Time: 18:27. I regret not taking more time to properly savour this one, because as I wrote up the blog, it became increasingly apparent that this was a delicious set of clues, for which the setter expended time not just tacking wordplay onto definitions but making each clue a miniature work of art. As an experiment, try throwing these clues at Google’s AI and see the valiant, desperate-to-please comments it comes up with – I’ve given an example at 14ac. AI is fooled every time!
The definitions underlined in bold italics, and my explanations use [] to indicate excluded letters, along with other stuff.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Protective cover from university book penned by Mr Fitzgerald? (8) |
| UMBRELLA – Some deft lift and separate work required here. Start with U[niversity], then enclose (pen) B[ook] with MR, and add the definitely not Mr ELLA Fitzgerald. | |
| 5 | Tough bird with clipped wings back from vet (6) |
| STRICT – One of those where I find it difficult to get to the answer from the wordplay. You need a bird with both ends of the word removed, in this case an [o]STRIC[h] and the last letter of veT. | |
| 9 | Appreciate cuddling new puppy involves mid-morning tussle (4-4) |
| DING-DONG – DIG for appreciates has N[ew] inserted, than DOG for puppy has the middle of [mor]N[ing] inserted. | |
| 10 | Aims to get hammered, gulping second cocktail (6) |
| MIMOSA – An anagram (hammered) of AIMS “gulps” MO for second. What Americans call a Bucks Fizz – wish they were making their mind up! | |
| 12 | Carbon in atmosphere brought about by energy plant (5) |
| ERICA – The standard C for carbon contained by a reversed (brought about) AIR all added to E[nergy] | |
| 13 | Support for opener that takes catch? (9) |
| DOORFRAME – I think this is just a cryptic hint dressed up to look like a cricket reference. A door is an opener with (usually) some sort of catch to keep it closed. | |
| 14 | Repetitive band churning out the same material? (8,4) |
| CONVEYOR BELT – And I think this is another cryptic hind this time dressed up to look like a reference to, shall we say, Status Quo*. What a production line is/does.
*I threw the clue at Google’s AI, and it came up with AC/DC, Dragonforce, Rancid, and Slayer. Each to his own. |
|
| 18 | Unusually rude about parking next to building (12) |
| SURPRISINGLY – Parsed after submission. Rude is SURLY, encompassing P[arking] and RISING as equivalent to building, perhaps best taken as in music building in intensity. | |
| 21 | Delighted (with) arrangement of straw, a bear retires (4-1-4) |
| COCK-A-HOOP – The more familiar haystack is replaced by a hayCOCK. Winnie is the bear that is reversed (retires) to give HOOP. | |
| 23 | Musical piece regularly felt subdued (5) |
| ÉTUDE – Alternate letters (regularly) of fElT sUbDuEd. | |
| 24 | In Spain, what comes after work? Answer’s unclear (6) |
| OPAQUE – We have Manuel to thank for knowing what Spanish is for – um -what. It’s ¿QUE? After OP for work and A[nswer] it produces our entry. | |
| 25 | Old basilica no longer minted coins (8) |
| OSTMARKS – Cute. O[ld] is added to ST MARKS, the magnificent structure, inside and out, in Venice. Ost(east)marks were currency in East Germany. | |
| 26 | Cutting encircles boundaries of granite quarry (6) |
| TARGET – TART for cutting (a sharp taste) around the first and last of G[ranit]E | |
| 27 | Military might consider holding a prisoner attached to Resistance (3,5) |
| SEA POWER – Consider gives SEE, into which you place A P[risoner] O[f] W[ar], to which assembly you add the helpfully capitalised R[esistance]. | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | In France, one pegs out lingerie? (6) |
| UNDIES – A beautifully evoked image of a French street scene. In France, of course one is UN. In the UK, pegs out is DIES. | |
| 2 | Criminal, overcome by temptation, first to nab diamonds (6) |
| BANDIT – First letter of N[ab] and D[iamonds] are taken into BAIT for temptation. Another example where the word order is deceptive. | |
| 3 | Botch an overdue attempt (9) |
| ENDEAVOUR – An anagram (botch) of AN OVERDUE. | |
| 4 | Entering name, put down 4 into 501 — boy grasps one way to solve it (4,8) |
