On the easy side for Pasquale, but with nice cluing and a few obscure words as usual…
…and some nice nods to Remembrance Day today. Favourites were 1dn, 7dn and especially 11ac.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CHANCES |
Hazards as revolutionary’s taken over party in Africa (7)
=”Hazards”. CHE’S=”revolutionary’s”, around A[frican] N[ational] C[ongress]
|
| 5 | VIOLENT |
Wild flower masking end of garden (7)
=”Wild”. VIOLET=”flower” around [garde]N
|
| 9 | UNITS |
Fool in America offering dollars and cents, say (5)
=”dollars and cents, say”. NIT=”fool” in US=”America”
|
| 10 | RUSTICATE |
Suspend curate — it’s for being unorthodox (9)
=”Suspend” from university. (curate it’s)*
|
| 11 | BARKING MAD |
Like 12 out in 20 at 12? (7,3)
=Like FIDO (a dog) out in THE SUN at 12 noon – “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”, according to Noel Coward’s song [wiki]
|
| 12 | FIDO |
Fine personal commitment that may help clear the air (4)
=”may help to clear the air” – F[og] I[ntensive] D[ispersal] O[peration] is a method of dispersing airfield fog by burning petrol. F[ine] (think lead pencils), plus I DO=”personal commitment”
|
| 14 | PYTHAGOREAN |
Philosopher’s theory pagan slammed (11)
=”Philosopher’s”, belonging to / associated with Pythagoras. (theory pagan)*
|
| 18 | PREDICAMENT |
Last word in forecast creates quandary (11)
=”quandary”. AMEN=”Last word” in PREDICT=”forecast”
|
| 21 | DOOM |
Bad temper about catastrophe (4)
=”catastrophe”. MOOD=”Bad temper”, reversed (“about”)
|
| 22 | TABLECLOTH |
On-board protection (10)
cryptic definition
|
| 25 | CHAMPAGNE |
Winner, short girl — sparkling type (9)
=”sparkling type”. CHAMP=”Winner”, plus AGNE[s]=”short girl”
|
| 26 | LINES |
Products from Marks? (5)
=”Products”, merchandise of a particular model or kind; =”Marks” on e.g. paper
|
| 27 | SCHOLAR |
Description of panel admitting child as pupil (7)
=”pupil”. SOLAR=”Description of panel” around CH[ild]
|
| 28 | STIFFEN |
Get tense, if female carries gun around (7)
=”Get tense”. IF F[emale], with STEN=a light machine “gun” going around
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | CHUBBY |
Cold partner liable to take up quite a lot of the bed? (6)
=”liable to take up quite a lot of the bed”. C[old] plus HUBBY=”partner”
|
| 2 | AVIARY |
A change one introduced — it has some flapping (6)
=”has some flapping”. A plus VARY=”change”, with I=”one” introduced inside
|
| 3 | CASSIOPEIA |
A pose is struck with operators of intelligence embracing such stars (10)
=”stars”, a northern constellation. (A pose is)*, inside CIA=”operators of intelligence”
|
| 4 | SPROG |
The ultimate in treats for good child (5)
=”child”. [treat]S plus PRO=”for” plus G[ood]
|
| 5 | VASSALAGE |
Very silly person, aged prisoner being held in form of subjection (9)
=”form of subjection”. V[ery] plus ASS=”silly person” plus LAG=”prisoner” inside AE[tatis]=”aged”=’of this many years’ in Latin
|
| 6 | OTIS |
Form of therapy is provided by someone to give us a lift (4)
=”someone to give us a lift” – the OTIS elevator company. O[ccupational] T[herapy] plus IS
|
| 7 | EXAMINER |
Once a person who would dig below the surface as questioner? (8)
=”questioner”. EX i.e. formerly or “Once”, A MINER=”a person who would dig below the surface”
|
| 8,19,20 | THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN |
Opportunity to remember tabloid’s decline (3,5,4,2,3,3)
=”Opportunity to remember” – the Ode of Remembrance [wiki] contains the lines “At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them”.
