Colgan's cryptic crossword
Across
1. Beats a constraint (5)
4. Seize (take) an assortment (4-3)
8. Tossing around LaMotta’s admission (8,5)
9. Abruptly, a great hole broke through - expensively! (13)
10. Bird seed found in carpenter’s tool (4,9)
13. Be totally relaxed by narcotic and a recording (5,4,1,3)
15. Reinvigoration by Swedish fellow’s countrymen (3,10)
16. Island turned on people before their first settlement (7)
17. Evil act of uninitiated clergyman (5)
Down
1. Tom’s got to manhandle Patsy! (4-3)
2. A workshop pitch might be lost (6,4,3)
3. Looked at area alongside track for places used by timber cutters
(3-4)
4. Two men and a woman together develop an antiseptic (7,6)
5. A strike initially obstructed mission (5)
6. Switches on tool for footwear providers (4,9)
7. Instinctive and extremely savvy brave (5)
11. Devious prince, a Tiahuanacan (3-4)
12. Continues unabatedly to bring up beak-fish (5,2)
13. Dawn and Venus ignored leaders (3-2)
14. Serving the Queen, perhaps (5)
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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: beats = cuffs
S: constraint = cuffs
4. C: seize (grab) take (bag)
S: assortment = grab-bag
8. C: LaMotta’s admission (throwing a bout)
S: tossing around = throwing about
9 C: great hole (pit) broke through
expensively (inside "preciously")
S: abruptly = precipitously
10. C: seed (pip) found in carpenter’s tool (inside "wood
sander")
S: bird = wood sandpiper
13. C: narcotic (sleep-like) a recording (a log)
S: be totally relaxed = sleep like a log
15. C: reinvigoration (new zeal) Swedish fellow (Anders)
S: countrymen = New Zealanders
16. C: Island turned ("Yap", backwards) people (men) their
first (t)
S: settlement = payment
17. C: uninitiated clergyman (parson, without the "p")
S: evil act = arson
Down
1. C: Tom’s (cat’s) manhandle (paw)
S: patsy = cat’s paw
2. C: workshop (forge) pitch (tone) might
(sway)
S: be lost = forget one’s way
3. C: looked at (saw) area alongside track
(pits)
S: places used by timber cutters = saw-pits
4. C: two men (gent, Ian) woman (Violet)
S: antiseptic = gentian violet
5. C: a strike (a lam) initially obstructed (o)
S: mission = Alamo
6. C: switches on (boots up) tool (pliers)
S: footwear providers = boot suppliers
7. C: instinctive (gut) extremely savvy (s,y)
S: brave = gutsy
11. C: devious prince (anagram of "prince") a (a)
S: Tiahuanacan = pre-Inca
12. C: bring up beak-fish (reverse "nose gar")
S: continues unabatedly = rages on
13. C: Venus ignored leaders ("nus", which is "sun"
upwards)
S: Dawn = sun-up
14. S: serving = piece
S: Queen, perhaps = piece (as in chess)