A Puzzle by Coot
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
A Saturday Lunchtime pangram from Coot which I thought was ‘tough in places’
Across
1a Plaza leaseholder has potted colourful plants (7)
AZALEAS: ‘Potted’ in the first two words of the clue
5a Call to court - a time for a king to be heard? (7)
ARRAIGN: A (from the clue) and a homophone (to be heard) of a time for a king to be on the throne
9a We forget basic names, confused when book's unavailable (9)
AMNESIACS: An anagram (confused) of bASIC NAMES without (unavailable) the abbreviation for Book
10a Uneven like a landscape garden (5)
ASKEW: An adverb meaning like and a famous London landscape garden
11a The solver's an unknown for us (4)
YOUR: Belonging to the solver – a mathematical unknown and a possessive adjective (for us)
12a Deadly messing about with German model, in truth (10)
ADMITTEDLY: An anagram (messing about) of DEADLY with the German word for with the letter by which an early Model car was known
14a Person owed money cleared out career journalist (8)
CREDITOR: The outside (cleared out) letters of CareeR and a journalist
15a Have too much old British port when cycling (6)
OVERDO: The abbreviation for Old and a British port where the first two letters ‘cycle’ to the end
18a Apes: they can pick you up, Coot's assumed (6)
MIMICS: Things that can pick up sound into which is inserted (assumed) the way our setter would refer to himself (Coot’s)
19a Evidence of feathers, perhaps, in Eastender's mug (4,4)
BOAT RACE: Cockney Rhyming slang for a face could, if split, 3,5, possibly mean a little evidence of a feather item worn round the neck
21a Fancy ham rolls with us when most are in bed? (5,5)
SMALL HOURS: An anagram (fancy) of HAM ROLLS with US
23a Drama originally Polish with occasional showings in Slovak (4)
SOAP: The occasional letters of SlOvAk followed by the original letter of Polish
26a Festival hosts book prize (5)
NOBEL: A name for the Christmas festival ‘hosts’ the second appearance of the abbreviation for Book
27a One intent on prize fund approaches Biden? (3-6)
POT-HUNTER: A fund or sum of prize money and the forename of the POTUS’s son
28a Old way to distinguish 'net' from 'nett'? (3-4)
ONE-TIME: A way of explaining that Net only has one example of a particular abbreviation
29a Keep unusual dialect (7)
CITADEL: An anagram (unusual) of DIALECT
Down
1d Difficulty moving? Hail this over the phone (5)
ATAXY: A homophone of A vehicle you might hail
2d Irrelevant work drilling a big wall incessantly (2,7)
AD NAUSEUM: A (from the clue) followed by a big wall used to hold back water into which is inserted the abbreviation for Not Applicable (irrelevant) and a verb meaning to work
3d Declining fine banquet to make a point (4)
EAST: Remove (declining) the abbreviation for Fine from a banquet
4d Stomach support... (5,3)
STAND FOR: Double definition
5d ...supporting muscles, recline looking up and descend (6)
ABSEIL: A reversal (looking up in a Down solution) of a verb meaning to recline goes after (supporting) some muscles
6d Behave! Coot's boxing at kick off once more (10)
REACTIVATE: Behave in response to something and how our setter would say he had (Coot’s) ‘boxing’ AT (from the clue)
7d Peeved having signed to find bottom of pen's run (5)
IRKED: Change the N (bottom of peN) in a synonym for signed to the cricket abbreviation for Run
8d Sadly, joy wanes: bottling love's impossible (2,3,4)
NO WAY JOSE: An anagram (sadly) of JOY WANES into which is inserted (bottling) the letter representing love
13d Choose a flower for delivery - something for the table (10)
PICCALILLI: A homophone of a way of saying choose a particular flower
14d Confused economist is left... (5,4)
COMES INTO: An anagram (confused) of ECONOMIST
16d ...to interpret work that college head ultimately endorsed again (9)
READOPTED: To interpret a bit of writing, an abbreviation for work and the ‘ultimate’ letters of that college head
17d Philosopher's Stone's lead actor disturbed Filch regularly (8)
SOCRATIC: The ‘lead’ of Stone, an anagram (disturbed)of ACTOR and the regular letters of fIlCh
20d "Firm" referring to drinks: I meant to say "stiff" (6)
CORPSE: An abbreviated company (firm) and the usual about/referring to into which is inserted the abbreviated way to add an addition to something (I meant to say)
22d Slice of lamb leg for Potter (5)
AMBLE: Misleading capitals time – the solution is hidden in a slice of words three and four of the clue
24d Backchat upset touring Queen? There's a risk (5)
PERIL: A reversal (upset) of some cheek or backchat into which is inserted (touring) the regnal cipher of our late Queen
25d Leave interview abruptly, tense (4)
QUIT: Truncate (abruptly) an interview or set of questions and follow with the abbreviation for Tense
A very enjoyable puzzle and a pangram to boot – thanks Coot.
