It was a strange day on Sunday – I took this and the Azed “Double Trouble” puzzle for coffee in the “morning” and found myself frustrated with one of them very quickly. It wasn’t this one, which fell into place pretty quickly. 34 is a very interesting clue, not sure if it works as a whole as an &lit.
I know it’s not a Times puzzle, but be on the lookout for ROCKET in upcoming Mephistos – and this may be the first time: in the clueing competition for ROCKET (read all about it here) not only have all three Mephisto setters had clues make the cut (Tim Moorey first prize, Don Manley VHC, Paul McKenna HC) but also your humble Mephisto bloggers, Jim and I with HCs.
It’s an honor to be in such distinguished company, and away we go!
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | LED CAPTAIN: LEAPT,IN with DC(Detective Constable) inside |
| 11 | PANNIER: ANNIE in P.R.(spin, Public Relations) |
| 12 | VASSAL: V(very short) then ASSAIL without the I |
| 13 | ASSAI: Take the beginning and end off of WASSAIL. I wondered if there was a theme when I saw these two similar looking words next to each other |
| 14 | TAJ(crown),1,K |
| 15 | HAW(hedge),M |
| 16 | LOBO: B in LOO |
| 17 | OLIVETAN: (A,VIOLENT)* |
| 21 | WARLIKE: R,LI(unit of measurement) in WAKE |
| 23 | MAWLIDS: (DISMAL,W)* |
| 25 | PELAGIAN: PI(holy),AN(one) with E,LAG inside |
| 26 | PEN,K |
| 27 | SMIT: SMITH without the H |
| 29 | SEGOL: EGO(I) in S.L. |
| 31 | TOPEE: double def |
| 32 | STRINE: STRING with E for G – my native tongue |
| 33 | INBREAK: 1,(BANKER)* |
| 34 | DEF,LOWERED: I think I like this one now as an &lit – though it seems strange to see “Definition” as a part of a clue. Mind you if I was challenged to write a clue for DEFLOWERED I’d probably use a far more prurient definition |
| Down | |
| 1 | LAVA LAMP: LA in LA VAMP – cute little clue |
| 2 | DUSTBOWL: ST in DUB(puddle),OWL(dullard) |
| 3 | CASA: CASH with the H chopped off, A |
| 4 | A MAJOR,I: Loved this clue, had to stretch back through the old musical knowledge – no sharps C, one G, two D, three A |
| 5 | TANKIA: TANK(reservoir) then AI(sloth) reversed |
| 6 | AN,AN |
| 7 | INS,HELL |
| 8 | REAWAKENING: (WEAK,GRANNIE)*. My 95-year old grandmother might take umbrage at this clue – she can still shout obscenities down the phone! |
| 9 | CRIM: CRIMSON without the SON |
| 10 | CACODAEMONS: (COME,ON,AS,CAD)* |
| 18 | TIMELIER: I’M,EL in TIER |
| 19 | NECK,WEE,D |
| 20 | A LATERE: or A LATER E |
| 22 | RING TAW: NG in IT in RAW(chilly and damp) |
| 24 | DIS(hell),MAL(sickness abroad) |
| 27 | STIG: GITS reversed – got this from wordplay, when I googled it a TV show from about 10 years came up called Stig of the Dump, I presume it’s referring to this? |
| 28 | REEF: FEER reversed |
| 30 | ORFE: FORE with the F dropping a few spots |
Like you I had no idea what STIG was, couldn’t find it in Chambers – a bit like UPS like week – and eventually resorted to Google which came up with a lot of stuff about a TV prog about cars that I knew nothing about. Said a quiet “thanks” that I wasn’t writing the blog and left it at that!
Good spot on the AZED clues – and yes pleased to be in such company.
My biggest problem was that I expected Sri Lanka to be CL rather than SL.
I initially thought that 31ac was humorously suggesting that a TOPEE could be what a toper topes, but I eventually decided that the heavy drinker merely wants TO PEE.
I loved the “Double Trouble” Azed, but I solved it on a long flight so I was grateful for the brain-bending aspect of it where in other circumstances it might have frustrated me. Congratulations on the HCs.
The first TV adaptation of Stig of the Dump aired when I was 9. I was a bit surprised to see it here but I’m not going to complain about an obscure cultural reference so precisely calibrated to my own experience!
I have a pile of old unsolved puzzles and I’ve just done this one and I have a couple of clues I can’t explain but I can’t find a blog. It was Christmas day which may explain it. A more likely explanation is that I’m doing what my children call “man looking”. No influence from their mother there. Oh no.
Incidentally this shows how useful past Mephisto blogs are to me, and no doubt others, so thanks.
The same trick should work for any puzzle that has been blogged.
Incidentally for future reference when asked similarly stupid questions http://lmgtfy.com/ is a useful resource.