(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) The usual Tuesday fare from Neo. Thanks Neo. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Player died hungry – bananas are rancid (5,9)
DAVID CARRADINE : D(abbrev. for “died”) + AVID(hungry;keen for) + anagram of(bananas) ARE RANCID.
Answer: American actor.
10 Record minutes, being on the case of course (5)
EPSOM : EP(abbrev. for an extended play record, a sound recording with fewer tracks than a longplay album, but more than a single) + [ M(abbrev. for “minutes” in time notation) placed after(being on, in an across clue) SO(as in “that being so;the case”) ] .
Answer: The racecourse in Surrey, England.
11 Brothers around Cork endangered swimmers (4,5)
MONK SEALS : MONKS(brothers in a religious order) containing(around) SEAL(a type of which is a cork, for a bottle).
Answer: Any of the Hawaiian or Mediterranean endangered species of aquatic seals.
12 Sheltered terrace with girl outside (7)
VERANDA : AND(with;plus) contained in(… outside) VERA(a girl’s name).
13 Giving free services for Irish singer (3,4)
PRO BONO : PRO(for;in support of) + BONO(stage name for Irish singer, frontman for the rock band U2).
Answer: Services done without charge, for the public good.
14 See 21
16, 9 Personal communications network gets one agitated (1,6,2,6)
A BUNDLE OF NERVES : Cryptic defn: Reference to one’s bodily network through which stimuli and impulses are relayed to and from the brain and other parts of the central nervous system.
19 Game show contestant‘s rowdy male – one reptile devours (9)
GLADIATOR : [ LAD(a rowdy male, often seen in gangs) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) ] contained in(… devours) GATOR(short for the reptile, the alligator).
Defn: A participant in armed contests for the entertainment of the audience in Ancient Rome. Though there is a TV game show named after those ancient contestants, but with no lethal events involved.
20 Scientist returned vehicle to policeman (5)
DIRAC : Reversal of(returned) CAR(a engine-driven vehicle) placed after(to, in an across clue) DI(abbrev. for a detective inspector).
Answer: Paul, English scientist, a leading figure in the field of particle physics, specifically quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.
22 Level with promoted teams (7)
UPSIDES : UP(promoted up the organisation) SIDES(teams in a contest).
Answer: As in “came upsides with the leader”, in horse racing.
25 See writer’s Swift having name for Lilliput’s leader (7)
IMAGINE : I’M(contraction of “I am” as is “writer’s” a contraction of “writer is”, and “I” is the self-referential pronoun for the writer) + “agile”(swift;quick in movement) with “n”(abbrev. for “name”) replacing(having … for) the 1st letter of(…’s leader) “Lilliput“.
Defn: … in one’s mind.
27 Row in church about infighting among Provos (9)
CHARIVARI : CH(abbrev. for “church”) + reversal of(about) [ I.R.A.(abbrev. for the Provisional Irish Republican Army aka the Provos) V(abbrev. for “versus”;fighting against) I.R.A.](… infighting) .
Answer: A din, from the discordant mock serenade played on pots and pans as a joke on newly-weds.
28 Flesh revealed by Duke to Queen Mother (5)
DERMA : D(abbrev. for “Duke”) plus(to) ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, the Queen) + MA(term for one’s mother). Answer: Beef or fowl intestine used as a casing for certain dishes, or, the thick layer of skin beneath the epidermis.
29 Promising band? (10,4)
ENGAGEMENT RING : Cryptic defn: A band around the finger, indicating a promise to marry. The one through the nose comes later.
Down
2 Extremists from atoll entering one country or another (9)
AUSTRALIA : 1st and last letters of(Extremists from) “atoll ” contained in(entering) AUSTRIA(a country).
Defn: … country.
3 Maybe seeing Douglas Humphries was his fame (5)
INMAN : [IN MAN](in the Isle of Man, perhaps in Douglas, its main town).
Answer: John, British actor famous for his portrayal of Mr. Humphries in the TV series “Are You Being Served?”.
4 Cricketer in unconscious state plays on here – he’s some fighter (9)
COMBATANT : BAT(short for a batsman in cricket) containing(in) COMA(an unconscious state) + NT(abbrev. for the National Theatre, where plays are put on).
