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I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.
Signing off for this week — Falcon
NTSPP 742
1 hour ago
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- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Cryptic crosswords is a pastime I took up following retirement from a career as a telecommunications engineer. As an avid solver of regular crossword puzzles, I had long been intrigued by the cryptic crosswords that appeared beside them in the newspaper. However, occasional forays into this area produced very meager results - perhaps solutions to one or two clues. Following retirement, I finally had time to research the principles and conventions used in cryptic crosswords. Soon, I was able to solve a goodly portion of most puzzles - although I might not have always understood all the wordplay. And - to me - understanding the wordplay is just as important as finding the solution. I hope this blog can be a forum where those of us who enjoy solving cryptic crossword puzzles can share our thoughts and experience to our mutual benefit.
Email me at natpostcryptic@gmail.com
Heads or Tails? I'll flip you for it. Still working on a few parsings. Lower right corner is holding me up. I'll get back to this likely tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteGood morning,
ReplyDeleteI found today's puzzle to be a bit tough. But got there in the end. Must now start thinking about Christmas shopping. Have a good weekend!
Peter
Henry: I'll trade you. I have that corner, but I don't have 13 down or 14 across.
ReplyDeleteHi Sydney,
Delete13d: a four-letter synonym of string goes around a 3 letter synonym of carpet and a 3 letter synonym of eroded to get a word that could mean wrinkled -- as in some types of tin roofs.
Re 14a: a + d (donkey's head) go into 'show' + the usual two letter abbreviation of editor. This gets a word meaning "put a tail on".
Hope this helps.
Peter
Sydney -
DeleteThese were good ones
13d RUG=carpet, ATE=eroded, all in CORD=string
14a This one is more straightforward. A D = a+ donkey's head (first letter of donkey) in SHOW ED (tail meaning to follow someone)
I found CAPPER for 15a, supposedly the name of the monkey in the Lion King, but I'm not sure.
It's tamper, not capper. Capper is what I thought first.
DeleteI had tamper too.
DeleteI thought of TAMPER but I failed to see the 'head covering'. Solution will be posted later today.
DeleteA good brain exercise today. Just figured the coin toss, looking in the wrong place for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the help, Peter and Henry. A tam is a type of hat.
ReplyDeleteTam o'shanter
DeleteGood Morning all! And hope you're doing better, Falcon.
ReplyDeleteHere is the solution to this weekend's puzzle. Falcon has called this 'Coin Toss'.
If you didn't make heads or tails of the puzzle this week, you're not the only one, it was a brain exercise.
ACROSS
1a REIGNED˜ Homonym (so you could hear it) of rained=dropped
5a GO(LIAT)H< Reversal (back) of 'hog' containing (keeping) 'tail'
9a PRINCIPAL˜ Homonym (stated) of principle=assumption
10a {T(R)IAL}* Anagram (needing adjustment) on 'tail' containing (with) R=back of sweater (last letter of the word sweater)
11a FLEE˜ Homonym (in the ear) of flea=irritating bug
12a SOMER˜|SAULT˜ Homonyms (in the sound) of summer=hot time, salt=sailor
14a {SH(A+D)OW}+|ED+ A+ D=donkey's head (first letter of the word donkey), contained in (in) show+, and Ed+
15a TAM|PER TAM=head covering, PER=for each
18a RETIRE double definition, one a whimsical definition to put new tires on
19a {FI(REAR)MS}* Anagram (broadcast) on 'Is FM', containing (about) rear=tail
22a {S(WAGGER)ING}+ Sing+ containing (about) wagger=tail (on a dog)
24a TALE˜ Homonym (recited) of Tail
26a STAR|T star=leading, t=team at the front (first letter of team)
27a INTERCEPT* Anagram (explosive) on 'TNT recipe'
28a {S(HIND)IG}< Reversal (back) of GIs, containing (holding) hind=tail
29a S(MART)LY sly=calculating, containing (about) mart=store
DOWN
1d RI(P-O)FFS riffs=musician's phrases containing (about) PO=abbreviation for Post Office
2d {I(TINE)RANT}+ (I rant)+ containing (about) tine=sticking point (on the end of a fork)
3d NICE double definition
4d DEPLORES* Anagram (sad) of 'old peer's'
5d GO|L|DEN go=pass, L=roman numeral for 50, den=study (the golden anniversary is the 50th anniversary)
6d {LOTUS EATER}* Anagram (playing) of 'astute role'
7d A+|DIE|U die=end, U=shortform for up, after (pursuing) a+
8d HOLSTER* Anagram (dotty) on 'lost her'
13d {COR(RUG|ATE)D} rug=carpet, ate=eroded, contained in (into) cord=string
16d {PER(MANE)N|T} mane=thick head of hair, N=shorn at last (last letter of the word 'shorn), contained in (in) pert=fresh
17d L|IGNITES L=shortform for Left, next to (by) ignites=fires
18d RESISTS* Anagram (weird) of 'sisters'
20d SWEETLY* Anagram (changed) on ‘style we’
21d _ERRING _erring=herring, a fish with first letter removed (after the first)
23d AM|AT|I AM=in the morning, at+, I=letter that looks like the number one
25d _ARIA_ hidden in (in) vARIAtion