Donk’s style is certainly different and this puzzle was no exception. With only four entries during my first pass through the clues I thought I was going to struggle to complete the grid but eventually everything fell into place …
… well sort of as there is one clue (10ac) where I’ve been unable to parse the wordplay to my satisfaction and I would welcome alternative views regarding some other clues, particularly 14dn, 16/2 and 23dn.
Across
9 Left by half-time – isn’t describing complaint (7)
AILMENT – AINT (isn’t) around (describing) L (left) [ti]ME (half-time)
10 Very poor rep giving address (7)
ORATING – is it that a ‘zero rating’ would indicate a very poor reputation?
11 Stuff to go shortly (2,1,6,2)
DO A NUMBER ON – DO A NUMBER ON[e] (to go shortly)
12 Turn over, providing sticky stuff (3)
GOO – GO (turn) O (over)
13 Where we developed computerised harbours (5)
UTERI – hidden in (harbours) ‘compUTERIsed’
14 Is loner – he’s done laps here? (9)
SHORELINE – an anagram (‘s done) of IS LONER HE
15 Polish provided German city with rejected bits (7)
FINESSE – IF (provided) ESSEN (German city) with both parts reversed (with rejected bits)
17 Loses light vessel – send out for cover (7)
DARKENS – an anagram (out) of SEND around (for cover) ARK (vessel)
20 From spring, private club for swingers closes (9)
DOWNRIVER – DRIVER (club for swingers) around (closes) OWN (private)
22 Animal spells user’s start of password out (5)
OTTER – [p]OTTER (spells user’s start of password out)
24 Eggs on various athletes, only those coming first (3)
OVA – O[n] V[arious] A[thletes] (on various athletes, only those coming first)
25 Give likable rogue local tart (7,4)
VILLAGE BIKE – an anagram (rogue) of GIVE LIKABLE
27 Pointer, originally – sailor’s at sea? (7)
POLARIS – P[ointer] (pointer, originally) plus an anagram (‘s at sea) of SAILOR – &lit
28 Checks instructions for putting siren together (5,2)
REINS IN – to make ‘siren’ you need to put RE IN SIN
Down
1 Ready for bar, taps unopened winter warmer (8)
HANDCUFF – H AND C (taps) [m]UFF (unopened winter warmer)
3 Peaches belong to BBC (note flies) (8)
BEAUTIES – BE AU[n]TIES (belong to BBC (note flies))
4 Try giving potty up (4)
STAB – BATS (potty) reversed (up)
5 See red or, unfortunately, getting ASBO? (5,5)
COURT ORDER – COURT (see) plus an anagram (unfortunately) of RED OR
6 Snack offered by second actor who’s terminated (6)
SARNIE – S (second) ARNIE (actor who’s terminated)
7 Ding-dong point of view? (8)
RINGSIDE – RING (ding-dong) SIDE (point of view) – &lit
8 I say heading north and not inside is neglect (6)
IGNORE – I plus NOR (and not) in (inside) EG (say) reversed (heading north)
14 Fluid levels see soldier initially revealing guns? (10)
SLEEVELESS – an anagram (fluid) of LEVELS SEE plus S[oldier] (soldier initially) – I assume that to obtain the actual definition we need to equate ‘guns’ with ‘arms’, which is perhaps a step to far.
16/2 5 u-turning, eunuch’s plea (3,5,6)
NEW BALLS PLEASE – double def. – but I don’t see the relevance of ‘u-turning’.
18 Mounted safer horse, so I heard (drunk, too!), in old country (8)
RHODESIA – a homophone (so I heard) of ‘rode easier’ (mounted safer horse) with the ‘drunk too’ indicating a modification to the pronunciation of the second part.
19 Constable’s superior genes – art’s extraordinary (8)
SERGEANT – an anagram (‘s extraordinary) of GENES ART
20 Slack taken up by poor Donk to some degree (6)
DROOPY – a hidden (to some degree) reversal (taken up) in ‘bY POOR Donk’
21 Constantly opens up about respect (6)
REVERE – EVER (constantly) in (opens up) RE (about)
23 What’s ending with exhibitionist who’s pickled? (6)
THIRST – [wha]T (what’s ending) HIRST (exhibitionist who’s pickled) – I assume that this is intended to be an &lit but, if so, it doesn’t work for me.
26 Indian city Upper Sixth vacates (4)
AGRA – [vi]AGRA (Upper Sixth vacates)
16/2 – maybe it’s that a eunuch would have had balls to start with, and this reverses the decision to cut em off
23 – no idea either
18d – I think the ‘drunk, too’ refers to an anagram of ‘so I Heard’
I loved the naughtiness and the wit of this puzzle- thought 26 and 6 were hilarious. Long live Donk!
Re 14D, “guns” is an informal term for biceps.
23D I assume is T + HIRST, the latter being someone who has (who’s) pickled ie preserved animals (sheep/cow) in his so-called art.
Agree with @1Paul A about the reason for new balls being required, can’t get the wordplay quite.
11A particularly funny.
Thanks to Donk and Gaufrid.
Even though I have a couple of quibbles I still found this a delight to solve and it produced quite a few smiles along the way, particularly 11ac.
