Time: 50 minutes. Not the easiest of puzzles, but inventive and very enjoyable. I had 5 or 6 clues unparsed when I started writing this but it came together in the process and I think I have it all now.
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]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I now use a tilde sign ~ to indicate an insertion point in containment clues. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | In New York, rough country smell over harbour areas (9) |
| BOONDOCKS – BO (smell – body odour), ON (over), DOCKS (harbour areas). A word known to me only from crosswords. I gather it’s similar to the British ‘sticks’. | |
| 6 | Marsh was awash with plants initially (5) |
| SWAMP – SWAM (was awash), P{lants} [initially] | |
| 9 | Gross member of parliament’s grumble (5) |
| GROWL – GR (gross), OWL (member of parliament – collective noun for the birds) | |
| 10 | Spooner’s spelling individual Wiltshire resident (9) |
| MOONRAKER – Aural wordplay [Spooner’s]: “Rune-maker” (spelling individual). Apart from being a type of sail on a sailing ship, ‘moonraker’ is local dialect for a native of the county of Wiltshire. This is with reference to a story of men caught raking a pond for kegs of smuggled brandy, who feigned madness to fool the revenue men, by saying they were raking out the moon. I don’t think I have come across any of this before so although I was able to guess the answer from checkers the clue had me baffled until I researched it. | |
| 11 | Errant lost fight badly — such a contest? (5,2,8) |
| TRIAL OF STRENGTH – Anagram [badly] of ERRANT LOSE FIGHT | |
| 13 | What has each one represented for area in sector? (3,5) |
| PIE CHART – Anagram [re-presented] of EACH I (one) replaces [for] A (area] in P{a}RT (sector) | |
| 14 | Figure to take action about tasteless articles (6) |
| STATUE – S~UE (take legal action) containing [about] TAT (tasteless articles) | |
| 16 | Slump ends in markets’ fall that hurts (6) |
| SLOUCH – {market}S + {fal}L [ends in…], OUCH (that hurts!) | |
| 18 | What could be inspired, composed à la Ninth (8) |
| INHALANT -Anagram [composed] of À LA NINTH | |
| 21 | Perhaps mate found way of paying for Georgia (10,5) |
| DISCOVERED CHECK – DISCOVERED (found), CHECK (way of paying for Georgia – i.e. the U.S. spelling of ‘cheque’). In chess a discovered check is effected by moving an intervening piece from the line of attack of a queen, rook, or bishop. In some circumstances this could be check mate. | |
| 23 | Fast means of sending vegetable, saving energy by day (9) |
| BROADBAND – BROAD B{e}AN (vegetable) [saving energy], D (day). Does anyone actually enjoy eating this type of bean? | |
| 25 | Loopy route — around 100 kilometres (5) |
| WACKY – WA~Y (route) containing [around] C (100) + K (kilometres) | |
| 26 | Joiner dismissing wide tree (5) |
| ELDER – {w}ELDER (joiner) [dismissing wide] | |
| 27 | Carry moneybox containing cents, not note (9) |
| PIGGYBACK – PIGGY BA{n}K (moneybox) [not note – n] containing C (cents) | |
| Down |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | Curving coastline of great height (5) |
| BIGHT – BIG (great), HT (height). The Great Australian Bight is one famous example. | |
| 2 | Old broken fire door unserviceable, causing a stink (11) |
| ODORIFEROUS – O (old), anagram [broken] of FIRE DOOR, then U/S (unserviceable – useless – military slang) | |
| 3 | Upmarket shop — note, one cutting locks (7) |
| DELILAH – DELI (upmarket shop), LAH (note). The definition refers to the biblical account of Samson and Delilah. She cut off his hair and in doing so rendered him powerless. | |
| 4 | By which one may see cowboy party shoot (8) |
| CAMPFIRE – CAMP (political party – faction), FIRE (shoot) | |
| 5 | Self-important, never entering dirty home (6) |
