I had no red pen this week which means I fully solved the DA. I did get help with a few questions through the D.A. Trippers and a few more just to see "Is this right?" Many clues I had no confidence in, ended up good guesses like 18A. Here's the pic:
1A - Monster from Olympus possibly, one succumbing to greeting (7)
"Monster" is our definition and for a while I had searched "Monster from Olympus" and focussed on Roman age monsters. I knew the "succumbing to greeting" was likely a container signpost for "greeting" = HI but the word I needed to put that into I couldn't find. With cross letters I guessed CHIMERA. Later, Mort explained "Olympus is a brand of six letters, Remove “one” (i.e. singular) and substitute with a two-letter greeting." which means "Olympus" = CAMERA and if we remove the first A and put in our HI we get C(HI)MERA. It's devious. I kept thinking it was a letter "I" we had to remove from something.
5A,2D - Alien and I need health system adjusted for murder onstage (3,4,2,3,6)
"Murder onstage" is our phrase definition. I could see there was an anagram at play with the word "adjusted" but couldn't isolate the fodder. Then I got a couple of cross letters and guessed LAY THEM IN THE AISLES but wasn't sure because I've always known that phrase to start with "SLAY" not "LAY" which seems a bit more sexual than murderous. I'll chalk that up to cultural interpretation. Working backwards I could see the fodder was "Alien and I need health system" having tripped over the word "need" many times.
9A - Modern art gallery contracted needlework (3)
"Needlework" is what we are looking for and I remembered the last time "modern art gallery" was used it was the TATE gallery, "contracted" means remove the last letter -E leaving TAT which is a kind of lace making with shuttles, bobbins and if you want to go blind quickly, needles. One craft I look at and think - no frigging way.
10A - Backing track officials from 20-across (3,8)
20A features in a few clues so dip down and see that it's SQUARE ONE. I needed a hint for this one and Mort supplied "first word = backing; second word = track officials. You may have oysters 10A." right, so "backing" in this sense means supporting or being FOR something and is not a reversal signpost as I'd been looking for. "Track officials" = STARTERS and we'd have oysters FOR STARTERS. I'd also been trying to think of a synonym for a "backing track" used in music.
11A - Emu parade to scoop the pool? (5,2)
I admit I'd never heard of an "Emu parade" but I did think that "scoop the pool" could mean either to win the betting pool or to literally scoop leaves out of the swimming pool. I guessed CLEAN UP and once I googled "Emu Parade" I knew it was right. (that link is annoying with its auto start vids)
12A - 8-down to touch base with outspoken monks (7)
Again, skip down to 8-down to see its answer is MISER which becomes our definition here. Kind of cheeky to insist we have to solve another clue in order to get this one. I couldn't parse this completely, I can see "toucH base" = H and "monks" = ORDER but I don't know how "with outspoken" = A to make H(O(A)RDER).
14A - Competing against one mate from 20-across (9)
With 20A being SQUARE ONE I thought this may be a chess clue but I couldn't see how. From cross letters I lightly pencilled INITIALLY and I think it's "competing against" = IN IT like "in it to win it" and "one" = I with "mate" = ALLY all together for IN IT+I+ALLY.
16A - Laments extinct bird nests being emptied (5)
"Laments" is our definition and "extinct bird" = MOA with "NestS being emptied" means remove the middle letters from nests leaving only the NS for MOANS.
18A - Far-off cocktails essentially increased fivefold (5)
This one still stumps me. I know from many hints how to solve this clue, I just can't. Ray first tried with "DA has done similar before. Defn = first 2 words. “cocktails” = 5 letter answer. The “essential” letter of this is increased “fivefold” to give answer." and then Mort tried "Take a word describing “cocktail” and look at its “essential” letter which is a Roman numeral. Apply fivefold to it and you have another Roman numeral. Definition is (sort of) Far-off." then iPuzzled tried "It is a bit of basic math. Only one letter – the middle one. If you know your 5-times tables and Roman numerals you’ll be fine."
