Dac doing what Dac does best. This was a cracking crossword and I challenge anyone to find a bad (or even so-so) clue in this puzzle!
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | MODIFY – FIDO rev. in MY |
| 9 | CENTIMES – C(opyright) + EN + TIMES |
| 9 | GNOME – Double def. |
| 10 | PAPER-THIN – PERTH IN PAIN |
| 11 | ICE PLANTS – N(ational) T(rust) in (SPECIAL)* |
| 12 | WOODS – DO in SOW rev. |
| 13 | PAINT YOUR WAGON – (GROUP IN A WAY NOT)* |
| 16 | PULLED A FAST ONE – PULLED A F(emale) + A (Rolling) STONE |
| 20 | REMUS – M(illions) in (SURE)* |
| 22 | TRIERACRH – TRIER (judge) + ARCH (cunning) |
| 23 | TRAGEDIAN – (RADA GENT, I)* |
| 24 | ON AIR – O(ld) + N(ew) AIR (tune) |
| 25 | ROAD RAGE – GARDA in E(nglish) OR (soldiers) rev. |
| 26 | CONSUL – CONSUL[-t] |
| Down | |
| 1 | MAGGIE – EIGG + A.M rev |
| 2 | DROSERA – Hidden in wilD ROSE RAmbler |
| 3 | FREELANCE – FREE (complimentary) + C(ollege) in LANE (course) |
| 5 | EXPOSTULATION – (TAX ON OIL UP SET)* |
| 6 | THROW – Double def. |
| 7 | MAHJONG – HAM rev. + JO-[INI]NG |
| 8 | SING SING – SING (hymn) x 2 |
| 10 | PENNY FARTHING – PENNY + FARTHING (coppers) |
| 14 | WATER POLO – PO (officer) in WATERLO[-o] |
| 15 | OPERATOR – ORATOR about P[-rivate] E[-nterprise] |
| 17 | LAMBADA – LAMA suppressing BAD |
| 18 | NORMANS – NORM (standard) ANS(wer) |
| 19 | CHORAL – CH(urch) + ORAL |
| 21 | SPEAR – E (point) in SPAR (fight) |
No complaints having finished, just that I personally found this one tough to crack open, looking back I can’t see why, just one of those days I guess. There’s no hard clues just ones you don’t know the answer to I guess. 13 Pant??
I thought this was Dac on excellent form today and really enjoyed all the clues. 1 down, 10 down, 16 and the brilliantly apt 12 were top notch.
I agree, Ali, it was a fine puzzle, but it took me ages to get going with it as well. PENNY FARTHING was good, as was PULLED A FAST ONE. I still don’t understand SING SING – I know ‘pen’ is ‘prison’, but how can ‘hymn’ equal SING rather than SONG? One’s a noun and one’s a verb, no? I know the clue won’t be faulty, because it’s Dac, but I can’t see it, so if someone doesn’t mind explaining, I’d be much obliged.
Yep, I probably should have mentioned that it also took me quite a while to break into this one. Definitely on the tough side for Dac.
K’s D – Chambers gives HYMN as both noun and a (transitive) verb.
Pant at 13A duly corrected too, cheers!
Not sure KD , prison bit , yeah ok – I guess it’s you sing songs/hymns bit weak IMHO but fair enough and getable. Well ok I don’t think it’s one of Dac’s best. Good grief, a complaint about a DAC clue?? Had to happen eventually …
Thanks Ali and Dac.
This was a breeze after today’s Paul, but just as enjoyable.
Great surfaces. Especially the suggestive 16A PULLED A FAST ONE which was my entree, and the &lit 23A TRAGEDIAN, with seldom seen use of the Academy’s complete acronym.
Thanks, Ali – never come across the verbal use of HYMN before.
A fine puzzle, accessible, totally fair. MAGGIE was esp good and was my last answer. I have to disagree with the criticism of hymn = sing as, apart from Chambers quoted above, both the Concise OED and Collins give the verbal sense. Many thanks, Ali, and Dac.
Glad I wasn’t alone [nmsindy@8] in struggling over 1D, have to confess I didn’t get it or 9A but had no access to references, though I now see it is a very fair clue. Gnome as “maxim” a new one on me. Managed to eek out the rest of the puzzle over a few days – excellent cryptic sustenance while away from the UK.