5 Single over shows bowler’s approach (3-2)
RUN-UP : RUN(a single score in cricket) + UP(over;finished, as in “the game’s up”).
6 Sleeping around, non-European supporter took French leave (9)
ABSCONDED : ABED(in bed sleeping) containing(around) “second”(a supporter, especially in a duel) minus(non-) “E”(abbrev. for European).
7 Shakespearean ensign impresses maiden as idealised figure (5)
IMAGO : IAGO(ensign to Othello, Shakespearean Moor) containing(impresses) M(abbrev. for “maiden”, eg. in cricket).
Answer: An idealised image of a person, usually a parent, formed in childhood and carried in the unconscious through later life.
8 Reduce th pressur we hear? (4,3)
EASE OFF : Homophone of(we hear) “E’s off”(to get from “the pressure” to “th pressur”).
Answer: To reduce, especially, the pressure on something.
9 See 16
15 Daughter Heather, holding breath, getting weaker (9)
DWINDLING : D(abbrev. for “daughter”) + LING(the heather growing on open land) containing(holding) WIND(breath, especially in respiration or talk, as in “had the wind knocked out of you”).
17 Bad weather over Britain visits Scotsman and Slav (9)
UKRAINIAN : [UK RAIN](bad weather in the UK) plus(visits) IAN(a typical Scotsman’s name).
18 Recast in role under consideration quite recently (7,2)
EARLIER ON : Anagram of(Recast) IN ROLE placed below(under, in a down clue) EAR(consideration;attention, as in “give an ear to”).
19 Go to university with desire for work (7)
GOUACHE : GO plus(to) U(abbrev. for “university”) plus(with) ACHE(to desire;to long for so much it hurts).
Answer: A work of art done by painting with opaque watercolours mixed with a gum preparation.
21,14 Dictator raised as extrovert man leaves meal (6,5)
CAESAR SALAD : CAESAR(Julius, dictator of Rome) + reversal of(raised, in a down clue) AS + LAD(an extrovert man, especially in “a bit of a lad”).
Answer: A dish mainly of lettuce leaves tossed with anchovies, croutons, etc.
23 Undignified speech from Spain’s premier film director (5)
SLANG : 1st letter of(…’s premier) “Spain” + LANG(Fritz, film director, best known for “Metropolis” and “M”).
24 Find insect population, as did butterfly in crossing river? (5)
SWARM : SWAM(did perhaps the butterfly stroke to swim across, perhaps, a river) containing(crossing) R(abbrev. for “river”).
26 Sliding calculator? (5)
ADDER : Cryptic defn: Reference to the creature that slides leglessly or slithers.
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
Great stuff Scchua and thanks to Neo for a nice mindbender. I barely got through half of the grid before surrendering. 8d was interesting.
Quite challenging I thought – 25a stumped me for ages. Thanks Neo and Scchua for further enlightenment
Thanks, Neo, it was indeed a mindbender. Because our house rules preclude use of electronic assistance I was stumped by Charivari — the first time I’ve seen the word since the days when it was the alternative name for ‘Punch’ magazine. I found 8d satisfyingly elegant. Thanks, scchua, for your impeccable explication de texte.
Like ‘charivari’, another word that I remember from an old magazine is ‘chiaroscuro’ – this was the title of a column.
Thanks, scchua.
The usual Tuesday fare from Neo?
I don’t think so, I found it much harder this time.
The blog was certainly needed for a full explanation of some of my entries, like 27ac, the NT in 4d, or the other sports reference in 5d.
You say that in 21,14 “raised” is used to indicate a reversal in a down clue, true, but the SALAD bit is across. So not sure whether it works 100% here.
I also kept staring at the surface of 24d: I still cannot see the meaning of “in” (yet).
All in all, an excellent crossword.
Thanks Neo for a very enjoyable challenge, and scchua for the blog.
My favourite clues were 16ac/9dn and 8dn. Neo has managed to include my two favourite types of double definition clue: 16ac/9dn for a phrase where the two definitions are based on literal and idiomatic meaning, and 26dn where two words of different origin have converged in spelling.
I share the concerns expressed by Sil@5 about the use of “raised” in 21dn/14ac.
Sometimes i wonder if chav comes from charivari ta Neo and scchua