Another Puzzle by Prolixic
This bonus NTSPP is, like NTSPP 781, a puzzle created for today's Birthday Bash
+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +
The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
This special bonus crossword has a helpful Nina, starting at 2d and moving anti-clockwise round the outside of the grid: A Happy Sixteenth Anniversary
Across
7a Sloth of French attaché (4)
AIDE: The three-toed sloth and the French word for of
8a Employed lady led away - quite the reverse (4)
USED: A synonym for led without the ‘lady’
9a Pipe comes from flooded valley in Britain (5)
BRIAR: A flooded valley inserted into the abbreviation for Britain
10a Dry slice of cheesecake (3)
SEC: Hidden in a ‘slice’ of cheeSECake
12a Magnificent and handsome we hear (4)
PHAT: A homophone (we hear) of handsome
13a Consignment primarily carried by ship (5)
CARGO: The primary letter of Carried and the ship used in the search for the Golden Fleece
14a Gaelic and Queen's English (4)
ERSE: Relating to the regnal cipher of our late Queen and the abbreviation for English
15a Priest rests after entertaining five senior clerics (8)
PROVOSTS: The abbreviation for Priest and some roosts (for hens perhaps) into which is inserted (after entertaining) the Roman numeral for five
16a This may be used by nomadic vagrants leaving Greece (6)
SATNAV: An anagram (nomadic) of VAgrANTS without (leaving) the abbreviation for Greece
18a What about old spinning tool (3)
HOE: A reversal (spinning) of an interjection expressing enquiry ‘about’ the abbreviation for Old
19a Age of women on Scottish island (6)
YELLOW: A shortened form of of and the abbreviation for Women go on or after one of the Shetland Isles
21a Nothing gained when Ned goes for antelope (6)
NILGAI: A synonym for nothing and GAIned (without the NED – Ned ‘goes’)
23a Report of town's atmosphere (3)
AIR: A homophone (report) of a Scottish town’s name
24a Ends or either end of a chain? (6)
STUMPS: Ends or either end of a playing area which measures a chain
26a Briefly cool down room housing monarch's offspring (8)
CHILDREN: Truncate (briefly) a word meaning to cool down and a room, the latter ‘housing’ the abbreviation for Rex - monarch
28a Fancy middleman's oddly absent (4)
IDEA: The even letters of mIdDlEmAn
30a Outspoken spy's dull (5)
BLUNT: Triple definition
31a Second service for break of day (4)
MORN: A short period of time (second) and the abbreviation for part of our armed forces
32a Lengthen either way (3)
EKE: This verb meaning to lengthen is a palindrome so can be read either way
33a Dry last bit of flax and cut heather (5)
XERIC: The last letter of flaX and another name for the heather plant without its last letter (cut)
34a Leader of Turkey touring South Africa... (4)
TSAR: The IVR code for Turkey ‘touring’ the abbreviation for South Africa
35a ...again after Netherlands Antilles to see rocket launcher (4)
NASA: And the second appearance (again) of the abbreviation for South Africa, this time going after the IVR code for the Netherlands Antilles
Down
1d Excellent club for temple official (4,6)
HIGH PRIEST: A synonym for excellent and a club for killing fish
2d A celebration starts late during the summer (8)
AESTIVAL: A (from the clue) and a celebration without its first letter (starts late)
3d Plants raised, for example, containing carbon and copper (6)
YUCCAS: A reversal (raised) of an adverb used to mean for example into which is inserted the chemical symbols for carbon and copper
4d New student interrupts Access training (9,6)
REFRESHER COURSE: A new student inserted (interrupts) a synonym for access
5d Passionate Forest supporter on the radio (6)
ARDENT: A Warwickshire forest, the setting for Shakespeare's As You Like It and a homophone (on the radio) of a support for a golf ball
6d Drains trenches (4)
SAPS: Drains energy from or trenches
11d Look over map maker's directions with ease (6)
LOOSEN: A poetic word for look, the abbreviation for the UK’s official map makers and two compass directions
17d Adult training, must I hear, be far from this! (10)
AMATEURISH: The abbreviation for Adult and an anagram (after training) of MUST I HEAR
20d Used to be a swinger - that's spicy (6)
WASABI: Used to be, A (from the clue) and bisexual (a swinger)
22d Deposit money in group supported by conservationists (8)
LODGMENT: The abbreviation for Money inserted into a group, the abbreviation for a particular conservation organisation being added at the end
25d State Schwarzenegger's dropping resistance to cheapskate (6)
MEANIE: An abbreviated American state and the informal way we refer to Mr Schwarzenegger without the R (dropping Resistance)
27d Football team and trainee (6)
INTERN: A football team regularly found in crosswords and an informal shortening of and
29d Depart before beginning of the conference (4)
DIET: Lost life (depart) before the letter than begins The
Two NTSPPs! Excellent! I have just printed hard copies of both. Super!
Heavens that was very tough. Struggled to 16 correct answers in (&with 1 correction en route via the check facility) then needed a further 5 letter reveals to grind out a finish. Definitely one for the brainy bods at the bash methinks.
I may have fared a bit better if I’d thought to have looked for the very clever Nina. Thanks for the review
Managed the right side reasonably well but the left remained stubbornly devoid of answers and I probably couldn’t have worked out the nina without entering a few more on that side. Several unknowns for me and a couple of ‘interesting’ abbreviations which didn’t help matters.
Hope the Bash attendees made a rather better fist of it than I did, but thanks to Prolixic for the challenge.
Couldn’t get to the bash as we were the other side of the world. Had a very good go at this puzzle but needed to reveal a few in order to finish. Thank you Prolixic. Now to catch up on the many puzzles missed whilst away.
The prolific Prolixic has once more compiled an excellent puzzle, together with a perfect Nina for the weekend celebration. I found parsing quite a bit trickier than the first NTSPP but both were equally enjoyable. Figuring out the wordplay for the pesky 4-letter 8a possibly held me up the longest! Identifying the shortened versions o’ of ‘n’ and were further penny-drop moments. The dry conditions, the antelope and the sloth were all novelties for me, but the Nina was supportive of my answers. As a former keen cricketer I am mortified to have missed the significance of ‘either end of a chain’ and spent some unproductive time researching jewelry clasps to justify my (otherwise correct) answer. I have a long list of ticked clues: 8a (once I parsed it), 13a, 15a, 18a, 31a, 11d, 17d and, following CS’s clarification, my unidentified chain ends, 24a.
Thanks once again to Prolixic and CS.