Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie No 891 by Petitjean

When the seagulls follow the trawler

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

We don’t often come across Petitjean on a Tuesday, but this is one of his easier puzzles.

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Across

5a    Like seabird following trawler perhaps (6)
{ASTERN} – a two-letter preposition meaning like followed by a seabird gives, with an allusion to Eric Cantona, the position of a seabird relative to the trawler it might be following

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8a    To endlessly bellow lines is worthless ostentation (8)
{TRUMPERY} – start with a verb meaning to bellow like an elephant, drop the final T (endlessly) and add the two-letter abbreviation for train lines

9a    Little shopping arcade’s pound-off token (7)
{MINIMAL} – an adjective meaning small followed by an American-style shopping arcade without its final L (libra / pound off) – note that the definition is an adjective

10a    Pick holes in East London poetess’s work? (5)
{ERODE} – split as (‘2,3) this could be the work of a Cockney (East London) poet

11a    One may have bread on this diet and lapse into a mess (4,5)
{SIDE PLATE} – an anagram (into a mess) of DIET and LAPSE

13a    Awarded draw taking catch with runs levelled (8)
{SCREEDED} – a verb meaning awarded a place in the draw such that the best players do not meet in the early rounds around C(atch) and R(uns)

14a    Latest estimates making retrospective case for pest (6)
{TSETSE} – hidden (case for) and reversed (retrospective) in the clue

17a    Turn cold after a time (3)
{ACT} – C(old) after the A from the clue followed by T(ime)

19a    Greens may be more approachable given such support (3)
{TEE} – a cryptic definition of of a support used by a golfer

20a    A balloon to boot (2,4)
{AS WELL} – the A from the clue followed by a verb meaning to balloon

23a    Ancient hunter (3-5)
{OLD-TIMER} – a hunter is a type of watch that used to be word by gentlemen

26a    Wanting expression of gratitude spy protects his mysterious guru (9)
{MAHARISHI} – start with a famous female spy, drop (wanting) the two-letter expression of gratitude then insert an anagram (his mysterious) of HIS

28a    Did you ever mark articles in the past? (2,3)
{MY EYE} – M(ark) followed by two old-fashioned definite articles

29a    Come up with joke told at Edinburgh Fringe (7)
{GESTATE} – what sounds like (told) a joke followed by AT and the initial letter (fringe) of Edinburgh

30a    It’s not fair if Yahoo restricts web (8)
{BRUNETTE} – a darker (not fair) hair colour is derived by putting a yahoo or lout around (restricts) a web

31a    One who takes keen interest ignoring pawn to wrongfully seize queen (6)
{USURER} – someone who lends money at excessive rates of interest comes from a word meaning to wrongfully seize possession without (ignoring) the P(awn) followed by the usual cypher for the Queen

Down

1d    An engaging article on Sweden’s capital (6)
{ATHENS} – AN around (engaging) a definite article followed by the IVR code for Sweden

2d    Tittle-tattle unusual coming from us (7)
{RUMOURS} – a three-letter adjective meaning unusual or odd followed by a pronoun meaning coming from or belonging to us

Guess the connection!

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3d    Short-lived FM broadcast with days left (9)
{EPHEMERAL} – a word fragment that sounds like FM followed by a longish period of time (days, as in days of old) and L(eft)

4d    Gamekeeper’s case against river bird (6)
{GROUSE} – the outer letters (case) of GamekeepeR followed by a river

5d    In a nutshell what do I do given early start? Drink! (8)
{ANISETTE} – the A from the clue followed by the outer letters (shell) of NuT around a phrase meaning “I compile a crossword” (what do I, Petitjean, do?) and followed by the initial letter (start) of Early

6d    Hearing Chinese gang left for dead (5)
{TRIAL} – a legal hearing is derived from a Chinese gang by putting L(eft) in place of D(ead)

7d    One side of bread in toaster ruined in trial (4,4)
{ROAD TEST} – one side of breaD inside an anagram (ruined) of TOASTER

12d    Catch tiddler now and then (3)
{IDE} – a fish closely related to the chub (catch) comes from the even letters (now and then) of tIdDlEr

15d    Thought conveyed about new term (9)
{SENTIMENT} – a verb meaning conveyed around N(ew) and a term or period

16d    Bats see space and they take flight (8)
{ESCAPEES} – an anagram (bats) of SEE SPACE

18d    Shut up about loaf including soft crust (8)
{CLOISTER} – a verb meaning to shut up or confine comes from the single letter Latin abbreviation for about followed by a verb meaning to loaf about around the initial letter (crust) of S0ft – I would have thought that crust would indicate the outer letters not the initial letter

21d    Quite a lot of blood in new hospital drama (3)
{NOH} – the most common blood type inside N(ew) and H(ospital) gives a traditional Japanese style of drama

22d    Fancy man is French with yen for indulgence (7)
{AMNESTY} – an anagram (fancy) of MAN followed by the French for is and Y(en)

24d    ’54 English railway company’s insignia (6)
{LIVERY} – The Roman numerals for 54 followed by E(nglish) and R(ailwa)Y

25d    Jacket  that one may pull on and get ripped (6)
{REEFER} – two definitions – a short thick double-breasted jacket and a cigarette containing marijuana, the smoking (pulling on) of which may get one high or ripped

27d    Sickly Rita’s out of bed (5)
{ASTIR} – an anagram (sickly) of RITA’S

I’ll be back tomorrow with the regular puzzle as Scchua is on holiday.