Radian has provided a good crossword for the commuter today.
There is nothing particularly obscure in either the clues or the entries. There was a mini theme based on the CHEESE GRATER (20 down and 8 across) building in London, but no other Nina that I could see.
There was a good mix of clue devices today with a number of component parts, although none were particularly convoluted. I used 3 colours a few times and had to use four once – for RICHARD at 1 down.
There was need for lateral thinking at times with one or two clues tending towards cryptic definitions.
I made fairly steady progress through the puzzle One or two examples of the wordplay didn’t resolve themselves till I wrote the blog.
Favourite clues today were those for THEME PARKS and GRAND PIANO.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Where raised beds get watered first (4,7)
|
ROOF GARDENS (garden beds that are raised above ground level)
|
ROOF GARDENS (if the gardens are on the roof, they’ll get the rain before gardens on the ground)
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7
|
Pawnbroker’s article needs to be scrubbed (7)
|
UNCLE (pawnbroker) + AN (indefinite article)
|
UNCLEAN (in a state that can be improved by scrubbing)
|
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8
|
Baroque garret a source of some zest? (6)
|
Anagram of (baroque) GARRET GRATER* |
GRATER (an instrument with a rough surface for rubbing down to small particles, e.g. for creating the zest of a citrus fruit) |
|
10
|
Men with floats place daises over here at centre (10)
|
PL (place) + (ASTERS [daisies] containing [over] ER [middle letters of {at the centre} HERE) PL AST (ER) ERS |
PLASTERERS (a float is a PLASTERER‘s trowel and is also used by him / her for smoothing newly created surfaces)
|
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11
|
Where surgeon should be, having reached peak? (4)
|
AT OP (operation) – a surgeon place is at an operation
|
ATOP (at the peak)
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13
|
Saved grass judge cut (8)
|
DEEM (judge) contained in (cut) REED (grass) RE (DEEM) ED |
REDEEMED (rescued; saved)
|
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14
|
Right way to go about problem with truss? (3,3)
|
(TORY [Conservative; someone who’s politics are right of centre] + RD [road, way]) all reversed (go about) (DR Y ROT)< |
DRY ROT (potential problem with a wooden truss)
|
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16
|
Joe bowled over ladies perhaps in blockhouses (6)
|
GI (reference GI Joe, American soldier) reversed (bowled over) + LOOS (e.g Ladies LOOS) GI< LOOS |
IGLOOS (houses made of blocks of ice; blockhouses)
|
|
18
|
Left in tender for finial, say (8)
|
L (left) contained in (in) PINNACE (a warship’s tender boat) PINNAC (L) E |
PINNACLE (a slender turret or spiry structure in architecture; a finial can be defined in a similar fashion)
|
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21
|
Part of foot incorporated heel originally (4)
|
INC (incorporated) + H (first letter of [originally] HEEL)
|
INCH (subdivision of a foot in imperial measurement)
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22
|
Article by Brussels reps about animal refuge and playgrounds (5,5)
|
THE (definite article) + (MEPS [Members of the European Parliament; Brussels reps] containing [about] ARK [reference Noah and his refuge for animals during the flood]) THE ME P (ARK) S |
THEME PARKS (playgrounds)
|
|
24
|
Was it built by Queen to house lover once? (6)
|
ANNE (reference Queen ANNE) containing (to house) EX (former lover) ANN (EX) E |
ANNEXE (a building that is an addition to an existing building. Could possibly be built to house a lover)
|
|
25
|
Woven with nets this stuff could make macintoshes (7)
|
Compound anagram where the solution together with another word in the clue can be anagrammed to form a third word in the clue In this case NETS and CHAMOIS can be anagrammed [could make] MACINTOSHES
|
CHAMOIS (material; stuff)
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26
|
Basis of kettle’s note changing? (11)
|
CORNERS (kettles; kettling, also known as containment or corralling, is a police tactic for controlling large crowds during demonstrations or protests. It involves the formation of large cordons of police officers who then move to contain a crowd within a limited area) + an anagram of (changing) NOTE CORNERS TONE* |
CORNERSTONE (principal stone; most important element; basis)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Royal in charge had assumed right to be king (7)
|
R (royal) + IC (in charge) + (HAD containing [assumed] R [right]) R IC HA (R) D |
RICHARD (reference the Kings RICHARD of England)
|
|
2
|
Excessive direction in finale to Blackadder (4,3,3)
|
OVER THE TOP (The final scene in the last episode of Blackadder had many of the main characters going OVER THE TOP out of the trenches in the First World War)
|
OVER THE TOP (excessive) double definition
|
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3
|
They cross lines repositioning e.g. trains (8)
|
Anagram of (repositioning) E.G. TRAINS GANTRIES* |
GANTRIES (bridges for railway signals above the [railway] lines)
|
| 4 | Ginger man behind the 20 / 8 (6) | ROGERS (reference Ginger ROGERS [1911 to 1995] film star and dancer) | ROGERS (reference Lord Richard ROGERS, architect who designed the new building at 122 Leadenhall Street, London which is referred to as the CHEESE GRATER (20 down / 8 across) because of its shape. The building has been in the news recently as three bolts have fallen off it) |