|
| 13 | BOTTICELLI |
Painter has bit to put right around one room (10)
=”Painter”. (Bit to)* around I=”one” plus CELL=”room”
|
| 15 | TRAFALGAR |
Knack for raising fish under river — it becomes a battle (9)
=”battle”. ART=”Knack”, reversed (“raising”) plus GAR=”fish” after FAL=”river” in Cornwall
|
| 16 | SPADICES |
Flowery bits girl used to fill gaps (8)
=”Flowery bits” – a fleshy spike of flowers. DI[ana]=”girl” inside SPACES=”gaps”
|
| 17 | CENOTAPH |
Hard man or woman, one beginning to climb up monument (8)
=”monument”. H[ard] plus PAT=”man or woman” plus ONE plus C[limb], all reversed (“up”)
|
| 19 | THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN |
See 8
|
| 20 | THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN |
See 8
|
| 23 | LOESS |
Deposit diminished in value, nothing saved (5)
=a loamy “Deposit” in river valleys”. LESS=”diminished in value”, around O=”nothing”
|
| 24 | OPAL |
Stone ring with china buried below it (4)
=”Stone”. O=”ring”, plus PAL=”china” plate=’mate’
|
Apologies for ‘invading’ your space, Pasquale.
I didn’t know how else to get a message to ‘cookie’. It is a reply, right at the end (and put there a day or so late), of 26410, picture quiz version.
Will this get through?!
Celia
Celia @1, got your message, reply on 26410, picture quiz version
Thanks Pasquale and manehi
Didn’t understand FIDO – I guessed it must be a dog after solving BARKING MAD, Thanks for that manehi.
Not much else to comment on – CHUBBY was my favourite.
Thanks Pasquale and Manehi
I had never heard of F.I.D.O. either, morning mists now cleared.
Liked VASSALAGE, I wondered where the AE came from; likewise with PAL in OPAL, rhyming slang.
Failed on the NE corner, having assumed 11 was BARKING DOG.
VASSALAGE, LOESS and SPADICES all new to me. Nice work.
Thanks for the parsing of FIDO! I had no idea.
As clover fits 1dn perfectly this was harder than it should have been. Just like real life, it took me some time to get rid of it.
I am not very keen on definitions like ‘has some flapping’ for aviary but there were some very nice and fair clues in here.
Thanks to manehi for the blog. I guessed FIDO without knowing of the system for clearing the air.
I hate clues like 21 of the form (first part) about (second part) where you have to wait for a crosser to pick one of the alternatives!
Thanks Pasquale and manehi
A bit of a challenge with an unobtrusive commemorative theme interwoven into it. A number where I needed help with the parsing – ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen”, ae = aged and OT = Occupational Therapy. A few new terms in SPADICES, the constellation – CASSIOPEIA and the Italian painter,BOTTICELLI.
The last couple in were CHANCES and OTIS.
Thank you manehi, in particular for explaining ‘FIDO’.
I couldn’t finish the NW because, like Tom Hutton @7, I had ‘clover’ at 1d. That in turn confirmed my idea that 11a was ‘English man’ – which I still think fits the clue better than ‘barking mad’.
I’m not usually a huge fan, but found most of this quite enjoyable.
I too had C LOVER for 1d, which is an equally good answer IMO, in that clover, given half a chance, is liable to take up a lot of your bed.
Haha, love your ‘English Man’, David Mop. (Like Clover) that would have been an even better clue.
Didn’t seem too easy to me, as I didn’t know the required meanings of RUSTICATE, FIDO, AE, OT, OTIS, FAL, SPADICES and LOESS. I also started off with ENGLISH MEN, which didn’t help. All fairly clued, but I gave up with three words missing from the NE corner.
Thanks to Pasquale and manehi. I’ll have to wait and see if any of the new vocabulary sticks.
