A Puzzle by Buddy
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
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 to Buddy with an assured crossword debut. Aside from some minor cryptic grammar points, the main thing to watch is the repetition of wordplay elements. The commentometer reads as 6 / 33 or 18.2%
Across
9a Perfect meal cooked by bachelor? Not so much (9)
BLAMELESS: An anagram (cooked) of MEAL after (by) the abbreviation for bachelor followed by a four-letter word meaning not so much.
10a I start to tire after siesta – that’s unfortunate (5)
INAPT: The I from the clue followed by the first letter (start to) of tire after a three-letter word for a siesta.
11a Duck returns, about to perish (5)
EIDER: A reversal (returns) of a two-letter word meaning about and a three-letter word meaning to perish. For the cryptic grammar to word, returning would be better that returns or the returns could be moved to the end of the clue.
12a Saki, for one, can make my nose start to dry up (9)
PSEUDONYM: An anagram (can make) of MY NOSE D (start to dry) UP. Try to avoid repeating wordplay indicators. Start to has been used as an initial letter indicator in 10a.
13a Romeo and Juliet perhaps allowed uneasy rest (7)
LETTERS: A three-letter word meaning allowed followed by an anagram (uneasy) of REST.
14a Maintain ten second interval? That’s energetic! (7)
INTENSE: The answer is hidden (interval?) in the first three words of the clue. I am not convinced that interval works as a hidden word indicator.
17a Heath is missing? Great (5)
NOTED: Split 2,3, this might indicate that Edward Heath is missing. Perhaps an indicator that Heath is a definition by example of someone called Edward would be better.
19a Get a grip! (3)
BAG: Double definition.
20a Very upset, Austrians angrily turn away (5)
ASSAI: An anagram (upset) of AUSTRIANS after removing (away) an anagram (angrily) of TURN.
21a She chides son, showing less sympathy (7)
SCOLDER: The abbreviation for son followed by a six-letter word meaning showing less sympathy.
22a Rarely anticipate penny drop (7)
PRECEDE: The abbreviation for penny followed by a six-letter word meaning drop.
24a Computer put “mother” below “me” (9)
MAINFRAME: A two-letter word for mother followed by a five-letter Latin word meaning below and the ME from the clue. I don’t think that put on its own works in the cryptic grammar. Perhaps writing or putting down would be better.
26a Outcome is assured when odd characters drop out (5)
ISSUE: The IS from the clue followed by the even letters (when odd characters drop out) of assured.
28a Little woman met with interest in dive bar (5)
JOINT: The name of one of the characters in Little Women followed by a three-letter abbreviation for interest.
29a Beat up rival (9)
OVERMATCH: A four-letter word meaning up followed by a five-letter word meaning to rival.
Down
1d Expert packs up duffel bag (4)
ABLE: The answer is hidden (packs) and reversed (up) in the last two words of the clue.
2d Outlaw group sex (6)
BANDIT: A four-letter word for a group followed by a two-letter word for sex.
3d A buddy? In fact, not when you’ve done this! (10)
DEFRIENDED: A six-letter word for a buddy inside (in) a four-letter word for fact. As mentioned, where possible the wordplay should contain elements that are distinct to the solution.
4d Times temporises when outing source (6)
TEMPOS: Remove (outing) a four-letter word for source from the second word of the clue.
5d Introducing R&B star in German (8)
USHERING: A five-letter word for a R&B star followed by the IN from the clue and the abbreviation for German.
6d Drew stipends from prime positions (4)
TIED: The letters occupying the slots in the second word of the clue that are prime numbers.
7d Pay is almost nothing at first? Resign angrily (8)
EARNINGS: An anagram (angrily) of A N (almost nothing at first) RESIGN. Another repetition. Angrily was used as an anagram indicator in 20a. Is as a link word does not work in the construction definition is wordplay. Definition has wordplay works and could be indicated by Pay’s almost nothing at first…
8d Scrap half the alphabet (4)
ATOM: Split 1,2,1, this would indicate the first half of the alphabet.
13d Streaks in central Dallas (5)
LINES: What the middle letters of the last word of the clue indicate if they are read as abbreviations.
15d Confused, I master only half of puzzle – figures! (10)
TRAPEZIUMS: An anagram (confused) of I MASTER PUZ (only half of puzzle).
16d Ban half the team, but send 9 back in (5)
EXILE: One half of the word indicating the number of players in a football team includes (in) a reversal (send…back) the Roman numeral for 9.
