Welcome to Bucko, a new setter for the Indy, whose first puzzle it’s my pleasure to blog. I liked this one.
The Monday Indy is typically the ‘easy’ one (although the editor has been known to throw us a curveball from time to time). This one fitted into the accessible category, with a good variety of clue types and some smiles along the way. I have one or two niggles, but when was a crossword ever niggle-free? Looking forward to some more from this compiler.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
8 Do this right and it’s you
SOLVER
First one attempted; last one in. A cryptic way of suggesting ‘you’, the SOLVER. SOLVE plus R.
9 Well crafted amulet for one who’s uniquely close
SOUL MATE
A charade of SO for ‘well’ and (AMULET)*
10 Tie up a North African
MOOR
A dd. Othello, the Moor of Venice for those with a Shakespearean bent.
11 It’s nerve-wracking tossing giant blini, …
NAIL-BITING
(GIANT BLINI)*
12 … my turn, be quiet
GOSH
A charade of GO and SH. As usual, the ellipses between the clues mean naff all.
13 It’s surprising when June strips off in front of old muscle man
UNEXPECTED
A charade of [J]UN[E], EX and PECTED for a whimsical definition of ‘old muscle man’. Phwoar, look at the pecs on him.
17 Destroys pretend silver boxes
ENDS
Hidden in pretEND Silver. No AG required with this one.
18 Solid copper has sexual orientation that’s beginning to change
CUBIC
A charade of CU, BI for swinging both ways as far as coitus is concerned, and C for the first letter of ‘change’. For me, a ‘solid’ would be a CUBE rather than CUBIC. Although remaining solid when you’re male and BI would clearly be advantageous.
19 With seventeen bits and pieces
ODDS
The answer to 17ac is ENDS, so this would be ODDS and ENDS. Which made me think for a long time that 17ac would be SODS.
21 A sweet old man with a gift for intimacy
SUGAR DADDY
A sort of &lit, I suppose. SUGAR plus DADDY.
23 With fish and chips often sprinkled last
SALT
Ditto. (SALT)* But obviously you put the salt on first so that it coats the batter, then sprinkle on the vinegar last. Our new setter must be posh, never having experienced fish and chips oop north.
24 Perhaps niece starts to choose Lambrusco here?
OFF-LICENCE
Ditto. A reverse anagram thingy. LICENCE is an anagram of (NIECE CL)* and C and L are the first letters (‘starts’) of ‘choose’ and ‘Lambrusco’. The anagrind is ‘off’.
28 Flatters topless senior citizens
OAPS
[S]OAPS. I think.
29 Aborted examination as first person breaks wind
MISTRIAL
An insertion of I in MISTRAL, which is the wind that blows down the Rhône Valley in the south of France. I smiled at the surface, which is a sign of a good clue.
30 Doctor admired drug-free capital
MADRID
The anagrind is ‘doctor’. It’s (ADMIR[E]D)* with E being the ‘drug’ that you have to remove.
Down
1 Get stuck in journey London bound?
GO TO TOWN
A dd.
2 How to get to Skye – by air?
OVER THE SEA
It’s a bit of a weak dd cum cd. ‘Speed, bonny boat, like a bird on the wing …’ And if you were to have to get to the Island of Skye, then you’d have to fly OVER THE SEA. Unless I’m missing something.
3 Tom struck, taking out President after first of Neocons passed judgement
PRONOUNCED
I only know from crosswords rather than personal experience that ‘Tom’ is a slang word for ‘prostitute’ or PRO. Then it’s NOUNCED. Which is POUNCED taking out P for ‘President’ and replacing it with N for the first letter of ‘Neocons’. A bit too convoluted for my liking.
4 It’s a flipping fizzy drink
ASTI
(ITSA)* ASTI, LAMBRUSCO … plenty of fizz in this puzzle.
5 “Dead meat” head of Mafia admitted
NUMB
An insertion of M for the first letter of ‘Mafia’ in NUB. That’s the nub/meat of the problem.
6 Victim’s mute, withholding something obscene
SMUT
Hidden in victimS MUTe.
7 After a time skating I left without delay
AT ONCE
A charade of A, T and ON [I]CE.
14 War correspondent sees medic in rising river
EMBED
An insertion of MB for ‘doctor’ in DEE reversed.
