Cryptic Crossword #17 [Completed]

alexaherself said:

Ah yes ... this is true, actually (I didn't notice either at the time). One gets used to seeing " 's " with possessive connotation in the cryptic sense but as an abbreviation for "is", really, and doesn't question the grammar?

Click to expand...

Making the grammar match in the cryptic is one of the hardest things for me - there are some schools of thought that say it doesn't matter, and in some cases there is a break between def and wordplay - but I'm trying to learn the strictest rules first so I can them break them if I want to.

alexaherself said:

40 across is very mysterious: it looks like zinc briefs, or chic greens, or something equally unusual?

PS ... we've done "sworn enemy", too.

Click to expand...

Ah, good catch on both fronts - as you no doubt knew, I dropped a bit of a clanger on the spelling of Van Dyck. All rectified now (the reason for this was I had a Dick Van Dyke clue at first and couldn't get the chap out of me head - or it was just bad spelling).

ajaye said:

40ac DISC BRAKES
they help stop (def) loose backsides (disc) having runs (???)
47dn PARRY
just cos it = advance

Click to expand...

Winner on the first and wide on the second.


40a - DISC BRAKES (anagram)

They help stop loose backsides having runs (4,6)

they help stop - DEF
loose - ANAGRIND
backsides - FODDER
having - INCLUDICATOR
runs - R

(BACKSIDES+R*)

rseldon said:

54 across: AWARD (medal = def, battle = WAR, active duty = AD, so battle during active duty = AWARD)

Click to expand...

Perfectly parsed, RS!

alexaherself said:

50 down: hider (cruciverbalist; fish = ide; put in = inserticator; empty = first and letters of; hamper = fodder for H and R)
48 across: blowtorch (heater; Bishop = B, depressed = low; church could be RC, Roman Catholic?; around = surroundicator; by = positional; so “rust” = “toh”??)
48 down: beton (French concrete; sounds like “bet on”)

Click to expand...

Nice moves, Alexa!

48a - BLOWTORCH (reversal charade)

Bishop depressed by rust around church heater? (9)

bishop - B
deprssed - LOW
by - posicator
rust - ROT
around - REVERSICATOR
church - CH
heater? - DEF

(B)(LOW)(TOR<)(CH)

rseldon said:

Nice, Alexa! 48 across was driving me nuts.

38d: HEAT WAVE was a Motown song.

Click to expand...

Nicely done, RS!

The clue is a bit of a weak DD - Motown release / a hot and sultry number.

ajaye said:

41dn IRE
report (RE) of one (I) who looks angry (def) not sure how the i gets before the re

Click to expand...

Winner! - and apologies for the error on this clue. Obviously it's anger = ire, not angry and the cue should've been rewritten. Doh.




Thanks to everyone who took part, new and old, armchair and actual.

I'll post Cryptic # 18 on July, 1st - in the meantime, why not try setting one yourself? If you don't have the right crossword software, let me know and we can work something out where I populate a grid for you and you clue it.

As usual, I'll put the full parsings shortly. If you spotted an error in a clue or felt it didn't work somehow or wasn't fair, please let me know in thread or by PM as it's the only way I'll get better.

alexaherself said:

I did wonder about "ire". (Why is "RE" "report"?).

Very nice crossword, this month. Well done to all, and many thanks indeed to Harry.

Click to expand...

Cheers Alexa.

'Report of' is a homophonicator for 'one who looks':

"EYER" / IRE

rseldon said:

Thanks, Harry! Good stuff. I'll be back for the next one.

Click to expand...

Cheers RS, and glad to hear you'll be back next month.

Here be the parsings - feel free to comment on anything you thought didn't work or was unfair.


