A Puzzle by Buddy
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
Buddy follows up his impressive debut with another enjoyable puzzle. Thanks to him.
Across
1a Strange clue: "Vitric bars" - she can solve it! (14)
CRUCIVERBALIST: CLUE VITRIC BARS* (strange)
8a Cutting precisely (5)
SHARP: Double definition
9a Naked tenors at Cambridge university, reportedly? Why, it's an outrage! (8)
ENORMITY: tENORs (naked) plus MIT plus Y
11a Alumnus finally finds solution for cryptic (7)
OBSCURE: Abbreviated Old Boy plus findS plus synonym of solution
12a Hint of lemon found in hot German bread (7)
STOLLEN: First letter of Lemon inside hot as in not paid for
13a Fresh, bracing air in capital of Ontario province (5)
OZONE: Capital (letter) of Ontario plus province/area
15a Forgiving rude, heartless letter (9)
REMISSIVE: RudE (heartless) plus a letter or correspondence
17a Like two states occupied by Einstein, oddly (9)
IDENTICAL: Two abbreviated American states outside EiNsTeIn
20a Old bailiff briefed Veep periodically (5)
REEVE: Even letters of briefed Veep (Veep..an informal name for JD Vance I assume)
21a Lecture to Include research summary at the start (7)
ADDRESS: A word that could mean to include, the abbreviation for RESearch plus initial letter of Summary
23a Poet's on the beach as craft returns, then at last departs (7)
ASTRAND: As from the clue, a synonym of craft or skill reversed plus theN plus the abbreviation for Departs
25a Buddy leading old, inferior, tailless horse (8)
PALOMINO: Buddy/friend (not the setter!) plus Old plus a synonym of inferior without its last letter
26a Mature grouse caught (5)
GROWN: A homophone of grouse as a verb. Nice
27a Irrelevance of hint, provided I'm able to see end of clue (14)
INSIGNIFICANCE: IN plus a synonym of hint/indication plus a conjunction meaning provided plus I CAN plus see/C plus cluE
Down
1d Sophisticated operator taken by fancy limo between two functions (12)
COSMOPOLITAN: Two mathematical functions around LIMO* into which is inserted OPerator
2d Mountains cloaked in natural splendour (5)
URALS: Hidden
3d Indiscreet rascal with smutty books (9)
IMPRUDENT: The usual three-letter rascal plus smutty/blue plus biblical books
4d I heard women are breaking glasses (7)
EYEWEAR: Homophone of I plus the abbreviation for Women plus ARE*
5d Flower's destruction, squashed by rampant horde (7)
BLOSSOM: A synonym of destruction inside a horde reversed (rampant in a down clue)
6d Climb over fences in this dance? Yes and no (5)
LIMBO: Nicely hidden and extended/cryptic definition. Excellent
7d Minion posed with jet set, getting a taste of luxury (9)
SATELLITE: A synonym of posed plus a synonym of jet set/cream around initial letter of Luxury. Great surface
10d In Delaware jail, study limits of cellhouse autonomy (12)
INDEPENDENCE: In from the clue, the abbn for DElaware, a jail/cage, a study, and the outside letters of CellhousE
14d In the red? That's exaggerated (9)
OVERDRAWN: Double/cryptic definition
16d Tactical situation constraining Republican government in charge (9)
STRATEGIC: A situation/condition outside Republican plus the abbreviation for Government plus IC
18d Giving up on meeting in the auditorium (7)
CESSION: A homophone of a meeting/length of time
19d Start the French song and dance very loudly (4,3)
LEAD OFF: French definite article plus a fuss or “song and dance” plus a musical “very loudly”
22d Mushroom seen in garden next to Okinawa (5)
ENOKI: If we place gardEN “next to” OKInawa we have a hidden. Probably a personal thing but can't say I'm overly keen on this construction.
24d Dress before party on river at noon (5)
ADORN: A plus usual 2-letter party plus R(iver) plus N
An enjoyable lunchtime diversion.
Thanks to Buddy and, in advance, to Stephen
A very enjoyable puzzle – thanks to Buddy.
I didn’t know the mushroom but the worplay was clear.
I have ticks for 23a, 25a, 3d and 19d with my favourite clue being the clever 6d.
No caffeine required, although it was a close run thing. Thanks Buddy, probably a little more challenging than you first NTSPP.
Smiles for 12a, 23a, 26a, 1d (after I had confirmed the validity of the abbreviation for operator), and the Lego® galore 10d.
Thanks again and thanks in advance to Stephen L.