15 Spy charmed rogue elephants?
PACHYDERMS
(SPY CHARMED)*
16 Several like this one argue with no heart
CROSSWORDS
We’ve had SOLVERS, now we’ve got CROSSWORDS. We must be in Cruciverbiland. CROSS[S]WORDS.
20 What paracetamol can do for an ache
DULL PAIN
A dd.
22 Not just brunette for example?
UNFAIR
A cd cum dd.
25 Such a drink provides fewer calories to burn, reportedly
LITE
I think this is a homophone (‘reportedly’) of LIGHT. But I could be wrong.
26 Cut speed
CLIP
Another dd.
27 Abnormal lung holds back invalid
NULL
Hidden reversed in abnormaL LUNg.
A fine dayboo from Bucko – thank you to him or her for this one.
Quite a pleasant, relatively easy puzzle. I thought there must be a NINA because the grid looked so bizarre, having long columns of unchecked squares, but I can’t see anything.
I think air in 2d is being used in its meaning ‘song’, from which you have quoted the words. Chambers seems to imply that air refers to the tune or melody rather than the words, but I’m sure crossword licence allows its use as song and Collins mentions ‘vocal’ in its definition.
I too was looking for a Nina round the outside.
Morning Pierre, and welcome Bucko, whoe’er you may be.
FWIW my introduction to that use of tom in 3d was in the Frost novels of R D Wingfield (much better than the sanitised TV versions, good though David Jason (75 today) is).
Of course, Duncan. Criticism of the clue withdrawn.
Bit weak really, like one of those Guardian puzzles where the compiler sheepishly hopes you’ll go along with his or her ideas. 29 is funny however, I liked that one.
Are there any &lits here Pierre?
😀
I’ll take the fifth on that one, hedgehoggy.
Very refreshing to meet the mind of a new setter. Thanks to both.
A couple of minor points on the blog. In 13, I don’t think there is anything whimsical here. It’s just a charade of ex + pec + ted. For 18, you could interpret solid as an adjective, which would bring it closer to cubic.
I thought 2 was a little weak as well and was reluctant to put it in but there didn’t seem any alternative.
Thanks, Neal. Your parsing of UNEXPECTED is right, for sure. As Heather says, just me getting my head around the mindset of a new setter. Might still try to introduce the word PECTED to the English language, though …
Thanks Bucko for an enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks Pierre, you’re busy today! I’ve heard of embedded journalists but I didn’t realise that EMBED could be used as a noun.
I did like the MISTRIAL.
It is always nice to see a new setter given a chance and I quite enjoyed this one. I trusted the wordplay for EMBED because I don’t recall ever having come across its “war correspondent” definition before. The CLIP/MISTRIAL crossers were my last ones in, and I parsed CUBIC and UNEXPECTED the same way as NealH@8.
Thanks Bucko and Pierre.
25dn: I think the definition should be all of “Such a drink provides fewer calories”: Chambers 2008 gives lite¹ with that meaning and etymology “Advertising simplification of light²“. Then there is of course a homophone of one of the meanings of light¹.
Robi@10 re 14dn: I have looked at the dictionaries within easy reach. The meaning of EMBED as a noun is in Chambers 2008, but not in Chambers 1988 or Collins 2000. I expect it is in more recent editions of Collins as well.
(The numbering of light¹ and light² is common to all three dictionaries that I have cited.)
Is it really fair to define it like that, though? Who has ever heard of that meaning?
Many thanks to Bucko for a very entertaining puzzle – yes, a little on the easy side of the spectrum but by no means a total pushover. The nounal meaning of EMBED is in the new Collins so it was nice to learn something new today.
2d: “…..onward the sailors cry, over the sea to Skye”. It helps to know this glorious song in full
I missed out “.. Carry the lad that’s born to be king…”
Is your surname Stuart, Leon W? Are you by any chance related?
Despite our brains being somewhat befuddled with colds, we finished this quite quickly.
Some smiles along the way but we didn’t like 2d particularly.
However, welcome to the Indy, Bucko. We look forward to your next puzzle.
Thanks Pierre.
Agreed with everyone who is welcoming Bucko. I thought this was very nice. I’d never heard of embed as a war correspondent, but the wordplay meant it could hardly be anything else.
The unchecked letters round the sides cried out Nina, especially since most of the letters as I filled in the grid seemed to make words. But no apparently.