This was another crossword showing the high standards we have come to expect from Dac.
I thiught there were lots of good clues today, too many for me to mention all of them. A number of surfaces are worthy of note – e.g. 1 across ‘abolishing the guard after an overthrow’, 14 across ‘unearthing rubbish on the counter’, bringing to mind the phrase ‘ou get what you pay fo’ and ‘Francoise Hollande’s meetings with subversive politicians’ at 25 across.
As ever, I enjoyed the complex constructions of ENTRYISTS (25 across), CHEQUERED CAREER (3 down) and TAYBERRY (8 down).
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
After overthrow, island guard is likely to be abolished (9)
|
(ELBA [reference the island of ELBA off the Tuscany coast of Italy] + COVER [guard]) all reversed ([after] overthrow) (REVOC ABLE)< |
REVOCABLE (can be [is likely to be] withdrawn [abolished])
|
|
6
|
One sailor accommodated by another over in N African capital (5)
|
(AB [able-bodied seaman; sailor] contained in [accommodated by] TAR [reference Jack TAR; [another]sailor]) all reversed (over) (RA (BA) T)< |
RABAT (capital city of Morocco, a North African country)
|
|
9
|
Bill’s name stuck on back door (7)
|
POSTER (advert; bill) + N (name)
|
POSTERN (back door or gate)
|
|
10
|
Plant prolific initially in part of southern Britain (7)
|
P (first letter of [initially] PROLIFIC) contained in (in) SURREY (County in [part of] the southern part of Britain) S (P) URREY |
SPURREY (any plant of the genus Spergula) Possibly an &Lit clue but my botanical knowledge is not good enough to say whether SPURREY spread from southern England
|
|
11
|
Be integrated every now and then (8)
|
FIT (installed) + FULLY(completely) – together meaning ‘be integrated’
|
FITFULLY (unpredicatbly; spasmodically; every now and then)
|
|
12
|
Bird disturbed by hikers (6)
|
Anagram of (disturbed [by]) HIKERS
|
SHRIKE (butcherbird)
|
|
14
|
Who might be unearthing rubbish on counter? (7-6)
|
BAR (counter) + an anagram of (rubbish) UNEARTHING BAR GAIN HUNTER* |
BARGAIN-HUNTER (one looking for cheap goods in a shop. These goods may well be rubbish) &Lit clue
|
|
16
|
Film cut a great deal, circulated after receiving two Oscars (1,6,3,3)
|
ABRIDGE (shorten; cut) + (RAFT [large number; great deal] containing [receiving] OO [Oscar is the international radio communication code word for the letter O – twice, to give Oscars]) reversed (circulated) A BRIDGE (T (OO) FAR)< |
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977 film about the Allied campaign to take a series of bridges in World War II)
|
|
18
|
This musical sound repulsed wartime broadcaster (3-3)
|
HAW-HAW (reference Lord HAW-HAW, a nickname applied to many English speaking broadcasters on German radio news/propaganda programmes beamed to Allied soldiers, but mainly associated with William Joyce) reversed (repulsed) WAH-WAH< |
WAH-WAH (the sound produced on a brass instrument by inserting and removing the mute, imitated on an electric guitar by varying the level of amplification)
|
|
19
|
Italian meal’s cooked with wine – no starter needed (8)
|
Anagram of (cooked) (MEAL’S and WINE [excluding the first letter {no starter needed} W])
|
MILANESE (native or inhabitant of Milan’ Italian)
|
|
22
|
Poor Ted, doddery wreck (7)
|
Anagram of (doddery) POOR TED
|
TORPEDO (destroy; wreck) |
|
23
|
Scene of great activity giving you an exciting experience right away (7)
|
AN + (THRILL [exciting experience] excluding [away] R [right])
|
ANTHILL (a hillock raised as a nest in wood, soil, etc by ants or by termites; anything like an ant-hill in terms of crowdedness, bustle, etc; a scene of great activity)
|
|
24
|
Turner runs over hill (5)
|
R [runs, cricket notation] + O [over, cricket notation] + TOR (hill)
|
ROTOR (rotating part; turner)
|
|
25
|
Francois Hollande’s in meetings about independent, subversive politicians (9) |
EN (French [reference Francois Hollande {President of France}]) + (TRYSTS [meetings] containing [about] I [independent]) EN TRY (I) STS |
ENTRYISTS (describing people who join or infiltrate political parties in numbers enough to influence policy)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Last words of female con (3-3)
|
RIP ([may he/she] Rest in Peace; last words) + OF + F (female)
|
RIP-OFF (fraud; scam; con)
|
|
2
|
See most of Panorama, its content’s current (5)
|
