My solving time of 55 minutes is evidence that I didn’t find this at all easy despite there being a handful of clues that would not be out of place in a Quick Cryptic. There’s some tricky stuff to balance this however and one or two clues that were easier to solve than to explain in the blog.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. I usually omit all reference to positional indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
Across | |
1 | Tours regularly around Naples, originally coming from Florence? (6) |
TUSCAN : T{o}U{r}S [regularly], CA (around – circa), N{aples} [originally] | |
4 | One on a dash, nothing to prevent covering over a mile (8) |
ODOMETER : 0 (nothing), DETER (prevent) containing [covering] O (over – cricket) + M (mile). It’s usually part of the speedometer on the dashboard of a car. | |
10 | Publicise, year upon year, entertainment of a delicate nature (4-5) |
AIRY-FAIRY : AIR (publicise), Y (year B) + FAIR (entertainment), Y (year A). The ‘A on B = BA’ rule for Across clues is applied here using ‘upon’ instead. | |
11 | Ring America after the peak (5) |
TORUS : TOR (peak), US (America). Known from crosswords only. | |
12 | Bird made of silver unwanted at first in auction (7) |
SEAGULL : AG (silver) + U{nwanted} [at first] contained by [in] SELL (auction) | |
13 | Part of body shape swollen by organ (7) |
FOREARM : FORM (shape) containing [swollen by] EAR (organ) | |
14 | Risk a car crash, when two metals collide? (3,2) |
CUT IN : CU + TIN (two metals). A dangerous practice indeed but sometimes necessary in order to avoid something worse. | |
15 | Against coins not using English metal? Sort of (8) |
ANTIMONY : ANTI (against), MON{e}Y (coins) [not using English]. I’m sure one of our resident scientists will explain the definition if required, but I’m not going there. | |
18 | Mercenary ruing he’d fired (5,3) |
HIRED GUN : Anagram [fired] of RUING HE’D | |
20 | Cold store for wine with a hidden compartment (5) |
CABIN : C (cold) + BIN (store for wine) containing [with… hidden] A. Wine sellers often advertise ‘end of bin’ bargains. | |
23 | Complain pathetically about idiot revelry (7) |
WASSAIL : WAIL (complain pathetically) containing [about] ASS (idiot) | |
25 | Stomach feeble returning musical phrase (7) |
MIDRIFF : DIM (feeble) reversed [returning], RIFF (musical phrase). Not the internal workings. | |
26 | In American city, possesses capital (5) |
LHASA : HAS (possesses) contained by [in] LA (American city). Tibet. | |
27 | Hotels cover the earth profusely (2,7) |
IN NUMBERS : INNS (hotels) contain [cover] UMBER (the earth). SOED has ‘umber’ as a red-brown earth containing iron and manganese oxides. | |
28 | Say, a call in court is rejected by union instruction (8) |
TUTELAGE : TU (Trades union), then EG (say) + A + LET (call in court – tennis) reversed [rejected] | |
29 | Team of lawyers in literary county (6) |
BARSET : BAR SET (team of lawyers). Anthony Trollope country. It’s more usually referred to as Barsetshire, but the final book in the series is called The Last Chronicle of Barset. |
Down | |
1 | Carry out a couple of poles to plant in piece of land (8) |
TRANSACT : A + N S (couple of poles) contained by [to plant in] TRACT (piece of land) | |
2 | Maid watchful when old bachelor goes missing (7) |
SERVANT : {ob}SERVANT (watchful) [old bachelor goes missing] | |
3 | Prosperity supplies a barrier to restrict disease (9) |
AFFLUENCE : A, FENCE (barrier) contains [to restrict] FLU (disease) | |
5 | People following rich individual coming in today, moving fast (3,2,9) |
DAY OF ATONEMENT : FAT (rich) + ONE (individual) + MEN (people) contained by [coming in] anagram [moving] of TODAY | |
6 | Engine‘s temperature fell all round (5) |
MOTOR : MOOR (fell) containing [all round] T (temperature) | |
7 | Ground where reptile doesn’t keep quiet (7) |
TERRAIN : TERRA{p}IN (reptile) [doesn’t keep quiet – p] | |
8 | Employer turned up yours truly’s CV (6) |
RESUMÉ : USER (employer) reversed [turned up], ME (yours truly) | |
9 | Author prepared to admit claim to be of high standard? (7,7) |
WILLIAM GOLDING : WILLING (prepared) containing [to admit] I AM GOLD (claim to be of high standard). The Lord of the Flies man. | |
16 | Solid surface, one on a nut (9) |
MACADAMIA : MACADAM (solid surface), I (one), A | |
17 | Sport’s over: fits horribly and dies (6,2) |
SNUFFS IT : FUN’S (sport’s) reversed [over], anagram [horribly] of FITS | |
19 | Isn’t an awfully short time? It is (7) |
INSTANT : Anagram [awfully] of ISN’T AN, then T (short time). Thanks to Z. | |
21 | One line crossed by old farmers, tough old birds (7) |
BOILERS : I ((one) + L (line) contained [crossed] by BOERS (old farmers) | |
22 | Fabric cut: it is seen in a soft glow (6) |
TWILIT : TWIL{l} (fabric) [cut], IT | |
24 | A niqab is said to be useful (5) |
AVAIL : Sounds like [said] “a veil” (a niquab) |
Looking forward to going over the clues and figuring out what was going on here!
I did like antimony, where the literal probably means that antimony is one sort of metal.
