Solving time : 20-60 minutes (see below).
I spent a lot of time looking at this on the bus but at the end of a 40 minute journey I had just a few answers 15, 23 and 25. I picked the puzzle up again at lunchtime and rattled it off within 20 minutes. So, I’m discounting those first 40 minutes!
The puzzle is a classic Paul affair but with no long anagrams or cross-references, and no obvious theme. There are some groan-inducing clues and some clues which are delights.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | HI+JACK — could the inscription in the card have been, “Hello John”? |
| 9 | CABLE TELEVISION — it is neither the radio nor is it wireless. I got this answer some way into the puzzle and filled in television. I briefly considered STEAM TELEVISION as a slang term for radio amongst tellyphobes and radiophiles, sadly it is not in the dictionary but neither does it fit the clue. |
| 10 | O(KAY)ED — dictionary always suggests OED as a possibility. Here Funny Peter is Peter Kay, the northern English comic, originator of Phoenix Nights. |
| 11,26 | PRINTING ERRORS — of course the boobs (ERRORS) could be on any page but the cryptic definition here refers to the photograph of a topless model found on page 3 of some tabloid newspapers. |
| 18 | D+OLOROSO — heading for drink is D, a drink is OLOROSO (a sherry). The definition here is that little word at the end, sadly. Musical directions such as LARGO, LENTO, PRESTO and, of course, P, PP, F and FF, are usual in fodder but here the direction is the answer. |
| 22 | GALAXY — axes isn’t a verb but the plural of axis, X and Y are both axes. They sometimes occur, along with Z, as unknowns. |
| 24 | UNSOPHISTICATED — anag of (pain)T NUDES PISTACHIO. |
| 25 | SWEATY — anag of WET SAY, what joggers might so horribly get. Very nice clue, especially as a sweaty runner myself. |
| Down | |
| 1 | H(E+ARK)EN — not a word I’ve come across before but the word play is straightforward enough once you realise that a layer is something that lays (eggs.) |
| 7 | T+R+OUNCE — excellent surface alluding to the imminent Ashes contest. Oz = OUNCE rather than the Aussies. |
| 13 | UNDERT+ONE — Where are teeth filed? Not at the dentist’s but UNDER T (think filing cabinets.) |
| 16 | A(LUM)NUS — a LUM is a chimney (new to me) and as such it blows smoke. The hole is ANUS, making this rather a tits and bums crossword! |
| 18 | H(SIN)AD (rev) — Mussolini was hanged (or was it hung) upside down, as was the wordplay here. |
| 20 | SEXLESS — this is my mystery clue. ‘still a virgin’ is at least part of one definition. Is the word play, S(on) + EX (first relationship) + LESS (but) or is there something else going on?
See below: ‘in first relationship’ = EXLESS (Doh!) |
| 23 | LLANO — hidden in reverse. Simple enough but it is worth remembering this classic crossword word, a type of plain. |
20dn – I took “in first realtionship” to be “EXLESS” (ie having no exes).
Exless = not having any exes and therefore in first relationship
Thanks to both of you. It is amazing how the obvious can sail right past sometimes. Of course this being Paul exless is now groaningly obvious, though I daresay I’ll miss it again.
OK — i’ll chime in and say that I read this is as: S(on)+EX(“my ex” as in “my first wife”) and LESS (is a kind of mathematical relationship). Oh well…
as for
I particularly enjoyed ‘exless’, and also the use of ‘axes’ for x and y. Not sure about ‘it’s plain to see’ to define ‘llano’ – surely ‘it’s plain’ is enough, the rest is padding.
My solving experience on this one was the reverse of Colin’s – I cantered through 90% of the clues in about 15 minutes and then got stuck for the same amount of time on the last few. This happens to me quite a lot and it’s annoying as I would like to get my solving times down.
Cracking puzzle. I never realised Mussolini was hanged upside down. Very clever.