Hi everyone. As so often happens, because I am bad, I left this until the last minute. So when my friend asked if I was free for some crosswording, rather than say “sorry, I have a blog to do” I thought I’d offer this one to share. Normally I’d want to solve a puzzle by myself if I’m blogging, but why not change things up?
This means I have no time to report – and we ended up checking the 11d mountains anyway, so the bottom line would probably have been a DNF or a lucky finish – but there were enough chewy bits to make it an enjoyable crossword to collaborate on.
I recommend joint solving by the way: there’s an art to it, but if you get the chemistry right it increases the fun and (unless you spend a lot of time chatting, which can happen!) decreases the time, making for a much enhanced enjoyment/time ratio. It does work best if the crossword isn’t too easy; normally we select barred puzzles or those by very hard setters.
Back to this one. Annoyingly for a kitty, my COD probably has to be the big dog lurking in 6d – heavenly! Lots of other highlights too: to pick just a couple of examples, 20a’s “slide over the drink” and the record label releasing disc in 4d. Thanks setter!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1a | Gives particulars of key drills fragmenting debris (9) |
| DESCRIBES — ESC (key) goes into (drills) an anagram of (fragmenting) DEBRIS | |
| 6a | Eulogistic report of events around pulpit, oddly (13) |
| COMPLIMENTARY — COMMENTARY (report of events) around odd letters of (… oddly) PuLpIt | |
| 13a | Cruel legislator with zero wit moving to the left (5) |
| DRACO — O (zero) with CARD (wit) written backwards (moving to the left) | |
| 14a | Manager of Hearts, say, admitting this person with sign of hesitation (9) |
| ORGANISER — ORGANS (hearts, say), taking in (admitting) I (this person) + ER (sign of hesitation) | |
| 15a | My work environment (7) |
| SETTING — Double definition. Nice! | |
| 16a | Savaging idiot repeatedly in letter, I state (9,13) |
| CHARACTER ASSASSINATION — ASS ASS (idiot repeatedly) in between CHARACTER (letter) and I + NATION (state) | |
| 18a | Weapon of Persian male, maybe a belligerent sort (8) |
| TOMAHAWK — TOM (Persian male, maybe) + A + HAWK (belligerent sort). | |
| Very annoyed that my co-solver beat me to the parsing of TOM! In my defence I’d misread Persian as Parisian #ShouldHaveGoneToEtc | |
| 20a | Servers evicting one short child slide over the drink (5-3) |
| WATER-SKI — WA[i]TERS (servers) removing (evicting) I (one) + short KId (child) | |
| 21a | Trick for one party Democrat backs (5) |
| DODGE — EG (for one), DO (party) and D (Democrat) reverses (backs) | |
| 23a | Loathed touring Croatia’s capital, going west in Split (6) |
| DETACH — HATED around (touring) Croatia’s capital letter reversed (going west). | |
| For part of 2006, Croatia’s Museum of Broken Relationships could be seen in Split. (Its permanent home is the not quite as apt Zagreb) | |
| 24a | Escort and look after carriage heading for Oxford (6) |
| GIGOLO — LO (look) after GIG (carriage) and the first letter of (heading for) Oxford | |
| 25a | Southern French state established in the first place (9) |
| PROVENÇAL — CAL (state); PROVEN (established) beforehand (in the first place) | |
| 28a | Stuttering criminal’s rating of PC’s intelligence? (6,4) |
| TURING TEST — An anagram (criminal) of STUTTERING | |
| 29a | Translation of Mrs Dalloway’s opening ignored by hoaxer (4) |
| FRAU — D (Dalloway’s opening) ignored by FRAU[d] (hoaxer) | |
| 30a | Roomy English stores close to pork butcher’s (4-3) |
| LOOK-SEE — LOOSE (roomy) and E (English) stores the end of (close to) porK | |
| 32a | A broadcaster breaks payment promise — really! (1,3,3) |
| I ASK YOU — A SKY (broadcaster) goes into (breaks) IOU (payment promise) | |
