I never got round to tackling yesterday’s Tees, and I guess today’s puzzle would have come as a relief to those that did. As to whether or not it was any good? It’s Dac, 11A…!
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUMP OFF – P[-r]OF in BUMF | |
| 5 | FOSSIL – S(ocial) S(ecurity) in FOIL | |
| 8 | BALL OF FIRE – IRE after BALL OFF | |
| 9 | DOSH – DO + S-[andwic]H | |
| 10 | YOGI – YO G.I | |
| 11 | END OF STORY – S[-pending] in END OF TORY | |
| 12 | MINNELLI – NELL in MINI | |
| 15 | INDEED – I + N(ame_ + DEED | |
| 16 | DES-RES – DES[-1]RES | |
| 18 | HOT SPOTS – Cryptic def. | |
| 20 | CAMPAIGNER – I[-s] in (GERMAN CAP)* | |
| 22 | OBIT – O(ld) + 1 in BT | |
| 24 | EDDO – E(very) D(ay) + DO | |
| 25 | GREENPEACE – N(ew) PEA in GREECE | |
| 26 | CRAFTY – RAFT in CY(prus) | |
| 27 | SHYSTER – Hidden in masS HYSTERia | |
| Down | ||
| 1 | BEANO – BEA[-r] + NO! | |
| 2 | MULLION – MULL + ION[-a] | |
| 3 | OFFIE – OF F(ellow) + I[-nsid]E’ | |
| 4 | FRIEDRICH ENGELS – (FRENCH GIRL’S IDEE)* | |
| 5 | FEEL FAINT – IN in (FLAT FEE)* | |
| 6 | SEDATED – D(aughter) in SEATED | |
| 7 | INSURGENT – (GETS RUN IN)* | |
| 13 | ICELANDER – A in (DECLINE)* + R[-ecession] | |
| 14 | LASTINGLY – LA’S TINGLY | |
| 17 | REPROOF – PRO + O (ball) in REF | |
| 19 | PROJECT – PRO (for) + J(udge) in E CT. | |
| 21 | RUNNY – RUN + NY | |
| 23 | IN-CAR – INCA + R(adio) | |
I’m not sure how “o in saddles” explains 19 down. I think it was Pro j(udge) + E ct.
A nice puzzle after yesterday. I didn’t follow 1 down, but then comics were never really my thing.
Ooops, that was left over from the Morph I blogged last week. Cheers for the spot, I’ve duly updated!
Thanks for the blog, Ali. A very good puzzle, which I found a little harder than usual from Dac. Esp liked END OF STORY, ICELANDER with the nod in the surface towards the banking crisis, also liked the clever definition in CAMPAIGNER. I think in 18AC, there may be two parts with the definition referring to the internet and then hot spots (tropical parts)
Very nice puzzle. In addition to those clues mentioned I also liked 1dn which is semi-&lit given that Biffo appeared from 1948 to 1986 and even made a comeback after that.
Lovely puzzle, precise clueing as always from Dac, and the obscure words were clearly signposted. OFFIE was my last to go in; couldn’t see it for ages.
I too liked the nod to the Icelandic banking crisis.
Nothing too difficult but a satisfying exercise none the less. YOGI and OBIT were very neatly clued, and 26A was quite 26A. I didn’t realise that ‘raft’ in the sense of ‘lot’ was a separate word according to Chambers, I always assumed it was a figurative use of the idea of a mass of, e.g. floating logs.