NTSPP – 572 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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NTSPP – 572

A Puzzle by Radler

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

Many congratulations to Radler and his family – if you don’t know what I’m on about, have a look at the Nina to be found in the top and bottom rows of your solved grid. Not as difficult as many a Radler crossword, perhaps setter happiness makes for a more solver-friendly crossword

Across

9    Public pull off top (5)
OUTDO A way of saying public and a simple verb meaning pull off

10    Concerns about one in sixteen failing (9) 
ANXIETIES A (about) followed by (one) inserted into an anagram (failing) of SIXTEEN

11    Awful suit, unruly host knocked out bachelor (9) 
EXECRABLE An abbreviated business manager (suit) and an unruly gathering (host) with one of the abbreviations for Bachelor therein removed (knocked out)

12    Poor student expected no charge to enter (5) to
DUNCE The abbreviation for no charge inserted into a word meaning expected

13    Dishonourable Romeo and French student (5) 
CADET Some splendid sneakiness as at first sight you might imagine you’d need the letter represented by Romeo in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. What you need is a dishonourable Romeo and the French word for ‘and’

14    Educators expressed disapproval at institute interrupting examinations (9) 
TUTORIAL An expression of disapproval and an examination ‘interrupted’ by the abbreviation for Institute

16    Shackled by mispronunciation in order she’s bound to obey (3) 
NUN Hidden in (shackled by) misproNUNciation

17    Condemned character, it’s said she retained hope (7)
PANDORA – Homophones (it’s said) of synonyms for condemned and character

19    Vanity mirrors frightening monster, runs away (3)
EGO A reversal (mirrors) of a frightening monster without the R (runs away)

20    Superior hedges first to naturalise among large trees (9) 
OLEANDERS A superior ‘hedges’ or surrounds the first letter of Naturalise, the result then inserted in the abbreviation for outsize (large)

22    Sorrow over lost ways (5) 
PATHS Remove (lost) the abbreviation for Over from some sorrow

23    Matter closed before exposure (5) 
TOPIC A two-letter word meaning closed goes before an abbreviated photographic exposure

25    Most seductive when drunk – let’s live and love (9) 
LOVELIEST An anagram (when drunk) of LETS LIVE and O (love)

28    Relaxed now, regain tongue (9) 
NORWEGIAN An anagram (relaxed) of NOW REGAIN

29    Pick soft drug? (5)
ELITE With a hyphen after the first letter, this might describe a softer form of Ecstasy

Down

1    Ascending York Minster, employee’s habit (4) 
ROBE A reversal (ascending) of the Roman name for York

2    Showing card to get in at social event (10) 
ATTENDANCE A numbered playing card inserted between AT (from the clue) and a social event

3    Paddy’s cross about where he’s kept waiting? (8) 
DOORSTEP A reversal (about) of a fit of temper with an S (paddy’s) and a cross

4    Little dog fed Mark’s meat (4)
 LAMB Insert the abbreviation for Mark into an abbreviated dog breed

5    Rule-breakers making up to sixpence (10) 
EXCEPTIONS An anagram (making up) of TO SIXPENCE – because as we all know the solutions break the rules

6    Deliver revolutionary wired nerve centre (6) 
RENDER Found in reverse (revolutionary) in the centre of wiRED NERve

7    House of vice disguises entrance for gentlemen (4) 
SIGN Some vice ‘disguises’ or takes in the ‘entrance’ for Gentlemen

8    Denigration commensurate with children claiming independence (10) 
ASPERSIONS An informal expression meaning commensurate with and some male children ‘claiming’ the abbreviation for Independence

13    Cooking with chicken, remarked flavour not quite there (10) 
CONCOCTING A word meaning with, a homophone (remarked) of a male chicken, and almost all of a flavour

14    Painful there after cut (10) 
TENDERLOIN A synonym for painful, an archaic word meaning there, and a way of saying after (eg a specific period of time)

15    Sensational loss for US Senate has current constituents worried (10) 
ANESTHESIA The American spelling of something that numbs a person (sensational loss) – An anagram (worried)of SENATE HAS and I (the symbol for electrical current)

18    Horrified as coffin cover taken off outside (8)
APPALLED A verb meaning taken off, imitated, put outside a coffin cover

21    Ancient city area within resort North of Austria (6) 
NICAEA Insert the abbreviation for Area into a French resort and then put above (north of) the IVR Code for Austria

24    Broadcast a happy sound (4) 
PURR A homophone (broadcast) of a word meaning for each person (a)

26    Take a stand against closure (4) 
VEND The Latin abbreviation meaning against and a closure

27    Played out without decider ultimately (4) 
TIED A way of saying played out without the ultimate letter of decider

A huge thank you to Pandora’s Mummy for allowing me to use the beautiful photograph.

Welcome to Crosswordland, baby Pandora. Let’s hope your Grandad gets to meet you soon. However, in years to come, when he introduces you to cryptic crosswords, remember that when he says “I think this one’s a little easier” 99 times out of a 100, he’ll be wrong ;)


27 comments on “NTSPP – 572

  1. I had my usual very enjoyable tussle with Radler – many thanks to him.
    I’d probably have saved time if I’d spotted the Nina earlier – congratulations to the setter on his new status.
    My ticks went to 23a, 3d, 8d and 27d.

  2. Struggled to parse one or two but enjoyed the challenge a great deal
    Congratulations Radler, I’ve got that to look forward to in May too
    Many thanks for the entertainment and all the best

  3. Like a Texan Bar (remember them?), chewy but satisfying. And although I don’t feel old enough, I’ll be joining the same club as Radler and LetterboxRoy in June.

