The Golden from the Chocolate Coated – 1st Crossword of Feb, 2010
22 down: HEA_E? (5)
An outstanding DA special in a very specially themed crossword: hea_e = heave - v = v omit = vomit = heave.
4 down: Sweet athlete ad company thrice exploited (9-6)
A joy: athlete ad company thrice exploited = athlete ad co co co exploited = chocolate-coated = sweet.
Two gold nuggets seems like too few for such a brilliant crossword, but the clues alone are not as great as one would assume. It seems that the theme really drove this crossword upwards into new heights rather than the clues themselves.
Feel free to beg to differ.
The Golden Ones from DA’s Last of January, 2010
26 across: Harmonious threesomes finally flee such impatient coeds (9)
Brilliant trickery that must have taken a long time to think up: threesomes finally flee such impatient coeds = such - uch + impatient - ent + coeds - eds = simpatico = harmonious.
15 down: Meet single clue -- not this type (3, 6)
Despite some protestations, I still reckon this one's a goodie: single clue -- not this type = run across (clue is down, not across) = run across = meet.
22 across: Retired killer gets yonks, strangling flash braggart (9)
Mo seems to be DA favourite of late: retired killer gets yonks strangling flash = retired cain age strangling mo = retired cainamoge = egomaniac = braggart.
21 down: Vaults hoisted by one charter plane (3-4)
Very clever indeed: vaults hoisted by one = atria hoisted x 1 = air-taxi = charter plane.
14 down: ... against ex-follower (9)
Such terse elegance: against ex = con former = conformer = follower.
3 down: Stalks onstage, it's said? (7)
I was too busy thinking of homophones to get this one: onstage it's said = rhubarb (what actors say on stage to mimic the sound of indistinct background conversation) = stalks.
12 across: Exercise Bureau regularly provides flirtatious apparel (4-2, 3)
A welcome return to the racier side of DA's oeuvre: exercise bureau regularly = push-up bureau = push-up bra = flirtatious apparel.
Golden Clues from DA’s 4th of 2010
21 down: Refuse ball-girl by chance, almost (6)
Excellent way to refer to a name: ball-girl by chance, almost = deb by risk almost = debris = refuse.
3 down: A salesman catches my aircraft, not a military ride (4, 4)
A deliciouly difficult clue that employs one of DA's classic tricks: a salesman catches my aircraft not = a rep catches my jet no t = arep catchy myje = army jeep = a military ride.
25 across: Mighty river halved by eccentric explorer (2, 4)
Excellent sentence meaning: mighty river halved by eccentric = Amazon halved by dag = Da Gama = explorer.
6 down: Jumbo pilot wheeled meat away (6)
DA as the king of direct clues: wheeled meat away = wheeled ham out = mahout = Jumbo pilot.
12 across: Retrograde developer of modern cinema? (8, 6)
Clever cryptic definition: retrograde developer of modern cinema? = Benjamin Button.
10 across: Messiah admits sermonising, reaching out, aggravated stress (8)
Great clue that I also thought clunky at the same time: messiah admits sermonising, reaching out, aggravated = messiah admits preaching - reaching aggravated = messiah admits p aggravated = messiahp aggravated = emphasis = stress.
The Gold of DA’s Third of the Year
2 down: She fell sick after Juliet (4)
Loved the direct clue: sick after Juliet = ill after J (NATO phonetic alphabet) = Jill = she fell (from the nursery rhyme).
8 across: So attached to food store (8)
Excellent clue hiding: so attached to food store = very attached to deli = delivery = cricket theme.
26 across: He's covered in facial hairs? (3, 5)
I like it and hate it at the same time, but considering the importance of a good mo in the history of cricket, I had to include it as gold: he's covered in facial hairs? = he covered in tashes = the ashes = cricket theme.
22 down: Not for worry? Not depressed? (6)
So very deftly worked: not for worry = con vex = convex = not depressed.
5 down: Tedious second zip? (8)
Difficult yet clever, as are most of DA's succinct clues: second zip = mo + not one = monotone = tedious.
Update: RB pointed out the palindromic brilliance in the following clue that turns what was bullshit into gold:
4 down: Sounds mentally focus lean rider (7)
Palindromic awesomeness: sounds mentally focus lean = sounds psych up list = cyc up list = cyclist = rider.
