I always like puzzles by Tees and there was plenty to appreciate here: A wide range of clue devices, Offbeat references within suitable surfaces, Cheeky theme.
There were a few obscurities that required looking up if only for confirmation, as appropriate for a prize puzzle, but I think I have seen tougher challenges by Tees even on weekdays.
And to cap it all – a pangram!
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | VAJAZZLE | Long depression inspires musical form and sparkling array 21A 20 (8) JAZZ (musical form) inside VALE (Long depression). Here and elsewhere 21A 20 is “DOWN THERE”. I’m sure you can do your own Google image search if necessary. |
| 6 | SUBWAY | Method used after watercraft finds crossing point (6) SUB (watercraft) WAY (Method) |
| 9 | ASK FOR MORE | This hungry workhouse boy would do as king – despite one intractable Lord Chancellor! (3,3,4) Is this a straight double-def. as underlined above, with Oliver and Henry VIII doing the asking (and Thomas More as Lord Chancellor). Or is there some charade style wordplay that I can’t grasp: AS K[ing] looks too inviting. Either way I don’t understand how ‘despite one intractable’ fits. |
| 10 | GOUT | Rodent – not sloth – causes disease affecting Tutsis, according to report (4) AGOUTI (Rodent) – AI (sloth) giving a disease of the “tootsies” (disgraceful homophone). Answer is all too familiar around here. |
| 11 | ONYX | Stone head of Oizys and her mother (4) O[izys] NYX (mother of Oizys) Nyx is mother to a goodly tribe of deities |
| 12 | ALIENATION | Disunity results from an untruthful statement to the country (10) A LIE (an untruthful statement) NATION (the country) |
| 13 | CHASTITY BELTS | Stoppers 21A 20 test itchy balls – one left out looks chafed (8,5) (TEST ITCHY BALLS – L)* AInd: looks chafed. Suitably themed surface to this clue |
| 16 | RECORD PLAYERS | Best performance by team in gear jockeys used (6,7) RECORD (Best performance) PLAYERS (team) The jockeys here are of the disc variety. Last answer solved due to incorrect crossing letter (see 4D) |
| 19 | URBI ET ORBI | Our tribe played with AC/DC to the City and the World (4,2,4) (OUR TRIBE)* AInd: played, then BI (AC/DC). Thankfully clear definition for obscure phrase (to me) that needed teasing from wordplay and crossing letters |
| 21 | DOWN | Sad daughters have somewhere in Northern Ireland to drink (4) D[aughters] OWN (have) plus three definitions! |
| 22 | ABBA | Father in Swedish group (4) Double Def. Given the difficulty of some of the clues in the rest of the crossword I thought I might be missing something when I came upon this “write-in” |
| 23 | EVENING OUT | Still at home with 10, but it’s what Lilburne wanted (7,3) EVEN (Still) IN (at home) 10: GOUT. Lilburne (and his brother) were Levellers |
| 24 | STODGE | Steamed pudding that’s good, taken by fox into Kent region (6) TOD (fox) G[ood] inside SE (Kent region) |
| 25 | SANCTITY | Tiny cat abused to the rear of His Holiness (8) [hi]S (TINY CAT)* AInd: abused. Is Tees implying something about the current Pope? I have been trying to work up a “joke” involving the Pope’s nationality and the proposed German law change but as this isn’t the Eye blog I had better leave it |
| Down | ||
| 2 | ARSENIC | As Bottom, with Bottom, having Bottom remain unseen (7) Definition is the chemical symbol for this element. ARSE (Bottom) NIC[k] (Bottom, the weaver in A Midsummer Nights Dream, without his bottom). This one wins my favourite clue sticker. |
| 3 | AFFIX | Join two females in Southern French location (5) FF (two females) inside AIX (-en-Provence) |
| 4 | ZOROASTER | Persian prophet one to cook with Tibetan meat! (9) ZO (Tibetan meat – more commonly dzo) ROASTER(one to cook) I wrote in ZOROASTRA (getting mixed up with his alias, Zarathustra) which stopped me solving 16A till the end |
| 5 | EGOTIST | Boastful person is to get bashed (7) (IS TO GET)* AInd: bashed |
| 6 | SHEEN | Acting family in splendid clothing (5) Double Def. Ref the family that includes Martin, Charlie etc. (but not Michael who is Welsh) |
| 7 | BAGATELLE | Most admired female maintains cooker temperature to make trifle (9) AGA (cooker) T[emperature] inside BELLE (Most admired female) |
| 8 | AQUEOUS | Holding water‘s an unbordered dwelling that Galician occupies (7) QUE (‘that’ in Spanish) inside A [h]OUS[e] |
| 14 | ARCHIBALD | Scotsman leading one to plain (9) ARCH (leading) I (one) BALD (plain). I had not previously thought of Archibald as a characteristically Scottish name |
| 15 | BRAZILIAN | Roundabout snail to garage a Soviet car in style 21A 20 (9) A ZIL (soviet car) inside BRIAN (Ref. the Snail in The Magic Roundabout) |
| 16 | RAREBIT | Something to provide unusually good mouthful? (7) RARE (unusually good) BIT (mouthful) and whole clue is def. |
| 17 | PERSEUS | Medusan killer has power over Irish American (7) P[ower] ERSE (Irish) US (American). He offed the snake-headed Rebekah Brooks lookalike |
| 18 | SAWDUST | Viewed corpse – it was on pub floor (7) SAW (Viewed) DUST (corpse). I haven’t seen sawdust on a pub floor for ages. Even the carpets are generally less sticky then they used to be. |
| 20 | THERE | 3 turns on in that case (5) (THREE)* AInd: turns |
| 21 | DIGIT | Appreciate the other figure (5) DIG (appreciate) IT (the other – as in a bit of the other) |
9ac = AS/ K/ FOR/ MORE where ‘for’ = despite.
20dn is THREE with the (on =) RE turned.
Thank you for your superb blog – and for spotting the pangram!
Many thanks
Tees.
Brilliant puzzle with a theme that’s clever and demanding as well as naughty. The only disagreement I’d have is that I think it’s the hardest Tees crossword I’ve ever done. Many thanks for the blog and for the puzzle.
Very nice puzzle – loved the theme. Thanks to Tees and beermagnet.
Still not convinced about 1ac being in the dictionaries, but this is the Indy, naughty but nice, thanks PB and BM. I thought this was a fantastic crossword, if a tad naughty.
flashling @4
“Still not convinced about 1ac being in the dictionaries, …”
As I found, it only appears in Wordnik and the Urban Dictionary, not in any of the usual references.
I found it in Essex, which could be said to be some sort of work of reference. You nearly got PEJAZZLE as well, so feel blessed.