Another monthly treat of curious words and entertaining wordplay which took me about 75 minutes. Alas I forgot to check the one I couldn’t parse when I did it on paper (16D) when I submitted online, so I’m expecting a couple of pink squares having belatedly got to the proper answer when compiling the blog. Some great words and clues. I liked MALAXED best from the miscellany of funny word answers and TOADFLAX for the fun wordplay. Thank-you clever setter.
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Reason for meltwater possibly submerging large riverbed’s course (7) |
| THALWEG – L (large) in THAW (reason for meltwater), E.G. (possibly). | |
| 5 | I messed up greeting in wrestling ring (5) |
| DOHYO – DOH (I messed up) YO (greeting). | |
| 9 | Point in a circle, dispatching The Last of Us’s cordyceps victim (5) |
| AWETO – WE{s}T (point) without the S [dispatching the last of us] in A O (round letter, circle). | |
| 10 | Actor Tom forgoing lead villain in Wall Street gets into Medicine Man and others (9) |
| ANGEKKOKS – GEKKO (Gordon; lead villain in Wall St) in (Tom) {H}ANKS. Inuit shamans. “And others” here I think just means the word is plural. | |
| 11 | Islamic robe of judge in the style of loose vest (7) |
| JALABIB – J (judge) ALA (in the style of) BIB (loose vest). | |
| 12 | Eg film evoking sorrow turns on auteur’s introduction to the stars (2,5) |
| AD ASTRA – ART (e.g. film) SAD (invoking sorrow) all reversed after first letter of Auteur. | |
| 13 | Not exactly a cracking nut wrapped with citrus fruit (10) |
| CALAMONDIN – CA (circa; not exactly) and A in [cracking] ALMOND (nut), IN (wrapped with). I’ve got one of these trees in my garden, although it overwinters in the greenhouse. | |
| 15 | Lower House occupant initiates viral complaint (4) |
| MPOX – MP (House of Commons occupant) OX (lower). | |
| 18 | Player of Flute needs this Shakespearean din to stop flat (4) |
| UTIS – Put the answer into [to stop] FLAT to get FLAUTIST (player of flute). | |
| 20 | Shaker was one local to shout, getting parrot back inside (4,6) |
| HOLY ROLLER – LORY (parrot) reversed -> YROL, in HOLLER (dialect, local, for shout) | |
| 23 | Jointly sung about one of films covering early developers? (7) |
| CHORIAL – CHORAL (jointly sung) about I (one). | |
| 24 | Gold dress like leather worn by ornithologist (7) |
| AUDUBON – AU (gold) DUB (dress like leather) ON (worn by). | |
| 25 | Fine old bird lumbered with a historical ban (9) |
| FORBIDDAL – F (fine) (old bird a)* [lumbered]. | |
| 26 | A rial isn’t right money for the Maldives (5) |
| LAARI – (A rial)* [isn’t right]. | |
| 27 | Old challenger dismisses one ancient sage (5) |
| ORVAL – O (old) R{i}VAL (challenger) without the I (one). | |
| 28 | Softened nuts coating starter of lamb chop (7) |
| MALAXED – First letter of Lamb AXE (chop) in MAD (nuts). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Set up to collect rat hormone in pregnancy (7) |
| THEELOL – LOT (set) [up] -> TOL with HEEL (rat) in. | |
| 2 | Not a conventional device with a grave lack of disk capacity? (4,4) |
| ATOM BOMB – A TOMB (grave) OMB looks like 0 Mb (lack of disk capacity). | |
| 3 | 17th-century corporation’s capital losses from sheep (mother and young) (5) |
| WEAMB – {e}WE (mother sheep) and {l}AMB (young sheep) without their first letters. | |
| 4 | Philistinism singer Turner raised in concert that wows me (9) |
| GIGMANITY – TINA (…Turner; singer) raised -> ANIT, in GIG (concert) MY (that wows me). | |
| 5 | Nobleman and tasty swimmer converge, expressing their shared ecstasy for spicy nut mix (6) |
| DUKKAH – DUK{e} (nobleman) and HAK{e} (tasty swimmer) back-to-back losing the E (ecstasy) from each. I’ve not seen “converge” used like this to express a reversal of the second part. | |
| 6 | Moth ruined kit, invading skirt’s frame (4-3) |
| HOOK-TIP – (kit)* [ruined] in HOOP (skirt’s frame). | |
| 7 | American has a quality like this, going over or next to staff? (5) |
| OSSIA – A (American) IS SO (has a quality like this) all going over. An alternative passage of music written next to the staff where it is can replace the standard part. | |
| 8 | Vehicle user’s first to clip tailless breed of sheep or deer (8) |
| CARJACOU – JACO{b} (breed of sheep) without it’s last letter in CAR (vehicle) and first letter of User. | |
| 14 | Foolishness upended use as an example for party to follow (9) |
| NOODLEDOM – MODEL (use as an example for) DO (party) ON (to follow), all [upended]. | |
| 16 | King ascending, once grotesque, is drying up (8) |
| XERANTIC – REX (King) [ascending] -> XER, ANTIC (grotesque). I had submitted with an unparsed XERANSIS, and found I was wrong only when compiling this blog. | |
| 17 | Plant that flowers on and off, on and off, between tense and not tense (8) |
| TOADFLAX – Alternate letters [on and off] of On AnD oFf, between T (tense) and LAX (not tense). | |
| 19 | People ruled by Mercury retrograde under current line of constant declination (7) |
| ISOGRIV – VIRGOS (people rules by Mercury) reversed under I (current). | |
| 21 | Deceptively fluent (but not good) formal poet one spotted in bestiary? (7) |
| LIBBARD – {g}LIB (deceptively fluent) without the G (good), BARD (formal poet). | |
| 22 | Apish attempt to call using phone card for days (6) |
| SIMIAL – SIM (phone card) replacing the D (days) in DIAL (attempt to call). | |
| 23 | Box office’s opening with free entry to Americans (5) |
| CUFFO – CUFF (box) and first letter of Office. | |
| 24 | Radical group that supports Liberal (5) |
| ALLYL – ALLY (group that supports) L (Liberal). | |
Ta for the blog. I had doubts about 11a, though the wordplay is clear. It’s not in Chambers, and that interweb thing seems to think it’s a plural.
Mea culpa. The clue should have been “Islamic robes …” as JALABIB is a plural (in Chambers) of JILBAB.