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Calling all puzzlers! Bailey M is back with Cryptic Crossword #3. Good luck, and enjoy!

Crossword

Across

1. Finished sculpture is a total letdown (8,4)
8. Exist as god of secret material (3)
9. Rhetorical Spanish street has eleven variations (7)
10. Measure boundless squats/tumbles at open-source hub (5)
13. Very first to engrave on kind of flowering plant (5)
14. Break commoner's first-half astounding lead (5)
15. Baby chicken's two eyes (7)
17. Single cell busts a ring beam (6)
19. Highest point of a weird, airy shrubbery (7)
20. Flag penne pasta, in one end and out the other, first; timeless agent, second (7)
22. Atrocious gruel is knocked down a peg, gets eighth new start (6)
27a. Confuse right tonsil with another bodily cavity (7)
27b. No initial shortage of endlessly tall half-giants in regret (9)
29. A site to the west-southwest? Turn around, you're mixing it up with a vulnerable species (5)
30. In a surprise twist, three hundred Greeks take in Eastern European catholic (5)
31. From right to left, feed like cattle on sugary coating (5)
32. Cheese has its own chocolatey dessert (7)
33. Residual powder has become obscured (3)
34. Toothy birds, left unchained, become cutthroat (12)

Down

1. California company's cotton cloth (6)
2. Top ten mixed martial artists start mauling you and I horribly (7)
3. Running late, single cats make milk (7)
4. At center, all eyes on friend flipping a fish (7)
5. Legacy spoke of insect's adventure (7)
6. Hold roast over cooking range (5)
7. Cathy capsizes a boat (5)
8. Flyer's flutters (4)
11. Emphasize that you stuffed yourself full of stomach pastes (9)
12. Dog misbehaves once in a rolling tire (7)
16. Dry-injected polysaccharides (4)
17. Truly, name is awful (4)
18. Self-ambition makes an unfortunate point (3,4)
21. Destroy with blend of root and condensed performance-enhancing drugs (7)
22. Fish in simple shelter has an incomplete alibi (7)
23. Voila! I reveal original mashed pasta (7)
24. Turns evildoing from head to toe (7)
25. Say hear-say, mostly? Blasphemy! (6)
26. Painting of country with masthead (5)
27. It's nearly night! (4)
28. If you're this tall, you have to stop (5)

NOTE: Partial answers are gladly accepted and teamwork is highly encouraged!

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  • $\begingroup$ I suppose in the course of solving the significance of the blue and yellow squares will become apparent? $\endgroup$
    – dennisdeems
    Aug 5, 2015 at 18:47
  • $\begingroup$ @dennisdeems it definite should, yes. $\endgroup$
    – Bailey M
    Aug 5, 2015 at 18:56
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    $\begingroup$ @dennisdeems I imagine that 27bA and 11D are spiral answers that go around the blue and yellow squares respectively. $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Aug 5, 2015 at 21:24
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    $\begingroup$ These clues are fantastic. $\endgroup$
    – dennisdeems
    Aug 6, 2015 at 2:11
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I'm also back, and glad to upvote a fellow cryptic-crossword-setter. :) $\endgroup$
    – A E
    Aug 6, 2015 at 12:40

4 Answers 4

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The completed crossword

enter image description here


An explanation of the clues

Across:

1A. Finished sculpture is a total letdown (8,4)

COMPLETE BUST (Refers to both a finished sculpture, and a total letdown) -- credit to GentlePurpleRain

8A. 8. Exist as god of secret material (3)

BRA ? B+RA. "Exist" is B; RA is the Egyptian god of the sun

9A. Rhetorical Spanish street has eleven variations (7)

LEXICAL: anagram of CALLE+XI

10A. Measure boundless squats/tumbles at open-source hub (5)

QUOTA: boundless squats = QUAT, open-source = O, O is the hub, so QUOAT, tumbles at the hub QUOTA - credit to LeppyR64

13A. Very first to engrave on kind of flowering plant (5)