ACROSS


1a - DOME LIGHT (weak semi&lit)

He got mild shocks fitting this (4,5)

he got mild - FODDER
shocks - anagrind
fitting this - DEF

(HEGOTMILD*)



6a - CASTOR SUGAR (anagram)

What one may sprinkle on a grass court in need of repair (6,5)

what one may sprinkle on - DEF
a grass court - FODDER
in need of repair - ANAGRIND

(AGRASSCOURT*)



12a - ASHEN (charade)

When bride-to-be may become livid (5)

when - AS
bride-to-be - HEN
may become - DEFINICATOR
livid - DEF

(AS)(HEN)



13a - ARSENIC (subtraction charade)

Not entirely pleasant after bottom releases toxin (7)

not entirely - tailicator
pleasant - NICE
after - POSICATOR
bottom - ARSE
releases - DEFINICATOR
toxin - DEF

(ARSE)(NIC(-e)



14a - FAN MAIL (charade)

Letter from obsessive lover with man trouble (3,4)

letter from obsessive - DEF
lover - FAN
with - posicator
man - M
trouble - AIL

(FAN)(M)(AIL)



15a - ALTIMETER (surround)

Instrument to measure change over time (9)

instrument to measure - DEF
change - ALTER
over - SURROUNDICATOR
time - TIME

(AL(TIME)TER)



16a - FLEET AIR ARM (anagram surround)

Navy fliers set off fire alarm over Egypt (5,3,3)

navy fliers - DEF
set off - ANAGRIND
fire alarm - FODDER
egypt - ET

(FIR(ET)EALARM*)



18a - CHAOS (letter switch)

Disorder as church replaces leadership of country (5)

disorder - DEF
as - EQUIVICATOR
church - CH
replaces leadership in - HEAD SWITCHICATOR
country - LAOS

(-l(+CH)AOS)



19a - TEN TO SEVEN (cod mathematical)

[50 / 5] + [2 - w] + [3.50 x 2] = 18.50 (3,2,5)

50 / 5 - TEN
+ - POSICATOR
2 - TWO
- - SUBTRACTICATOR
w - FODDER (and 2.5 for the sake of the sum)
+ - POSICATOR
3.50 x 2 - SEVEN
= - DEFINICATOR
18.50 - DEF

(TEN)(T(-w)O)(SEVEN)



21a - USED (initialism)

Second-hand uranium seems extremely dangerous at first (4)

second-hand - DEF
uranium seems extremely dangerous - FODDER
at first - HEADICATOR

(U)(S)(E)(D)



24a - ANTE (charade)

What may be raised by worker with energy (4)

what may be raised - DEF
by - WORDPLAYICATOR
worker - ANT
with - POSICATOR
energy - E

(ANT)(E)



26a - PRIME MOVER (anagram surround)

River Po flowing over memorial for God (5,5)

river po - FODDER
flowing - ANAGRIND
over - SURROUNDICATOR
memorial - MEM
for - DEFINICATOR
god - DEF

(RIV(MEM)ERPO*)

Further Info:

I'm not 100% sure that flowing is a fair anagrind.



29a - PEARL (charade)

One may be cultured like prince and nobleman (5)

one may be cultured - DEF
like - EQUIVICATOR
prince - P
and - link
nobleman - EARL

(P)(EARL)



30a - PLOUGH INTO (anagram)

Badly hoping lout gets hit? (6,4)

badly - ANAGRIND
hoping lout - FODDER
gets - DEFINICATOR
hit - DEF

(HOPINGLOUT*)



34a - ENID BLYTON (anagram)

Children's writer upset tiny blonde (4,6)

children's writer - DEF
upset - ANAGRIND
tiny blond - FODDER

(TINYBLONDE*)



35a - SHRUB (charade)

Quiet massage results in hardy low woody (5)

quiet - SH
massage - RUB
results in - DEFINICATOR
hardy low woody - DEF

(SH)(RUB)



36a - HIGHWAYMAN (surround)

Tall chap tackling street thief (10)

tall - HIGH
chap - MAN
tackling - SURROUNDICATOR
street - WAY
thief - DEF

(HIGH)(WAY)(MAN)



37a - DELI (charade)

Shop priest who's stalking daughter (4)

shop - DEF
priest - ELI
who's stalking - POSICATOR
daughter - D

(D)(ELI)



39a - OMEN (double definition)

Sign or placard held by radical feminist? (4)

sign - DEF
or - EQUIVICATOR
placard help by radical feminist? - DEF

(0 MEN)



40a - DISC BRAKES (anagram)

They help stop loose backsides having runs (4,6)

they help stop - DEF
loose - ANAGRIND
backsides - FODDER
having - INCLUDICATOR
runs - R

(BACKSIDES+R*)



46a - THE PALEFACE (anagram)

High fee at chapel to see film (3,8)

high - ANAGRIND
fee at chapel - FODDER
to see - DEFINICATOR
film - DEF

(FEEATCHAPEL*)



