Most enjoyable puzzle, so thanks very much to Teazel. Whilst doing it, I was thinking it was decidedly towards the tricky end of the QC scale, but having reviewed it again I’m not sure… Will be interesting to see what others made of it. It certainly felt more “cryptic” than usual, requiring a bit more lateral thinking.
This is my last (scheduled) blog before Xmas, so just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, and best wishes for 2015! Have fun…
| Across |
| 3 |
PLAYBACK – recording is the definition. Answer also constructed from P (“quietly”- musical terminology) with LAY BACK (“relaxed in chair”) |
| 7 |
ONSIDE – in agreement is the definition. The answer is also an anagram (signalled by “bizarrely”) of EDISON. I’m sure the great man would also have approved of 3 ac |
| 8 |
CATERING – Providing food is the definition. Answer also from CA[TE]RING – caring (“being concerned”) “about” T & E – the “extremes of taste” |
| 9 |
WILL – Double definition. Newcomers to Crosswordland may baulk slightly at “will” for “desire”, but it works OK if you think of a chap in a period drama saying “I will it to be so” |
| 10 |
ROT – Decline is the definition. The answer also comes from TOR (“peak”) in reverse (“backsliding”) |
| 11 |
PASTICHE – artistic production is our definition. Answer also constructed from PAST (“finished”) with I (“one”) and CHE (the crossword setter’s favourite “revolutionary”). Must admit I’d never been entirely sure of what a pastiche is – I thought it was a kind of satire. Apparently (Chambers) it is “a pot-pourri (in literature, music or painting), a composition made up of bits of other works” |
| 13 |
EAST – towards sunrise is the (somewhat cryptic) definition. Answer also from BEAST (“Animal’s heading off”) |
| 15 |
LENS – Double definition: the optical device and a town in Northern France. Don’t recall having been to Lens: quick search came up with a promising sounding link entitled “7 things to do in Lens”, but sadly it was empty… anyway, I’m sure it’s a delightful place |
| 17 |
PROTOCOL – Etiquette is the definition. Answer is also constructed from TO COL (“to pass”- COL being a much favoured word amongst setters meaning a pass in a mountain range) “on” PRO (“tart”). Both pro and tart are somewhat old fashioned slang terms for prostitute (and a tad derogatory): the worthy members of the Australian Sex Workers Association – keen to establish their vocation as on a par with draftsmen, chefs and horticulturalists – would not be impressed. Yesterday’s Victoria state elections saw a member of the Sex Party elected to the State Senate, so watch out! The times they are a changin’… |
| 19 |
ASS – Beast is the definition, with the answer also being hidden in (signalled by “among”) MASSES |
| 22 |
DUKE – commoner? No leads us to the answer (essentially the definition). Answer also constructed from D and E (“Lower classes”- which I assume is a reference to the stratification used in UK social surveys officially known as the NRS Social Grades) “around” UK (“Britain”). Tricky, unless you happen to be a social demographics dude |
| 23 |
OKLAHOMA – Cryptic definition based on OK (“fine”) being the standard abbreviation (“In short”) for “this state” where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain… |
| 24 |
SHODDY – inferior fabric is the definition. Answer also constructed from SHY (“nervous”) “about” (i.e. going around) ODD (“strange”). I may be wrong, but I suspect this one may be somewhat problematic for anyone who is neither (a) a “professional northerner” or (b) someone who did Geography O level in the UK pre 1973. When us effete southern kids were taught in geography classes about the grim industrial north, we were expected to know the primary outputs from all the major towns. “Dewsbury and Batley” the master would yell: “shoddy!” we would chorus in reply. And some unfortunate kid would then be asked “what is shoddy”? “Left over bits and pieces of wool, sir, used for low grade clothing” At last, I have found a use for this information… |
| 25 |
LEATHERS – cycling gear is the (somewhat eccentric, I would venture) definition. Answer also from LE[A]T (“Allow to hold a”) with HERS (“woman’s”). Leathers worn by motorcyclists, sure: but by cyclists? Ah well, this is Crosswordland, and the intriguing images conjured up by the whole thing make it fine with me… |
