I’m always pleased when I open Friday’s crossword and find I have Mudd to blog about. This was as enjoyable as Mudd consistently is, with some innovative definitions, entertaining wordplay and great clue surfaces.
Across
1 BIGAMY B (bowled) I (one) GAMY (high, as in spirited/energetic)
4 BUM RAP dd
8 ELLIPSE SPILL reversed in (-d)EE(-p) Very nice one.
9 IDEALLY I DALLY (don’t go for speed) around E (ecstasy). One of the last to get solved; the ‘perfect world’ threw me off-track towards Eden and Utopia.
11 PARTICULAR P (‘physician’ primarily) ARTICULAR (pertaining to joints)
12 IOTA IO (moon) TA (starts to ‘Turn Around’)
13 TARSI TAR (black stuff) SI (I’s back)
14 ANTIMONY A TIMON (the Greek philosopher) Y (odyssey’s ending)
16 FIVE STAR VESTA (a short friction match) in FIR (wood)
18 REGAL LAGER reversed. I vote for giving the REGAL/LAGER wordplay some rest now.
20 OKRA O (old) KRA (ARK reversed)
21 DISSONANCE IS SON (relative) in DANCE (performing art)
23 STIPEND TIP (extra money) in SPEND (remit)
24 DIDDUMS S MUDD I’D reversed. A new word for me, can’t find it in dictionaries I usually check but Google throws up results that tally. Nice clue.
25 REEFER dd
26 AT BEST A, B (secondary grade) in TEST
Down
1 BALSA A SLAB reversed. ‘balsa’ is lightweight wood.
2 GLITTER G (beginning to ‘glow’) LITTER (rubbish)
3 MASOCHIST (STOMACH IS)* &lit. Enjoyed this a lot.
5 UDDER sounds like OTHER when spoken through a cold!
6 REALISM L (line) IS in REAM (paper)
7 POLYTONAL (TO + PLAY + ON + L)*
10 ALBATROSS BAT (club) R (right) in A LOSS (deficit). I rely on the internet for golf-related words in crosswords. ‘albatross’ in golf is “three-under-par (-3); often called a double eagle” (Wikipedia).
13 TRICKSTER TRICKS (rounds of cards) T (‘dealt’ finally) ER (queen)
15 TERRORIST ERROR (flaw) IS in TT. Very interesting definition.
17 EXAMPLE EX (old) AMPLE (enough)
19 GRANDEE (ANGERED or ENRAGED)*. Still thinking why both ANGERED and ENRAGED are there in the clue. Is it to add some complexity to an otherwise easy clue, or a tongue-in-cheek reference to the old chestnut (angered)* = enraged?
21 DANTE D (died) ANTE (before)
22 COMET COME (arrived) T (end of planeT)
Thanks for the blog, Shuchi.
I think the ‘Athenian’ in 14ac refers to Shakespeare’s ‘Timon of Athens’, about the legendary misanthrope, rather than the philosopher of the same name, who came from Phlius.
Re. 1ac I think ‘high’ means ‘gamy’ in the sense of over-ripe, smelly, decomposing.