The last puzzle from one of the very best setters.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ACHILLES TENDON – I saw “heel” and stupidly assumed it was there to lead you away from Achilles. Unless it was a double bluff… | |
| 9 | (IR)R(IS)ORY – a new word to me (meaning the act of laughing at another) which I finally got after trying combinations of IR, IE and is with RORY. | |
| 10 | DD in HAS (rev) + U – the first of two ascetics in the puzzle. U=upper class=refined. | |
| 12 | CRECHE – CR = councillor and “eche” is a Shakespearean word for “augment”. | |
| 23 | TERIYAKI – anag of “a tricky” + ie minus ic. Not the easiest word to clue I would imagine so I thought Bunthorne did well here. | |
| 24 | E + SNAIL (rev) – very misleading surface. “Elia” was the pseudonym of Charles Lamb so his fans are “Elians”. Excellent clue I thought. | |
| 25 | LAH-DI-DAH – another tough word to clue. HAD I + HAD(anag) + L (all rev). The definition being “affected”. | |
| 26,27 | SIMEON STYLITES (anag) – the second ascetic in the puzzle; a Christian saint and pillar-dweller. | |
| Down | ||
| 1,15 | ANIMAL CRACKERS (anag) – ref Marx brothers film. | |
| 6 | ETAERIOS – “soir” is the French word for “evening” + EAT + E, all “up”. This was the last answer I got. Obscure word but straightforward wordplay so very fair. | |
| 7 | DIDICOYS – a new word to me but got it through the wordplay fairly quickly. | |
| 13 | ADULT, RANT around E. | |
| 16 | IMPERIUM (anag) – meaning “absolute sovereignty”. | |
| 19 | TINDAL – can = “tin” + LAD (child) “raised”. A tindal is petty officer of lascars. | |
| 20 | BARDOT (anag) – Marianne is, and has been since the Revolution, a national emblem of France, personifying Liberty and Reason. Models for Marianne are chosen (I’m not sure who does the choosing) and have included Catherine Denueve, Laetitia Casta and Brigitte Bardot. | |