Apparently this one took me just over an hour, and I assume I solved it during one of the extended rain delays in the cricket, but it all seems to have been lost in the fog of the festive season.
Having now done the blog, it seems like a very pleasant holiday offering, despite my one quibble at 20dn.
WOD (as Horryd would have it) to TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA.
Here’s how I parsed it…..
Clues are reproduced in blue, with the definition underlined. Anagram indicators are bolded and italicised. Then there’s the answer IN BOLD, followed by the parsing of the wordplay. (ABC)* means ‘anagram of ABC’.
| Across | |
| 1 | Practical guide for digital supremacy? (4,2,5) |
|
RULE OF THUMB – Cryptic second def Thumbs rule, ok? |
|
| 7 | Public sector advocate I endlessly cite re facts and figures (11) |
| STATISTICAL – STATIST (Public sector advocate) + I + CAL [endlessly CALL (cite)] | |
| 13 | Mangle it — bad karaoke’s hip, I fear, covering this number (17) |
|
TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA – (IT BAD KARAOKE’S HIP I)* Great clue, referencing the clue number. Not a bad spelling test either. Like many solvers, I imagine, I knew the word but would have struggled to reproduce it without anagrind and checkers. |
|
| 14 | Quick to condemn primitive instincts (5) |
| RAPID – RAP (condemn) + ID (primitive instincts) | |
| 15 | Those preparing vote for dividing left and right succeeded (6) |
|
LAYERS – AYE (vote for) dividing L (left) and R (right) + S (succeeded) Those preparing? Laying the foundations? Laying in wait? Laying a table? Preparing to lay an egg? Not sure. |
|
| 16 | Returning traveller docked to find girl, getting lookout’s aid (8) |
| SPYGLASS – SPYG [GYPSY (traveller) “docked” and reversed (returning)] + LASS (girl) | |
| 17 | Host‘s ground captured in struggle (7) |
| VISITEE – SITE (ground) in VIE (struggle) | |
| 19 | Indifferent keeping time — melody, conversely, smoothly maintained (9) |
|
SOSTENUTO – SOSO (indifferent) “keeping” T (time) + ENUT [TUNE (melody) “conversely”] Somehow I like these musical terms, despite not knowing any of them. They seem very descriptive. |
|
| 21 | Seed payment I invested, promoting growth (8) |
|
NUTRIENT – I “invested” in NUT (seed) + RENT (payment) Nutrient as an adjective here. |
|
| 23 | Knocked over beer in gaffe (4) |
| SLIP – PILS (beer) reversed (knocked over) | |
| 25 | Pale and birdlike? (5) |
| ASHEN – AS HEN (like a bird) | |
| 27 | Dull and boring, cornering attention (6) |
| DREARY – DRY (boring) “cornering” EAR (attention) | |
| 28 | Reading torn apart by United after a second, in customary style (2,3,5) |
|
AS PER USUAL – PERUSAL (reading) “torn apart by” U (United) after A + S (second) I don’t follow soccer, but the surface sounds plausible. |
|
| 30 | Chosen few, mostly wealthy, having power (8) |
| ELECTRIC – ELECT (chosen few) + RIC [mostly RICH (wealthy)] | |
| 31 | Do I steer acting in play with this? (5,9) |
| STAGE DIRECTION – (DO I STEER ACTING)* | |
| 34 | Hangdog characteristic of a retriever on a duck hunt? (4,2,3,5) |
|
DOWN IN THE MOUTH – Cryptic second def Not the first time we’ve seen this one, or similar. |
|
| 35 | Ties up case that’s resolved (8) |
| ATTACHES – (CASE THAT)* | |
| 38 | Member I criticised was doing his job, perhaps (10) |
| LEGISLATED – LEG (member) + I + SLATED (criticised) | |
| 40 | Persuade knave to return, mostly getting encouragement from Spanish? (6) |
| CAJOLE – CAJ [JACK (knave) “to return, mostly”] + OLE (encouragement from Spanish) | |
| 41 | Is he afraid to smuggle papers? (5) |
| SHEAF – Hidden (smuggled) in iS HE AFraid | |
| 43 | Awful-sounding instrument (4) |
| VIOL – Homophone of VILE (awful) | |
| 44 | Big birthday present not opened — nabbed by nasty thief (8) |
| FIFTIETH – IFT [GIFT (present) “not opened”] “nabbed by” (THIEF)* | |
| 45 | Cut of cloth considered valuable (9) |
| LACERATED – LACE (cloth) + RATED (considered valuable) | |
| 48 | Play guitar on right of short stage (7) |
| ROSTRUM – STRUM (play guitar) on R (right) + O (of short) | |
| 49 | Tie’s rearranged after back-to-back knockouts — most odd (8) |
| KOOKIEST – (TIES)* after KOOK [“back-to-back” KOs (knockouts)] | |
| 50 | Allows to have drink (4,2) |
|
OWNS UP – OWN (have) + SUP (drink) As in “admits to”. |
|
| 53 | Yours Truly and alien princess’s close encounters (5) |
| MEETS – ME (yours truly) + ET (alien) + S (princess’s close) | |
| 54 | Leave with no money like domestic staff? (4,2,3,8) |
| TAKE TO THE CLEANERS – TAKE TO (like) + THE CLEANERS (domestic staff?) | |
| 55 | Intends crop to be processed as vanilla (11) |
| NONDESCRIPT – (INTENDS CROP)* | |
| 56 | Person in crowd homeless, having run away without restraint (11) |
| EXTRAVAGANT – EXTRA (person in crowd) + VAGANT [VAGRANT (homeless) having R (run) away] | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Creepy type is disconcerting, flagrant with pinching of bottom (11) |
