A standard good quality puzzle from Dac today without any themes or messages.
All entries in today’s puzzles were reasonably well known words or phrases that I might use in everyday conversation. Admittedly the SHOOTING BRAKE (10 down) is not that common today but it was when I was young.
My last one in was TARRANT (15 across) which had an interesting clue where I reckon the word ‘met’ in the clue defined RAN INTO giving us the word contained (RAN) and the containment indicator (INTO).
I solved this puzzle quicker than I solve most Dacs, but as ever there was little doubt about the wordplay behind any of the entries. There was some good misdirection, particularly all the railway allusions at 13 across where the definition ‘station’ led to LOCAL RADIO.
Having watched the T20 match between England and Sri Lanka last night I can identify with the clue to 2 down. A pity too few English batsmen actually got near 50.
After Kathryn’s Dad comment on CORYDON in Hephaestos’s Greek Mythology puzzle last week, I hope he’ll be pleased to see CROYDON (7 down) today.
The definition ‘horsey person’ for CENTAUR (19 down) raised a smile.
I also liked the clue for REMOULD at 21 down.
A little bit of French required this week, but probably known to all. I have seen DIT for said or told a few times now in daily puzzles.
Overall a typically sound offering from Dac.
|
Across |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
|
1
|
Youngster is attending middle school (6)
|
CUB (youngster) + IS + M (middle)
|
CUBISM (school of painting)
|
|
4
|
Meal with no starter further reduced? That’s a blow (8)
|
(SUPPER [meal] excluding (no) the first letter [starter] S) + CUT (reduced)
|
UPPERCUT (upward short-arm blow)
|
|
9
|
Street urchin, say, gets to make critical comments behind hag’s back (11)
|
G (last letter of [back] HAG) + UTTER (say) + SNIPE (make critical comments)
|
GUTTERSNIPE (street urchin)
|
|
11
|
Have dress cut at the front (3)
|
GOWN (dress) excluding (cut) the first letter (at the front) G
|
OWN (have)
|
|
12
|
Until now, no shillings in money drawer (4)
|
STILL (up to the present time; until now) excluding (no) S (shilling)
|
TILL (money drawer)
|
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13
|
Brief announcement amid rail chaos in train station (5,5)
|
(AD [advert; announcement] contained in (amid) an anagram of (chaos) RAIL) all contained in (in) LOCO (locomotive; train [engine]) LOC (AL R (AD) I*) O |
LOCAL RADIO ([radio] station] |
|
15
|
TV quizmaster met prostitute by chance it would seem (7)
|
(RAN contained in [INTO] where RAN INTO can be interpreted as ‘met’) TART (prostitute) TAR (RAN) T |
TARRANT (reference Chris TARRANT, quizmaster of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire)
|
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16
|
What was once tepee’s size? (6)
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EX (former; once) + TENT (a tepee is an example of a TENT)
|
EXTENT (size)
|
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18
|
Noticed councillor entering cinema (6)
|
CR (councillor) contained in (entering) SEEN (noticed) S (CR) EEN |
SCREEN (the medium of cinema)
|
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20
|
I get pro agitated – a self-satisfying experience (3,4)
|
Anagram of (agitated) I GET PRO
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EGO TRIP (an action or experience which inflates one’s good opinion of oneself; a self-satisfying experience)
|
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23
|
Give politician praise (10)
|
CON (Conservative; politician) + TRIBUTE (praise)
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CONTRIBUTE (give)
|
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24
|
Book every other member of team? I’m sad (4)
|
EMMA (every other letter of [every other member of] TEAM I’M SAD)
|
EMMA (title of novel by Jane Austen; book)
|
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26
|
Eggs, so variable in parts (3)
|
OVA (hidden word in [in parts] SO VARIABLE)
|
OVA (eggs)
|
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27
|
Musical piece, I recalled, rudely interrupted by French individual (5,2,4)
|
Anagram of (rudely) I RECALLED containing (interrupted by) UN (French for ‘one’) CLAIR DE L (UN) E* |
CLAIR DE LUNE (musical piece by Claude Debussy)
|
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28
|
Son stuck in barren areas going west, very anxious (8)
|
(S [son] contained in [stuck in] DESERTS [barren areas]) all reversed (going west) (STRES (S) ED)< NB: either middle S could be the one contained |
STRESSED (very anxious)
|
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29
|
Expert‘s joke told in French (6)
|
PUN (witticism ; play on words; joke) + DIT (said [told] in French)
|
PUNDIT (expert)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Think soldier, confined to bed, gets worried (8)
|
(GI [soldier] contained in [confined to] COT [bed]) + ATE (worried) CO (GI) T ATE |
COGITATE (think)
|
|
2
|
One struggles as a cricketer to get about fifty (7)
|
BATTER (cricketer) containing (get about) L (Roman numeral for 50) BATT (L) ER |
BATTLER (one who struggles)
|
|
3
|
Bird initially scared by sound of cat (4)
|
S (first letter of [initially] SCARED) + MEW (the sound made by a cat)
|
SMEW (sea duck; bird)
|
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5
