Breezy stuff, on a breezy day.
A couple of stumbling blocks (CRIMOND, AMATI) but otherwise went in quickly. All quite enjoyable, but for a rather weak cryptic def and a duffer at 26 across.
| Across | ||
| 1 | RACE |
Runs excellent competition (4)
R (runs) ACE (excellent)
|
| 3 | ADDIS ABABA |
A theologian is given a couple of degrees in African capital (5,5)
A DD (doctor of divinity, theologian) IS A BA BA (couple of degrees)
|
| 9 | FOOTPAD |
Old robber in bottom flat (7)
FOOT (bottom) PAD (flat)
|
| 11 | ENCHANT |
Captivate some in French Antilles (7)
hidden answer
|
| 12 | GOSSIP COLUMNIST |
Locum’s posting is spurious reveals journalist (6,9)
anagram (spurious) of locumspostingis
|
| 13 | TEA CADDY |
Leaves here, perhaps (3,5)
Cryptic definition, but not much of one
|
| 14 | OVOID |
There’s nothing, nothing like an egg (5)
O (nothing) VOID (nothing) . I like the elegance of these clues that play on the natural crossword ambiguity of words
|
| 17 | ARTIC |
The Parisian’s left object in lorry (5)
article (object) without le (parisian the)
|
| 18 | PASSAGES |
Leaves, describing a ship’s journeys (8)
PAGES (leaves) around (describing) A SS (ship)
Got in a tangle at first trying to parse, as PASSES could also be leaves and I was scratching my head about AG as a ship
|
| 21 | CABINET MINISTER |
Console and look after one member of the government (7,8)
CABINET (console) MINISTER (look after). Not sure what the ‘one’ is doing
|
| 23 | CRIMOND |
CD containing lively minor hymn tune (7)
envelop of RIMON (lively minor) in CD, for a hymn that I knew, but not by name. Very nice
|
| 24 | PENANCE |
Last character to leave town in Cornwall in sackcloth and ashes? (7)
Z removed from PENZANCE
|
| 25 | LEGITIMATE |
Run away with one chum to find fair (10)
LEG IT (run away) I MATE (chum)
|
| 26 | I SPY |
I spot game (1-3)
Is there something I’m missing here? If not, a bit of a duff clue
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | REFUGE |
Good for son inside to turn down asylum (6)
REFUSE with G (good) for S (son)
|
| 2 | CROW’S NEST |
Platform for Landseer? (5,4)
Cryptic def.
|
| 4 | DEDUCED |
Gathered action involves Italy’s leader (7)
DEED (action) around DUC (Italy’s leader). But shouldn’t this be Duce, for it to work?
|
| 5 | IDEALLY |
In a perfect world, I’d join forces to conserve energy (7)
I’D ALLY around E(nergy)
|
| 6 | ACCOMMODATION |
Housing agreement (13)
DD
|
| 7 | AMATI |
A coaster, one showing violin-maker (5)
Had never heard of this family of instrument-makers, but the parsing was clear
|
| 8 | APTITUDE |
Gift tied up at resort (8)
Anagram, although I’ve never seen ‘resort’ as an anagram indicator before. Not that sure about it.
|
| 10 | PRINCE CONSORT |
Albert, for example, arranged prison concert (6,7)
A pleasing anagram
|
| 15 | OVERTONES |
Implications, obvious ones (9)
OVERT ONES
|
| 16 | FARCICAL |
Female Commander-in-Chief dropped into Asian sea? Absurd (8)
F(emale) CIC in ARAL
|
| 18 | POTSDAM |
Crazy to stay over in German city (7)
MAD STOP reversed
|
| 19 | SNIPPET |
Turned legs on favourite piece (7)
PINS (legs) reversed, PET (favourite)
|
| 20 | GREEDY |
Voracious Greek eyed nervously (6)
GR(eek) EYED*
|
| 22 |
Get bishop on phone (5)
|
|
*anagram
Thanks, Matt. I thought the same thing about “il duce” at 4d.
Matt, your blog is missing 22d – but I think we’ve probably all got it . . .
A
Thanks, Matt and Everyman.
I too had to check AMATI when it couldn’t be anything else, but I had heard of CRIMOND. Like you and crosser, I can’t make DEDUCED work.
