Well this puzzle is 13d with good things, I think; two types of wine, an antelope, a capital city I knew, and an egg cell which reminded me of my off piste adventure last week in parsing OVA. Then the best bit was looking up the etymology of 22a (which was something I’d never thought about) and finding it was fun too! Thank you Mr Setter once again.
Across | |
1 | Space travel in chaos (8) |
INTERVAL – (TRAVEL IN)*. | |
6 | Just not opening original text, leading to unease (6) |
QUALMS – (E)QUAL = just, not opening; MS = manuscript, original text. | |
9 | Release document one has to vacillate about (6) |
WAIVER – I inside WAVER = vacillate. | |
10 | Field boundary run exhausted energy (4,4) |
GOAL LINE -GO (run) ALL IN (exhausted) E (energy). | |
11 | Queen of fish? (4) |
PARR – double definition, a young salmon and Catherine, 6th wife of Henry VIII. | |
12 | Liberator of Brazil from drugs in turn corrupt (10) |
NUTCRACKER – CRACK (drugs) inside (TURN)*. EDIT: CRACK and E, two drugs, as pointed out below. Apparently they don’t use real brazil nuts in the purple ones in Quality Street any more, yet another sign that the end of the civilised world is getting closer. | |
14 | Wine Soviet intelligence secures with credit (5,3) |
GRAND CRU – the GRU was the foreign intelligence branch of Soviet forces: into it insert AND CR for ‘with credit’. | |
16 | Keeping a sort of light twinkling all around cell (4) |
OVUM – After last week’s debacle when I invented a complicated and obscure explanation for OVA, when it was simply “cells”, I was more ready for this one. UV (sort of light) is reversed, with MO (twinkling) also reversed, around it. Or create MUVO that way then reverse it all around, if you prefer. | |
18 | In the past, at this straightaway (4) |
ONCE – if you say “at once” it means straightaway. | |
19 | Attempted robbery, good sort of news? (8) |
BREAKING – a BREAK IN is an attempted (sometimes successful) robbery, add G for good. | |
21 | Peak stuff, something that sounds a warning (10) |
MATTERHORN – MATTER = stuff, HORN = a thing that sounds a warning. | |
22 | On tramp, force paperwork (4) |
BUMF – BUM = tramp, F for force. If you’re ready to know, it’s of 19c origin and short for BUMFODDER. | |
24 | Write chapter in story “A Defence against Demons”? (8) |
PENTACLE – PEN (write) TALE (story) insert C for chapter. A talisman against evil. | |
26 | Cynic heartlessly keeping our redeveloped hotel for a squat (6) |
CROUCH – C C (cynic heartlessly) has (OUR)* inside, then H for hotel. | |
27 | Promise of power, large advantage (6) |
PLEDGE – P (power) L (large) EDGE (advantage). | |
28 | The tanks destroyed Asian city (8) |
TASHKENT – (THE TANKS)*. Capital of Uzbekistan, home to 2.5 million people. |
Down | |
2 | Some to choose from many a large antelope (5) |
NYALA – hidden as above. I just love it when an antelope I know comes along. | |
3 | Inventor failing to maintain staff living conditions (11) |
ENVIRONMENT – insert MEN (staff) into (INVENTOR)*. | |
4 | Flower girl sick at heart in Romeo’s home (8) |
VERONICA – Romeo came from VERONA, so into that insert IC, being the ‘heart’ of sICk. A flower and a girl’s name. | |
5 | Sudden awareness no great importance attaches to cry that floats up (5-4,6) |
LIGHT-BULB MOMENT – As my FOI I was about to pencil in “penny-drop moment” until I thought, how does that work? Cry? Then I had the B from 19a and the light came on. LIGHT MOMENT (one of no great importance) insert BULB (blub reversed, cry that floats up) | |
6 | Where to dig out one’s prey? (6) |
QUARRY – double definition, or witty &lit. if you prefer. | |
7 | I bore a well — its first litre (3) |
AWL – A, W(ell), L(itre). | |
8 | Chap, born one of large family, is a dummy (9) |
MANNEQUIN – MAN (chap) NÉ (born, French) QUIN (one of 5 born-at-same-time children). | |