|
Certain enterprises destroying creative sport (7,6)
|
Anagram of (destroying) CREATIVE SPORT
|
PRIVATE SECTOR (the part of a country’s economy owned, operated, etc, by private individuals and firms; certain enterprises)
|
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6
|
Cursing the amount board members get? (10)
|
EXEC (executives; the people who administrate a company; the board) + RATION (amount given)
|
EXECRATION (cursing)
|
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7
|
Caught two men together somewhere in S London (7)
|
C (caught, in cricket scoring notation) + (ROY [man’s name] + DON [another man’s name] giving two men together)
|
CROYDON (town in South London)
|
|
8
|
Keep nursing fibrous tissue (6)
|
TEND (nurse) + ON (continue) which taken together could be interpreted as keep nursing
|
TENDON (band of fibrous tissue)
|
|
10
|
Transport on safari holiday, you say? (8,5)
|
SHOOTING (people on safari for hunting may go SHOOTING) + BRAKE (sounds like [you say] BREAK [holiday])
|
SHOOTING BRAKE (old estate car; type of transport)
|
|
14
|
Set out to work in recording studio? (4,6)
|
MAKE TRACKS (work in a recording studio to produce TRACKS for CD, LP, MP3 etc)
|
MAKE TRACKS (set out)
|
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17
|
Dad’s upset with mum maybe; that’s quite obvious (8)
|
PA (father; dad) reversed (upset; down clue) + PARENT (mum is a PARENT) AP< PARENT |
APPARENT (quite obvious)
|
|
19
|
Horsey fellow dispatched, we’re told, to a city of old (7)
|
CENT (sounds like [we’re told] SENT [dispatched]) + A + UR (city of old in what was southern Mesopotamia)
|
CENTAUR (mythical creature, half man and half horse; horsey person)
|
|
21
|
Maybe dodgy tyre could become louder going over motorway (7)
|
Anagram of (could become) LOUDER containing (going over) M (motorway) RE (M) OULD |
REMOULD ( used tyre which has had a new tread vulcanized to the casing and the walls coated with rubber; if made badly could be described as a dodgy tyre)
|
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22
|
Players travelling initially in Vauxhall car back to front (6)
|
T (first letter of [initially] TRAVELLERS) contained in (in) (CORSA ([model of Vauxhall car] with the final letter A moved to the front [back to front]) AC (T) ORS |
ACTORS (players)
|
|
25
|
Live with a posh fancy man (4)
|
BE (live) + A + U (posh)
|
BEAU (a man attentive to dress or fashion; a fop or dandy; a lover, boyfriend; fancy man)
|
Another enjoyable Dac puzzle. I had no problem with SHOOTING BRAKE because my dad used to borrow one from somebody he worked with to take the family on our annual holiday. The EXECRATION/EXTENT crossers were my last ones in.
I enjoyed the puzzle very much (getting it out finally using my favourite aids: Sorta and Crosswordsolver) and I mostly followed the blogger’s route to the answers. I found, however, that 22d’s clue could almost lead to ‘troupe’ (via coupe) which – while enjoyable – confused me for a while. So, lots of pleasure today. Thanks to setter and blogger.
Very enjoyable thank you Dac and Duncan. Lots to enjoy. Anyone else remember when Croydon was a separate town all on its own and not part of ‘S London’?
Yes Sue@3, and the clue threw me for a while because I still think of it as a separate town.
Another enjoyable puzzle from Dac. Thanks to him and to Duncan for the blog. Corydon, Croydon, Schmoydon … Isn’t Croydon famous for something?
Well, there’s the so-called Croydon facelift, and it’s Kate Moss’s home town (no connection between the two).
Enjoyed this but must to admit using the check button a few times (I do the Guardian on paper and find I do more guessing and checking online). Last in was SHOOTING BRAKE. Liked CUBISM and EXECRATION. Thanks to the two Ds.
As ever a very good Dac crossword.
Quite stunning that someone can produce this quality (almost) week after week.
Today I made a mess of the NW by entering a wrong (but, in my opinion, valid) solution at 3d.
MEW is a bird, and adding S[cared] gave me MEWS (sound of cat).
But it was actually the other way around.
After I discovered the “mistake” (is it?) thanks to GUTTERSNIPE, things fell in place rather quickly.
With, as a bonus, two of the best clues today: CUBISM (1ac) and 15ac (TARRANT) [with a device that we usually associate with The Guardian].
Many thanks, Duncan.
Sil I think for two reasons Dac’s clue leads to SMEW not MEWS: a mew is a sound of a cat and mews are sounds of a cat (although at a stretch mews for sound of cat is just about OK, but I don’t think Dac would be so loose); and I have never seen a Dac clue where you have [wordplay] ‘by’ [def], which to my mind and I suspect Dac’s as well is not quite good enough.
I couldn’t see the need for ‘further’ in the clue for 4ac. Padding to help the surface? And station = local radio in 13ac didn’t seem quite right.
But otherwise excellent as usual. 29ac outstanding.
@5Kathryn’s Dad – perhaps that Croydon was London’s original airport?
I agree completely with Sil van den Hoek; another lovely clean puzzle from Dac. My favourite was “Tarrant” – clever and a tad cheeky. Anyone know a good libel lawyer?!
And, unsurprisingly, a spot on blog from duncanshiell.
Many thanks, Dac’n’Dunc!
A little on the difficult side for me, but overall a good crossword, I managed three quarters with time allowed plus electronic help.