Club Monthly 20133 – October 2011

Solving Time: About 50mins in two sessions, which makes it a touch easier than last month’s. At the time of writing however only 29 entrants have submitted (to the leaderboard) an all-correct solution, which is quite a low number. A rather larger number (41) have one error, so perhaps one clue caused difficulties. 23dn, perhaps? I notice that Jason was one of them but he nevertheless finished in 18m32s which is a remarkable effort indeed.

Otherwise this is the usual top quality, accurate, inventive, wide ranging crossword puzzle fare that marks it out as the highlight of the Crossword Club month for me.

Across
1	bijoux – refuse to go on backing = JIB rev., + OX containing classy = U. So BIJ+O(U)X
4	jickajog – beat a record = LICK A LOG, with both Ls replaced by J for judge
10	Modafinil – short dress = MINI + L = line, containing O + FAD rev. Modafinil is a drug used to treat narcolepsy and as a performance stimulant. Amazingly, it is not known how it works, only that it does
11	pique – music’s more = PIU containing question = Q, + ultimately to provoke = E
12	vasa deferentia – as I go to post this blog I see that I did not record the wordplay for this clue, and now I am struggling a bit.. OK, got it now. The clue gets easier if you are aware, as I was not, that DEF = brilliant, in hip hop speak. So it is “like a champion” = AS A DEF + “before new tyre initially” = ERE N T, breaking, ie contained in, through = VIA, the definition being “inner tubes,” the plural of the (somewhat) better known vas deferens. Phew!
14	sowed – then = SO + WED = united
16	machinima – possibly lame = MAIM containing feature = CHIN, + A. The “possibly” is wise since maim and lame are not synonymous, but detracts somewhat from the surface reading
18	eviternal – to survive = LIVE rev., containing (ARENT).* Not a common word these days and rightly so given that eternal does just as good a job with two letters less..
20	tryst – test = TRY + ST = boundaries to set.
21	battle-axe block – BATTLE-AXE + BLOCK.. A nicely descriptive term
25	ceili – I LIE + C rev. More used to the spelling with dh on the end but here we are again, a word that does the job just as well with two letters less
26	brinjarry – saving (in the sense “All over bar the shouting”) = BAR + RY = railway, containing two eastern states: RI and NJ.
27	pyengadu – turn up = PU containing Japanese capital = YEN and go roving = GAD. This clue held me up somewhat with thoughts of Tokyo and Kyoto.. Not to mention the forty (!) other capitals Japan has had
28	agreed – AGED containing RE
Down
1	bomb-vessel – smaller gang = LESS MOB rev., containing the odd bits of bovver: BVE
2	judas – legal authority = JUS containing DA, the usual American lawman. JUS in this sense is in Chambers, but it is not in the OED, possibly as it is a latin word rather than an English one.
3	unfaded – (FEUD AND)*
5	idler – hidden, rev., in minstREL Ditties
6	kipunji – New Zealander = KIWI, with the W replaced by PUN + J. Another month, another new monkey species; to me, anyway, and I imagine to most since the species was only discovered in 2004. It is already critically endangered, however
6	jequirity – more French: JE QUI RIT, I who smile, + Y, last of poppy. Jequirity, a word I have met a number of times in one crossword or another, is a colourful but very highly toxic tropical bean. Making the best of a bad job, its main use is as jewellery, but even so fatalities occur from time to time.
7	geez – GEEZer – Ge’ez being a language it seems
8	knifeman – identify snitch = NAME FINK, rev. A neat clue, if one of the easier ones here
9	kantikoyed – K + ANTI + KO + YE’D. Kantikoy is an Algonquin indian word, meaning religious dancing, with a range of variant spellings to choose from.. kintikay, cantico etc etc.
13	writative – (VIEW TRAIT)* – at last, a genuinely useful new word.. I definitely feel writative from time to time, don’t you?
15	calixtin – element 20, calcium or CA + element 50 or TIN, containing 59 or LIX. It seems slightly ironic that such a scientific clue is defining a Bohemian religious nut. I thought it was brilliant
19	ettling – kETTLING. Kettling is an outrageous, potentially highly unpleasant, and most likely illegal tactic, employed by police forces who should know better. It has been used in London on numerous occasions but in many other countries too. The Wikipedia article I link to should be treated with some caution, but it is true that the High Court has ruled it an illegal tactic, unless the police feel violence is about to break out.. room for improvement on both sides, I guess.
20	toby jug – (JOY, BUT + G)* – I am familiar with toby jugs, but their use as beer containers was new to me. Most of the ones I’ve seen were far too small to be much use, and were obviously intended just as ornaments. But then I’ve always been more of a wine drinker
22	embed – girl coming out = DEB + ME, rev. The use of embed as a noun was new to me
23	oorie – determined to succeed = DO OR DIE, with the Ds removed. Oorie can also be spelled ourie or owrie, which apparently caused a problem for some, although do ur die and do wr die don’t have quite the same ring to them
24	scup – Bess’s ultimate = S + CUP = award. The dictionary says that a scup is a common porgy fish. So now we know..