13 | See pawn and a bishop boxed in with nowhere to move (5-1-5) |
CHOCK-A-BLOCK – to CLOCK means to SEE; into that insert HOCK (pawn) A B (a bishop). | |
15 | Signal pupils to assemble perhaps: sound familiar? (4,1,4) |
RING A BELL – double definition, one referring to calling children to class in a school. It still happens at my granddaughters’ primary school. | |
17 | Gives repeat performance of scene, adapted with art (2-6) |
RE-ENACTS – (SCENE ART)*. | |
20 | After the start, rowing boat is a source of revelation (6) |
ORACLE – I looked first for things beginning with T and then a type of rowing boat, but no, it’s CORACLE for the boat and ‘after the start’ to drop the C. | |
23 | Red cape worn by revolutionary leader torn at the bottom (5) |
MACON – C for cape has MAO around it (C wears MAO) then N from the end of torN. A red wine appelation from the south of Burgundy. | |
25 | A little bit of information shortly turning up (3) |
TAD – DAT(A) (information shortly) is reversed. |
Under pentangle, Chambers has “1. A PENTACLE 2. A pentagon”, and under PENTACLE it has “A pentagram … used as a defence against demons”, so I think PENTACLE does have something to do with five. I associate a pentagram or pentangle with something a bit spooky or occult anyway.
Yes, love those ‘antelope(s)’. Keep ’em coming.
Thanks to Pip and setter
FOI the very easy 1ac INTERVAL
LOI 6dn QUARRY
COD 4ac QUALMS
WOD 22ac BUMF
AOD 2dn NYALA that came in second.
I did not fully parse 13dn CHOCK-A-BLOCK in my ‘haste’ missing the pawn/hock equivalence.
Plenty of 5dns, and 21acs to climb for the old man. Mood: ever so slightly Meldrewvian.
Edited at 2021-10-20 12:33 am (UTC)
I am another who didn’t parse CHOCK A BLOCK at 13d
Andyf
: the act of breaking and entering a dwelling at night to commit a felony (such as theft)
broadly : the entering of a building with the intent to commit a crime
Collins makes the distinction for American but not British English.
The legal definition seems to utilize the broader sense.
Burglary occurs when someone “intentionally enters [a place] without the consent of the person in lawful possession and with intent to steal or commit a felony.” Robbery occurs when someone “takes property from the person or presence of the owner by either… using force…or by threatening the imminent use of force.”
Tomorrow, I’ll probably spend hours on one everyone else does in 15 minutes.
Initially saw the hidden STAT for ‘straightaway’ in 18a, and put it in at once. Anyone else fall for this?
16:34
Edited at 2021-10-20 01:45 am (UTC)
Question: was Catherine Parr a queen? A princess? What’s the protocol – now and then? E.g. most recent royal spouse Philip was a prince, not a king.
Edited at 2021-10-20 03:07 am (UTC)
– the wife of a king is a queen consort (e.g. Parr)
– the husband of a queen is a prince consort (e.g. Victoria’s Prince Albert, Liz’s Prince Philip)
I am not a royal expert, but fairly sure
Ho ho.
Andyf
1. Her maj was given the title “Queen of Australia” by a republican PM who knew he’d never get a referendum to ditch the monarchy, back in about 1975. She’s now Queen Elizabeth the First of Australia.
2. A monarchist PM decided to reintroduce knighthoods – ditched downunder in about 1975 – but only one was ever awarded before normal people told him to pull his head in, then binned him. So Queen Elizabeth the First’s husband was officially Sir Prince Philip. Or maybe Prince Sir Philip. Who nose?
ONCE was pretty obvious after that (probs should have already been obvious), but you don’t get to re-think the pink.
19:33 otherwise, with CHOCK-A-BLOCK being the favourite. Reminded of the probably-not-true story of the Aussie airline traveller being refused access to an over-booked flight:
“Sorry Ocker, the fokker’s chocka”.
Thanks Pip and setter.