DA Gold from the 1st of Jan
1 down: Privates dope Florentine shrink (9)
Playful DA: dope Florentine shrink = gen Italian shrink = genitalia = privates.
25 across: Little looks at newspapers? (8)
Me and a few more liked it lots, others not so much: little looks = gazettes = newspapers.
19 down: Report wise to include dearest sort recently (9)
I loved the aural part of this clue: report wise to include dearest sort = YY to include esterda = yesterday = recently.
21 across: I'm back-to-front describing lair riders (7)
It's DA everywhere: I'm back-to-front describing lair = AD DA describing den = addenda = riders.
The Gold (from 11/12th of December)
6 across: Pack Quadrant? (4)
Deliciously DA: quadrant = south to west = S to W = stow = pack.
10 across: Unit 2D (4)
Excellent: 2D = two dimensional = flat = unit.
14 down: CSIRO's set nominee partly backed radical educator (10)
Wonderfully-well hidden: CSIRO's set nominee partly backed = CSIRO's set nominee partly backed = Montessori = radical educator.
20 across: ... deadly weapon, said to be a lone toy (7, 5)
DA makes the best aural clue (and the most questionable): said to be a lone toy = said a sole trifle = assault rifle = deadly weapon.
3 down: Misguided nature seizing Central Australia, poorly reflecting on us! (5, 7)
Career-best &lit that is even better than last week's career-best &lit: misguided nature seizing Central Australia, poorly reflecting on us = misguided nature seizing r, ill reflecting on us = terra nu lli us = terra nullius = misguided nature seizing Central Australia, poorly reflecting on us.
25 across: Curtailed accord if a felon joins our neighbourhood (7, 3)
Nice: curtailed accord if a felon = curtailed pact if 1 crim = pacific rim = our neighbourhood.
1 down: Vietnamese detained celeb (4)
Exceptionally easy once you know the answer: Vietnamese detained = Vietnamese = name = celeb.
16 down: Vile, outré, unthinking Pom or Dane?! (9)
Is it &lit or not? I'm giving it the points for reasons I explained earlier, reasons which I freely admit are iffy: vile, outré, unthinking Pom or Dane = eurot rash = eurotrash = vile, outré, unthinking Pom or Dane.
The Golden from 4/5th of December
27 across, 15 down: Bobbing item belongs at sea! (7, 2, 1, 6)
My vote for the best &lit going around: bobbing item belongs at sea = message in a bottle = bobbing item belongs at sea.
That anagram is ridiculously good and to wrap that in an &lit is genius.
13 across: Girl hot like Joyce? (5)
Clever and compact: Girl hot = Iris h = Irish = like Joyce.
21 down: Monkey with outspoken craft in the Howard Years? (5)
Ridiculously good masking of the direct clue and a damn good red herring in the guise of an anagram indicator: monkey with outspoken = tamper outspoken = Tampa = craft in the Howard Years.
17 down: Loudly loots Nero's city to find Fu Manchu author (3, 6)
Exceptional: loudly loots Nero's city = loudly sacks Roma = Sax Rohmer = Fu Manchu author.
1 across: Relegated Knight within meant trading with Storm finalist (7)
Perhaps the most difficult clue of the crossword, yet a goodie: Knight within meant trading with Storm finalist = n within denoted trading with m = demoted = relegated.
15 across: Press peeved by German decoration (4, 5)
Nice: press peeved = Iron Cross = German decoration.
5 down: Row disrupts 'fluent' retail tycoon (5, 4)
Excellent word bending: row disrupts 'fluent' = rank disrupts flowy = Frank Lowy = retail tycoon.
19 across: Watch Part 10 (5)
Clever: Part 10 = role x = Rolex = watch.
28 across: Drunken disgrace after nog cocktail? (7)
Nog seems so appropriate as an adjective: drunken disgrace after nog = sidecarg no g = sidecar = cocktail.
Beatles Gold (from 27/28th of November)
Not a lot of golden stuff this week even though there was a pleasant semi-theme. Anyways, here goes:
1 down: (Beatles) 17-down's own crab & kipper stew -- just add water (9, 6)
Nice little anagrammer: crab & kipper stew -- just add water = paperb ck ri + awter = Paperback Writer = Beatles's own.