So “sort of a metal” is quite a good definition.
Found quite a few answers I had to guess, then reverse engineer the cryptic: Golding, day of atonement, odometer, servant, tutelage amongst others.
Always thought antimony was a metal, but it’s right on the borderline of non-metals, so the setter might have been hedging his/her bets against indignant chemists who know better. Or the setter might be a chemist?
Jack, at 24d, I think ‘[to] be useful’ should be underlined.
Edited at 2021-02-23 08:43 am (UTC)
I delayed myself a little by my bad habit of thinking I might know an answer, putting only the crossing letters in then forgetting they were meant to be tentative. Thus a misremembered “topus”slowed the entry of TERRAPIN, which once in enabled me to remember TORUS. I finished up with BARSET having toyed with “Dasset” thinking the lawyers may be DAs. It didn’t sound right though and when I came back to it I remembered BARSET from somewhere. I’ve never read Trollope so I have just stuck him on my reading list.
For a grid with two birds is so dull
Some very nice clues
But I cannot excuse
The BOILERS and the bloody SEAGULL
20 mins pre-brekker. I liked it, mostly Airy-Fairy.
My weird fact about Antimony (which may be untrue) is that they used to make ‘reusable’ pills out of it. The pill encouraged a laxative effect. Subsequently you retrieved it (possibly washed it) and put it aside for future reuse.
Now for brekker!
Thanks setter and J.
Edited at 2021-02-23 07:45 am (UTC)
I’m afraid I still don’t understand what you mean about 10ac, Jack, when you write about BA and AB. What I’m saying is I don’t understand how the clue means you to put FAIR inside Y and Y.
FOI: RESUME. LOI SNUFFS IT/BARSET.
I liked DAY OF ATONEMENT once I understood how it worked but COD to WILLIAM GOLDING.
The main thing is there is no containment / insertion indicator so something else is needed to make the answer fit the grammar of the clue and that’s the ‘A on/upon B = BA’ rule for Across clues.
Sometimes it’s easier to biff than to worry too much about parsing but bloggers have a duty etc etc…
If you want to follow it up you might like to take a look at the item under ‘Positional indicator protocol’ on my LJ Home page. It’s the fourth topic down: https://jackkt.livejournal.com/
Edited at 2021-02-23 09:08 am (UTC)
[year], [upon year, entertainment]
Which would give:
[Y], [YFAIR]
But actually it’s
[year] upon [year, entertainment]
Which gives
[YFAIR], [Y]
I think!
Edited at 2021-02-23 09:09 am (UTC)
[Didn’t intend to follow you, Jack, as my post was really a reply to keriothe — nothing personal! But that’s what the software has done.]
Edited at 2021-02-23 10:58 am (UTC)
I took INSTANT to be a semi-&lit, because I needed the “short T(ime)” for the anagrist, and the definition is then “It is”.
I missed part of the wordplay for DAY OF ATONEMENT, relieved after completely missing the definition for too long just to throw it in.
Likewise, I smudged the wordplay for AIRY FAIRY, content to let the two Ys fall where they may, and happy I didn’t have to work out how two YRs reversed.
Well played Jack: perhaps we need an epithet for a grid that’s easier to solve than to blog. Perhaps AIRY FAIRY TORUS would do.
22:04
*as a result of which, today’s crossword ear-worm is the extremely catchy Where’s Me Jumper? by Sultans of Ping FC.
Edited at 2021-02-23 10:23 am (UTC)
Lots to like and nothing to dislike or feel petted about.
Thanks setter and blogger.
COD:FOREARM
On first pass I only got a couple of clues so I thought a DNF was definitely on. Thought ODOMETER clever, as was FOREARM ( eardrum wouldn’t leave me for a while) . Once I’d worked out 5dn it made things easier.
Definitely helps to walks away for a few minutes and let the brain regroup.
Thanks to blogger and setter as always.
I was going to point out that INSTANT isn’t an anagram of “isn’t an”, and got quite excited as I read through the comments and no-one else seemed to have noticed, but Z8 beat me to it. So I don’t need to now
Edited at 2021-02-23 01:14 pm (UTC)
Wouldn’t half go a good wassail right now.
Antimony is classed as a ‘metalloid’ coming between arsenic and bismuth in Group 15 of the periodic table. You could call that a metal of a sort, sort of.
AIRY FAIRY, DAY OF ATONEMENT – fully biffed, so a sincere thanks to Jack for unpicking those!
Everything else more or less fully parsed, I don’t think I quite spotted BOERS as old farmers though, so that can join the biff list.
Nearly entered DASSET as the fictional county, with DA’S being the team of lawyers. Luckily dredged BARSET from somewhere, despite remembering as BARSETSHIRE.
FOI Tuscan
NHO Torus but it had to be
LOI Tutelage which took some working out to parse but got there
COD Day of atonement
Didn’t know Boers could be referred to as farmers either.
I have been reading Trollope, very rewarding, and he helped with BARSET.
Finished in the NE with ODOMETER and TORUS (NHO) after finally seeing the terrapin.
Glad I persevered. A good puzzle. Favourite was WASSAIL.
David
Liked the DASH clue, took a wee while to cotton on.
Meg’s picture today. It’s her 18th birthday today and she’s just done a Lazarus, thought she wouldn’t make it 2 days ago.
FOI TUSCAN
LOI MIDRIFF
COD SNUFFS IT
TIME 10:39
Liked the dash — my other PDM and COD for me
Thanks all