Rookie Corner 572 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Rookie Corner 572

by Prolixic  

A Puzzle by Faz

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +


The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

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

Apart from a couple major problems with enumeration and six triple unches, this was a creditable performance from Faz.  The good news is that the repetitions in wordplay and issues with the cryptic grammar that were present in earlier crosswords have largely been eliminated.  The commentometer reads as 4.5/26 or 17.3%

Across

1a  Fishing after women gets manipulative (8)
WANGLING: A seven letter word meaning fishing after the abbreviation for women.

5a  Spoke of victory, none killed (6)
VOICED: The abbreviation for victory followed by the letter representing none or nothing and a four-letter American word meaning killed.  Perhaps killed in America would have been better to indicate the transatlantic provenance of the word required.

9a  Story of a noble, round about (7)
ACCOUNT: The A from the clue and a five-letter word for a member of the nobility around the single letter abbreviation meaning about.

10a  Used to control or crack locks (7)
HAIRPIN: Cryptic definition of something used to keep hair under control or to pick locks.

11a  His language includes coarse talk (5)
SLANG: The answer is hidden (includes) in the first two words of the clue.

12a  Fishing surplus, perhaps (3,6)
NET PROFIT: Cryptic definition of the gains (tangible and monetary) made by a fisherman.

13a  Complete nothing, as low as you can get (8,4)
ABSOLUTE ZERO: An eight-letter word meaning complete followed by a four-letter word meaning nothing.

17a  Nicaraguan opponent has theology lesson, gets smart – or the other way around? (12)
CONTRARIWISE: A six-letter word for a Nicaraguan freedom fighter followed by a two-letter abbreviation for a school theology lesson and a four-letter word meaning smart.

20a  Make it easy to cuddle hard-as-nails publisher (9)
SPOONFEED: A five-letter word meaning to cuddle followed by the chemical symbol for hard-as-nails and the abbreviation for editor.  Perhaps the two-stage process to get from hard-as-nails to iron to the chemical symbol is too much to expect of the solver.

21a  Smart Scottish one is back, clutching paper (5)
NIFTY: A three-letter Scottish word meaning one is reversed (back) and includes the abbreviation for Financial Times (paper).

22a  Always lent ear, sadly (7)
ETERNAL: An anagram (sadly) of LENT EAR.

23a  First sign (7)
INITIAL: Double definition.

24a  Cross pen, no top, has got scratch (6)
TETCHY: A three-letter word for a pig pen without the first letter (no top) includes (has got) a four-letter word meaning scratch or engrave.  Has got is a very weak containment indicator and is best avoided.

25a  Hit when too young or old, returning distance in poor gait (3,5)
AGE LIMIT: A reversal (returning) of a four-letter imperial measure of distance in an anagram (poor) of GAIT.

Down

1d  Swears off sea fish (6)
WRASSE: An anagram (off) of SWEARS.

2d  Amber liquid to accompany heavenly food? (6)
NECTAR: Double definition of beer and the food of the gods.

3d  Ahead of prohibition, take it easy in nicer part of old UK pub (6,3)
LOUNGE BAR: Before (ahead of) a three-letter word for a prohibition add a six-letter word meaning take it easy.

4d  No way, I’m riding my own elephant! (14)
NOT ON YOUR NELLY: Definition and cryptic definition.  Watch the enumeration.  This should have been (3,2,4,5).

6d  Traditional stimulant from pot (3,2,3)
CUP OF TEA: Cryptic definition of Britain’s favourite non-alcoholic beverage.

7d  Put party before country for a gift (8)
DONATION: A two-letter word for a party before a six-letter word for a country.

8d  No pregnant pause at this ceremony? (7,7)
SHOTGUN WEDDING: Cryptic definition of a hurried marriage that may be occasioned by a pregnancy.

14d  Seal net is damaged, that’s critical (9)
ESSENTIAL: An anagram (damaged) of SEAL NET IT.

15d  Cold bed in Greenland? (3,5)
ICE SHEET: A three-letter word meaning cold and a five-letter word for a sheet.  I don’t think that Greenland on its own is sufficient to indicate the solution.  Perhaps Cold bed’s a feature of Greenland would be better.

16d  Languid at party, time to lay off the refreshments (8)
INDOLENT: a phrase 2,2 meaning at party followed by a four-letter word for a period of fasting or abstinence.  Having used party to indicate the final two letters of the initial phrase in 7d, a different indicator should be used.

18d  Declare a fellow’s company (6)
AFFIRM: The A from the clue followed by the abbreviation for fellow and a four-letter word for a company.

19d  Little hole, spot to rent (6)
EYELET: A three-letter word meaning spot and a four-letter word meaning to rent.

25 comments on “Rookie Corner 572”

  1. Wanted to get in quickly to point out that the enumeration for 4d should be (3,2,4,5) and not (14).

  2. Thanks Faz for a very enjoyable challenge but I have one minor and one major comment.

    Minor (beaten to it by the 2 Kiwis) – the enumeration of 4d should be (3,2,4,5) rather than (14).

    Major – the sets of three triple unches in the NE and the SW, something that probably would not get past a quality newspaper’s puzzle editors (and Prolixic).

    Smiles for 10a, 21a. 25a, and 7d.

    Thanks again and thanks in advance to Prolixic.