19 across: Indirectly he may conceive two hairstyles, no, in shabbier extremes (5, 5)
Nice direct definition: two hairstyles, no, in shabbier extremes = perm do no in sr = sperm donor = indirectly he may conceive.
4 down: The French contacted diminutive singer, live, for 17-down's own (3, 2, 2)
Interesting little word in there: the French contacted diminutive singer, live = le tit be = Let It Be = Beatles's own.
I don't quite get diminutive singer = tit, though.
The Golden (from the 20th/21st of November)
1 down: Cast, with or without one! (5)
It's the ball-tearer: three clever, conceivable solutions, yet only one of these three fit within the crossword and is truly &lit. I wonder if DA knew of the following three possibilities:
- cast, with or without one = cast with or - i = cast wthor = throw = cast
- cast, with or without one = sling (a sling might or might not contain a cast) = cast
- cast, with or without one = shied (shed) = cast, with or without one
Great clue made even harder by more than one feasible solution.
6 down, 21 across: Spooner's out of depression with 15-down (deep fryer) snack (5, 5)
This took me a long time because it's, as far as I'm aware, a first: a Spoonerism that passes two phonemes of a word over to the next: Spooner's out of depression = Spooner's from pit = pomme frite = deep fryer snack.
7 down: Buckle fast cinching little zip (5, 1. 1.)
Ridiculously good, and blasphemous to boot!: buckle fast cinching little = stfa cinching wee = sweet F.A. = zip.
16, 10 across: Acting as an extra principle of creative accounting (6, 2, 3, 7)
Wonderfully worded and humorous: acting as an extra = making up the numbers = principle of creative accounting.
19 across: Burmese remark about hound she buys? (9)
A brilliant way to hide purr: burmese remark about hound = purr about chase = purchaser = she buys.
13 across, 5 down: It crushes crims boarding vessel with scaler, say? (3, 11)
Especially difficult wordplay for a excellent clue: crims boarding vessel with scaler, say = cons boarding boat with Richter, say = boa constrictor = it crushes.
12 down: The Mafia deviant suits current one-sided band (6, 5)
No surprise that the mind-bending word-turner would refer to mind-bending mathematical shape-shifting: the Mafia deviant suits current = mob iusst rip = mobius strip = one-sided band.
22 down: Fault Flynn finally swapping hands (5)
I really like an elegant swapping of letters: Flynn finally swapping hands = Errol - l + r = error = fault.
17 down: Audience bear Cockney's corny music machine (7)
Wonderful aural clue that's a little surprising because the letters don't look like they should be homophonic: audience bear Cockney's corny = audience carry Cockney's hokey = audience carry hokey - h = karaoke = music machine.
24 across: Just 31 days, trading places in London (7)
Excellent sleight of hand from the surface reading: just 31 days trading places = fair may trading places = mayfair = in London.
DA Gold (from 16/17th of November)
14 down: K-kinky assumption lessened (9)
You just don't expect one letter is gonna be the direct definition: kinky assumption lessened = potassiumn lessened = potassium = K.
15, 16 across: Daughter suggests London custom (8, 2, 3, 5)
The pick of the bunch, and another excellent example of the answer being the wordplay: daughter = changing of the guard (the guard is an anagram of daughter) = London custom.
11 across: - cryptic clue? (9)
Very nice indeed, and almost &lit: - cryptic clue = minus cule = minuscule = - cryptic clue.
12 down: Timeless African people climbing of mountains intact? (10)
Nice: timeless African people climbing of mountains = timeless Bantu climbing ridged = timeless utnab ridged = unabridged = intact.
8 down, 13 across: Briefly make 2-down (saga) droop? (3, 1, 4, 5, 5)
Nice double definition: make saga droop = cut a long story short = briefly.
Update: NC set me straight in the comments: this is a much cleverer clue than I was giving it credit for, and is another brilliant example of the answer being the wordplay: make saga droop = make saga sag = cut a long story short = briefly.
21 across, 1 down: Hollywood creep to defect, seizing Israeli plane abroad to central China (4, 6)
I loved the direct clue: defect, seizing Israeli plane abroad to central China = bug seizing el al os i = Bela Lugosi = Hollywood creep.
4 down: Romcom's Richard accepts new romcom, for one (5)
Brilliant: DA got a star of romantic comedy into the answer concerning romantic comedies: romcom's Richard accepts new = Gere accepts n = genre = romcom, for one.