| Down |
| 1 |
INTIMATE – friend is the definition. Answer also constructed from IN TIME (“eventually”) including (“reserving”) A T (“a time”) |
| 2 |
MILLET – Cereal is the definition. Answer also comes from the homophone (signalled by “soundly”) for “grind it” (MILL IT). Homophones can be treacherous waters: this one works for me, but I can envisage that in some dialects it might be a bit iffy – or maybe not… |
| 3 |
PECK – Nice and easy double definition to get you going in this tricky puzzle |
| 4 |
ALTER EGO – One of the trickier ones, I thought. Friend is the somewhat cryptic definition. Answer also constructed from ALTER (“change”) with EG (“say” – as in ‘for example’) and O (abbreviation of “old”) |
| 5 |
BERATE – Upbraid is the definition. Answer also from BEE (“one that buzzes”) “around” RAT (“traitor”) |
| 6 |
CONE – ice-cream is the definition. Answer also from C (“start to consume”) with ONE (“a single”) |
| 12 |
CAPSTONE – Top of pyramid is the definition. Answer also from the wordplay of CAP[ST]ONE: every other letter (“regularly”) of SITE “protected by” (wrapped around by) CAPONE (“gangster”) |
| 14 |
STOCKADE – pen is our definition. Answer is also an anagram (signalled by “out”) of DOC TAKES. With the benefit of having seen it, this is pretty straightforward: but for some reason it took me a while to spot the obvious, as I was thinking of DOC as the anagrind and also looking at ‘pen’ from a literary angle. All fell into place eventually once I’d got the K from DUKE (and a couple of the other cross checkers) |
| 16 |
SAVANT – He knows is the definition. Answer also constructed from S[A VAN]T – ST (abbreviation of ‘street’ – “the way”) keeping A VAN (“a vehicle”) |
| 18 |
OLD BOY – dear chap is the definition. Answer is also an anagram (signalled by “awful”) of BLOODY. Nice image of old buffers in their clubs in St. James. Cue one of my favourite jokes (well, it’s nearly Christmas, innit?). One old chap to another over a brandy in the club: “Harrumph. All this sex stuff today. I didn’t sleep with my wife before we got married. Did you?” “No idea old boy: what was her maiden name?” |
| 20 |
SKYE – Island is the definition. Answer also constructed from S (standard abbreviation of “small”) with anagram (indicated by “sort of”) of KEY |
| 21 |
PASS – Cryptic double definition. Passing the exam, and the verbal equivalent of the shrug of the shoulders immortalised by Mastermind |
Edited at 2014-12-17 02:40 am (UTC)
Edited at 2014-12-17 08:12 am (UTC)
Nick will know this, but for anyone else, while ‘doctor’ can be used to signal an anagram, the abbreviated form ‘doc’ can’t – at least in the Times.
Re WILL = desire, I think it’s quite common too in expressions like “I did it against my will”, and Collins has “a person who rides or travels by bicycle, motorcycle, etc” for CYCLIST, so the setter is covered! LEATHERS was in fact my last in, having written in “Oklohoma”, which made SAVANT “saloon” for a while.
I also struggled with Alter Ego as a friend (at time of completing, I was thinking of the old song “me and my shadow” as a kind of justification / analogy).
That said, have now checked in the dictionary (Chambers) and under Alter Ego it gives “second self, a trusted intimate friend”. So there you go – news to me too!
A good number of clues that I enjoyed, e.g. PLAYBACK, PASTICHE, LEATHERS. Never heard of CAPSTONE, but the cryptic clearly indicated it as the answer (there are surely more gangsters than Alphonse!). Put in PROTOCOL without full parsing, but now our blogger has pointed out pro=tart, it’s clear, but really don’t like the use of pro in that context.
The season’s best wishes to you, nick_the_novice, and thanks for your continuing efforts here.
Thanks to all contributors for your help. I may yet graduate to the full scale puzzle.
This turned in to a real slog, with three attempts required to fill the grid. PASTICHE, LENS, INTIMATE, and PROTOCOL held me up the longest. Pro and col are both completely new to me (as opposed to known once but forgotten) – massive thanks to Nick for those. Very much my favourite clue in the end, among plenty of contenders.