15
$\begingroup$

In the same vein as my previous post, this is my second attempt at setting a cryptic crossword. Comments / criticism / feedback would be great! There is still no theme or common link between the clues.

cryptic crossword

1. Surrounding trapped center with force! (8)
2. Small dog and cat must act under control of others (6)
3. No better after leaders now shout all the time (7)
4. Loud chaotic shows cannot be improved (8)
5. Educated intellectual gained additional knowledge (7)
6. Fraud perpetrator who primarily supports artwork (6)
7. Castle protects some revolutionary, most importantly (8)
8. Extremely blissful place is part of exhibit (8)
9. Legal documents permit ship docking areas (9)
10. Wild ape hits chest with extreme effort, ending half-truce (5,8)
11. Deformed dog without tail is followed by insect (6)
12. Earlier versions are ultimately failures after eons act recklessly (9)
13. Inclined to handle an educated prisoner (6)
14. A surrounded pound incorrectly sorts under three (9)
15. Summaries in turn summarized initially create separation (7)
16. Attacks almost come alongside backstab (7)
17. Advanced condition frequently near center of the body (5,2,3,3)
18. Frigid morning is piercing, new (8)
19. Too much prayer restricts god (8)
20. Surely you won't start after greeting blunt outsiders (2,5)
21. Cardinal number 5 before 0 essentially totals 50 (7)
22. Direct quote's middle lines are extreme (7)
23. Weird new rants get abbreviated (7)
24. Setter's breathing issue reportedly results in unpleasant smell (6)
25. "Follow reply" becomes a feature (6)
26a. Decrepit side street cut short (6)
26d. Yes, Russian hail ruins flower (6)
27. "Average heart," reads diagram's section (9)
28. With one another for the purpose of finding her (8)
29. Relaxed elderly meditated at first; that is, knitted and didn't move (8)

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Are there indirect anagrams in these clues? They are usually considered unfair $\endgroup$
    – Sid
    Sep 10, 2017 at 12:40
  • $\begingroup$ @Sid No, there are not. $\endgroup$
    – Doorknob
    Sep 10, 2017 at 13:49

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
8
$\begingroup$

Completed!

Thanks to feelinferrety, Deusovi and ffao in The Sphinx's Lair for helping solve the trickier ones!

completed grid

Clues:

  1. Surrounding trapped center with force! (8)

    WRAPPING   &lit is WR(APP)ING

  2. Small dog and cat must act under control of others (6)

    PUPPET   "must act under control of others" is PUP + PET

  3. No better after leaders now shout all the time (7)

    NONSTOP   "all the time" is NO + N_ S_ + TOP
    $\hspace{9em}$ (thanks @Deusovi in TSL for solution)

  4. Loud chaotic shows cannot be improved (8)

    FLAWLESS   "cannot be improved" is F + LAWLESS (what does "shows" do in wordplay?)

  5. Educated intellectual gained additional knowledge (7)

    LEARNED (ddef.)

  6. Fraud perpetrator who primarily supports artwork (6)

    WEASEL   "fraud perpetrator" is W_ + EASEL

  7. Castle protects some revolutionary, most importantly (8)

    FOREMOST   "most importantly" is FOR(EMOS<)T

  8. Extremely blissful place is part of exhibit (8)

    PARADISE   "Extremely blissful place" is PARAD(IS)E ("IS" part of ...)

  9. Legal documents permit ship docking areas (9)

    PASSPORTS   "legal documents" is PASS+PORTS

  10. Wild ape hits chest with extreme effort, ending half-truce (5,8)

    PEACE OFFERING   "half-truce" is (PEA)* + C(E_)OFFER [end]ING
    $\hspace{9em}$ (thanks @ffao in TSL for wordplay)

  11. Deformed dog without tail is followed by insect (6)

    MUTANT   "Deformed" is MUT_ + ANT

  12. Earlier versions are ultimately failures after eons act recklessly (9)

    ANCESTORS   "Earlier versions" is (ANCESTO)* + R + _S

  13. Inclined to handle an educated prisoner (6)

    LEANED   "Inclined" is ...[hand]LE AN ED[ucated]...
    $\hspace{9em}$ (thanks @feelinferrety in TSL for wordplay)

  14. A surrounded pound incorrectly sorts under three (9)

    ALBATROSS   "under three" (from golf) is A(LB)A + (TROSS)*

  15. Summaries in turn summarized initially create separation (7)

    SPACERS   "create separation" is (SPACER)< + S_ ("They create separation" is better?)

  16. Attacks almost come alongside backstab (7)

    COMBATS   "Attacks" is COM_ + (BATS)<

  17. Advanced condition frequently near center of the body (5,2,3,3)

    STATE OF THE ART   "Advanced" is STATE + OFT + HEART

  18. Frigid morning is piercing, new (8)

    UNAMUSED   "Frigid" is UN(AM)USED (AM piercing ...)

  19. Too much prayer restricts god (8)

    PLETHORA   "Too much" is PLE(THOR)A

  20. Surely you won't start after greeting blunt outsiders (2,5)

    NO DOUBT   "Surely" is NOD + [y]OU + B[lun]T

  21. Cardinal number 5 before 0 essentially totals 50 (7)

    PIVOTAL   "Cardinal" is PI + V + O + [to]TA[ls] + L

  22. Direct quote's middle lines are extreme (7)

    OVERSEE   "Direct" is [qu]O[te] + VERSE + [ar]E

  23. Weird new rants get abbreviated (7)

    STRANGE   "Weird" is (STRAN)* + GE_

  24. Setter's breathing issue reportedly results in unpleasant smell (6)

    MIASMA   "unpleasant smell" is {MY ASTHMA}→hom.

  25. "Follow reply" becomes a feature (6)

    ASPECT   "feature" is {RE becomes A}SPECT
    $\hspace{9em}$ (thanks @Deusovi in TSL for wordplay)

26a. Decrepit side street cut short (6)

DESIST   "cut short" is (DESI)* + ST
$\hspace{9em}$ (thanks again @feelinferrety for SIDE*)

26d. Yes, Russian hail ruins flower (6)

DAHLIA   "flower" is DA + (HLIA)*

  1. "Average heart," reads diagram's section (9)

    PARAGRAPH   "section" is PAR + [re]A[ds] + GRAPH

  2. With one another for the purpose of finding her (8)

    TOGETHER   (ddef.)

  3. Relaxed elderly meditated at first; that is, knitted and didn't move (8)

    REMAINED   "didn't move" is R_ E_ M_ + {IE knitted with AND} → AINED

Comments:

Whew — some of these clues were really tough!

The clues were very nicely constructed and used a great mix of indicators and misdirection, which made solving each one feel like a victory. The relative sparsity of crossing letters made a couple of these feel like a stab in the dark, but I don't even think that's a weakness - it just amps the difficulty up some more, adding further to the sense of accomplishment at completion. I must say that the clues were hard enough that, even "knowing" the answers to a few, I got stuck on the wordplay for a while - and on some, it took some help from the folks in TSL to actually see how they worked; solving completely solo would be a monumental endeavor. But, since that's how a lot of puzzles here end up being solved, that just adds to the fun. :)

Thanks for sharing these terrific clues with us!

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ These answers are all correct. ("shows" in #4 is just a connecting/linking word). I'm glad you enjoyed it; thanks for the incredibly kind comments! $\endgroup$
    – Doorknob
    Sep 11, 2017 at 22:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.