My last two in were 19dn and 8dn, both solved while walking the dog and musing about how the clues might work. My clue of the day is 26ac, for the sheer beauty of the clue, with an honourable mention to 2dn. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Clues are in blue, with definitions underlined. Anagram indicators are in bold italics. Answers are in BOLD CAPS, followed by the wordplay. (ABC*) means ‘anagram of ABC’.
Across
1 Excessively recoiling part of blowtorch-cum-revolver (8)
OVERMUCH: backward hidden answer.
5 Maximum separation of parallel pins (6)
SPLITS: cryptic definition. The “pins” are the legs of someone young and supple.
10 Finger a sod, on investigator’s lead (5)
DIGIT: the investigator is a DI, the sod is a GIT.
11 Translated message to Alice before later books showing adaptation (9)
TREATMENT: Collins has “tr.” as an abbreviation for translated. “Eat me” was the instruction on a cake Alice finds after she follows the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole. NT is the New Testament.
12 A diabolical fire felt to be one’s eternal existence? (9)
AFTERLIFE: A (FIRE FELT*).
13 Large company‘s earth mover crossing road (5)
HORDE: RD for “road”, inside HOE as an earth mover.
14 Pipe down in harvester reduced mould (7)
RESHAPE: “SH” means “pipe down”, inside REAPE(r).
16 Turned like beef from Pacific islands (6)
SAMOAN: AS (“like”) backwards, then MOAN. There are other Pacific island groups, but Samoans are beloved of setters. I guess they fit the grid easily.
18 Musician‘s soft bed (6)
PLAYER: P for soft, LAYER for bed.
20 Lacy flounces round garment’s edge, attempting elementary alterations (7)
ALCHEMY: HEM inside (LACY*). “Elementary” gave me a nudge in the right direction.
22 Trimming the margins, what oiks cut a few lines? (5)
HAIKU: drop the outside letters from wHAt oIKs cUt. To be specific, a poem of three lines totalling 17 syllables.
23 Crossing finally over, with maniac on board (9)
TRAVERSAL: LAST backwards, with RAVER inside.
25 Marine hunter‘s shortly to garrison displaced occupants of quads (9)
BARRACUDA: BARRAC(k) followed by (-UAD-*), dropping the Q and the S from QUADS.
26 Half of Iroquois backed by a related group (5)
SIOUX: SIOU from the last four letters of Iroquois, reversed, then X for “by” (multiplication). Only after I started running through Indian tribes could I see the “X”.
27 How shocking vote against withdrawing is for northerner in Civil War (6)
YANKEE: EEK, NAY, all reversed.
28 Pale pink periodical, certainly not one that misleads endlessly (8)
MAGNOLIA: MAG, NO, LIA(r).
Down
1 Who’s the host from Hell, or hardly relaxed? (3,5)
OLD HARRY: (OR HARDLY*). I didn’t know this expression, but it looked like an anagram, and the answer jumped out once I had an “O” at the front.
2 What’s missing from vision? Yes, group having a row (5)
EIGHT: EYESIGHT is vision, remove YES to get the rowing crew.
3 Clumsy introduction of English sailor, hilarious in French, where Jack parts hair (2,6,3,4)
ME TARZAN YOU JANE: start with a MANE of hair. Insert E for English, TAR as a sailor, ZANY as (possibly) hilarious, OU as “where” in French, and J for Jack.
4 Is unable to enjoy last of autumn leaves with stealthy grace (7)
CATLIKE: “CAN’T LIKE” would be “unable to enjoy”. Take out the N (last of “autumn”).
6 Sabotage teased those who tease? (3,3,7,2)
PUT THE MOCKERS ON: double definition, I suppose.
7 Pickle brine I foolishly consumed (9)
INEBRIATE: (BRINE I*), ATE.
8 Forward is upward in scout’s intelligence? (6)
SITREP: “PERT IS” backwards (“upwards”, since this is a down clue).
9 Rash, heartless and hollow (6)
RECESS: REC(kl)ESS.
15 Persevere to end resistance in brief farewell (7,2)
SOLDIER ON: SO LON(g) is “farewell”. Add DIE (to end), and R (resistance).
17 Problem with optical character recognition? (8)
DYSLEXIA: rather nice cryptic definition.
