There were a number of extremely good clues in this puzzle, but also a few that seemed imprecise to me. The gems, I thought, were 13, 20 and 26 across.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | KNUCKLE SANDWICH KNUCKLES (joints) AND (with) WI[t]CH (heartless enchantress) |
| 9 | EARLY ON EAR (ability to appreciate) LYON (French city). I would have liked this clue even better if the word “developed” had been omitted; it’s not needed for the cryptic or surface sense |
| 10 | TEMPEST TEMP (agency worker) EST (“is,” French) |
| 11 | YEAST Y[ard] EAST (where the sun rises) |
| 12 | INTER ALIA INTER (bury) A LIA[r] (little fibber) |
| 13 | UNSPOILED *(SPUN) + OILED (drunk) |
| 15 | CLYDE dd |
| 16 | SCONE S[mall] + CONE (tapering figure) |
| 18 | GASTROPUB *(TOP GRUB’S A) Shouldn’t there be some kind of anagram indicator here? |
| 20 | ILL-GOTTEN *(LONG LET IT) This is a great clue, I think |
| 23 | RIGHT FRIGHT (terror) minus F (“female fleeing”) |
| 24 | TAKE TEN TAKE (draw) TEN (“score [i.e. twenty] is evenly split”) |
| 25 | ODDBALL O[ld] DD (designated driver) B[ore] ALL (everyone) |
| 26 | NON COMPOS MENTIS dd (“not fit to try” = legally incapable of standing trial). I thought “Latin crackers” was great |
| Down | |
| 1 | KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON dd |
| 2 | UPROARS UP (increases) R[ight] OARS (strokes) I don’t see that “increases” = “up”, as opposed to “ups” |
| 3 | KEYSTROKE KEY (most important) STROKE (shot) |
| 4 | ENNUI hidden in rottEN NUIsance |
| 5 | ATTITUDES dd. Again a question of number: surely “attitudes” = “manners”? |
| 6 | DEMUR DEMUR[e] (pretty much “shy and modest”) |
| 7 | IDEALLY I DEAL (trade in) L[ibert]Y |
| 8 | HOT WATER BOTTLES HOT WATER (trouble) BOTTLE (nerve) S (beginning to “shred”). “Steamy bed mates” is a wonderful definition |
| 14 | LIGHTEN UP dd Correct parsing is *(PLUG IN THE); thanks to Jon88 |
| 15 | CARTRIDGE CART (carry) RIDGE (saddle) |
| 17 | OILSKIN O[ld] + *(SILK) + IN |
| 19 | PAGEANT PAGE (a boy in training) ANT (a model of industriousness) |
| 21 | OUTDO dd An alfresco gathering could be an OUT DO OUTDOOR (alfresco) minus OR; thanks to Steve |
| 22 | NOOKS NO (American north; is this abbreviation peculiar to America?) OKS (gives thumbs up to) |
Plain sailing today. Agree with issues at 2d, 5d and 22d….never heard of NO for north. Also struggled with 23a….why is the “in training” required, I was thrown by trying to make it as something in PE? Perhaps “a girl in training” would have worked better?
Very enjoyable and quick to solve. I especially enjoyed all the ‘long’ clues round the edges.
Thanks for the blog – like you some clever clues but a few which were shaky.
Sorry but can’t follow the breakdown for 5 down
Thanks Agentzero – my parsing of 21d was OUTDO(OR) – ‘OR’ going with the definition being ‘to top’
Enjoyable and not too hard. Loved 1a, 12a, 8d, 3d.
Ferret, I parsed “a boy in training” as a young lad in someone’s entourage. To train = to follow.
Thanks AG & RayT!
Chill! Plug in the fire (7,2) LIGHTEN UP is a dd? So it’s just a coincidence that “plug in the” anagrams to the answer?!
Would be call the GASTROPUB clue a “semi-&lit.”?
Or “Would we…”? Sigh.
Hi all
Steve, your parsing of 21d is much better and undoubtedly what was intended.
Jon, “So it’s just a coincidence that ‘plug in the’ anagrams to the answer?!”
If by “coincidence” you mean “oversight by the blogger” then yes, absolutely.
Apologies for the teasing. But like the GASTROPUB clue, where’s the anagram indicator? “Fire”?
Jon,
The anagrind of 14d must be “fire,” which I can just about see.
I took the anagrind for 18A to be ‘must’ (in the sense of brewing/fermentation).
I also beg to differ with @5 Nestorius on 19D. Isn’t the ‘in training’ a reference to the medieval meaning of page (i.e. a knight’s apprentice)?
The ‘American’ clarification in 22D is reasonable and accurate to me. Seems to be a standard differentiatior between US and UK street-sign abbreviations, in my experience. And then there’s the differing origins of Soho, London and SoHo, NYC.
Clue of the day to 8D for me; tip-top.
Annotations of 14d and 21d now amended.
And, Smiffy, SoHo has now been joined by NoHo and NoLIta, which directly support the setter’s use.
Failed on 1a -had ?a?d?i?h but just couldn’t see sandwich
9a, 23a very clever -must remember this,2d, 3d & 19d -didn’t know that a page was a boy in training.
Well blogged sir.
@11 Smiffy: I stand corrected. WordNet has “in medieval times a youth acting as a knight’s attendant as the first stage in training for knighthood”. You are spot on.
must, per Chambers
n a dangerous frenzy in some male animals, such as elephants.
adj in such a state.
Surely this is a valid anagram indicator for what I thought was a superb &lit clue