Solving time: 24 minutes (one dubious answer)
Another sound puzzle from Dac which held my enjoyment right the way through.
Not terribly sure about 13 across, I wondered if the countries had been switched. I thought (wrongly) MATÉ is a food in Japan, and a China is Cockney for a MATE (China Plate). However a check in Chambers reveals MATE to be a Paraguayan bush that can be made into a tea, so any ideas?
ACROSS
1 BIGAMIST Usually this tends to attract a cryptic definition (Is the penalty for this criminal two mothers-in-law? (c) Les Dawson). This conveyed a nice image Epic film = BIG MIST about A.
5. CAMPER River = CAM TRAVELLER reversed = PER
10 LOTTO L = League + OTTO
11/12 LOITERING WITH INTENT Anag of WINTER NIGHT inside anag of TOILET.
13 MATÉ See above
15 ARMED A Cockney would say ‘ARMED for ‘INJURED’
17 MOON-EYED MO = a short time ONE + YE’D Why “met”?
19 DRAGONET Curse = DRAT with GONE = dead inside
20 NURSE Railwaymen’s = NUR’S + Introduction to engine = E
22 EASE Ecstasy tablets, I am told = E’S
23/27 HAVE A LOT ON ONE’S PLATE Cryptic def. I would normally feel uneasy about these clues that could contain ONE’S or YOUR – but I suppose that the clue wording makes it clear in this instance.
28 ADAIR The late RED ADAIR was a chap who fought oil rig and other tough fires.
30 MANDINGO MAN + DINGO
DOWN
1 BELOW PAR BE + LOW + PAR(T)
2 GET IT EG reversed + TIT
3 MOOD INDICO Low noise – MOO DIN D = died I GO = I attempt. The classic piece made famous by Duke Ellington.
6 ALEX ALE + X
7 PRIVATEER PRIVATE + ER
8 RAGGED Double def
9 SIGNPOST Double def Nicely worded!
14 KENNELMAID Cryptic def Hmmmm……
16 MARE’S NEST aNAGRAM OF steersman
17 MANDALAY A LAD reversed inside MANY
18 LEONARDO On = working inside anag of ORDEAL
21 RECOIL RE = conCerning COIL = form of contraception. Not seen before in a daily crossword!
24 ENEMA I don’t think a serene man would happily face one of these!
25 TRAIN Double def
26 OPEN O = Old pen = Penitentiary = Prison.
I put FARE for 13A – FAR E(east). Not completely convinced though…
I’m pretty certain FARE is right, I’ve seen a variant of this clue at least a couple of times recently in dailies (possibly one being a Times or Times Jumbo?). I’d not heard of MANDINGO though, which was a lucky guess given the many possibilities for ‘fellow’.
Make it three for FARE = FAR E(east) though I always approach ?A?E clues nervously.
Yes, FARE sounds good. I put CAKE, reasoning that if C is China then AKE (pron ah-kay) must be, er. something Japanese. Maybe ‘reasoning’ is the wrong word.
It was FARE. Thanks for the expanation.