Greetings, barred-grid fans.
Interesting puzzle – there were a lot of “this has to be the answer but how does it work?” clues, which meant there was a fair chunk of Chambers scanning for the blog. Hopefully i’ve got it all sorted.
Particularly wonderful pun in the top row from Paul McKenna this week!
How did you get along?
| Across | |
| 1 | Port whenever beset by endless sea-mist (5) |
| HAIFA – IF (whenever) inside HAAR (sea-mist) minus the last letter | |
| 5 | Old dosh snatched by crass sort is an act of plunder (7) |
| LOOTING – O (old), and TIN (dosh) inside LOG (crass or insensitive person) | |
| 10 | Not so much in local slag heaps gets more than one approval (9) |
| BLESSINGS – LESS (not so much) inside BINGS (slag heaps) | |
| 12 | Ride along with buddy looking back (7) |
| OVERLAP – OVER (along) then PAL (buddy) reversed. One of the definitions of ride in Chambers is to overlap, similarly one of the definitions of over is along | |
| 13 | Noon and advertiser’s unwaged daughter gets exercise (5) |
| MEDAU – M (meridiem, noon), E (in advertising, someone who has no regular income), DAU (daughter) | |
| 14 | Augustan poet’s darling that’s most common in elegy (4) |
| POPE – POP (darling, found in Chambers under POPPET), then the most common letter in ElEgy | |
| 16 | Tenor in a perhaps dry old dramatic performance (6) |
| ACTURE – T (tenor) inside A, CURE (dry, perhaps) | |
| 17 | Swallow is English, returning stoutly and ignoring the odds (6) |
| ENGLUT – ENG (English) and alternating letters in sToUtLy reversed | |
| 18 | The old wonder at modest nun making merry (11) |
| ASTOUNDMENT – anagram of AT MODEST NUN | |
| 21 | Strict husband departs into Irish isle, day to go without (11, three words) |
| HARD AND FAST – H (husband), then D (departs) inside ARAN (Irish isle), D (day), FAST (to go without) | |
| 24 | Sources of moonshine shots? (6) |
| STILLS – double definition | |
| 25 | Once won by wrong means one will run before time (6) |
| ILL-GOT – I’LL (one will), GO (run) then T (time) | |
| 28 | Assistant Secretary getting in cases Meloni’s mansion (4) |
| CASA – AS (assistant secretary) inside CA (cases) | |
| 29 | Bin Tariq, for example, is absorbed by infomania (5) |
| OMANI – hidden inside infOMANIa | |
| 30 | Italy on more being released — something clear and tough? (7) |
| IONOMER – I (Italy), then ON and an anagram of MORE | |
| 31 | Start by cook going back into barley (9) |
| INTRODUCE – IN (by) then DO (cook) reversed inside TRUCE (barley can mean a truce in games) | |
| 32 | Plough’s principal bits of wrought iron put back outside (7) |
| TRIONES – anagram of IRON inside SET (put) reversed | |
| 33 | Plough through Latin in this sense to find coarse hemp (5) |
| HARDS – ARD (plough) inside HS (hoc sensu, in this sense) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Refusing last excuse eagerly embrace tree (7) |
| HOOP-ASH – remove the last letter from HOOK (excuse) then PASH (eagerly embrace) | |
| 2 | Champion short of energy is downing active pick-me-ups (9) |
| ADVOCAATS – ADVOCATE (champion) minus E (energy), then ‘S (is) containing A (active). Not sure it is much of a pick-me-up, but when I was at Uni in the 80s it was fun to make someone a fluffy duck then tell them what it actually was that they were drinking. | |
| 3 | With it European point becomes silly (5) |
| INEPT – IN (with it), E (European), PT (point) | |
| 4 | Dot this gridiron sleb getting top dollar outrageously (6) |
| ALL-PRO – anagram of TOP DOLLAR minus DOT | |
| 5 | Pass over peacekeeper’s support being under licence (11, two words) |
| LEAVE UNSAID – UN’S (peacekeeper’s) AID (support) under LEAVE (licence) | |
| 6 | Fern being ginormous in places must start to droop (6) |
| OSMUND – OS (ginormous), MUN (dialect form of must) and the first letter of Droop | |
