Yet again the best crossword of the month delights with interesting words, including FIZZURP, LINCRUSTA and HUMBUCKER, and inventive wordplay, with the clue for IRON HEARTED standing out among other gems, including those for SIZZURP and FOLK RIGHT. Thank-you clever setter!
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Glaswegian drinking heavily with gold chain can start to gibber (9) |
| WAUCHTING – W (with) + AU (chemical symbol for gold) + CH (chain) + TIN (can) + first letter of Gibber. | |
| 6 | Norwegian group among Kuala Lumpur’s Jewish community (5) |
| KAHAL – A-HA (Norwegian group) in KL (Kuala Lumpur). | |
| 9 | After six, odd stranger in DC covered area around building once (7) |
| VIRANDO – VI (six in Roman numerals) + RANDO (a person regarded as odd that one doesn’t know) US slang, hence “in (Washington) DC”. | |
| 10 | Do weights but not run, old fruit (7) |
| PUMPION – PUMP I{r}ON (do weights) without the R (run). | |
| 11 | Someone rambling without a map-reading tool (5) |
| ROMER – RO{a}MER (someone rambling) without the A. | |
| 12 | Pick-up line not needed for success in northeastern estuary (9) |
| HUMBUCKER – {l}UCK (success) without the L (line), in HUMBER (northeastern estuary). | |
| 14 | Looking back, when one emerged as a person (3) |
| BOD – D.O.B (date of birth; when one emerged) reversed, [looking back], -> BOD. | |
| 15 | Betrothal of French daughters, keeping eg Fleming around (11) |
| FIANCAILLES – IAN (e.g. Fleming) CA (about; around) in FILLES (girls; daughters in French). | |
| 17 | Cases of blistering cavities son developed (11) |
| VESICATIONS – (cavities son)* [developed]. | |
| 19 | Accessory with feathers from duck displacing undergarment’s contents (3) |
| BOA – Replace the R (contents) of BRA (undergarment) with an O (zero; duck) -> BOA. An entertaining surface. | |
| 20 | Storm about variable mineral aggregate ultimately mined in precarious situation? (5,4) |
| RAZOR EDGE – RAGE (storm) about Z (variable in 3-dimensional equations) ORE (mineral aggregate). | |
| 22 | Would-be cultured return of Lysistrata with lead and every other couple withdrawing (5) |
| ARTSY – {l}YS{si}TR{at}A [without the lead and every other pair of letters] all reversed. | |
| 24 | Uproar in Québec, at the US’s private backing for reptile (7) |
| IGUANID – DIN (uproar) AU (at in French; in Québec) GI (US private) all reversed. | |
| 26 | Bailiff demolished hut in sheltered place (3-4) |
| NUT HOOK – (hut)* [demolished] in NOOK (sheltered place). | |
| 27 | Quiet comeback of this album will supply docile followers (5) |
| ELPEE – SH (quiet) + EEPLE (reverse of the answer) contains SHEEP (docile followers). At least I think that’s how it works! | |
| 28 | Common law to divide land after switching sides (4-5) |
| FOLK RIGHT – FO{r}K (divide) + {l}IGHT (land, the verb) swapping the L and R [switching sides]. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Change wickets and declare (5) |
| WAVER – W (wickets) + AVER (declare). | |
| 2 | Poet’s blank mind sure hasn’t succeeded in composition (7) |
| UNRIMED – (mind {s}ure)* [in composition] without the S (succeeded). | |
| 3 | Never finished, sharpen opening form of address (9) |
| HONORIFIC – HON{e} (sharpen) + ORIFIC{e} (opening) with each losing the last letter. | |
| 4 | Being this callous would make “wily” descriptive of the missus? (4-7) |
| IRON HEARTED – Reverse cryptic. Add FE (iron) to the heart of WILY -> WIFELY (descriptive of missus). | |
| 5 | Gossip, the extremes of which absorb you in DMs (3) |
| GUP – U (abbreviation for U in Direct Messages; DMs) in outside letters of GossiP. | |
| 6 | Lifted up by machine primarily, fine seaweed (5) |
| KOMBU – Initial letters of Up By Machine + OK (fine) all “lifted up”. | |
| 7 | Aircraft designer drawing stuff into back section (7) |
| HEINKEL – INK (drawing stuff) in HEEL (back section). | |
| 8 | Large app for images preserves vintage wallpaper (9) |
| LINCRUSTA – CRU (vintage) in L (large) + INSTA (Instagram; app for images). | |
| 13 | Fundamental operating system code in core Kremlin hacked (11) |
| MICROKERNEL – (in core Kremlin)* [hacked]. | |
| 14 | Sweet American variety in Idahoan city (9) |
| BAVAROISE – A (American) + VAR (variety) in BOISE (city in Idaho). | |
| 16 | Superfan invading sepulchre right away (9) |
| INSTANTER – STAN (superfan) in INTER (sepulchre, the verb). I’ve seen STAN in this sense before but never knew where it came from until I looked it up just now… “The term comes from the 2000 song “Stan” by American rapper Eminem, which tells the story of an obsessive and delusional fan“. But you knew that already, obvs. | |
| 18 | Drink noisily, using uncapped soda for liberal American cough medicine cocktail (7) |
| SIZZURP – S{l}URP (drink noisily) replacing the L (liberal) with {f}IZZ (soda) without the first letter. | |
| 19 | Australian with a small pouch is to stake 100, 1000 dollars (7) |
| BETTONG – BET (stake) + TON (100) + G (1000 dollars). | |
| 21 | Scottish bar was supposedly the Archbishop of Canterbury (5) |
| RANCE – The Archbishop of Canterbury maybe RAN CE (Church of England). | |
| 23 | Indigenous Siberian’s shaggy ox just shorn of odd parts (5) |
| YAKUT – YAK (shaggy ox) + even letters of jUsT. | |
| 25 | Mean and disgruntled, by the look of it (3) |
| DEF – Mean as in brilliant as in DEF…. FED UP (disgruntled) [by the look of it]. Clever. | |