Well, this would have been a much easier job than the week before, if only I hadn’t come up with a plausible but wrong solution to an anagram. That gave me a crossing letter which made no sense for the other word.
When eventually I found the answer anyway, and made the consequential correction to the anagram, I still felt it was satisfying but “relatively straightforward for a Saturday”. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle. Let’s take a look.
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 | Exacting general acceptance for coinage (4,8) |
| HARD CURRENCY – HARD=exacting, CURRENCY=general acceptance, as in ‘the idea had general acceptance/currency’. | |
| 9 | Airline’s mechanics initially work well (5) |
| AMPLY – A(irline) M(echanics) “initially”, PLY=work. As in ‘well provided’. | |
| 10 | Centuries-old notes regarding golf on steppes (9) |
| PLAINSONG – PLAINS=steppes, ON=regarding, G=golf in the phonetic alphabet. | |
| 11 | Dismissal notice put off, keeping yours truly in Paris (8) |
| EJECTION – anagram (put off) of NOTICE, with JE=yours truly, in French. | |
| 12 | Item stored in cellar, dry inside trunk (6) |
| BOTTLE – TT=dry, inside BOLE=(tree) trunk. | |
| 13 | We’re told what manager does in other countries (8) |
| OVERSEAS – we’re told (=sounds like) ‘oversees’. | |
| 15 | Primates object when pound’s replaced old pennies and shillings (6) |
| LEMURS – DEMUR with D=old pennies replaced by L=pound, followed by S=shilling. | |
| 17 | Series of comments about keeping a number of commandments? (6) |
| CATENA – A, TEN=number of commandments, inside CA=about. I knew of catenary arcs, so this unfamiliar word sounded plausible. | |
| 18 | High copper tap that practitioner struggles to remove? (8) |
| SUPERBUG – SUPER(intendant)=high-ranking policeman, BUG=(wire) tap. | |
| 20 | England’s opening pair caught during match, producing draw (6) |
| ENTICE – EN=England’s first two letters, then C=caught inside TIE=match. | |
| 21 | Secret of criminal avoiding punishment (4,4) |
| SCOT FREE – anagram (criminal) of SECRET OF. | |
| 24 | Confirmation of insurance number in private code at last (5,4) |
| COVER NOTE – NO=number in COVERT=secret, then (cod)E. | |
| 25 | Play one’s part again to produce a response (5) |
| REACT – RE-ACT=to play the part again. | |
| 26 | Feast on candies, say, becoming queasy (9,3) |
| ASCENSION DAY – anagram (becoming queasy) of ON CANDIES SAY. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Last of those aboard must stop at sea (5,2) |
| HEAVE TO – HAVE TO=must, with (thos)E ‘aboard’. | |
| 2 | Touching gift set up musical agent (14) |
| REPRESENTATIVE – RE=touching, PRESENT=gift, ATIVE=EVITA=musical, ‘set up’. | |
| 3 | Keen priest cleared out part of church (5) |
| CRYPT – CRY=keen, then P(ries)T, ‘cleared out’. | |
| 4 | Carpeting for five authentic houses (8) |
| REPROVAL – PRO=for, V=five, ‘housed by’ REAL=authentic. | |
| 5 | Set up monitor primarily to eliminate paper (4) |
| EXAM – M(onitor), AXE=eliminate, all reversed (set up). | |
| 6 | Staff getting to grips with inflections of language (9) |
| CANTONESE – CANE=staff, gripping TONES=inflections. | |
| 7 | Hitch-hiker to board and not alight in border region (14) |
| NORTHUMBERLAND – THUMBER=hitchhiker, ‘boarding’ NOR=and not + LAND=alight. Bordering Scotland, as you know. | |
| 8 | Tailender from gang entering before old bodyguard leaving (6) |
| EGRESS – (gan)G entering ERE=before, SS=old (Nazi) bodyguards. | |
| 14 | Lots of easy work in cracking locks (9) |
| SINECURES – IN ‘cracking’ SECURES=locks. | |
| 16 | Works out what next in line does (8) |
| SUCCEEDS – double definition. | |
| 17 | Grasp brush, perhaps, scrubbing a pair of taps (6) |
| CLENCH – CLE(a)N + C(old) + H(ot). | |
| 19 | Particularly nondescript bears at large (7) |
| GREATLY – GREY=nondescript, ‘bearing’ AT + L(arge). | |
| 22 | Roughly beneath tip of elephant’s trunk (5) |
| TORSO – T=(elephan)T, then OR SO=roughly. | |
| 23 | Fuel sanction got round by church (4) |
| COKE – CE=church, around OK=sanction, in the sense of approval. | |
Several good clues: SINECURES, HEAVE TO, PLAINSONG and EXAM but COD to CANTONESE.
I had no problem with CATENA as I know it as the word for chain in Italian.
One curiosity for me was I can only see two anagrams, 21ac and 26ac.
Thanks for your blog, as ever, Bruce.
Edited at 2021-01-09 07:19 am (UTC)
What SUCCEEDS our EGRESS, you will see
With no HARD CURRENCY
We will suffer GREATLY
And our “union” will soon be SCOT FREE
FOI 6dn CANTONESE guessed right first time.
COD 15ac LEMURS
WOD 26ac ASCENSION DAY – the most boring day at school ever – nothing happened for seven years on the trot!
Even detention was suspended!
10ac PLAINSONG got an Ugh! and 19dn GREATLY a Yuk!
Time not recorded but over the hour.
FOI SCOT FREE
LOI SUPER BIG
COD HEAVE TO
In the end I just about completed it without aids. Late in were PLAINSONG and the NHO CATENA. But I was defeated by SUPERBUG and CANTONESE.
Some clever clues.
David
Edited at 2021-01-09 11:02 am (UTC)
Speaking of Argentina, CATENA Zapata is the name of a famous winery there, so I wondered if the unknown chain was somehow related. But no, it’s just the name of the owner.