I have blogged a number of puzzles by Klingsor and have always enjoyed the challenge.
There were a number of &Lit clues in the puzzle today – always good to see. Indeed after the first three clues, I began to wonder whether the whole puzzle was going to comprise &Lit clues. I guess that would be a real challenge [for the setter]
I have come across ‘Cambridge University = MIT‘ [see 1 across] quite a lot recently such that my first reaction is now MIT rather than CU or blue. On the other hand, haven’t come across the term SCRIP [wordplay in 5 across] for some time
It took me a while to figure out the word play in 18 across before I realised than ‘endless’ was qualifying two words following it rather than just one.
I can’t see any Nina,or theme in the puzzle. It is not a pangram.[no X or Z]
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Across |
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|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
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1
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Backed son getting into Cambridge University – blatant favouritism (8)
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(S [son] contained in [getting into] [MIT {Massachusetts Institute of Technology (university) sited in Cambridge Massachusetts; Cambridge University} + OPEN {blatant}]) all reversed (backing) (NEPO TI (S) M)< |
NEPOTISM (undue favouritism to one’s relations and close friends) &Lit
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5
|
Be prudent and invest money in shares (6)
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M (money) contained in (invest in) SCRIP (shares allotted; share certificates, or shares or stock collectively) SCRI (M) P |
SCRIMP (be sparing; be prudent) It depends on the movement of the share price whether this clue is an &Lit or not.
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9
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Tree we’d chopped up to keep central parts of stove hot? (8)
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FIR (tree) + (an anagram of [chopped up] WE’D containing [to keep] OO [middle letters of {central parts of} each of STOVE and HOT]) FIR (EW (OO) D |
)FIREWOOD (something that when lit will keep the central parts of a [WOOD-burning] stove hot) &Lit clue
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10
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Meryl Streep’s second to play Eugenia perhaps (6)
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Anagram of (to play) (MERYL and T [second letter of {second} STREEP])
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MYRTLE (Eugenia is a genus of the MYRTLE family)
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12
|
Test twice for instance (5)
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(AS [for instance] + SAY [for example; for instance]) i.e. ‘twice for instance’
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ASSAY (test)
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13
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Bet Liberal U-turn fails, producing commotion (9)
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Anagram of (fails) (BET and L [Liberal] and U-TURN)
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TURBULENT (producing a commotion)
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14
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Adjective we associate with "breathtaking"? (3-9)
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A (adjective) + WE + INSPIRING (taking a breath)
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AWE-INSPIRING (breathtaking) &Lit clue
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18
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Stop endless yacking, quite differently put? (3,1,4,22)
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Anagram of (differently put) (STOP and ACKIN [YACKING without its first and last letters Y and G [endless]) and UIT (QUITE without its first and last letters Q and E [endless], the latter two constituent being cryptically indicated as ‘endless YACKING QUITE‘)
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PUT A SOCK IN IT (an instruction to stop talking [yacking] -in a quite different and more forceful way than requesting someone simple to stop yacking) &Lit clue?
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21
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Refuse to accept husband at home needs good hiding (9)
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(TRASH [refuse] containing [to accept] H [husband]) + IN (at home) + G (government) T (H) RASH IN G |
THRASHING (beating; hiding)
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23
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Mathematician is well bored with crude content on the radio (5)
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EULER (sounds like [on the radio] OILER [an OIL well [one bored with crude {OIL} content])
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EULER (reference Leonhard EULER [1707 – 1783], Swis mathematician)
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24
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One’s home to order cook around I fear? Not half! (6)
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FRY (cook) containing (around) (I +AR (2 of 4 [half of], excluding the other two letters [not half]) FEAR) FR (I AR) Y |
FRIARY (home for Monks who are members of one of the mendicant religious orders of men in the Roman Catholic Church )
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25
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Kelvin missed out on a very quick cooked meal (3,2,3)
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Anagram of (cooked) (ON A and V [very] and QUICK excluding [missed out] K [kelvin, a unit of thermodynamic temperature])
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COQ AU VIN (a dish of chicken cooked in red wine, with onions, herbs and garlic; meal)
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26
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Look, havng Jack in school is hindrance to progress (3,3)
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LO (look) + (J [Jack in card games] contained in (in) GAM [school of whales]) LO G (J) AM |
LOG JAM (congestion; hindrance to progress)
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27
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Detective goes from vague gut feeling (8)
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INDISTINCT (dim; vague) excluding (goes from) DI (Detective Inspector)
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INSTINCT (involuntary prompting to action;;gut feeling)
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| Down | |||
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1
|
What 7 person will have? Definitely not! (2,4)
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NO FEAR (The entry at 7 down is INTREPID, defined as ‘without trepidation or FEAR)’
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NO FEAR (definitely not!)
