A relatively swift solve at first, though with plenty to check in Chambers before I could quite finish, let alone prepare a blog. Lots of abbreviations and reversals this week. 28ac partly escapes me even now.
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | DIPNOAN – NO in (DIP + AN). |
| 7 | ECHT – [br]ECHT. Bertolt Brecht is the playwright in question. |
| 11 | ALLOA – A + L + LOA[n]. |
| 12 | TOWHEE – TO WHEE. |
| 13 | CHUCKLE-HEAD – CHUCK + (HE in LEAD). |
| 14 | IN RE – N in IRE. |
| 15 | GOBLET – GO + BLET. |
| 16 | THINGNESS – (ENG in Sn)< in THIS. |
| 19 | OILCAN – CLIO< + AN. |
| 20 | TRIVET – T + RIVET. |
| 23 | FROG-EATER – FR + (AGREE TO)*. |
| 24 | APEMAN – AP + NAME<. |
| 26 | RHEA – from HEAR, but with the R (“run”) first. |
| 27 | PRIMITIVELY – (IT + I’VE) in PRIMLY. |
| 28 | READER – READ + ER? Not sure where the READ comes from if so: Deliverer of lesson shows little hesistation getting behind what’s next to bible. |
| 29 | EERIE – E + EIRE<. |
| 30 | MELL – MELL[ow]. |
| 31 | NEW YEAR – WYE in YEAR. |
| Down | |
| 1 | DACITE – D + (IT in ACE). |
| 2 | PLURILITERAL – (I PULL TRAILER)*. |
| 3 | NOCENT – NO + hom. of “sent”. |
| 4 | OAK EGGER – O + A + KEGGER. |
| 5 | ARLINGTON – [d]ARLINGTON. |
| 6 | COHO – H in COO. |
| 8 | CHALICOTHERE – OTHER in CHALICE. |
| 9 | HEDERAL – HE’D + LARE<. |
| 10 | TEUTON – (NO + (E in TUT))<. |
| 15 | GEORGETTE – (OR in EGG*) + ET + T[oast] + E. |
| 17 | SIDE VIEW – (IDE + VI) in SEW. |
| 18 | FRAPPEE – F + RAPPEE. |
| 20 | THAIRM – HAIR in TM. |
| 21 | JARVEY – JER + VE[r]Y. |
| 22 | PRAYER – R in PAYER. |
| 25 | AMEN – ME in AN. |
28a, my thoughts exactly Simon. But I didn’t enter ‘reader’ becuse I couldn’t parse it.
Unless anyone else can enlighten us, Perhaps the Evil One will visit us with an explanation.
Thanks Simon
I don’t solve Beelzebub but I can help with 28a. From Chambers:
bible: the third stomach of a ruminant, with many folds like the leaves of a book
read: a ruminant’s fourth stomach, the abomasum
Ouch! Thanks for that. I couldn’t parse “reader” either, but decided it must be right. Now that is obscure.
Hi Dormouse
Not that obscure! I have seen these used before in cryptics, usually in the likes of EV and the Listener but most recently by Monk in the Indy on 8/6/13.
For completeness, the other two are:
paunch: the first stomach (rumen) and bonnet: the second (reticle)
Thanks Gaufrid for the enlightenment, and to Conrad and Dormouse for reassuring me that I’m not the only one.
Frustratingly I’d spotted the “stomach” meaning of “read” in Chambers, but didn’t for a minute think that “bible” might have a related meaning. That explains the lack of capital B, which did briefly make me wonder, in retrospect.
Definitely some words to try to remember for next time!
I guess I was not so much thinking that read as a cow’s stomach was obscure, but the way it was alluded to was a level of obfuscation beyond me.
And I’m not saying it was a bad clue. Now that it is explained I can appreciate it. And I got the right answer anyway, even not knowing why.
I have a vague recollection of a T&V puzzle years ago on the ruminant’s stomachs, and ‘read’ and ‘bible’ stuck in the memory. (‘Paunch’, on the other hand, is far too abdominal to be memorable.) I’d rather hoped that ‘read’ and ‘bible’ were synonymous but I think it’s the bible that has another name – ‘manyplies’, I think.