Querulous@3 beat me to it with his guns=biceps comment, although I tend to think of it as an Americanism.
gwep@4 – yes, that’s the wordplay for 23dn as Gaufrid has already pointed out, but what’s the definition? I agree with Gaufrid that it seems to be an &lit that doesn’t work. This was my LOI.
16/2 – although it made me laugh once I got it I agree that the “u-turn” element doesn’t quite work. Do eunuchs get castrated voluntarily?
Hirst’s work is surely art, but I don’t understand the clue, apart from its obvious elements. Will Donk explain?
I took 23D to mean that someone who’s pickled (drunk) would have ended their thirst.
In 23d the “THIRST” is “What has ended” when the exhibitionist gets drunk.
I am probably alone but I am getting more than a bit bored with the almost obligatory lavatorial clues. And while I’m at it, 25a is certainly distasteful with the implication that a ‘local tart’ is property to be passed round while a man involved is simply a ‘rogue’.
Got off to a bad start on this when I put tar for 12 (rat = turn reversed, so it made some kind of sense). I eventually finished it, but found it quite a struggle – a few obscure things baffled me like the use of guns in 14. Overall it was quite enjoyable if occasionally politically incorrect (like in 25).
Thanks Donk, usual tough and inventive self.
Thanks Gaufrid. In response to Andy B @5, some people do choose to get castrated as part of gender reassignment but regret it later. Perhaps that is the ‘u-turning,’ although I think the clue would have been fine without it.
I don’t think most people would know the slang VILLAGE BIKE. Could’ve use ‘village fete’ with ‘Give leaflet out as local treat’ or some such.
I liked DO A NUMBER ON, DARKENS, DOWNRIVER & SLEEVELESS
Stonking donking again, maybe I’m just getting old but I’m agreeing with sidey about some of it.
Thanks Gaufrid for the blog, explained a couple I was struggling to understand.
Isn’t the u-turning signifying n for new? I enjoyed it and I like a bit of lavatorial humour. Nice one Donk and Gaufrid.
I managed this one, which I didn’t do with the last couple of Donk puzzles. He does have a very particular style, but once you’re on the wavelength then there is much to enjoy. Agree with some of the quibbles here, though. DO NUMBER ON was the best clue in the crossword, in my opinion. Each to his own.
Thanks both.
Isn’t 16/2 simply that a u-turning eunuch is one who doesn’t want to remain so, so makes the request for new tackle? One happy to remain so would not make this plea.
On second thoughts, I think Tramp’s explanation @12 is better. Lowercase u turned through 180 degrees becomes n, providing NEW, and the rest is “eunuch’s plea”.
Good evening everyone!
Firstly, thanks for the brilliantly clear review, Gaufrid.
Also thank you to everyone for commenting. I think some of the quibbles are very fair (thank you for being so polite!).
I’d certainly rewrite 23d given the response – the idea for the clue was that the surface would suggest someone’s thirst for a few beers had been ended.
For 25a, I can only apologise to anyone who was offended – I thought the surface would be read with the ‘pastry’ meaning, with misdirection in the definition. I didn’t intend for the answer to be subbed back into the clue. Sorry!
I think that ‘u-turning’ to ‘n’ in 16/2 would be fair, but extending that to ‘new’ is a step too far for me. I was hoping it would be interpreted the way most people have suggested i.e. someone wanting to reverse their decision.
All the best,
Donk
Phew! That was a good workout – but in some ways too much the feeling of being exactly that – a workout, rather than an entertainment. Maybe a bit OTT in some respects. The parts were great but the whole added up to a little less than their sum.
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23d WP as per gwep @ #4
Def as per sidey @ #8
Aside from “exhibitionist” being more specific than is strictly needed (and that’s not a fault in itself) it’s a perfect &lit.
I thought that one of the wittiest clues of the puzzle – and referring to Hirst as an exhibitionist is both neatly cryptic and avoids the question of whether one considers him to be an artist or a charlatan.
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16d-2a – the comma is deceptive (but fair) – obviously we have to read it as the eunuch being the one who is U-turning – ie changing his mind about being a eunuch – which suggests that he must have become one voluntarily. Maybe the image is more convincing without that – he just doesn’t want to be a eunuch any more. It works but for my money omitting “U-turning” makes it work better . that would be my preference – for that reason – not simply for brevity as an aim in itself.
Smut I usually like but not this amount – it needs to be used like pepper – just a sprinkling here and there. Too much and it becomes distasteful for some – waggish for others.
Some great clues in there though.
Many thanks to S&B.
As we’re out of the country, we tackled this on Crossword Solver. We’d seen it was a Donk from the download of the paper, and completed the puzzle rather more quickly than expected – and without the trademarks we expect from Donk. It was only when we came to 225 yesterday that we realised that the puzzle we’d solved was today’s!!
So, we then tackled the ‘right’ puzzle, which we didn’t finish till this morning.
We found it a bit of a mixed bag – there were some classic Donks, but we felt some of the clues didn’t quite work, as others have said.
We admire the originality of Donk’s clueing though.
Joyce misread the anagram for 25ac and was hoping that there was a VILLAGE BAKE!
Thanks to Donk but a special thank you to Gaufrid. If we had been at home, we would have blogged this one.