The Age Cryptic by DA for 25th July

I found it hard this week but not as hard as I'd anticipated from last week. No reverse Latin Spooners. I did struggle on Friday as I had a dull, persistent headache that would not shift. Light sensitive and just tired. I gave up before lunch and tried fresh air, for a while between rain showers. Came back at night and got a few more in. Most of the solving happened this Saturday morning and I hit the D.A. Trippers for hints a lot. I couldn't get those delightful epiphany moments this week.

I got extremely stuck on 19A. I was pretty certain I'd had the right answer. I was in fact completely wrong. It was made harder that my wrong answer had two correct cross letters. I was more convinced I was right and the other clues were wrong. Ego, you wicked thing. You can see my reasoning in the notes in the picture:

1A -Brazenly steal Spooner's sausage packet (9)

The first clue being a Spooner made me wonder if my prediction last week was coming true! Definition is "Brazenly steal" and the phrase we want is "Snag Batch" for "Sausage packet" to be Spoonered into BAG SNATCH. Or de-spoonered, unSpoonerized?

6A -Grand speed recorded by snake (5)

"Grand" led me to think it was either going to be a K or an M for 1000. "Speed" = RATE but the word "recorded" hints that we want a homophone, something that will give us a "snake" KRAIT. I'd never heard of it and had to resort to a list of snakes starting with K.

9A - Wagtail ducks mud (3)

My first clue solved. "waG tail" is a one word instruction to take the "tail" or last letter of "wag" = G "ducks" = OO (recently read ducks is an O in crosswords because a batsman's score of zero in cricket is called a duck. Similar to a goose egg? Keeping that list handy in sidebar) for GOO, a synonym for mud.

10A - He sketches our party feeding frail rat, we hear (11)

"He sketches" is the definition and "our party" = US "feeding" I think means that US is to go inside the word, "frail" = ILL "rat, we hear" = TRAITOR but we want it to sound more rat-like or TRATOR to give us ILLUSTRATOR. I admit I got this with cross letters and "he sketches" and I'd worked out "our party" = US but needed to work out the order.

11A - Day looked well off (7)

"Well off" is the definition and I guess we want a day that kind of looks like the answer MONEYED, it's sort of like Monday with the "day" part reversed. Is that how the "off"fits, too?

12A - Annoying kids lose passport in one city (7)

I had part of this, but couldn't make it work until late in solving. My notes show much of the working out. "Annoying" in the definition. "kids lose passport" where our "passport" = ID, remove those letters from "kids" for KS  to be placed "in" "one" = I and a "city" = ROME so it looks like: I (R(KS)OME) which is seriously IRKSOME.

14A - A little blue heeler is queasy in stomach (6) 

"A little blue" is the definition and I was trying to figure out synonyms for depressed. Then words for breeds of dog. "is queasy" looks like an anagrind. What does "in stomach" mean? Rule of thumb: if it all looks too garbled and you can't make heads or tails of it, try for hidden words. "In" is often the only signpost you'll get for a hidden word. "heeleR IS QUEasy" snugly holds RISQUE, another kind of blue. It's looking like "stomach" is a signpost meaning in the middle of a word.

15A - Purplish agate base going either end of factory (8)

"Purplish" is the definition. This clue is mentioned in 25A and I got that answer first, which made this one easier. "agatE base" = E "GoinG either end" = GG and "factory" = PLANT for EGGPLANT.

18A - Expecting hype to precede current US writer (8)

"Expecting" is the definition. "Hype" = PR and "current US writer" = EGGERS who I've never heard of but I'm told has been on a book tour of Oz recently, giving us PREGGERS, a slang word for one who's expecting.

19A - Bond on building site reveals big gun (6)

This clue. This has given me hives. I was certain "Bond" = JOIN and a "bond on site" would be a joiner and that the "big gun" was the ER for the Queen. Heh - yes? Right? See it? Too farfetched? I was told the answer was a "big gun" but the answer became MORTAR. No time was I ever going to get that. I thought a mortar was the ammo, not the actual gun. I was confusing a mortar with a mortar shell. Double definition clue as a "Bond on building site"  and a "big gun" are both MORTAR.

21A - Wave rattles carrier (7)

Back to sanity! Simple anagrind + fodder = definition! Mix up "rattles" to get the telephone "carrier" TELSTRA.

23A - Olympic event exhausted state (4,3)

I'd got this, but havered over the answer because of the letter P. Answer is SHOT PUT. "Exhausted"  = SHOT and the "state" = PUT? Is that state as in how we say something? Let me put/state it this way? I'd thought the UT was for Utah, so the P caused me pause.

25A - US president kidnapping Arab leader to secure a negative dip involving 15-across (4,7)

"Dip involving EGGPLANT" is our definition. "US president" = BUSH "kidnapping Arab leader" = A "to secure" = BAG "negative" = NO then we need to take that last A in the sentence and put it all together like this: B(A+BAG+A+NO)USH. I'm pretty sure anyway. Answer is BABA GANOUSH.

