*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Amulet: U in ‘amlet. |
| 5 | Hedgehog: Again slightly obscure definitions (hedge = asset and hog=keep all the time) meant I hesitated over this one. |
| 9,19 | Thank ones lucky stars: CD. |
| 10 | Golden rule: Double/cryptic def (golden=50 year anniversary). |
| 11 | Dong: I actually put Ding for this one on the grounds that might be sound of a till and is also Chinese name (possibly Vietnamese as well). However, it turns out to be Dong because the Dong is the currency of Vietnam. |
| 12/17/11D | Lowest Common Denominator: (West London Commemoration)*. |
| 14 | Ostinato: (It + a not so)*. This is not a word I’ve seen much, but it means a repeated fragment of music. |
| 16 | Denounce: Den + ounce. The ounce is another term for the snow leopard. |
| 18 | Used: Another double def I was slightly dubious about. |
| 20 | In business: Double def. |
| 22 | Laptop computer: Lapp around to + “put” in “come” + r. |
| 24 | Usurious: Us (i.e. the British) after US U Rio. |
| 25 | Deride: DE (two of the lower grades in for example A levels) + ride. |
| Down | |
| 2 | Metronome: (Moment or)* + E. |
| 3 | Lo and behold: Loan + DBE (Dame of the British Empire) + hold. |
| 4 | Token: Toke + [quee]n. |
| 5 | Hang up ones boots: Hang-up + one’s Boots (Boots the high-street chemist). |
| 6 | Dyspeptic: (spicy pet [foo]d)*. |
| 7 | Emu: Hidden in the mud. |
| 8 | Oaken: O + a Ken. |
| 13 | Tennis pro: (person in [cour]t)*. |
| 15 | Trousered: Clue was “Runner runs into Welsh town half exposed, wearing Uncle Sam’s pants”. Although I thought of trousered fairly quickly, the answer didn’t seem to make sense on the grounds that Americans don’t normally use the word trousers. I can only assume the definition means “wearing what the Americans call pants”. As for the rest, it seems to be Ouse + R in Tred, which must be half a Welsh town, although I don’t know which one. |
| 21 | Sapid: (Dip as)<. |
| 23 | Tar: CD. |
Hi Neal
You could try Tredegar for 15d.
11 Across – I had “ding” for this as well, Neal, for the same reason.
I too havered between DING and DONG, but reasoned that Punk, faced with the same choice when compiling the puzzle, would surely have gone for the latter!
A couple of marginally-relevant points:
Tredegar was the birthplace of Aneurin Bevan, leading to a famous &lit clue by (I think) Ximenes: something like “Origin of the great red (8)”.
Ostinato is Italian for (or at least cognate with) “obstinate”, giving the figurative musical meaning.