48a - BLOWTORCH (reversal charade)

Bishop depressed by rust around church heater? (9)

bishop - B
deprssed - LOW
by - posicator
rust - ROT
around - REVERSICATOR
church - CH
heater? - DEF

(B)(LOW)(TOR<)(CH)



51a - BARISTA (homophone insertion reverse)

Is tea, say, in a pub's backfiring coffee-maker (7)

is - IS
tea - FODDER
say - HOMOPHONICATOR
in - INSERTION
a - A
pub - BAR
backfiring - REVERSICATOR
coffe-maker - DEF

(BAR(IS"T")A<)



53a - EJECTED (subtraction)

Not initially sad to have been chucked out of a DB7 thus? (7)

not initially - HEADICATOR
sad - DEJECTED
to have been chucked out of a DB7 thus? - DEF

(-d(EJECTED)

Further Info:

I'm not entirely the sure the def works here - I think, maybe, it needs to be 'how one has left' or some such. I dunno.



54a - AWARD (insertion)

Medal received in battle during active duty (5)

medal - DEF
recieved in - WORDPLAYICATOR
battle - WAR
during - INSERTICATOR
active duty - AD

(A(WAR)D)



55a - RAY BRADBURY (charade)

Two men lay to rest a Sci-fi Author (3,8)

two men - RAY BRAD
lay to rest - BURY
a sci-fi author - DEF

(RAY)(BRAD)(BURY)



56a - NET TENDER (charade)

Ship's nurse put on a type of stocking (3,6)

ship - DEF
nurse - TENDER
put on - POSICATOR
a type of stocking - DEF

(NET)(TENDER)




DOWN




1d - DRAMA (container)

Lawyer hosting hit TV show? (5)

lawyer - DA
hosting - containicator
hit - RAM
TV show? - DEF

(D(RAM)A)


2d - MAHATMA (insertion)

Holy leader in cardinal's office visiting Mother

Holy leader - DEF
in - WORPLAYICATOR
cardinal's office - HAT (the office is named after the hat they wear)
visiting - INSERTICATOR
mother - MAMA

(MA(HAT)MA)


3d - LAND MASS (insertion)

Girl with millions invested in Africa? (4,4)

girl - LASS
with - AND
millions - M
invested in - INSERTICATOR
africa? - DEF

(L(AND)(M)ASS)



4d - GIANT (charade)

Patagonian soldiers (5)

Patagonian - DEF
soldiers - GI & ANT

(GI)(ANT)



5d - TASER (cryptic)

It may be the weapon of choice for shock troops (5)

a taser is electric etc



6d - CAN OF WORMS (double definition)

Mess that an angler may have had a hand in (3,2,5)

mess - DEF
that an angler may have had a hand in - DEF



7d - SECRETE (charade)

Private drug stash (7)

private - SECRET
drug - E
stash - DEF

(SECRET)(E)



8d - OAF (cockney homophone)

Idiot shouting out an expletive in Bow (3)

idiot - DEF
shouting out - HOMOPHONICATOR
an expletive - OATH
in Bow - COCKNEYFIER

(OAF/OATH)



9d - SINK IN (hidden)

Register with group of mercenaries in Kinshasa (4,2)

register with - DEF
group of - HIDDENICATOR
mercenaries in Kinshasa - FODDER

(mercenarie(SINKIN)shasa)



11d - ROLE MODEL (container)

Catalogue with pull-out European style guide (4,5)

catalogue - ROLL
with pull-out - CONTAINICATOR
european - E
style - MODE
guide - DEF

(ROL(E)(MODE)L)



17d - TIE (odd/even)

Striker missing the odd match (3)

striker - FODDER
missing the odd - ODD SUBTRACTICATOR
math - DEF

(s(T)r(I)k(E)r)



18d - CLAMP (charade)

Vice-President supports US dollar (5)

vice - DEF
president - P
supports - POSICATOR
us dollor - CLAM

(CLAM)(P)



19a - TARNISH (letter switch)

Dull girl dumped by trim model for replacement (7)

dull - DEF
girl - G
dumped by - 1st PART OF LETTER SWITCH
trim - GARNISH
model - T
for replacement - 2nd PART OF LETTER SWITCH