| SNOTTY – NOT (never) contained by [entering] S~TY (dirty home) | |
| 6 | An excess of what we do to internet with electronic input (7) |
| SURFEIT – SURF ~ IT (what we do to internet) containing [with…] E (electronic) [input] | |
| 7 | Predatory flyer returned driving off small seabird (3) |
| AUK – {s}KUA (predatory flyer) [driving off small – s] reversed [returned] | |
| 8 | Match right pen when it’s woven paper (9) |
| PARCHMENT – Anagram [woven] of MATCH R (right) PEN | |
| 12 | Stomach light tea which is a bit rubbery (5-6) |
| GUTTA-PERCHA – GUT (stomach), TAPER (light), CHA (tea) | |
| 13 | Love twin avoiding you following dad’s dance (4,5) |
| PASO DOBLE – PA’S (dad’s), O (love), DO{u}BLE (twin) [avoiding you – u] | |
| 15 | Insufficiently deal with good loser? (8) |
| UNDERDOG – UNDER (insufficiently), DO (deal with), G (good) | |
| 17 | What’s wet and clammy? (7) |
| CHOWDER – Cryptic. A soup typically containing clams. | |
| 19 | Approach after knowing point of entry? (7) |
| ARCHWAY – ARCH (knowing), WAY (approach) | |
| 20 | Rework article penned by gun representative (6) |
| REVAMP – A (indefinite article) contained [penned] by REV (gun) ~ MP (representative in Parliament). ‘Gun’ can mean to rev an engine. | |
| 22 | Craft getting an ox to follow back of truck (5) |
| KAYAK – {truc}K [back of…], A (an), YAK (ox) | |
| 24 | Ancient keep, the first to be destroyed (3) |
| OLD – {h}OLD (keep) [the first letter to be destroyed] | |
Broad beans are good in salads, eg with feta, mint, lemon juice and olive oil.
29 minutes for the puzzle. Nothing too tricky, finishing with PIE-CHART. Not the world’s greatest Spooner clue, I felt.
The Spooner clue was my last in, and gotten not by solving the -ism but by guessing the answer from the crossers—it was my LOI. Pleasantly surprised to learn, via Wikipedia, that it is correct (and the charming legend behind it).
I would have been frustrated to not get it, because the rest fell so easily I was able to work nearly the whole thing by following each answer in one half (top or bottom) with its symmetrical twin (deviated from this pattern only once or twice, and by accident).
Down in the boondocks, down in the boondocks
People put me down ’cause that’s the side of town I was born in
And I love her, and she loves me
But I don’t fit in her society
Lord have mercy on a boy from down in the boondocks
Every night I watch the light from the house up on the hill
I love a little girl that lives up there, I guess I always will
But I don’t dare knock on her door, her daddy is my boss man
So I’ll just have to be content to see her whenever I can
Down in the boondocks, down in the boondocks
People put me down ’cause that’s the side of town I was born in
And I love her, and she loves me
But I don’t fit in her society
Lord have mercy on a boy from down in the boondocks
Down in the boondocks, down in the boondocks
One fine day I’ll find a way to move from this old shack
I’ll hold my head up like a king, I never never will look back
Until that morning I’ll work and slave, and I’ll save every dime
But tonight she’ll have to steal away to see me one more time
Down in the boondocks, down in the boondocks
People put me down ’cause that’s the side of town I was born in
And I love her, and she loves me
But I don’t fit in her society
Lord have mercy on a boy from down in the boondocks
Lord have mercy on a boy from down in the boondocks
Lord have mercy on a boy from down in the boondocks
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joe South
Down in the Boondocks lyrics © Bike Music
https://youtu.be/dWw9-iygCfM?si=TmhV44hkiog_I8PN
I’m with jack that there were a couple which needed a squint – a underdog hasn’t lost, yet; snooty and snotty don’t mean the same to me – but it was good fun.
