This was a strange mix of hard and easy. At first glance, I had no idea about clue after clue. Look again, and things became clear! The wordplay was rich in single letters presented in complex ways. Thanks, setter. How did you all do?
Note for newcomers: The Times offers prizes for Saturday Cryptic Crosswords. This blog is for last week’s puzzle, posted after the competition closes. So, please don’t comment here on this week’s Saturday Cryptic.
Definitions are in bold and underlined. With the luxury of a week to do the blog, I can expand on the wordplay:
-
- synonyms and the like appear in [square brackets]
- instructions to show how to get the answer appear thus
- anagram material is (THUS)*, with the anagram indicator in italics
- a ^ symbol indicates where text is to be inserted.
| Across | |
| 1 | Sickly old man’s turkey in need of stuffing (5) |
| PASTY – PA’S [old man’s] + TurkeY [in need of stuffing]. | |
| 4 | Spooner’s fruitcake could earn extra dosh (9) |
| MOONLIGHT – according to Spooner, LOON [fruitcake] MIGHT [could] | |
| 9 | Involved, ideally, in hedging? (9) |
| LEYLANDII – involved (IDEALLY IN)* It’s a fast-growing coniferous evergreen. |
|
| 10 | Keeling over, naked and exhausted (3,2) |
| ALL IN – fALLINg, naked. | |
| 11 | Dog days with vacuous little clot (6) |
| CURDLE – CUR [dog] + D [days] + LE [vacuous LittlE]. | |
| 12 | Just catching heartless robber while active (2,3,3) |
| ON THE FLY – ON^LY catching THiEF [robber, heartless]. | |
| 14 | One expecting male tenor to accept additional honour (6-2-2) |
| MOTHER TO BE – M [male] + OTHER [additional] + T [tenor] + OBE [honour]. The “OTHER” is accepted between the M and the T. |
|
| 16 | Spell “carpets” backwards (4) |
| SNAP – PANS backwards. I’m not sure the two things are exact synonyms. A reviewer pans a performance. A teacher carpets a student. But, near enough. |
|
| 19 | Invalid name for hotel in Yorkshire port (4) |
| NULL – HULL is “oop” north. Insert N for the H. | |
| 20 | Ring, if declared leader (10) |
| BELLWETHER – BELL [ring] + WETHER [sounds like (declared) WHETHER]. | |
| 22 | Expert reindeer herders reportedly falling out (8) |
| PROLAPSE – PRO [expert] + LAPSE [sounds like (declared) LAPPS]. | |
| 23 | Asterix, say, mostly scoffed chops and cake (6) |
| GATEAU – ATE chops G^AUL mostly. Asterix the Gaul was a comic strip character. |
|
| 26 | Snatch of recondite rumour (2,3) |
| ON DIT – hidden (snatch of). | |
| 27 | Kit of crack soldiers within Egypt’s borders (9) |
| EQUIPMENT – QUIP [crack] + MEN [soldiers], all within E^T [EgypT’s borders]. | |
| 28 | Indication of a setter going mad (9) |
| FORETASTE – (OF A SETTER)*, going mad. | |
| 29 | Close to Blackbeard, degenerate buccaneer (5) |
| DRAKE – D [close to blackbearD] + RAKE [a degenerate]. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Copper and phosphorus found above abandoned coalmine (9) |
| POLICEMAN – P [symbol for phosphorus] + (COALMINE)*, abandoned. | |
| 2 | More cunning hitman killing fifth of Mafia (5) |
| SLYER – SLAYER, killing A [fifth of mafiA]. | |
| 3 | Abridged long stories for almanacs (8) |
| YEARLIES – YEARN [long, abridged] + LIES [stories]. | |
| 4 | One cloud over south of France (4) |
| MIDI – I [one] + DIM [cloud], all backwards (over). | |
| 5 | Sole Briton performing in three-star line-up (6,4) |
| ORION’S BELT – (SOLE BRITON)*, performing. I didn’t know the details here, but the clue was kind. Amusingly, the next time I took the dog out before bedtime, there it was, directly overhead! |
|
| 6 | Can’t abide old tool boxes (6) |
| LOATHE – L^ATHE [tool] boxes O. | |
| 7 | Birdie in golf enthralling duke on Scottish island (9) |
| GOLDFINCH –GOL^F boxes D [duke] on INCH. Easier than it looked at first sight. |
|
| 8 | That man’s leaving this pub with unknown Aussie beer (5) |
| TINNY – T [HIS leaving THIS] + INN+ Y [unknown]. In Australia, a “tinny” can also be a small metal outboard boat. |
|
| 13 | Finally goes bald, untroubled (10) |
| STRESSLESS – S [finally GOES] + TRESSLESS [bald]. | |
| 15 | Essentially resetting the whole system is daunting task (4,5) |
| TALL ORDER – T [essentially reseTting] + ALL [the whole] + ORDER [system]. | |