| 7 | Bound to be knackered with no hint of respite (4) |
| TIED – TIRED (knackered) minus the first letter of Respite | |
| 8 | Doolally delusions as US abandoned compounds (7) |
| INDOLES – anagram of DELUSIONS minus US | |
| 9 | Pilot might need this touch to keep you and me going up (5) |
| G-SUIT – TIG (touch in a kids game) containing US (you and me) reversed | |
| 11 | As before brilliant dude slips on bananas (11) |
| SPLENDIDOUS – anagram of DUDE,SLIPS,ON | |
| 15 | The smallest of diocese would become exhausted (9, three words) |
| RUN TO SEED – RUNT (the smallest), O’ (of), SEE (diocese), then ‘D (would) | |
| 19 | I’m in new sari, respect ultimately admitted (7) |
| SRIMATI – I’M inside an anagram of SARI containing the last letter of respecT | |
| 20 | Conifers to blacken, for instance (7) |
| TOTARAS – TO, TAR (blacken), AS (for instance) | |
| 22 | Land of poets close to Ezra Pound, one that’s acceptable (6) |
| ALBION – last letter of EzrA, then LB (point), I (one), ON (acceptable) | |
| 23 | Quail flourished on haugh (6) |
| FLINCH – FL (floruit, flourished), then INCH (meadow, haugh) | |
| 24 | Stumble round Stranraer Street — zero jazz, as some Yanks say (5) |
| STOIT – ST (street), O (zero), IT (jazz, US) | |
| 26 | More plucky American pressed by Government (5) |
| GAMER – AMER (American) under G (Government) | |
| 27 | Case’s back in poor nick (4) |
| INRO – hidden reversed in poOR NIck | |
I saw I still had a few left, so I finished this one off this afternoon. I had the incorrect all too, which didn’t make much sense, and once I erased it I was able to get acture and leave unsaid. I thought this was a bit harder than usual for this setter, but there were some easy clues to get started like run to seed, advocaats, and astoundment, giving plenty of checking letters. I didn’t parse them all, but probably would have been able to do so had it been my turn to blog.
Yes, there were a number where a heretofore unknown or quite obscure word was necessary for the wordplay, rather than itself being the answer. And then there’s the occasional rare definition of an otherwise common word. I worked this on Sunday and see now that I didn’t take a second look at a couple to work out the parsing: HOOP-ASH and ALL-PRO. Still didn’t see how “Dot this” indicates that “dot” is taken out of “top dollar”… until hours after reading the blog. Wow!
TRIONES was a sparkly new discovery.
Wikipedia says a “fluffy duck” (I was very curious) “is the name of two different cocktails, both using advocaat as a common ingredient. One cocktail is a smooth, creamy drink based on white rum, and the other is a gin-based highball.” (I might try the rum one.)
I don’t understand the DOT removal aspect of ALL-PRO either.
The only other clue I didn’t parse was MEDAU. I’d forgotten the E classification.
Dot and ALLPRO (“this”) are together an anagram (“outrageously”) of “top dollar”. So just a compound anagram.
I found the parsing of MEDAU a challenge, too, although I was certain that was the answer. Otherwise, I didn’t find this too bad.
Oh I’ve got it. A sort of reverse clue. DOT with the answer to GRIDIRON SLEB (ALLPRO) is an anagram of TOP DOLLAR.
I think that’s what you and George are saying.
Thank you!
Right – I’ve heard this type of clue called a compound anagram. They are not permitted in the daily, but were a staple of Azed. They usually come in the form of “With (items to be removed) this (definition) could be (long anagram)”. I can’t write one to save my life, mind you the crossword editors I’ve worked with may think I can’t write any clues to save my life.
We’ve seen the odd compound anagram in the daily of late. I don’t know if this is a deliberate change of policy – they may just have snuck through.
Very similar experience to you, George, but without the post-solve Chambers scanning!