I was actually thinking “never” might be “Noo!” That would be… original.
Here’s one definition (3) for SNOTTY in Collins:
snobbish, conceited
…and SNOOTY:
1. aloof or supercilious
2. snobbish or exclusive
17:40 with a few hold-ups towards the end. I was fortunate to change SNOOTY to SNOTTY at the last minute, but the large number of “1 incorrects” on the leaderboard suggests that others may have fallen into this trap. FWIW I think there’s a weak case to be made for SNOOTY, but not enough to sway the judges.
MOONRAKER eventually went in on checkers alone and I agree with Ulaca (!!!) that the Spoonerism was not particularly helpful.
Oh and I just realised I never properly parsed PIE CHART. Very good. Thanks Jack and setter.
I agree – the parsing definitely gives snotty, but I think the definition mostly gives snooty. Pick ’em. Definitely beats mostly?
I was going with Guy’s thinking on “Noo!” until the penny dropped. To be fair I think it would’ve required some kind of extra indication.
So I’m now smugly (snottily?) dismissing the SNOOTY case but boy, if I hadn’t made that last-minute change…
I also went with Snotty due to the parsing, but then looked it up. OED only allows the runny nose related uses, not the nose in the air ones. I didn’t check Collins.
OED says ‘saucy, impudent; proud, conceited. Now esp. supercilious, aloof, snooty’.
(Collins says ‘snobbish; conceited’)
It does. I misssed the 1 c (slang) entry.
Snooty here. Does never really mean not? I m not doing it doesn’t seem the same to me as I am never doing it.
45 minutes. I agree with the comments about SNOOTY v SNOTTY above; glad I decided to go with the wordplay, but I wasn’t confident. Stuck at the end on CHOWDER, not seeing the intended sense of ‘clammy’. Some tricky ones including BIGHT and the spelling of ODORIFEROUS
Not just one (thanks Guy), but two earworms in one puzzle; couldn’t ask for more.
Thanks to Jack and setter
Done, 66 mins.
FOI ODORIFEROUS which took some careful spelling.
Late to get DISCOVERED CHECK, after guessing INFRADIG for UNDERDOG. Also had PIE GRAPH Which held up CAMPFIRE.
BIGHT of Benin is the one I’d heard of, but didn’t know its geographical meaning until now.
NHO MOONRAKER for Wiltshireman.
COD DELILAH and CHOWDER.
Then there’s the sea area ‘German Bight,’ known to many from the Shipping Forecast.
Memorable from the old [sailors’?] rhyme:
Beware and take care of the Bight of Benin,
Where few come out, though many go in.
The version I remember is:
Beware and take care of the Bight of Benin.
For the one that comes out, there were ten that went in.
From the days before malaria tablets, I suppose.
Try de-husking broadbeans first. It’s a bit of a faff but it’s well worth it. You may change your mind about them.
For once, I didn’t fall into the bear trap which was 5d (mainly because I didn’t actually think of SNOOTY). Really enjoyed 27a.
Couldn’t agree more, Deezzaa, about the beans! They are my absolute favourite bean, and if you bother to grow them yourself, and pick them young before the outer skin has developed, you’ll see why. They are sweet and nutty – Very nice, ( and a bit like me to be honest!)
7:30, fortunately taking a moment to consider the wordplay and adjust my biffed SNOOTY.
As Deezzaa says, broad beans are very nice if you remove the tough and bitter husks. I can never be bothered so I only eat them in restaurants, or if I happen to see them when they are very young, when the process is unnecessary.
Reminds me of Dr Johnson on cucumbers. He opined that a cucumber should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing.
🥒
LOL. I love cucumber – rarely make a salad without it.
I rarely buy a salad that doesn’t have it, though it’s not a main attraction. Am surprised to find that, although cukes are 96 percent water, they are actually quite nutritious.
I often salt them, gets some of the water out, makes them crunchier. They make a fine salad on their own: with a yoghurt and dill dressing is a perennial favourite.
