| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | A BIT OF ALL RIGHT – OK being another word for ALL RIGHT. |
| 8 | LET THEM EAT CAKE |
| 9 | (SO ONE ENCHAINED)* – CHEESE AND ONION. The capital R in “Rolls” is not needed in the cryptic reading but adds a bit of deception at the surface level. |
| 10 | B,READ AND B,UTTER – I thought this was very cleverly done: “Ordinary con, say, registering at B&B”. |
| 14 | ENTERTAIN,MEN,ST (reversed) |
| 15 | (EYED MATERIALLY)* – TIME DELAY RELAY. |
| 19 | (BRIDAL COAT)*,LOTH – BROADTAIL CLOTH was new to me. |
| 21 | LEFT SPEECHLESS |
| Down | |
| 1 | APE[-x] |
| 2 | (HE LOST RESTRAINT)* – IN THE LAST RESORT |
| 4 | A,LEX,AND,RAP,A,LACE |
| 5 | LUTED – guessed this from the minstrel reference as I didn’t understand what “clay overcoat” was about. Turns out that lute is “a substance, such as dried clay or cement, used to pack and seal pipe joints and other connections or coat a porous surface in order to make it tight”. |
| 6 | (AT ALL IN ELECTION)* – I CANNOT TELL A LIE. The definition – “Does one fib? No” – was a bit tricky to spot |
| 7 | H?E ?O – couldn’t get this one; might be HIE TO but I don’t know why. Full clue: “Quickly head for digitally-reduced celebration, so to speak?” |
| 13 | R,IT,Z,Y |
| 16 | I’M B[-l]UE |
| 18 | hidden in “geneRAL PHilosophy” – this seems like a bizarre way of doing a hidden word clue: I can’t decide if the definition here is meant to be “His” or “I’m”. |
| 20 | T?S – couldn’t get this one either. Full clue: “Terriers paid renewed attention”. |
8 comments on “Independent 6649/Nimrod”
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I think HIE TO is contrasted with “High Five” and the TAS is “sat up”. A very good puzzle from Nimrod.
I had to concede defeat on 18D, having D?L?H to play with. Am kicking myself now, as it’s clear that it’s hidden, but I’d entered TIME DELAY RELAY at 15A which was never gonna help! I guessed at HIE TO, but wasn’t quite sure how it worked.
A very good puzzle with some really sneaky anagrams.
Ali
To explain nmsindy’ comment on 20d a little further, Terriers = TA (Territorial Army). I would have thought that Terriers = TA rather than TAs but I guess it’s arguable.
Ooops, what I meant to say was that I’d entered TIME RELAY DELAY at 15A!
Ali
TAS Colin, this is Nimrod.
The territorial army are known as the TA, but the troops are commonly called TAs – as in http://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/people/publicfigures/army.asp
Thanks Eimi. I’m not quite old enough to read Saga magazine so I missed that one! How long before Nimrod discovers STABS, an acronym that appears in the same article?
Did this puzzle set a record for the greatest number of 14/15-letter words? To get 11 into a 15-by-15 grid, without too much contrivance or obscurity, is pretty remarkable.
I’m not sure how common ‘TAs’ is – I’ve never heard it said, but maybe it’s an older expression that’s fallen out of fashion. ‘STABs’, on the other hand, is widely used; so too ‘weekend warriors’.
Thanks for explaining ‘hie to’, which I put in but couldn’t fathom.