Loglady has set today’s puzzle, which I found rather challenging, perhaps because I am not yet that familiar with Loglady’s crosswords.
I think that I have managed to solve the puzzle correctly, but only after cheating with a couple of clues in the NW quadrant, which I found to be particularly tough. I need help with some parsing, however, at 1D and 15 for the wordplay, and at 8 for the definition – thanks in advance for setting me straight on these three clues. Incidentally, I was held up with 2D, since I have only ever come across this entry as a 9-letter word. I was also expecting a homophone indicator in 9 for the “why” element of the wordplay.
My favourite clues today are 20, 25, 26 and 28, all for smoothness of surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | HOMEWARD | To crib and wail during mass
MEW (=wail) in HOARD (mass, stock); colloquially, “crib” is home |
| 05 | GLOSS | Lustre of grand defeat
G (=grand, i.e. 1000 dollars) + LOSS (=defeat) |
| 09 | WONKY | Why to have information backed up off-line
Y (=why, in textspeak) + KNOW (=to have information); “backed up” indicates reversal |
| 10 | DEAD AHEAD | Cut flowers providing setting for start of anniversary at twelve o’clock
A<nniversary> (“start of” means first letter only) in DEADHEAD (=(to) cut (withered) flowers); if you were giving directions, “at twelve o’clock” would mean directly ahead |
| 11 | EYEBALL | Pass by centre and stare
EYE (=centre, e.g. of storm) + BALL (=pass, e.g. in football) |
| 12 | TEMPEST | Storm off set, with stopgap taking lead part
TEMP (=stopgap, i.e. temporary) + *(SET); “off” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | COCK-A-DOODLE-DO | Crow drew in another bird when temperature dropped
DOODLED (=drew, scrawled) in COCKA<t>OO (=bird; “when temperature (=T) dropped” means letter “t” is dropped) |
| 17 | ANTIHISTAMINES | Shaman initiates journeying, dropping a variety of drugs
*(SH<a>MAN INITIATES); “dropping a” means letter “a” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “journeying” |
| 20 | ORDINAL | Concerned with class – that’s unusual in a lord
*(IN A LORD); “that’s unusual” is anagram indicator; the class of the definition is e.g. a taxonomic order in biology |
| 22 | ATLASES | Sea salt eroded navigational aids
*(SEA SALT); “eroded” is anagram indicator |
| 24 | SHAMBLING | Uncoordinated fake jewellery
SHAM (=fake) + BLING (=jewellery); someone who is shambling is uncoordinated in his movements |
| 26 | YEARN | Long story entertains beginning to end
E<nd> (“beginning to” means first letter only) in YARN (=story) |
| 27 | LEERY | Wary when left with spooky sound
L (=left) + homophone (“sound”) of “eerie (=spooky)” |
| 28 | SMARTENS | Grooms animal within bounds of stables
MARTEN (=animal) in S<table>S (“bounds of” means first and last letters only) |
| Down | ||
| 01 | HAWSE | ‘Pome’ written on Cockney’s locality (part of Bow)
The hawse is the part of a ship’s bows through which the anchor cables pass, hence “part of Bow”; wordplay? |
| 02 | MANGETOUT | Dude, go green!
MAN (=dude) + GET OUT (=go, leave); mangetout is a vegetable, hence “green” |
| 03 | WAY BACK WHEN | Why a new conception involves support for the distant past
BACK (=support) in *(WHY A NEW); “conception” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | RIDDLED | Set a puzzle // full of holes
Double definition: to riddle is to set (someone) a riddle (to solve) AND riddled with e.g. bullets is “full of holes”, like a riddle, sieve |
| 05 | GOA | Almost objective state in which yoga is commonly practised
GOA<l> (=objective, aim); “almost” means last letter is dropped |
| 06 | OBESE | Round globe – seafarer encircles it
Hidden (“encircles it”) in “glOBE SEafarer” |
| 07 | SEDITION | Special issue of magazine promotes subversive acts
S (=special) + EDITION (=issue of magazine) |
| 08 | TATTOO | Tasteless items of jewellery? A couple mentioned in rap
TAT (=tasteless items of jewellery?) + homophone (“mentioned”) of “two (=couple)”; a tattoo can be the rhythmic tapping of a drum, hence “rap” |
| 13 | MULTIPLAYER | Ponder incomplete bonus level of computer game
MUL<l> (=ponder; “incomplete” means last letter dropped) + TIP (=bonus, in addition to basic pay) + LAYER (=level, stratum); a multiplayer computer game is designed for or involving several players |
| 15 | DEEP SPACE | Travel quickly back and forth, discovering what’s out there
DEEPS (speed=travel quickly; “back” indicates reversal) + PACE (=travel quickly, e.g. in sport; “forth” here means no reversal) |
| 16 | CAROUSEL | Turner song about exploitation
USE (=exploitation) in CAROL (=song); cryptically, since it turns, goes round, a carousel could be described as a “turner” |
| 18 | SELFIE | Snap swell of tide – what are the odds?
