Some good clues, but also a few that I had questions about.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | TOTAL RECALL cd (or maybe I should call it an overlapping d&cd: “perfect memory” and “memory for sums?”) |
| 7 | ALE Simple clue, but also a very natural surface |
| 9 | TRUER TRUE (I think) R (runs). Any insight into this clue would be appreciated. Several Google searches left me no wiser as to whether Robert, John, Bobby or even Emma Peel ever owned a dog named True. |
| 10 | UNSHEATHE Hidden in sUN’S HEAT HEre |
| 11 | RAIN DANCE cd. It may rain when there is an atmospheric depression |
| 12 | HASTE CHASTE (modest) without C. “Expedition” in the sense of speed. |
| 13 | ANT EGGS *(gnats eg) |
| 15 | ELAN ELAN[d] |
| 18 | KNEE dd |
| 20 | MAY BE SO MA (scholar) *(OBEYS). In my opinion, it’s a flaw, not a feature, that “perhaps” is serving as both anagrind and definition here. Also, I thought it should have been enumerated (5,2). |
| 23 | REEVE RE (about) EVE (the First Lady). |
| 24 | CONSTABLE CON (prisoner) STABLE (secure) |
| 26 | TOAST RACK cd (“soldiers” are pieces of toast) |
| 27 | THANE THE (an article) around AN (another article). |
| 28 | ROT Because TOMMYROT also means nonsense |
| 29 | MATINEE IDOL *(A LIMITED ONE) |
| Down | |
| 1 | TUTORIAL *(OUT) in TRIAL (test) |
| 2 | TOURISTS SIR (teacher) reversed in TOUTS (pedlars). |
| 3 | LURED *(RULED) |
| 4 | EQUINES cd, sort of. |
| 5 | AUSTERE AUSTE[n] (Jane’s detailed) RE (note). I liked this clue. |
| 6 | LIES HEAVY LIES (deceit) HEAVY (hard to bear) |
| 7 | ARTIST *(TRAITS) refers to the answer for 24ac, CONSTABLE. |
| 8 | ELEVEN Hidden, after translation into Roman numerals, in meXIco. I hadn’t seen this interesting device before. |
| 14 | GINGER TOM GINGER (red-haired) TOM (not a queen). A type of cat. Is there a definition here? |
| 16 | KEYBOARD KEY (vital) BOARD (food). Is a keyboard found “on” a computer, as opposed to “attached” to one? |
| 17 | BODE WELL B (Blake’s first) ODE (poem) on WELL (spring) |
| 19 | ENCHANT [p]ENCHANT (“liking,” free of P for pressure). “mere” is relevant only to the surface here |
| 20 | MANIKIN KIN (family) headed by MAN (husband) and I |
| 21 | WRITER Odd letters of WoRk In ThEoRy |
| 22 | TENANT TENT (temporary accomodation) housing AN |
| 25 | TITHE IT reversed (“goes up”) on THE |
Hello Agentzero,
Thanks for the blog. I had the same experience as you with 9A – learnt about many Peels, but no dog True.
14D: I’ve seen this kind of clue before where a literal alternative is given to an expression, with a “not really” added to it. Somehow I don’t mind the missing definition here. I forget the source but a recent clue was: “Mickey’s mouth? Not exactly!” for MOUSETRAP.
16D: “on” can mean attached to, I think. e.g. poster on the wall, buttons on the shirt. A laptop of course has the keyboard actually on it than attached to it.
It took me a while to solve 8D, and was quite impressed with it.
Hi Agentzero
Re 9ac: a verse from the song ‘D’ye ken John Peel?
‘Yes I ken John Peel and Ruby too
Ranter and Ringwood and Bellman and True…’
Shuchi, point well taken about the laptop!
Eileen, I knew I could count on you! I thought the song went “. . . Bellman so true,” so that “true” was an adjective rather than the name of yet another dog, but a Google search for the lyrics returns results that are roughly split between the two versions. And there is a movie named Bellman and True, which has probably helped cement your version in public memory.
Agentzero, that’s the version I remembered from school, so didn’t bother to look it up but I see now there are several instances of the other version, in Wiki, etc. I hadn’t heard of the film, though.