A Puzzle by Gazza
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
Saturday rolls around again, and what a pleasant surprise, a (very fine) Gazza puzzle to blog. Lots of innovative wordplay and wit on show here.
Across
6a Professional expertise is murdering cycling (5)
SKILL: A synonym of murdering with the last letter cycled to the front of the word.
7a Key maid of Orleans recalled and honoured (8)
ENNOBLED: A key on a computer or laptop plus the French (of Orleans) word for a maid are reversed (recalled)
10a Old-fashioned invalid chair found in cleared out attic (7)
ARCHAIC: An insertion of an anagram (invalid) of CHAIR into the outer letters of AttiC. I like the indicator here.
11a Youthful US soldiers embrace international sport hesitatingly at first (7)
GIRLISH: The usual US soldiers “embrace” the abbreviation for International and an abbreviated (excellent and entertaining) code of rugby. Follow with the initial letter of Hesitatingly
12a &13. Neat and tidy city clothes (7)
BRISTOL: Put together the largest city in the South West plus a synonym of clothes. I'd only heard of this expression when preceded by “shipshape and”
13a See 12 (7)
FASHION:
14a English take on French - it doesn't matter! (3,5,3)
SAN FAIRY ANN: An expression meaning “it doesn't matter” or “never mind,” which originated as a World War I infantryman's version of the French phrase ça ne fait rien.
19a Spooner's numbers two and one - how delightful! (7)
WHOOPEE: The numbers here refer to matters of the toilet. Two informal words are given the Spooner treatment.
21a Setter's forgotten old artistic technique (7)
IMPASTO: A contracted first person singular of the verb “to be”, a synonym of forgotten or no longer in existence and the single-letter abbreviation for Old.
23a Occasionally sample plum cake in Soho like a Wag? (7)
PUCKISH: Alternate letters (occasionally sample) of PlUm CaKe In SoHo.
25a Popular press is effective (2,5)
IN FORCE: The usual two-letter “popular” plus a synonym of press as a verb
26a Spy on German girl, not a good looker (5,3)
GLASS EYE: A synonym of spy or leer perhaps follows a single-letter abbreviation for German and an informal young lady. Lol.
27a Fruity Englishman? (5)
LIMEY: Double/cryptic definition
Down
1d Two models framing copper could be crackers (8)
BISCUITS: A prefix indicating two, plus a synonym of models as a verb which“frames” or contains the chemical symbol of copper
2d Easily influenced after core of accusation overturned (6)
PLIANT: A legal accusation or charge has the order of its middle two letters reversed
3d Conceivably contracted place in which to hold rubbers, say. (6-4)
PENCIL-CASE: The solution cryptically describes a contracted form of the word PLace. Very smart
4d It's no good imprisoning heavy smackers? (4)
SNOG: Hidden (imprisoning)
5d Prize name among football team's group of stars (6)
GEMINI: A synonym of prize in the sense of outstanding followed by the single-letter abbreviation for New which sits inside the number of players in a football team
6d Flea-bitten cat's quiet for a time (6)
SHABBY: A domestic cat with the abbreviation for Time replaced with an interjection imploring quiet.
8d Redeployed Arabist's one having to grind for a living (7)
BARISTA: Anagram (redeployed) of ARABIST.
9d Unfinished counterfeit ring (5)
PHONE: Remove the final letter from an informal synonym of counterfeit
13d Bee possibly sterile if ravaged queen (10)
FERTILISER: Anagram (possibly) of STERILE IF with a single-letter abbreviation for queen. The solution cleverly refers to one of the roles of the bee in nature
15d Pile baked food in watertight containers (7)
NAPPIES: The pile here is the surface of a material. Follow it with some (usually delicious) baked food.
16d Remedies lack of guitar playing? (8)
NOSTRUMS: If we split the solution 2/6 we have a possible instruction perhaps not to play guitar
17d Swing whip (5)
SWIPE: Double definition
18d Leroy's suffering terribly (6)
SORELY: Anagram (suffering) of LEROY'S
20d Secret sect overlooked by army boss (6)
OCCULT: A sect or religious group is preceded by (overlooked by in a down clue) an abbreviated Officer Commanding.
22d Rubbish heap's stuffed with iffy contents (6)
PIFFLE: An insertion of the contents of iFFy into a heap or stack.
24d Walk closely behind rogue kitten? (4)
HEEL: A (very smart) triple definition.
Very enjoyable, thanks Gazza.
What a bonus! I didn’t have time for all of Friday’s puzzles so I’ve got all of them plus today’s offerings to do as well as an NTSPP from “one of our own”. On top of that it’s almost back to back rugby all day.
