Some lovely – if at times maddeningly convoluted – clueing by Alberich here. Had terrible trouble with the left-hand side of the grid, but that’s down to the fuzziness of my brain today rather than any flaws in the puzzle. A good work-out.
ACROSS
7. INIMICAL In [home] + i(nsurance) + anagram of claim
8. REWARD Reversal of drawer [artist]
11. TENOR Hidden in britTEN ORatorio – for me, this was the only ‘gimme’ in the puzzle
12. KERBSTONE Kerbs [sounds like ‘curbs’, checks] + tone [colour]; lovely definition, alluding to the edges of flagstones
13. ITALIAN I [1, one] + anagram of a Latin, with the whole providing the definition
14. PRAISES P(ositive) raises [puts first?] – alternative explanations welcome!
15. BARBER OF SEVILLE Barb [hurtful remark] + reversal of lives for [is in favour of] (Franc)e + le to give the hero of Rossini’s opera
18. HIDEOUS Hide [conceal] + (h)ous(e) [building]
20. FORTUNE Double definition, of sorts: one needs good fortune to make a fortune
22. VICE-CHAIR Vice [corruption] + c(aught) + hair [shock, as in a shock or mop of hair]
23. INCUR I + (ve)n(om) + cur [villain]
24. NOOKIE No [drama? Surely the Japanese theatre form is Noh] + OK [satisfactory] + IE [id est, that is] to give a rather dated and seedy term for ‘it’, or sex
25. STIGMATA S(pencer) + reversal of it + anagram of at AGM
DOWN
1. AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ Reverse clue: Tina might be defined as ‘aint’ misbehaving, or jumbled; the song is by Fats Waller
2. ZINNIA Zin(c) + Ni [nickel] + (extr)a(cted) to give the garden plant
3. MIGRAINE Rain [shower] within reversal of e.g. [for example, say] + Im [I’m, I am]
4. PARKINSON’S LAW Anagram of an (offici)al spins work to give the law, formulated by Cyril Northcote Parkinson, that asserts that work expands to fill the time available for its completion
5. GEISHA G(irl) e(ntertaining) + I [1, one] + h(iroshim)a, with the whole providing the definition of the traditional Japanese hostess
6. CAROUSAL C [the speed of light, a constant] + arousal [excitement]
9. DRESS REHEARSAL Dr [doctor] + ess [the letter ‘s’] + re [concerning] + hearsa(y) [gossip] + l(eft)
10. GRAPES OF WRATH Excellent cryptic definition of Steinbeck’s novel: although, if we’re being picky, it’s actually called ‘The Grapes Of Wrath’
16. REDACTOR Groan-inducing double definition: Vanessa Redgrave is an actor known for her left-wing (‘red’) views
17. VERBIAGE Verb [word such as ‘take’: I expect many will find this definition insufficient] + I [1, one] + age [a long time]
19. ORCHID Or [gold, yellow (?)] + child [youngster] minus L [pound]
21. UNCLAD Uncl(e) + (l)a(i)d
14a: I think it’s P (positive) + RAISES (exalts). We have to re-read the clue for the def.
Thanks Alberich for a very satisfying puzzle and Ringo for the blog.
14ac: exalt can mean either “raise” or “praise” so I would give this as P + raises & lit.
24ac: no[4] is given as the first spelling in Chambers 1998, with noh as an alternative. This is an old favourite crossword device which I remember from crosswords long ago, but not recently (until today).
4dn: I think the word “official” in the clue only contributes the L to the anagram: the A comes from “embodying a” so I would give this as A in anagram of an (officia)l spins work.
19dn: Again from Chambers 1998, or³ for yellow is the usage in heraldry.
21dn: The words “coming up” led me to expect a reversal, but of course the phrase “coming up short” is a perfectly good indicator for a simple truncation of a word.
Thanks to the setter and Ringo. Found this extremely difficult. A couple of thoughts:
8A: I can’t see ‘has a turner’ stands for reversal here.
13A: Isn’t it a stretch too far? Moving from one to I and then to Italian?
Joe-
8a – It’s “is a turner”, isn’t it? I.e. turns.
13a – I don’t see any of that going on. One is just I, added to “a latin” to make the anagram fodder, and it’s &lit. – i.e. the whole clue is the definition.
Hi all. Many thanks for the corrections and clarifications.
Pelham: I did consider that reading of 4dn, and you’re probably right – but ’embody’ struck me as an unlikely insertion indicator.
Joe: I think the definition of ‘Italian’ in 13ac. is “one [who may potentially be] a Latin”, i.e. a European speaking a Latinate language. As for 13ac., I think “artist’s a turner” should be read as “artist is a turner”, i.e. drawer [artist] turns around.
Ah, Thomas beat me to it – and made a much better job of the explanation, too…
Thanks Thomas and Ringo. I was not good enough to see that.
Thanks Ringo. I found this easier than usual for Alberich, maybe I’ve got used to his style…though getting the explanations for the long clues did take more effort than getting their solutions!
Many brilliant clues, I especially liked 4d and 9d.