Dac, as usual, has provided us with a fair challenge for a Wednesday. There were no really obscure words. SÉMILLON (19 across) is not a wine I drink very often but I was aware of it.
When I came to write up the wordplay for the blog, it all seemed a lot more straightforward than it was when I was solving the puzzle. Hindsight, of course, is 20/20 vision. It was the NW corner that held me up for the greatest time whilst solving.. Once I got PITTSBURGH (1 across) it all became a bit easier. Last one in was UNDONE (4 down)
There is rarely a theme in a Dac puzzle so I think it would be a coincidence where the PROSPERO bit of PROSPEROUS (14 down) crosses OTHELLO (28 across). I can’t see any other characters from OTHELLO in the grid
|
Across |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
No. |
Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
|
1
|
US city centre in which tons of food circulates (10)
|
PITH (innermost; centre) containing (in which) (T [ton}] + S [to give the plural of ton] + GRUB [food] reversed [circulates]) PIT (T S BURG<) H |
PITTSBURGH (United States city)
|
|
6
|
Hairstyle adopted by Dior, fashionably retro (4)
|
AFRO (hidden word in [adopted by] reversed [retro] DIOR FASHIONABLY) AFRO< |
AFRO ([relating to] a hairstyle characterized by thick, bushy curls standing out from the head)
|
|
10
|
Aiming for main prize in Kent? (7)
|
SE (South East; Kent is situated in the South East of England) + AWARD (prize)
|
SEAWARD (towards the main)
|
|
11
|
Important achievement former pupil, after vacation, gets round to it (7)
|
EX (former) + PL (the letters that remain in PUPIL after the middle letters are removed [vacation]) + O (round shape) + IT
|
EXPLOIT (heroic [important] achievement)
|
|
12
|
Use bugging device Leninist cobbled together (6,2)
|
Anagram of (cobbled together) LENINIST
|
LISTEN IN (use bugging device)
|
|
13
|
Really hot and tense after doctor appears? (5)
|
RIG (tamper with; doctor) + H (hot) + T (tense)
|
RIGHT (actually; genuinely; right)
|
|
15
|
Look about area of France (6)
|
RE (about) + GARD (French Department in the South [capital Nimes]; area of France)
|
REGARD (look)
|
|
17
|
Intensely put out by the delay (8)
|
Anagram of (put out by) THE DELAY
|
HEATEDLY (intensely)
|
|
19
|
White wine – half litre – served with sole (not quite enough) (8)
|
SEMI (half) + L (litre) + (LONE [sole] excluding the final letter [not quite enough] E)
|
SÉMILLON (a white wine made from a grape of the same name)
|
|
21
|
Be close to a woman involved in racket (6)
|
JO (ladies name; woman) contained in (involved in (A + DIN [racket]) A D (JO) IN |
ADJOIN (be close to)
|
|
24
|
Run into sex traffickers (5)
|
EXTRA (hidden word in [into] SEX TRAFFICKERS)
|
EXTRA (a run in cricket)
|
|
25
|
Drink is served round part of ship, I see (8)
|
BEER (drink) containing (served round) HOLD (part of a ship) BE (HOLD) ER |
BEHOLDER ( someone who sees; I see)
|
|
26
|
Loves assimilating the lines in Shakespearean drama (7)
|
(O [love score in tennis] + O [love score in tennis] to give loves) containing (assimilating) (THE + LL [lines]) O (THE LL) O |
OTHELLO (title of a play [drama] by Shakespeare)
|
|
29
|
Maybe 18, the swine, faces left wing revolutionary (7)
|
BOAR (pig; swine) + (RED [left wing in political terms] reversed [revolutionary]) BOAR DER< |
BOARDER (one who attends BOARDing school, e.g. TOM BROWN [18 down])
|
|
30
|
Destroyed mouse almost, for sport (4)
|
Anagram of MOUSE excluding the final letter [(almost) E
|
SUMO (traditional Japanese sport, a form of wrestling)
|
|
31
|
Finished with books after higher education, not as planned (10)
|
UNI (university; higher education) + NT (New Testament; books) + ENDED (finished with)
|
UNINTENDED (not planned)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Short course in Italian history (4)
|
