Rookie Corner 485 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Rookie Corner 485

A Puzzle by Amoeba

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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

As usual, the setter will be delighted to receive feedback from you, the solvers. I do ask that you remember that for most setters this is a new experience, so please only offer constructive criticism.

Amoeba continues to impress.  With a commentometer reading of 1/29 or 3.4%, I think it is time to for promote our protozoic puzzler.

Across

9a  I’m put out about dance without organisation (9)
IMPROMPTU: An anagram (out) of IM PUT around (about) a four-letter word for a school or college dance.

10a  Port in Germany agreed to provide wine (5)
RIOJA: A three-letter name of a port in Brazil followed by a two-letter German word meaning agreed.

11a  Western side of town’s rammed thanks to very large military parades (7)
TATTOOS: The first letter (western side) of town inside (rammed) a two-letter word for thanks and the to from the clue all followed by the abbreviation for very large.

12a  Excellent party on the upper deck (7)
TOPSIDE: A three-letter word meaning excellent followed by a four-letter word for a party or faction.

13a  Bagel I tested is filled with cream (5)
ELITE: The answer is hidden (filled) in the first three words of the clue.

14a  He leaves the philosopher in wedding outfit (9)
TROUSSEAU: Remove the HE from the THE in the clue and followed with an eight-letter name of a philosopher.

16a  Small farm to the West accepts hit and remains poor (8,3,4)
STRAPPED FOR CASH: The abbreviation for small and a reversal (to the West) of a five-letter word for a farm includes (accepts) a six-letter word meaning hit all followed by a three-letter word for burnt remains.  Although used in different contexts, the use of West and Western feels repetitious.

19a  Policemen covering strip (9)
DISMANTLE: A three-letter abbreviation for policemen followed by a six-letter word for a covering or cloak.

21a  Spike Milligan finally admitted to PR gaffe at Wembley? (5)
PRONG: The last letter (finally) of Milligan inside (admitted to) the PR from the clue and the abbreviation for own goal (gaffe at Wembley).

22a  Endure beer from US city? (4,3)
LAST OUT: The abbreviation for Los Angeles (US City) followed by a five-letter word for a strong dark beer.

23a  Italian birds gobbling second piece of gnocchi, then third (7)
GENOESE: A five-letter word for birds includes the second and third letters of gnocchi.

24a  In the end, does it make sailor run back aboard ship? (5)
STERN: The final letters (in the end) of the fourth to eighth words of the clue.

25a  Recoiling, I service a leader of a Caribbean religion (9)
RASTAFARI: A reversal (recoiling) of the I from the clue, the abbreviation for Royal Air Force (service) the A from the clue and a four-letter word for a leader.  

Down

1d  Upset, like Samson after his betrayal? (10)
DISTRESSED: Cryptic definition by reference to the removal of Samson’s hair.

2d  Notice bank becoming more erratic (8)
SPOTTIER: A four-letter word meaning to notice followed by a four-letter word for a bank or row.

3d  Gloomy elk runs inside (6)
MOROSE: A five-letter word for an elk includes (inside) the abbreviation for runs.

4d  Copies of timeless recordings (4)
APES: Remove the T (timeless) from the beginning of a five-letter word for recordings.

5d  Cost of studying at home leaves feeling of considerable privilege, ultimately (7,3)
TUITION FEE: Remove (leaves) a two-letter word meaning at home from a nine-letter word for a feeling or hunch and followed with the final letters (ultimately) of the eighth to tenth words of the clue.  A repetition of leaves as a deletion indicator that should have been avoided.

6d  One putting forward plans for model (8)
PROPOSER: A three-letter word meaning for followed by a five-letter word for a model.

7d  Serve prison sentence and ring daughter up on occasion (2,4)
DO TIME: A reversal (up) of O (ring) and the abbreviation for daughter on a four-letter word for an occasion.

8d  Bloody Mary barely drunk by soldiers (4)
RARE: The inner letters (barely) of Mary inside (drunk by) the abbreviation for Royal Engineers (soldiers).

14d  Revolutionary Trots we met producing online tirade (10)
TWEETSTORM: An anagram (revolutionary) of TROTS WE MET.

15d  Hot guy in nice pants getting dirty (10)
UNHYGIENIC: An anagram (pants) of H (hot) GUY IN NICE.

17d  Groups of ancient Greek statisticians (8)
PLATOONS: A five-letter word for an ancient Greek philosopher followed by the abbreviation for the Office of National Statistics (statisticians).