In the end I had the three cross letters and figured "Far-off" = MILES and I still don't know what the word for "cocktails" is that can roman numeral math to be multiplied to give me that answer. Drinks? Sidecars - DA's used that before? Feathers?
20A - Fuddy-duddy beginning? (6,3)
At first I wasn't sure if there was an Elmer Fudd thing going on here but there's not. A "fuddy-duddy" is a SQUARE and the "beginning" if we think numbers, is ONE for SQUARE ONE. I did seek hints on this and got an equally cryptic "20A: In this crossword, it’s a C." from Rupert which took me 15 minutes to solve. Nothing like making me work harder, but I got it!
22A - Cinema's caramel a bit cosmetic (7)
"Cosmetic" is our definition and this is a hidden word clue. Looking closer at "cineMAS CARAmel" we can see MASCARA.
24A - Vintage weapon a vintage constructor kept in stock? (7)
"Vintage weapon" is our definition and the "vintage constructor" = LB which are the initials for the former Fairfax compiler Lindsey Browne. I wouldn't have known that without DATers mentioning him since I didn't move to Australia until 2009. "Kept in stock" = HAD like retail stock but I was still two letters short, then one with the cross letter from 13D leaving only letter 6 empty so I tried a few combinations until I hit HALBERD. I don't know where we get the ER in the clue. *On editing I thought what if stock was livestock and it's HERD, then we just use the "A" from "A vintage constructor LB"? That would work.
25A - 13-down making stiff drink for chap almost 60 (6,5)
13-down is the definition and that clue's answer is DNA MOLECULE. "making stiff drink" = DOUBLE and "chap" = HE and "almost 60" = 59/LIX all for DOUBLE HELIX.
27A - Country writer Sontag, off-limits (1.1.1.)
"Country" is what we want. How many can be reduced to just a three letter acronym? As it turns out - all of them. I only considered UAE or USA. With cross letters I had the U_A and "Sontag" supplied the S. Otherwise I'm not sure how we'd get there or how "off limits" works. Would you believe just as I was getting a link for Sontag I noticed her first name was Susan. sUSAn "off limits" meaning take away the first and last letters of her name.
28A - Chef school modest about letter? (7)
"Chef school" is our definition and I'd googled about for synonyms of "culinary arts" and "cutler" getting nowhere. Then I just put in the phrase "chef school" and got links for "COOKERY classes" aha I said! "Modest" = COY and the "letter" is an OK-ER or one who says okay and lets you do something. Put together as CO(OKER)Y.
29A - Sack expert recalled outfit's final write-off (3,4)
"Write-off" is the definition and working this backwards "outfiT's final" = T " sack expert recalled" means a word for "sack" = BED and "expert" = DAB are both reversed to make BAD DEBT something we "write-off" if we go bankrupt. For a bit I'd considered "sack expert" was BED REST thinking "outfit's" - DRESSED and "drest" was a homophone and yes it doesn't work but it fit the cross letters.
1D - Edited schematic Q&A format (9)
"Q&A format" is our definition and "Edited schematic" is anagrind and fodder to give us CATECHISM.
3D - Ring swiped from fond-sounding master in Turkey (7)
I'm not sure how we solve this. I got it with cross letters and googling "master in turkey" as it seemed the most likely definition. I got EFFENDI which I checked in the dictionary to confirm. I'm guessing we need to "swipe" the "ring" = O then Mort gave the rest "3D “swipe” the ring from “fond” and sound out the result." meaning sound out each remaining letter Eff En Di.
4D - Remove nothing in the greatest southern temple (9)
"Temple" is the definition and I did get this with cross letters and a guess. "Remove" = CROP, "nothing" = O to be placed "in the greatest" = ALI with "southern" = S put together like this: A(CROP+O)LI(S) for the ACROPOLIS.