FOI INTERVAL
LOI PARR
COD NUTCRACKER for the excellent definition.
My two unparsed were OVUM, having immediately recognised ‘cell’ as the definition following on from last week’s discussions, and GRU, though I vaguely knew the Russian secret service consisted of 3 letters unknown to me.
Early on I lost time thinking MANNEKIN at 6dn and wondering why it didn’t fill the available space.
Wasn’t at all confident of a finish, with NE proving the most troublesome – QUARRY the breakthrough that got me going there, leaving just the awkward little ‘uns to deal with – OVUM – ONCE – BUMF and LOI MACON.
Despite that SCC time for such an easy puzzle, I feel inordinately chuffed to get an all-correct completion of this one – thanks Pip and setter.
20-ish mins pre-brekker. I liked the Brazil liberator and the Light-bulb Moment.
But, as has been said, the Cape is wearing Mao.
Thanks setter and Pip.
Nice challenge. LOI parr.
Thanks, pip.
FOI: NUTCRACKER
LOI: QUALMS/AWL
COD: NUTCRACKER
I wonder if 21ac ever featured as a joke in “Beyond Our Ken” as in “What’s the Matter Horne” I’ll leave you to pen a suitable riposte….
Good crossword today though, thanks setter and Pip.
– Trusted that PARR was a type of fish
– Didn’t have a clue what was going on with OVUM
– Didn’t see how ONCE worked
– Wasn’t sure which first letter was being removed for ORACLE
– Relied on the wordplay for MACON
– Had to assume that GRU was something to do with Soviet intelligence
– Thought ‘no great importance’ simply gave ‘light’, so was unsure where the ‘moment’ came from in LIGHT-BULB MOMENT, then a MER at ‘attach’ being used as an insertion indicator.
Nonetheless, a very enjoyable crossword. Thanks to setter and blogger.
FOI Interval
LOI Parr
COD Nutcracker
Most “Mâcon” produced is, in fact white. The red having the right to call itself Beaujolais too, and much is.
I was recently in Vosne-Romanée and spoilt myself with a Grand Cru or two.
Very enjoyable. Thanks pip and setter.
I think the parsing of nutcracker requires both crack and e for drugs
COD:OVUM.
Edited at 2021-10-20 09:15 am (UTC)
In fairness Pip, those purple quality street chocs have contained hazelnuts for as long as I can remember.. all my life, I think, though wouldn’t swear to it.
MANNEQUIN seems to be one of umpteen variants of the dummy in question. Through some synaptic mishmash, MATTERHORN always makes me think of Peter Sellers and The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-horn.
Thanks to Pip and the setter
Even the cape worn by Mao didn’t worry me, once I knew I didn’t have to believe MARON was a colour. The “worn by” thing seems to be a fairly flexible inclusion indicator, possibly wrong in this case but not so it didn’t work for me.
I liked the NUTCRACKER definition, though I always found brazils next to impossible to liberate with a standard hinged nutcracker. the nut usually emerged in sad fragments from that reinforced concrete shell.
Cheers Pip for an excellent and entertaining blog
Wear: I have always felt that it is much more natural for ‘AB wears CD’ to be C(AB)D. But we do sometimes see it the other way round, as A(CD)B, which seems to make less sense. I suppose if you wear a brooch you sort of surround it.
Yes I fear we get dimmer in our dotage, tringmardo.
Edited at 2021-10-20 10:18 am (UTC)
Thanks setter and blogger
….though some biffing was evident: CHOCK A BLOCK from two checkers; LIGHT- BULB MOMENT from three; OM/MO in OVUM; GRAND CRU just from the R checker; ONCE; ENVIRONMENT from checkers; MACON from all three checkers (thought somehow the cape might be MAC but obvs couldn’t work out the O).
Started off really slowly with my FOI being crouch but gradually got the measure till the last small step. Nice puzzle.
Thx setter and blogger.
But what fun you had looking it up!
Do the times crossword daily and get used to it.
No! Please don’t answer that.
First, blow up the bridge!
Edited at 2021-10-20 10:02 pm (UTC)