Called tzatziki in my neck of the woods!
I made tzatziki yesterday! I don’t put dill in it – just mint.
Gave up on the hour. I was never going to get MOONRAKER or the rubbery thing.
Thanks jack and setter.
DNF. I couldn’t see broadband/broadbean and successful contrived to mess up a few others too.
COD: Broadband.
Liked this one, not too hard but interesting. Had no idea how to parse MOONRAKER, not sure about the rune maker, I was thinking about the other kind of spelling; and nho the Wiltshire connection. But it had to be. The only thing I know about Wiltshire is, they sell a lot of ham.
I was interested to discover that BOONDOCKS is a corruption of the Tagalog word bundok, which means mountain. So nothing whatsoever to do with actual docks…
I’m not intentionally contrarian but I found this much easier than yesterday. A rare sub-20 but WOE as usual in SNOOTY. I considered SNOTTY but didn’t like Not=Never and went for an extended Nooooo…
Think I’ve fallen off the leaderboard entirely but enjoyed this one alot.
If growing your own broadbeans try Vespa, technically a Field bean, like a smaller, less mealy version.
Is that the one that scoots along?
Another SNOOTY, which I think is equally valid, so there!
Had to look up MOONRAKER to be sure. Every day’s a schoolday.
Fortunately I live close enough to “The Moonrakers” in Pewsey, Wilts to have found that clue relatively straightfoward – I hadn’t heard of the legend but figured that the pub must have that name for a reason. The pub has attracted interest in the media recently for painting itself with the flag of St George without planning permission. Perhaps that is why it appears today.
Otherwise, I found this a steady and fun solve, though a couple of silly errors ruined the day (SNOOTY and PASA DOBLE biffed in).
Off by one.
NHO BOONDOCKS (which I eventually worked out) and GUTTA-PERCHA (where I guessed the wrong light for two pink squares).
I live just outside of Bristol and often refer to people the next county over as MOONRAKERS. I am not sure I would have got it from the Spoonerism. I always thought it was a slightly derogatory term.
COD PIGGYBACK
Thanks blogger and setter
23 mins but I carnt spell PASO DOBLE. Another near miss on SNOOTY. Otherwise quite straightforward
Late starting today and now daughter’s dog is looking at me reproachfully, saying she wants to go out. So I’ve come here with GUTTA PERCHA and DISCOVERED CHECK still missing. I doubt I’d have got them anyway. I’ve been listening to the shipping forecast all my life and never got round to checking what a BIGHT is.MOONRAKER was a biff. COD to PIGGY BANK.Thank you Jack and setter.
Found this very tough. Don’t really see how ‘not’ = ‘never’, but there it is – I plumped for the right word, by chance. Knew BOONDOCKS, which got me off to a good start, but the rest came slowly and painfully. NHO of DISCOVERED CHECK, because not a chess player, nor MOONRAKER, but they worked and fitted. Liked DELILAH. The rest of it I’ll cheerfully forget.
22.34. I didn’t find this easy-going at all, delayed by insufficient sideways thinking, I suppose. I avoided SNOOTY, but managed another typo, mistaking a B for an R in my check. I didn’t know the Wiltshire connection with MOONRAKER, known more for the Cavalier swashbuckling film of 1958. I’d forgotten the Bond one. And yes, the Spoonerism’s not the best.
I was a bit reluctant to enter CHOWDER: as with “what’s wet and sticky?” the proper answer is “a clam!”
GUTTA PERCHA was another of those clues where it was easier to throw in the guess than to get it from the wordplay.
Twice in this puzzle we had American English indicated by (very) random American places. How often do New Yorkers have anything to do with BOONDOCKS? Are checks (does anyone still use them?) specific to Georgia?
Mildly irritated, I think, but thanks as always for fine blog.
