A mostly excellent puzzle but I didn’t find it easy and needed 2 minutes short of an hour to complete it. Great examples today of an &lit clue and a cryptic each of the highest quality.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
| Across | |
| 1 | Report holes being punched in crevice (5,4) |
| RIFLE SHOT – Anagram [being punched] of HOLES contained by [in] RIFT (crevice) | |
| 6 | Index finger perhaps where one has a hand? (5) |
| POKER – Two definitions of sorts. The card game meaning is obvious and I suppose the index finger would the likeliest to use for poking something, as long as it’s not a fire! | |
| 9 | Staff keeping close to gourmet in French restaurant (7) |
| CANTEEN – CANE (staff) containing [keeping] {gourme}T [close]. EN (in, French) | |
| 10 | Appropriate money, one million up front (7) |
| IMPOUND – 1 (one), M (million), POUND (money) | |
| 11 | Judge and godly type meeting (5) |
| TRYST – TRY (judge), ST (godly type) | |
| 12 | A hook at the back splitting top sail (9) |
| SPINNAKER – A + {hoo}K [at the back], contained by [splitting] SPINNER (top) | |
| 13 | Nation remains in turmoil that everyone can see cracks (8) |
| SURINAME – U (everyone can see – film classification) is contained by [cracks] anagram [in turmoil] of REMAINS. Wiki advises this is the smallest sovereign state in South America. I lost a lot of time on this one, possibly because if I knew the name of the country I didn’t know it ended in E. | |
| 14 | Goddess marrying that male and Egyptian god (4) |
| HERA – HE (that male) + [marrying] RA (Egyptian god). A name from the outer reaches of my knowledge of Greek myths and legends. | |
| 17 | Natural olfactory sensor, evidently always at the front? (4) |
| NOSE – N{atural} O{lfactory} S{ensor} E{vidently} [always at the front]. An excellent example of the &lit clue. | |
| 18 | Jargon written about kitchen equipment in contract (8) |
| COVENANT – CANT (jargon) containing [written about] OVEN (kitchen equipment) | |
| 21 | Topping riddle: about the fourth from Sphinx (9) |
| PEPPERONI – PEPPER (riddle – e.g. with bullets), ON (about), {sph}I{nx} [the fourth from…]. A rather loose definition as it’s a traditional food in its own right. Would we accept CHEESE clued as ‘topping’? | |
| 22 | Amendment, one being carried (5) |
| RIDER – Two meanings | |
| 24 | Image daubed on spear (7) |
| PERSONA – Anagram [daubed] of ON SPEAR | |
| 25 | Not for losers, it breaks European record (7) |
| ELITIST – IT is contained by [breaks] E (European) + LIST (record) | |
| 26 | Skirts of raffia, that fibre (5) |
| RAYON – R(affi}A [skirts of], YON (that). An initial MER here at RAYON described as a fibre rather than a fabric, but SOED advises it is “any of a class of fibres and filaments made of or from regenerated cellulose; fabric or cloth made from such fibres”. So that’s all right then. | |
| 27 | Structure associated with sick people — the rack? (9) |
| STRETCHER – A definition and a cryptic hint with reference to the instrument of torture | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Solo needing some practice, rarely uplifting (5) |
| RECIT – Hidden [some] and reversed [uplifting] in {prac}TICE R{arely}. On RÉCIT the SOED advises: Music. A passage or composition for a solo voice or instrument. I have never heard of this before, not that it’s much of a leap from ‘recital, recitative’ etc. | |
| 2 | Pretending function complicated, shift political camp (5-5,5) |
| FANCY-DRESS PARTY – FANCY (complicated), DRESS (shift), PARTY (political camp). I liked the definition at first glance, but on closer inspection I can’t make any sense of the surface. | |
| 3 | Flat object’s thrown hard for sport (8) |
| EVENTING – EVEN (flat), T{h}ING (object) [thrown hard] | |
| 4 | Considerable fine (8) |
| HANDSOME – Two meanings with barely the width of a cigarette paper between them. | |
| 5 | Quite dark, first of those books for women? (6) |
| TWILIT – T{hose} [first of], WI LIT (books for women). I’m aware of the term ‘chick lit’ so I can’t be completely sure that ‘wilit, wi lit or wi-lit’ doesn’t exist as some alternative form of literature written by or marketed at women (or even wimmin), but as I can find no evidence of it I’d guess the idea here is that WI LIT might be read by members of the Women’s Institute when they are not making jam or singing ‘Jerusalam’. | |
| 6 | Spike prodding metal pulled from furnace, very hot (6) |
| PIPING – PIN (spike) is contained by [prodding] PIG (metal pulled from furnace). SOED has PIG as: An oblong ingot of metal (now usu. iron or lead) from a smelting furnace. Very hot water apparently that ‘pipes’ or ‘sings’ as it boils. | |
| 7 | A lip-smacking snack? (7,8) |
| KNUCKLE SANDWICH – or a smack in the chops. A great cryptic clue! | |
| 8 | Bird basted, roaster cooked after oven cleared out (9) |
| REDBREAST – Anagram [cooked] of BASTED R{oast}ER [oven cleared out]. ‘Oast’ being a kiln or oven for drying hops. | |
| 13 | Polish player, winger (9) |
| SANDPIPER – SAND (polish), PIPER (player) | |
| 15 | Performer carrying bomb, bully (8) |
| DOMINEER – DOER (performer) containing [carrying] MINE (bomb) | |
| 16 | Religious student, he is apprehended by whippersnapper (8) |
| HEBRAIST – HE, then IS contained [apprehended] by BRAT (whippersnapper) | |
| 19 | Lament flash inside head (6) |
| BEMOAN – MO (flash – moment) contained by [inside] BEAN (head) | |
| 20 | Nation featured between covers of riotous book (6) |
| ROMANS – OMAN (nation) contained by [featured between] R{iotou}S [covers of] | |
| 23 | Turner Prize contradicting itself: so protesting, every second (5) |
| ROTOR – [p}R{ize}, {c}O{ntradicting}, {i}T{self}, {s}O, {p}R{otesting} [every second] | |
‘Rotor’ was my last one in, and I never saw the cryptic.
