- *=anagram
- [] = removed e.g. char[m]=char
- ()=abbreviation e.g. A(mpere)=a
- Hom. = homophone
This was a very clever idea, with the across clues being cast as nonsense limericks, a form of verse popularized by 24 across.
| Across | |||
| 1. | An elderly chap from Nigeria, tricycling in the interior… (9) | ||
| Geriatric | Hidden in “NiGERIA TRICycling”. | ||
| 6. | …Passed very late… (4) | ||
| Dead | 3 defs (passed and late both mean dead and dead means very when used in expressions like “I’m dead tired”). | ||
| 8. | …A girl in a state… (4) | ||
| Miss | DD, state being Miss(issippi). | ||
| 9. | … Then a rude northern dreadful inferior (10) | ||
| Underneath | (Then a rude N(orthern))*. | ||
| 10. | There was a new genus of bird… (9) | ||
| Wheatears | (There was a)* – a well hidden anagram that works well in this context. | ||
| 11. | …Black birds (but not rook) in a herd… (4) | ||
| Cows | C[r]ows | ||
| 12. | …Whose wavering line, in rain and in shine… (7) | ||
| Showery | Whose* + ry | ||
| 15. | …Had rear end in front – that’s absurd! (5) | ||
| Farce | [Rea]r in face | ||
| 16. | A family man in the street, with singular things on his feet… (5) | ||
| Spats | Pa in st + s(ingular) | ||
| 17. | …And undies most daring… (7) | ||
| Bravest | Bra + vest | ||
| 19. | …And right porky bearing… (4) | ||
| Lien | Lie + N(orth)=bearing. | ||
| 20. | …In fact still kept pose in retreat (9) | ||
| Statistic | Static around sit< | ||
| 24. | A poet who wrote verse to please, drawled nonsense and sense (using these)… (6,4) | ||
| Edward Lear | Drawled* + ear, although the use of these would imply ears rather than ear. | ||
| 25. | …In poems ‘Old Man’… (4) | ||
| Odes | O(ld) + Des | ||
| 26. | …And ‘Woman from Cannes’… (4) | ||
| Anne | Hidden in CANNEs. | ||
| 27. | …And rhymes with a fellow in trees (9) | ||
| Limericks | Rick in limes | ||
Down |
|||
| 1. | Entertaining women chat about European issue (7) | ||
| Geishas | Gas around E ish. Ish seems to be a term used in Scottish law. | ||
| 2. | Opera star restraining worshipper with locks? (5) | ||
| Rasta | Hidden in opeRA STAr. | ||
| 3. | One with wound has terrible sense of urgency (9) | ||
| Acuteness | A + cut + sense* | ||
| 4. | Purge Queen’s hussar?(5) | ||
| Rider | Rid + ER. | ||
| 5. | Source of energy for second vehicle? (4) | ||
| Carb | Car B (second vehicle after Car A). | ||
| 6. | Dead on cue, rouse violently – rather than wait for this? (3,6) | ||
| Due course | D + (cue rouse)* | ||
| 7. | Poorly rate model held up as performer (7) | ||
| Artiste | Rate* around sit< | ||
| 13. | Acceptable to confirm how old one is, usually (2,7) | ||
| On average | On + aver age. | ||
| 14. | Thug Dubya’s greeting to Tony, leaving hideaway (3) | ||
| Yob | Yo B[lair]. I touched on this issue in my previous blog, the famous “Yo Blair” greeting of George Bush actually being a misreporting of “Yeah, Blair”. | ||
| 15. | Apartment coming up to rent again, changing hands internally to sycophant (9) | ||
| Flatterer | Flat + relet<, with the L changed to an R. | ||
| 16. | Kebab may have this one dominating Middle East (7) | ||
| Saladin | A kebab may have salad in. | ||
| 18. | Up-and-coming poet, after initial reversal, has places to go(7) | ||
| Toilets | (TS Eliot)< with the initials reversed. | ||
| 21. | Our opponents control Russia’s principal amount of gas (5) | ||
| Therm | Them (as in them and us) around R[ussia] | ||
| 22. | Not one to moan, I can fit in tiny beds when being put up (5) | ||
| Stoic | I in cots< | ||
| 23. | Star heading to bottom of pool (4) | ||
| Idol | Lido with the first letter moved to the end. | ||
A puzzle of surpassing wit, grace and elegance. What a start to the week!
