Solving time: 18 mins
(Apologies for the late posting, a misunderstanding in an email to blame!)
Wednesday is always a good Indy day, as Dac is a reliable source of a safe, sound puzzle, today’s teaser turned out to be no exception.
I was making really good progress and got held up on two answers: 1 ac which I had never heard of, but guessed and 18 down likewise. Both had pretty straightforward clues which helped with solving.
Thank you Dac, for a pleasant Wednesday.
ACROSS
1 TANGAS – Smell – TANG like = AS “items of underwear” = TANGAS. Had to check Chambers for the word. Never heard of it.
5 CHANGE – Straight double def.
9 EXILE – Former = EX Priest – ELI (Good stock Crossword entry) reverse.
10 BILLBOARD – Charge = BILL Committee = Board
12 OVERTIRED – An object lesson in reading a clue properly to get the full meaning. Although I saw the answer quickly, parsing it was a problem – I saw OVERT = it’s CLEAR and then tried to make IRED – Ruddy in a sense of an expletive. Much simpler “One will get ruddy” = I + RED. D’oh!
13 TYSON – I am always wary of homophones in crosswords, what someone says in London is completely different at times to what someone in Newcastle or Swansea may say. And then what about solvers overseas? However with this clue, it works for everyone TIE = match – sounds like TY, plus SON = lad.
14 DEPARTMENT STORE – Anag of “Remonstrated” and “Pet” Nice surface reading in the clue with running wild as the anag. indicator
17 THE LADY VANISHES – My favourite clue in today’s challenge. A double definition “Thriller” being one half and everything else being the other. Refers to Dame Agatha’s mysterious disappearance in Harrogate in the 1920’s. Clever.
20 IRENA – Straightforward enough IRE + NA. butwhere most setters would leave the definition as “girl”, Dac qualifies it into telling you to look for a name used in Poland.
21 RECOMPOSE – Anagram of “more scope”.
24 GRAVESEND – Nice cryptic indication – the last of wine – GRAVES’ END. Again, a precise definition with Kentish town telling you exactly where it’s located.
25 REBAR – Hidden secuRE BARn
27 EVELYN – Extremely = the extremes of “lonely” (similar to debate on crossword.org at the mo.) LY inside EVEN
DOWN
2 ALIKE – Gangster = AL (Capone) President = IKE (Eisenhower) Two useful names if you haven’t got them in your crossword armoury.
3 GREETER If I was to have a quibble with this puzzle, this clue would probably be it. Basically another homophone GRETA = MARGARET. No-one I know of called Margaret (six people) confessed to ever being called GRETA. Ms Garbo was MARGARETA, I think. It’s OK but it niggles at me.
4 SOBER – OBE =Order in SR = Sister
5 CALEDONIA – C = Cycle + ALED = Welshman + ON + IA (A1 The Great North Rd reversed)
6 ARBUTUS – Tree = definition Roman statesman = BRUTUS with R = right at top. A + RBUTUS
8 SECOND STRING – Double def, but I think “a bit of a fiddle” is weak for SECOND STRING.
11 DONKEY’S YEARS – Michael Frayn’s veritable show. Like the Agatha Christie clue – a nice double def.
16 MEYERBEER – EYE in MR BEER (Mr PORTER, as in “stout” – if you have never heard of it, pop it in the memory bank).
18 ALAMEDA – Nice clue ME in A LADA (OLD CAR!).
19 IMMERSE – Again, see debate on “Some” on crossword.org.uk Hidden answer indicated by Group of… Works OK for me, but poss not for some!
20 CADRE – D = daughter in CARE – worry.
A pleasant way to spend a Wednesday. Thanks Dac!