5D - Closer student in pew, possibly (5)
"Closer" is our definition and I needed Mort's hint that this was as in something being closed and not nearer. I had been hung up on "in pew" being an anagram. "student" = L for learner, "in pew" = AT CH where the CH means "church" to give us LATCH.
6D - Mobile radar in constructor's soaring mast fixture (7)
"Mast fixture" is our definition and "mobile radar" is anagrind and fodder to be placed "in constructor's soaring" where this puzzle's "constructor" is DA the possessive 's would become MY which will be "soaring from bottom to top like this Y(ARDAR)M
7D - Thou abandoned Titanic in colour (3)
I got this in a roundabout way. "Colour" is our definition. "Thou" = YOU and from there I though "you sounds like HUE" and I put in HUE. Didn't look back. They're not even proper homophones and it doesn't account for "Titanic". It was a fluke. I think Ann gave the best hint " the last word is the definition. Think of a 4-letter synonym for ‘titanic’ and remove a letter that can stand for an amount (of money) we might call a ‘thou’. I hope I’m not giving too many hints here." Meaning HUGE - G for HUE. A "g" being a THOUsand.
8D - He's tight in space station, orbiting edges of space (5)
"He's tight" is the definition and the "space station" = MIR and that's "orbiting" the "edges of SpacE" = SE like this MI(SE)R.
13D - Could enamel damage gene material? (1.1.1.8)
"Gene material" is the definition and "Could enamel damage " is fodder and anagrind to give us DNA MOLECULE.
15D - Teen hangout may twice turn blotchy during reno (5,4)
"Teen hangout" is the definition and I got this with cross letters and definition. I can see that
"blotchy during reno" where "reno" is short for renovation and is a likely anagrind, only it that leaves us two U's short but the beginning of the clue says "may twice turn" could mean get us U U but I don't know how unless it means use the second letter in "tUrn" twice.
17D - Loyal Oz novelist joins fleet (9)
"Loyal" is the definition and I skimmed through the thesaurus until I saw STEADFAST and though "fleet" = FAST, so is there an "Oz novelist" names Stead? Yes, Christina Stead.
19D - Azure insignia includes black 7-down but not 14-across (3-4)
"Azure insignia includes black HUE but not INITIALLY" where "Azure" is the definition and an "insignia" = SEAL which "includes Black" = B then "hUE but not initially" = UE all together like this: SEA(B)L(UE).
21D - Informal slacker kicking one wheel protecting chopper (7)
"Informal" is our definition and again this was cross letters and a guess. I couldn't break this clue apart from the "chopper" = AX or AXE. While I was galavanting around Geelong, Mort gave up the answer "Slacker is IDLER – less one (I) plus chopper = AXE." That would mean DLER are put into the grid in reverse which is what "wheel" is meaning? Because a wheel spins? I can see "protecting" being the container signpost but it's the reversal one that's confusing me.
22D - Melbourne banks on quack wine (5)
"Wine" is what we are looking for and MelbournE banks" = ME as the edges or "banks" of the word Melbourne. A "quack" = DOC for MEDOC.
23D - Tender account over here! (5)
"Tender" is our definition and "account" = AC and "over here" = HEY! for ACHEY which is not how most of us spell achy.
26D - Articulate solvers familiar with this game (3)
"Game" is the definition and I had U_O in the grid and made it UNO which was the right answer. Once I figured out 3D I wondered if this was the same, and "articulate" was an obvious homophone signpost. "Solvers familiar" = you know = U NO.
That's it. Let me know if you have better or alternative solutions.
I bought a couple of new board games I'm very keen to rip into. I bought Munchkin which I hope to spend most of tomorrow learning. Coming this week is Ticket To Ride and Love Letter. My kids are getting older and trips to the play park just don't cut it anymore as family time. We also got some more Pokémon cards so the kids will be wanting to battle. I only have a few short years to enjoy this time with the kids while they're young before they grow up and move on to cooler, more exciting things.
And yes I've been spending entirely too much time watching TableTop with Wil Wheaton.
Have a nice weekend, folks.
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