A rather interrupted solve for me, this one: initially tackled in two sessions separated by a week in Scotland, with the last two entries remaining unsolved several additional days later. I’ve reproduced the two clues at 29ac and 25dn in case readers fancy helping out.
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | BORIS GODUNOV – ((DOUR SING)* in BOO) + V. |
| 10 | RAIDER – A in RIDER. Apparently a “rider” is “a gold coin bearing a mounted figure”. |
| 12 | RACE – triple definition, I think: streak/run/tear away. |
| 13 | BLETHERER – THERE replacing (“for”) the A in BLE[a]R. |
| 14 | NUKE – UK in NE. |
| 16 | CAMPOS – CAMP + OS. |
| 17 | DIVALI – DI + VALI[d]. |
| 18 | NON-METALLIC – (CALL TIN ME NO)*. |
| 19 | IONOSPHERIC – (HOPE IRON’S)* + I + C. |
| 23 | OMENTA – OMEN + TA. |
| 24 | OOIDAL – OO (“round shapes”) + ID[e]AL. |
| 26 | FALL – dd., sort of. Both Adam and Ahab appear to have suffered falls. |
| 28 | ONE-HANDED – O + ((HAN + D) in NEED) . |
| 29 | DE?? – Skilful guy failing to finish tape for agent?. |
| 30 | EN BEAU – (NB in EE) + Au. |
| 31 | AD REFERENDUM – (REMADE REFUND)*. |
| Down | |
| 1 | BRANCHIOPODA – BRANCH + I + OP + O + ‘D + A. |
| 2 | OAHU – OA[t] + HU[t]. |
| 3 | RISK MONEY – SIR< + MONKEY, with the K ("one thousand") advancing. |
| 4 | SELDOM – L in MODES<. |
| 5 | GREASEPAINT – PAGEANTRIES*. |
| 6 | DAHLIA – (AIL + HAD)<. |
| 7 | UREA – U + [a]REA. |
| 8 | OCELLI – CELL in (O[ne] + I). |
| 9 | VERTICILLIUM – VERT + I + C + ILL + MUI[r]<. |
| 11 | STADTHOLDER – (D in THAT’S*) + OLDER. |
| 15 | VALIDATED – VALI + DATED. |
| 20 | OMENED – MEN in OED. |
| 21 | STRAFF – [gardene]R in STAFF. |
| 22 | EOCENE – E + ONCE* + E. |
| 25 | ?H?E – Bent pipe support getting run off. |
| 27 | LUAU – more than one, i.e. LUAUS, would be USUAL*. |
Hi Simon
29ac is DEMO[n] (skilful guy failing to finish) – the tape that performers give their prospective agent
25dn is SHOE SHO[r]E (support getting run off). I think this would have been clearer with ‘run out’. From Chambers:
shoe – the short bent part at the bottom of a downpipe that directs water away from the wall
shore – a temporary prop used to support a wall, excavation, etc, to prevent slipping, sagging, etc
Thanks for the blog, Simon. I too solved this puzzle over a few sessions and found it quite difficult. SE corner I found the hardest, favourite clue LUAU. FALL I got only near the end – I thought the Ahab reference may have been to Moby Dick and the fall(3) entry in Chambers – with the reference to Adam, as you say, being from the Fall of Man.