A Puzzle by Jaffa
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The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.
A friendly Saturday lunchtime puzzle with lots to enjoy. The clues I particularly liked were 4a, 10a, 25a and 14d
Across
1a Father was disheartened producing fruit (6)
PAPAWS: An old pet name for a father and the outside (disheartened) letters of WaS
4a Get hot under the collar about steeplejack's rate of pay (8)
PERSPIRE: If a steeplejack was contracted to work on a number of church buildings, he might well be paid xxx xxxxx
9a Stated admiration for French sea mollusc (5)
ORMER: A homophone (stated) of reverential wonder (admiration) and the French word for sea
10a Ophidian temper tantrum? (5,3)
HISSY FIT: A snake (ophidian) might have such a temper tantrum
12a A small measure of concern for memory (8)
ANGSTROM: A feeling of anxiety (concern) and computer memory
13a Two old monarchs have a butcher's (6)
GANDER: Regnal ciphers for old monarchs with AND between them
16a Mr Clunes maybe out, heading west by public transport (4)
TRAM: The forename of Mr Clunes the actor without the ‘home’ (may be out or not xx)
17a Hidden obstacle - it's a laugh! (2-2)
HA-HA: A hidden ditch forming an obstacle or a laugh
18a Function of Company Secretary (5)
COSEC: Abbreviations for company and secretary
20a No-one at home to protect Welsh town (5)
NEATH: Hidden in (protected by) no-oNE AT Home
21a The Little Corporal, being competent, came back from here (4)
ELBA: A reversal (came back) of a synonym for competent
22a Gusto displayed by monk joining binary couple (4)
BRIO: An abbreviated monk and the binary notation for two (couple)
24a Apprehension of peacekeepers with return of regular messmates (6)
UNEASE: The abbreviated peacekeepers and a reversal of the regular letters of mEsSmAtEs
25a Green Beret debriefed (8)
COMMANDO: A military person who wears a green beret or (originally US military slang) for forgoing the use of underpants (de briefed)
27a Halt! A jam is developing at the mausoleum (3,5)
TAJ MAHAL: An anagram (is developing) of HALT A JAM
29a Central citadel hides capital (5)
DELHI: Hidden in citaDEL HIdes
30a Barcelona's home star is a ladies' man (8)
CASANOVA: The Spanish word for home and a star
31a Dieter organized a second revision of document (2-4)
RE-EDIT: An anagram (organised) of DIETER
Down
1d At 91, the Daddy of all elements? (12)
PROTACTINIUM: Chemical element no 91 – the symbol for which is Pa – possibly making it the ‘daddy’ of all elements
2d Oriental fruit stone reportedly exported from England to Oz (11)
POMEGRANATE: An Australian name for someone coming from England and a homophone of a type of stone
3d Bees heading off on Thursday find love (6)
WARMTH: A body of bees without the first letter (heading off) and an abbreviation for Thursday
5d The language of free verses? (4)
ERSE: Remove the outside letters (free) of vERSEs
6d Odd story with oral origin found in Asian cuisine (3,5)
SOY SAUCE: The odd letters of StOrY and a homophone (oral) of the origin of something
7d Old industrial conglomerate here in France (3)
ICI: An old industrial conglomerate or the French word for here
8d Compounds where pairs of rooks are audible (9)
CHROMATES: A homophone of a member of the rook family followed by part of a verb meaning pairs
11d Expert arranges to co-opt girls for explorations of dark passages (12)
PROCTOLOGIST: An anagram (arranges) of TO CO OPT GIRLS
14d Cook nuts with griddle for a pig suffering with laryngitis? (11)
DISGRUNTLED: An anagram (cook) of NUTS with GRIDDLE – if a pig had laryngitis he would have had his usual noise ‘removed’
15d Grass, unknown to the French, will discombobulate (9)
BAMBOOZLE: A type of grass, a mathematical unknown and the French word for the
19d B, N and P usually B/W (8)
CHESSMEN: The B N and P are abbreviations for pieces in a particular board game
23d Wee bit of southern Scottish pest (6)
SMIDGE: The abbreviation for Southern and a Scottish pest
26d Take tea with Victor. He has money but no taste (4)
CHAV: Another word for tea and the letter represented by Victor in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
28d Primarily a silly sausage (3)
ASS: A and the primary letters of Silly and Sausage
There are some great laughs here – many thanks to Jaffa for brightening up my day.
I particularly liked 4a (though it could do with a question mark in my opinion), 10a, 25a, 30a, 1d, 8d and 15d. Biggest laugh came from the definition of 11d.
For me, etc, Jaffa not as challenging as he usually is but there were quite a few pauses for thought in this enjoyable NTSPP.
Smiles for 12a, 25a, 30a, 8d, 19d, and 23d.
Thanks Jaffa and thanks in advance to CS.
The second quirky but fun puzzle of the day although, in my opinion, there were a few instances of bending the rules too far:
4a – the definition doesn’t lead to the answer
12a – “for” looks like surface padding to me
13a – hmm!
29a – the hidden answer is not “central”
11d – I don’t think it works to split the definition by inserting the wordplay within it
23d – isn’t “Scottish” unnecessary?