| RATTLESNAKE – RATTLES (is disconcerting) + NAKE [NAKED (flagrant) with bottom letter “pinched”] | |
| 2 | Loud song about Ireland (5) |
| LAIRY – LAY (song) about IR (Ireland) | |
| 3 | Revolutionary takeover overlooking very famous royal hideout (3,4) |
|
OAK TREE – (TAKEOVER)* “overlooking” V (very) Didn’t know the reference, but apparently Charles II hid in an oak tree to escape the Roundheads in 1651. Sounds like he had a fair bit of help from others, as is often the way with these royal types. |
|
| 4 | Get a bit of stick (4) |
| TWIG – Double definition | |
| 5 | Due to blunder, mounted soldiers on manoeuvre caught out of position? (10) |
| UNEMPLOYED – NEM [mounted MEN (soldiers)] + PLOY (manoeuvre) “caught” by (DUE)* | |
| 6 | US writers use drum and bass for this? (4,10) |
| BEAT GENERATION – Slightly cryptic second def | |
| 7 | Suzy regularly consuming last of cognac and Scotch whisky in mawkishness (8) |
| SCHMALTZ – SZ (SuZy regularly) “consuming” CH (last of cognac and Scotch) + MALT (whisky) | |
| 8 | French clerics grab best clothes (5) |
| ABBES – Hidden (clothed) in grAB BESt | |
| 9 | Prior favoured a waltz, grabbing vicar’s top (2,7) |
| IN ADVANCE – IN (favoured) + A + DANCE (waltz) “grabbing” V (vicar’s top) | |
| 10 | Force hospital into control of self-governing body (6) |
| THRUST – H (hospital) in TRUST (self-governing body) | |
| 11 | Sentence given in only one case? (7,10) |
|
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT – cryptic second def Well you don’t often hear about lower-case punishment. |
|
| 12 | Band influenced by Marx detailed to go up river (3,8) |
|
LED ZEPPELIN – LED (influenced) by ZEPP [ZEPPO (Marx) detailed] + LINE [NILE (river) “to go up”] Pretty sure these lads were cryptic crossword enthusiasts (“’cause you know sometimes words have two meanings”). |
|
| 18 | Theologian fellow’s captivated by simply a seeker of enlightenment (8) |
| BUDDHIST – DD (theologian, Doctor of Divinity) + HIS (fellow’s) “captivated by” BUT (simply) | |
| 20 | German state school boy to reprimand on vacation, note, at home (9-8) |
|
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN – SCH (school) + LES (boy) + WIG (reprimand) + HOLS (vacation) + TE (note) + IN (at home) Quite an assembly of parts. My quibble is that if you didn’t know the state (I didn’t), the “boy” part could have been played by LES, LEN, KEN, KEV, TED and probably a few others. |
|
| 22 | Ruling party’s close to centre (6) |
| INSIDE – IN (ruling) + SIDE (party) | |
| 24 | Edit form for one of lower orders? (8) |
| SUBCLASS – SUB (edit) + CLASS (form) | |
| 26 | Most bats make home around Utah, it being elevated (8) |
| NUTTIEST – NEST (make home) around UT (Utah) + TI (it being elevated) | |
| 29 | One who wrote of a gun held initially by a serial killer (6,8) |
|
AGATHA CHRISTIE – A + GAT (gun) + H (held initially) + A + CHRISTIE (serial killer) John (Reg) Christie was a nasty piece of work in the 1940s and 50s. The big news here in Perth over Christmas was the arrest of the Claremont serial killer, who did his worst in the mid-1990’s. A truly terrifying time it was, hope they finally got the right guy. |
|
| 32 | To make economies, stop going over the top? (8) |
|
RETRENCH – Cryptic second def If I was at Gallipoli I think I’d have voted to re-trench rather than “going over the top”. |
|
| 33 | Be sorry about gym’s charge (6) |
| REPENT – RENT (charge) about PE (gym) | |
| 34 | Van driver perhaps abused after turning loads, back to front (11) |
| DELIVERYMAN – DELIVER [REVILED (abused) after turning] + YMAN [MANY (loads) back to front] | |
| 36 | Subsist primarily on ghastly diet of peas in secure unit (4-7) |
| SAFE-DEPOSIT – S (subsist primarily) on (DIET OF PEAS)* | |
| 37 | Making united company based on beer and perfume (10) |
| COALESCENT – CO (company) + ALE (beer) + SCENT (perfume) | |
| 39 | Accepted a ruinous taxi home without limits in charge (9) |
| AXIOMATIC – A + [TAXI + OM (home without limits)]* + IC (in charge) | |
| 42 | Makes lace men, each ascending in a balloon? (8) |
| AEROSTAT – [TATS (makes lace) + OR (men) + EA (each)] reversed (ascending) | |
| 46 | Engaged in conflict over US lawyer entering unchecked information (3,4) |
| RAW DATA – DA (US lawyer) “entering” RAWTA [AT WAR (engaged in conflict) reversed (ove)] | |
| 47 | Swimmer was seen around river Seine’s banks (6) |
| WRASSE – WAS around R (river) + SE (Seine’s banks) | |
| 49 | Asian weapon launched to irritate Britain (5) |
|
KUKRI – [IRK (irritate) + UK (Britain)] reversed (launched) I think these are the ones the Gurkhas use. Tough little buggers those guys. |
|
| 51 | City that is between South and North America (5) |
|
SIENA – IE (that is) between S (south) and NA (North America) Nowhere near North os South America, of course, but that’s the beauty of the cryptic. |
|
| 52 | Female meadow insect (4) |
| FLEA – F (female) + LEA (meadow) | |
Great blog otherwise!
Paul G