A puzzle with middle of the road difficulty, but much to enjoy, including three nice homophones. Some nice hints of fate and eternity at 9ac and 3dn, but my favourite was 24ac which made me LOL, as they say these days. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Notes for newcomers: The Times offers prizes for Saturday Cryptic Crosswords. This blog is posted a week later, after the competition closes. So, please don’t comment here on the current Saturday Cryptic.
Clues are blue, with definitions underlined. Deletions are in {curly brackets}.
| Across | |
| 1 | Rising corporation given backing in old America (8) |
| MUTINOUS – TUM=corporation of the abdominal kind, backing. Then, IN O{ld} U.S. | |
| 6 | Sharp agent raking in pile (6) |
| SNAPPY – SPY ‘raking in’ NAP. | |
| 9 | What must be paid for after brief smack? (6) |
| KISMET – MET=paid, after KIS{s}, briefly. Cue Doris Day: Whatever will be, will be. | |
| 10 | Doctor to repeat work in theatre (8) |
| OPERETTA – ‘doctor’ (anagram of) TO REPEAT. | |
| 11 | Barrack comedian, throwing stone (4) |
| JEER – JE{st}ER, throwing away the ST. | |
| 12 | Firing up kiln, ending in explosion (10) |
| ENKINDLING – ‘explosion’ (anagram) of KILN ENDING. An old-fashioned looking word, I thought. | |
| 14 | Dealer‘s henchman preferring pound to note (8) |
| RETAILER – is a RETAINER really a henchman? He/she sounds much more upright than that to me! Anyway, change the N for note to an L for pound. | |
| 16 | Force landed, making stealthy getaway (4) |
| FLIT – F=force, LIT=landed. | |
| 18 | Sounds made by critical little bird down under (4) |
| KIWI – homophone of KEY WEE. Very neat! | |
| 19 | Board’s imperfection only partial, it’s said (8) |
| KNOTHOLE – if it’s only partial, it’s NOT WHOLE. Another nice homophone. | |
| 21 | Phoney lord desecrated pyramid, perhaps (10) |
| POLYHEDRON – ‘desecrated’ (anagram of) PHONEY LORD. | |
| 22 | I won’t, casually, when opening curtains (4) |
| NOPE – hidden answer ‘curtained’ by (i.e. inside) ‘wheN OPEning’. | |
| 24 | VIP’s paltry payment? (8) |
| SIXPENCE – VI=six, P=pence. Delightful!! | |
| 26 | Prevents Turkey’s premier entering States (6) |
| AVERTS – T from Turkey in AVERS. | |
| 27 | In recession, delay securing pitch for international (6) |
| GLOBAL – LOB=pitch in GAL=LAG backwards. | |
| 28 | Lectures bound to discuss work matters (4,4) |
| TALK SHOP – TALKS=lectures, HOP=bound. | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Join military detachment close to base (5) |
| UNITE – UNIT=detachment, E is the close of basE. | |
| 3 | Government finally admitted to corruption going on and on (11) |
| IMMORTALITY – T from {government}T in IMMORALITY. | |
| 4 | Honestly worried, in private (2,3,3) |
| ON THE SLY – ‘worried’ (anagram, nicely disguised, of) HONESTLY. | |
| 5 | Keep owing more, on strike in affluent area (11,4) |
| STOCKBROKER BELT – STOCK=keep, BROKER=owing more, BELT=strike. | |
| 6 | More rigid articulated bones (6) |
| STERNA – sounds like STERNER. Plural of STERNUM. | |
| 7 | Reverence and worship expansive at first (3) |
| AWE – first letters of each word. | |
| 8 | Latin poet’s broken promise (9) |
| POTENTIAL – ‘broken’ (anagram of) LATIN POET. | |
| 13 | Sinister sportspeople? (4-7) |
| LEFT-HANDERS – cryptic definition. I banged in LEFT-WINGERS at first, but 19ac forced me to think again. | |
| 15 | Leader from media abandoning case to retreat northward (9) |
| EDITORIAL – {m}EDI{a} (‘abandoning case’), TO, LAIR=retreat ‘northward’. | |
| 17 | Humiliation of Democrat on personal trip (8) |
| DOWNFALL – D=Democrat, OWN=personal, FALL=trip. | |
| 20 | Group of sailors cutting timber for ship’s core (6) |
| KERNEL – RN=group of sailors, cutting KEEL. | |
| 23 | Primate having too much work to retire (5) |
| POTTO – OTT OP, all ‘retiring’. | |
| 25 | Local turned up with book (3) |
| PUB – PU=UP ‘turned’, B=book. | |
Golly that’s a long time!
My only queries were with RETAI(n)LER and STOCKBROKER BELT.
Like you, Bruce, I wondered about RETAINER equalling Henchman. I’m also wincing at BROKER equalling owing more.
Nevertheless I have double ticks against several clues: KISMET, JEER, KIWI (I would have been drummed out of the country had I failed on that), KERNEL and KNOTHOLE.
However, top billing and three ticks to SIXPENCE. That is almost as good as Dean’s “Likes eating = cannibalism” a couple of Sunday’s ago.
Thank’s for another good blog, Bruce.
Andyf
FOI MUTINOUS
LOI IMMORTALITY
COD KISMET
TIME 11:36
FOI ON THE SLY and I had only four left at 1.34pm. They did cause quite a hold-up though. I became obsessed with RESELLER for 14a and my PITTANCE at 24a no longer worked. 9a had to include BILL? So 3d took forever, appropriately.
I did manage to sort it all out eventually;LOI KISMET, again rather appropriately. Could not parse Sixpence ( I now see how good it is). POTTO unknown.
Enjoyed this. David