27A - Setter perhaps losing face on acquiring *Nickelback record (3)

I'm not sure here. I can see "Setter" = DOG "losing face" means remove the first letter -D but how we know to "acquire" the L from "Nickelback" to give us LOG as definition for "record" I don't know. Or does "losing face" mean to take the L from "losing"? *Robin points out in comments where I've gone wrong - I'm misspelling Nickelback. Now it becomes a one word instruction to take the last letter from "nickeL back" where I was spelling Nickleback with the LE transposed. We'll just chalk that up to a brain fart, shall we?

28A - Buzz really gave bleeding heart success (5)

"Buzz really" is the definition "bleEDing heart" = ED and a "success" = WIN for EDWIN, the real name of Buzz Aldrin. (Thanks for the hints Julie & Gayle & Mort & NN)

29A - Queen wearing pearl coat (9)

We are looking for a "Queen" and "wearing" is an anagrind (new one for me) and if we mix-up the fodder "pearl coat" we get CLEOPATRA for the second time this week.

1D - Guy smashed in luxury car out west - struth! (2,3)

"Struth" is the definition. "Guy smashed" means we'll have to mix GUY "in"  a "luxury ca" = BMW but we need to "out west" - W so B(YGU)M for BY GUM.

2D - Justification fit strong feelings (11)

"Justification" = GROUNDS and "fit" = WELL to give GROUNDSWELL for "strong feelings". 

I got this with help from Ray " 2D – if you have “justification” you have “xxxxxxx” to do something. If you are “fit” you are “xxxx”. "

3D - Helpless singer bombarded guy online (4,5)

"Helpless singer" is the definition and "Bombarded guy online" is anagrind and fodder. Mix-up fodder to reveal NEIL YOUNG.

4D - Holy Spanish city to sing head off in uprising (6)

I did google "Holy Spanish city" and got a big tourist's list of places to visit. I've had the 60's Batman series in my mind lately and suddenly heard Robin say "Holy TOLEDO, Batman! There it was! A mix of that list and Batman. How to get this cryptically? Uhm...I'm stumped. Do we need a word meaning to "sing" that we remove the first letter from and add on another bit meaning "uprising"?

5D - Battle requiring smarts to shoulder bombs (8)
"Battle" is the definition and we are looking for a particular historical battle. "Smarts" = STINGS and the "bombs" = H & A for hydrogen and atomic. HA are to be put on the "shoulders" of STINGS to read HASTINGS.

6D - Fated vessel tours ditch to moor in two kilometres (5)
I had cross letters and a DAT hinted this was a submarine.  Working backwards "in two kilometres" = KK, "tours ditch to" means to remove the -TO from tours leaving URS and put that "in" the KK for KURSK. 

7D - Meet a circus legend, Barnum (3)
"Meet" is the definition. We want the famous circus man PT Barnum and use the A from the clue for APT. I had to check the thesaurus to be sure apt was a synonym for meet.

8D - Bully blokes in Twin Peaks (9)
This took me ages! "Bully blokes" = MEN and they go between "twin peaks" = TOR X2 for TORMENTOR. I'm glad it had nothing to do with the TV show because I've never watched that show.

13D - Barely thinking out, with optional makeover (2,9)
"Barely thinking" = ON AUTOPILOT but damned if I can get the parsing. I keep looking at "out + optional" and thinking it's fodder to be mixed but it doesn't work...hold on...I'll be damned it bloody does! I ran those through three times and drew lines...I'm not paying attention!

14D - Terribly pure, above board! (9)
"Terribly pure" = PURE as fodder to be placed above a synonym for "Board" = TABLE giving REPUTABLE as a word for "above board" I think this is an &lit clue.

16D - Picture editor getting Asian broth, having baloney with the works (9)
We want the name of a popular "picture editor" and we get they by "Asian broth" = PHO, "baloney" = TOSH and here I'm not sure why "The works" = OP. The answer is PHOTOSHOP. So if someone could explain the OP part, that'd be great.

17D - Spirit can lift a resistance publication from the get-go (8)
This was not unlike untangling knots. "Spirit" is the definition. "Can lift" for a down clue is tells us to reverse can to NAC, "publication" = MAG and I got the clue from there, but I think "resistance" = R, I'm not sure what "from the get-go" is leading us to but we can snag the A from the clue to give us ARMAGNAC.

20D - Clever to park vehicle south of a thoroughfare (6) 
"Clever" is the definition. "vehicle" = UTE placed "south" or below A "thoroughfare" = ST put together for ASTUTE. 

22D - Smack got in Cross (5)
"Cross" is the definition and we want a particular type of cross meaning cross breed. "Smack" is an anagrind and "got in" the fodder to reveal TIGON - a tiger/lion mix. I thought they were called Ligers? Oh I see it depends on which is the male/female where the name gets to go first.

24D - Steve Waugh getting a good paunch in retirement (5)
I need the hints from DAT to get this because Steve Waugh is a cricket guy and I know sweet FA about cricket or its heroes. We want to use his nickname, which is TUGGA. Not really sure about the parsing.

26D - Old weapon declared steady (3)
"Old weapon" is the definition and "declared" is a homophone signpost where want a word for "steady" but not the unwavering solid kind, but romantic boyfriend type BEAU = BOW.


Another week, another DA slain. Mostly, a few bits and pieces to clear up but not a bad effort after all. So does this mean next week is all Spooner Latin puns? As always, thanks to the DA Trippers. I owe you folks a round.