| 17 | Spin sanctimonious contents of proud letter (9) |
| PIROUETTE – PI [sanctimonious] + ROU [contents of pROUd] + ETTE [contents of lETTEr]. | |
| 18 | Did up front of shoe, covered in grass (8) |
| REVAMPED – VAMP in RE^ED. NHO “vamp” meaning “front of shoe”, but it was the only thing that seemed to fit. |
|
| 21 | Superannuated fool, retired flyer (4,2) |
| PAST IT – SAP retired + TIT. | |
| 22 | Demonstration of parking on top of building (5) |
| PROOF – P on ROOF. | |
| 24 | Hostile force failing to end a purge (5) |
| ENEMA – ENEMY failing to end + A. | |
| 25 | Naughty extract from Lawrence Durrell withdrawn (4) |
| RUDE – backwards (withdrawn), hidden (extract). | |
23:50 WOE
Overlooked a typo (MKDI); all the more annoying in that LEYLANDII was my LOI, and the K was right above the D). The setter is fond of initial/final letters, either leaving them (1ac, 11ac, 27ac), deleting them (17d, 10ac), or deleting/leaving one of them (23ac, 29ac, 2d, 8d, 13d).
I found this easier than my solving time of 54 minutes might suggest, but after the trials of the preceding weekdays I remember feeling comfortable with this one throughout so I settled back and worked my way steadily through the clues. My only look-up (after the event) was VAMP as part of a shoe which I’m pretty sure I never knew before.
Gentle for a Saturday.
Second time this week that ‘oop’ has been used by the blogger to denote northern ( 19a commentary) .
Can we please desist.
Quite. ‘Oop’ doesn’t have anything to do with the accent in Hull, which is quite distinctive, and true northerners might quibble about whether Hull was really up north being only halfway up GB.
It may be only halfway up GB, but Yorkshire is definitely a northern county; the North, as generally defined, being beyond the Midlands, and Scotland being another country, their south being the Borders.
Fully agree that Yorkshire is a Northern county – I just object to the derogatory use of ‘oop’
If it continues, I will start to refer to London and the Home Counties as ‘ darn sarf’’
34 minutes. Would have finished sub-30 if I’d been quicker remembering that VAMP = front of shoe. Very enjoyable, excellently crafted puzzle. So many good clues, can”t decide on COD.
I found this quite straightforward, completing in one sitting and with only one unknown – vamp as part of a shoe. Orion being my favourite constellation, I had no trouble with the belt, and in the UK, we are only too familiar with the problem of neighbours’ LEYLANDII growing out of control and cutting off our light.
I believe the reindeer herders, the Sami, object to being referred to as Laps – much as any original people in other countries such as the USA or Australia do. Perhaps the setter could take note.
15.21
Also NHO of VAMP but busy day today (I do w/e puzzles a week in arrears) so in it went as my LOI. Excellent puzzle and blog.
Much to like and not much to complain about here.
Particularly liked 13d STRESSLESS for directness, 17d PIROUETTE once I saw the non-mathemetic PI, and 29ac for the DRAKE treatment. And even the divided word spoonerism of 4ac MOONLIGHT.
My friend twigged to the hedge 9ac LEYLANDII but looked up spelling.
Not sure what the issue is with 49ac NULL and the ‘oop’ North referred to by some. Once I twigged to ‘invalid’ just had to check Hull was a port in Yorkshire.
As a non-UK, claim that check as a right not a cheat.
Tiny MER at 26ac ON DIT, but less so for 4d MIDI (strangely) as it was declared. Pretty sure Guy might say ‘on dit’ is valid English usage of a french phrase, but not common. Trust he pronounces his avatar name in a suitably buttery way.
Unfortunately, did not have a chance to do the TT and FF (dailies the following week) but will do my best to have a go this time.
A satisfying puzzle – thank you setter and branch.
Enjoyed this .. a MER at leylandii, not because there is anything wrong with the clue but just because I can’t stand the ruddy things.
A few years ago I had some cut down at the bottom of my garden, and I said to the tree man, “How tall do they actually grow?” He said “We don’t know, because there aren’t any that have stopped growing yet. But there are several approaching 200ft.”
They are probably over by now ..