A Puzzle by Serbosh
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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.
Welcome back to Serbosh with a much improved crossword. There were fewer loose ends and a massive reduction in the repetition of wordplay indicators. Overall, the commentometer reads as 3.5/29 or 12.1%
Across
1a Déagol swimming as way to go (3,3)
OLD AGE: An anagram (swimming) of DÉAGOL.
4a Talks from the heart of misty mountain tops (6)
SPEAKS: The middle letter (heart) of misty followed by a five-letter word for mountain tops.
8a Burping noise filling part of building (7)
WINDING: A three-letter word for noise inside (filling) a four-letter word for part of a building.
9a Opportunities to reflect? (7)
MIRRORS: Cryptic definition of looking-glasses.
11a Crudest gag shocked company for dessert? (3,7)
EGG CUSTARD: An anagram (shocked) of CRUDEST GAG.
12a Gent found as March ends and April begins (4)
CHAP: The final two letters (ends) of March and the first two-letters (begins) of April. The cryptic grammar does not work in this clue. Ends would indicate the first and last letter, not an indeterminate number of last letters. Also April begins does not mean an indeterminate number of letters at the beginning of the word. Perhaps Gent found in March and April would work as a hidden word. You can ignore the and when solving.
13a Fly from Malta to Italy alongside daughter, finally ending voyage (5)
MIDGE: The IVR codes to Malta and Italy followed by the abbreviation for daughter and the last letters (finally) of ending voyage.
14a Get inside to her so as to be united (8)
TOGETHER: The GET from the clue inside the TO HER from the clue. Perhaps a little on the weak side as all the words of the solution are in the clue.
16a Property assumptions (8)
PREMISES: Double definition.
18a Largely humble ways of operating (5)
MODES: A six-letter word meaning humble with the final letter removed (largely).
20a Agitate takeaway from dodgy stairway (4)
STIR: Remove (take) away from the letters in STAIRWAY. Two points here. First, not all editors will accept an unindicated lift and separate where the solver has to split takeaway to take away. More importantly, the dodgy is not required as even when you get the wordplay, the letters to be removed are in order and the letters remaining are in order for the solution.
21a Loud then delicate, track has an airy trajectory (6,4)
FLIGHT PATH: The musical abbreviation for loud followed by a five-letter word meaning delicate and a four-letter word for a track.
23a Malfunctioning tie and belt: no change needed (3,2,2)
LET IT BE: An anagram (malfunctioning) of TIE BELT.
24a Withdraw again to indulge (7)
RETREAT: Split 2-5, this would mean to indulge again.
25a Müller downsizes for period of time (6)
SUMMER: Reduce each of the clothing sizes (medium and large) in Müller.
26a Inventor of “on-side” playing (6)
EDISON: An anagram (playing) of ONSIDE.
Down
1d In debt, leave capital of Russia, arguing (5)
OWING: Remove (leave) the first letter (capital) of Russia from a six-letter word meaning arguing. I think leaving would be better than leave. Always consider how the cryptic grammar works when solving the clue. Here “Arguing when leaving the capital of Russia in debt” would give an equally convincing surface reading but also give a set of cryptic instructions that word grammatically.
2d Figured out action: eating mostly duck (7)
DEDUCED: A four-letter word for an action includes (eating) the first three letters (mostly) of duck.
3d German with anxiety occasionally yearns for Peaky Blinders? (9)
GANGSTERS: The abbreviation for German followed by a five-letter word meaning anxiety and the even letters (occasionally) in yearns.
5d Continued to supply priest and deceived (5)
PLIED: The abbreviation for priest followed by a four-letter word meaning deceived.
6d Deviously, I rat cop to stoned one? (7)
APRICOT: An anagram (deviously) of I RAT COP.
7d Aurora Borealis features as seen on Twitch (9)
STREAMERS: Double definition.
10d Pop’s endless mark of approval – “Brilliant!” (9)
FANTASTIC: A five-letter word for a type of fizzy drink (pop) with the S added (pop’s) followed by a mark of approval with the final letter removed (endless). I am pleased to say that the repetition of wordplay indicators that were in the first of our setter’s crosswords have largely been eliminated. However “ends” in 12a and “endless” here are too similar.
