We don’t see this setter very often so it is something of a coincidence that I was standing in for someone who was away, as I am today, when his last puzzle appeared. Not that I mind because I always find his puzzles enjoyable and today was no exception, though I do have a couple of reservations.
Let’s get these out of the way first. I have difficulty in equating the answer with the definition in 14ac, one of the words in the definition for 2dn doesn’t seem quite right to me and I am unable to determine a valid definition in 24ac. Of course, these problems might be down to me rather than any fault of the setter.
On the plus side, for those that like that sort of thing, which I do from time to time, Rorschach continues to take lessons from Paul/Punk with the likes of 16dn and 24dn.
It’s time to move on to the theme which centres around the number three. In the grid we have directly trio, triumviri and tricycles. Then there are the three 3dn, the three 10ac, the three 22ac, three 1dn, three 26ac, 25dn and finally, unless I’ve missed something, Goldilocks and the three 13dn.
Just to add to the cleverness of this puzzle, Rorschach has included The Trinity – 4dn, 19ac and Holy 22dn.
Across
9 Well-informed in French but mistranslating ‘Un autocar’ (2,7)
AU COURANT – an anagram (mistranslating) of UN AUTOCAR
10 Men on board of university (5)
KINGS – double def. – the first referring to chess
11 Panic as bugger’s returned to take 1 of 10 (5)
SPOOK – OOPS (bugger) reversed (returned) K (1 of 10 {Kings})
12 Bits stored here / that’ll help you on golf course? (4,5)
HARD DRIVE – double/cryptic def.
13 Annoying person who’s not as famous as they might hope? (7)
BLISTER – B-LISTER (person who’s not as famous as they might hope)
14 Peacekeepers searched for mines in corrupt state (7)
UNSWEPT – UN (peacekeepers) SWEPT (searched for mines) – though I thought of this early on, I didn’t enter it until I had all the checked letters because I find it difficult to equate the answer with the definition.
17 Singer has change of heart once going back to puzzle (5)
ADDLE – AdeLE (singer) with the centre moved back by one letter (has change of heart once going back)
19 This Kent outfit has connection to 4? (3)
SON – S ON ‘this Kent outfit has’ needs to be read as ‘Kent outfit has this’ – Clark Kent’s alter ego, Superman, wears a red shield on his chest which has a large yellow S on it – this one took me a while to parse even though I thought of the correct ‘Kent’ quite quickly.
20 Second 1 of 13 down going around in circles (5)
HOOPS – S (second) POOH (1 of 13 down {bears}) reversed (going around)
21 Increases amount of degrees at university (5,2)
STEPS UP – STEPS (degrees) UP (at university)
22 Curly goes to States initially to form this comedy 24 down? (7)
STOOGES – an anagram (curly) of GOES TO S[tates] – this comedy trio
24 1 of ancient 24 down set to cross over Scottish moorland to Irish island (9)
TRIUMVIRI – TV (set) around (to cross) MUIR (Scottish moorland) reversed (over) IR (Irish) I (island) – I have not been able to determine the intended definition. If it is ‘one of ancient trio’ then the answer would be ‘triumvir’. Triumviri is plural and refers to the three triumvirs. If ‘1’ is referring to the answer at 1dn {laws} then I can find no reference to confirm that the ‘laws of ancient trio’ are/were called triumviri.
26 Swear and swear about Labour (5)
BLIND – BIND (swear {as in oath}) around (about) L (labour)
28 Investment account for he of 24 down of 1 (5)
ISAAC – ISA (investment) AC (account) – Isaac Newton is noted for, among many other things, his three laws of motion.
29 Celtic and Rangers extremely worried about unknown vehicles (9)
TRICYCLES – an anagram (worried) of CELTIC R[anger]S around (about) Y (unknown)
Down
1 Fluid was left in Fiats (4)
LAWS – an anagram (fluid) of WAS L
2 Postdoc to pipette samples of marine creatures incorrectly collected (6)
OCTOPI – hidden in ‘postdOC TO PIpette’ – Chambers specifically states that the plural of octopus is octopuses or (archaic) octopodes and that octopi is wrong – I’m not sure that ‘collected’ is the right term to use in the definition.
3 Soldiers in USSR meet KGB’s first English suspect (10)
MUSKETEERS – an anagram (suspect) of USSR MEET K[gb] (KGB’s first) E (English)
4 Handsome woman’s old man (6)
FATHER – FAT (handsome) HER (woman’s)
5 Possibly legendary performer who could produce rats … (4,4)
STAR TURN – an anagram (TURN) of STAR could produce rats
6 …ultimately relocated children in slippery manoeuvre (4)
SKID – KIDS (children) with the last letter moved to the front (ultimately relocated)
7 One with no heart in novel form? (8)
ANTIHERO – an anagram (in novel form) of I (one) NO HEART – &lit
8 Joined together Harris and Lewis comprise this (4)
ISLE – hidden in ‘harrIS LEwis’
13 One means of picking up rubbish around stands (5)
BEARS – BS (rubbish {bull shit}) around EAR (one means of picking up)
15 Those in Westminster, perhaps, caught up in class system? (10)
SCHOOLBOYS – cryptic def. – Westminster School, which actually has schoolboys, rather than the Houses of Parliament where the occupants often seem to behave like them.
16 Ball’s dropped initially in the Ashes? (5)
TESTS – TEST[i]S (ball) with i[n] (initially in) dropped
18 Disraeli’s changing line for English rewrite of part of Mass (4,4)
DIES IRAE – an anagram (rewrite) of DISRAE[L]EI – ‘changing line for English’ indicates replacing the L in Disraeli with an E
19 Sophie’s Choice ultimately amended by a couple of stuck-up pedants? (8)
SOPHISTS – SOPHI[e]’S with the [choic]E (choice ultimately) replaced by (amended by) ST[uck] (a couple of stuck) reversed (up)
22 Fantastic creature‘s cleavage’s elevating sex appeal (6)
SPIRIT – RIPS (cleavages) reversed (elevating) IT (sex appeal)
23 Questions 1 of 13 down, you might say? (6)
GRILLS – a homophone (you might say) of [Bear] Grylls (1 of 13 down {bears})
24 In orgy, time to go on top in threesome (4)
TRIO – RIOT (orgy) with the T (time) moved to the front (to go on top)
25 EMI dealt with copyright infringement pests (4)
MICE – an anagram (dealt) of EMI around (with … infringement) C (copyright)
27 Barrel of Scotch? (4)
DASH – double def. – ‘barrel’ being a North American term meaning “to travel or move very quickly” (Chambers)
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