    1. Thanks Senf and I’m sorry for those unches. They arose because I deleted a word that I was stuck on (NINTH), and so I deleted the ‘mirror’ word too, to make it a bit more symmetrical. Bad decision I’m afraid…

      1. This came to me during a visit to the smallest room in the house at the start of my Monday:

        Beethoven’s work brings joy.

  3. Some very nice clues in here that were a pleasure to unpick as well as a few that did not quite work for us. A pity about all the triple unches that made a couple of clues much trickier than they should have been. Really liked 4d once we had sorted out the enumeration.
    Thanks Faz.

  4. Hello again, Faz. I rarely notice grids but, as soon as I looked at this puzzle, I was put off by all the triple unches. My distaste was quickly compounded because 5a, with its ghastly Americanism, was the first clue I solved, followed very soon by the incorrectly enumerated 4d. I was on the point of throwing in the towel but I remembered having enjoyed your two previous RC offerings, so I pressed on…

    I am very glad I did as the rest of the puzzle proved to be good fun. Your surface readings are better in general than last time although several still didn’t ring true, notably 1a, 17a, 24a & 25a. This is one of the hardest parts of crossword setting and some nationally published setters (who shall remain nameless) still struggle with or choose to ignore this aspect.

    My top picks were 10a, 12a, 21a & 7d.

    Well done, Faz, and thank you. Your clue mechanics are in good order and you have some interesting ideas.

    Please use a conventional grid in future and keep working on polishing up your surfaces. Thanks too in advance to Prolixic.

    1. With regard to the Americanism, did you see comment 21 on the 15sq blog of the Amoeba puzzle??

      1. No, I didn’t see that, Sue. I exited Fifteensquared late in the day after comment 20.

        I am relieved to learn that “… ice for kill is confined to mob movies, and you won’t find ordinary Americans using it”. However, the commenter might reasonably have added “… confined to mob movies and cryptic crosswords”. 😉

  5. Welcome back Faz.

    I don’t often take notice of grids, but even I couldn’t fail to notice all those triple unches, some of them in most unhelpful places.

    An enjoyable solve over breakfast, my favourites are 10a and 4d (thanks to the 2Ks for the correct enumeration)

    Thanks Faz – please come back soon with another puzzle on a better grid. Thanks in advance to Prolixic

  6. I very rarely notice the grid but the triple unches did stand out. That apart it was a very enjoyable solving experience – thanks to Faz.
    My ticks went to 10a, 4d, 7d and 16d.

  7. Sadly ☹️ we didn’t notice the triple unches as the clues led us comfortably to the answer. We did notice 4d was incorrectly numbered as we saw the answer straightaway. We really enjoyed completing your puzzle over breakfast, Faz. More please. Thanks in advance to Prolixic.

  8. Thanks for the puzzle Faz, I enjoyed it. Favourites for me were 10a, 4d and 7d.

    I won’t go over the enumeration or triple unches again (this one’s a real shame though…)

    You’ve repeated party=do in 7d and 16d, which is not great when they’re only a few clues apart.

    And this is possibly a personal-taste thing, but the 3 intersecting straight cryptic definitions (6d, 12a and 8d) weren’t ideal for me. When there’s no wordplay in the clue, you’re relying on the solver to either spot it cold or use the checking letters, and the intersecting clues (combined with the triple unch in 12a) make checkers harder to get.

    Thanks again, and thanks in advance to Prolixic.

    1. Thank you for highlighting the 3 intersecting clues without wordplay, that hadn’t occurred to me – a very good point, noted.

  9. Welcome back, Faz.

    Sorry to harp on about the grid, but it was a big, big mistake. It is not totally uncommon to see triple unches in Rookie Corner submissions, but, like indirect anagrams, they should never appear.

    The clue mechanics are not that bad really, but I wasn’t totally convinced by several of the surfaces and some clues (like 6d and 15d) I felt could have been much better. 17a and 3d were both far wordier than most of the other clues and stood out for that reason. The pruning shears weren’t available, perhaps.

    I think that, with time (and a proper grid!) many of these faults can be ironed out and constructions like “put party before country” do suggest to me that you have the potential to be a good setter.

    Many thanks, Faz.

    1. Understood, thank you Silvanus, I do appreciate your clear focus on what can be improved, and your kind encouragement.

  10. Welcome back, Faz. Leaving aside the triple unch issues and the incorrect enumeration of 4d, there was much to enjoy in this one and it’s always nice to see a setter slipping in a bit of humour. Couple of clues that would have benefitted from a rather better surface read but perhaps that’s something to work on for next time? Top clues for me were 10,12&20a plus 16d.
    Hope to see you again soon.

  11. Really enjoyed this, Faz; thanks for the pleasure it gave me in solving it. I’m pretty good at solving but I wouldn’t know where to start with setting so, total respect!! Thanks for the effort that must have gone into compiling it.

  12. Huge thanks to Prolixic, and to all commentators – this is such a helpful offering to new(er) setters, a generous gift of guidance. Greatly appreciated.

  14. Very late on parade, but thought I would pop in to say that I enjoyed this a lot. The technical issues have been amply covered by my learned friends above, so I will not repeat them here.
    Plenty of smiles along the way and a big grin for 8d when the penny dropped.
    Thank you Faz. Please keep them coming.
    Thanks also to Prolixic, of course.

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