P.S. A general comment, not aimed directly at you Buddy, even the best setters fall into this trap – one of my Quixotic windmills, with my military background, there is always some slight annoyance when tactical and strategic are used as synonyms; they are related but not synonymic.
Senf, yes, I’m well aware of the difference between strategy and tactics (the difference is discussed endlessly in faculty meetings, although the stakes there are minuscule compared to the military’s). I went back and forth endlessly on that one but ultimately leaned on the perhaps shaky crutch that both are in Chambers thesaurus, under the other’s headword.
Thanks to you (and others) for comments so far.
Well done and thank you, Buddy. This was absolutely first rate and a pleasure to solve.
Senf has saved me from having to comment at length about the non-equivalence of strategy and tactics, which is particularly true for me in the world of chess, not having Senf’s military background. I also don’t like the use of words for letters, particularly see = C, but I can see the attraction for setters.
My page was littered with ticks with 3d in first place courtesy of the smutty books.
More like this would be most welcome.
Thank you for another NTSPP compilation, Buddy. I did feel the need to check on a couple of the definitions used in this one and admit that I didn’t know the correct term for the 22d mushroom – sadly, I probably won’t even remember it now! The construction of 22d seems a little odd but nobody else has mentioned it so I presume it must be acceptable. Top clues for me were 12a plus 3&6d.
I was going to comment on the construction of 22d but I got pre-occupied tilting at my strategic/tactical windmill. It seems that 22d is an ‘indirect’ lurker, if there is such a thing and it is allowed.
Place garden immediately before (next to) Okinawa and then find the mushroom lurking (seen in) the two words.
Yes, that’s how I worked it out, but hard to believe that it’s an acceptable format.
I’ve seen clues like this before which is how I knew what to do this time
Re 22, I was quite careful to find a few examples of that kind of construction before using it here!
As for RD’s SEE=C, I felt on solid ground there as Chambers (3rd headword) specifically defines See as “the third letter of the alphabet (C, c)”. It does bug me when I see, e.g., YOU = U without a homophone indicator (which is why 9a has one).
More on strategy/tactics, where I got hung up was in finding a pithy def for strategic (Chambers defines it as “relating to strategy” – not helpful). It seems the great clue for the word has yet to be written (perhaps future setters should just steer clear).
Thanks to all for comments!
Here’s one that would probably only work in Canada. Strategic is an anagram of tigercats. One of the CFL teams (Canadian Football – similar to NFL American Football) is the Hamilton (near Toronto) Tigercats. I haven’t thought further than that but i am sure it could be worked on that basis.
Yes, I saw the homophone indicator in 9a which earned a tick from me.
Even though they are included in the main dictionaries, my objection to the having words for letters is when would someone (other than a crossword setter) actually use them? Would anyone ever write “See is the third letter of the alphabet” rather than “C is the third letter of the alphabet”.
I agree with you about the acceptability of the construction in 22d. Quite often anagram fodder is split with “and” or “with” to provide a smooth surface, so I don’t see why a similar principle shouldn’t apply here.
Thanks for the puzzle Buddy, I enjoyed it. I’ll echo a previous comment in liking 12a, 3d and 6d the most.
Re 22d, I think it’s probably fine for me (but right up against the limit!). I have seen constructions more along the lines of “revealed when WORD1 and WORD2 collide” which still split the bits of the lurker, but make it crystal clear how the mechanics work. I think those kind of things are a bit fairer to the solver.
Thanks again, and thanks in advance to StephenL.
Loved the puzzle, thank you Buddy. We look forward to more from you. We need to check a couple of answers with StephenL tomorrow for the parsing.
Many thanks for the review, Stephen. Relieved to see that you’re another who wasn’t overly keen on the construction of 22d.
An enjoyable after-lunch solve. Thanks, Buddy and SL.
Thanks for the review Stephen. I’m happy with 22d; no harm in trying some new ideas now and then!
Only just getting around to posting after a busy weekend, although I did manage to enjoy this puzzle on Saturday evening. Several ticks are on my printout; I particularly liked the surfaces and constructions of 26a, 1d, 4d, 5d, 6d and 19d. I hadn’t heard of the mushroom in 22d, but the wordplay gaining attention in the comments was clear enough for me – I’m sure I’ve seen something similar from Elgar, to name but one! I was more exercised by identifying 27a’s ‘IN’ and 24d’s ‘A’, but satisfied myself with e.g. ‘…one OF five…’ being synonymous with ‘IN’ and discovering a medical prescription abbreviation AC being the Latin for ‘before meals’, or alternatively AM as in ‘before noon’. I’m now better prepared for the next time I come across these snippets of wordplay!
My thanks to Buddy and to StephenL.