Caffeine required! Thanks Gazza.
Smiles for 10a, 12a/13a, 27a, 6d, 13d, and 16d. But a groan for 14a.
Thanks again and thanks in advance to SL(?).
Had to reveal 14a uncrossed letter by uncrossed letter and was left none the wiser. Google has subsequently explained but it’s a nho for me. As was the French maid. And the heel. And I’ve not encountered that version of the sport before. So lots of things to learn today. Thanks for the workout, Gazza.
Hi PostMark
I can highly recommend “that version” of the sport, it’s a great game.
Oh, I agree. At its best it’s extremely exciting and a world away from the rather dour game that was played in the 70’s. I’ve just got so used to ‘game’ referring to a slightly different letter combo.
What a beautifully crafted puzzle. At first i thought it was going to be easy as I breezed through a first pass getting about a third of the answers in place. Then the battle commenced!
Even once I had a full grid it took me a while to parse 7a & 3d, and I still haven’t been able to parse 2d.
I would have said that 27a is American slang, but it’s a very clever clue.
I had ticks aplenty with the splendid triple definition in 24d my favourite. Special mentions too to 19a, 23a, 26a, 3d, 13d & 16d.
Many thanks to Gazza for a perfect Saturday lunchtime diversion.
No sooner had I posted, I parsing penny dropped for 2d!
Lovely. 19a’s outrageous! You did throw me with your choice of the wrong code (sorry, SL) in 11a but more than made up for it with 14a. What a day to bung that in. Marvellous. It DOES matter, of course. Lots of smiles – 2d’s fun and 15d made me laugh. And a triple definition to boot. What’s not to like? Thanks Gazza.
Great fun! Had a fast start in the SE then solved anti clockwise with the SW last to fall with the biggest chuckles for 15d and the brilliant tongue – in – cheek 19a. Still trying to parse 7a and 2d but managed everything else.
As ALP says 14a certainly does not apply to this evenings fixture!
Many thanks Gazza for the entertainment
Had to battle with my printer to get this one – no problem printing anything else, just the NTSPP for some reason. Made a complex solve even more challenging!
Our setter wouldn’t expect me to applaud any ‘behind the bike shed’ humour but it’s fairly apparent that he hasn’t had to change many 15ds if he truly believes that they’re waterproof containers!
Biggest ticks here went to 10,12/13,14&26a plus 13&24d. Think 14a raised the biggest laugh.
Many thanks to Gazza for one of his all too rare compilations.
What a pleasant surprise to read who the setter was.
A thoroughly enjoyable solve from start to finish and that was a considerable time. It must say something about the scatological state of our minds when we nominate 15d and 19a as our two top clues.
Thanks Gazza.
Most enjoyable although I struggled to parse 5dn, thinking of XI rather than 11 for the football team. 12/13ac came easily enough (I too have usually only encountered it as ‘shipshape and ___’) and I did know 14ac. A wry smile, too, for the Hoskinesque 19ac, since a recent spell in hospital where there was much concern about both the numbers referred to.
Thanks, Gazza and SL.
A treat to accompany my mug of tea this morning, following a busy Saturday helping a friend to celebrate his 70th and a plethora of “excellent and entertaining” RU – still one more match to catch up on later today
However, even my morning coffee did not assist me in parsing 3d – very smart indeed, Gazza (and thanks to SL for his help)! Favourites today were 14a, 15d and 16d. I would have added 3d if I had managed to parse it! As for 19a, I don’t award ticks to clues of this ilk, but I did award it a big smile! A very Gazza-esque tongue-in-cheek clue – which is just what I Iook forward to finding when I see who the setter is!
Thanks, Gazza, and thank you to StephenL.
Many thanks for the review, Stephen, always a pleasure to re-read a puzzle from Gazza. Still chortling over the invalid chair!
Many thanks to all who commented and to Stephen L for the write-up.
Great puzzle Gazza. Beaten by the idiom unfortunately, which I’d either never come across or long forgotten. Unlike Jane ‘behind the bike shed’ humour just fine in my book so loved 19a especially with the 15d penny drop coming straight after. ✅s all over the shop – 11a plus 1,5,22&24d particular likes also. Like RD the triple def was my favourite.
Thanks to Stephen for explaining the whys at 2&3d (ought to have twigged both) & 7a (my French doesn’t stretch that far)
Coming to this very late, but many thanks Gazza for the challenge, and Stephen for the review. Good puzzle, some interesting and novel ideas on show.