As you read through the clues you notice that many refer back to 14A and 16A. It would be best to start there. I went through the clues and couldn't solve 14A or 16A until I'd been trying to solve this puzzle for over 8 hours. With help. I gathered from the D.A. Trippers that there was a food theme playing here.
14A - Clergyman makes tense dork content...
16A - ...to get Genesis off church.
I mentioned yesterday that ellipses can mean there's a link between the clues to the answers. They shouldn't be ignored, they're intentional.
In 14A the definition is "Clergyman" so we're looking for a synonym and there are several options with 6 letters. On first read you may, like me, imagine an uptight nerd, a taut geek, a fraught weirdo. But no, and I went through many of those options. This turns out to be much more flat - "tense" refers to grammatical tense PAST and we want the "content" of dORk (not a contented dork) to give PASTOR.
This follows on with 16A and to a synonym for Genesis. I got stuck on the word Origin and struggled to make that square peg fit but it wouldn't. I had a strong feeling "church" was CE but did not get SOUR as a synonym for "off" but the word SOURCE is what we want.
Now when we read the words PASTOR SOURCE together they don't make much sense. Say them aloud and also not much sense...unless you're like me and have a New England accent (Do Aussies count in this inflection? I'll have to ask one to say the phrase to me and hear) You might hear yourself say "Pasta sauce" ...Yes, the whole puzzle revolves around making that leap to realise many clues are types of pasta or sauces. Let's stick our forks in and give the rest a twirl...
1A - "Fool" is our definition but it's not the noun. A synonym for "fuming" is MAD and put that about "key" and we want the Florida keys version ISLE for M ISLE AD.
5A - This one gave me rage. Rage!"Sword beheading" had me taking the S off sword for WORD. And that's where nothing ever fit. Nothing. Am I looking for a sword? Am I looking for a "style?" No. "Sword" is the definition. We are to behead "but" and put in a synonym for "style" and we get C UT LASS
9A - I didn't get this until I had most of the cross letters and knowing the theme I guessed CARBONARA. "Ride horse westward" oh no, so many horse related words that could be put backward or "west" or a word that sits astride another? No I've got nothing. Two days later still have thought tumbleweeds. (Later) I asked a friend and he tells me "The answer was carbonara. Car/Arab< holding on." I guess the B went west.
10A - "Direct" is our definition. I do not understand the wordplay as such. I can see how "druggie" could be REEFER and "extension initially" could mean E and we're told that's ignored so -E for REFER. I think that's how it goes.
11A - After no hits searching around for cobbler's terms I thought it may have to do with the phrase "A load of old cobblers" so I had to dig around for rhyming slang origins. The phrase comes from "Cobblers awls" which means "Balls" and that's what rhyming slang is for, swearing without really swearing. however I was going down the rabbit hole because it was simply wanting RUBBISH which is a politer synonym.
12A - A follow instruction or charade clue - "Public screens" is our definition. "Doctor's opening" means DR, "One" is I and "blood vessel" is VEIN put together it's DRIVE IN.
13A - Even with most of the cross letters this was not happening for me. Even with the solution I don't get it. I'd have had to know Napster's definition was "pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service" and "player" meant music player.
14A - see above
16A - see above
19A - "Engineers" is an anagrind and we're told to "refurnish interior" so looking only at the letters inside of refurnish and resorting them we get INFUSER for "tea-maker"
23A - "Done thouroughly" I don't know how it's a cryptic clue, it's almost like a classic crossword clue. I got it eventually with cross letters ALL OVER.
25A - "Topless strumpets" had to bite my tongue. please don't be about prostitutes again, we've had that once this week. Is he wanting TRUMPETS -S? "followed by local mob" BAND? BRASS BAND? it's only 7 letters and one word. Getting the answer from the solution I'm guessing "Topless strumpets" are HUSSIES -H, and followed by A for a "local mob" although it's not put at the end but the beginning for AUSSIES.
26A - "Brat" synonym is PEST and "second of four" is an instruction to take the second letter from "four" O to get PESTO. Now I agree that is a pasta sauce but now I'm lost why "Audience" is in there.
27A - I've struggled here. Plague is an anagrind signpost "cure led" is to be scrambled and placed into the outsiders of "Paid" so we remove -AI and put PD around the fodder to get PRECLUDED, a synonym for "barred"
28A - I guess I don't know enough about how Pastors are paid. I don't know why "quoted" is there as we're not looking for a homophone of "Pastor" or "Pasta". The answer is PENSION.
