Sorry for the late appearance of this post but the scheduled blogger hasn’t turned up. In the interest of minimising further delay, I have kept my comments to a minimum.
An enjoyable puzzle from Nimrod on the day that saw the start of this year’s 7dn competition (and a convincing win for England in the Calcutta Cup match).
The first part of the clue for 7dn refers to the fact that one or more of the participating countries can precede various answers, as follows:
Irish/Scotch/Welsh terrier; Scotch broth; French onions; Scotch egg; English Channel; Welsh dragon, Italian Mafia; French stick; Scotch woodcock; Irish coffees; French dressing; English disease; Italian vermouth; Irish/Scotch whisky; French knickers; Irish baloney
If I’ve missed any please let me know (strictly speaking it should be Irish whiskey).
| Across | ||
| 6 | ERMINE | ER MINE (I think it belongs to me) |
| 7 | TERRIER | ERR (behave like a human) in TIER (row) |
| 9 | STEAMIES | anagram (ordered) of ITEMS SAE |
| 10 | BROTH | ROT (something decadent) in BH (Belize {IVR}) |
| 11 | MISSOURI | IS SOUR (off) in MI (Michigan) |
| 12 | ONIONS | cryptic def. & def. – know one’s onions & Graham Onions |
| 13 | EGG | EG (as) G (good) |
| 15 | CHANNEL | N (name) in CHANEL (name supplying No 5) |
| 17 | SKY | [I a]SK Y[ou] without the vowels (not to be vocal) |
| 20 | DRAGON | DRAG ON (all set to be dame {pantomime}) |
| 21 | THE MAFIA | A ME (writer) reversed (backsliding) in anagram (criminal) of FAITH |
| 22 | STICK | double def. |
| 23 | WOODCOCK | W (women) OD (excess) CO (business) C (clubs) in OK (approved) |
| 24 | COFFEES | C[appuccino) O (old) F (French) FEES (service charges) |
| 25 | WHERRY | HER (the woman) in WRY (mocking) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | DRESSING | cryptic def. – a dressing can be wound over a wound |
| 2 | DISEASE | anagram (resort) of SEASIDE |
| 3 | VERMOUTH | M (money) in [o]VER [o]UT H (husband) – def. ‘it’ |
| 4 | TRIBUNAL | BUN (baby rabbit) in TRIAL (test) |
| 5 | VENOMOUS | anagram (maverick) of MOVE ON US (America) |
| 7 | THE SIX NATIONS | X (by) N (name) in HESITATIONS (delays) with T (temperature) rising to the top – see preamble for first part of clue |
| 8 | WHISKY | def. & cryptic def. – a reference to Thin Lizzy’s hit ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ |
| 13 | EN DASH | END (climax) ASH (remains) |
| 14 | GRAVITON | GRAV[e] (not completely serious) TO (of) in IN |
| 15 | CLOCK OFF | LOCK (secure) in COFF[in] (box when moving home) |
| 16 | EYES DOWN | YES (agreed) ED (Balls) OWN (have) – a bingo reference |
| 18 | KNICKERS | homophone (in the auditorium) of ‘nickers’ (they steal) |
| 19 | BALONEY | ALONE (on one’s own) in BY (though) |
It seemed ages since we last had a Nimrod and I thought this one was well worth the wait. From the giggle as I solved 6a right down to the last penny drop, I thought this a great puzzle. So many clues were solved and then I re-read the wordplay and ah yes! 20a being a prime example of that phenomenon. Interestingly, it was only spotting some of the links that enabled me to solve 7d.
Thanks to Nimrod for a great puzzle and to Gaufrid for the review – I think you have all the links.
Thank you for the elucidation Gaufrid. This very firmly nailed the lid on the worst solving week I’ve ever had so I’ve been doing old Listeners for some light relief. An extremely cleverly constructed puzzle nevertheless and deserves a place in the puzzle of the month list. I would suggest that 16d is a semi &lit clue as I understand that bingo involves the numbers being selected with balls.
I suppose there could also be French vermouth, (Old) English terrier and Welsh whisky.
Hi sidey
“I suppose there could also be French vermouth, (Old) English terrier and Welsh whisky.”
You are right on all three counts. I had previously only ever heard of Italian vermouth but a google confirms there is a French version. Wikipedia confirms the existance of the old English terrier and, despite my strong liking for the amber nectar, and have drunk it for many, many years, I was not aware that there was a distillery in Wales. However, there is.
“There once for a time was ‘Welsh’ whisky, manufactured, I suppose, under the mistaken belief that Celtic surroundings would suffice, but we will not reason of it, only mention it and pass” [Saintsbury, Notes on a Cellar Book, 1920]
Many thanks to Gaufrid for producing the blog at such short notice.
And sorry to him and everyone for failing to write it – I just completely missed that it was my turn. No excuses, just simple incompetence. I’m going to make damn sure that doesn’t happen again.
A fantastic Nimrod too – What a fool I feel.
Thanks Gaufrid and Nimrod. Just about completed this but needed your help to explain some of the answers. Btw, the Welsh malt whisky is called “Penderyn”. It’s distilled not far from where I live and is rather good, though a bit expensive imho.