If there is a theme, I am unable to spot it, I did see two NINA's SPOOL and SMART
ACROSS
11 Crack a ton; draw (7) ATTEMPT {A}{T}{TEMPT
12 Is in Barcelona, absorbing encounters in retreat with counts (7) ESTEEMS {E{MEETS<=}S}
13 Senior member of party getting foreign money (5) DOYEN {DO}{YEN}
16 Seek carbon quota reforms at the earliest stage (4,2,6,3) BACK TO SQUARE ONE*
19 Unexpected exits from dodgy road sport (9) TRAPDOORS*
22 Log 10 miscalculated? Well! (5) ENTER {TEN*}{ER}
24 Wholesome meal unwrapped on desk (7) EATABLE {mEAl}{TABLE}
26 "Trailer," per simmering wife describing fight (7) PREVIEW {PRE*}{W} over {VIE}
27 Bar featured in bible verse (5) LEVER [T]
28 Coffee and cigarettes essentially carried by French sycophant (9) FLATTERER {LATTE}{c..aREt..s} in {FR}
DOWN
1 Settled up a bill involving Gussalufz (6) REPAID {REP}{A{I}D} A=Rep? (Addendum {PER<=}{A{I}D} - See comments)
3 Happy to tour, I'm in and out (10) ELIMINATED {EL{IM}{IN}ATED}
4 Excellent weed, mine to roll up (6) TIPTOP {POT}{PIT}<=
5 Devotee's bench in church, with "I DIE PURE" scribbled (4-4) PRIE-DIEU*
7 Dropping regulars!? Team's ethicist rejected proposal (6) SCHEME {tEaMs+EtHiCiSt}<=
8 Sees drag racing as an Olympic sport (8) DRESSAGE*
16 In Berlin, please rely on English getting ignored with resentment (8) BITTERLY {BITTE}{ReLY}
17 Get away from the woman defending boundless love of force (5,3) SHOVE OFF {SH{lOVe}E}{OF}{F}
18 Exceptional points in set — result: 1-0 (8) OUTLIERS {RESULT+I+O}*
21 Sea's full of unlimited epic colours (6) SEPIAS {SE{ePIc}AS}
23 Embarrassed about combat payment (6) REWARD {RE{WAR}D}
25 Poet excluded in recitation (4) BARD (~barred)
Reference List
Old = EX,O, Ton = T, Is in Spanish = eS, Party = DO, Recipe = R, Some blood = A, Well! = ER, Wife = W, French = FR, Hard = H, Right = R, Male = M, Please in German = BITTE, English = E, Force = F, Cuba = C
1a a:per<= (up)
ReplyDeleteUse of a as per may be added in reference list.
DeleteSathia
16a imho, def is incomplete
ReplyDeleteAt the earliest:square one.
Directional (going back) is missing.
Yes, that can be argued. I did not add a qualifier as it would not work in the surface, and I felt that (a) the given def ("at the earliest stage") is a hypernym (subsumes what the entry means) so it's OK, and (b) the wordplay is a simple anagram, and with the so many word breaks, it should not be too difficult once a few crossing letters are obtained.
DeleteNot so tough from Gussalufz. Enjoyed all the same. 10A beautifully camouflaged.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I've heard from a couple of other solvers too that this one felt easier.
DeleteVery nice CW given by Gussalufz. Doyen, primavera, pacer, enter and flatterer are good clues. My COD is 5D.
ReplyDeleteSathia
Thanks!
DeleteThe title of this crossword is supposed to be "Semordnilap." It was not listed in the online version (either accidentally, or deliberately, am not sure—the title *is* a bit esoteric).
ReplyDeleteBut are there such words in the grid?
DeletePacer
DeleteLever
Repaid
Spot
Reward
Bard
Spool
Smart
Yes, that's the lot!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOk, I got the answer.
DeleteThanks, as always, to the Col. for blogging, and to all solvers for giving the puzzle a go! Here are my notes for this crossword:
ReplyDeleteNotes
The title, *Semordnilap*, is a word that was probably coined by the self-proclaimed "Father of Logology," Dmitri Borgmann (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Borgmann). A semordnilap is a term that forms another meaningful term when reversed. There are eight semordnilaps scattered through the grid:
1D. REPAID reverses to DIAPER. The solution to 16A. (BACK TO SQUARE ONE) can be (at a stretch!) construed to be alluding to this semordnilap.
6D. SPOT reverses to TOPS.
10A. PACER reverses to RECAP.
23D. REWARD reverses to DRAWER.
25D. BARD reverses to DRAB.
27D. LEVER reverses to REVEL.
The other two semordnilaps are hidden as ninas. SPOOL (reverses to LOOPS) and SMART (reverses to TRAMS) can be seen running down the sixth and tenth columns, respectively.
This, my sixth THC crossword in '24, also uses 24 distinct letters in the solution entries. Inspired by Borgmann, I hereby coin a word for this kind of a puzzle: a *salgram*, with "sal" read like "säl," the Hindi word for "year" :-).
Personal notes
Last year was the first bloom for our new cherry tree, and while it only produced a handful of cherries, they were utterly delicious. Unfortunately, while the tree has grown substantially, the fruit yield seems even smaller this year. Either the local bird and squirrel population has pulled off a successful heist, or it's just a normal variation, or something else.