| 34a | Bank without charges, deferring fine (4) |
| REEF — FREE (without charges) moving F to the end (deferring fine) | |
| 35a | Indirect answer following drinks binge (10) |
| ROUNDABOUT — A (answer) following ROUND (drinks), then BOUT (binge) | |
| 38a | Society getting cross somewhere in Surrey (9) |
| GUILDFORD — GUILD (society) + FORD (cross) | |
| 39a | Protest against work singular Gothic writer pens (6) |
| OPPOSE — OP (work) + S singular which POE (Gothic writer) contains (pens) | |
| 40a | Various people who may come up with pearls (6) |
| DIVERS — Double definition | |
| 43a | Emblem directed at those people lacking height (5) |
| TOTEM — TO T[h]EM (directed at those people) lacking H (height) | |
| 45a | Budding compiler returning: eager, vacuous fellow (8) |
| EMERGENT — ME (compiler) backwards (returning) + EageR without inner letters (vacuous) + GENT (fellow) | |
| 47a | More exuberant relative eclipsed by Dallas oilman (8) |
| JAUNTIER — AUNTIE (relative) surrounded by (eclipsed by) JR (Dallas oilman) | |
| 49a | Saw advocating quiet, emotionless date saddens drunk (5,4,7,6) |
| LEAST SAID SOONEST MENDED — An anagram of (… drunk) EMOTIONLESS DATE SADDENS | |
| 52a | Climber in standard place for event, finishing early (7) |
| PARVENU — PAR (standard) + VENUe (place for event) without the last letter (finishing early) | |
| 53a | Peer inside proper vehicle component (4,5) |
| REAR LIGHT — EARL (peer) inside RIGHT (proper) | |
| 54a | Prince Albert killed in accordance with law (5) |
| HALAL — HAL (prince) + AL (Albert) | |
| 55a | Ingredient for baking best doughnut substantially covers pastry (5,2,6) |
| CREAM OF TARTAR — CREAM (best) + O (doughnut), then FAR (substantially) surrounds (covers) TART (pastry) | |
| 56a | Rush to secure politician promotion and bit of capital (9) |
| HAMPSTEAD — HASTE (rush) holding (to secure) MP (politician) + AD (promotion) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Stalwart old guards ruling briefly (9) |
| DEDICATED — DATED (old) surrounds (guards) EDICt (ruling) without the last letter (briefly) | |
| 2d | A number of Catholics in attempt to win chess game with queen (6,5) |
| STABAT MATER — STAB AT MATE (attempt to win chess game) + ER (queen) | |
| 3d | Show up, drinking soft drink and alcoholic one (5) |
| RIOJA — AIR (show) reversed (up) taking in (drinking) OJ (soft drink) | |
| 4d | Heckle record label releasing disc in rich place (8) |
| BOOMTOWN — BOO (heckle) + M[o]TOWN (record label) releasing O (disc). | |
| It’s almost a shame there was no difficulty solving this one, as then I could exclaim Rats! But instead it was just a nice penny-drop moment | |
| 5d | Sweet, unknown guy from America’s upset (6) |
| SUGARY — Reversal of (… upset) Y (unknown), RAG (guy) and US (from America) | |
| 6d | Metro jams in a city, holding up group seen at night (5,5) |
| CANIS MAJOR — Hidden backwards in (… holding up) metRO JAMS IN A City | |
| 7d | Where to find posters in English with writing about judicious committee (7,5) |
| MESSAGE BOARD — E (English) surrounded by (with … about) MS (writing) + SAGE (judicious) + BOARD (committee) | |
| 8d | Primates wife expelled from small buildings (7) |
| LORISES — W (wife) is removed from (expelled from) LO[w] RISES (small buildings). | |
| The surface is non-grammatical so that the clue is cryptically sound | |
| 9d | Parents love president defending Democrat policy — it was divisive in the States (5-5,4) |
| MASON-DIXON LINE — MAS (parents) + O (love) + NIXON (president) around (defending) D (Democrat) + LINE (policy) | |
| 10d | Wrote down polite refusal addressed to Edward or Theodore? (7) |
| NOTATED — Polite refusal addressed to Edward or Theodore? NO TA, TED! | |
| 11d | Where Americans might climb road and can skid off (11) |
