More difficult than the previous puzzles by Aardvark that I have blogged. I ejoyed this very much, thank you Aardvark.
I started in the top-left corner and after a few solutions went in at first glance I thought this was going to be a walk over. Then gradually the going got heavier and heavier and in the end I found this a challening puzzle to finish.
Hold the mouse pointer over any clue number to read the clue.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PLEASE | PLimsolls (first two letters of) with EASE (leisure) – definition is ‘suit’ as a verb |
| 4 | LAMPETER | sounds like “lamb bitter” (local meat = Welsh lamb) – town in Wales. I have no idea if this is actually correct, any natives of Lampeter/Llanbedr reading this please let us know! As I suspected this is incorrect, the parsing should be should be : LAM (sounds like lamb) + PETER Cook, thanks to Rowland for this. |
| 9 | RECCE | leadeR ECCEntric (to some extent = part of) |
| 10 | JOHN CABOT | H (halfway through ‘the’) BACON* (anagram=fried) sits inside (keeps in) JOT (touch, small amount) – Italian explorer |
| 11 | SUMATRA | ART (craft) reversed on SUM (whole) A (acre) |
| 12 | LAID OFF | FAIL* (anagram=to work) around DO (reception) F (female) – definition is’laid off’ |
| 13 | ESAU | E (first letter of exit) and SAU sounds like (in audience) saw (spotted) – Isaac’s eldest son |
| 14 | ESTONIAN | S (first letter of school) in ETONIAN (David Cameron, for instance) – definition is ‘language’. I can’t explain ‘presence of’ here. The clue works well without it and presence doesn’t really indicate S going inside Cameron, if anything ‘presence of’ indicates the external surroundings of Cameron, not the internal. It would be nice if presence=origins, but I can’t find this meaning in Chambers. |
| 17 | SUPERMAN | PERM (barnet, hairdo) A (area) inside (featured in) SUN (newspaper) |
| 19 | STIR | T (first letter of troublemaker) in SIR (master) – definition is ‘big house’, prison |
| 22 | EPIGRAM | E (last letter of collie) PIG and RAM (fram animals) – a wag is a comedian |
| 24 | INSPECT | P (first letter of problem) in INSECT (little creature) – definition is ‘vet’ |
| 25 | STATUETTE | STAT (statim=immediately, now) U (universal, everyone accepted) bETTEr stripped (outsides removed) |
| 26 | LOATH | gLOAT (crow) ignoring G (front of garden) H (hard) |
| 27 | HAT STAND | HAND (pass) over (going round) TeST (cricket match) missing E (English) with A (Australian) – definition is ‘bowlers here?’ |
| 28 | ASSERT | ASS (idiot) rEgReTs (regularly=every other letter) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | PERISHED | R (run) with fISH (swimmers, capless=no top) into DEEP (the ocean) reversed (returning) |
| 2 | ENCOMPASS | COMPASS (navigational instrument) following East and North (two bearings) |
| 3 | SWEATY | anagram (with injury) of WASTE Year |
| 5 | A WHALE OF A TIME | A WHALE (marine creature) with (IT FOAM)* anagram=ruined and E (close to shore, last letter of) |
| 6 | PUCCINI | CUP (award) revresed (lifted) with C (college) IN I (Italy) |
| 7 | TABOO | AB (able seaman, salt) in TOO (excessively) |
| 8 | RATIFY | RAT (rougue) IfFY(suspect) missing F (fine) |
| 10 | JEAN SHRIMPTON | JEANS (casual clothing) I (one) MP (representative) in NORTH* blasted=anagram – former fashion model |
| 15 | NOTRE DAME | OT (holy text) and RED (radical) inside (absorbed by) NAME (celebrity) |
| 16 | CROTCHET | ROT (tripe) inside (cutting) CC (calories, two of) then THE* anagram=roly-poly – definition is ‘crotchet’, a whim or fancy |
| 18 | PURSUIT | PURl (knitting stitch, without end) SUIT (jacket and trousers) |
| 20 | MENSCH | Clean Hands (starting letters) following (after visiting) MENS (toilets) – definition is ‘decent person’ |
| 21 | PSALMS | P ( priest) then L (left) in MASS* anagram=prepared |
| 23 | INAPT | IT (computing) takes in (recruits) NAP (a rest) – definition is ‘useless’ |
*anagram
I think it’s LAM (= lamb) plus Peter (Cook).
I enjoyed this too, and as I’ve said before I think the standard here has been on the up in the last six months or so. Really good.
Thank you for your blog, PD.
Rowly.
10d – I think the representative is MP, not REP.
Thanks, fixed now.