    Thanks to Radler

  4. Congrats Radler.
    Very enjoyable puzzle. 21d was new to me once worked out.
    Wish I had also spotted the Nina earlier!

  5. 21d was OK as I knew the Nicaean creed. But Nina? (fairly new to this blog so don’t know all the local jargon!)
    ETA – have just seen what it must be, but the term is new to me!

    1. You can find out about Ninas and other Frequently Asked Questions by clicking on the FAQ tab at the top of the page

  6. You know a puzzle from Radler is going to be a challenge and this one certainly was that. A lot of it took quite a bit of teasing out but it was great fun.

    I keep forgetting that “closed” can mean “to”, which meant 23a took a long while to solve and parse.

    Apart from 25a where the first part of the answer was revealed in the clue, the rest were all so good that I won’t attempt to pick a favourite.

    Many thanks, Radler, and warmest congratulations on your news. I’ve got four lovely granddaughters. My frustration is not being able to see them at the moment even though they all live nearby.

  7. I have tried but I know that I can’t really do Radler’s crosswords – I’ve got about five answers so far which is at least four more than I usually manage!
    I might carry on trying later or in the morning if it’s snowing which it’s meant to be but probably won’t get much further so will look forward to the review.
    Thanks to Radler and to whoever is doing the review – I know that depends on who is and who isn’t a nationally published setter but the trouble is that I don’t know who is and who isn’t!

  8. This certainly had its tricky moments but I would expect nothing less from this setter! Took me quite a while to marry up parsing with possible answers and I definitely needed all the checkers in place to get 21d.
    My favourite has to be the Nina – many congratulations, Radler. Has your latest family addition been named 17a by any chance?
    Many thanks for the puzzle which took me as long to complete as it took my long-suffering daughter to assemble the exercise bike I purchased a few days ago. Must check how many calories I need to burn to negate a bottle of wine……..

  9. After Paul & Elgar yesterday & this one today I know how Brighton feel when faced with an away fixture list of trips to Anfield, Old Trafford & The Etihad. Have managed 11 answers after much effort & my brain hurts. Battle to recommence tomorrow with fresh eyes but precious little expectation. Fun trying mind…..

  10. A slow beginning, but things started moving with a few checkers. Congratulations, Radler. Almost three years ago now for me, and I’m about to become one again. I mean, the little one will get a sister. Mind you, they are in the netherlands and i haven’t been there much recently. Enjoy and best wishes

  11. After staring at this over three cups of tea I have approximately the same number as Friday’s Elgar…… around half complete despite the advantage in this one of all the checkers from the Nina. I doubt I’ll come back to it before the review so thanks in advance to the reviewer and thanks and congrats to Radler.

  12. Thank you for the review, CS, and in particular for getting permission for the lovely photo to give us all a lift in lockdown. Thanks too for the full parsing of 14d; I had forgotten the archaic word for “there” – again!

  13. Thanks to CS for the review and congratulations to Radler and his family.
    I was a very long way off completing this one even though CS thinks it wasn’t as difficult as usual.
    I did manage to get enough letters in to the Nina to guess a few which helped a bit.
    Thanks Radler, and again, CS and what a lovely photo.

  14. Thank you all so much for your congratulations and compliments.
    My granddaughter lives in Portugal so I have to wait for the travel restrictions to be relaxed before I can visit her, or she can come to the UK.
    Special thanks to Crypticsue for her very nice review and to Big Dave for publishing the crossword.

  15. Many thanks for the review, CS, and also to Radler for letting us see the beautiful photo of his new granddaughter.

  16. We tried hard, very hard but struggled to complete. Just seeing it’s by Radler means it’s tough! Nevertheless we enjoyed the battle and we’re pleased we managed about (almost?) half of it. Congratulations to Radler on his beautiful granddaughter and thank you for the puzzle. Thanks also to CS for explanations.

  17. Failed quite spectacularly on this – I got most of the right hand side but the left had several blanks plus a couple of guesses that I couldn’t parse. But it all looks straightforward enough in hindsight – but then everyone says that. Thanks, Radler for the challenge, and CS for explaining it all.

  18. Didn’t manage to finish but I hardly ever do with Radler.
    Didn’t even notice the Nina.
    The hardest thing, for me, is to spot the definition but I really like his style.
    Should start to make a separate pile of his crosswords for referencing.
    That’s what I’ll do in fact.
    Watch out. Next time I shall be prepared.
    Thanks and congratulations to the new Granddad and to CS

  19. Arriving late to the blog as it took quite a while to unravel this puzzle! I was so relieved to finish I didn’t notice the nina, so thank you for pointing it out, CS, and many congratulations to Radler as well as my thanks for the mental work-out. I did have to check that 1 (up) and 21 existed, as my classical geography didn’t stretch that far. CS completed my parsing of 14 and 24, but I’m still missing the A in 10, unless it can be an abbreviation for ‘about’? Favourites were the wily 13a, 29 and 27.

  20. Well it took over 2 days & with the benefit of having read some of the comments the Nina was obvious but absolutely delighted to finally get to within 2 of a finish & using only 2 letter reveals. Never heard of 21d & would never have got that one but disappointed not to have worked out 13d without the clue. Incredibly tough & if as CS reckons it was easier than usual I dread to think what his Toughie looks like.
    Thanks Grandad.

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