The anagram indicator ‘resort’ comes up often; you just have to read it as re-sort.
ADDIS ABABA my favourite in this one.
I couldn’t get 2d,18a,19d and 25a. For 25a I got fixated on light?m?t?
26a Very weak.
Thanks Everyman & Matt.
I had heard of AMATI, but not FOOTPAD or CRIMOND. I think the ‘duc’ was a mistake. Resort is in the Chambers Crossword Dictionary as an anagram indicator as KD has explained.
I liked the CROWS NEST and PRINCE CONSORT.
Re-sort, of course: mental blind spot. I’ll fix 22 once I’m back on the computer later.
Pleasant enough, but I agree that the clue for DEDUCED just looks plain wrong. CRIMOND was previously unknown but the answer couldn’t have been anything else from the anagram fodder once all the checkers were in place.
Thanks Everyman and Matt, enjoyed both puzzle and blog.
CRIMOND rang a very distant bell, then fell into place. Liked OVOID, PASSAGES and CROW’S NEST.
4d could “involved” indicate il DUCe is involved in the matter, but not fully implicated? You don’t hear “fully involved” much, but you often hear “fully implicated”. OCED involve, to parcipitate or share, DEED and DUCE are sharing an E.
@9 The clue says the action “involves” Italy’s leader, it does not say it includes him. OCED include, comprise or reckon in as part of a whole (OECD comprise, contain).
9@ think I precipitated a bit with the participate, never heard of parcipitate. On my screen the typing font, courier?, is a bit difficult to read and rather small. Preview Comment is OK.
Thanks Everyman and Matt.
I particularly liked the Landseer misdirection in 2dn.
4dn is just plain wrong. DEDUCED (gathered) might be said to involve DUCE but for the clue to work its DEED (action) that has to do so, not DED!
jackkt @13. Yes, you must be right. All the letters of the alphabet involved would have to be included in the answer, but how would one know which were shared? In this case the D and the E are common to both DEED and DUCE.
Many apologies for the faulty clue.
Funny, I got 4d and didn’t spot the error. Never heard of a footpad = robber or the violinist and took ages to parse it as I was looking for a boat. 13a and 26a were feeble and 15d had half the answer already in the clue (should have said types or something, not ones) yet 1d took a bit of deduction so not a lot of consistency. But a nice mental workout even if I couldn’t quite finish it. 25a was my favourite. And is it kosher to have ship’s doing double duty in 18a? Passages aren’t any other types of journeys are they?
As I commented last week sometimes I feel we can be a little too pedantic in parsing the answers a la Ximenean code and I echo Barrie in 4d in that I thought deduced fitted the clue without realising all the ramifications. As for some of the other answers I was familiar with Crimond (probably from years of compulsory chapel), Amati violins are collectors pieces, took a while to get artic (articulated lorry) even though I worked my way through university as a lorry driver’s mate! I liked crows nest which was my loi. All in all a fun way to start the weekend which involves the annual Mangawhai Garden Ramble ( I’ve acquesced to keeping my wife company!)
Thanks as usual to Everyman and Matt
Great day for it, Ian. I was a van driver in my uk university days too, so artic was a breeze even though my chariot was a humble Morry van.
I saw that Everyman apologised for 4D. A first?
2D was a smashing answer. I thought cross feet LOL.
I worked out Crimond but it was not in my Chambers Dictionary.
Well I wasn’t a lorry driver and never heard of Artic which was the only one I didn’t get. Thanks for the explanation Ian. But I thought the same as most others about 4d. I remember singing the 23rd psalm to Crimond in my Church days – lovely tune. My favourites were 23ac and 25 ac. Good crossword and thanks Matt.
To put it bluntly, I am had a bugger of a time with this one! I put in tea chest for 13a which hampered progress . Couldn’t get anything in the north west. Lovely day for the splendid gardens in Mangawhai Ian, and I too spent time in Morry vans early on in my illustrious career in the motor industry, Barrie!
Didn’t get AMATI, OVOID and APTITUDE. Never seen resort used as an anagram indicator.
I see EVERYMAN has apologised for the DEDUCED clue. Nice to see he is human after all.
Till next weekend!