Thank goodness I found this a bit tougher than the last three puzzles – actually had to work at some of the clues. I don’t recall seeing the software device in a puzzle before but I well remember the discussions about it – from both a manufacturer’s and user’s perspective.
The puzzle appeared on Valentine’s Day but I can’t see a theme
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | GOPHER – two meanings 1=supposedly the cypress tree used to build the mythical Ark 2=to mine; |
| 7 | HOLED – HO(L)E-D; weed=HOE; strike the ball into the pocket in snooker=pot; |
| 11 | AUTOGIROS – AU-TO-GIROS; old aircraft powered by upward pointing rotors; |
| 12 | DESPISE – DE(SP-IS)E; |
| 13 | ORCS – hidden (ss)ORC-S(gink); write-in from definition; |
| 15 | SODOM – SO-DOM; domestic=DOM; with Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Bela known in the Torah as a “Plain city”; |
| 16 | SLIPCASE – S-(special)*; has=’S; |
| 18 | COLA – (s)C(h)O(o)L(b)A(g); teeth-rot; |
| 19 | LOSE,ONE’S,COOL – miss=LOSE; somebody’s=ONE’S; excellent=COOL (slang); flip is definition; |
| 21 | MACADAMIAN,NUT – (man + a maid cut a)*; mortal is anagrind; a tree; |
| 22 | OTIC – (ex)OTIC; export=ex; lugs=ears (slang); |
| 23 | PLOTTERS – PL-OTTERS; explosive (mines) releasing devices=OTTERS; another definition write-in; |
| 26 | BWAZI – BW-A-ZI(p); before=ante=A; a shrub; |
| 29 | LARK – KRA(a)L reversed; |
| 30 | SKITTLE – S-KITTLE; small=S; puzzle in Perth Post=KITTLE; |
| 31 | SCIENTIZE – (neice + zits)*; an approach started 1600BC (see Edwin Smith papyrus) and embracing Descarte’s rationalism with Newton’s inductivism; |
| 32 | WEDGE – W-EDGE; |
| 33 | YESTER – Y-E-STER; hostel=Y; sterling=STER; last is definition; |
| Down | |
| 1 | GADUS – GAD-US; rod no longer used=GAD; one=US; cod family; |
| 2 | PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; cryptic definition, front=battle front; |
| 3 | HOP,UP – HO-PUP; stop=HO; old phrase for drug; |
| 4 | EGIS – EG-IS; US spelling of aegis; |
| 5 | RISK,ANALYSIS – (silk a syrians)*; |
| 6 | GREASE,MONKEY – GREASE-M-ON-KEY; bribe=GREASE: |
| 7 | HOUSE-SIT – HO-USES-IT; |
| 8 | LARDOON – L(‘ARD)OON; Banff is in NE Scotland where child=bairn=LOON; a bit of bacon; |
| 9 | ENCOLOURS – (cooler sun)*; |
| 10 | DISMAL – DI(SM)AL; |
| 14 | BLOATWARE – (at a bowler)*; software that uses more of the computer’s capacity than the mainstream functionality warrants – marketing device invented by hardware manufacturers to force users to upgrade their computer in order to maintain processing performance; |
| 17 | CODPIECE – aCE becomes COD-PIE-CE; unit=ace then replace a=one by COD=hoax and PIE=prize; |
| 20 | SCIARID – SC-I-ARID; a fly; |
| 21 | MOB,LAW – MOB-LA-W; wench=MOB; look=LA; Valentine’s Day massacre perhaps; |
| 24 | TATTS – STA(T)T; immediately=TATS (Latin); short for Tattersalls, a racecourse enclosure for non-members; |
| 25 | SHEER – two meanings; |
| 27 | WINE – (s)WINE; |
| 28 | AT,IT – A-TIT; fitting end to a Valentine’s Day puzzle; |
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it seems to be another quirky Paul McKenna first row: GOPHER G HOLED