A brilliant and superb puzzle from Wanderer today. I really enjoyed solving this every minute of the way, and while there are still a couple of clues that I need help parsing with, doesnt take anything away from the really nice afterglow of a good solve. Thanks Wanderer for an absolute treat today. There is a mini-theme around Russia / Russians but a quick googling didnt turn up anything significant related to today’s date – anybody with any ideas here?
Too many good clues to pick a favorite from. A magnificent collection of clues that were seemingly unsolvable before just a thin sliver of light unlocked the mystery behhind them. I hope I have got 28ac right – still needs to be parsed, am wondering if I have missed something obvious.
FF:10 DD:10
| Across | ||
| 1 | APPLET |
Fruit tree, originally a product of Java? (6)
APPLE (fruit) T (Tree, originally) |
| 5 | INVALIDS |
People convalescing at home? Girl’s brought round papers (8)
IN (at home) [ VAL’S (girl’s) brought around ID (papers) ] |
| 9 | STABLE |
Time wearing black is firmly established (6)
T (time) wearing SABLE (black) |
| 10 | ATHENIAN |
Greek advanced, followed by 13 (8)
A (advanced) THEN (followed) IAN (13, the answer to 13ac is SCOT, who could be an “Ian”) |
| 11 | ENTREPOT |
Peter, no tyrant, initially working in warehouse (8)
Anagram of PETER NO followed by T (Tyrant, initially) |
| 12 | MANCHU |
Member of old Chinese dynasty caught person cycling (6)
C (caught) HUMAN (person, cycling – meaning the last three letters become the first, in this clue) |
| 13 | SCOT |
Small bed for the Big Yin? (4)
S (small) COT (bed) – Had to google this after solving to confirm. Billy Connolly is a scottish comedian, popularly known as the Big Yin. |
| 15 | EX NIHILO |
Out of nothing, 1-0 fashioned with cross and Lineker’s only half- hearted header (2,6)
|
| 18 | STARGAZE |
Celebrity homosexual’s reported daydream? (8)
STAR (celebrity) GAZE (sounds like gay’s, homosexual’s) |
| 19 | NAVE |
Some position a vestry in this part of church (4)
Hidden in “.. positioN A VEstry..” |
| 21 | WEIGHT |
Significance of taking the wig off (6)
Anagram of THE WIG |
| 23 | RASPUTIN |
Peasant killed by Russian leader like 2 (8)
R (Russian leader) AS (like) PUTIN (2, answer to 2dn read as one word) |
| 25 | TIME BOMB |
One that’s set to go off with the enemy has to move very quickly (4,4)
TIME (enemy, from the phrase “The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time” – William Butler Yeats) BOMB (move quickly – British slang) |
| 26 | ASIMOV |
Version of bible having nameless apostle inserted by writer (6)
AV (version of bible – King James version, also known as the Authorized Version, or AV) having SIMOn (apostle, nameless i.e. without ‘n’) |
| 27 | SENTENCE |
Verdict transmitted with small change after loss of power (8)
SENT (transmitted) pENCE (small change, losing ‘p’ – power) |
| 28 | DIGEST |
Get set, prepared to resume with marked ease reportedly (6)
DIG (get) EST (anagram of SET) |
| Down | ||
| 2 | PUTIN |
Submit note about wordplay? On the contrary (3,2)
PUN (wordplay) about TI (note) [ instead of note about wordplay – on the contrary ] |
| 3 | LIBERATOR |
One who delivered head of Lavrentiy Beria, after slight shift to right (9)
L (head of Laverntiy) IBERA (anagram of BERIA – after slight shift) TO R (right) |
| 4 | TIE UPS |
Revamped site gets ahead in links (3-3)
TIES (anagram of SITE) gets UP (ahead) |
| 5 | IVAN THE TERRIBLE |
Former people’s champion? Perhaps, I haven’t the result (4,3,8)
Self referential – Anagram of IVAN THE (i.e. Terrible) gives I HAVEN’T. |
| 6 | VEHEMENT |
Keep hunks in check, being forceful (8)
HE-MEN (hunks) in VET (check) |
| 7 | LENIN |
Revolutionary Left? Number’s up (5)
L (left) ENIN (number = nine, up = reversed in a down clue) |
| 8 | DIAGHILEV |
Russian princess, turned evil hag (9)
DI (princess) follwed by anagram of EVIL HAG – (Sergei Diaghilev was a russian art critic). |
| 14 | CATHERINE |
Cruel act by female protagonist, heartless queen (9)
CAT (anagram of ACT) HERoINE (female protagonist, heartless) |
| 16 | HONOURING |
The FT’s popular in China’s Fragrant Harbour? Not half, and so fulfilling! (9)
[ OUR (FT’s) IN (popular) ] in HONG kong (fragrant harbour = Hong Kong, not half) |
| 17 | HAWTHORN |
Bush had briefed west? God, not at first (8)
HAd (briefed = shortened) W (west) THOR (god) N (Not, at first) |
| 20 | ISLAND |
No man of literature is so learned, oddly enough (6)
Odd letters of Is So LeArNeD ( from Meditation XVII of the Devotions upon Emergent Occassions by John Donne) |
| 22 | GREAT |
Greek acting in film as 14? (5)
GR (greek) [ A (acting) in E.T (film, by Steven Speilberg) ] – Referring to Catherine the Great, russian ruler. Answer to 14d is Catherine. |
| 24 | IRONS |
Clubs? They’re good for evenings out (5)
Cryptic reference to ironing i.e. evening things out. |
Thanks Turbolegs
15ac is an anagram of I O X LINE[ker’s] H[earted].
I think 28ac is DIG (get) plus an anagram (prepared) of SET with the definition ‘résumé’ (resume with marked ease reportedly).
I wanted 22d to be Greta (Garbo) playing Catherine, until I remembered she had actually played another Queen – Christina!
Not sure what ‘taking’ is doing 21a except to improve the surface reading.
But as Turbolegs said, a good challenge.
Thanks Gaufrid@1 for the help. DIGEST was devious!! 🙂
Hi Steven@2 – I went down the same path too ref Greta Garbo before cross refs ruled out this option. And also subsequently confirmed (out of sheer curiosity) that it was Dietrich in the screen adaptation.
Cheers
TL
Re 8 down: Though he is credited as having been an art critic, Diaghilev was better known as an impresario, and founder of the Ballets Russes.
A gorgeous puzzle. I got I THE T early on and sniffed a bit, because he’s such a frequent answer that clues for him take roughly 0.6 seconds to spot, but recanted once I saw who else was hanging around the grid.