don’t read 10ac as &Lit: the definition is just ‘that is easy to secure’. The phrase LOW HANGING FRUIT DOESN’T imply anything like ‘remarkably unfailing growth’.
    NHO or have forgotten I CHING.

    1. These &lit things can be tricky, and I rather took a liberal approach (given that it’s a fine anagram) that the growth in question might just as well be fruit, and that it was unfailing contributed to its generous and easy availability. Admitted it’s not a phrase you’ll meet often in real life, but I did think it had a certain plausibilty.

      1. As indicated by pootle above, if you work in the worlds of business or finance it’s very much an everyday phrase.
        I don’t think the unfailing character of the fruit has anything to do with it: it’s just low!

        1. Like blue sky thinking (and all the other ghastlinesses) low-hanging fruit doesn’t really have a separate existence outside of bizspeak,  though presumably someone once thought it was a telling analogy.
          In the context of a crossword clue, though, I don’t really see why our unfailing growth shouldn’t also be (coincidentally, of course) hanging low to the ground. It’s obviously not a strict (or even particularly close) equivalent or definition, but hey ho.

          1. Well indeed, it doesn’t have an existence outside bizspeak so its meaning in that context is the only one there is.
    1. Though I spent a few years in the Midlands (I went to Warwick Uni) I only know Stone as “that surprisingly nice services off the M6 with a lake with ducks and picnic tables out the back.” Though I think it’s actually called Stafford (North), it’s Stone I look out for when I’m driving that way, for some reason. I wonder if the Services is good enough to stock Joules Ales…

      Edited at 2019-11-21 04:17 pm (UTC)

      1. Joules has gone the way of many breweries gobbled up and closed by a big one in the eighties so they could get their hands on the pubs. However on a recent visit to Chester my heart leapt when I saw the famous red on green Joules sign. As it was early morning I couldn’t investigate. Has it risen from the ashes, I would love to
        know
      2. I’m also a Warwick alumnus – Maths & Stats 1992-95 then Management Science and Operational Research 95-96. I didn’t experience Joules or any other ales while I was there – wasted my time drinking Fosters. What was I thinking?
        1. We overlapped a bit (Comp Sci 91-94) and I don’t remember Joules, but then as a skint undergrad I probably just went with whatever bitter was going for a pound a pint in the Cholo or the Westwood Refectory…
          1. Typically Webster’s as I recall. My wife mentioned Rolf’s Bar just this morning. I wondered if it’s since been renamed following Mr Harris’s convictions.
            1. Given all the changes I saw the last time I was there, I imagine it’s been bulldozed by now! I seem to remember they were building a new SU building, and they’d certainly demolished virtually everywhere I’d ever been familiar with…
  5. Late again, there’s so much to do today in perishing cold Rutland. Took far too long to finish the last few – 16d, 22d and the fiendish 28a, making me nearer 50 minutes than 30. Nice puzzle though and good blog. Liked LOLITA and DACHA but lots of goodies here.
  6. I just squeezed in under the ten hour mark on this one, largely due to opening the browser window, then deciding to go to bed instead and leaving the solvometer running.

    LOW-HANGING FRUIT was ingenious, and would be my CoD if I weren’t in a grumpy, virus-ridden mood. I also enjoyed COSMETIC and DEFINITE ARTICLE, though I’m sure the latter is a chestnut, or at least chestnut-flavoured. INIMICAL was another favourite, if only because I knew it had to be INIMICAL but it still took a while to deconstruct it.

    The Fens are cold in that way that only the Fens can be, as I discovered when the dogs took me out for a walk this afternoon. I think it’s something to do with the lack of hills (in fact, of any kind of geography) which results in the icy wind being brisk enough to chill but not blustery enough to be fun.

    Edited at 2019-11-21 07:09 pm (UTC)

  7. No time, as I stopped and started all evening. No finish either, as I put in Refusal for 6d (refuel around us – yes, I know! Too many u’s and no e’s. Also the definition didn’t lead to a noun, so what was I thinking?). That meant I couldn’t find Dacha; also got Get aside stuck in my brain, instead of Get ideas. Oh well …

    Liked Definite article, Cosmetic and Low-hanging fruit.

    FOI Malawian
    COD Whistle
    DNF

    Thanks Z and setter

    Edited at 2019-11-21 08:48 pm (UTC)

  8. 26:24. Very enjoyable. I liked 1ac, the retreat from Moscow and the young girl booked. I seemed to have trouble at the end with the clash / shredder crossers which held me up for a good few minutes.
  9. Found the north-west surprisingly tough, but was not helped by entering SIMULATE (imagining SIMULE must be another word for Parthenon).

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