S<w>E<l>L <o>F <t>I<d>E; “what are the odds” means odd letters only are used |
| 19 | AMALGAM | Mix a large gin, for starters, in the mornings
[A + L (=large, of sizes) + G<in> (“for starters” means first letter only)] in AM AM (=2 x AM=morning) |
| 21 | DRAPE | Dress in mirror after seeing doctor
DR (=doctor) + APE (=mirror, imitate); to drape is to dress in, clothe |
| 23 | SINUS | Comeback of star is hollow
SUN (=star, in astronomy) + IS; “comeback” indicates reversal |
| 25 | BAY | Tree // bark
Double definition: a bay is a type of tree AND to bay is to bark, howl (of large dogs) |
Re 1d, I am informed that POME and HAW both have something to do with small fruits. Cockneys come from the Southeast.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
That’s was my interpretation for 1d as well but wasn’t sure.
I also got stuck in the NW. Think I might have succeeded if 2d had been enumerated as one word. As it was, I was leaning towards the first word being “mango”. Didn’t know “pass” could be “ball” in 11a but, not being a footie fan, will accept your word.
The last few Loglady puzzles have been very hard and this was no exception. I did enjoy lots of clues with WONKY and YEARN as favourites.
Thanks to Loglady and RatkojaRiku.
We too were held up in the NW corner: ‘pome’ in 1dn was unknown to us, the enumeration of 2n is clearly wrong – it’s one word, not even hyphenated, in both Collins and Chambers, and we thought the ‘why’ in 9ac whould have had some indicayion that it was either a homophone or textspeak.
But, like the curate’s egg, parts of this were excellent. We liked COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO, ANTIHISTAMINES, CAROUSEL and SELFIE.
Thanks, Loglady and RatkojaRiku
Too hard for me and I ended up missing WONKY and HAWSE, with plenty of others a real struggle. I liked this though, even if Loglady is now becoming a name to be feared by us humble solvers, as pointed out by Hovis. My picks were MULTIPLAYER and the ‘Turner’ def for CAROUSEL.
Thanks to Loglady and RR
Ditto in the NW. HAWSE is an absolute stinker, needing haw from pome, SE being very vague for Cockney locality, and the solution itself pretty obscure. HOMEWARD also very difficult but in a better way.
Otherwise, what a great puzzle, WONKY, MULTIPLAYER, COCKADOODLEDOO all brilliant.
I would usually spell eerie eery anyway.
Thanks Loglady, RR
I was completely defeated by the NW corner so DNF. I thought of ‘eyeball’ but didn’t enter it for some reason. Sorry, but no way is SE ‘Cockney’s locality’. Thanks anyway to Loglady and RatkojaRiku.
Another two here who were stuck in the NW. Joyce knows 2D as a hyphenated word (she’s the gardener and cook) and Bert thought it was one word not two.
SE for a Cockney location is we think a step too far but we enjoyed the rest of the puzzle.
Thanks Loglady and RR.
Thanks everybody today. Loglady, RatkojaRiku and all. I took nearly all day over this puzzle and still did not finish. (27a & 16d) I don’t mind though. I solved 1d and 2d despite the latter being wrongly spelt!
Is the idea in 1d that pome is how a cockney says poem?
Hi and oh dear! I have to admit that the points raised on difficulty are all totally legitimate, especially with regard to 1 down where i think i let my efforts to write an original clue override fairness to solvers. (yes james@9 that was the idea behind the surface). and 2 down being properly enumerated might have helped too of course. hovis i am setting you up for a tremendous sense of achievement when you solve a puzzle of mine in ten minutes in the future!
Anyway issues duly noted, and i’m glad there were plenty of enjoyable clues too. Thanks to all the stoics who invested their time in the puzzle, and especially RatkojaRiku who had to blog his way out of a pretty tight corner, cheers mate!
Tough, but not as daunting as previous from Loglady I think. I got over half with a fair few parsings. In fact I got the whole of the bottom half + 14ac in first, then the NE corner with a couple of mild cheats (not TATTOO though). NW was a bust.
@Hovis Ball and pass are common synonyms, as in “He/she played a great ball out of defence”. Could apply to most team ball sports, hockey, netball etc, although maybe not rugby.
Another one defeated by this, and it was the NW corner, too, for me that I left unfinished. Not helped, too, by not being able to read my own writing. Did like 18dn, though.