Cryptic 5x5 #29 by tuber

Comments

• tuber constructor · 2024-06-14T14:09:10.785Z

  Hello, solvers, and thanks for giving my puzzle a shot - I hope you enjoyed it and didn't trip over too many stumbling blocks. It seems to be my obsession at the moment to fit long words into short grids, so I hope you'll forgive this rather wayward tendency. As always, your comments are much appreciated, and you can find more of this sort of thing at https://crosshare.org/tuber.

  The wash-up follows:

  ACROSS. 1A, 4A. "actor's trailer" = STAR'S TRUCK. 6A. "Expert" = PRO surrounded by AN given literally. 7A. Substitution of literal IS for "the Spanish" = EL in "beater" = WHISK.

  DOWN. 1D. Reversal of "growths" = WARTS. 2D. "thus begins" = T + "epitaph" = RIP. 3D. Hidden in maSKUNKnown. 5D. "balls" = OO surrounded by "edges" of "controversial" = CL.

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• Aaron Riccio 4:42 · 2024-06-15T04:27:08.899Z

  1A/4A: I think this has a shared root, even with the shift from STAR to STAR'S. I like the surface, though.
  6A: Nice!
  7A: I did the substitution the wrong way; that's my fault, I think.
  1D: This one got a chuckle.
  2D: My favorite of this set; very fun.
  3D: Good.
  5D: I'm not sure [Edgy] works to mean "edges of" and the [for] seems extraneous in the sense that [covering for] seems like a substitution (as in a teacher). Again, though, surface made me titter, and that's a win!

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