Nothing too difficult today, but some clever constructions and no complaints. 13 across and 1 down were particular favourites.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | AGENDA AGE (become old) + *(AND) |
| 4 | ATLANTIS N[ote] + IT reversed in ATLAS (map book) |
| 9 | THRONG R[uns] in THONG (g-string, say) |
| 10 | MARQUISE MA (mother) + *(SQUIRE) |
| 12 | LASH L[ake] + ASH (tree) |
| 13 | STEPLADDER *(SLEPT) + ADDER (summer) Terrific clue! |
| 15 | PLAIN SAILING I (one) in PLANS (methods) + AILING (weakening) |
| 18 | TOUT ENSEMBLE *(MEN USE BOTTLE) |
| 21 | UPPER CRUST [s]UPPER (son leaves meal) CRUS (vineyards) T (start to “trade”) |
| 22 | EVER LEVER (force) minus the initial letter |
| 24 | SALT AWAY d&cd |
| 25 | EMBARK ME reversed + BARK (growl) |
| 26 | DISHEVEL DISH (good-looker) EVE (the first woman) L[eft] |
| 27 | STOLEN STOLE (scarf) N[ame] |
| Down | |
| 1 | ANTELOPE *(ONE LEAPT) An elegant &lit clue |
| 2 | EUROSTAR *(A ROUTE’S R[ight]) |
| 3 | DONE D (diamonds) ONE (ace) |
| 5 | TRAMPOLINIST IS and L[earner] in *(IMPORTANT) |
| 6 | ACQUAINTED A C QUAINT (charmingly old-fashioned) ED[itor]. Never been a fan of the “stuttering” device. |
| 7 | TRIADS homophone of TRY (judge) + ADS (posters) |
| 8 | SHERRY ERR (go wrong) in SHY (modest) |
| 11 | STEAK TARTARE *(STARTER TAKE A) |
| 14 | IN-YOUR-FACE d&cd |
| 16 | ABOVE ALL d&cd |
| 17 | BEARSKIN BEARS (moves) KIN (family) |
| 19 | NURSED NURSE (fish) D[ied] |
| 20 | APPLES PP (postage and packaging) in ALES (drinks) |
| 23 | OMIT O[ver] MI (note) T[roy] |
Very smooth like the 15 year old Dimple I had while solving this. My COD, the &lit 1Down but the other clues were just as well-crafted. Thank you, Jason and AgentZero (when are you getting your double zero so you will be licensed to kill?)
Many thanks Agentzero
This was very enjoyable with TOUT ENSEMBLE my last entry.
As Jason was the setter, I anticipated the possibility of a few Greek words but never French.
Oh la la!
Oh yes and STEAK TARTARE was another!
Which reminds me that I once visited Paris with an English colleague who tried to order Steak Tartare – Well Done.
Tout ensemble was my last one too, Bryan. That’s the second time we lately that we have had a French phrase; not sure that should be allowed, though my Chambers’s says it is in more or less common use (in English I assume they mean!) and I suppose that is the acid test.
23d bothers me as well. We have had this discussion before, but what exactly legitimizes abbreviating o(ver) and T(roy)?
Tony
O is an abbreviation for over or overs (cricket) and T is an abbreviation for Troy (weight), both are in Chambers (and elsewhere).
Got about half out when my alloted hour was up. I agree with Tony about the French phrase. Looked at ?o?t and the remaining letters I had and tout never came to mind.
I have decided that if I need (say)a “c” for the wordplay to work and there is word that begins with c somewhere in the clue, that will be it on the grounds that no matter how unlikely, it will have c as an abbreviation in some dictionary.
Thanks Agentzero.
Enjoyable puzzle with nothing controversial.Totally agree,1 down and 13 across were the outstanding clues.
Also liked 21 across.
Has anyone else noticed that when a setter uses fruit in a clue it usually refers to the plural?
Bryan @3 – nice one!