Another enjoyable puzzle from Neo. Some difficult bits, with one answer whose explanation I struggled with, and finally had to consult my crossword oracle, with thanks. Thanks too to Neo, as always. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]
Across
1 Artificial and exaggerated, as that Claire can be (10)
THEATRICAL : Anagram of(can be) THAT CLAIRE.
7 Grab bag (4)
GRIP : Double defn: 1st: As a verb; and 2nd: As a noun, and, of course, there are also grab bags.
9 Clothes for women (as seen on TV) (4)
DRAG : Cryptic defn: Reference to a “TV” – not television but a transvestite.
10 Many hands aboard this vessel? (6,4)
BANANA BOAT : Cryptic defn: Reference to “hands” – not the crew on a vessel, but clusters of bananas.
Answer: Originally, a ship for transporting bananas.
11 British banker continually invested in tin (6)
SEVERN : EVER(continually;at all times, as in “he’s ever ready to argue”) contained in(invested in) SN(the chemical symbol for the element, tin).
Answer: The river;bank-er flowing through Wales and England.
12 Resolved to reveal what makes flight unnecessary (8)
ELEVATOR : Anagram of(Resolved) TO REVEAL.
Answer: Americanism for a “lift”, that which makes a flight of stairs unnecessary – except that the lift is apt to break down – especially when you’re waiting on the ground floor. And why say in 4 syllables what can be said in 1?
13 Alpha male into boys this would deter (4-4)
ATOM-BOMB : A(letter represented by “alpha” in the phonetic alphabet) + { M(abbrev. for “male”) contained in(into) TOM+BOB(names of two boys) }.
Answer: The nuclear deterrent during the Cold War, a MAD WMD (one operating on the theory of Mutual Assured Destruction).
15 Hazel for instance gets cross (4)
TREE : Doouble Defn: 1st: A hazel is an example;for instance; and 2nd: The cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
17 Contribute online job (4)
POST : Double defn: 1st: To contribute comments to, say, an online blog.
19 Bypass or roundabout? (4,4)
RING ROAD : Cryptic defn: Reference to a road bypassing, say, a town – not the literal fairground attraction, nor the metaphorical “swings and roundabouts”.
22 English folk in outdoor shelter, Scots maybe in this dwelling (8)
TENEMENT : { E(abbrev. for “English”) + MEN(about half of folk, in nonsexspeak) } contained in(in) TENT(an outdoor shelter).
Answer: Pejorative for an apartment building/block of flats, but, apparently, the most common word in Scotland for such a building, and there is a preserved Tenement House in Glasgow maintained by the National Trust.
23 See 4 Down
25 Bin stealer shot in Soviet sector once (4,6)
EAST BERLIN : Anagram of(shot) BIN STEALER.
26 With seconds to go in National, he backed Sugar Cube (4)
TATE : “s”(abbrev. for “seconds” in time notation) deleted from(With … to go) “state”(“national” as an adjective, as in “national flag”).
Answer: Henry, one of the co-founders of Tate and Lyle (and the founder of the London Tate Gallery), iconic English manufacturers and marketers of refined sugar. The company introduced the “Mr Cube” brand, but since then the sugar business has been sold to an American company.
27 Depressed daughters have to drink at speed (4)
DOWN : D(abbrev. for “daughters”) + OWN(to have). Double defn: 1st: In the dumps; and 2nd: To drink especially quickly or in one gulp.
28 Maligned old man in underworld gave angry speech (10)
DISPARAGED : PA(a nickname for your old man) contained in(in) { DIS(where the dead dwell) + RAGED(spoke with violent anger) }.
Down
2 Rich people, banking rupees, on time to reap rewards (7)
HARVEST : { HAVES(the rich, in contrast to the have-nots) containing(banking) R(abbrev. for the rupee currency) } + T(abbrev. for “time”).
3 Germanic invader offers perspective (5)
ANGLE : Double defn: 1st: A people from Germany who long time ago invaded (or settled in, depending on which dictionary you use) England, and gave their name to the present country and the prefix “Anglo-” for all things English or of England; and 2nd: A viewpoint or aspect, as in “the tax angle”.
4,23 Steal kinky connoisseur’s book (8,6)
ROBINSON CRUSOE : ROB(to steal by force or threat) + anagram of(kinky) CONNOISSEUR.
5 Newly edited by Lancaster: True Stories (10,5)
CANTERBURY TALES : Anagram of(Newly edited) BY LANCASTER: TRUE.
Answer: The, quite a few bawdy, stories by Geoffrey Chaucer, as told by pilgrims in a story-telling contest, including the Miller’s Tale.
