Good stuff as ever from Phi, and we have a pangram to boot. I was frustratingly defeated by the final two clues though!
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 7 | BELLOC – (Alexander Graham) BELL + CO> rev. | |
| 9 | OVERLOUD – U(niversity) in OVERLO[-r]D | |
| 10 | FLIT – FLI[-r]T | |
| 11 | DOLLY BIRDS – (BODY DRILLS)* | |
| 12 | SLALOMED – ([g]OL[d] MEDALS)* | |
| 15 | NOGGIN – which, if half-hearted, would be NO GIN | |
| 16 | MAGNA CUM LAUDE – MAG + C(ollege) in (ALUMNA DUE)* | |
| 16 | STREAK – RE: in STAK[-e] | |
| 18 | DIGITISE – DIG 1 + S in TIE | |
| 20 | STANDPOINT – STAND (where you’ll find cab) + POINT (train) | |
| 21 | EXAM – X[-i] in [-t]EAM | |
| 23 | LOVE NEST – LO + (EVENTS)* | |
| 25 | RASHER – A SHE in RR (recipes) | |
| Down | ||
| 1 | ZEAL – ZE[-st] + AL[-l]< | |
| 2 | ACADEMIA – A C.A + AIMED rev. | |
| 3 | JOWL – J(udge) + OWL | |
| 4 | KENYAN – KEN + NAY rev. | |
| 5 | FLYING BUTTRESS – (GUSTS IN BELFY + T)* | |
| 6 | QUADRICEPS – [-s]QUAD + (PRICES)* | |
| 8 | LITTLE GREEN MEN – (LET RING ELEMENT)* | |
| 13 | LIMITATION – L(ine) + IMITATION | |
| 14 | DRUID – DR. + [-q]UID | |
| 17 | LIGATURE – A in (GUILT)* + RE: | |
| 19 | KEPLER – L[-ens] in KEEPER dropping [telescop]E | |
| 22 | IOTA – Not sure on this one – “One letter – or nine on reflection” | |
| 24 | AWED – A + DEW rev. | |
Ali,
22d. “a” to “i” (9 letters) reversed.
After doing most of the top half, I thought this was going to be a pangram where each letter was an initial, especially as there were 26 clues, and a grid where no letter had to be used twice…
But no.
Like most of the puzzles this week I struggled to get the last few, but it was quite satisfying when I did eventually get them. I thought noggin was very good.
Thanks Ali, and to Ian for explaining IOTA, which I stuck in without understanding it. Wasn’t keen on Phi’s Dickens-themed puzzle last Friday, but this one entertained me well.
Slight smirk at the clue for LOVE NEST and liked EXAM for its clever surface – I suppose that short words are sometimes harder to clue cleverly than long ones because there’s less to work with, but listen, what do I know about setting clues? I just enjoy tackling them, and I enjoyed these today.
Ali, I think you’ve put two 16 acrosses which has jumbled up the clue numbers for the remainder.
Thanks Ali.
As usual,an excellent puzzle from Phi.Some nice anagrams,particularly 5 down and the very 60’s 11 down.
Also featured Hilaire,the most famous member of the Bellocs an often mispronounced family!
Found this strangely easy (despite the latin phrase) and breezed through Saturday’s as well. Iota was a twist on the well known clue for atom.
I’m rather chuffed that this is is first Indie crossword I have completed without reference works! (even though I did not understand all of the clues).
Re: Pangrams – do they have to only use each letter of the alphabet in the initial letters? I only ask because the whole grid does have all 26.
A pangram in a crossword is when each of the 26 letters of the alphabet appears in the completed grid.
This is the prize crossword in today’s ‘i’.Finished it with a few good guesses.