Pretty much everything you could want from Nimrod here – lots of 15-letter answers, some lovely anagrams, an answer that defies all standard clue-type classification and a handful that will need further explaining. Good stuff!
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | WHILE STOCKS LAST – (SCOTTISH LAWS +ELK)* |
| 9 | TAG ALONG – N in TAGALOG |
| 10 | NOVICE – First one that’ll need explaining to me – “Inferior entrant to covent describing superior one?” |
| 11 | THREE-RING CIRCUS – Like the ‘dress code’ clue a week or two back, I’ve no idea how you’d classify this type of clue. I like it though |
| 12 | ORIOLE – Hidden in oratORIO LEda |
| 13 | CAP SCREW – CAPS,CREW |
| 15 | FOOTPATH – OF rev. + (TOP HAT)* |
| 19 | HAMMER – I get the Hammer Horror reference here, but not sure about the blowing bubbles bit. Something to do with overacting, maybe? |
| 21 | DEVELOPMENT AREA – (PERMEATED A NOVEL)* |
| 22 | WAPITI – A PIT in W.I |
| 23 | NEGLIGEE – (NIGEL)* + GEE |
| 24 | FOREIGN MINISTER – (SO I’M INTERFERING)* |
| Down | |
| 1 | HEATHER – THE in HEAR |
| 3 | LEAVES ON THE LINE – Double def. ref. telephones and the railway excuse |
| 4 | SCOURGE – CO. in SURGE |
| 5 | ORGANIC – (NO CIGAR)* – Very clever use of the phrase here |
| 6 | KINGCUP – Got this as soon as I had the K and P, but can’t piece it together – “In vessel on the table relatives, say, get involved in deal for plant” |
| 7 | LIVERY COMPANIES – A tricky double def. |
| 8 | SECLUDE – (SC[-h]EDULE)* |
| 11 | OFF – Double def. |
| 14 | WAR – I think this is WAR[-m] |
| 16 | OREGANO – A (Alpert’s first) in OREGON with N(ovember) rising up |
| 17 | ADORING – ADO,RING – Not sure how ‘like a matador’ gives RING (assuming it does!) |
| 18 | HOMONYM – MON in HOY,M |
| 19 | HANDGUN – Double def. |
| 20 | EXEGETE – EX + E.G in ETE |
10ac ‘Inferior entrant to covent describing ?’
A novice is a ‘inferior entrant to covent’, and one with no vice is a ‘superior one’
Blowing bubbles is West Ham, the Hammers.
ADORING, I think is DO (function) in A RING.
In 1D burbot is ling (fish) and heather is ling (plant). Has Nimrod invented a new clue type, an indirect definition?
I have finally worked out 6D: In EGGCUP family (KIN) and say (EG) do a deal (i.e.swap) resulting in KINGCUP
Re 1d: A burbot is a fish like the ling so it seems even more indirect to me.
Please explain 7dn. Livery companies.
I don’t get the ‘pairs of saws’ part of the clue.
Not sure what I was thinking of in 1 Down, but I substituted one Nimrod for another at the last minute and managed to confuse myself in editing it. Apologies to Nimrod and all baffled solvers.
You mean 2 down?
Re 7dn, ‘Two’s company’ is a saw, so ‘pairs of saws’ = companies.
Cheers all for the pointers.
As for 1D, this for me was a classic case of not knowing a word (burbot), working out the answer from the wordplay and then not bothering to look it up on the assumption that I then knew what it meant. Which is exactly the kind of laziness which frequently causes me to make a fool of myself in pub quizzes. Burbot? Yep, it’s a type of heather!
The same applies for 7D. I assumed there is a company saw, but it appears not, so I’m with Barbara in needing an explanation now.
I’m with Barbara on 7dn. Surely this can’t be a double def as LIVERY = “Irritable”. So is “pairs” = COMPANIES? If so what is “saws” doing here?
Hmm, if that’s the explanation, Mick, surely the clue is faulty. “Two’s company” is a saw but how on earth does “pairs of saws” leave just COMPANIES? There’s no logic in that that I can see at all.
Two is company, so companies are twos belonging to a saw.
Okay, thanks, I finally get it. Thanks for being patient.