- *=anagram
- [] = removed e.g. char[m]=char
- ()=abbreviation e.g. A(mpere)=a
- Hom. = homophone
I’ve not come across Commoner much, although the name sounds familiar (maybe I’m confusing it with Everyman). This was a mostly gentle affair with a
few that required a little bit of thought. The surface meanings were very good. You could be hyper-critical that the hint to reverse the placement of the
fodder items (“on the contrary”, “quite the opposite”) was used in a couple of places – once per puzzle is usually enough for that, I think.
| Across | |||
| 7. | Small alcoholic drink in a colourful spot (7) | ||
| Stipple | S(mall) + tipple | ||
| 8. | Duck alters places where eggs are housed (7) | ||
| Ovaries | O + varies, although credit must be given for creating the possibility that it could be places*. | ||
| 10. | Wonderful girl in court going after former lover (9) | ||
| Excellent | Ellen in c(our)t after ex | ||
| 11. | Paint church getting endlessly bored? Quite the opposite (5) | ||
| Ochre | Ch in [b]ore[d], although I wouldn’t say there is a clear containment indicator here. | ||
| 12. | Fight navy in wreck (3-2) | ||
| Run-in | N(avy) in ruin | ||
| 14. | Explosive sound resonated round capital of Estonia – it might come back! (9) | ||
| Boomerang | Boom rang round E[stonia] | ||
| 15. | Mashed potato father had without delay (2,3,4,2,1,3) | ||
| At the drop of a hat | (Potato father had)* | ||
| 18. | Bird to move away from high ground (9) | ||
| Partridge | Part + ridge | ||
| 21. | Burning passion’s conveyed in return in part of letter (5) | ||
| Serif | Fire’s<. Serif is probably best known from the font Sans Serif. | ||
| 22. | One day, Paul perhaps wastes time (5) | ||
| Idles | I d(ay), Les. Les Paul was famous for guitars. | ||
| 23. | This time I answer (6,3) | ||
| Common Era | Commoner + A. Probably my favourite clue for its brevity. Common Era is non-religious term for the AD year numbering system. | ||
| 25. | Child gets away from big bird in the Netherlands – it smells! (7) | ||
| Nostril | Ostri[ch] in NL | ||
| 26. | Drank at 19 from a big cup (7) | ||
| Tankard | (Drank at)* | ||
Down |
|||
| 1. | Record originally cut by members of the Police (4) | ||
| Disc | DIs + C[ut] | ||
| 2. | University student receiving no money? On the contrary – plenty (8) | ||
| Opulence | U(niversity) L in O pence | ||
| 3. | Guitar’s last note receding with echo effect (6) | ||
| Reverb | [Guita]r + breve< | ||
| 4. | Flattering talk that keeps the filth at bay! (4,4) | ||
| Soft Soap | DD | ||
| 5. | Having plenty, former US politician’s golf comes first (6) | ||
| Galore | Al Gore with G moved to the start (I thought Obama was the real golf fan) | ||
| 6. | After part of meal, ring kitchen porter (10) | ||
| Dishwasher | Dish + washer, a metal ring | ||
| 7. | Maniac MP rages about making this unnecessary! (5,8) | ||
| Smear Campaign | (Maniac MP rages)* | ||
| 9. | Insult spoken by ungracious fellow vanishing, showing skilful deception (7,2,4) | ||
| Sleight of hand | Hom of slight + of[f]hand | ||
| 13. | Mongrel turns tail having bitten a person who studies animals (10) | ||
| Naturalist | (Turns tail)* around a | ||
| 16. | Laugh at one copper left in vehicle (8) | ||
| Ridicule | I cu + l in ride (as in “that’s my ride”) | ||
| 17. | Arranging of stones and chains of flowers (8) | ||
| Festoons | (Of stones)* | ||
| 19. | Change destination (6) | ||
| Resort | I think this is a DD with change being re-sort | ||
| 20. | Hostility seen in university in east New York (6) | ||
| Enmity | MIT in E(ast) NY | ||
| 24. | Freelancer’s smuggling spirit (4) | ||
| Elan | Hidden in freELANcer | ||
This was quite straightforward and zinged along satisfactorily. Was hoping for something a bit more challenging for a Bank Holiday. I made 11ac an OK clue as church is not ‘bored’ but endless ‘bored’ is bored by ch(urch), so quite the opposite. If you see what I mean!
Thx to setter and blogger
A pleasant solve, and because I’ve got other things to do today I wasn’t that bothered by the lack of a more challenging Bank Holiday puzzle. I wasted time at 8ac by thinking that the answer was going to be O plus an anagram of “places”, and I was glad to see that Neal mentioned it in the blog. DISHWASHER was my LOI after SERIF.
I’m only dropping by (a day late as usual, I don’t start until bedtime and hope to finish over breakfast next morning) to add to the low number of responses. I thought this was a lovely crossword, if relatively easy, from a setter in the Dac mould. Thanks Commoner and NealH.
Sorry to be late on this. Nothing much to say except that I think Commoner’s surfaces are smooth as silk. Many thanks old chap!
I do agree with Rorschach; beautifully constructed.
Very simple but very nice. And nothing wrong with a couple of reverse inclusions (or more, even!)
A nod to Neal for a perfect blog.