Well, if you can’t count on an absolute stinker of a tough Friday puzzle on Friday 13th, when can you count on one, I ask you? This was all pretty gentle stuff, add or insert a letter into something and match to a not-remotely-deceitful synonym of the desired answer at the clue’s beginning or end. More Man Friday than Freddy Krueger, really.
I did very much like 13ac for its dextrous use of “cracking up” in the service of a pretty convincing surface. Thank you setter!
Live solve video available on YouTube.
Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Ferret to graze on food underground (4,4) |
| ROOT CROP – ROOT [ferret] + CROP [to graze on] | |
| 5 | Gastropods which exhausted deer (6) |
| WHELKS – W{hic}H + ELKS [deer] | |
| 10 | Fabulous land sharing supply almost everyone rejected (7-2) |
| SHANGRI-LA – (SHARING*) + reversed AL{l}. “supply” has got to be one of the best ever anagrinds, “in a supple way” rather than the noun it masquerades as | |
| 11 | Hot stuff from graduates, with good intervention (5) |
| MAGMA – M.A. + M.A., G(ood) “intervening” | |
| 12 | Report of singular advance (4) |
| LOAN – homophone of LONE [singular] | |
| 13 | Stretched leaders of one Nazi group cracking up (9) |
| ELONGATED – ELATED [up], “cracked” by O{ne} N{azi} G{roup} | |
| 15 | Discharge former prince deposing country’s leader (10) |
| EXHALATION – EX HAL {n}ATION | |
| 17 | Her majesty’s personal units ? (4) |
| ONES – when ER speaks of things personal to her she calls them “one’s” | |
| 19 | Bird initially leaving boat in flood (4) |
| LARK – L{eaving} ARK [boat in flood] | |
| 20 | Prove unfaithful , as golfers typically do (4,6) |
| PLAY AROUND – golfers PLAY A ROUND | |
| 22 | Government’s current input to local pit conversion (9) |
| POLITICAL – I [electric current] “input” to (LOCAL PIT*). The def is specifically “government’s”, as in “of government” | |
| 24 | Record contribution to score (4) |
| NOTE – double def. To note something (down) is to record it; notes contribute to a musical score | |
| 26 | Warped tail of sick raven (5) |
| KINKY – {sic}K + INKY [raven, as in black] | |
| 27 | Railway employees endorse line in final agreement (9) |
| SIGNALMEN – SIGN [endorse] + L(ine) in AMEN! | |
| 28 | Lawman from New York seizing books artist brought back (6) |
| NOTARY – NY “seizing” O(ld) T(estament) + reversed R(oyal) A(cademician) | |
| 29 | Awfully strained buyer does it to upgrade (6,2) |
| TRADES IN – (STRAINED*) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Headstrong , like horse at end of run (4) |
| RASH – AS H(orse), at end of R(un) | |
| 2 | Where bee maybe lands later, conserving energy, and distracted (2,7,6) |
| ON ANOTHER PLANET – ON ANOTHER PLANT, “conserving” E | |
| 3 | Convincingly firm without using force (8) |
| COGENTLY – CO(mpany) + GENTLY [without using force] | |
| 4 | Bad boy out of bounds climbing tree (5) |
| OLIVE – EVIL {b}O{y}, reversed | |
| 6 | Tribute paid in silver blocks (6) |
| HOMAGE – HOME [in], “blocked” by AG [chemical symbol for silver] | |
| 7 | Legal restrictions on motor ignition when machines are running? (8-2,5) |
| LIGHTING-UP TIMES – LIGHTING [ignition] + UPTIME [when machines are running] | |
| 8 | Stage drama at last before players collectively resign (5,5) |
| STAND ASIDE – STAND [stage] + {dram}A + SIDE [players collectively] | |
| 9 | Classification charge possible? I’m dismayed (8) |
| TAXONOMY – TAX ON? O MY! | |
| 14 | Articulate visionary author raised work awareness (4-6) |
| WELL-SPOKEN – (H.G.) WELLS + reversed OP + KEN | |
| 16 | Transmission expert left to reflect during trial (8) |
| TELECAST – ACE L(eft), reversed during TEST | |
| 18 | Wino died after trip in dark, delirious (8) |
| DRUNKARD – D(ied) after RUN [trip] in (DARK*) | |
| 21 | Following check, I’m not sure it’ll keep running (6) |
| STAYER – following STAY [check], ER [um?] | |
| 23 | Drink gallons, returning actual bottles (5) |
| LAGER – G(allons), “bottled” by reversed REAL | |
| 25 | Cathedral clergy dispensing with clothing shortly (4) |
| ANON – {c}ANON{s} | |
Thx setter and blogger.
I love whelks. In fact I love all the molluscs, from the snail to the octopus.
Wonderful to have the new site up and running. Many thanks to all our bloggers.