We get a puzzle from Bannsider around once a month, and every month that puzzle is never less than bloody marvellous. I’m pleased to say that this month is no exception.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | RAN TAP<,ICE – PATNA RICE. Getting the RICE bit was easy enough but “Let water flow” I found very tricky. |
| 6 | W,REST – simple and deceptive. |
| 9 | A HEAD O,FO(N)E’S,TIME – got this from the def and crossing letters and worked out the wordplay later. |
| 10 | TIE,POLO – “incompatible” because you can’t wear a TIE with a POLO (shirt or neck). |
| 11 | T(I,PC)ART – “pro” is short for prostitute, and “right on” is PC (politically correct). |
| 13 | (WRITES HIS)* – IRISH STEW. |
| 15 | PI,[-h]ERO – PI is an irrational number. |
| 16 | L,AS IS< – SISAL |
| 17 | FRI,CAS(SE)E – “Sat predecessor” for FRI is very good. |
| 18 | DHA[-l],N,(ASK)* – I think the N comes from “and” (as in fish ‘n chips) |
| 20 | AA in (LURKS)* – KURSAAL. Not come across this word before so it was the last one to go in, once I’d confirmed it in Google. |
| 22 | OUT,OFCOM MISSION |
| 24 | THONG with the O replaced with I – “zip” can mean zero, nothing, nada. |
| 25 | (MCC MOROSE)* – SOCCER MOM. A US term, hence MOM rather than MUM. |
| Down | |
| 1 | PLAN[-e]T |
| 2 | THE DEVIL STAT TOO – THE DEVIL’S TATTOO is a tapping of the fingers or feet. |
| 3 | I in (A HIDEOUS LP)* – AUDIOPHILES. Clever &lit. |
| 4 | IN F(R)ONT,FO< – IN FRONT OF. The govt dept is the Foreign Office (FO). |
| 5 | STERN with the ST moved down – ERNST. |
| 6 | hidden in “shoW ASh” – Ash are a popular beat combo. You don’t need to know that to solve the clue but it makes the surface reading make a bit more sense. |
| 7 | (MIME ARTIST USED A)* – EMIRATES STADIUM, where Arsenal play. |
| 8 | TWENTY-ONE(?) – can’t work this one out at all: “As many as six x-ray screens “jumping””. |
| 12 | POP(L)ACROSS,E – not completely sure I’ve got this right but I think that “Ford” is used as a verb here as it can mean to wade across a river or stream. POP-LACROSSE seems to be a non-contact, junior version of lacrosse. |
| 13 | INSIDE OUT – this is very cleverly done: “thoroughly” is the def and the “batters” in cricket are the side that are in, or INSIDE. |
| 14 | WHI(SKY MA)C – great use of “drunk” as a containment indicator. |
| 19 | S,BONK (going up) – if I’ve read this right, “do the other” is BONK. |
| 21 | initial letters of “Moines And New York Line” (going up) – LYNAM, a famous Des. |
| 23 | odd letters of “FrIdGe” – FIG. |
8d ‘screens’ is a ‘contained within’ indicator and ‘jumping’ is an ‘inversion’ (or reversal) indicator so you get: yar-X XIs and, of course, XXI is ‘twenty-one’.
Very tough and challenging with some real gems and innovative clueing. I thought DHANSAK was finish off broth i.e. (h and ask)* with cooks as anag indicator. In 12 down, I thought without being 100% sure that Ford briefly = pop across.
Thanks once again to Neil Dubya for his flattering comments and to Eimi for his broad-minded editorship. Especially as I suspect this puzzle bordered on the unfair with the crossing of PIERO and POP-LACROSSE, each with rather dastardly clueing devices. So I apologise to those who may have failed to crack the obscurities. All those dishes and artists were a co-incidence, as was the fact that “TWENTY-ONE” appears in my 21st Indy puzzle.