VETCH: V+ETCH (first letter of "very" plus etch = engrave)

14A. Break commoner's first-half astounding lead (5)

COMMA: first half of commoner is COMM, first letter of astounding is A

15A. Baby chicken's two eyes (7)

PEEPERS(!): double definition

17A. Single cell busts a ring beam (6)

AMOEBA anagram of A+O("ring")+BEAM

19A. Highest point of a weird, airy shrubbery (7)

TOPIARY: TOP(highest point) + anagram of AIRY

20A. Flag penne pasta, in one end and out the other, first; timeless agent, second (7)

PENNANT: first, take either end of PENNe pastA; second, "agent" minus age (time) = NT

22A. Atrocious gruel is knocked down a peg, gets eighth new start (6)

HORRID (Atrocious = horrid; gruel = porridge, knocked down a peg (remove the word peg) = orrid; gets eighth new start = use the eighth letter of the alphabet (H) to give it a "new start" (put it on the beginning)) -- credit to GentlePurpleRain

27a. Confuse right tonsil with another bodily cavity (7)

NOSTRIL: anagram of R TONSIL :D !!

27b. No initial shortage of endlessly tall half-giants in regret (9)

NOSTALGIA: NO + S (initial letter of shortage) + TAL (tall without final letter) + GIA (half of "giants"). As @GentlePurpleRain anticipated, this entry spirals around the blue square.

29A. A site to the west-southwest? Turn around, you're mixing it up with a vulnerable species (5)

VENUE: anagram of ENE+VU (West-southwest turned around is east-northeast, or ENE. (Thanks @GentlePurpleRain.) Vulnerable species is conservation status VU.

30A. In a surprise twist, three hundred Greeks take in Eastern European catholic (5)

UNIAT: anagram ("surprise twist") of TAU+IN. tau has a value of 300 in Greek numerals and Uniate relates to certain eastern European Christian communities -- credit to Pete

31A. From right to left, feed like cattle on sugary coating (5)

GLAZE (Sugary coating = glaze. Feed like cattle = graze, and change the right to a left (R to L) to give glaze) -- credit to GentlePurpleRain

32A. Cheese has its own chocolatey dessert (7)

BROWNIE: BRIE containing OWN

33A. Residual powder has become obscured (3)

ASH: anagram of "has"

34A. Toothy birds, left unchained, become cutthroat (12)

BLOODTHIRSTY(!): anagram of TOOTHY BIRDS L

Down:

1D. California company's cotton cloth (6)

CALICO (California Company, and calico is a type of cotton cloth) -- credit to GentlePurpleRain

2D. Top ten mixed martial artists start mauling you and I horribly (7)

MAXIMUM: anagram of X+MMA+M+UI (ten = X, mixed martial arts = MMA, start of "mauling" = M, you and I = UI)

3D. Running late, single cats make milk (7)

LACTATE (Not entirely sure, but single cats = cat, mix with late to get anagram of lactate (make milk). -- credit to GentlePurpleRain

4D. At center, all eyes on friend flipping a fish (7)

TILAPIA: All eyes on friend = I + PAL + I, At center = A + IPALI + T, Flipping = TILAPIA – credit to LeppyR64

5D. Legacy spoke of insect's adventure (7)

BEQUEST: homophone (Bee Quest!)

6D. Hold roast over cooking range (5)

STOVE: hidden in roaST OVEr

7D. Cathy capsizes a boat (5)

YACHT (Cathy anagrams to yacht, which is a boat) -- credit to GentlePurpleRain

8D. Flyer's flutters (4)

BATS: double def.