My top picks were 25a, 30a, 1d, 8d & 19d.
Many thanks, Jaffa.
Having made rapid progress initially, I then stalled somewhat until I had figured out the 11d ‘expert’ and checked out the ‘Daddy element’. The puzzle was completed with lots of PDMs, laughs and the odd groan! Initial ticks went to the pleasing clues for 22a, 3d, 19d (a bit of novelty there) and 23d; then further ticks went to 4a, 25a, 2d, 8d and 14d for the splendid PDMs and chuckles. I did wonder about the ‘monarch’s sharing the ‘R’ as it does represent something different, and the ‘capital’ wasn’t precisely ‘central’, but that’s being very pernickety in the midst of a fun-filled puzzle.
To echo Gazza – my thanks to Jaffa for brightening up a so-far dull, rainy day in Kent.
A good puzzle for Sunday morning for me. Enjoyed this, with a few pauses for thought along the way.
Favourites for me 4a, 12a, 18a, 27a, 19d & 23d
Thanks to Jaffa & CS
That made a delightful end to my day even though I’m not au fait with that small measure, the compound or a lot of the long list of elements, so had to check with Mr G about those. Plenty of ticks amongst which were 4,10,25,27&30a plus 7,15&23d.
Many thanks for all the chuckles, Jaffa.
Heaps of fun with chuckles all the way. Special chuckle for 25a.
Thanks Jaffa.
Thank you for taking time to attempt the crossword and your subsequent kind words. I’m pleased that I’ve raised a smile or two. I think 18 (of 32) clues have been mentioned in dispatches by you so I guess I’m doing some things right. I’ll comment in more detail after the review is published.
Once again, thank you.
Fairly rapid progress for the most part then some head-scratching over 12ac, 11dn and 16dn. I had to remind myself, too, what element 91 is in the periodic table. 25ac raised a smile.
Thanks, Jaffa and CS.
Many thanks for the review, CS, looks as though you drew the short straw this weekend, presumably covering for Stephen?
Jaffa is a nationally-published setter so I always blog his crosswords.
Thank you Sue for the wonderfully illustrated review. I don’t think I’ve seen the inside of a papaw before. I have, during my Guernsey days, seen ormers but in nearly 40 years I never tasted one – a criminal mistake I feel. They have to be cooked very quickly or stewed slowly forever I believe. Their collection is rigorously policed to preserve stocks but with global warming they’ll undoubtedly soon reach the south coast of England…😂
To answer some of RD’s queries.
4a – I’m afraid I’m struggling to see the problem with it but there again it may be because I’m doing O-Level Crosswording and I’m missing the point
12a – is “for” padding? It was used to provide a hopefully smooth surface. Without it the whole clue would need rejigging
13a – yes, probably guilty as charged. More thought was needed
29a – yes, the answer is not central. My Chambers Crossword Dictionary tells me that CENTRAL is both a hidden indicator and central selection indicator. I think I ignored the second definition but I must admit if I’d been solving this unseen I too would have been busy counting letters.
11d – I did wonder if splitting the definition in this way was allowable. I think the desire for a smooth surface was the motivation and my puerile sense of humour was quite amused by my own definition. My big sister was not so impressed…. I’ve been disappointing her for over 70 years 😂
23d – yes, I think the clue works without Scottish but I think midges are particularly associated with the country. Having now lived here for four years I can confirm that this is true!
For those of you struggling with my use of the Periodic Table please be assured that without looking it up I would not have known the atomic number of protactinium. The symbols of the P? elements are quite a nightmare – why is Pa not palladium? My inner (retired) chemistry teacher can still correctly position about half the elements (50 or so). I know that uranium has an atomic number of 92 but as for all the transuranic new kids on the block I’d probably have to watch more Pointless episodes!
Once again a big thank you to Sue for all her help and let’s not forget Mr K masterminding the NTSPP slot from afar.
Many thanks for taking the time to reply in detail.
For 4a, being “hot under the collar” means being agitated or angry, not perspiring.
Even though I seem to have ended up making quite a number of comments, I would like to stress that I really enjoyed the puzzle. The most important thing is that it was jolly good fun!
Thank you for the elucidation with which the BRB agrees. If you ask the Chambers Thesaurus for synonyms it comes back with about twenty words, none of which seem to require antiperspirant! Incandescent is probably the closest I can get to my interpretation.
Everyday is, I guess, a school day. Thank you for your help. I’m glad you enjoyed the crossword 😎
I enjoyed this NTSPP very much. It was fun, and it was also quite challenging in places.
My selection of especial likes includes 4a (I saw no problem with this), 21a, 30a, 1d, 7a, 15d, 19d and 23d. I also liked 1a. I did have to check the Periodic Table for 91. Very apt and very clever.
Thanks very much, Jaffa, for the entertainment.
Many thanks to crypticsue for the review. I needed the explanation of my answer to 25a. My answer to 8d was only partially correct, I regret to say. The clarification of these is much appreciated.
A somewhat belated reply but thank you for taking time to attempt the puzzle and your kind words. Re. 1d, I’m afraid my inner chemist cannot resist including the name of a chemical element when the possibility arises…😂