Thanks to Bradman for a grid that was a pleasurable walkthrough, much like yesterday’s from Magwitch. I needed a bit of help to check my answer for 15d. My last two answers in were 10A and 14A which I had trouble with parsing.
Also – thanks to Gaufrid for covering for me last week . Have a good weekend all !!
| Across | ||
| 1 | PRACTICE | Charge to cover work exercise (8) |
| PRICE (charge) covering ACT (Work) | ||
| 5 | PSYCHE | Soul contributing to tipsy cheerfulness (6) |
| Hidden in tiPSY CHEerfulness | ||
| 9 | VOCATION | Sense of purpose provided by holiday when there’s love for Austria (8) |
| VaCATION (holiday) with A (Austria) replaced by O (Love) | ||
| 10 | HOWARD | Man wants child in custody at back of house (6) |
| WARD (child) following HO (house) | ||
| 12 | NOOSE | Loop made by ring piercing bodily organ (5) |
| O (Ring) in NOSE (bodily organ) | ||
| 13 | SABOTAGED | Wrecked boats terribly old (9) |
| Anagram of BOATS (anagrind – terribly) followed by AGED (old) | ||
| 14 | MARAUD | Harry, artist embraced by girl invited to garden (6) |
| RA (artist) in MAUD (girl invited to garden, poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson) | ||
| 16 | LACQUER | Want the Cockney girl to say what’s sprayed on hair? (7) |
| LACQ (sounds like lack = want) UER (sounds like ‘er, how a cockney would say her) | ||
| 19 | LIE ABED | Be idle, a sprawled out — —-? (3-4) |
| Anagram of BE IDLE A – with the meaning contained therein | ||
| 21 | CURARE | Copper coming into contact with unusual poison (6) |
| CU (copper) in contact with RARE (unusual) | ||
| 23 | WASHING UP | Domestic task gives wife dreadful pains – ugh! (7-2) |
| W (wife) with anagram of PAINS UGH | ||
| 25 | PRIME | Maybe eleven edge into gym (5) |
| RIM (edge) in PE (gym) | ||
| 26 | ONSITE | Rest having been hugged by one at the scene (2-4) |
| SIT (Rest) inside ONE (hugged by) | ||
| 27 | DISTRICT | I had gone over harsh territory (8) |
| DI (I’D – I had, gone over = reversed) STRICT (harsh) | ||
| 28 | NULLAH | Invalid taken to a hospital in foreign ravine (6) |
| NULL (invalid) taken to A H (hospital) – Am assuming this is reference to the hindi word for ravine | ||
| 29 | BEGINNER | One starting to ask for money, like the man inclined to feel hunger? (8) |
| BEG (ask for money) INNER (reference to inner man, the stomach or appetite) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PAVING | Putting a cover over six in pain (6) |
| VI (six) in PANG (pain) | ||
| 2 | ANCHORAGE | Ache and groan, suffering in US city (9) |
| Anagram of ACHE and GROAN | ||
| 3 | TITHE | Levy – collect it here, but lose some of it (5) |
| Hidden in collecT IT HEre .. parsing “lose some of it” as to mean dropping the first few and last couple of letters. | ||
| 4 | CROSSED | Sign of something wrong – editor frustrated (7) |
| CROSS (Sign of something wrong) ED (editor) | ||
| 6 | SPORTS CAR | Vehicle to exhibit sign of accident? (6,3) |
| Charade of SPORT (exhibit as in “sporting a tee”) SCAR (sign of accident) | ||
| 7 | CLANG | Noise in class, no good for saintly types (5) |
| CLAss NG (no good) replacing SS (saintly types) | ||
| 8 | ENDODERM | Biological lining mended or reconstructed (8) |
| Anagram of MENDED OR | ||
| 11 | ABEL | Murdered man’s tag initially missing (4) |
| lABEL (tag) minus ‘L’ (initially missing) | ||
| 15 | AUBRIETIA | Plant producing gold cheese that leads to temporary complaint (9) |
| AU (gold) BRIE (cheese) TIA (temporary complaint – i assume this is reference to the acronym TIA for Transient Ischemic Attack) | ||
| 17 | UKRAINIAN | European nation has wet weather, man! (9) |
| UK (nation) RAIN (wet weather) IAN (man) | ||
| 18 | BLOWDOWN | Nuclear accident is source of blaze on base (8) |
| B (source of blaze) on LOWDOWN (base, as in cheap) | ||
| 20 | DOGE | Magistrate’s trick, being heartless (4) |
| DO[d]GE (trick) – Former magistrate of Venice | ||
| 21 | CAPRICE | Hide food under item of clothing as whim (7) |
| RICE (food) under CAP (item of clothing) | ||
| 22 | Investor at Ascot winning more money? (6) | |
| Cryptic clue [You better see the comments below]. | ||
| 24 | SISAL | Girl turning up to collect one plant (5) |
| SSAL (lass = girl, turning up) collecting I (one) | ||
| 25 | PETRI | Bacteriologist involved with tripe (5) |
| Anagram of TRIPE, referring to Julius Richard Petri (German bacteriologist) who lent his name to the now famous dish .. (pun intended!) | ||
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs. Enjoyable and not too taxing. I had BETTER for 22d – am I missing something?
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs.
16ac: I think this is better read as a single homophone (LACQUER sounds like LACK ‘ER) – the parts do not really work separately and there is only one homophone indicator.
22dn: I too had BETTER. Either (BETTER or BETTOR) will work for “Investor at Ascot” but BETTER seems more appropriate for “winning more money?”
Yes, a lot of fun: thanks, Turbolegs and Bradman. But I wasn’t keen on bettor, either — better seems to make more sense.
Thanks for the comments folks.
Hi PB – Ref 16ac, My parsing is more of a force fit, but there is no sounds like indicator for LACQ to fit with the clue given that almost surely ‘ER is the right parsing for the Cockney part of the clue. Lack’er doesnt fit as a phrase or a word ..
PB / Mike – It was a coin flip for 22dn and I couldnt quite make up my mind. Winning more money is indeed “better” but there didnt seem to be a frame of reference hence went with “BETTOR”. I think this one might be a debatable clue ..
Cheers
TL
Now with Hornbeam chiming in, I have too many old hands concurring on the solution to 22dn, so empirical evidence suggests that BETTER must indeed be the solution. 🙂 Will change it in due course but am curious if anybody else is thinking along the lines that I did.
TL
BETTOR never occurred to me and it cannot have the ‘more successful’ meaning. BETTER was intended and BETTER it must be! Thanks for feedback.
Thanks Bradman for the resolution! Could I trouble you to comment on the explanation for 16ac?
Regards,
TL