(-g(+T)ARNISH)



20d - NAME TAG (surround)

Moan about a police force's identification method (4,3)

moan - NAG
about - SURROUNDICATOR
a - A
police force - MET
identification method - DEF

(N(A)(MET)AG)



22d - SMARTIE (double definition)

A sweet nerd (7)

a sweet - DEF (singular)
nerd - DEF



23d - OPAL (double definition)

One that's a little bit precious may be without a friend? (4)

one that's a little bit precious - DEF
may be without a friend? - DEF

(0 PAL)



25d - TOO TRUE (double definition)

Exactly what one says when agreeing? (3,4)

exactly - DEF
what one says when agreeing? - DEF



27d - VAN DYCK (charade homophone)

Artist in vehicle stuck on dam, we hear (3,4)

artist - DEF
in - WORPDLAYICATOR
vehicle - VAN
stuck on - POSICATOR
dam - DYKE
we hear - HOMOPHONICATOR

(VAN)("DYCK")



28d - RED BASS (charade)

Snapper embarrassed by bishop's bottom in Florida (3,4)

snapper - DEF
embarrassed - RED
by - POSICATOR
bishop - B
bottom - ASS
in Florida - AMERICANICATOR

(RED)(B)(ASS)



31d - GOBI (semi &lit)

Mouth needs a drop of drink here? (4)

mouth - GOB
needs - INCLUDICATOR
a drop to - A BIT INDICATOR
drink - FODDER
here? - DEF

(GOB)(I)



33d - NOISE (&lit)

What's made by one piercing hooter? (5)

What's made by - DEF (when taken as a whole)
one - I
piercing - INSERTICATOR
hooter - NOSE

(NO(I)(SE)



34d - SWORN ENEMY (anagram)

My new snore annoyed the wife! (5,5)

my new snore - FODDER
annoyed - ANAGRIND
the wife! - DEF

(MYNEWSNORE*)



35d - SPORTS BAR (insertion charade)

Left on board without somewhere to watch the game (6,3)

left - PORT
on board - INSERTION INTO SS
without - BAR
somewhere to watch the game - DEF

(S(PORT)S)(BAR)



38d - HEAT WAVE (double definition)

Motown release a hot and sultry number (4,4)

motown release - DEF
a hot and sultry number - DEF



41d - IRE (homophone)

Report of one who looks angry (3)

report of - HOMOPHONICTOR
one who looks - EYER
angry - DEF

("IRE")

Further info:

Clanger dropped on this one - angry obviously doesn't = IRE. Apologies.



42d - CHATEAU (charade)

Gas and water supplying large home (7)

gas - CHAT
and - link
water - EAU
supplying - DEFINICATOR
large home - DEF

(CHAT)(EAU)



45d - CAESAR (hidden reverse)

Italian leader set to erase accounts if overthrown (6)

italian leader - DEF
set to - hiddenicator
erase accounts - FOODER
if overthrown - reversicator

(e(RASEAC<)counts)

Further Info:

Bit of a hoo-ha as to whether one can call Rome Italy - as you may imagine, I came down on the 'yes, you can' side (especially as it helped with a Berlusconi surface).



47d - EARLY (subtraction)

Capital held back from annual advance (5)

capital held back from - HEADICATOR
annual - YEARLY
advance - DEF

(-y(EARLY)



48d - BETON (charade)

Place wager for fixer in France (5)

place wager - BET ON
for - DEFINICATOR
fixer - DEF
in france - FRENCHICATOR

(BETON)



49d - ON-DIT (surround)

Rumour about duke's drunk sex (2-3)

rumour - DEF
about - FISRT PART OF SURROUND INSTRUCTION
duke - D
's - IS (2nd PART OF SURROUND INSTRUCTION)
drunk - ON
sex - IT

(ON)(D)(IT)



50d - HIDER (insertion vacation)

Fish put in empty hamper by cruciverbalist? (5)

fish - IDE
put in - INSERTICATOR
empty - VACATICATOR
by - DEFINICATOR
cruciverbalist? - DEF

(H(-ampe)(IDE)R)



52d - AID (subtraction)

Topless spinster provides relief (3)

topless - HEADICATOR
spinster - MAID
provides - DEFINICATOR
relief - DEF

(-m(AID)


That's all folks - next XWD up on July, 1st.