Nice puzzle with an amusing mini-theme. I couldn’t get 10 and I don’t understand all of the wordplay in 5. Not completely convinced about 14d either, although I can’t see what else the answer might be.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | H,(U DO I MAKE SENSE)* – HOUSEMAID’S KNEE. |
| 8/25 | (MP ARC[-h]ER WRIST)* – WRITER’S CRAMP. Great surface reading as Jeffrey Archer is a writer and used to be an MP. |
| 9/19 | J,(PEOPL[-e],SNIGGER)* – JOGGER’S NIPPLE. |
| 11 | S(HIV)A – “Triad member” is a neat bit of deception as it’s nothing to do with the Chinese organized crime groups. Instead it’s a reference to the three Hindu deities: Brahma, SHIVA and Vishnu. |
| 12 | (NINE)* in (TELLY)* – LENIENTLY. |
| 13 | YE,MEN,I |
| 14 | ARAK<,OKE – KARAOKE. Filled this is almost straightaway from the definition but took a lot longer to work what was going on: ARAK is an aniseed flavoured drink and OKE is another spelling of OK. |
| 16 | PRO(LON)G – not sure about this but I think “west London” is LON (so east would be DON). It’s a bit vague but I can’t see how else the clue might work. |
| 22 | [-g]RE-ENGAGES. |
| 24 | SON,IC |
| 26 | S,PANNER |
| 27 | (CATO IRE)* – EROTICA |
| 28 | AMBASSADORSHIP – “Posting” is the definition, with the rest of the clue suggesting a pun similar to the other “complaint” clues in the puzzle: AMBASSADOR’S HIP. |
| Down | |
| 1 | HAWKS – a reference to the rather marvellous Howard Hawks, who directed, amongst others, Bringing up Baby, Red River and The Big Sleep. |
| 2 | hidden (upside down) in “boxES I LIT Upon” |
| 3 | EL,E,VAT,E |
| 4 | (SLOB)* in [-h]AVING – ABSOLVING |
| 5 | D(I)J,ON – not sure why “not Col” is ON. |
| 6 | K,(EG,BE[-er]),ER |
| 7 | ELECT,OR(going up) |
| 10 | S?Y?E? – couldn’t get this one. “Ways it’s said they go up the wall?” |
| 14 | KING’S HEAD – not sure about this either. It’s definitely a “name of local” and it’s a “complaint” along the lines of the others in the puzzle but the word “head” appears in the both the clue (“headgear”) and the answer – that can’t be right can it? |
| 15 | S(PARK)S – a variant on the more familiar (to me anyway) “sparky”. |
| 17 | OVER ARM |
| 18 | ORGAN,ZA |
| 20 | SIP<,SOIR – PISSOIR |
| 21 | ([O for E]NGLISH)* – LONGISH. |
| 23 | GU(R)NS |
10A was STYLES def. ways and homophone STILES which help you get over a wall.
5A the “not Col” comes after a “:” colon, thus gives ON!
I liked that.
16ac – I certainly read it the same way as you (LON being W. London). Glad I wasn’t the only one to not quite follow 5ac too!
Can’t remember exactly what the clue was in 14dn, but at the time I thought it might have something to do with ‘uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’ – a crown being an example of headgear. But it was one of those clues where the answer is (fairly) obvious and you only appreciate the wordplay afterwards.
I thought the puzzle as a whole was remarkably easy compared to some Saturday offerings!
I don’t have the puzzle with me, but I also read it as a reference to “uneasy lies the head” etc. Also agree re LON = west LONdon.
“Head” in both the answer and the clue threw me as well, and I was hesitant to write in the answer until it became clear that it couldn’t be anything else. A bit sloppy, I’d say.
Given the theme, I couldn’t help smiling when I noticed that the first answer to the previous Saturday’s crossword, published underneath this grid, was CLEVER DICK.