I was stumped by 12ac. The rest was Saturday standard. Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable puzzle. How did you all get on?
[Read more …]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 struck through.
Across | |
1 | Famous European family retreating in food resort hotel (8) |
HAPSBURG – GRUB + SPA + H for hotel, all “retreating”. | |
5 | State offers something worth having — it’s right to join in (6) |
ASSERT – R for right, in ASSET. | |
10 | Horrible attritional aims in dictatorship? (15) |
TOTALITARIANISM – anagram (horrible) of ATTRITIONAL AIMS. | |
11 | It’s an arm, not the head, that adapts slowly (7) |
EVOLVER – drop the first letter from rEVOLVER. | |
12 | Ornament in part of south London by road junction (7) |
MORDENT – ornament is a musical term, new to me, of which MORDENT is a type. MORDEN is in South London, T junctions are everywhere. I didn’t know either the answer or the district, so I had no hope of getting this one. | |
13 | Man bound by special call connected with the priesthood? (8) |
CLERICAL – ERIC is today’s man. Put him in an anagram (special) of CALL. | |
15 | Mother performing as a legendary friend (5) |
DAMON – DAM + ON. A reference to the legend of Damon and Pythias. | |
18 | One’s crossing river to see lots of territory? (5) |
ACRES – ACE’S, crossing R for river. | |
20 | Clear one bad clue may get this! (8) |
RIDICULE – RID=clear + I=one, then an anagram (bad) of CLUE. | |
23 | Weird globules, finally fading away — able to break down in water? (7) |
SOLUBLE – anagram (weird) of GLOBULES, after removing a G=fading, finally. | |
25 | Short communication about a daughter being not the sort you want? (7) |
LADETTE – LETTE |
|
26 | Awkwardly cope with music centre that features modern electronics (8,7) |
COMPUTER SCIENCE – anagram (awkwardly) of COPE MUSIC CENTRE. | |
27 | Poor-quality pitch — what’s unusual in that? (6) |
SHODDY – ODD=unusual in SHY=pitch. | |
28 | Pieces of artwork Greek character inscribed in gents naughtily (8) |
ETCHINGS – CHI in anagram (naughtily) of GENTS. |
Down | |
1 | Conditions for favourable growth? It means one shouldn’t have cold feet (6) |
HOTBED – double definition, the second fanciful. I didn’t know the literal meaning of this word. It turns out to be a bed of earth heated by fermenting manure, for raising or forcing plants. | |
2 | Grim-faced worker penning book — something to earn fast buck? (9) |
POTBOILER – PO + TOILER penning B for book. | |
3 | Wild animal mostly existing in captivity to make money (7) |
BOLIVAR – BOAR “captivating” LIV |
|
4 | Part of machine soldiers set up on pile of rocks (5) |
ROTOR – RO=OR ‘set up’ + TOR = pile of rocks. | |
6 | Disfigured king, frightened to go about (7) |
SCARRED – SCARED ‘about’ R=king. | |
7 | Chosen group among the literati (5) |
ELITE – hidden answer. | |
8 | Worker in the office for a while — smart, not initially alluring (8) |
TEMPTING – TEMP, |
|
9 | Conservative was first to hold seat and was overcome? (8) |
CRUMPLED – C + LED, holding RUMP. | |
14 | Circle is not put in a difficult situation (8) |
CORNERED – double definition. Unlike squares, circles don’t have corners. | |
16 | What could produce ailment? No hormone (9) |
MELATONIN – anagram (could produce) of AILMENT NO. | |
17 | A hundred cushions in East End churches? They are hung up in the vestry (8) |
CASSOCKS – C=Roman numeral for one hundred. HASSOCKS=cushions. Drop the aitch, as per crossword convention. | |
19 | Dull sort of editor failed to get to grips with English (7) |
SUBDUED – SUB-editor, DUD holding E=English. | |
21 | Like a rogue in the money, did wrong, getting imprisoned (7) |
CADDISH – anagram (wrong) of DID, in CASH. | |
22 | Petition park to rear type of cactus (6) |
CEREUS – SUE + REC “to rear”=written upwards, not downwards. | |
24 | Dance to get leg under or leg over? (5) |
LIMBO – LIMB + O. | |
25 | Composer that’s unknown’s turning up in reading material (5) |
LISZT – Z in LIST On edit: Elly’s comment suggests a better parsing … Z’S in LIT for literature, all reading upwards. |
Edited at 2021-05-29 12:53 am (UTC)
FOI 10ac TOTALITARIANISM
LOI 22dn CEREUS NHO never been to Peru.
COD 12ac MORDENT – MARGENT as per Grinling Gibbons?
WOD 25ac LADETTE
Nice to see the HAPSBURGS getting an outing at 1ac.
Edited at 2021-05-29 03:30 am (UTC)
Nho DAMON, either, other than as a retired racing driver.
The one clue I had to cheat on was my LOI, CEREUS.
The unnecessary ‘turning up’ in 25ac would have been cruel if the answer hadn’t been so obvious!
Edited at 2021-05-29 05:25 am (UTC)
But I was stung by the unknown cactus. RECESS fitted and so in it went; thinking ESS must be the cactus and petition the definition.
And DAMON unknown. I enjoyed the HAPSBURG clue.
David
I’d already struggled generally when I did this on Sunday evening (Morden didn’t come easily, but Sarf London ain’t my strong point) and I was becalmed with seven answers unsolved after 17:44, when the timer was cancelled and the puzzle put aside. When I picked it up again on Tuesday afternoon I cleared it up inside 3 minutes.
FOI ASSERT
LOI CEREUS
COD LADETTE
TIME 20:35 approx.
Elly
Edited at 2021-05-29 09:15 pm (UTC)
Mordent nho but went straight in from w/p and once living closish to Morden
My problem was the NE as one of my FOIs was a careless MOTOR which made the E family difficult. Had thought of HAPSBURG but had no idea about the parsing. Liked it when I saw it but WOD to POTBOILER
Thanks all
Thanks b.