| LONG DIVISION – So. Put down is LOG. Insert N[ame]. Switch to Roman, and put IV into DI. Your boy, a SON, takes in I (one). The definition refers back to the 4/501 sum. 125 and a bit, of course. | |
| 6 | The bags I failed to open — one rustles? (5) |
| THIEF – The reference is to a cattle thief. THE grabs an I, and to open Failed you need an F. | |
| 7 | Removed papers, keeping notes in order (8) |
| ISOLATED – Papers are/is ID, into which you insert SO LA TE, inspired by Julie Andrews. | |
| 8 | Picked up skill with pen, capturing very English caricature (8) |
| TRAVESTY – Skill gives ART, which is reversed (picked up). A pen is a STY. Between the two place V[ery] E[nglish]. Caricature and travesty meet via burlesque in Chambers. | |
| 11 | Bobby Kennedy’s final meeting with former European publishing operation? (4-3-5) |
| COPY-AND-PASTE – Bobby is what British people used to call P.C. Dixon of Dock Green and his ilk, so COP will do. The final letter of Kennedy is Y. With needs to be converted to AND. Former becomes PAST, and E[uropean] is standard in a crossword. | |
| 15 | Mountain guide’s tale following conclusion of film — gather round (6,3) |
| RELIEF MAP – Didn’t properly parse this before submission, taken by the elegance of the definition. But it’s LIE for tale, F[ollowing], the last letter of filM, and REAP for gather going round all of that. | |
| 16 | Mentally unsettle treacherous spy chief, exposed (5,3) |
| PSYCH OUT – An anagram (treacherous) of SPY, CH[ief] and OUT from exposed. Where’s M when you need her? | |
| 17 | Arrives, grabbing tea behind motorway rest facility (8) |
| ARMCHAIR – ARR[ives] takes in CHAI, Indian tea, itself tacked on to M[otorway]. | |
| 19 | Retreat from rough edge that hurts! (6) |
| BURROW – A rough edge, such as on cut metal, is a BURR. OW! That hurts! | |
| 20 | Yes, given shake-up within country, many leaving in spring (6) |
| GEYSER – An anagram (given shake up) of YES within GERMANY, the country, minus its MANY. | |
| 22 | Something used in pool to check temperature is crucial (5) |
| ACUTE – The game of pool is tricky without A CUE. It checks, takes in T[emperature]. | |
Soundly beaten again. Couldn’t see CONVEYOR BELT, STRICT or RELIEF MAP. Knew it had to be COCK-A-HOOP but didn’t know ‘haycock’. Also missed PSYCH OUT and the NHO OSTMARKS. Thought UMBRELLA was very good. DOORFRAME went in with a shrug. Liked the convoluted LONG DIVISION. Saw TRAVESTY but didn’t know it could mean ‘caricature’.
Thanks Z and setter.
I didn’t think I was going to finish this but I got there in the end. I knew how PSYCH OUT worked but I couldn’t think of PSYCH (and I was trying to get the obvious M in there somehow). LONG DIVISION would have been even better if “4 into 501” actually required long division as opposed to normal division. There were some very clever clues here, although you pretty much had to get the answer and then see if the wordplay fitted—you were never going to get most clues by assembling the wordplay For example, in SURPRISINGLY you would not go to RISING from building, although once you have the answer it fits fine.
Tough but fair and most enjoyable. One hour exactly.
This was not the toughie I thought it was, but I had a hard time getting started – like, five answers after 20 minutes? As I got more crossing letters, I sped up – long division, yes, conveyor belt, ding dong. Ostmark was a mystery for a long time, and I was sure space out was the answer for 16 – sp + ace + out. Then I got surprisingly and had to rethink.
Time: 70:13
What a gem of a puzzle, like Z I appreciated much of the elegant clueing post-solve. I did it in 41.10 which was much quicker than I expected after taking an age to get going. Very helpful blog, sorely needed today. I had no idea about COCK-A-HOOP, COPY-AND-PASTE, the catch part of DOORFRAME and a couple of others, so thank you Z.
From All Along The Watchtower:
There must be some way outta here, said the Joker to the THIEF
There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief
Business men they drink my wine, ploughmen dig my earth
None of them along the line, know what any of it is worth