I didn’t find this at all easy, in fact I thought it was considerably harder than the last few Pasquales. Last in was OTIS mostly because I wasn’t familiar with the company. I’d never heard of FIDO (which I only guessed after finally seeing BARKING MAD), and SPADICES and LOESS was at best vaguely familiar.
Thanks to manehi and Pasquale
Same favourites as Manehi. A very nice puzzle and an understated tribute to those who died for our freedom.
This was definitely easier than the Don’s usual offerings – paradoxically, my main difficulties were with the more “straightforward” clues, such as 1a & d, 22 & 24, which had me searching for more elaborate wordplays or more abstruse terminology.
also fell into the trap of guessing the longer clues from the word count – THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN looked quite plausible until I remembered the date.
Thanks to the Don for the puzzle and manehi for the blog, subject to the plea for adoption of the device used by most(?) other bloggers, of underlining the definition rather than repeating it in quotes.
So much of this was straightforward that my hold up on the last few clues was more than usually frustrating. I ended up with a failure, not twigging OTIS and working back from the dispersal mechanism of the wartime FIDO to BURNING GAS at 11a. Alas.
This seemed easy to begin with and then I came unstuck. I had CLOVER originally and was reluctant to abandon it,although I must admit CHUBBY is good. I didn’t understand the second bit of FIDO and guessed it. OTIS was the last in and that because of the elevator company. I wanted it to be about Otis Redding, whose music usually gives me a lift but-
Although there were some good things in here I can’t say I enjoyed this much!
Thanks to Pasquale and manehi.
I too got stuck in the NW after entering CLOVER and ENGLISH MAN.
Nice puzzle
Thanks again Pasquale and manehi
For the past two evenings on France Musique, between 18:00 and 19:00 GMT, we have had “Les Tommies”, everything in English, most unusual. Unfortunately neither Elgar’s nor Rootham’s musical renderings of “For the Fallen” (the seven stanzas, of which the “Ode of Remembrance” is three), but “In Flander’s Fields” was included.
I enjoyed this although I’m in the “easier than usual Pasquale” camp.
It looked difficult until quite early on I suddenly saw “The going down of the sun”. After this the whole thing capitulated in about 20 minutes.
Some strange words but all fairly clued. (except that I’ve never seen AE for AETATIS , only AET. But the answer was obvious.)
Thanks to manehi and Pasquale.
chas @8
Surely the name “crossword” is a hint that crossing letters may be important. 🙂
BNTO @21
In this instance it was unfortunate that the only critical crosser was in one of the obscure words – SPADICES. I got it OK as I know some botany, but those who don’t would be left not knowing whether the 4th letter of the down clue was D or M.
Muffin @22
I was in the exact same situation and had never heard of a SPADEX.
However SPA??CES was almost certain so it was a 2 letter girl’s name.
The alternatives to DI didn’t really give as viable a word as SPADICES. So my guess was correct.
Several posters on here often complain that clues which require the use of crossers to resolve various possible answers are unfair. This is patently absurd! IMHO of course.
Never heard of SPAMOCES, Brendan? (Neither have I)
So, in order to solve a word puzzle, you need to know about fog clearance measures at airfields? At what point does a clue stop being a word puzzle and start just being a (rather obscure) general knowledge quiz?
Talking of personal dislikes, one of mine is IMHO – the H always seems redundant.
It’s self-deprecatory, Jovis.
I also had ENGLISH MAN for 11a, and was all ready to criticise because it ain’t two words. Not very fair clueing, IMHO.
I also had ENGLISH MEN then MAN, encouraged that it fitted with CASSIOPEIA, and then had MYRHH for 4d as the last of the three gifts to the good child… Needless to say, I couldn’t finish the NW corner.
Thanks all
I plumped for mood which made spamices!! very tricky.
manehi –
A personal plea. Please keep your excellent blogs as they are. Underlining doesn’t show up on all devices (such as some Samsung “smart” ‘phones) whereas inverted commas do. This can cause confusion (I recall one example in an Eileen blog where I wrongly thought she’d made a mistake – she ignored my subtle request to take note) but your style avoids any.
All the best.