8x8 Checked Cryptic: Grant

Comments

• Scrapheap constructor · 2024-10-19T13:28:26.440Z

  Solutions below:

  Across:

  1A: (ASCIPHER)* = SERAPHIC 9A: Three articles = AN, A, THE + master = MA -> ANATHEMA 10A: First letters of clue = GONEAWOL 11A: First two letters removed from FIESTAS = ESTAS 12A: Little = L + bit of a roof = EAVE -> LEAVE 16A: Key = ESC, two rings = OO, empty T[ot]E, rubbish first = R -> ESCOOTER 19A: Striking = STUNNING, swapping time = T for hostages first = H -> SHUNNING 20A: Three = THREE, bit more = PI, nothing = O -> THREEPIO

  Down:

  1D: Laughing = GAS, returning = SAG + eastern = E -> SAGE 2D: NOSE, slightly out of joint (anagrind) = ENOS 3D: Cut one letter off GRANT = RANT 4D: A + shade of blue = TEAL + ON + Everest's peak = E -> ATEALONE 5D: Receiver = PHONE, taking A + direction = SE -> PH[ASE]ONE 6D: Grant = Hugh Grant, Hugh sounds like "HEW" 7D: One = I, Stooge = MO -> IMO 8D: In[CA L]egend contains CAL 13D: Flatbread = PITA, flipped over = ATIP 14D: IN + Tesla = EV, reversed = VENI 15D: Shrek = OGRE, overturned = ERGO 16D: (SET)* = EST (anagr.) 17D: In styli[SH H]eels -> SHH 18D: aCqUiRe, regular letters ignored = CUR

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• Aaron Riccio 🤓10:19 · 2024-10-20T00:45:17.080Z

  Very gracious of you to fully check a cryptic, and I liked the fill you chose.

  Pros:

  • I disliked 1D at first until [Laughing, perhaps] finally clicked (as something you might find at an old-school dentist's). Nice!
  • I got a kick out of the duplicate clue at 3D and 6D, enough so that I didn't mind that you were using [Cut] as a beheadment rather than curtailment.
  • Very nice &lit at 10A, though I think GONE (past) doesn't quite match [Getting out].

  Nits:

  • 7D has a neat concept, but the stooges are Larry, Curly, and Moe. I don't see how you get MO here without indicating a deletion.
  • 14D is, I think, missing some indicators. [Tesla] isn't 1:1 with EV, and [I came] is VENI, but I think some sort of indicator of Latin is needed.
  • 16A is cryptically correct, but the surface seems like gibberish; am I missing a reference?
  • 20A has me torn on the use of [a bit more], as it means that [Three] is essentially being used twice. It's an obvious enough answer, and because it's fully checked I think you have the freedom to push the envelope a bit, but it did stick out to me.

  Thanks for the fun puzzle!

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  • Scrapheap constructor · 2024-10-20T05:29:08.846Z

    Thanks for the feedback! I've modified 7D/14D to hopefully correct for these.

    The surface for 16 is a bit disappointing - the best I could come up with was "bag of mixed garbage being got at by a bird", but you've (rightly) sussed out that this was a bit of fill..

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