There’s a Nina here which I spotted during solving but only just worked out what it’s about. From the top left-hand corner we have GABRIELLE, BREE, SUSAN, LYNETTE and EDIE (the first E is also the last E in LYNETTE), who are all 22/26. Maybe Merlin’s a fan of the show!
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 8 | GILL – double def. A GILL is a quarter of a pint. |
| 9 | (DUKE EARL)*,IE – AULD REEKIE. The Scots (affectionate) nickname for Edinburgh. New to me but got it from the wordplay. |
| 10 | DIME in (ENTOMB)* – EMBODIMENT. Spent some time thinking the wordplay was (ENTOMB COIN)*. |
| 11 | A,BAR (reversed) – ARAB. |
| 12 | (ASININ[-e],GIS)* – INSIGNIAS. |
| 13 | STEER – a cox is someone who steers a boat and an ox is a steer. |
| 15 | DRA[GG for BB]LE – Margaret DRABBLE (sister of AS Byatt I believe) is the author. |
| 17 | TAT in DICE |
| 20 | [-d]EARTH |
| 22/26 | (WHERE SPOUSES DEVIATE)* – DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. I’ve never watched it myself but, if watch TV at all, you’ve probably seen a trailer for it at the very least. |
| 25 | A in TSR – TSAR, excellent &lit. |
| 27 | T,(MORE TO EAT)* – TREE TOMATO, rather than “tomato tree” as I hurriedly filled in at first. |
| 28 | LIE,U |
| Down | |
| 1 | IRMA in AN – not sure IRMA is a “sweet” girl… |
| 2 | B,LOOMING |
| 3 | RATION,ALE |
| 4 | LEG,A in ILL – ILLEGAL |
| 5 | OT,ARE (going up) – ERATO. “Religious books” are usually NT or OT, for New and Old testament. ERATO was one of the Greek muses. |
| 6 | LE(V)ANT |
| 7 | GAME in LINT – LIGAMENT. |
| 14 | S,IMP,LET ON |
| 16 | S in [-t]REASURE – REASSURE |
| 18 | TORT,ILL,A |
| 19 | PERU,SAL |
| 21 | TUR,E,E,N |
| 23 | THE,BES[-t] |
| 24 | initial letters of “Yes, One Old Buddy Holly) arranged into OH BOY – which was a Buddy Holly song so this is practically an &lit. |
Re: 1. aIRMAn
This might be a reference to
Irma La Douce
1ac – could Irma refer to Irma Thomas, r & b singer in the 1960s known as the Soul Queen of New Orleans, with an album “Sweet Soul Queen of New Orleans”? Or is that a bit too obscure?
I think Barbara must be right – Irma La Douce (which was a film and a musical) means “Irma the Sweet”.
MARGARET DRABBLE and AS BYATT – they are sisters, as you say, tho, like the Charlton brothers in football, there’s a rift there.
I knew the writers didn’t get on but the footballers? Really? That I did not know.
It’s pretty well-documented and goes back quite a while.
I thought the DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES anag. & lit. was an absolute cracker. And maybe Merlin’s not such a fan of the show at all? I read the Nina as DIE GABRIELLE, BREE, SUSAN and LYNETTE!