18d  After treatment, brave OAP’s better than expected (5,3)
ABOVE PAR: An anagram (after treatment) of BRAVE OAP

20d  It’s found below southern American county (6)
SUSSEX: A three-letter word for which “it” is a euphemism underneath below the abbreviation for southern and the two-letter abbreviation for American.

21d  Ring around nearby pubs, primarily to find foreign correspondent? (3,3)
PEN PAL: A four-letter word for a ring of bells around the initial letters (primarily) of nearby pubs.

22d  Heavy drinker left hospital without us (4)
LUSH: The abbreviations for left and hospital around (without) the US from the clue.

23d  My turn, be quiet! (4)
GOSH: A two-letter word for a turn followed by a two-letter word meaning be quiet.


33 comments on “Rookie Corner 485

  1. A fine puzzle with a good level of difficulty. Our last one in was 17d as we did have the GK required for the last bit, but found it in BRB.
    Lots of ticks but we’ll go with 24a as favourite.
    Thanks Amoeba.

  2. Thanks Amoeba – a pleasant accompaniment to the Campbell back pager on my Sunday evening.

    A couple of comments:

    The purists among us would say that the 9a dance is an Americanism and should be indicated accordingly.

    I am not sure that the surplus ‘in’ in the middle of the anagram material for 15a quite works.

    Smiles for 23a, 25a, 1d, and 17d.

    Thanks again and thanks in advance to Prolixic.

    1. I think the BRB will have to change the definition of the 9a dance as they are becoming a common celebration for school leavers over here

      I’m not sure what you mean about the ‘in’ being surplus??

      1. It seems that the ‘wiring’ between my eyes and my brain needs a thorough check.

  3. An enjoyable crossword finished before my mini Shredded Wheat.

    Thank you to Amoeba and, in advance, to Prolixic

  4. A very accomplished and enjoyable puzzle with smooth surfaces throughout and pitched at just the right level of difficulty – many thanks to Amoeba.
    I’d not heard of the 14d answer but was able to work it out from the fodder and checkers.
    My picks were 16a, 21a and 22a.

  5. Welcome back on your annual visit to Rookie Corner, Amoeba. I found this nicely challenging and very enjoyable. In my opinion, this was your best puzzle to date.

    My one slight concern was the definition for 2d which doesn’t seem quite right to me.

    I couldn’t find 14d in the BRB or in Collins, but I imagine it’s a neologism which will make an appearance in those august works of reference soon.

    I had a lot of ticks and, as often seems to be the case, my podium choice aligns with Gazza’s: 16a, 21a & 22a.

    Well done and thank you, Amoeba. It would be nice to see your puzzles more frequently please! Thanks too in advance to Prolixic.

    1. RD, 2d. The answer is a comparative adjective derived from the word spotty – meaning irregular, uneven or erratic. So, “more erratic” seems fine to me.

  6. Welcome back, Amoeba, with a really fun puzzle. Lots to like with my ticks including 11a, 14a. 16a, 22a, 3d (slightly chestnutty but it made me smile), 17d, 18d and 23d.

    Looking at Senf’s comment above, whilst I was aware the 9a dance had US origins, I thought it had become more mainstream. Certainly both of my sons, here in the UK, went to them during their schooldays. The ‘in’ in 15d (I assume) is part of the anagram fodder.

    Thanks Amoeba and Prolixic in advance.

  7. With reference to Americanisms here and the “rule” about them in last Saturday’s Prize DT30359, I’m not aware of any “rule” about “indicators” being required. And if there is such a rule, then most of the DT setters and the editor often don’t stick to it because unindicated ones appear regularly in DT cryptics. And that’s fine by me!

  8. Welcome back, Amoeba, and thank you for a most enjoyable puzzle. Like others, I hadn’t previously come across 14d but it does sound like a sadly inevitable addition to ‘yoofspeak’.
    Top three for me were 21&22a plus 6d, which I thought was very neatly done.
    As RD commented, it would be nice to see you appear more often.

  9. Hi Amoeba
    A very accomplished offering, as I have come to expect from you on the MyCrossword site. But the humour I associate with your work was perhaps not as abundant here as normal, so my podium is 21a, 20d and 23d as these three made me smile. One small point – I am not a huge fan of the grid as very little connects the 4 quarters, so it was more like 4 mini puzzles.

