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There may have been an involuntary “oh crikey” emitted when I opened the paper to discover I’d drawn a Bannsider to blog. In the event this wasn’t as hard as it might have been, but was every bit as enjoyable as one has come to expect from this very well-regarded setter.
I didn’t spot any sort of theme, but there were references to quite a number of people, the minority of whom I had actually heard of, although this didn’t prove too much of an obstacle in the event.
| Across | ||
| 1,11 | GREATER MANCHESTER | Bury division: agreement’s charter for resolution (7,10) |
| (AGREEMENT’S CHARTER)* | ||
| 5 | FEARFUL | Loud telling-off makes one wary (7) |
| Forte + EARFUL | ||
| 9 | HINDU | Believer showing rear for all to see (5) |
| HIND + U. U is the cinema classification denoting that there is no age restriction on who may view a film | ||
| 10 | BERNHARDT | Actress’s long, central part on radio (9) |
| hom. of “burn” + hom. of “heart”. Sarah Bernhardt, an actress from a little before my time | ||
| 12 | BERG | Composer’s second-rate bit of work (4) |
| B + ERG. Presumably Alban Berg, who – despite that GCSE in Music – I think I’ve only heard of in the context of crosswords | ||
| 14 | RAPSCALLION | Rogue performances by Public Enemy Number One returning on visit (11) |
| RAPS + CALL + (NO 1)< | ||
| 18 | SQUIGGLIEST | Hack GQ utilises good for the most slovenly of writing (11) |
| (GQ UTILISES Good)* | ||
| 21 | ITCH | Heads off in total chaos: hundreds are dying (4) |
| In Total Chaos Hundreds | ||
| 22,28 | MICHAELMAS DAISIES | Winner alongside podium that is covered in common flowers (10,7) |
| MICHAEL Winner (patronising insurance salesman) + ((DAIS + IE) in MASS) | ||
| 25 | AXMINSTER | Carpeting from a cross vicar I ignored once (9) |
| A + X + MIN[i]STER | ||
| 26 | AILED | Troubled when TV cook returns (5) |
| DELIA< Smith | ||
| 27 | EARTHLY | Coarse stocking line – out of this world! (7) |
| Line in EARTHY | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | GO HOME | Hit target? Try one that got to No 10 in the sixties (2,4) |
| GO + Alec Douglas-HOME | ||
| 2 | ERNANI | Daft turning up around end of Beggar’s Opera (6) |
| [begga]R in INANE<. Solved from wordplay and checking letters in my case | ||
| 3 | TRUTH DRUGS | Prescriptions for Verity coming from Yanks – pity doctor’s got involved (5,5) |
| (RUTH + DR) in TUGS | ||
| 4 | REBUS | In Edinburgh, busy on public transport (5) |
| RE + BUS. This is “busy” as in “policeman”, with Inspector Rebus, an Edinburgh-based detective being the lead character in countless books by Ian Rankin | ||
| 5 | FORTESCUE | Historian’s succinct description of snooker player’s strength? (9) |
| FORTE‘S CUE, implying that a snooker player’s forte is his cue. Another one solved from wordplay, as the works of John Fortescue, military historian, seem to have passed me by | ||
| 6 | ACHY | Agreed to hug children in pain (4) |
| CHildren in AY | ||
| 7 | FORGET IT | Make a brass knocker? That?s nothing, really (6,2) |
| FORGE TIT. A bit racy, that one | ||
| 8 | LITIGANT | Man in suit, some distance from China, chasing game soldier perhaps (8) |
| LI + TIG + ANT. If I told you that I knew all about the Li, a Chinese unit of distance, I’d be lying. Still, the clue was solvable without that knowledge, and the definition – “man in suit” – is rather nice | ||
| 13 | GLITTERATI | Gilt attire might become them (10) |
| (GILT ATTIRE)* | ||
| 15 | PALMISTRY | China unclear about role initially, reading between the lines? (9) |
| PAL + (R[ole] in MISTY) | ||
| 16 | ASPIRATE | H-Hook-like? (8) |
| AS PIRATE | ||
| 17 | DULCIMER | Cure mild hiccups, bringing instrument (8) |
| (CURE MILD)* | ||
| 19 | AMALFI | Friend of Sartre entertaining Jarry briefly in Italian resort (6) |
| ALF Jarry in AMI. Apparently a French playwright from some years back. No? Me neither. | ||
| 20 | B-SIDES | Partners for singles to boot solitude – finally – out (1-5) |
| B[e]SIDES | ||
| 23 | HARED | Demanding to keep ecstasy, did speed (5) |
| E in HARD | ||
| 24 | ANKH | Withdrawal from bank, Hatton Cross (4) |
| [b]ANK H[atton Cross] | ||
*= anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; hom = homophone
I loved this crossword. Loads of lovely clues beautifully crafted. In my haste I bodged on probably the simplest clue of all putting ache instead of achy!!!!
clue of day: 3dn.
Likewise re ache/achy. I managed to get the obscure cultural references though purely guesswork in cases where they don’t appear in my OD of English.
Argh! I did that with 6dn too, kloot! And I’m sure I’d parsed it in my mind correctly.
Took me ages to get “Berg” despite him being one of my favourite composers. Got all his stuff on my iPod (and there’s a new production of Wozzeck in London next year). Kept on thinking “Bach” (not a favourite).
I thought Jarry was well known for Ubu Roi. Never seen it, but it’s got a famous opening line. He also wrote The Crucifixion considered as an Uphill Bicycle Race, which led to J.G. Ballard writing The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy considered as a Downhill Motor Race.
For me this was a ‘who are you and what have you done with Bannsider?’ crossword as his usually take me days and days to sort out. I wrote in most of this one without too much trouble, grinding to a halt with the NE corner which took further cogitation and I still didn’t get FORTESCUE.
Very very enjoyable – hard to pick a favourite from so many – thanks to Bannsider and Simon.
Never heard of Jarry either, but at least now I know where the group Pere Ubu got their name.
Simon, I wouldn’t recommend Wozzek if you’ve not heard any Berg before. But try his violin concerto – though Dormouse might not agree as it quotes a Bach chorale in the final movement.
As to the crossword, good stuff and not as difficult as some from Bannsider. Not heard of Jarry either but didn’t really need to have done as AMALFI was fairly obvious.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Indeed, the violin concerto is one of my all-time favourite pieces of music, and I have three different versions on my iPod including the 1936 recording conducted by Webern, its second ever performance. Heard it one time on the radio as I was making dinner. That was the most emotional experience I’ve ever had whilst stirring custard.
@Cryptic Sue, I was wondering if it was mis-attributed at times, the BanMan’s easiest to me by far in the Indy, but some absolute corkers though.
Enjoyed the crossword. Bury is in Lancashire: greater manchester was abolished in 1986
Thanks, LB. While the county council was indeed abolished in 1986, the Greater Manchester Police, the GMCA, Wikipedia and the 2.68 million people who currently live in Greater Manchester might question that claim.
Hi Simon
Perhaps I can explain away from fifteensquared why your statement is incorrect.Don’t believe everything you read in Wikipedia !
Thanks all for blog and comments.
This crossword is quite old, and when I revisited it it occurred to me that a few of the clues needed simplifying, which may explain why the result was an easier puzzle than normal. No bad thing I would say.
As to the whereabouts of Bury these days, it would seem that Bury Council also believe that they are in Greater Manchester(!) Although there’s no harm in also regarding it as being part of Lancashire also.