Bravo Morph, enjoyed that. Tripped up for a while with SPATS, try to force SABOT in – singular shoe and A BO(d) in ST(reet). Thanks Neal.
Thanks, Neal, for the blog.
I’m almost speechless with admiration for this puzzle – quite stunningly brilliant. I can’t add any more to Conrad’s excellent comment.
Bravissimo, Morph – and huge thanks!
[I discovered that today is the 102nd birthday of 24ac.]
I meant 202nd, of course – how time flies!
Thank you, Neal.
With a puzzle like this, I have been known to go into ‘just trying to impress his or her fellow setters’ mode; but this was not one of those. From a solver’s point of view, a gettable puzzle where the clever theme and the clueing for the acrosses just added to the enjoyment.
That said, a remarkable achievement, so well done Morph. He often gives us a bit of politics, so I especially liked YOB today.
An absolute gem of a puzzle. I wholeheartedly concur with Conrad Cork and Eileen’s comments. SPATS was my LOI after I finally untangled the wordplay.
A fabulous puzzle from Morph
Which gave us both a good “lorph”
No uncommon words
And nothing absurd
A great way to start the week “orf”
Apologies for the awful rhymes ……..
Fantastic puzzle – great admiration from both of us. Thanks Morph!
We have your limerick book in our 18d (singular) – our LOI!
Thanks NealH as well
I gave up marking the clues I liked and just saved time by writing a big “BRILL” at the bottom of the piece of paper. A wonderful celebration of one great limerick writer by another g l w.
Thanks to Morph for the fabulous fun and to the lucky Neal for the blog.
Oh.. and B&J @7 … enough of the images of your domestic arrangements please!!
My thanks, too, for a fantastic puzzle that was a real pleasure to solve.
Absolutely brilliant work from Morph! I missed three answers, but no complaints – the clueing was clear enough.
The only minor niggle was finding an identical device (“sit” being reversed) used in two clues (20a and 7d) in the same puzzle.
Thanks to Neal for the blog!
Fantastic. Thanks Morph.
I’m sure our humble setter will be too modest to mention it, but if you liked this, then you’ll also like http://www.twitmericks.com for which he is also responsible.
Or buy Morph’s book – “There Was an Old Geezer Called Caesar: A History of the World in 100 Limericks”
Thanks very much Neal for the blog, and for all your kind comments – especially 13 and 14! It was great fun to compile, though far from easy, but I’m relieved to hear it was an enjoyable solve too – I was ready for accusations of self-indulgence (or, as K’s D says, fellow setter-indulgence!) As for the charge of modesty, I did ensure there was a plug for the book (in the paper version, anyway – I haven’t been able to load it online today).
The format did mean a few more link words than usual. In 24ac ‘(using these)’ was meant to refer to limericks, rather than ears – ‘sense’ was the indicator for ‘ear’, but of course the two words in parentheses were really there for the rhyme.
And as Eileen says, it is the 202nd birthday of EL.
SO BRILLIANT, but very much beyond my skills. The blog was a real treat as well.
Really good. Much enjoyed this.
Interesting that ish = issue in Scottish law; I had thought it was a modern way of saying the word (like natch = naturally).
Why is it that I didn’t like a recent puzzle at The Other Place in which rhyming couplets were used and that I enjoyed today’s Morph immensely?
The other puzzle had an old-fashioned feel about it and contained, due to its format, many superfluous words.
This one had, as Morph made clear also the problem of avoiding as many link words etc as possible. However, nothing old-fashioned about this crossword.
Just full of admiration for how Morph combined one of his skills with another one.
What more can one say? Just superb!
At risk of being accused of inter-setter luvviedom, mega-thanks to Morph for an utterly brilliant concept and execution. One of those extra-special occasions where the theme is so well-known and the idea so brilliantly executed that it is a joy for all. Were this to have been a football blog, one might have said that “the only winner today was cruciverbalism”.
Many thanks to 15×15 for drawing my attention to this wonderful puzzle, if a day late. Splendid stuff Morph and thanks to Neal for the blog. Must check out the limericks …
Luvviedom … jaaarh! Great puzzle. Well done mate.