| ADIRONDACKS — An anagram of (… off) ROAD and CAN SKID | |
| 12d | Instigators of youthful offences get incarcerated? One may do a big stretch (4) |
| YOGI — First letters of (instigators of) Youthful Offences Get Incarcerated | |
| 17d | Determined chap’s going to gamble, clutching note (4-4) |
| HELL-BENT — HE’LL (chap’s going to) BET (gamble) around (clutching) N (note) | |
| 19d | Tired journalist reported why penury is limiting (9) |
| HACKNEYED — HACK (journalist) + Y which sounds like (reported) why; NEED (penury) is around (limiting) | |
| 22d | Female has no doubt over diamonds with cracks in (8) |
| FISSURED — F (female) IS SURE (has no doubt) over D (diamonds) | |
| 25d | Stirred miso soup more rapidly (3,5) |
| PIU MOSSO — An anagram of (stirred) MISO SOUP | |
| 26d | Summoning memories of Antonia periodically cheers old fellow up (9) |
| EVOCATION — Reversed (… up) aNtOnIa periodically, TA (cheers) and COVE (old fellow) | |
| 27d | Move confidently in groove among rocks over gorge (5,4,5) |
| STRUT ONE’S STUFF — RUT (groove) inside (among) STONES (rocks) over STUFF (gorge) | |
| 28d | One wearing dodgy metal tag, millions having fallen off the back of a lorry (8) |
| TAILGATE — I (one) in (wearing) an anagram of (dodgy) [m]ETAL TAG, M (millions) dropped (having fallen off) | |
| 31d | Maverick can get stoned — it helps with inspiration (12) |
| DECONGESTANT — An anagram of (maverick) CAN GET STONED | |
| 33d | Champion of a nation’s failing segregation (5,6) |
| SAINT GEORGE — An anagram of (failing) SEGREGATION | |
| 36d | Devouring extremely large nuts — so do this? (11) |
| OVERINDULGE — DEVOURING and the outer letters of (extremely) LargE anagrammed (nuts) | |
| 37d | One responsible for deliveries pinches flipping hat (4,6) |
| SPIN BOWLER — NIPS (pinches) reversed (flipping) + BOWLER (hat) | |
| 41d | Fiddle with light clothing daughter put pins around? (9) |
| STRADDLED — STRAD (fiddle) with LED (light) around (clothing) D (daughter) | |
| 42d | Handyman caught filling corpulent, round stomach (8) |
| FACTOTUM — C (caught) inside (filling) FAT (corpulent) + O (round) + TUM (stomach) | |
| 44d | Wrongly designate English form of address by its short French equivalent (7) |
| MISTERM — MISTER (English form of address) by M (its short French equivalent) | |
| 46d | Country’s flag raised on beginning to advance (7) |
| ERITREA — TIRE (flag) reversed (raised) + RE (on) + the initial letter of (beginning to) Advance | |
| 48d | Distance one may swim fast, absorbing good hour (6) |
| LENGTH — LENT (fast) taking in (absorbing) G (good) followed by H (hour) | |
| 50d | Spirit is something stimulating with rum shot (5) |
| ETHOS — E (something stimulating) with an anagram of (rum) SHOT | |
| 51d | Product information is not half plausibly misleading (4) |
| SPEC — Not half SPECious (plausibly misleading) | |
DNK SPIN BOWLER, of course, or PIU MOSSO. I did know there was a soap opera called ‘Dallas’, but had no idea who the characters were; not that it mattered, as it was easy enough to assume that one was called Junior (and not Jier). Biffed LEAST from an E and an S (forget which ones), never bothered to parse it.
The JR in JR Ewing in Dallas actually stands for John Ross. Not, as you say, that it matters.
That sounds familiar; thanks.
About an average solve for me coming in just under 40 minutes. Not much noted on my copy, but I did like SETTING and LENGTH and the lovely reverse hidden CANIS MAJOR. LOI SPEC. Thanks Kitty and setter.
Very few workings on my copy and no notes other than I used aids for my LOI, the completely unknown ADIRONDACKS. I’m not even sure I realised it was an anagram.
No major problems with this one. PIU MOSSO was my only unknown. I’m familiar with the ADIRONDACKS and their chairs, which are almost identical to what Canadians call Muskoka Chairs.