PASTA (Italian food course) excluding the final letter (short) A
|
PAST (history)
|
|
2
|
The drinks are on Dac? No good, just kidding (7)
|
TEAS (drinks) + I (Dac, setter) + NG (no good)
|
TEASING (kidding)
|
|
3
|
Sergeant Major’s special skill – appearing thus? (5)
|
SM (Sergeant Major) + ART (special skill)
|
SMART (Sergeant Majors [or is it Sergeants Major?] generally have a SMART appearance)
|
|
4
|
Stock initially depleted? One’s ruined (6)
|
FUND (stock) excluding the first letter [initially depleted] F + ONE
|
UNDONE (ruined)
|
|
5
|
Environmental group finally abandoned drink (5,3)
|
GREEN (environmental) + TEAM (group) excluding the last letter (finally abandoned) M
|
GREEN TEA (drink)
|
|
7
|
Severely punished, fellow noted (7)
|
F (fellow) + LOGGED (noted)
|
FLOGGED (severely punished)
|
|
8
|
Remaining longer than guy during trip (10)
|
STAY (prop; support; guy [rope]) contained in (during) OUTING (trip) OUT (STAY) ING |
OUTSTAYING (remaining longer)
|
|
9
|
Greatly animated, one tears up tweeds oddly (8)
|
(I [one] + RIPS [tears]) reversed (up; down clue) + TED (letters 1, 3 and 5 of [oddly] TWEEDS) (SPIR I)< TED |
SPIRITED (greatly animated)
|
|
14
|
Wealthy experts having nothing invested in country school (10)
|
PROS (professionals; experts) + (O [nothing] contained in [invested in] PERU [country]) + S (school) PROS (PER (O) U) S |
PROSPEROUS (wealthy)
|
|
16
|
Trusty soldiers likely to give support (8)
|
RE (Royal Engineers; soldiers) + LIABLE (likely to give) The word ‘support’ indicates that the letters of LIABLE are holding up the letters RE in a Down entry.
|
RELIABLE (trusty)
|
|
18
|
Pupil first to meet relative in urban area (3,5)
|
(M first letter of [first to] MEET + BRO [brother; relative]) contained in (in) TOWN (urban area) TO (M BRO) WN |
TOM BROWN (schoolboy [pupil] hero of the novel TOM BROWN‘s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes)
|
|
20
|
Mother suppresses desire for former screen star (7)
|
MUM ( mother) contains (suppresses ITCH (desire) M (ITCH) UM |
MITCHUM (reference Robert MITCHUM [1917 – 1997] former screen star)
|
|
22
|
Scorer heading ball to back of crowd? That’s exaggerated (7)
|
O (ball) + VERDI (composer; scorer) + D (last letter of [back to] CROWD) ‘heading’ indicates that the O (ball) comes at the beginning of the entry
|
OVERDID (exaggerated)
|
|
23
|
Subsequently secures degree in Ancient Greek (6)
|
THEN (subsequently) containing (secures) BA (Bachelor of Arts; degree) THE (BA) N |
THEBAN (citizen of Thebes in ancient Greece)
|
|
26
|
Veal stew served on European holiday (5)
|
Anagram of (stew) VEAL + E (European)
|
LEAVE (holiday)
|
|
27
|
Raised money for speaker (4)
|
BRED (sounds like [for speaker] BREAD [money])
|
BRED (raised)
|
Semillon is the main white grape grown in the Hunter valley, NSW. And the grape responsible for the greatest French dessert wines (ch d’Yquem etc).
The usual excellent fare from Dac, IMHO. I also found the NW the trickiest and it took me a while to get SEAWARD. That led me to PASTA which in turn gave me PITTSBURGH, and UNDONE was my LOI.
A masterly creation of perfect construction and elegant surfaces from Dac, matched exemplarily by Duncanshiell’s blog.
If I had to find just one ‘quiggle’ – would not “circulate” be more apt than “circulates” in 1ac?
Thanks again to the double Ds.
Good puzzle.
I think “circulates” is fine, it is what the word GRUB does.
In that clue I have more ‘problems’ with that little word ‘of’ which seems to be out of place. But perhaps not.
Thanks Dac and Duncan.
Maybe I was just having a bad day but I struggled quite a bit, not seeing the wordplay plonked in front of me. Good job I wasn’t blogging. 19a I kept thinking of St Emilion or something like that.
Thanks Duncan and Dac.
Just a detail: ‘liable’ is ‘likely’ (not ‘likely to give’), I think; so it’s ‘liable’ that’s going to give support to RE.