Fairly typical puzzle from Quixote. Not too difficult – solving time, 20 mins. Enjoyed it.
* = anagram
ACROSS
1 PEDALO ED (editor = journalist) in PAL (friend) O (round). A boat operated using foot pedals
4 CRACKLED L (litres) in CRACKED (crazy)
9 LENINGRAD (learning)* D (first letter of democracy). &lit type clue which refers, I guess, to the city changing its name back to St Petersburg after the fall of Communism in Russia in 1991.
11 NAVVY V (very briefly) in NAVY
12 HATTERS fall apart = shatter with 1st letter moved to the end
13 STEPSON steps on
14 RAVEN-HAIRED (harridan Eve)*
18 MARLBOROUGH marl (rock) OB (Old Boy) – reversed rough (unwell)
21 OVEREAT get too ‘ot = over ‘eat ie heat with the h dropped
22 TENSE UP Very good surface reading here. ? in the clue, I guess, as ‘future’ is just one example of a tense (from English grammar). up = at University
24 KYOTO City in Japan model = toy (reversed) KO = knockout = ‘stunning act in arena’ (boxing)
25 UNDERLINE in a fraction (maths) the denominator goes under the line
26 HASHEESH Has he e (ecstasy)? sh (say nothing)
27 REGRET re (about) Gret(a) Garbo inadequate = take last letter off
DOWN
1 PILCHARD clip (catch) upwards hard (not easy)
2 DONATIVE do (cheat) native (local inhabitant) ‘providing’ here is a not a link but part of the definition of the adjective
3 LANCE C (first letter of cut) in lane (passage)
5 REDISTRIBUTED red (left-winger) is tribute (accolade) d (dough’s beginning)
6 CONTENDER con (look in the sense of con = study, I think) tender (offer)
7 LAVISH lav (little room = toilet) is h (hotel – code word for the letter h)
8 DOYENS ye (you once) in Dons (academics)
10 RESTAURATEURS (rue a starter us)*
15 NUMBER ONE Amusing double definition with clue dividing at wee/fellow
16 SUPERIOR refers to Lake Superior on US/Canada border Rio (port – in Brazil) in sup (drink) and er (hesitation)
17 SHIPMENT hip (trendy) men (guys) in st (street)
19 HOOKAH posh sounding “hooker”
20 VENOUS “Venus” homophone of the goddess
23 NERVE answer hidden in ‘inner vestibule’. nerve in the sense of bottle, courage.
One thing I love about Quixote’s puzzles is that you never have doubts about what his clues are asking you to do – everything is perfectly straightforward, but he manages to do it without ever giving the game away.
Many new solvers cut their teeth on Rufus and eventually are ready to move on to greater challenges; I think Quixote’s puzzles are an excellent next step for those growing in confidence. Each clue sets a different, moderately advanced challenge, but you always know how to approach it, and you always know he’s being absolutely fair.
Really good, solid puzzle.
I agree entirely. As a medium-level solver and not likely to improve after so many years, I enjoy Quixote, Dac and Phi. I’m still waiting to completely solve an Anax without recourse to cheating, though. 🙂
Not exactly hoist by your own petard there Anax, but close!
Nice gentle intro to the week, lovely puzzle as ever from Don. Thanks NMS btw minor typo in 17d
Absolutely agree about Quixote’s Monday offerings. Because of the way the Monday 225 roster works, I come across him two times out of three, but I don’t mind that at all. Everything’s there if you look hard enough, but it’s never just a slog: there’s always plenty of stuff there to entertain you.
Okay, that’s probably enough bigging up of the Don.
Thanks, flashling at #4, typo corrected. Re Pierre’s comment at #5, is it not one time out of three for each of the three Monday bloggers (NealH is the third)?