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2
|
Drunkenly mentioned capital’s church community (6)
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PARISH (a slurred or drunken pronunciation of PARIS [capital of France])
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PARISH (the people of a district having it’s own Church; church community)
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3
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Birds want to fly around – mournful cries will follow (5,4)
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Anagram of (fly around) WANT + YOWLS (mournful cries) TAWN* Y OWLS |
TAWNY OWLS (birds))
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4
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Take the quickest route from poor rustic to rich (5-7)
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Anagram of (poor) RUSTIC TO RICH
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SHORT-CIRCUIT (take the quickest route)
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6
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Excited about pursuing timid creature (5)
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COY (shy; modest; timid) + (UP [excited] reversed [about]) COY PU< |
COYPU (large South American aquatic rodent; creature)
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7
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Beginning to take pride in rioting? That’s brave (8)
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Anagram of (rioting) (T [first letter of {beginning to} TAKE] and PRIDE IN
|
INTREPID (without trepidation or fear; brave)
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8
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One’s demoted by minister say – that’s set back reputation (8)
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PRIEST (ordanined Minister [in Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches] with the I [one] moved down the word [demoted]) + (EG [for example; say] reversed [set back]) PRESTI GE< |
PRESTIGE (reputation)
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11
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Pad perhaps should have blue carpeting (8-4)
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DRESSING (pad) + DOWN (sad; blue)
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DRESSING-DOWN (severe scolding; carpeting)
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15
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One can mouth off about English traveller (9)
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(I [One] + TIN [can] + RANT [mouth off]) containing (about) E (English) I TIN (E) RANT |
ITINERANT (traveller)
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16
|
Malicious fellow in Brussels left after mounting hints (8)
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TIPS (hints) reversed (mounting ; down clue) + (F [fellow] contained in [in] EU [European Union; Brussels]) + L (left) SPIT< E (F) U L |
SPITEFUL (malicious)
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17
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In Scottish city one goes for European currency (8)
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STIRLING (Scottish city) with I (one) replaced by (goes for) E (European)
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STERLING (British currency)
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19
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Short European is a scruffy sort (6)
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SLOVENE (national of Slovenian Republic; European) excluding the final letter (short) E
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SLOVEN (a person carelessly or dirtily dressed; a scruffy sort)
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20
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Mark time as Chancellor (6)
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BRAND (mark) + T (time)
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BRANDT (reference Willy BRANDT [1913 – 1992], Chancellor of the German Federal Republic form 1969 to 1974)
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22
|
Country squire at first’s offhand when turning up (5)
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S (first letter of [at first] SQUIRE) + (AIRY [offhand] reversed [when turning up; down clue]) S YRIA< |
SYRIA (Country)
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Thank you Duncan. I normally expect to struggle against Klingsor in a Thursday slot, but this one went in steadily. The only one I really had difficulty with was FRIARY, my last one in. Dunno why – it’s all there.
Well done for parsing NEPOTISM – will have to remember MIT next time round.
Entertaining puzzle, thank you Klingsor.
Found this rather easier than yesterday’s Alberich – not really a thursday toughie, I fear you may have the wrath of Rowland coming over the &lit terms though Duncan 🙂
Thanks Klingsor & Duncan.
I started off slowly but it gradually fell into place with ASSAY my LOI, although my LOI could have been one of several in the top half of the puzzle (7dn, 8dn, 13ac, 1dn, 9ac and 12ac) as they were solved almost simultaneously.
I confess that I didn’t bother to parse 18ac. I echo flashling’s comment about the expected reaction to your &lit interpretations. I suggest you duck for cover. I’d add a smiley face here if I could …..
Haa haa! You are so cruel to poor Rowluy. In *lits-ville, 9 & 18 are I would say, though they are a vbit of a struggle iwith the saurface sense, to me.
The others are not.
14a is also &lit. I don’t think 1a and 5a are though – and in fact Duncan hasn’t underlined the whole clue in them. I would agree that their definitions are as underlined. (But “&littish” would describe them perhaps, especially 5a.)
(For the cryptic reading of 14a I think you have to take “associate” as an adjective (cf “an associate company”) to get the sense of A + we joined to (= “associate with”) “inspiring”. Otherwise you have to see it as an imperative which I don’t really like as much.)
Thanks Duncan for the parsing of 18ac. We had the answer pencilled in for a while but didn’t like the fact that ‘put’ was in the clue and answer.
We started this late this evening so glad that it didn’t take too long.
Thanks Crosophile for the entertainment!
Apologies – thanks to Klingsor for the entertainment! Obviously a senior moment!