13d Mess around tiler working for no point (9)
MERITLESS: The MESS from the clue around and anagram (working) of TILER.
15d Ivory defender? (9)
GUMSHIELD: Cryptic definition of a mouth guard. I think that for the cryptic definition to work, this would need to be Ivories.
17d During roam, six ramblers recalled Karl’s idea (7)
MARXISM: The answer is hidden (during) and reversed (recalled) in the second to fourth words of the clue.
19d Leaves short on cash, northbound without a penny (7)
DEPARTS: An eight-letter word meaning short of money without one of the letters P (penny) all reversed (northbound).
21d Lie about part of healthy diet (5)
FIBRE: A three-letter word for a lie followed by a two-letter word meaning about.
22d Improve strength through extra innings (5)
TRAIN: The answer is hidden (through) in the final two words of the clue.
Plenty of good clues here in what we found a reasonably accessible puzzle. Our favourite was 25a.
Thanks Serbosh.
Thank you. 25a was one I was concerned about including but probably my favourite, so it was nice to see your comment!
Thanks Serbosh for an entertaining end to my weekend of cruciverbalism which I enjoyed more than your first Rookie.
Smiles for 8a, 13a, 18a, 2d, 19d, and 21d.
Thanks again and thanks in advance to Prolixic.
Thanks for completing and your faves.
I enjoyed your first puzzle, Serbosh, and this one was even better.
I’m not convinced by the definition for 1a, and I can’t see why you need “dodgy” in 20a as there is no anagram involved and the letters being removed from STAIRWAY appear in the same order.
I am also not fully sure that you can use “ends” and ” begins” in 12a for each to indicate two letters. I’ll be interested to learn Prolixic’s view on this.
I had a plethora of ticks with 4a, 8a, 16a, 3d & 15d my top picks.
Many thanks and very well done, Serbosh. More like this would be most welcome.
Thank you very much! I appreciate your thoughts on specifics. I was unsure about subtracting words from fodder where the letters are in order but not together. Your positivity is greatly appreciated!
welcome back, Serbosh,
I also thought this was an improvement on your debut puzzle, but there were still a few clues that didn’t quite work. “Ivories” in the plural can mean teeth, but I’m not convinced that in the singular it can, as in 15d. “Leave” doesn’t work in the cryptic grammar for 1d and I think that the second part of 21a is too “same sidey”, i.e. track and path are too similar. As RD points out, 12a doesn’t work cryptically, I think 25a is clever, but maybe it is a little too ambitious.
I liked 10d and 21d, I thought 14a was rather disappointing.
An entertaining puzzle to solve and I do detect progress of sorts, so that’s always good to see. Many thanks, Serbosh.
Many thanks for your thoughts and the solve. I take your points on board and sadly agree with 14a.
Thanks, Serbosh, for a very entertaining puzzle.
Alas, the only Müllers I know are German footballers … and I was terrible at maths.
Looking forward to your promotion out of Rookie Corner and into the NTSPP!
Much appreciated thank you!
Many thanks to Prolixic for the comments. It’s really useful to see the potential rewrite of 1d in particular. A brief query I have: I wonder if anyone can explain. A couple of times I’ve been pulled up for “unindicated life and separate” clues. Is there a way to indicate these? Or are they all frowned upon in certain circles?
It will depend on the editor as to whether they will accept a requirement to split a word without an indicator in the clue. As such I don’t mark down setters for including them.
Normally, you need indicate that there is a split required in the word. You could use use words such as split, literally, divided, word for word, broken etc. It is quite tricky to get right to maintain the surface reading of the clue. In your clue the current surface reading is not the smoothest to start with so adding another indicator would not necessarily work. A reworking (still rough) would be “Commotion coming from disrupted hideaway in stairway”
Thank you!
Just back from holiday and enjoyed your puzzle. Thank you, Serbosh. We look forward to your next one.
Thanks also to Prolixic.