6 Hero’s lover does away with a person of interest (6)
LENDER : “Leander”(mythical Greek lover of Hero the priestess) minus(does away with) “a”.
Defn: Cryptic: one who charges interest for lending money.
7 Prattle and begone, perhaps to sacrificial place in disputed territory (9)
GIBRALTAR : “gibber”(babble, a synonym for the more common “gibberish”) minus(..gone) “be” + ALTAR(perhaps, a place to sacrifice, eg. virgins, to the gods).
Answer: The Rock, and surrounding area, that is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations.
8 Whose name is love? (7)
ISADORE : IS + ADORE(to love).
Answer: Male name from the Greek “gift of the goddess Isis”. A famous female counterpart was Isadora Duncan.
14 Showing decrepitude at home, drunk by 10 (4-5)
MOTH-EATEN : Anagram of(drunk) at home placed above(by, in a down clue) TEN(10 – not the answer to 10 across).
16 One can get crush on Greek songsmith, about to leave with lawyer (8)
ANACONDA : “Anacreon”(Greek lyric poet, famous for drinking songs and hymns – unusual combination that) minus(to leave) “re”(about;with reference to) + DA(abbrev. for “district attorney”, an American lawyer).
Defn: Cryptic. A creature that literally crushes its prey before swallowing it.
18 Shakespearean daughter, in good heart, leaves for season (7)
OREGANO : REGAN(daughter of Shakespearean character King Lear) contained in(in) the middle 2 letters of(… heart) “good”.
Answer: The plant leaves used as a culinary seasoning.
20 Christian missionary, 17, into beer (7)
APOSTLE : POST(answer to 17 across) contained in(into) ALE(beer).
21 Traditional story demands explanation (6)
LEGEND : Double defn: 1st: A piece of folklore; and 2nd: The key giving the explanation to symbols, etc. used in eg. a map or chart.
24 Extremist caught in awful tragedy (5)
ULTRA : Hidden in(caught in) “awful tragedy“.
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Thanks for the blog scchua. I enjoyed the crossword, but was worried about TREE all the way through. I was relieved on checking your blog to find that it was correct. I was happy with ANACONDA, despite my ignorance of Anacreon. I wonder whether he wrote hymns about Dionysus?
BANANA BOAT was a good clue. I was expecting something like “casino boat” or “triple deck” for a while.
[[Picture 1 is Tom Hanks, who was in DRAGnet. Picture 4 could be Alec Guinness, who is THEATRICAL, but probably connects in some other way that escapes me]]
[[Hi Muffyword, yes that’s Tom Hanks, and I’m thinking of another movie whose link is a whole answer. And it’s not Alec Guinness, but another British actor.]]
Tight as the proverbial duck’s EARS as usual from NEO. There is nothjing to moan about, so I won’t, but will say that ‘in good heart’ is excellent!! Thank you both very nmuch.
Cheers
Rowly.
Satisfying solve with a nice range of reference. I had the same experience as muffyword with TREE – except I did all my worrying at the end – but I think we must all be right.
@Rowland
I agree with you but I expected you not to like “good heart”. It’s the same construction as “Abba finish”, which you hated. (The grammar is that x directly preceding y means “y of or pertaining to x” – cf. ‘rice pudding’, “bin end” etc.)
You know that you are RIGHT!! UI accept that fully, and must smack the compiler-ly botty! I woould like to hear what NEO thinks about thisd, if he comes along today??
Thank-you,
Rowly.
Actually, I styill want that clue to be good, dammit, reads really well..
So do I, but as you say Thomas99 is absolutely right. Seduced by surface I was, and as it’s something for which I’m pretty sure I too have chastised others in the past, well and truly deserved. Thanks T & R for (very generously) liking it despite its faults!
Many thanks to scchua for his customarily splendid bloggerance, and to all who commented.
Thanks Neo and scchua. Nothing more to add on the puzzle except to agree enjoyable with some tricky bits!
[[Second pic is Stan Freberg – Banana Boat (10a) Song, third is an Ultra (24d) Violet, fourth is Peter Sellers – Dr Strangelove presumably re 13a, fifth is Piers Brosnan – Robinson Crusoe, last is Shirley Bassey who also recorded the Banana Boat Song.]]
Thanks Neo for dropping by. (FWIW, I liked the trickiness of “in good heart”.)
[[Well done Steve. Just to add – that was a sunflower in ultraviolet light, as an insect might see it. And that leaves pic#1; hint – it has a similar link to one of those you’ve mentioned.]]
In which case you must be referring to Tom Hanks’s role in Cast Away.
[[Right again, Steve – Hanks as a modern-day Crusoe.]]