This was by no means easy, with some unusual words, and some unsolved wordplay.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | MULLIGATAWNY: MULL (warm) + I + GA (empty guava) + TAWNY (owl) |
| 10 | INDORSE: anagram of RIDES ON |
| 11 | ANNULAR: ANNUL (abolish) + R around A |
| 13 | ESTEPONA: hidden in wE STEP ON Airplane |
| 15 | WAGE SLAVES: anagram of LAS VEGAS WE |
| 16 | CYST: hidden in pharmaCY STarts |
| 20 | STRIDULATE: anagram of TURTLE SAID |
| 22 | PARTISAN: double definition |
| 24 | CAVED: double definition |
| 26 | EROTICA: T in EROICA (one of Beethoven’s symphonies) |
| 27 | DRAGOON: O (love) in DRAG ON |
| 28 | FACE THE MUSIC: which is what the conductor must do. I thought, for some time, that this must be ‘take the stick’ |
| Down | |
| 2 | UNDOING: double definition |
| 3 | LARGESSE: LARGE + SS (ship) + E |
| 4 | GLEE: G + LEE (shelter) |
| 5 | TRANSGENIC: anagram of CREATING SN (40% of SNAKE) |
| 6 | WINCE: C (carpaccio starter) in WINE |
| 7 | YELLOWY: ELLOW (headless man (f)ELLOW) in YY (chromosomes) |
| 8 | WINDOW SHOPPER: &Lit |
| 9 | BREAST FEEDING: anagram of GRADE BENEFITS |
| 14 | MARTIAL ART: of which karate is an example, but why? |
| 17 | NUNCHAKU: UK + AHC (a high court) + NUN (female adherent), all reversed (held up) |
| 21 | ALVEOLI: O L (nothing left) in anagram of ALIVE |
| 23 | ILIAC: I think this is right, being that which pertains to the ilium (part of the hipbone). But I don’t see the wordplay. |
| 25 | IDLE: I(n)D(u)L(g)E being indulge without the even letters |
I found this quite tricky too! But I think “iliac” is right, and took it to be 80% of the poem The Iliad + c (cut).
Re 14 ac: I found Martial listed under Poets in a dictionary.
I now learn that Marcus Valerius Martialis, an ancient Latin poet, was known in English as Martial.
But the breakup MARTIAL + ART (expertise) is not quite satisfactory, or is it?
Magpie, you are clearly right. I spent a good while looking at the Iliad but somehow had it stuck in my head that the 80% referred to final.
Rishi, you too are clearly right although I have never heard of this chap. I think art if ok for expertise; I just think the poet is a bit out of the ordinary!
What I meant to say was breaking up MARTIAL ART as “mail tartar*” or
(-ex)tramarital* or any other similar division is one thing and breaking it up as Martial/art is another. The latter does not seem to give the solver much satisfaction.
But I do realise that while writing some thirty clues for a 15x puzzle such straight divisions may be welcome after convoluted wordplay elsewhere.
It doesn’t seem very cryptic, that ILIAC clue, because the bone concerned is the ilium. And what’s the Latin name for ancient Troy?
Maybe they haven’t heard about it on the Pak homeworld.