|
5
|
Use language that exhibits style and vigour (4)
|
ÉLAN (hidden word in [that exhibits] USE LANGUAGE)
|
ÉLAN (style and vigour)
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6
|
Officer’s protected by translucent screen (7)
|
LT (lieutenant; officer) contained in (protected by) SHEER (somewhere on the transparent / translucent spectrum) SHE (LT) ER |
SHELTER (screen)
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7
|
Top drug writer’s swamped by books (5,5)
|
UPPER (drug) + (I’M [writer’s] contained in [swamped by] LIT [literature; books) UPPER L (IM) IT |
UPPER LIMIT (top value)
|
|
9
|
Is he so sloshed after a tankard of beer in The Crown? (10)
|
A + POT (tankard) + an anagram of (sloshed) IS HE SO A POT HEOSIS* |
APOTHEOSIS (high point; pinnacle; crown)
|
|
12
|
It could be adorning a platform at the front (5,5)
|
Anagram of (it could be) ADORNING A and P (first letter of [at the front] PLATFORM) GRAND PIANO* |
GRAND PIANO (an instrument that could take pride of place on the platform at a concert)
|
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15
|
How Jagger introduces himself during Gilbert & Sullivan stunts? (8)
|
I’M MICK (How MICK Jagger, of Rolling Stones fame, might introduce himself) contained in (during) G and S (Gilbert and Sullivan) G (IM MICK) S |
GIMMICKS (stunts)
|
|
17
|
Resin coating fake coin not revealing much (7)
|
LAC (resin) containing (coating) an anagram of (fake) COIN LA (CONI*) C |
LACONIC (expressed in a few words; not revealing much)
|
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19
|
Undermine decorator working at shed (7)
|
Anagram of (working) DECORATOR excluding (shed) AT CORRODE* |
CORRODE (eat away by degrees; undermine)
|
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20
|
It’s said to make better still what’s brought on board (6)
|
CHEESE (what the photographer asks people to say to make them smile and improve the picture when he / she is taking a still photograph)
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CHEESE (CHEESE is often served on a board) double definition
|
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23
|
Move around, missing stove at the back (4)
|
REARRANGE (move around) excluding (missing) RANGE (stove)
|
REAR (back)
|
Thanks to Radian and Duncan,
A good challenge and I learnt a couple of new meanings of familiar words – ‘float’ and ‘kettle’. Yes, a few cryptic definitions (or close to) which I spent a while nutting out, especially 12d. LOI was 25a – compound anagrams don’t seem to be a very common sort of clue and it took me ages to realise the solution was nothing to do with raincoats or computers. Even if I’ve missed a more substantial theme than that identified by Duncan, still an enjoyable solve.
I thought “problem with truss” was a somewhat obscure way of defining dry rot, especially when truss can have so many other meanings and isn’t obviously made of wood. I’d heard of police kettling but it still didn’t occur to me as a synonym of cornering (not sure it’s exactly the same thing since you could kettle the demonstrators in the middle of a street where you’re nowhere near a corner).
Thanks Duncan, a few I failed to parse. Seeing radian I expected compound anagrams so got them. Not easy was expecting more of a theme on a Tuesday, but after the guardian blog earlier and a day at work was glad it wasn’t too tough to get into. Thanks Radian
Thanks, Duncan. Pleased to finish this one, because I often don’t with a Radian. I got CHAMOIS, but didn’t realise that the clue type had a fancy name.
Favourites today were OVER THE TOP for its Blackadder reference and APOTHEOSIS for its surface. Thanks to the setter too.
On themes, apart from the Cheese Grater and Richard Rogers, there seemed to me to be a lot of architecture-related answers (and height-related). We had roof gardens, atop, pinnacle, over the top, upper limit, apotheosis, cornerstone and inch. Then there were the plasterers, along with the annexe and the shelter. Gantries are used in buildings? Piano nobile is a feature of a building and I wondered if a grand piano might be another feature. Finally I wondered whether Radian was making some kind of sly comment about architectural stylistics with gimmicks, not to mention the blockhouses (igloos) of 16a. In fact the whole thing could almost have been described as a theme park (22a). Whether you could use the chamois of 25a to redeem (13a) the unclean (7a) windows or to deal with the dry rot (14a) which obviously has a tendency to corrode (19d) the rear (23d) I do not know, but that just leaves us to admire the élan (5d) of this presumably laconic (17d) architect.
Enjoyed this massively – always do.
I thought 9d one for the hall of fame.
Also ticked 14a, 3d and 7d but could have ticked many more.
A nice slow-burner for me they all yielded after a bit of a stare.
Many thanks S&B.
Being a Radian, I saved for a Sunday evening solve – and so glad I did! Thoroughly enjoyable. I also (as Menoetes@5) couldn’t help noticing the frequency of words of ‘supremacy’ (roof gardens, atop, pinnacle, upper limit, over the top, gantries and apotheosis). Supremacy further exemplified by Duncan’s supreme blog and, of course, Radian’s supreme crossword. Many thanks….