An enjoyable solve, this – very tough in places, easier in others. Not sure about the wordplay in 14 and I’m not confident I’ve got the right answer at 19 either. The grid had two Ms filled into two unconnected squares, each of which is the first letter in the word MOHAMMED which appears in grid in a diagonal direction (going up on the left-hand side and down on the right). Don’t know what the significance (if any) of this is though.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 9 | OL(I,VET,RE)E |
| 10 | hidden in “oasT OR CHarnel” |
| 11 | CO in (MONEY)* – nice &lit |
| 12 | I,(GUN)* in POD< - DOING UP |
| 13 | hidden in “sO AT Home” – cleverly indicated by “a number [i.e. some] having gone outside”. |
| 14 | SU(PER[HUM]A)N – if I’ve parsed this right then “a small area” is PER A but I’m not sure how that works. |
| 17 | (IN TEA SETS)* – ANISETTES |
| 22 | SET in (MORE)* in ANY – ANEMOMETRY. For some strange reason, “Dicky” as an anagram indicator really sets my teeth on edge. |
| 23 | alternate letters of “HoUrLy At” |
| 25 | PALMIST – cryptic def |
| 26 | A,M(PUT)EE[-t] |
| 27 | ENSU[-r]E |
| 28 | E(SABLE< )KE,T - EEL-BASKET. Another tough one to unravel. |
| Down | |
| 1 | BO(RED)OM |
| 2 | SIR (going up),OTTO – RISOTTO |
| 3 | GENOA |
| 4 | ARMY – “arm-y”, geddit? |
| 5 | DEAD LETTER – which is one that neither be delivered nor returned to sender so I guess it would be “held at the office”. |
| 6 | H in (CLIMATES)* – ST MICHAEL. |
| 7 | A GIRO (going up),MI – ORIGAMI |
| 8 | S(HIP,IN)N |
| 15 | (HE THE SUDAN)* – UNSHEATHED. |
| 16 | UNIONISED – or “un-ionised”. |
| 18 | LAM,PREY |
| 19 | LEGLESS(?) – not sure about this. Fits with “drunk” but not sure about “set up”. |
| 20 | (TO,A,T,UKE) – OUTTAKE |
| 21 | MA(JEST)Y |
| 24 | A,P,PAL |
| 26 | A(M)LA – never heard of Hashim AMLA but the wordplay could only really lead to that or ALMA. |
19 gel< and – = minus (less)
14 per = a
There is an extra part to the Nina in there which in the unchecked letters of the 7th and 9th rows where we see MOUNTAIN and MOLEHILL backwards.
In fact I saw that first and didn’t think of looking for any more; a friend pointed out the two MOHAMMED diagonals later and I kicked myself because that would have really helped getting some of those answers.
19D LEGLESS More punctuation wordplay: (GEL)< from “set up” then LESS from that “-” (hyphen)
14A I think “a small area” gives just the “A” from Acre, so pervading must give PER?
I’d seen the MOUNTAIN and MOLEHILL at the very end but not the MAHOMEDS, had no idea what the Ms meant.
PS re SUPERHUMAN small area = a (abbrev), I think
It’s a reference to another mountain-related saying: ‘If Mohammed will not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed’.
Hashim Amla is a batsman currently playing for India.
I think there’s a South African AMLA, Jetdoc, which was what the dlue said, though on cricketing matters I’m prepared to be corrected.
Oh sorry, yes, he is South African!
I stared at the Ms for ages, and still didn’t get their significance. Now that’s it’s explained, I’ve nothing but praise for Nimrod’s skill and diligence in finding a grid to fit it all in so smoothly (and invisibly!). I wonder how many solvers saw it in all its glory? Perhaps a short preamble would have helped?
DEAD LETTER You’re right about a letter left uncollected at the Post Office, Concise OED gives this as a US usage.