Colgan's cryptic crossword
Across
1. Avoids failures (5)
4. Definitely not a square root (7)
8. Animosity exists towards family members down on their luck (4,9)
9. Hero (American) in schmaltzy scenario? Yes, by a betrayal of principles! (13)
10. Follow press to alternative power centre (6,7)
13. One old-fashioned style of shirt is constrained by chest measure to
determine fit (3-6,4)
15. Thought about entering noble medical profession (13)
16. Con-man aiming to profit from mass hysteria (7)
17. Limits anyone's headstarts (5)
Down
1. Delegates rising to entrap newspaperman (7)
2. Worker supplying the wine industry with spirit excludes cork-top all together
(13)
3. Wind up company after title passes to another (7)
4. Wave comes down over boat. It creates a lot of ups and downs (6,7)
5. Do again (5)
6. Ford incorporates a measure of performance by making reference to others
(5-8)
7. Turned on with strength (5)
11. After get-together, dash straightaway (7)
12. Aust. Ent. (An abbreviation? Or maybe a contraction?) (7)
13. Law enforcers imprisoned leader of Taoist religious sect (5)
14. Leave, having secured ultimate in personal cover (5)
Solution
Explanations
C = cryptic part of clue + S = straight part of clue; or S + S = clue holding
answer twice with two different straight meanings; or POW = play on words..
Note that joining words may or may not be an integral part of the clue.
Punctuation and capital letters are irrelevant. The art of the setter is to make
it non-obvious how and where to split the clue, and to mislead the solver along
an irrelevant path.
Across
1. S: avoids = ducks S: failures = ducks
4. C: definitely not a square (radical) S: root = radical
8. C: family members down on their luck (poor relations) S: animosity = poor
relations
9. C: hero (American) (hero US) in schmaltzy scenario (inside ’treacly’) S: by a
betrayal of principles = treacherously
10. C: follow (shadow) press (cabinet) S: alternative power centre = shadow
cabinet
13. C: one (I) old-fashioned (square) style of shirt (T) constrained by chest
(inside ‘chest’) S: measure to determine fit = chi-square test
15. C: thought about (‘idea’, backwards) entering noble (inside ‘patrician’) S:
medical profession = paediatrician
16. C: from mass hysteria (part of ‘mass hysteria’) S: con-man aiming to profit
= shyster
17. S: limits = edges S: anyone’s headstarts = edges
Down
1. C: rising to entrap newspaperman (‘set up ed.’ upwards) S: delegates =
deputes
2. C: worker supplying the wine industry (cooper) with spirit (actively)
excludes cork-top (no ‘c’) S: all together = cooperatively
3. C: up company (‘Co’ upwards) after title (after ‘sir’) another (‘Co’) S: wind
= sirocco
4. C: wave (roller) comes down over boat (over ‘coaster’) S: it creates a lot of
ups and owns = roller coaster
5. S: do. = ditto S: again = ditto
6. C: ford (crossing) incorporates a measure of performance (includes ‘index’)
S: making reference to others = cross-indexing
7. S: turned on = lusty S: with strength = lusty
11. C: get-together (bee) dash (line) S: straightaway = beeline
12. C: Aust. Ent. An abbreviation? Or maybe (anagram of ‘Aust Ent.) S: a
contraction = tetanus
13. C: law enforcers (cops) imprisoned leader of Taoist (included ‘T’) S:
religious sect = copts
14. C: leave (quit) having secured ultimate in personal (containing ‘l’) S:
cover = quilt