As expected a delightful puzzle from Dac.
We always appreciate the smooth surfaces or stories behind Dac’s clues. Our favourite today is 26ac. Or could it be 29ac? Or maybe 9ac? On the other hand we could have chosen 23ac or 24ac. Let’s not forget 7d either!
There were some unfamiliar words in 15ac, 5d, 7d and 18d but all were easily deduced from the wordplay.
Thanks Dac for today’s amusement.
| Across | ||
| 1 | Liberal leaders and various aides consulted together | |
| LIAISED | LI first two letters or ‘leaders of’ Liberal + an anagram of AIDES (anagrind is ‘various’) | |
| 5 | Maybe husband’s to spoil it all, falling short | |
| MARITAL | MAR (to spoil) + IT AL |
|
| 9 | Take That at first half-ignored beat | |
| THROB | ROB (take) after or with TH |
|
| 10 | Tourists flocking around centre of Tokyo and surrounding area | |
| OUTSKIRTS | Anagram of TOURISTS around K (centre of ToKyo) anagrind is ‘flocking’ | |
| 11 | Berkshire village lord so distressed after receiving blow | |
| OLD WINDSOR | Anagram of LORD SO (anagrind is ‘distressed’) around WIND (blow) | |
| 13 | Article available shortly | |
| ANON | AN (article) + ON (available) | |
| 15 | Divine drink in the morning given to educated female? | |
| AMRITA | AM (in the morning) + RITA (the female in the play and film Educating Rita by Willy Russell) | |
| 16 | Single tree’s engulfed in flames | |
| ON FIRE | ONE (single) around or ‘engulfing’ FIR (tree) | |
| 19 | Watch someone on safari | |
| HUNTER | Double definition | |
| 20 | Soft line taken on drug, still | |
| PLACID | P (soft) + L (line) + ACID (drug) | |
| 23 | Parliament each day finishes early | |
| DAIL | DAIL |
|
| 24 | I’d feel nervous before opening contest | |
| FIELD EVENT | Anagram of I’D FEEL (anagrind is ‘nervous’) + VENT (opening) | |
| 26 | Lad entertains popular girl at good social occasion | |
| SINGALONG | SON (lad) around or ‘entertaining’ IN (popular) + GAL (girl) followed by G (good) | |
| 27 | Actor frowned, say, quite regularly | |
| FONDA | Every other letter in FrOwNeD sAy or ‘quite frequently’ | |
| 29 | Fifty people squashed into first-class compartment finally making complaint | |
| AILMENT | L (50) + MEN (people) inside or ‘squashed into’ AI (first class) + T (final letter of compartment) | |
| 30 | A bishop captivated by European entertainer | |
| ACROBAT | A + B (bishop) inside or ‘captivated by’ CROAT (European) | |
| Down | ||
| 1 | Many gents perhaps crossing back street with frequency | |
| LOTS OF | LOO (gents) around or ‘crossing’ ST (street) reversed or ‘back’ + F (frequency) | |
| 2 | Cool duo dispensing with piano | |
| AIR | ||
| 3 | Vessel sinks around edges of island and splits into bits | |
| SUBDIVIDES | SUB (vessel) + DIVES (sinks) around ID (first and last letter or ‘edges of’ IslanD) | |
| 4 | Really offensive remark? Way to go! | |
| DROP-DEAD | Triple definition | |
| 5 | Passover food Matthew’s mentioned, I see | |
| MATZOH | MATZ (sounds like Matt’s) + OH (I see) | |
| 6 | Degenerate buccaneer heading off | |
| RAKE | ||
| 7 | Assassination in Lebanese port: detective has conspirator hauled up | |
| TYRANNICIDE | TYRE (Lebanese port) around DI (detective) + CINNA (conspirator in this play) reversed or ‘hauled up’. Nothing whatsoever to do with killing dinosaurs! | |
| 8 | Excitable lads with yen to meet Romeo, lover in Shakespeare play | |
| LYSANDER | Anagram of LADS + YEN (anagrind is ‘excitable’) and R (Romeo) | |
| 12 | Covering length and breadth in some land I disputed | |
| DIMENSIONAL | Anagram of IN SOME LAND I (anagrind is ‘disputed’) | |
| 14 | A foreign vehicle ends in the scrapyard, because neglected | |
| UNCARED FOR | UN (a in French or ‘foreign’) + CAR (vehicle) + E D (last letters or ‘ends’ of thE scrapyarD) + FOR (because) | |
| 17 | Reporter’s travelled to South Africa, skirting one former British colony | |
| RHODESIA | Sounds like or ‘reported’ RODE (travelled) + SA (South Africa) around or ‘skirting’ I (one) | |
| 18 | A game fighter’s ace defence | |
| APOLOGIA | A + POLO (game) + GI (fighter) + A (ace) | |
| 21 | Succeed, having nothing, as Yorkshireman might say? | |
| WIN OUT | WI’ NOUT (a play on the way that a Yorkshireman might say he has nothing) | |
| 22 | Pioneer going round posh royal house | |
| STUART | START (pioneer) around U (posh) | |
| 25 | Meal ticket | |
| FARE | Double definition | |
| 28 | Husband holds up nail | |
| NAB | Hidden and reversed or ‘up’ within the clue husBANd | |
There’s a Nina here. I’ll say no more now but will comment again later.
Another enjoyable puzzle from Dac, with AMRITA and MATZOH my last two in.
nmsindy@1 – thanks for pointing out the Nina and congrats to Dac on his 500th crossword.
My congrats too – I’m pretty sure I’ve tackled every one and cannot recall ever being in any way disappointed.
Our congratulations to Dac as well and also our apologies for missing the Big Event! We can’t remember when we last missed an Indy puzzle so we may well have completed all of them too.
Ahhh the return of the lesser spotted DAC Nina, his 400th had 4 Cs in each row and had the word FORESEES too.
Thanks DAC for another hundred knocked off for us and B&J for t’blog
Good puzzle with clever NINA, which of course I failed to see. 🙁
Thanks Bertandjoyce; apparently, MATZAH is an alternative spelling for MATZOH.
I particularly liked the surface for FIELD EVENT.
Thanks, both.
Lovely puzzle, as always from Dac – there’s never a duff one, is there? I couldn’t quite finish this one – MATZOH eluded me. But lots of favourites today elsewhere.
I missed the Nina – what’s new? – but congrats to Dac, whose puzzles I always look forward to.
Congrats Mr Smooth!!
I enjoyed this puzzle and many of the clues: 30a, 22d, 5d, 6d, 10a, 14d, 4d, 29a, 7d.
I could not parse parse 21d, 17d, 15a.
New words for me were HUNTER = watch, DAIL = parliament.
I did not spot the NINA but I see it now thanks to nmsindy!
Thanks for the blog, bertandjoyce, and congratulations to Dac on his 500th.
The Ind y 500?
Held up for ages by 15ac – all I could think of was ‘nectar’ (which of course didn’t fit the clue and was soon eliminated by crossing letters) and I had to result to trial and error. A real facepalm moment when I got it.
But thanks and congrats to Dac; thanks, too, to B&J.
Congrats Dac. The great puzzles just keep a-comin’!
Congratulations to Dac. We look forward to the thousand.
I thought that either Dac or the blog was wrong with MATZOH, but no it was just me and as always when I think this sort of thing Dac (and B&J) are correct.
Thanks, bloggers, for your kind comments – much appreciated as always.