English can be a frustrating language, what with its multiple ways of expressing the same thing, many meanings and word forms for the same “word”, and countless variations of spelling and pronounciations. Of course, it’s most of these things that allow cryptic crosswords to exist – without synonyms crosswords simply wouldn’t have been invented. I especially like pure “luck”, when words are joined to make a completely unrelated word (like A BAND ON) or when one word is put inside another creating a magic new word. Such is the case in this crossword with 1-down, where FLESH gets put inside RIOT giving RIFLE-SHOT. It’s a joy when something like this is spotted, because it doesn’t happen that often and I know a straightforward clue construction is in the offing.
| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | RECONCILED | |
| Circle done out of shape is patched up (10) | Anagram of CIRCLE DONE | |
| 6 | POP | |
| Music that initially appealed to the young father (3) | Double Definition | |
| 8 | FRAGMENT | |
| Split up old cloth pieces measured in feet (8) | (RAG + MEN) inside FT | |
| 9 | CALL IN | |
| Withdraw from start of college, exhausted (4,2) | (C)OLLEGE + ALL IN | |
| 10 | ETCH | |
| Eat into piece of bittersweet chocolate (4) | bittersweET CHocolate | |
| 11 | INELEGANCE | |
| Tipsy niece embracing member with an awkwardness (10) | Anagram of NIECE outside (LEG + AN) | |
| 12 | HOLD HANDS | |
| Hard veterans display unity (4,5) | H + OLD HANDS | |
| 14 | HARSH | |
| Hospital treated rash that’s severe (5) | H + anagram of RASH | |
| 17 | THERE | |
| That place, the area in the middle (5) | THE + A(RE)A | |
| 19 | HYPERTEXT | |
| Hot former partner used in pretty rotten reference material (9) | H + (EX inside anagram of PRETTY) | |
| 22 | FOR CERTAIN | |
| Powerful group damaged train without doubt (3,7) | FORCE + anagram of TRAIN | |
| 23 | BUSH | |
| Scrub a metal sleeve used in drilling (4) | Double Definition | |
| 24 | REVIEW | |
| Assessment on contest was lacking, for instance (6) | RE + VIE + (WAS minus AS) | |
| 25 | NAIL-FILE | |
| Zip around a queue with digital maintenance equipment (4-4) | NIL outside A + FILE | |
| 26 | SEE | |
| Recognise marine in audience (3) | Sounds like SEA | |
| 27 | RESENTMENT | |
| Bitterness projected by the writer during split (10) | (SENT + ME) inside RENT | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | RIFLE-SHOT | |
| Gunfire one’s own family witnessed in mob violence (5-4) | FLESH inside RIOT | |
| 2 | CHANCEL | |
| Opening large part of a church reserved for the clergy and choir (7) | CHANCE + L | |
| 3 | CHEMICAL | |
| He laminated stuff in chlorine substance produced in a lab (8) | (HE + MICA) inside CL | |
| 4 | LATTER-DAY SAINTS | |
| Believers translated it, say, inaccurately (6-3,6) | Anagram of TRANSLATED IT SAY | |
| 5 | DOCKED | |
| Dropped anchor may be cut off (6) | Double Definition | |
| 6 | PULL APART | |
| Dismantle trap totally back to front (4,5) | (TRAP + ALL UP) reversed | |
| 7 | PRINCES | |
| Sovereigns to be not initially included in monetary worth (7) | (N)OT inisde PRICES | |
| 13 | DIRECTIVE | |
| Sort of credit that is broken by opposing ruling (9) | Anagram of CREDIT + (IE outside V) | |
| 15 | HATCHMENT | |
| Soldiers, following plan on time, armed device? (9) | (MEN after HATCH) + T | |
| 16 | NEON SIGN | |
| No mingling with officer’s public promotion (4,4) | NO mingling with ENSIGN | |
| 18 | HOOTERS | |
| Head office refitted store’s sirens (7) | HO + anagram of STORE | |
| 20 | ELUSIVE | |
| The Spanish American I have contracted is difficult to describe (7) | EL + US + IVE | |
| 21 | BREWER | |
| Beer maker’s bar doing without a large jug (6) | BAR minus A + EWER |
There was much to enjoy here. I ended having to search for a couple of synonyms to finish it, but the problems were all mine. Except for 5 down: docking involves pulling up to or into a dock. Here the vessel is secured to the dock by lines. The anchor isn’t deployed. Dropping anchor is something that is done in open water where there’s nothing to secure the vessel to. “Mooring” can apply either scenario, but “dock” and “drop anchor” only apply to one or the other.
Or am I, as is often the case, missing something?
Thanks,
Steve = : ^ )
Spirit of The Intent???