An enjoyable crossword from Aardvark today, just a nice level of difficulty for a midweek solve and blog.
I can’t get a cast iron explanation for 20dn, can anyone do better?
Hold mouse over clue number to see clue, click a solution to see its definition.
| Across | ||
| 1 | IN FOR A PENNY | INFO (data) PEN (somthing that writes) inside (put in the hands of) RYAN* |
| 7 | WIT | Womens Institute and crediT (latest – last letter of) – a card is an amusing character |
| 9 | PROXY | PRO (expert) X and Y (coordinates) |
| 10 | AUBERGINE | IN (popular) inside AUBERGE (French inn) |
| 11 | STEINBECK | anagram of CITES BEN and Kingsley (primarily = first letter of) |
| 12 | OZONE | OZ (ounce = weight) and ONE (individual) |
| 13 | LECTERN | Hannibal LECTER (Silence of the Lambs) and JuNe (3rd letter of) |
| 15 | VIAL | VI (Roman numerals six) and AbseiL (extremists = first and last letters of) |
| 18 | HERB | sHERBet |
| 20 | FEEL FOR | FE (iron) Fume (begining = first letter of) inside ROLE reversed |
| 23 | SQUAT | Supped (first letter of) and QUArT (2 pints missing R – right off) |
| 24 | LINGFIELD | LICHFIELD (town in Staffordshire) with CH (children) replaced by NG (no good) |
| 26 | CYBERNAUT | Coast (heading = first letter of) and (BY NATURE)* – one who surfs the Internet |
| 27 | THYME | THE (definite article) around MY (Aardvarks’s) reversed |
| 28 | ORE | Double definition – Mineral deposit in a mine and Swedish money |
| 29 | LAST CENTURY | (RATTY UNCLES)* |
| Down | ||
| 1 | IMPISHLY | I (Roman numeral one – single) and SH (mum – make quiet) inside IMPLY (suggest) |
| 2 | FLORENCE | Following Sophia LOREN and CharliE (vacated = empty, middle letters missing) |
| 3 | RAYON | RAY (flash, ray = quick look or glance) with ON (riding). |
| 4 | PHASE IN | PH (chemistry unit) and ANISE* (anagram = cultivating) |
| 5 | NABOKOV | BOOK* inside VAN (truck) reversed |
| 6 | YARD OF ALE | ROAD* (negotiated = anagram) Foot inside YALE – used in traditional beer drinking games |
| 7 | WAIT ON | mAtches (second letter of) inside West Indies and TON (hundred) |
| 8 | THEBES | HE (gentleman) inside BEST* (anagram = circles, travels around) – definition is ‘classical city’ |
| 14 | ELECTORAL | rECTOR missing R (recipe) in EL AL (airline = company of high flyers) |
| 16 | AFTER YOU | officE (edge of = last letter) inside FORTY*, all inside AU (gold, chemical symbol) |
| 17 | DRUDGERY | Barnaby RUDGE inside DRY (humourless) |
| 19 | BALKANS | SNAcK (without c = cold) and LAB (Labour Party) all reversed – ‘European summits’ indicates a mountain range |
| 20 | FANATIC | FAN (provoke?) and ATIC (noisy Greek = sounds like “Attic”). According to my Chambers ‘fan’ does not mean ‘provoke’. |
| 21 | PSYCHO | Y (unknown in mathematical equation) and Customer (initially = first letter of) inside SHOP* |
| 22 | JUMBLE | TUMBLE (something that happens in gymnastics) with J (Japan) replacing T (Thailand). Country abbreviations are International Vehicle Registration letters. |
| 25 | FUTON | FUN (enjoyment) including (restricting) TO |
*anagram
Thanks PeeDee
Regarding 20dn, Collins has “to make fiercer, more ardent, etc fan one’s passion” under ‘fan’ which I think is close enough to the definition it has for ‘provoke’.
ORE is also hidden in the clue for 28A. Seems like “Danish/Norse/Swiss” instead of “foreign” would be better form.