My mum had a horse called HERA for many years, so no problems there despite absence of classical education. Hera’s death last year was a sad episode.
I didn’t think much of the &Lit, personally (rather clunky, I thought), and the DD at 4dn is a bit weak, but the cryptic was a good one and generally I thought this a first-rate puzzle.
Edited at 2019-07-30 04:49 am (UTC)
13ac SURINAME has been known to UK philatelists as SURINAM
but its lovely stamps have always had an E on the end.
FOI 17ac NOSE
LOI 1dn RECIT although I thought it might be.
COD 7dn KNUCKLE SANDWHICH
WOD MOONRAKER which I wanted 12ac to be.
21ac PEPPERONI was a bit of a stretch.
5dn TWI-LIT! Georgette comes to mind! Ouch!
Edited at 2019-07-30 02:53 pm (UTC)
So, clearly I was miles off the setter’s wavelength. I ended up coming here to check a few things having tentatively finished the puzzle rather slowly
The second line looks to be a Nina from a Yorkshire bartender, E ‘av’ a wine.
After 20 mins I only had a few to do, but I was thinking I’d got lucky. Then 10 more mins on Pepperoni, Domineer, Covenant, Hebraist (LOI).
I liked it, but can see it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. E, ‘av’ a wine.
Thanks setter and Jack.
Well blogged Jack, some tricky stuff here
I wonder if TWILIT may also be an allusion to the Fifty Shades series, which started off as ‘fan fiction’ of the Twilight series of books (not that I’ve read any of either collection). Clue still doesn’t work though.
Thanks jack and setter.
Today I am mostly grateful for Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower, for my recent reading of A Classical Education… and for finally being able to get “argot” out of my head and remember “cant” instead.
Edited at 2019-07-30 09:41 am (UTC)
After 20 mins on brainpower alone I was sure that 26a began with RA. That was it! Serious wavelength issues here. Pressing on for another 20 mins with nothing but the brain and check button, I’d got two or three including NOSE which in cold comfort I’d got in the first 20 mins but wasn’t confident about it, as didn’t spot it was a first-letters type clue, so hadn’t written it in.
Another 20 mins breaking open the electronic dictionaries I’d cracked a full 22 clues but the SE corner strongly resisted completion. LOI was ROTOR.
Altogether non-biffable cleverness. Hats off setter!
COD for me was 17a. Should have written it in, courage of convictions and all that.
Few DNKs like RECIT, and a ton of snippets for the archives like HEAD=BEAN.
Thanks Jack & setter
WS
There were some I felt I should have got much more quickly – SURINAME and ROTOR in particular – and others, like HANDSOME, that were always going to require a couple of checkers.
I’m afraid KNUCKLE SANDWICH doesn’t work at all, for me – there’s no definition there. I’m also not convinced by ‘punched’ as an anagrind in 1a, and needed some persuading for ‘daubed’ in 24a (my LOI), but never mind.
That’s nit-picking, because this was otherwise a great puzzle: tough but fair.
I chose today, to trust my first instincts, and astoundingly managed to do this in 33:47, something I am not likely to repeat any time soon. A lot of time was saved by writing in RECIT, even though I did not know the word.
I was quicker to reach deadlock at 16D/18A than was Sawbill (16 minutes or so), but I kept going marginally beyond my 20 minute target and saw it off.
Like Olivia, I saw Sumerian, but chastened by my experience with BEMOAN, I marginalised it until the truth dawned !
Biffed RECIT (NHO), and REDBREAST which I simply didn’t see.
I realise that my choice for COD is divisive, but I absolutely love that sort of straight cryptic, with its trademark question mark.
FOI IMPOUND
LOI HEBRAIST
COD KNUCKLE SANDWICH
TIME 20:11
Bunged In From Checkers And Nowt Else.
Edited at 2019-07-30 01:15 pm (UTC)
With all the difficult parsing today I opted for Pepperoil, which IS a topping, thinking the ‘oil’ bit was just another piece of wordplay I’d need to come back to later. But since the answer was so convincing I forgot to rethink, and that put paid to Domineer.
Nice blog for a tough puzzle, jackkt