Solving time 13:30
Quite tricky this one – partly because of 22,11,12 which I didn’t get until many checking letters were in place – “C _ C _ / N _ _ _ / _ _ _ / U _ E / _ I _ E” says the scribbling at the bottom of the page.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 9 | A(CADE(t))MIES – Hardy Amies was a fashion designer. | |
| 10 | ‘OLE IN – ref. this nursery rhyme. | |
| 13 | F,ITCH – the fur of the polecat, says the dictionary | |
| 14 | OC=”Officer Commanding”,CU(LT)ISM – Lt. in music* | |
| 19 | TITHE BARN – BAR in (I in tenth*) | |
| 22 | C(LIP)ART – cart (vb.) = drag | |
| 23 | HAYRICK from Ray Hick | |
| 24 | C(O)AT,I – a mammal from the Americas | |
| Down | ||
| 1 | MAGNIFICAT – (in fact magi)* – mentioning the Magi on the date of Epiphany must be deliberate. Here’s chapter and verse on the Magnificat. | |
| 2 | F,AL (Capone),SET-TO | |
| 3 | TEMPE,H – some concoction made by fermenting soya beans with a fungus. Hopefully better than it sounds. | |
| 4 | BI(A)S – bis = twice/again is apparently what the French actually say when we would expect them to use “Encore!”. | |
| 5 | E,S(CUT,CHE)ON | |
| 6 | COLE’S,LAW – Old King Cole from another nursery rhyme. | |
| 7 | MEDIC,1 = “lunchtime” | |
| 8 | (m)ANNE(r) | |
| 14 | ONOMASTICS – MASTIC in SOON* – the study of proper nouns | |
| 18 | REVEILLE = R.E.,”valley” as in “into the valley of death rode the six hundred”. | |
| 20 | TAI,PAN – Tai is a Pacific fish | |
| 21 | (p)LAY OFF | |
| 22,11,12 | CECI N’EST PAS UNE PIPE – (nice pet pin-up ceases)* – the inscription on the paradoxical painting which pedants might remind us is actually called “The Treachery of Images”. | |
| 23 | HURL – Liz HURLEY without ye rev. | |
An enjoyably difficult puzzle that I solved only through recourse to Googling a few times.
I’ve eaten tempeh in an Indonesian restaurant cooked in sweet and sour style and it was quite delicious.