(VISTA [panorama] excluding the final letter [most of] A) containing (its contents) I (symbol for electric current) VIS (I) T |
VISIT ([go and] see)
|
|
3
|
Revolutionary goes to English coastal town during strange varied life (9,6)
|
CHE (reference CHE Guevara, revolutionary) + ([E {English} + REDCAR {town on the coast of North East England}] contained in [during] QUEER [strange]) CHE QUE (E REDCAR) ER |
CHEQUERED CAREER (varied life) |
|
4
|
Top musician wouldn’t allow Mahler works to be broadcast (10)
|
BAND (sounds like (to be broadcast) BANNED [wouldn’t allow]) + LEADER (sounds like [to be broadcast] LIEDER [Austrian or German songs; e.g. works of Mahler])
|
BANDLEADER (top musician)
|
|
5
|
Language writer seldom uses (4)
|
ERSE (hidden word in [uses] WRITER SELDOM)
|
ERSE (formerly, and still occasionally, the name given by Lowland Scots to the language of the people of the West Highlands, as being of Irish origin; sometimes used for Irish Gaelic, as opposed to Scottish Gaelic)
|
|
6
|
Holding breath, poorly old man’s to sample something prepared in bakery (5,4,6)
|
(ROUGH [poorly] + PA‘S (father’s; old man’s] + TRY ([ample]) containing (holding) PUFF (breath) ROUGH (PUFF) PAS TRY |
ROUGH PUFF PASTRY (something prepared in the bakery)
|
|
7
|
Lawyer‘s deal involves endless gamble (9)
|
BARTER (deal) containing (involves) (RISK [gamble] excluding the final letter [endless] K) BAR (RIS) TER |
BARRISTER (a person who is qualified to plead at the bar in a lawcourt; lawyer) |
|
8
|
During stay you will be fed second-rate fruit (8)
|
(YE [you] containing [will be fed] B [second rate]) contained in (during) TARRY (stay) TA (Y (B) E) RRY |
TAYBERRY (example of a fruit – a blackberry crossed with a raspberry)
|
|
13
|
Alcohol in small amount has grip on Mexican, but not me (10)
|
IN + (TOT [small amount {of alcohol}] containing [has grip on] MEXICAN excluding [but not] ME) IN TO (XICAN) T |
INTOXICANT (alcohol is an INTOXICANT)
|
|
14
|
Actress in Swiss location having tough time (9)
|
BERN (federal capital of Switzerland) + HARD (tough) + T (time)
|
BERNHARDT (reference Sarah BERNHARDT [1844-1923], French actress)
|
|
15
|
Drink wife’s consumed during most of tea party, suprisingly (3,5)
|
W (wife) contained in (consumed during) (anagram of [surprisingly] TEA PARTY excluding the final letter [mostly] Y) TAP (W) ATER* |
TAP WATER (drink)
|
|
17
|
Film makergushes as broadcast … (6)
|
WELLES (sounds like [as broadcast] WELLS [gushes])
|
WELLES (reference Orson WELLES [1915-1985] film maker [Citizen Kane])
|
|
20
|
…goes out live, after final tweak (5)
|
EXIST (live) with the last two letters reversed (final tweak) EXITS |
EXITS (goes out) |
|
21
|
Teacher supervises first part of examination as agreed (4)
|
DON (lecturer; teacher) + E (first letter [first part] of EXAMINATION)
|
DONE (agreed [when clinching a bargain])
|
Very enjoyable puzzle. I particularly liked 6a, 13d, 15d, 21d, 14d, 11a and my favourites were 25a ENTRYISTS, 3d CHEQUERED CAREER, 4d BANDLEADER, 23a ANTHILL, 20d EXITS & 16a which I now realise I did not fully parse. The online version of the clue was “film cut a great deal…” and I was happy enough that that meant “ABRIDGE TOO FAR” which I found amusing, and I simply assumed it might have won 2 Oscars!
New words for me were SPURREY, TAYBERRY, SHRIKE, Lord Haw-Haw, and REDCAR town.
I couldn’t parse 1a.
Thanks Dac and Duncan.
Michelle @ 1
It should have been ‘cut a great deal’ in the clue in the blog as well. Now corrected.
Duncan@2
In any case, I enjoyed reading your correct parsing of 16a which I never would have been able to realise on my own.
As Duncan has said in the blog, another excellent Dac puzzle with some very good surface readings.
Although DONE was my LOI the NW corner gave me the most problems.
Thanks d and D – good stuff.
Nothing to find fault with, although I just couldn’t think of FITFULLY and had to resort to a word finder. My CoD was TORPEDO – a subtle misdirection into thinking of ‘wreck’ as a noun rather than a verb.
Thanks, Dac and Duncan
Dac had me beat today large parts unfilled no excuses just a bad morning solve by me. All completely fair I just had one of those mornings. Thanks Duncan& Dac.
If Flashling@7 had one of those mornings, I had one of those days. Went back to this several times from lunchtime to just now, but got only about a half done – top right and bottom left to be exact.
Excellent fun as expected for a Wednesday Dac.
Thanks Dac and Duncan!