What an interesting challenge from a setter I havent had the pleasure of blogging before! Thanks Peto for a terrific and refreshing challenge. Some of the parsings took longer than the time it took to solve the clue based on cross-refs. I was left, at my wit’s end on 26 ac which I couldnt quite figure out.
| Across | ||
| 1 | MOTHBALL | Postpone work on repellent (8) |
| DD | ||
| 6 | STRUCK | Deeply affected by fight on street (6) |
| RUCK (fight) on ST (street) | ||
| 9 | TERROR STRICKEN | Tearaway’s hoax has Rene edging away extremely frightened (6-8) |
| Charade of TERROR’S (Tearaway’s) TRICK (Hoax) rENe (edging away) | ||
| 10 | FISHIEST | The woman hiding one shilling in well is most odd (8) |
| ([ SHE (woman) hiding I (one)] S (shilling)) in FIT (well) | ||
| 11 | MEAGRE | Poor Georgia reversed into lake (6) |
| AG (Georgia – GA reversed) into MERE (lake) | ||
| 13 | BELT UP | Move very quickly to a higher position but be quiet (4,2) |
| BELT (move very quickly) UP (higher position) | ||
| 15 | OMISSION | Failure of organiser’s earliest expedition into space (8) |
| O (Organiser’s earliest) MISSION (expedition into space) | ||
| 16 | AMBITION | Starts to analyse Mihir Bose’s insights into playing in goal (8) |
| AMBI (starts i.e. first characters of ‘..Analyse Mihir Bose’s Insights) TION (anagram of ‘into’, playing = anagrind) | ||
| 19 | GOSPEL | John, for instance, makes this type of music (6) |
| Allusion to Gospel of John | ||
| 21 | TRAGIC | Extremely distressing for soldier trapped in overturned vehicle (6) |
| GI (soldier) in TRAC (vehicle = cart, overturned = reversed) | ||
| 22 | INSPIRED | Brought about by misguided pride in son at first (8) |
| Anagram of PRIDE IN S (Son) | ||
| 24 | MISAPPROPRIATE | Is involved in plan for getting pirate out of nick (14) |
| [IS in MAP (plan)] PRO (for) PRIATE (anagram of pirate) | ||
| 26 | PISTOL | Shakespearean standard-bearer’s first to be found in river near the centre of Ely (6) |
| [IST (first) in PO (River)] L (centre of eLy) | ||
| 27 | ENTREATY | A request from Egypt’s leader to discuss residing in New York (8) |
| E (Egypt’s leader) [ TREAT (discuss) in NY (New York) ] | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | OUTLINE | Sketch reveals unconscious stuff (7) |
| OUT (unconscious) LINE (stuff, as in inner lining) | ||
| 3 | HARD HITTING | Uncompromising firm sound as a bell after strike (4-7) |
| HARD (firm) [ TING (sound as a bell) after HIT (strike) ] | ||
| 4 | AROSE | Started in America by Bush (5) |
| A (America) ROSE (Bush) | ||
| 5 | LESOTHO | Country doctor? He’s too liberal (7) |
| Anagram of HES TOO L (liberal) – doctor is the anagrind. | ||
| 6 | SCRIMPING | Flute going in Carol’s economising (9) |
| CRIMP (flute, as in compressed edge) in SING (Carol) | ||
| 7 | ROC | Crack finally given up by flier (3) |
| ROCk (Crack, cocaine, without the final letter. Possibly in a circular interpretation, it is ROCK with K (cracK finally) given up). | ||
| 8 | CHEERIO | Joy and Simon – odd ones out for so long (7) |
| CHEER (Joy) sImOn (Simon without the odd characters) | ||
| 12 | ASSASSINATE | Do in Staines ruined after Wally takes first of amphetamines (11) |
| SSINATE (Anagram of STAINES) after [ ASS (Wally, inept person) A (first of Amphetamines) ] | ||
| 14 | PRINCIPAL | Most important scientific law by the sound of it (9) |
| Sounds like Principle – Scientific Law | ||
| 17 | MARTINI | Drink causing fellow a bit of indigestion (7) |
| MARTIN (fellow) I (a bit of Indigestion) | ||
| 18 | NOISOME | Very unpleasant for one cooking with miso (7) |
| Anagram of ONE MISO | ||
| 20 | ELEMENT | A small amount of it gives off heat (7) |
| Cryptic definition, with reference being made to a heating element used in electric water heaters (for example) | ||
| 23 | SPRAT | Fish-monger’s back to intervene in quarrel (5) |
| R (mongeR’s back) in SPAT (quarrel) | ||
| 25 | ANT | Against dismissing current social worker (3) |
| ANTi (Against, dismissing current. i.e. without ‘i’) | ||
*anagram
Thanks, Turbolegs. We’ve had a good week — this was another exhilarating scramble, this time through Peto’s brain. Thanks, Peto, as usual — I loved 24ac
Thanks for the blog, Turbolegs.
I really enjoyed this one. Great constructions and lovely surfaces throughout. I particularly liked 16ac, 24ac, 26ac, 5dn and 12dn.
I smile when I solved PISTOL, one of the characters – along with Peto and Poins [Peto’s pseudonym in the Indy] – in Henry IV Part 2, which I enjoyed at Stratford this year.
Many thanks to Peto for a very entertaining puzzle. [I’m sorry I won’t be quizzing with you in York. 😉 ]
Sorry – smileD.
River Po surrounding ist (first) plus l (middle letter of Ely).
When I met Peto last May at the Derby S&B event, he modestly said that his crosswords are at the easier side of the spectrum.
Not this one though (and also not last Sunday’s Indy (as Poins)).
I found it a delight throughout with super-smooth surfaces.
Glad you liked it too, Turbolegs.
Thanks all for the comments. And apologies for being tardy in my response.
Eileen @2, I appreciate the elucidation. I had no idea of the connection. Now, to ensure that I remember the next time I see a clue on this …
Cheers
Thanks Peto and Turbolegs
This was my first puzzle of this setter … and found it at the tough end of the scale.
There was a lot going on in many of the clues with almost offbeat meanings of words that were cleverly misdirected in the clue. It took me on and off from Friday night till early Sunday morning to finally crack it!
Finished with PISTOL after struggling in the NW corner for quite some time.
Like Sil, I found it a delight to solve and look forward to his next one!