Wire provides the challenge today
There were a lot of secret agent references in the clues and entries with all of the following words or names included somewhere in the clues and grid – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, George Smiley, Berlin, bug, Blunt, traitor, defect, diktat, encrypted and capsule of cyanide for instance. A few words from titles of John Le Carré novels are also included, such as Russia[n], pilgrim and song. There may be more that I have missed.
It wasn’t necessary to be aware of all the Le Carré references to solve the puzzle. The clues all led to clear wordplay and hence to the entries.
I enjoyed this.
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| Across | |||
| 1 | One who considers ditching husband for potter (6) |
T TINKER |
TINKER (potter) |
| 4 | Take sixty seconds before introduction to George Smiley (7) |
BE (act or perform; take [the part of]) + A MIN (a MINute; 60 seconds) + G (first letter of [introduction to] GEORGE) BE A MIN G |
BEAMING (smiley) |
| 9 | Example of revolutionary artist with a revolutionary print (9) |
RA (Royal Academician; artist) reversed (revolutionary) + CHE (reference CHE Guevara [1928 – 19767], Argentinian Marxist revolutionary) + TYPE ( printing TYPEs collectively; print) AR< CHE TYPE |
ARCHETYPE (perfect or typical example) |
| 10 | Capsule of cyanide on food portion (5) |
PIE (food) + CE (outer letters of [capsule [covering] of] CYANIDE) PIE CE |
PIECE (portion) |
| 11 | Message heads to the West encrypted and in Latin (5) |
TWE (first letters of [heads to] each of THE, WEST and ENCRYPTED) + ET (‘and’ in Latin) TWE ET |
TWEET (message) |
| 12 | Small bundle holds diamonds: rector finds storage in kitchen (5,4) |
S + (PACK [bundle] containing [holds] [ICE {diamonds} + R {rector}]) S P (ICE R) ACK |
SPICE RACK (storage item in the kitchen) |
| 13 | Mass of endless queries shocked maiden (7) |
Anagram of (shocked) QUERIE REQUIE* M |
REQUIEM (mass for the rest of the soul of the dead) |
| 15 | Compound in Hungary ideal for torture (6) |
H (International Vehicle Registration for Hungary) + an anagram of (for torture) IDEAL H ALIDE* |
HALIDE (compound of a halogen with a metal or radical.) |
| 17 | Capital idiot wears new gold (6) |
ASS (idiot) contained in (wears) (N [new] + AU [chemical symbol for gold]) N (ASS) AU |
NASSAU (capital city of The Bahamas) |
| 19 | Warrant finally delivered here prior to court action (7) |
DE (last letters of [finally] each of DELIVERED and HERE) + SERVE (an action on a tennis court) DE SERVE |
DESERVE (warrant) |
| 22 | Mention North American approaching East European by radio (9) |
N (North) + AM (American) + E (East) + CHECK (sounds like [by radio] CZECH [a European]) N AM E CHECK |
NAMECHECK (mention) |
| 24 | Bug concealed after aide-de-camp deserted () |
AP (letters remaining in AIDE-DE-CAMP after the central letters IDE-DE-CAM are removed [deserted]) + HID (concealed) AP HID |
APHID (plant louse; bug) |
| 26 | Extremely huge stick can be a ruler (5) |
HE (first and last letters of [extremely] HUGE) + ROD (stick) HE ROD |
HEROD (reference King HEROD Antipas [~20BC – ~39AD}, ruler of Judea. There was also an earlier King HEROD the Great) |
| 27 | Defect of feet, back and flanks (4,5) |
PAWS (feet) reversed (back) + SIDES (flanks) SWAP< SIDES |
SWAP SIDES (change allegiances; defect) |
| 28 | Wind and spray both sides crossing midpoint of dam (7) |
MIST (spray) + (RL [right and left; both sides] containing [crossing] A [central letter of [midpoint] DAM) MIST R (A) L |
MISTRAL (violent cold dry north-east wind in southern France) |
| 29 | A classic Russian luxury vehicle skirts Italian road (6) |
CAR (vehicle) + VIA (Italian for ‘road’) CA (VIA) R |
CAVIAR (salted roe of the sturgeon fish; classic Russian luxury dish) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Blunt possibly in raising flatbread expertise (7) |
(ROTI [in Indian and Caribbean cooking)a cake of unleavened bread; flatbread] + ART {expertise]) all reversed [in raising; down clue]) (TRA ITOR)< |
TRAITOR (reference Anthony Blunt [1907 – 1983], British art historian and spy for the Soviet Union; traitor) |
| 2 | Pearl having bit of Edna cremated (5) |