11D. Emphasize that you stuffed yourself full of stomach pastes (9)

OVERSTATE: "you stuffed yourself" is OVERATE; it's full of ST which is the "stomach" (interior) of "pastes". –- credit to LeppyR64

12D. Dog misbehaves once in a rolling tire (7)

TERRIER: TIER(anagram of "tire") containing ERR

16D. Dry-injected polysaccharides (4)

ARID: contained in polysaccharides

17D. Truly, name is awful (4)

AMEN: anagram of "name"

18D. Self-ambition makes an unfortunate point (3,4)

OWN GOAL: double definition (going out on a limb here as I know nothing about sports, but I believe a score on one's own goal is unfortunate)

21D. Destroy with blend of root and condensed performance-enhancing drugs (7)

TORPEDO ("condensed performance-enhancing drugs" gives PED; torpedo is an anagram of "root ped" and things can be destroyed with it) -- credit to rand al'thor

22D. Fish in simple shelter has an incomplete alibi (7)

HALIBUT : HUT containing ALIB ("alibi" missing final letter)

23D. Voila! I reveal original mashed pasta (7)

RAVIOLI: anagram of VOILA+I+R (first letter of "reveal")

24D. Turns evildoing from head to toe (7)

INNINGS: take the first letter of SINNING and move it to the end

25D. Say hear-say, mostly? Blasphemy! (6)

HERESY: here+sy (homophone of "hear" = HERE, most of "say" = SY)

26D. Painting of country with masthead (5)

MURAL: M+URAL (first letter of "mast" replacing the first letter of rural)

27D. It's nearly night! (4)

NIGH: most of "night"

28D. If you're this tall, you have to stop (5)

STALL: concealed in "thiS TALL"

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  • $\begingroup$ You might want to add that the two "wheel" words are Nostalgia and Overstate. $\endgroup$
    – Kingrames
    Sep 2, 2015 at 13:36
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Partial answer

  1. Destroy with blend of root and condensed performance-enhancing drugs (7)

TORPEDO ("condensed performance-enhancing drugs" gives PED; torpedo is an anagram of "root ped" and things can be destroyed with it)

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  • 2
    $\begingroup$ "Torpedo" has a verb form that actually means "destroy". :) $\endgroup$
    – Bailey M
    Aug 5, 2015 at 22:01
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Partial answer

Here are a few I managed to get:

Across

1A. Finished sculpture is a total letdown (8,4)

COMPLETE BUST (Refers to both a finished sculpture, and a total letdown)

22A. Atrocious gruel is knocked down a peg, gets eighth new start (6)

HORRID (Atrocious = horrid; gruel = porridge, knocked down a peg (remove the word peg) = orrid; gets eighth new start = use the eighth letter of the alphabet (H) to give it a "new start" (put it on the beginning))

29A. A site to the west-southwest? Turn around, you're mixing it up with a vulnerable species (5)

SCENE (A site = scene; west-southwest turned around is east-northeast, or ENE. Mix that up with a vulnerable species (one with conservation status) to get scene.

31A. From right to left, feed like cattle on sugary coating (5)

GLAZE (Sugary coating = glaze. Feed like cattle = graze, and change the right to a left (R to L) to give glaze)

Down

1D. California company's cotton cloth (6)

CALICO (California Company, and calico is a type of cotton cloth)

3D. Running late, single cats make milk (7)

LACTATE (Not entirely sure, but single cats = cat, mix with late to get anagram of lactate (make milk).

7D. Cathy capsizes a boat (5)

YACHT (Cathy anagrams to yacht, which is a boat)

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  • $\begingroup$ Argh! I was so close with 7D, just didn't find the right anagram :-( $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Aug 5, 2015 at 21:40
  • $\begingroup$ I am astounded by 22A. Hats off to you! $\endgroup$
    – dennisdeems
    Aug 5, 2015 at 23:52
  • $\begingroup$ All of these are correct except 29A. :) $\endgroup$
    – Bailey M
    Aug 6, 2015 at 1:58
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10A. Measure boundless squats/tumbles at open-source hub (5)

QUOTA: boundless squats = QUAT, open-source = O, O is the hub, so QUOAT, tumbles at the hub QUOTA

4D. At center, all eyes on friend flipping a fish (7)

TILAPIA: All eyes on friend = I + PAL + I, At center = A + IPALI + T, Flipping = TILAPIA

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