Hi all. I’m happy to join you here, taking on the blogging slot vacated by Astartedon.
This puzzle took me bang in the middle of my usual time range (the clock stopped at 7:31) so I can only call it mid-difficulty. Your experiences may vary.
There was one entry unfamiliar to me at 17a, OPUNTIA, but with the given wordplay and checking letters there could be no real room for doubt.
I appreciated seeing my friend TOM at 7a, and enjoyed the CATNAP to be found at 16d. The surface of NUISANCE (20a) could be a reaction to some of the discussions found on crossword blogs … but I like nuance and wouldn’t find that a nuisance at all! All very enjoyable, anyway. Thanks Teazel!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [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 | Dog marks a dead body (7) |
| MASTIFF — M (marks: former German currency) + A (from the clue) + STIFF (dead body) | |
| 5a | Poetic ship, British lifeboat (4) |
| BARK — B (British) + ARK (lifeboat). Another spelling of barque. Checking on the “poetic” in the definition, I see that this is a specific type of ship, but that Chambers also tells us it has a poetic meaning of any boat or sailing ship | |
| 7a | Cat wants to mew, firstly (3) |
| TOM — TO (from the clue) + the initial letter of (… firstly) Mew | |
| 8a | Ears need to be adjusted for love song (8) |
| SERENADE — EARS NEED is to be anagrammed (to be adjusted) | |
| 10a | Opposed to one copying smoker (5) |
| VAPER — V (versus, opposed to) + APER (one copying). I wondered slightly at the definition but it didn’t really get up my nose | |
| 11a | Mark affixed to permit is bright red (7) |
| SCARLET — SCAR (mark) by (affixed to) LET (permit) | |
| 13a | Pill taken at the start on board (6) |
| TABLET — The first letter of (… at the start) Taken is found next to (on) TABLE (board) | |
| 15a | It’s unfortunate king goes to a part of America (6) |
| ALASKA — ALAS (it’s unfortunate) + K (king) + A (from the clue) | |
| 17a | In rebuilt patio regularly sunny for cactus (7) |
| OPUNTIA — Inside (in) an anagram of (rebuilt) PATIO we have alternate letters of (regularly) sUnNy | |
| 18a | In Dynasty, women’s nasal tones (5) |
| TWANG — Inside (in) TANG (Dynasty), W (women) | |
| 20a | One’s going into fine distinction — bother! (8) |
| NUISANCE — I’S (one’s) inserted into (going into) NUANCE (fine distinction) | |
| 22a | Corporation Yank backs (3) |
| GUT — TUG (yank) is reversed (backs). This is the crossword setter’s staple meaning of corporation as a belly (which I don’t recall ever encountering in the wild) | |
| 23a | Finish second highest (4) |
| STOP — S (second) + TOP (highest) | |
| 24a | Lightly touch seabird, for example (7) |
| PATTERN — PAT (lightly touch) + TERN (seabird) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Proposal about one tax incentive (10) |
| MOTIVATION — MOTION (proposal) around (about) I (one) and VAT (tax) | |
| 2d | What judge has to do in total (3,2) |
| SUM UP — Two definitions | |
| 3d | Rebel in south calling for immediate attention (9) |
| INSURGENT — IN (from the clue) + S (south) + URGENT (calling for immediate attention) | |
| 4d | Initially find our relaxation in extensive woodland (6) |
| FOREST — The first letters of (initially) Find Out + REST (relaxation). Hands up if, like me, you began with FOR and wondered for a little while how “extensive” was meant to give EST … | |
| 5d | Waste-paper basket writer picked up (3) |
| BIN — NIB (writer) reversed (picked up, in a down entry) | |
| 6d | Puzzles, seeing large cup in nettles (7) |
| RIDDLES — Here we see DD (large cup: a large cup bra) in RILES (nettles) | |
| 9d | Put right what is shattering badly (10) |
| STRAIGHTEN — SHATTERING anagrammed (badly) | |
| 12d | Share a great amount intended for audience (9) |
| ALLOTMENT — A homophone of (… for audience) A LOT (a great amount) + MEANT (intended). If I may share a link, this is the alot | |
| 14d | Fit, inhaling that French aroma (7) |
| BOUQUET — BOUT (fit) containing (inhaling) QUE (that, French) | |
| 16d | Go off with someone’s pet, perhaps, for a doze? (6) |
| CATNAP — If you kidnap a kitty (please don’t!) you might be said to CATNAP it | |
| 19d | Seaweeds tangled up in a gale (5) |
| ALGAE — The answer can be found anagrammed (tangled up) in A GALE | |
| 21d | Juice dad’s knocked over (3) |
| SAP — PA’S (dad’s) reversed (knocked over) | |
Welcome to Kitty
It’s quite a novelty to one again blog a puzzle which attracts more than a handful of comments.
Perhaps it was just Monday rustiness, but I couldn’t seem to get going. Feel like I’m wading through treacle with this at present, although not helped by attempting it after 13 hour working day.
Can someone explain why corporation means ‘gut’ or ‘rum’?
Gary A
Gary