  10. Thanks for that Amoeba, just right for me. 21a tickled me most, and never heard of Jane’s yoofspeak word either, but it does what it says and went in quick enough.
    There are two or three that I can’t quite see how they work, but Prolixic will explain tomorrow. Please come again :-)

  11. Nowt here to pick holes with as far as I’m concerned. I thought it a cracking guzzle excellently clued throughout. Lots of ticks but 21a was my fav amongst them. I’ll look forward to your next one & seek you out on the MyCrossword site.
    Many thanks Amoeba

  12. Lovely puzzle, Amoeba, thanks. Hard to pick favourites but I’ll plump for 21a, 22a, 1d, 6d, 8d, 15d and 17d (COTD).

  13. Cracking puzzle, about which I cannot imagine Prolixic will have much at all to say. Great throughout, perfectly-pitched level of difficulty, good surfaces & a lovely variety of clue types. Contenders for the podium included 14a, 16a, 22a, 25a, 1d (COTD) and 17d.

    Thank you, and thanks in advance to Prolixic.

  14. Thanks all for taking the time to solve & comment. I was last here just a couple of months ago! I’m glad to see 14d was clear enough to people, and especially pleased to that 21a went down well, as it was a late change and a slightly clunky set of letters to play with, without many promising options for a definition.

    I had a prom upon leaving school in Cheshire in 2005, so felt that 18 years on it must have crossed the pond sufficiently to not need an indicator (whether or not it’s strictly necessary to, I usually would). My digital dictionaries have differing views: Chambers says it’s American, ODE says mainly American, Collins doesn’t specify it as such.

    I actually associate a 14d as a co-ordinated set of tweets from a network of users (to demonstrate support for some cause or other), but that isn’t what the dictionaries said, so perhaps I’m alone there!

    1. Hi Amoeba – pretty much every school in the country has a Leavers’ Prom these days, and has done for many years, as you say. Local newspapers cover them in depth, especially those attendees who have chosen the most original mode of transport to get there. IIRC BBC News last week reported on two lads who arrived in a police van, blue lights flashing, and emerged from the van with their hands cuffed but grinning delightedly.

      A lot of words are now ubiquitous on both sides of the Pond, whether we like it or not!

    2. Hi Amoeba. In fact, I see that your last RC puzzle was published on April 17th this year. It felt a lot longer ago than that to me. :unsure:

      P.S. As one of the most vocal advocates for using American indicators for words which are not common currency over here, even I have (reluctantly!) come to accept that “prom” is now part of our language. But what was wrong with our good old school leavers’ party?

      P.P.S. Terrific puzzle, thank you.

  15. Welcome back, Amoeba.

    A puzzle of very high quality, excellent surfaces and a good mixture of different clue types. A real pity that “leaves” was repeated as a deletion indicator (in 14a and 5d) and perhaps having “western side of” and “to the West” in the space of just a few clues would have been best avoided.

    I have lots of ticks on my print-out, but I think 17d just edges its way to the top of my podium.

    Great stuff, thank you very much, Amoeba.

    P.S.
    I made a plea recently for one of the administrators to update the index of Rookie Corner puzzles, but this still hasn’t happened. The last puzzle shown is Number 479, so it would be very regrettable if this useful resource doesn’t manage to get updated. I assume this has simply been an oversight, so I hope that the missing six puzzles can now be added.

    1. Hi Silvanus. Sorry about that – your request never reached me. I have been maintaining the NTSPP and RC index pages for over a year, but recently there have been more urgent site issues to deal with. I’ll get them updated soon.

    2. Thanks Silvanus – entirely fair comments, both of which escaped my editing process. I agree that both would have been better avoided! I’m glad you otherwise enjoyed it.

  16. Congratulations Amoeba for producing such an enjoyable puzzle with just enough head scratchers amongst the more easily gettable clues to make it a very satisfying solve.
    Lots to like but I’ll pick out 21a, 5d for the neat construction, 15a for the smooth surface and 17d. Many thanks and in advance, to Prolixic.

  17. We loved it! Thank you Amoeba. We agree that prom is very common over here and has been for some time. Our last ones in were in the SW corner. Favourites were 9a, 16a and 20a. We hope to see another puzzle very soon. Thank you in advance to Prolixic.

  18. A nice mixture and an enjoyable solving experience. A couple of chestnuts, perhaps, and a few chewier offerings but all solved without assistance. I’d not heard of 14dn but it was easily gettable and I couldn’t quite parse 11ac and 24ac. I’ll leave detailed comment to Prolixic, though, and just say thanks and look forward to your next appearance.

  19. Many congratulations protozoic one. A well-deserved progression along the evolutionary trail.

  20. Thanks Prolixic for the review – and again to the thoughtful & constructive comments. I’ll look forward to returning in a different slot next time!

  21. Many thanks for the review, Prolixic, especially the reminder of the abbreviation used in 17d which had completely escaped me at the time of solving.
    Congratulations to Amoeba – look forward to seeing your next puzzle ‘upstairs’!

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