As always Dac’s clues are simple and elegant and have lovely surfaces. Time after time the immediate reaction is to say how lucky he’s been that everything has fallen out so neatly. But that’s wrong: it is his artistry and skill that makes it seem that way. However, unusually, I do have a couple of quibbles, which will no doubt be shown to be nothing.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | P(O IT)IERS — are piers walls? |
| 5 | B RAVES |
| 9 | OVERPAID — (prove)* aid |
| 10 | SO MALI |
| 11 | TIGER WOODS — tiger = one who’s dynamic, clubs = woods — clever to get this in so soon after his car crash, and also a reference to the fact that (by his standards) his driving on the golf course is rather wayward |
| 13 | JILL — Jack and Jill, and jill = “gill” |
| 15 | UNDERL(IN)ING |
| 18 | CON(T{roubl}E)STABLE |
| 21 | LOON — 2 defs — this bird, which appears on a Canadian coin |
| 22 | W EIGHTIES T{ension} |
| 24 | satIN MATErial |
| 25 | BRINGS UP — rings in (pub)* — at least that’s what it says, drunk, although actually it’s (pub)rev., which I suppose is one of the anagrams of pub |
| 26 | SO LENT |
| 27 | RE(BELLE)D — rather better I think than ‘Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose’ |
| Down | |
| 1 | P(RON)TO |
| 2 | ICE AGE — “I sage” — a film of which I’m afraid I’d never heard |
| 3 | IMPORTUNES — (MP’s routine)* |
| 4 | RAISON D’ETRE — 0 in (restrained)* |
| 6 | {g}ROOM |
| 7 | V(LAD)I{e} MIR |
| 8 | S PILLAGE |
| 12 | DIRK BOGARDE — (irked)* in (Drogba)* — an actor well-known to people of a certain age so for Dac to call him a ‘player once’…. |
| 14 | D(1 LETT)ANTE — is a dilettante really a patron of the arts? |
| 16 | S(C)ALLIES |
| 17 | IN FORM A L |
| 19 | TEA(S{om}E)L |
| 20 | STUPID — (disput{e})* |
| 23 | {s}ET ON |
Morning John. Piers are walls when they are the bits filling in between doors and windows, well part of the wall really…
Thanks, John. As you say, some delightful surfaces and a very enjoyable challenge. I didn’t think DILETTANTE meant that either, but Collins gives one definition as ‘a person who loves the arts’, so fair enough I suppose. I think it might be our unfaithful friend’s driving of his 4×4 into a fire hydrant that is the reference in 11ac, but a good clue whatever.
11ac.: one of the best clues of the year, I thought.
(The point is it can mean either, or both, as I think John was saying).
And Ice Age, I’d say was a fairly well known film (especially when you have kids my ones’ age), and would have fitted quite well in today’s Paul Guardian puzzle…
A good puzzle from a very consistent setter. It took me twenty minutes to complete apart from 14 down and then the rest of the morning to think of that one. I eventually got there when I stopped thinking the European was there to provide an E.
I thought 11 was a neat topical joke but I don’t think I’d put it in the clue of the year category.
Top stuff as ever from Dac, who clue-for-clue is consistently the best setter around IMHO. 9A, 22A and 12D are all perfect examples of just how good he is and how easy he makes setting seem.
And you’ve gotta love 11A. Am guessing of course, but I reckon this might have been submitted as a nice &lit (i.e. up to ‘…golf clubs’) with the extra bit in brackets added at the last minute in light of recent events.
11A was brilliant, and I think non-crossword people will like it too. My guess tho is that the idea (inclusion, clue) all followed recent events, but it’s only a guess of course.
11 Across was a joint effort – Eimi cleverly added the final part of the clue following recent events in the news, and thus improved the clue immensely.