It’s Saturday and another duel with Anax – who appears to be saving on the word count this week. Well we are in a recession!
So a majority of short clues this week, that can add to the difficulty, but also makes the clues read so much more naturally – some examples below:
- One month old radio presenter
- Execute 50 in battle
- Gold rush area in US city
And 3 two word clues
- See what?
- Finish trick
- Heavy container?
And my personal favourite of the puzzle
How Dambusters may be seen – very low (13)
A host of really pleasing clues – surface readings of a particularly high standard with some nice humour too (Partially clean a dirty bottom/ Stuff thrown up is brandy) and all, I believe. following the Ximenean rules of engagement (not that the odd digression should not be discouraged).
As for anything hidden – perhaps but nothing I have spotted, no doubt others will elucidate.
Many thanks Anax – my comment less words, more fun.
Key:
DD Double definition; * anagram; Rev. reverse
Across
1 BEHOLD – eh (what) in bold and See
4. FA (soccer bosses) + calm (relax) around e + p (euro pressure) FACEPALM (How stupid)
9. Ex (old) + p (priest) + and (with) = EXPAND (Balloon)
10 squa (crouch mostly – squat) + rely (count) = SQUARELY (dead)
12 damBUSTers = BROKENHEARTED (Very low)
14 pos (mostly swanky – posy) in rite (ceremony) = RIPOSTE (Rejoin)
16 Nec (kiss neck short) + Rose (girl) = NECROSE (Die)
17 Elect (chosen) + r (right) + o (love) = ELECTRO (Dance music)
19 Au (gold) + gust (rush) + a (area) = AUGUSTA (US City)
21 (whocantbesaid)* = SHADOW CABINET (MP’s)
24 a + (actor im)* = AROMATIC (Spicy)
25 DD WIND UP
26 l (50) in compete (battle) = COMPLETE (Execute)
27 pl (extremely peaceful) + ural (river) = PLURAL (rivers for example)
DOWN
1 BEER BARREL Cryptic definition Heavy is a scottish ale
2 i (one) + pp (leaves) in ho (house) = HIPPO (animal)
3 Rev (TEN NIL) + s (start to substitute) = LINNETS
5 A can (prison) around quaint (charming) + ce (extremely close) = ACQUAINTANCE (contact)
6 last (most unlikely) in (ice)* = ELASTIC (fluid)
7 (loaded)* [anagram indicator is garbage] in ass (rear) = A DEAD LOSS (Useless)
8 May (one month) + o (old) = MAYO (radio presenter as in Simon Mayo)
11 Thee (you) + no mist (all clear) around co (business) = THE ECONOMIST (magazine?)
13 Rev (saves (keeps) + pot (fund) + lo (1a)) = SEVASTOPOL (site of naval base)
15 Pres (head of state) + Rev (moors – fixes) = PRESSROOM (accommodation for reporters)
18 Trail (shadow) around a v (a very) = TRAVAIL (Painful exercise)
20 (real big)* = GABRIEL (Musician)
22 Hidden cleaN A DIRty = NADIR (bottom)
23 Rev(Cram – stuff) = MARC (Brandy)
A very enjoyable puzzle.
Re 1 ac., I think this is “eh” = what in “bold” (what being printed in bold face in the clue)and a sort of visual gag,rather than a dd. 4 ac. was my last in, a real facepalm moment. Thanks Anax and Twencelas.
Thanks twencelas and Anax. Good stuff! My COW was 1a. Very neat. There were several I couldn’t parse, including my mistaken entry of Sebastopol for 13d. D’oh 😉 (Is this brief enough?)
MikeC@2: Me too!
I too loved 1ac, not just COW but one of the best of all time, from my favourite setter. 4ac eluded me for a few days, until it turned up in a post relating to Tuesday’s puzzle.
Thanks Jmac – have updated blog
Thanks, twenceslas, and jmac for clarifying 1ac, which I didn’t see.
A puzzle bursting with excellent clues: no one has mentioned 21, which is one of the best I’ve seen – and I liked 27ac very much, too. If I mention any more, I could go on all morning.
Many thanks to Anax – I just loved it!
Thanks twencelas and Anax.
Re 14A, I’d gone for posh as an alternative to posy.
Not massively keen on the Dingbat aspect of 1A. There was a similar clue in a Times puzzle a couple of years ago but without the redeeming feature of a decent surface (something like “Post lar? (7)”, with the lar being in bold). At the time I assumed it was a printing error but, this time around, forewarned was forearmed. Having said that, the rest of this puzzle was further evidence of Anax’s brilliance as a setter.
Aaarrrgghhhh!! Solved this with a little help and checked my answers only to find I spelt the port 13dn incorrectly. I loved this puzzle. Anax is probably my favourite setter with Tees a very close second. This puzzle was full of good clues and wit.
Lovely stuff from Anax. 4ac was my last in and I had it from the wordplay- but it took a visual hint from a friend to confirm it.
Thanks twenceslas for a great blog.
Thought 1a was very nice, and spent quite a while with Sevastopol debating which spelling Anax was after, until seeing saves reversed.
A cracker as is Tees’ effort today.
I am a great admirer of Anax, but hardly ever I can solve one of his crosswords without external help.
This one I solved without aides though, and I liked it very much.
BEHOLD (1ac) is surely more Paul than Anax, and even though the idea was clear right from the start, the penny dropped far too late.
I ticked (a la tupu) 26ac (COMPLETE) [unattractive surface for a pacifist like me, but very well … executed], 18d (TRAVAIL) [great use of ‘boxing’] and 20d (GABRIEL) [not sure though whether the man Peter considers himself as a rock star nowadays].
Oh, and PLURAL (27ac).
I agree with Eileen that 21ac (SHADOW CABINET) was another Great One. I have said it many times before but I am happy to repeat it here: Anax is extremely good (perhaps, The Best) at ‘original’, mostly long, anagrams!
Mostly?
Well, that was a bit of a pity.
A word used for the same device twice (10ac, 14ac).
Also, not really happy with with “One month” for May, but I understand that there was probably no way to avoid that little word “One” for our beloved setter (because of the surface).
There were two clues I especially liked for their surely unintended misdirection.
2d: “Animal one leaves in house” – I was looking for an animal in which I had to delete A or I.
12ac: I was very much focused on an anagram of “How Dambusters” (with ‘may be’ as the indicator). And actually, after having all the crossing letters [B?O?E?H?A?T?D], it could still be that – of course, it wasn’t!
Many thanks, twencelas, for the blog.
But I think in 2ac EP (European pressure) should be : E (Euro) + P (pressure).
And a huge thanks to DM for giving me a lot of pleasure last weekend.