The usual software tool I use to blog is down today so please bear with me on this one. Also apologies for the late post, as I was traveling and solved this in-flight. Not sure how this will turn out in the blog so do ignore any formatting issues too.
Maybe I get excited too easily but I absolutely enjoyed this delightful Chalmie teaser from start to finish, with hardly any clue that didnt make me go “Awesome!!”.
My day began like any other regular day but in between had an anomalous peak of crossword-solving ecstasy. I have several favorite clues so like an earlier crossword I blogged, invite readers to spot theirs.
FF: 10++ DD: 9
ACROSS:
1A: MILKY WAY [ Stars the sort to interrupt trite song (5,3) ]
ILK (sort) interrupting MY WAY (trite song)
5,24A: TOFFEE CRISP [ Officer Pets awkward 18 (6,5) ]
Anagram of OFFICER PETS. The answer refers to the clue for 18d.
9A: LAMBASTE: Severely criticize meat consumed over the beginning of spring (8)
LAMB (meat) [ ATE (consumed) over S (beginning of Spring) ]
10A: ESCAPE: Avoid energy limit in the Kent area (6)
E (energy) [ CAP (limit) in SE (Kent area, London) ]
12A: BOOST: Shows disapproval of temperature increase (5)
BOOS (shows disapproval) T (temperature)
13A: PLACEMENT: Something in range to the west to fix location (9)
PLA ( Range = ALPS. Something in range is ALP – singular; going west is = reverse in an across clue) CEMENT (fix)
14A: BOUNTY: Superior books in child’s reward
[ U (superior) NT (books) ] in BOY (child)
16A: SURGEON: Scottish politician ignores model operator (7)
StURGEON (Scottish politician, ref Nicola Sturgeon, without T {first car model, Ford})
DOWN
1d: MALIBU : Country to purchase endless drink (6)
MALI (country) BUy (purchase, endless)
2d: LIMNOLOGY: Water science record only I’m confused about (9)
Anagram of ONLY IM around LOG (record)
3d: YEAST: Beer ingredient still contaminated with Arsenic (5)
YET (still) containing AS (Arsenic)
4d: AUTOPSY: Report on dead spy found mutilated under car (7)
PSY (Anagram of SPY) under (in a down clue) AUTO (car)
6d: OBSTETRIC: Is Corbett worried about caring for mother (9)
Anagram of IS CORBETT
7d: FLAKE : Learner overwhelmed by artificial bit of snow (5)
L (learner) overwhelmed by FAKE (artificial)
8d: EVENTING: Letting off steam online about horse trials? (8)
VENTING (letting off steam) with E (online = electronic, as in E-mail) before (about)
11d: MARS: Beginning to send stuff up to reach planet (4)
S (beginning to Send) RAM ( stuff), all reversed
15d: NUMBSKULL: Idiot to give lidocaine to Kelvin before getting fully stripped (9)
NUMBS (~lidocaine) K (kelvin) ULL (fULLy, stripped, i.e. without first and last characters)
17d: ELIMINATE: Scrub Gone in Sixty seconds? The opposite after ending remake (9)
What a clue !! Gone = LATE. Sixty seconds = I MIN. Opposite implies sixty seconds in gone = L (IMIN) ATE. After E (ending of remakE)
18d: CANDY BAR: Treat Manx cat with brandy snaps (like many other items here) (5,3)
CAt ( A Manx cat is tail-less, so without last character) NDY BAR (anagram of BRANDY) – so very true – the latter part, of several treats in this puzzle (both literally and metaphorically). I counted 12 in the clues – starting with 1a.
20d: LION : Pound thats charged for a cat (4)
L (pound) ION (~thats charged)
21d: PENGUIN: Writer getting 14 shillings for emperor (7)
Another inventive clue!! Writer = PEN. In the olden days, 1 Guinea in currency was worth 21 Shillings. Therfore 14 Shillings is worth 2/3rds of a Guinea which GUINea.
22d: ELVERS: Young swimmers which hunt Santa’s assistants (6)
Could use some help here. The clue itself refers to young eels. Santa’s assistants are ELVES. How is the R parsed?
25d: TOPIC: Subject headings for talk on policing incite controversy (5)
Starting characters of “..Talk On Policing Incite Controversy.”
Since the blog is still in progress, I’ll just thank Turbolegs for the lovely compliment in the introduction and take this early opportunity to draw FT solvers’ attention to my vanity site, which you can reach by clicking on my name in this comment. It doesn’t yet include any Chalmie puzzles because I’m only a recent recruit and the cooling-off period before one can republish the FT’s stuff hasn’t really expired yet. But it does include most of the other puzzles I’ve had published under other names until near the end of last year, and all my unpublished puzzles which are more than a year old. So that’s a couple of hundred. Enjoy, or not. It’s up to you.
A real fun puzzle, with a number of examples of 18 down (CANDY BAR) scattered around.
I don’t know if I got them all, but I spotted (in no particular order) MILKY WAY, TOFFEE CRISP, BOUNTY, MARS, PICNIC, PENGUIN, SNICKERS, FLAKE, TOPIC, BOOST, MALIBU, LION, RIPPLE and TWIRL.
Bravo, Chalmie!
Chalmie@1 – Thanks a ton !! This was thoroughly enjoyable. I will stop gushing now.
Tom@2 – Thanks for the list. I should have included that list but you have save the trouble for me!! 🙂
Cheers
TL
Thanks Chalmie and Turbolegs
22dn: Elvers hunt elves in the same way that rabbiters hunt rabbits.
Yesterday, in the Alchemi blog, I said that this setter was ‘quickly approaching my Top 10’.
Well, with tasty crosswords like this it will go even quicker!
But now it’s time for a Mars, or a Snickers, or a Bounty, ….. 🙂
I had just 4 clues left to do when I noticed the theme! My excuse is that I don’t like chocolate bars.
Thanks PG@4 for shedding light on 22dn.
Sil@5, I am inclined to agree !! 🙂
Cheers
Thanks Chalmie and Turbolegs
Nice puzzle. Caught on to the theme pretty early on, but lost on me a little bit since I didn’t know 6 of the 14 bars.
Good variety of devices – my favourite being the 14 shilling GUIN(ea). Last few in were PICNIC (hadn’t seen CNIC as commander in chief before), SURGEON (still learning UK pollies – but do think I now know more of them, than I do Aussie ones) and TWIRL (a clever clue).