18d Like 15, or some sloths? (8)
TWODIGIT: Double definition, the first by reference to the number of figures in the number 15. The enumeration should be 3-5.
19d Swooning abroad in hot air of island (8)
BARBADOS: An anagram (swooning) of ABROAD in the abbreviation for bullshit (hot-air). Another wordplay repetition where IN has been used as an insertion indicator in 3d. Some editors will not allow the construction wordplay of definition with of being the link word.
22d Looked annoyed when volume is soft (6)
PEEPED: A six-letter word meaning annoyed with the V (volume) changed to P (soft).
23d Counterfeit guilders at Zurich banks (6)
ERSATZ: The answer is hidden (banks) in the second to fourth words of the clue.
24d Charm of Frenchman attracts eye of Spaniard (4)
MOJO: The abbreviation for monsieur followed by (attracts) a three-letter Spanish word for eye. I wonder if requiring knowledge of the Spanish word for a part of the body is a stretch to far?
25d In hearing, outcome is fair (4)
FETE: A homophone (in hearing) of FATE (outcome)
27d Author pens his first remembrance (4)
ECHO: The three-letter surname of the Italian author Umberto includes (pens) the first letter of his. There is a repetition of first as an initial letter indicator. It was used in 7d. Also, to indicate the first letter, you need first of word, or word’s first. Word first on its own does not work in the cryptic reading of the clue.
Thanks Buddy, lots to enjoy in a satisfyingly challenging solve. Favourites include 12a (though maybe “could” rather than “can”?), 17a, 20a, 21a, 2d, 7d & 18d (though I think enumeration should be 3-5?) A few minor quibbles, too – the cryptic grammar didn’t seem *quite* right in places (eg 11a “returning” rather than “returns”; 1d’s “up” maybe better at end; 27d’s “his first” doesn’t quite give you “first of his”…) and some bits arguably felt ever-so-slightly ‘same-sidey’ (where an element in the clue is too close to its meaning in the solution – eg 9a’s “not so much”, elements of 29a, 4d’s choice of fodder…) – but these are very minor points that I don’t think should detract from a clever ‘toughie’ overall. Look forward to more from Buddy – thanks again, and in advance to Prolixic
Hi Fez, thanks for the feedback.
The term “same-sidey” is new to me. Rabbit Dave below uses 3d as an example. For the wordplay I used, I needed a word meaning “friend” inside a word meaning “deed”. And of course the word I used is a close synonym of “friend”. So is your suggestion that I should not have used that type of wordplay, or that I should have found a different word for friend?
Welcome to the blog, buddy and thanks for the enjoyable puzzle.
Hi there. Well done your debut crossword. I think the issue is fundamental to that form of wordplay: ‘friend’ is the root word of ‘defriended’. It’s just chance that the letters of ‘deed’ are found at the ends of the ‘defriended’, but it isn’t a co-incidence that the letters of ‘friend’ appear in the middle of it: they are essential to its meaning.
So with ‘friend’ being key to the solution’s meaning, it’s a bit same-sidey to have a synonym for ‘friend’ in the wordplay as well (unless you could find another meaning of ‘friend’ which wasn’t as closely linked to being friends with somebody; maybe Quaker would work?).
Hope that makes sense.
Welcome to Rookie Corner, Buddy. Although this is your debut submission here, I very much doubt that this impressive effort is your first ever crossword.
Your clueing is brief and mostly accurate with generally smooth surfaces. It was a lot of fun to solve with only a very few minor comments from me:
– 3d is “same-sidey” with friend involved in the wordplay and the answer, and, a very minor point, the BRB describes “fact” meaning “deed” as archaic.
– 18d should be enumerated (3,5) or (3-5).
– Is “of” OK as the link word between wordplay and definition in 19d?
I had a lot of ticks, with 2d my favourite.
Many thanks, Buddy, and very well done. Many thanks too in advance to Prolixic.
Hi Dave, thanks for the feedback. This is in fact (the 4th or 5th draft of) my first-ever puzzle, although I have been participating for the last few years in the clue-writing contests we hold weekly at http://www.crosswordsolver.org/forum (they’re fun! join us!).
See my question to Fez above about the term “same-sidey”. I would be interested in your further thoughts as well.
Thanks for popping in, Buddy. The fact that this is your first puzzle is truly extraordinary.