29A - The first clue I solved as it was an obvious anagram. Cooks is our anagrind and "eased in" is the fodder to make ANISEED, a liquorice flavouring.
1D - I got this in a round-about lucky way. I had not solved 14A-16A and did not know the theme. I figured "Computer" was going to be one of the 3-letter ones (IBM, MAC even toyed with NEC). Crashed looked like an anagrind. I saw "on air" twice and thought MARCONI? The aeronautics Engineering company? Now I know not everyone would've made that leap. I lived near a Marconi office in Scotland. I heard the name a lot growing up. A second look got me MAC + "on air" rejigged for MACARONI, a type of pasta that was hinting to 14A.
2D - I wrote in and erased this a few times. I didn't believe the answer would have UP in it if the clue had up as well. Well I was wrong. I think this clue needed a better edit and removed "up" and kept north as having both was confusing. "Clean" is our definition, "low bushes" are SCRUB and UP was just sitting there as a given.
3D - More rhyming slang? Eh, not really. "Vain one" is our definition and I don't really know how we get to that from the clue. I got this by definition only and can't see how it's worked. At a guess it could be "'E got 'ist" like a Cockney say saying He Got heist? Iced? I dunno.
4D - I HAVE NO IDEA!! Seriously, what?? "She adored blending pasta sauce" I thought I was looking for a person and couldn't find anyone who fit. but DEAD HORSE??? No fricken idea. ARG! Wait - there it is. FFS. Blending is an anagrind for "She adored" and gives us DEAD HORSE. I mean...it's painful. It's obvious and I didn't see it, and that's an ice pick in the eye, painful.
5D - Easier to spot this one. "Silverbeet" is the definitions and a synonym of "burnt" is CHARRED but how "in reception" is instruction to get me to remove the extra R for CHARD, I don't know. I know Chard and Silverbeet are related because I dislike both, they taste like dirt.
6D - No idea, again. Not even a sneaky anagram hiding there. I had TEN BITS in there for a while as a shilling is 10¢ but how we get TURNIPS with "pasta sauce" I don't know and it sounds about as appealing as silverbeet or chard.
7D - I got this via hints in DA Trippers where "Alien" wanted the terrible 80's muppet alien ALF and "makeover" is a REDO to give a "pasta sauce" ALFREDO.
8D - "Jump" pasta sauce? What? Huh? SPRING is a (far down the list) synonym for jump but I don't get the clue here.
14D - Vocal means something is said and is likely a homophone. I can assume "formal" may mean "prime" and mover might be "venture" and together they kind of sorta maybe sound like PRIMAVERA which is a "pasta" meal.
15D - I'm not sure if Lobbied or Against is the anagrind but "Dude's car" is the fodder for CRUSADED.
17D I didn't get this at all.. I had "Boy" in the last three letters for a long while then tried Lad. There's a cricket thing in there and I'm clueless about cricket, I don't see how Stallone fits. SLY is mixed in the middle of the clue surrounded by two ONs unless that's the "matching sides" hint.
18A - This one was misleading (misdirecting) as Fiddle is often an anagrind but here it's the fodder....and the anagrind? We have to scramble a fiddle synonym VIOLA but I got stuck trying to work RAG for "tabloid" into this and make some kind of RAGU link. I'm not sure how the surrounding letters R and I work in the clue but the answer was RAVIOLI. and there are ellipses...
20A - but they don't link per se to ravioli except it's another pasta. I couldn't work out what the clue was trying to get me to do. I had a few cross letters and made a guess. I also erased it a few times and put it back in.
21D - I can only shrug - sorry. "Fusili sauce" "Donegal Wingers" Irish rugby? Not one SPINDLE in the lot. Perplexed.
22D - This one makes me growl. "Sheepdog" a compound word. Sheep and dog or for the clue a RAM and a PUP for RAMP UP or "increase"
24D - Sorry...no idea. I know it's in pencil but no, I honestly didn't get that clue either. should be red red RED!
There it was. Until next week, DA.
It's Mother's Day and I intend to let my kids annoy me with all kinds of sloppy affections and demands to bake cakes. I'll be washing umpteen loads of dishes as a result. Oh, I do sound grumpy...
I'll share some hooky work I've been getting along with and I bought beads to bedazzle the shawls. It'll be my first attempt at beading and I'm quite excited!
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