A fairly gentle quick crossword, I think, from Wurm today to ease us into the weekend, although there are a couple of tricks that might catch some. Lots of anagram practice here, with an anagram element to no less than 6 clues. Not that I’m complaining. I was held up at the end by 12A and my last one in 4D, but still finished within my target time. COD for me was the witty cryptic definition at 11D. Thank-you Wurm! So how did you lot get on with this? [Edit: I see I was an outlier in finding this not too hard. As the comments below show, it really is quite tricky in parts].
Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Phil’s turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the latest crossword here and the answers here. Phil has included a bit of a topical theme. Can you spot it? Enjoy! And if anyone is interested in our previous offerings you can find an index to them here.
| Across | |
| 1 | Island people in specialist trial (10) |
| EXPERIMENT – I (island) MEN (people) “in” EXPERT (specialist). My first one in. | |
| 7 | Shepherd initially caring for flock (5) |
| SWARM – Shepherd “initially” WARM (caring). | |
| 8 | Divine drink within reach around court (6) |
| NECTAR – NEAR (within reach) “around” CT (court). | |
| 10 | Member on stage (3) |
| LEG – Triple definition.[Thanks Penfold for pointing out that “on” is not just a linking word]. The first, ‘member’ = ‘limb’ is a crossword staple. The second is the cricketing term for the “leg” side. The third usage is as in a stage on the Tour de France, for example. | |
| 12 | Consistency in contract (9) |
| AGREEMENT – Another double definition. | |
| 13 | Wise to have statue moved (6) |
| ASTUTE – (statue)* “moved”. | |
| 14 | Fuss about the French in Spanish city (6) |
| TOLEDO – TO DO (fuss) “about” LE (the, in French). The city famous for its steel-making and swords. | |
| 17 | Establishment no-one has a pop at (9) |
|
ORPHANAGE – Cryptic Definition. Pop = father. |
|
| 19 | First vessel from the east (3) |
| TOP – POT (cooking vessel) reversed “from the east” -> POT. From the east means reversed as it’s an across clue. | |
| 20 | A tricky maths complaint (6) |
| ASTHMA – A, “tricky” (maths)*. | |
| 21 | Passage the writer will read aloud (5) |
| AISLE – Sounds like “aloud” I’LL (the writer will). Groan. The more groanworthy the homphone, the better the clue, in my opinion. | |
| 23 | Arouse hostility against one deviously (10) |
| ANTAGONISE – (against one)* “deviously”. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Country lad as lover distraught (2,8) |
| EL SALVADOR – (lad as lover)* “distraught”. | |
| 2 | Climber in training area (3) |
| PEA – PE (physical education; training) A (area). | |
| 3 | Sheep bit castle defenders here? (7) |
| RAMPART – RAM (male sheep) PART (bit). A bit of a chestnut, I think. | |
| 4 | Prayer from crew on capsized craft (6) |
| MANTRA – MAN (crew, the verb), ART (craft) reversed “capsized” -> TRA. My last one in, fooled into thinking it started MEN and the craft was a sort of ship. Nice one, Wurm. Anyone else have trouble with this one? | |
| 5 | Hotel in pleasant position (5) |
| NICHE – H (hotel in the NATO phonetic alphabet) “in” NICE (pleasant). | |
| 6 | Criminal covers same ground in cellar (8) |
| BASEMENT – BENT (criminal) outside “covers” (same)* [ground]. Sneaky wordplay where you need to separate “same ground” to get it. | |
| 9 | The PM arose to change prevailing mood (10) |
| ATMOSPHERE – (The PM arose)* “to change”. | |
| 11 | Our mutual confidant? (8) |
| GATEPOST – Cryptic Definition….. “Between you, me and the gatepost…”. That made me smile. COD for me. | |
| 15 | Lear’s daughter in good heart leaves for season (7) |
| OREGANO – REGAN (King Lear’s daughter) “in” the middle two letters “heart” of gOOd. MER (minor eyebrow raise) at ‘leaves for season’ as a definition for the herb, but season (n) is flagged as ‘seasoning (obs.)‘ in Chambers, and seasoning (vt) as ‘to add herbs, spices etc…‘, so I guess that was just my ignorance. | |
| 16 | Graduate pens two articles in plant (6) |
| BANANA – BA (graduate) outside “pens” AN, AN (two articles). | |
| 18 | Like bird with greyish appearance (5) |
| ASHEN – AS (like) HEN (bird). | |
| 22 | Runner seen in Lusk Island (3) |
| SKI – Hidden “seen in” LuSK Island. | |
Comments are closed.