Club Monthly 20167 – August 2014

With this crossword, the chase is the thing. Every month it has some wonderful clues, some wonderful vocab., and rigorously accurate cluemanship. Who cares how long it takes, or even if you finish or not? Each one has, like the Mephisto, half a dozen or more clues that are no more difficult than a normal daily clue. Try looking for them, to get you started.

cd = cryptic definition, dd = double definition, rev = reversed, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as *(–)

ODO = Oxford Dictionaries Online, OED = Oxford Dictionary, etc.

Across
1. South African lynx runs ahead of boor in grass (7)
rooikat – OIK (boor) in R + OAT (grass)
5. Help with vessel, Sinbad’s cutter? (7)
handjar – HAND (help) + JAR (vessel). And indeed, I did know of this word from reading the 1001 Arabian Nights, which features Sinbad the Sailor among its pages
9. Stick Old Testament in non-standard agreement for faith schools (9)
yeshivoth – SHIV (stick) + OT in YETH (non-standard agreement). When I finally got this I immediately thought of Violet-Elizabeth Bott
10. What might make trunk sticky, foul-minded nurses? (5)
ulmin – hidden in foUL MINded
11. Unfinished poem, hard in Armenian (5)
haikh – HAIK(U) + H(ard). An example haiku, by Roger McGough:

writing a poem
in seventeen syllables
is very diffic

12. Small worry with double nucleus shaped like an arrowhead (9)
sagittate – S(mall) + AGITTATE, worry with a “double nucleus”
14. Tropical plants perish following repeated initiation for Banks in choppy China Sea (14)
dieffenbachias – DIE (perish) + FF (following repeated) + B(ANKS) in *(CHINA SEA). Tricky! Fortunately a word I had come across before, but the wordplay was hard to unravel.. ages spent thinking there would be a BB in there somewhere
17. Sordid artist’s right hand, unknown aide, understood about strike hours (14)
rhyparographer – RH + Y (unknown, not x or z) + PA (aide) + RAP (strike) and H(ours) in ROGER (understood).
21. Spontaneous terror spree before middle of autumn (9)
impromptu – IMP (terror, eg my grandson) + ROMP (spree) + ( AU )TU(MN)
23. Leg joint no longer used without difficulties when cycling? (5)
ancle – hmm, I think this is CLEAN (without difficulties) “cycled” into ANCLE. Not a device I recall seeing before
24. Tough paper in House of Commons that initially British country rejected (5)
kutch – HC + T(HAT) + UK, all rev.
25. Related to lyricists accepting English and Australian backing of Stones (from The Animals) (9)
bezoardic – E(nglish) and OZ, rev. in BARDIC (related to lyricists). Nice surface!
26. Sydney’s conmen run crooked resort (7)
rorters – R(un) + *(RESORT)
27. Frenchwoman’s distracted European Parliament with the Queen expected (7)
eperdue – EP + ER (queen) + DUE (expected)

Down
1. In sunshine, it’s surprising infidels among the Ottomans (6)
rayahs – AH in RAYS (sunshine)
2. Outsiders displace Gift Aid’s regular contributions (7)
oustiti – OUST (displace) + g I fT aId
3. Red-flowering plant starts in area in front of house, perhaps carnation coming up (9)
kniphofia – all rev., the first letters of A rea I n Front Of House, + PINK (perhaps carnat ion)
4. Obstacles for cavalry: louts rode unsteadily on horseback (5-2-4)
trous-de-loup – (literally, “wolf-holes”). *(LOUTS RODE) + UP (on horseback)
5. Stop Her Highness seizing ring (3)
hoh – O in HH. Easy clue, once you have convinced yourself that “hoh” actually can mean “stop” – as Chambers will confirm, or see the cavalry in any John Ford western
6. Aged female relative’s sister capturing a brother’s heart (5)
naunt – A in NUN (sister) + broTher
7. Flowery muslin stuff seen on lion-tamer, more than half visible (7)
jamdani – JAM (stuff) + DANI(EL), he who entered the lion’s den in yet another rather nasty Old Testament tale presumably still taught in 9 acrosses
8. Upset once scriptural teaching is on new division in Biblical chapter (8)
renverse – RE + N + VERSE
13. Perth beggar’s lifted pouch, form of lure that is found around New Zealand (11)
gaberlunzie – BAG (pouch) rev., + *(LURE) + NZ in IE (id est, that is). So it is the Scottish Perth we need, this time
15. Headed mushroom consumed by Henry? (9)
cephalate – CEP (mushroom) + HAL ATE
16. See someone gathering stuff on ground that covers Channel Islands up? (8)
vraicker – V (see, ie the Vatican) = vide, Latin for “see,” as in qv. + CI (channel Isles) rev. in RAKER. An experienced crossword solver, seeing the word “see,” immediately wonders if V or ELY is meant.. but I challenge anyone to underline the definition in this clue. It is almost an &lit, if you discount the “see,” since a vraicker is someone who gathers seaweed (called “vraic”) in the Channel Islands
18. About time to neuter mounting dog (7)
yapster – all rev: RE (about) + T(ime) + SPAY (neuter). I hate yapsters.
19. Cut off old-style pledge, upset (at giving way to crude signature?) (7)
excided – this is DEDICATE, rev., and with the AT replaced by X, a crude signature
20. In Rhineland I must interrupt visit for “rock” in body of water (6)
seiche – ICH (German for I) in SEE (visit)
22. Brass work that’s tedious moving over to first place (5)
ochre – CHORE (tedious work) with the O moved to the front
25. Wader leaving northernmost island again (3)
bis – IBIS, with the first “I” removed. The Latin for “twice,” used mostly as a musical direction