| So .. welcome to my last scheduled blog. My first Club Monthly blog was no. 20110, for November 2009, and I’ve done all those since I think, bar two that I swapped for Mephisto blogs, with Jimbo. I blogged the Wednesday cryptic for a few years as well, so I feel I’ve done my bit, but I bow my head in admiration to the likes of Jim and Jack who were blogging before I started and are still going at it today. Impressive. Even more, I would like to thank the setters who, to my continuing astonishment, seem able to produce fresh and interesting grids and clues week after week, year after year, while maintaining the highest of standards.
The Times’ cryptic crosswords are as good as they get, I believe, and the Club Monthly I like best of all. I do not need to be reminded that it is a minority interest, but it is as well constructed and interesting as a Swiss watch. It is also excellent training because not only does it expand your vocabulary at a rate of knots, it also teaches you to place your trust in the wordplay and confidently enter unlikely-looking answers. Biffing is not easily done here. I have enjoyed solving and blogging them immensely. Cheers for now, and a Happy New Year to all! |
| Across | |
| 1 | Scientist’s ending last letter to say further brain measurements will reveal pious people (8) |
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TZADDIQS – ( |
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| 5 | Mall gallery within a month displays spotty short-haired creature (6) |
| OCICAT – ICA (the Institute of Contemporary Arts, in the Mall) in OCT (month) | |
| 9 | Mahogany product with a carpet in wind (5-3) |
| CARAP-OIL – A + RAP (carpet) in COIL (wind) | |
| 10 | Seaman cut short Latino’s greeting (6) |
|
ABRAZO – AB (seaman) + RAZO( |
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| 12 | Wrong ’un’ll mow grazed cattle’s feed plant (13) |
| MANGOLDWURZEL – *(UN’LL MOW GRAZED). The surface very nearly makes sense.. | |
| 15 | Once commanded vehement emotion, being gutted (5) |
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HOTEN – HOT (vehement) + E( |
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| 16 | Annoying reversal of imperial measures about to confuse DUP’s constituency (6,3) |
| TEEING OFF – FOG (confuse) + NI (DUP’s constituency) in FEET (imperial measures), all rev. | |
| 17 | Cold German greeting, something sexless, happens to show chappiness (9) |
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CHEILITIS – C( |
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| 19 | Malevolent sprite with black and dirty look (5) |
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BOGLE – B( |
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| 20 | Mouth-watering item left in salad, varying wildly (8,5) |
| SALIVARY GLAND – *(SALAD VARYING + L) | |
| 22 | Canterbury’s remote country hog with mane similarly shorn (6) |
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BOOHAI – BOO( |
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| 23 | Orange herbal infusion sending outsiders off facing each other (8) |
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AFFRONTE – I think this is ( |
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| 25 | Answer Greek priestess with joke in form of self-defence (6) |
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AIKIDO – A( |
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| 26 | Cadeaux from Norman and Breton location (8) |
| ETRENNES – ET (Norman, ie French, “and”) + RENNES (Breton location). Rennes is the capital of the Brittany region, as well as of its Department, Ille-et-Vilaine. The city centre is nice, but the city is busy and growing fast | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Gum resins inflamed asthma besetting Bill on two occasions (10) |
| TACAMAHACS – AC (bill), twice, in *(ASTHMA) | |
| 2 | Computer algorithms run voice (3) |
|
AIR – AI (artificial intelligence, ie computer algorithms) + R( |
|
| 3 | Put Indian bread into sauce, say, wrapping old type of fish (7) |
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DIPNOAN – O( |
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| 4 | Essential rubbish I invested in pound before sudden drop (12) |
| QUIDDITATIVE – QUID (pound) + TAT (rubbish) + I in DIVE (sudden drop). related to quiddity .. | |
| 6 | Maybe area served by taxis moving east to the centre for a big fish (7) |
| CABEZON – CAB ZONE, with the E moved to the middle. Cabezons are fairly large – up to 1m long – and rather ugly | |
| 7 | Alternate US comedy with Calvin, Oscar and Georgia for an Asian oil producer (11) |
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CHAULMOOGRA – a tricky one! Alternate the letters of HUMOUR (US comedy) with CAL( |
|
| 8 | Illicitly take a pair of clubs (4) |
| TWOC – TWO C. An easy clue provided you have come across the word before, which I have, more than once. It is constructed from “Taken Without Owner’s Consent.” | |
| 11 | Ottoman governor’s office tones down Asian dress fullness (12) |
| MUTESSARIFAT – MUTES (tones down) + SARI (Asian dress) + FAT (fullness) | |
| 13 | Thread’s first used in mesh on a woman’s bit of hosiery — like this old one? (11) |
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NETHERSTOCK – NET (mesh) + T( |
|
| 14 | She’s broken rules about what to wear in Norfolk? (10) |
| OFFENDRESS – OF FEN DRESS | |
| 18 | Perhaps ironically, it’s amusing fat old slacker (7) |
| LOLLARD – LOL + LARD (fat). A pejorative religious term, one of many | |
| 19 | Scrap of fish, simple to skin (7) |
| BAGARRE – GAR (fish) in BARE (simple) | |
| 21 | Reversible camel-hair coat (4) |
| ABBA – is defined in Chambers as “A Syrian cloth of goats’ or camel’s hair, usu. striped; an outer garment made from it.” More often spelt aba. | |
| 24 | Some men and woman from an earlier generation (3) |
| NAN – hidden, in meN ANd | |
I have to admit, I never cared much for the Club Monthly, finding Mephisto more congenial to my taste. I tried it a couple of times, and once nearly finished one, but somehow it never seemed that rewarding.
However, as Jerry notes, coverage will continue.
I have to admit, I never cared much for the Club Monthly, finding Mephisto more congenial to my taste. I tried it a couple of times, and once nearly finished one, but somehow it never seemed that rewarding.
However, as Jerry notes, coverage will continue.
I have to concur with Lord Vinyl in that this is at the pinnacle of difficulty and lacks gratification, unless one can finish it within half an hour/day.
1ac TZADDIQS is witness to that! I always use TQUADDIKS or ZADDIKS.
My plea would be for the Club Monthly to be far more inclusive so that ‘The Club’ can take part and not just two or three members.
Otherwise change the name so that what is on tin resembles the contents.
‘The Shaffhausen Special’, perhaps?
And then have a Club Monthly that can enjoyed by the majority!
Elitism is a tad outre these days even though I did finish it once!
A happy new Year to you, sir!
horryd
Edited at 2018-01-01 03:50 pm (UTC)
As you say, these are fine puzzles but the monthly format and small audience don’t lend themselves to a great deal of comment and discussion. Sadly, sometimes I would read your blog and struggle to remember solving it
I hope you will still be commenting in the main blog
I regard the Monthly to be a rather different animal from the regular puzzles, with the accent on enlargement of vocabulary to its outer bounds, as evinced by 1ac.
Consequently, I am satisfied by completing the puzzle even if I have needed aid of Quinapalus’ Word Matcher to suggest possibilities for answers to fit known checkers.