A compiler I usually struggle with but not on this occasion. There are some very nice clues in this but a couple that I don’t fully understand and a couple of (I think) weak puns/cryptic defs.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 7 | hidden in “guM ON A STICker” – superb hidden clue. “Strip of” seems an obvious indicator once you know the answer but if you don’t “strip of gum” is such a natural phrase that led me up the wrong path for a while. |
| 11 | N,UT,CRACKER – the wording “bird found in” made me spend quite some time thinking that “bird” wasn’t the definition. |
| 12 | I,N,MATE – I don’t think I knew that “glasshouse” was an obsolete word for a military detention centre but the wordplay wasn’t too tricky. I liked the use of “bud”, especially when you consider the more common meaning of “glasshouse”. |
| 14 | EXCAVATE – not hugely impressed with this but then again it can’t be the easiest word to do something with. |
| 20 | MAD, A in (GIRL)* |
| 22 | ODD in SEN(D) – one of the great things about British slang is that we have so many words and phrases for “drunk” but I can’t say that I’ve ever used SODDEN – maybe I should hang out in more polite circles. Still, it’s in the dictionary and it wasn’t too difficult to get. |
| 23 | FISHMONGER – groan. |
| 25 | OLIVI(A in place of ER) – clever. A reference to Laurence Olivier. |
| 26 | (PATTERNS)* |
| Down | |
| 1 | CON in GOLD,A – quite a tough clue to parse. The Koh-i-noor diamond was said to have come from here. |
| 4 | SHORT CUT – if this is right I’m not sure why. Any explanations welcome. |
| 5 | (COD REVISED)* – I like “new edition” as an anagram indicator and it’s perfect for a clue with COD in it. |
| 8 | (THRICE)* – “con vibrato” seems to be overdoing it a bit as part of the anagram indicator but I suppose it could be argued that it makes the clue an &lit. Maybe. |
| 13 | AFTERS,HAVE |
| 16 | I,ON in REGAL – not sure if I’ve parsed this right. “Palatial” must be REGAL but I don’t see how “one quite drunk” can be I ON, unless ON is another word for “drunk” that I’ve never heard of. |
| 18 | HE,(PLATES)* – luckily I knew this one as there’s a pub near where I work called the “Heeltap and Bumper” which I’d previously looked up as it seemed like an odd name for a pub. On a romantic note, it’s also where I met Mrs Dubya. |
| 19 | PLIGHT – double definition. |
| 22 | S,CREAM |
SHORT CUT = Cu = copper. Re REGIONAL ON = drunk. Thanks for explaining OLIVIA – I’d never have thought of that. I did like FISHMONGER and EXCAVATE, though
“A compiler I usually struggle with but not on this occasion”. I did. I didn’t get GOLCONDA, never having heard of it, so this made me give up on 15A.