19 Pull one of Glastonbury’s attractions after raising bad spirits (6)
ROTGUT: “TUG TOR” backwards (after raising”). I didn’t know Glastonbury had a tor, but it seemed plausible.
20 A priest protecting a bishop’s state (7)
ALABAMA: A LAMA around A B.
21 Fat, cold, old man (6)
CHUBBY: C for cold, HUBBY.
24 School ably showing its alternate form? (5)
SHOAL: alternate letters of ScHoOl AbLy. Nice literal definition.
FOI 12A
COD Any one of 20A, 3D, or 4D
Generally a fine puzzle but 5A totally spoiled it for me.
I can see if you don’t know the expression in 6dn, there’s nothing in the clue to help you!
Edited at 2018-03-10 12:54 am (UTC)
Galton and Simpson put the mockers on ‘Tub’s’ dodgy schemes (Bilko English-style) on a weekly basis back in the day my WOD.
FOI 21dn CHUBBY
LOI 5ac SPLITS as per PJ what a truly dreadful clue!
COD 8dn SITREP
22ac HAIKU is becoming more familiar as to be a write-in and how does one correctly spell 17dn?
I presume that SYELIXDA is technically correct.
Wondering if I’m colour-blind. Magnolia as a shade of paint (ubiquitous in the 1980s after excess of browns and oranges in the 1970s) looks more yellow to me than pink and a quick google round the paint charts on-line confirms this in my view, but the dictionaries all seem to favour pink as the main definition.
Nice to see Barracuda get a mention! For that, he’s my COD.
Very tuff! 1hr 42m 14s
No offence to people of a different persuasion.
I rather smiled at SPLITS, though I might argue that if I did the splits at my age and condition, my pins would a) no longer be parallel and b) be painfully dislocated.
SIOUX caused me trouble (as for Martin) because that sneaky by=X idea always eludes me. Maybe next time I’ll remember, but probably not.
Decent, challenging crossword, elegant and comprehensive blog.
At present the clue and answer make absolutely no sense to me (nor does the explanation in the blog above).
The idea is that the setter describes the answer accurately enough for the purpose, but in such a way as to obscure what he/she is talking about.
Some people (including you, by the sound of it), hate them, others are not so strong in their views. I personally have mellowed a bit, moving from “yuk” to “meh”, and even in a few recent cases, “not bad”. But to be fair, I think “legs parallel and at maximum separation” is a valid description of doing the splits.
Edited at 2018-03-10 11:39 pm (UTC)
As noted, the legs are in a straight line more or less when doing the splits. David
In defence of cryptic clues in general: I think they add some welcome variety into the clueing. One gets into a rhythm of parsing clues immediately, looking for the definition, the anagrinds and anagrists, the bog-standard abbreviations (time, old, books, sailors, men, British, European, yada-yada-yada), the reversals and so on. Then the setter drops in a discursive ‘cryptic’ clue like this one and the solver is often misled, trying and failing to parse it in the usual mechanistic fashion.
So let’s hear it for the good old cryptic clue. Bring it on!
Edited at 2018-03-24 10:40 am (UTC)
On edit: I forgot to mention I also got SPLITS from 10 pin bowling.
Edited at 2018-03-10 01:28 pm (UTC)
Like a lot of us, I finished when I finally saw SPLITS (I thought the clue was fine) and SITREP.
But I got one wrong. Instead of SHOAL I put in SKOOL (not sure if even counts as a real word, but it’s a word any ful kno) and meant to go back and maybe rethink. But I was so pleased to put the last clue in I forgot.
I love a crossword like that where the difficulty doesn’t come from a few barred grid words thrown in, or having to know some obscure earl’s name. So many of the clues don’t work how you first think, and you need the self-kicking boot when you see it.
This felt like someone’s first attempt at constructing a cryptic.
Apologies to the setter but this is honestly how I feel.
ONG’ARA,
KENYA.
And… what IS the problem with SPLITS? ‘Parallel pins’ are (rather obviously, I thought) legs. When they’re maximally separated… what else can it be?
Now, SITREP, on the other hand, I have simply never heard of, but there you go — now I have.
Thank-you again to the very engaging, candid, and informative blogger. These things must take ages to write, and I do appreciate the painstaking work that clearly goes into them.