I found this the hardest puzzle for some time, perhaps fitting as it appeared on the anniversary in 1913 of the publication of Arthur Wynn’s “word-cross” in the New York World.
I had three quries. At 14A I think “last of trio” should be “first of trio”; at 17A I think “end of climate change” should be “effect of climate change”; at 23D I think “large” is an unnecessary and possibly misleading inclusion.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CASABA – C-AS-ABA; cape=C; for instance=AS; covering (garment)=ABA; melons; |
| 5 | DA,CAPO – DA(CAP)O; huntsman’s whip-round=CAP; musical instruction to start again; |
| 11 | RAIMENT – R(AIM)ENT; poetic word for clothing; |
| 13 | EARN – sounds like “urn”; ballot box=urn; |
| 14 | STATUE – STATU(t)E; hiring-fair=statute then remove “t” which is the first of “trio”; figure is definition; |
| 15 | ANKER – (h)ANKER; old measure of wine and spirits; |
| 16 | ONEFOLD – joke=ONE; congregation=FOLD; simple is definition (origami perhaps?); |
| 17 | SEASON,CREEP – (ace response)*; “effect” rather than “end” of climate change?; |
| 19 | YOBBERY – Y-(r)OBBERY; hostel=Y=YMCA/YWCA; |
| 22 | EMPYEMA – (pee may m)*; m from m(ay); build up of body fluid; |
| 25 | BONNET-ROUGE – BONNE(T)ROUGE; it=T; solved from definition; |
| 27 | TAPETUM – TAPE-TUM; cells associated with vision; |
| 29 | NACAB – NA(CA)B; National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux; |
| 30 | ARIARY – A-(f)RIARY; moolah in Madagascar; |
| 31 | DUMA – DUM(b)-A; |
| 32 | RAREBIT – RARE-BIT; posh name for cheese on toast which may or may not be lightly cooked; |
| 33 | LO-TECH – LOT-ECH(t); set=LOT (film studio); genuine=echt; |
| 34 | LANATE – LANA-T-(som)E I guess; much-married Lana Turner was “the sweater girl”; woolly is definition; |
| Down | |
| 1 | CREASE – CR-EASE; |
| 2 | SIRKAR – KRIS reversed – AR=Arab; Indian factotum; |
| 3 | AMNESTY – AM(NEST)Y; reference AMY Johnson CBE 1903-1941 = pilot; |
| 4 | ANTONYM – AN-TONY-M; |
| 6 | AFTERBURNER – (turbine – i + far + e + r)*; |
| 7 | CHAFE – CHA(t)-FE; |
| 8 | AS,TO – hidden (gorill)AS-TO(rment); |
| 9 | PAUL,PRY – PAUL-PR-Y; catch=pawl=PAUL; nosy character in a play by John Poole (who he?); |
| 10 | ONE,DAY – (doyen a)*; the puzzle appeared on the shortest/longest day; |
| 12 | EUROCENTRIC – EURO-CENT-RIC(h); bounder=kangaroo=EURO; laughable=(that’s) rich; reverse engineered from giveaway definition; |
| 18 | EMBARGO – EMB(lem)-ARGO; device=emblem; an Admiralty order; |
| 20 | OATMEAL – O-A-T(M)EAL; of=O; America=A; money=M; greeny-blue=TEAL; colour is definition; |
| 21 | BROADEN – B(ROAD)EN; |
| 22 | ENTAIL – two meanings 1=involve 2=passe fashion; |
| 23 | AUCUBA – AU-CUBA; why “large” – “island” is surely enough? (as to fact, CUBA is 17th largest island by area ignoring continents); |
| 24 | DEBATE – DEB(A)T-E; duty=DEBT; before=ante=A; base (natural logs)=E; |
| 26 | NEAFE – FAN=kindle reversed contains E=English – E=tablet (of Ecstacy); fist=nieve=NEAFE for Will; |
| 28 | PICT – PI(C)T; bed=PIT; Steele’s term for a painted woman; |
“last of trio” is quite correct. There is a trio in the statute, remove the last member of that trio and…
“effect of climate change” is a perfectly acceptable def except that it is hardly very cryptic
Paul McK
Anyway, thanks for clearing up a few I couldn’t parse. I always seem to struggle with clues like 20dn or 24dn where there are lots of one-letter abbreviations.
That’s why I object to “large” in 23D – “lg” is a standard abbreviation for “large” and I immediately factored it into my thinking