NACRE (hidden word in [bit of] EDNA CREMATED) NACRE |
NACRE (mother-of-pearl or a shellfish yielding it) |
| 3 | Choose surveyors for wiring (9) |
ELECT (choose) + RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) ELECT RICS |
ELECTRICS (informal term for wiring) |
| 4 | Mole maybe from Flanders to swap France with Belgium (7) |
B LEMISH |
BLEMISH (spot) |
| 5 | Shave second off test … that’s easily enough (5) |
AMPLE |
AMPLE (more than [easily] enough) |
| 6 | Nordic tailor in red lace (9) |
Anagram of (tailor) IN RED LACE ICELANDER* |
ICELANDER (native of Iceland, a Nordic [North West European] country) |
| 7 | Bad smells overlooked by good people (6) |
G (good) + REEKS (offensive smells) G REEKS |
GREEKS (people of Greece) |
| 8 | Mineral adhesive fixing agent recalled (6) |
GUM (adhesive) containing (fixing) SPY (secret agent) reversed (recalled) G (YPS<) UM |
GYPSUM (soft mineral, hydrated calcium sulphate) |
| 14 | Predicaments in annual assembly covered by paper (9) |
AGM (Annual General Meeting; annual assembly) contained in (covered by) QUIRES (sets of 24 or 25 sheets of paper) QU (AGM) IRES |
QUAGMIRES (difficult problematical situations; predicaments) |
| 16 | Rogue state also maybe in deep water (4,2,3) |
Anagram of (rogue) STATE ALSO LOST AT SEA* |
LOST AT SEA (could be descriptive of someone stranded or lost in deep water) |
| 18 | Acceptable number still regularly used vessel (7) |
U ([socially] acceptable) + TEN ( a number) + SIL (letters 1, 3 and 5 [regularly] of STILL) U TEN SIL |
UTENSIL (any useful or ceremonial implement, tool or vessel) |
| 19 | Instruction from Berlin? Fool around on army time (6) |
KID (delude; fool) reversed (around) + TA ([Territorial] Army) + T (time) DIK< TA T |
DIKTAT (from German [Berlin], an order or statement allowing no opposition; instruction from Berlin) |
| 20 | Final recipient of unstable uranium needs recipe (3,4) |
Anagram of (unstable) U [chemical symbol for uranium) and NEEDS and R (recipe) END USER* |
END USER (final recipient of) |
| 21 | Song put soldier on edge (6) |
ANT (reference soldier ANT) + HEM (edge) ANT HEM |
ANTHEM (song or tune that provokes a powerful response from an audience) |
| 23 | Tree-climbing included in tradecraft (5) |
CEDAR (hidden word [included] reversed [climbing; down clue] in TRADECRAFT) CEDAR< |
CEDAR (an example of a tree) |
| 25 | Pilgrim fooled. Journey’s beginning on island (5) |
HAD (fooled) + J (first letter of [beginning] JOURNEY) + I (island) HAD J I |
HADJI (someone who has performed a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) |
Another excellent Wire crossword. Despite the theme, I took ages to get the sense of “defect” in 27a, my loi.
Minor error in blog for 12a. R is “rector” not “river”. Thanks to S&B.
Hovis @ 1
Thanks – blog corrected
Thanks, Wire and Duncan.
A delightful, intelligent puzzle from Wire – lots of interesting words in the solutions and some lovely surface readings. The use of ‘George Smiley’ to get us to BEAMING was particularly clever. Had I paid a bit more attention and twigged the spy theme I might not have struggled for so long with the ‘Blunt’ bit of 1dn.
An interesting take on the theme – part clue, part answer based.
NAMECHECK is not a term I’ve come across for ‘mention’ before, so this held me up, and I was stuck trying to fit “quandaries” in for QUAGMIRES at the end. Favourites were the Anthony ‘Blunt’ clue and the ‘Mole maybe from Flanders’ bit of the surface of 4d – who knows, Daniel Defoe may have written an as yet undiscovered spy thriller.
Thanks to Wire and to Duncan.
Forgot it was theme day yet again. Three quarters OK but a big fat zero in NW, not one clue in. BEAMING and BLEMISH My favourites for today. Thanks Wire and Duncan
I read “BE A MIN” as Take sixty seconds as a whole. Like “I’ll be (ready in) a min”/ “it’ll take sixty seconds to get ready”. Only a very subtle difference.
Just like Hovis I took an absolute age to work out it was deFECT and not DEfect. So obvious when the penny drops.
Didn’t catch the Le Carre theme at all but as Duncan says it didn’t hinder the solving at all.
Lovely crossword with some very good clues/surfaces and misdirections.
Thanks to all involved.