Very enjoyable puzzle from Morph – one of the easier Thursday puzzles we’ve had for a while.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | BODICE RIPPER – v.amusing def + cryptic def to get us started. |
| 9 | TART,RATES |
| 10 | IL[-l] in GUT – excellent &lit. |
| 11 | IX in RILE< – I guess this means that Gaul names often end in -IX, like Asterix? |
| 13 | O in CAR,USING |
| 15 | STROP – that’s “wobbly” as in “throw a wobbly”. Clever combination of very different meanings. |
| 17 | hidden reversed in “televisUAL IPod” |
| 21 | CH[-arles],IV,VI,ED – this took a bit of working out and I think I’ve got it right. “Edward the Sixth” would be ED VI. |
| 26 | TESTOSTERONE – a somewhat audacious but successful (I think) homophone clue: “Tess tossed ‘er own”! Works the way I pronounce it. |
| Down | |
| 1 | BUTTERCUP – sounds like “buttock up”. |
| 2 | RID (going up),TIER |
| 3 | CUR,IR<,(CUMULATIVE)* – I thought this was very good, especially as “My Life as a Dog” is actually the title of a film. |
| 5 | PASS,EN,GER |
| 16 | PET,(CLEAN U[-p])* |
| 23 | DA IS |
Quite a saucy one this with a few sexual references. BODICE RIPPER, TART-RATES and the shag in 19A (and GUILT if you’re Catholic). I could almost feel my 26A levels rising.
I thought the surfaces were all really good.
19A reminded me of the Isherwood poem which my dad often recites:
The common cormorant or shag
Lays eggs inside a paper bag
The reason you will see no doubt
It is to keep the lightning out
But what these unobservant birds
Have never noticed is that herds
Of wandering bears may come with buns
And steal the bags to hold the crumbs
I liked this one a lot. Some very cheeky clues, not least cormorant and testosterone, the latter being the kind of word I’m sure you’d look at a setter and then wonder if you could dare pull off such an outrageous homophone! I agree that it works though, so bravo Mick from me!
Ali
Yes, a lot faster than my usual Thursday struggle… Several of these I guessed from the definition, and / or partially understood wordplay. 9ac was my favourite, I think, even if I spent too long thinking that ‘salt’ referred to the TAR at the beginning.
The one mistake I made (15ac) also revealed the curious fact that the online version seems to tell you that you’ve successfully completed the crossword whether or not there are any errors in it.
I think 5 down is actually,
PASS + E + N +GER
EN isn’t as far as I know an abbreviation for English but N is listed as meaning ‘and’ in Chambers, as in rock ‘n’ roll.
Yes, you’re probably right.
Also, I meant to include 19a in my post, but forgot. Brilliant clue: “Bit of nookie in broken-down motor-car – a shag, maybe?” (9)
Thanks for all the comments. Colin, you’re right about PASSENGER, and Ali, you hit the nail on the head with regard to the thought process behind TESTOSTERONE. That’s exactly how it went!