A solve of two halves for me this week, comprised of a first session where I made very slow progress and solved only a handful, followed a few days later by a second attempt where everything fell into place rather more smoothly. In the end, an unaided finish, but it doesn’t count because I’d guessed wrongly at 11dn.
Two answers still need a spot of elucidation: 27dn, where I can’t figure out who the “character” is, and 28dn.
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | CHECHAKO – CH + [tussl]E + CH + A K.O. |
| 8 | DAMN – DAM[so]N. |
| 12 | RESERVE RATIO – (IRE OVER RATES)*. |
| 13 | ABSIT – S in A BIT. |
| 14 | GHOST – G + HOST. |
| 16 | SCIOLTO – SCI + TOOL*. |
| 17 | PANIC-BOLT – (COBALT PIN)*. |
| 18 | LIDDELL – LID + DELL. Alice Liddell is believed to be the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. |
| 20 | PAUA – (Au + AP)<. |
| 21 | ASCH – A + SCH. Presumably this is Solomon Asch, though I’ll admit to having had to check that one prior to blogging! |
| 22 | ODORISE – O DO RISE. |
| 24 | JACQUETTA – JA (German for “yes”, thus “in Germany agreed”) + C[o]QUET + T.A. |
| 26 | MINERAL – INER[t] in MAL. |
| 29 | ACARI – CAR in A1. |
| 30 | SIREN – RE in SIN. |
| 31 | TAKE ONE’S EASE – TAKE + ONE SEA + SE[a]. |
| 32 | ELEA – [th]E LEA[ding]. |
| 33 | SORORISE – ((SIR + O) in EROS)<. |
| Down | |
| 1 | CRAB – CR + A B. |
| 2 | HEBRAISTICAL – IS in CHARITABLE*. |
| 3 | ESSEN – ESSEN[ce]. |
| 4 | CEILIDH – I.E.< in CHILD*. |
| 5 | AVES – [e]AVES. |
| 6 | KEY-COLD – KEY + (L in COD). |
| 7 | ORGILLOUS – ORG + ILL + OUS. |
| 9 | ATOLL – LOT< in A L. |
| 10 | MISTRUSTLESS – RUSTLES in MISTS. |
| 11 | NOTOGAEA – NO TO + GAE + A. |
| 15 | SCENARIOS – ARSENIC* + SO<. |
| 17 | PLAYMATE – (L in PAY) + MATE. |
| 19 | LOCARNO – (CAR + N) in LOO. |
| 20 | PREMIER – PREMIE + R. Apparently “premie” or “preemie” is an abbrevation of “premature baby”, thus “early arrival”. I find it curious that there is such a seemingly informal term for what one would imagine to be a fairly serious matter. Interesting stuff. |
| 23 | SNAKE – ‘S + NAKE[d]. |
| 25 | TERAI – [pa]TE RAI[n]. This is a type of hat, so the clue is in fact &lit. |
| 27 | LEER – Funny look from gutless character. |
| 28 | KNEE – One quietly leaves student tavern for this joint. |
Hi Simon:
For 27dn what about LE[tt]ER?
For 28dn KNE[ip]E. This one I had to look up. Chambers (2008) gives Kneipe = a tavern, a students’ beer house or drinking party.
Ah, of course. I fear I’ve overlooked the glaringly obvious at 27dn! Still, probably not for the first time.
As for “kneipe”, that’s certainly new to me, so thanks for explaining that one too.