Re BOONDOCKS: There are quite rural areas in upstate New York, though that only indicates an Americanism here. This is interesting, from Merriam-Webster: “Boondocks is…a word from the early 20th century: it comes from the Tagalog word for a mountain, and was brought to English by the U.S. military forces who had occupied the Philippines at the beginning of the 20th century.” So the second of the two definitions in M-W—“informal : a remote, thinly settled rural area : STICKS” and “informal, chiefly in military use : rough country filled with dense brush”—was first.
Never heard of the MOONRAKER thing. Apart from Bond and perhaps some story I read as a child. But very nice. Got the definition wrong in CAMPFIRE and couldn’t see why a camp was a cowboy party. Never associated chowder with soup, but should have. In the early days, gutta-percha was used for golf balls and they are now (perhaps then, too, not sure) known as gutties.
Another silly mistake nullified my fairly respectable one second under nineteen minutes. I must learn not to biff PASA DOBLE!!! Drat and double drat! FOI, DELILAH. LOI BROADBAND. Didn’t know the Wiltshire story. DISCOVERED CHECK from crossers and wordplay. TRIAL OF STRENGTH corrected my biffed SNEERY, which I then noticed didn’t have the requisite T in it. snooty didn’t occur to me as NOT fitted the wordplay and NOO didn’t. SNOTTY is quite commonly used in the NE for someone who’s up themselves. Thanks setter and Jack.
My thanks to jackkt and setter.
Not too tricky, quite Mondayish.
10a Moonraker, COD.
1d Bight, thought of it instantly but didn’t see Big Ht until I wrote it in.
POI 2d Odoriferous, I NHO this word I always use Odiferous which Wiktionary says is “(sometimes proscribed)”. So there, something learned.
22d Kayak. Yaks aren’t really oxen, but are described as “ox-like”, so that’s OK then.
14:38. Puzzled by MOONRAKER but just put it down to my ignorance. LOI REVAMP. Thanks Jackkt and setter.
28:40 – all fell into place with a push and only BROADBAND gave much trouble. To judge by the definition, the setter does not live in rural Sussex.
DNF – PASA DOBLE and SNOOTY caught me out and I obviously need to parse things a bit better. I really enjoyed the puzzle though and it went in under the half hour which was a relief.
33:26
A little hard to get into – OLD, ELDER and AUK from my first pass, but gradually things came together. Some thoughts:
BIGHT – Remembered from Heligoland BIGHT which is apparently the southern part of the German BIGHT – don’t know why I know this.
ODORIFEROUS – convoluted word for ODOROUS?
SNOTTY – had SHANTY pencilled in initially, but that would have used ‘dirty home’ both in the wordplay and definition, so had to think again.
UNDERDOG – surely ‘likely to lose’ rather than ‘loser’?
GUTTA PERCHA – don’t know why I knew this term, but the wordplay helped to confirm it.
MOONRAKER – no idea about the Wiltshire connection, but understood the Spoonerism with all checkers in place
Thanks Jack and setter
Broad beans – known in the US as Fava Beans. (Enjoyed by Dr Hannibal Lecter with liver and a nice Chianti.)
A bit like yesterday in the sense of a fast start and hopes of a quick time. Unlike yesterday a DNF with MOONRAKER and chess term both unknown and in the end unbiffed. REVAMP unparsed not seeing the gun.
Thanks Jack and setter
Snuck into the top 100 with a misspelled dance which I didn’t parse either. My own lookout there. Must be a lot of errors for that to happen!
Quite a bit of biffing for me – I didn’t really like the puzzle much, but I expect that’s a me thing rather than any slight on the setter!
DNF
An excellent puzzle – I couldn’t parse “snooty” at first and fortunately resisted the urge to biff it. A narrow escape, along with correctly parsing what I initially entered as “pasa doble”.
To me, MOONRAKER is an excellent strong ale brewed by John Willie Lees, but now I know it’s Sawbill!