The pick of a fine bunch of clues for me were 19a, 26a, 14d and 22d.
Caffeine and a smidgeon of e-help required plus Gazza identifying it as a pangram but very enjoyable.
Smiles for 26a, 2d, 8d, and 13d.
Thanks Coot and thanks in advance to CS (or will it be SL?) for explaining a couple of parsings that elude me.
Coot is a nationally-published setter so ……
This fun pangram provided an excellent Saturday lunchtime diversion. My only missing element is the parsing of 20d.
With ticks aplenty on my page, 22d gets my vote as favourite.
Many thanks to Coot and in advance to CS.
We think the first 2 letters refer to a company, then the abbreviation for ‘referring to’ encloses the two letters one would use to add more to a letter after the signature.
I agree!
Thanks very much, Hilton. Even having entered the right answer, I still couldn’t see beyond the CO …
We did have to reveal a couple of letters finally in order to complete the puzzle and we still need CS’s assistance to parse one or two but very enjoyable nonetheless so many thanks to Coot. Favourites were12a, 21a, 26a, 2d, 13d and 22d.
Before I’d clicked on the puzzle, my peripheral vision picked up the word pangram in the first note – which made it an enjoyable solve as the various letters revealed themselves (I’m hopeless a spotting such things without a prompt). And it actually helped with LOI, the NHO 1d, as I was short of the X. A very typical Coot puzzle with everything falling into place as it should. Plenty of clues earned ticks. Podium is hard to pick but I’ll go for 19a, 3d and 13d. Thanks, Coot.
19a was unfamiliar to us in that context so kept us guessing for a while but thought it very clever wordplay when we twigged it. Lots of other clues to earn ticks too.
Thanks Coot.
Some of the parsing didn’t come easily but the likelihood of a pangram certainly helped with solve. Haven’t previously come across the 27a term – interesting addition to the vocab!
Rosettes went to 19&26a plus 8d.
Thanks to Coot for the challenge.
Lovely stuff Coot, thanks for an entertaining Saturday evening solve full of customarily interesting surfaces. Your linked surfaces worked well I though, and podium goes to 12a, 1d and 20d
A typically fizzy puzzle from one of the nicest chaps in crossworld. And he’s only been setting for about five minutes, which is especially irritating! 13d made me smile, 14d’s definition is smart and 22d’s sweet. I hugely admired the clever parsing in 2d but, for me, the winner has to be 19a. Superb. Thanks Coot.
Many thanks to everyone who has given this puzzle a go and for the kind comments. Thanks also in advance to CS for the review.
I found this quite tough, with plenty of e-help required to get there in the end. 8dn was new to me and took a bit of unscrambling. I did work out, though that 17dn required one to ‘lift and separate’ the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ but I still took ages to think of the philosopher in question.
I didn’t think to look for a pangram – I was too relieved to have finished it.
Thanks, Coot and CS.
Many thanks for the review, CS, and your reminder of the abb for irrelevant which completed my parsing of 2d.
Also, thanks again to Coot for a clever pangram construction.
Caught up on my NTSPPs in the last few days after enjoying a week’s skiing. This was a treat of a puzzle from Coot – and I even spotted the pangram
Lots of ticked clues and I don’t want to cause disappoint to any of them by selecting a favourite!
My thanks to Coot and to CS.