i App Cryptic Crossword S0113 by Silvanus
February 4, 2024
Difficulty rating (out of five): ⏳⏳⏳
A good challenge from Silvanus this Sunday that I didn’t find too difficult, though I suspect a few of the oddities and the – either you see it or you don’t – elements will have held up some. Outside of the CoD, I liked the sports broadcaster in a “state of shock”, and was pleased to get the plant at 8d from wordplay (not to say surprised to have got it right). A little tussle at the close with the restrictive order, but perhaps that was just the coffee cup having emptied.
CoD? I’ll go with 14ac – “Copper having youthful exterior essentially swearing in native tongue (10)”.
All the answers and parsing of the clues can be found in Fifteensquared’s blog from January 2020, where some evidently struggled more than I did:
https://www.fifteensquared.net/2020/01/27/independent-10386-by-silvanus/
Borodin
batarde
Saboteur
Denzo
flashling
jonofwales
Cornick
sprouthater
uiytjhgmj
willow1235
idothei 
Although I would consider a PETAL far too insubstantial for a term of endearment, the top three across were solved in the time taken to enter them, but the puzzle was not the quick ride I then expected, but got gradually harder as I progressed down. There were some dekigbtful clues such as the COD and the DE-TAILED CURB, but I found some of the wordplay, eg DISABUSE and LOI WAR CHEST a little clumsy.
Could someone tell me how to access the Sunday critic please. I have the digital app but I can’t find the crossword.
Go to ‘https://app.inews.co.uk/’, click on the ico n in the top left and select ‘Puzzles’.
Should have made clear that’s what I do on my laptop. On my phone, I just fire up the app, select ‘Puzzles’ and scroll down to ‘Cryptic Crossword’.
Similar experience to Denzo here, in so far as this got progressively more difficult as I worked my way down. The top half went in quick as you like, but the bottom took far longer. I had much difficulty with CURFEW, WAR CHEST, DISABUSE and my LOI, BALDING where the obvious answer took an age to dawn on me; BALDING = ‘state of shock’? Hmmm… not so sure.
I thought that, too – more a state of no-shock, surely? But I got that one fairly quickly, so no complaints! I also struggled with Curfew, only fully parsing on seeing 225, but accepted it was an excellent clue.
Very much the same here. Quick as you like to start with then the same ones Denzo mentioned – especially the crossing WAR CHEST and CURFEW that doubled my time. However I thought BALDING was terrific. My hair is (a bit) but still retains a shock-like quality I hope.
I’m another who got stuck on the crossing WAR CHEST and CURFEW. Then couldn’t/ didn’t parse CURFEW. Otherwise, all good.