“Same-sidey” has been coined on this blog generally to refer to double definitions where both parts are essentially the same. On reflection, I think I have been a bit harsh in applying it to 3d.
A very enjoyable challenge – thank you Buddy and welcome to the Corner
Thanks in advance to Prolixic
I thought that this was very impressive and quite tough. I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks Buddy.
I’d never heard of the 4d R&B star so that needed verifying.
My ticks went to 17a, 21a and 13d with my favourite being 2d.
More like this please.
Thanks Gazza. I did wonder about 4d, but his Wiki page indicated that he’s played big shows in the UK before, so I thought it might be OK. But as an American who has had to learn far more about “Dad’s Army” over the years than he really wanted to know, I also thought it would be OK for you all to learn some possibly-obscure US pop culture as well. I think you will look forward to my next offering, which is entirely about baseball…
I knew the singer, and I’m definitely not a fan of that genre of music. His debut hit You Make Me Wanna got to number 1 in the UK in 1998, and he’s had 19 more top-10 hits since then (the most recent in 2015), including another 3 number 1s. So as R n B performers go, he’s about as famous as any.
Of course some solvers won’t know any R n B musicians. But then I know almost nothing about opera, wine-growing regions, rugby, Greek myths, and abbreviations for sailors that were big in the 1800s, all of which crop up in crosswords. So musical acts who have topped the charts multiple times within most solvers’ lifetime seem completely fair to me.
Welcome to The Corner, Buddy, always nice to see a new face here. There were certainly a few teasers in this one and most of my queries have already been mentioned by others. Best of the bunch for me were 2d and 17a.
Look forward to seeing more from you although I’m not too sure I’d cope very well with baseball!
A very warm welcome to Rookie Corner, Buddy.
Like Gazza, I found this a tough solve too but, for a debut puzzle, I was very impressed. The surfaces mostly read well, there was a lot of invention and clever constructions to be found and, technically, not a lot to fault. In fact, I used a similar construction myself recently for 8d (“Scrap half of the letters one writes?”), so I certainly won’t criticize that one! As has been mentioned by Fez, there were one or two cryptic grammar issues and I would like to have seen a “possibly” or “maybe” to accompany “Heath” in 17a. I agree with what others have said about 3d, but it’s a hard solution to clue.
Overall, far, far more positives than negatives, so I certainly await your next submission with interest. Congratulations and many thanks, Buddy.
I too thought this a highly impressive debut offering albeit a very challenging solve. Must admit to revealing a few strategic letters to complete as pushed for time. Other than the enumeration at 18d I couldn’t see much to quibble with & like Jane 2d & 17a were the top two for me.
Many thanks & congrats Buddy. Look forward to your next one – a tad less demanding hopefully 🤞
Thanks for the additional feedback from everyone. Interesting comments about the puzzle’s difficulty level, as I am finding that is the hardest thing for me to judge (I personally did not have any difficulty solving any of the clues, after I wrote them). One draft of this puzzle had a lot more anagrams, but one of my testers told me I had too many, so I got rid of some, which probably upped the difficulty a bit.
Thank you for the puzzle, Buddy. A challenging solve for us also. We completed about one third without problems and then struggled. Favourites were 2d, 17a and 8d. We look forward to Prolixic’s review tomorrow to understand some of the answers. I don’t think we’ll cope well with baseball!
I know it’s a souped-up version of rounders and there’s a diamond, a mound and a pitcher involved plus everyone seems to idolise Babe Ruth – bet none of those come up in the puzzle!
And they call an innings an inning …
Ah well, at least it’s not called an inningz!
Thanks for the blog Prolixic. I need to have “commentometer” explained!
B. I didn’t have time to solve this yesterday but have had a quick run through this morning and it seems like a pretty good first effort to me. There seems to be a mini-spate of infectious comments about “same-sideyness” (a term usually applied to double definitions). People seem to be mentioning that some synonyms in the clue/answer (9a, 3d) are too obvious/similar (I don’t agree, but that’s my personal opinion and I’m no expert). Often on here you read complaints about synonyms/defintitons being “stretched” (ie unfamiliar/obscure but rarely invalid), so you can never please everybody.
Re the commentometer, I think it works something like this. There are 33 clues and 6 of them have been deemed to contain technical flaws worthy of affecting the score (although more than 6 have italicised comments attached in the review). So; it’s 6/33 or 18.2% have a flaw of some sort. Not bad at all for a debut puzzle!