It was difficult to pick a COD, and I eventually passed over BROADBAND, and the excellent misdirection of GROWL.
FOI SWAMP
LOI SNOTTY
COD GUTTA PERCHA
TIME 8:38
Multiple goes needed.
– Had no idea about that meaning of MOONRAKER
– Didn’t parse PIE CHART
– Spent ages agonising over SNOOTY/SNOTTY, but eventually went for the right one
– Eventually put together the wordplay that helped me remember GUTTA-PERCHA
Thanks Jack and setter.
FOI Elder
LOI Broadband
COD Revamp (tried to fit NRA in for far too long!)
I thought this an excellent puzzle with an unusually high number of witty clues. It took me 21 mins which is 6 mins slower than yesterday’s, but that was a freak time for me. First in was BOONDOCKS and last in was CHOWDER (its clue being a high-class cracker joke). My favourite three clues were to DISCOVERED CHECK (great surface reading), WACKY (funny) and GUTTA-PERCHA (ingenious wordplay). Thank you to Setter and Blogger.
If you didn’t know MOONRAKER, DISCOVERED CHECK or GUTTA PERCHA, you were stuffed. I didn’t and was stuffed.
26:24 I really liked this. Needed Jack to explain the Georgia part of DISCOVERED CHECK. Always think of MOONRAKERS as coming from GOTHAM but not sure if that is in Wiltshire or not, the crossers made it easy. Always thought it was GUTTE-PERCHA. Favourites BROADBAND, and CAMPFIRE.
Thanks to Jack and the setter
26.58. Two in a row- hurrah! Lots of tricky ones chowder wasn’t particularly but I smiled when I got it. Discovered check was a fleeting memory of school days.
Very enjoyable puzzle.
A fair exercise, all done in 32 minutes, but a DNF it seems. According to the authorities my SNOOTY at 5dn is wrong, though I would argue it should be admitted. SNOTTY never occurred to me as meaning ‘self-important’ but I try to do the crossword without aids, so do not consult all the dictionaries, some of which evidently support it. Otherwise no issues. I enjoyed the wordplay in some of the clues. The spoonerism, not so much, and had to biff the answer there.
FOI – TRIAL OF STRENGTH
LOI – BROADBAND
COD – CHOWDER
Thanks to jackkt and other contributors.
22.09 WOE
Careless as I knew the funny word but thought of TASER rather than TAPER, so one pink square. Otherwise, liked it especially BROADBAND which was my POI.
GUTTA-PERCHA plopped in instantly thanks to a CtC masterclass video from 2 years ago.
MOONRAKER wouldn’t have ever gone in.
Glad I wasn’t the only one who biffed PASA DOBLE. Huge facepalm there, as the letterplay was clear enough.
Never thought of SNOOTY, thankfully. And checked spelling of PASO DOBLE against cryptic, again thankfully. MOONRAKER was a confident guess. GUTTA PERCHA I first saw in this place two or three years ago, and though I couldn’t remember it exactly the cryptic saw me good. 23’16″was my time. Not very fast. I’m interested to see the SNITCH. Thanks.
35 minutes – luckily didn’t think of Snooty.
Nice puzzle apart from Pie Chart which seemed a bit clumsy and Chowder which seemed a bit odd.
Really enjoyed this: some of the answers going straight in ( from where I wondered): GUTTA PERCHA, SWAMP, DELILAH (my COD), CHOWDER (ha ha). In fact , managed 24 of the 27 without cheating, but needed help with the chess move ( don’t play it), the PIE CHART, and the BIGHT ( though I knew its geographical meaning as we live in Victoria in the ‘Great Australian Bight’. Great, witty puzzle.
I was totally bamboozled by the chowder check crossing.
Cod to chowder, as I laughed when reading the blog explanation.
I biffed moonraker, the Wilts reference totally foreign to me, I rather think the sail reference would have been more accessible to many in the UK as well as overseas.
Is a deli really up market?
thanks as per usual.