After a tough Monday puzzle last week, this was back to more gentle fare with plenty of easier clues to get you enough crossing letters to do the trickier stuff.
| Across | |||
| 7. | Trade campaign haunts vehicle inspectors (7,7) | ||
| Traffic wardens | Traffic(=trade) + war(=campaign) + dens(=haunts) | ||
| 9. | Comparatively skint dealer (6) | ||
| Broker | DD | ||
| 10. | Small filthy place housing Republican government department (8) | ||
| Ministry | Mini + sty around R(epublican) | ||
| 11. | Material underfoot left strewn around Moulin Rouge at the end (8) | ||
| Linoleum | L(eft) + (Moulin [Roug]e)* | ||
| 13. | Turner’s equipment encompasses oils primarily, not stand (6) | ||
| Loathe | Lathe around o[ils] | ||
| 14. | Roman in conclusion repelled monster (4) | ||
| Ogre | Ergo< | ||
| 15. | That woman mostly behind swindle (5) | ||
| Shaft | Sh[e] + aft. If you’ve never heard shaft in that sense, Mr Kilroy-Silk will demonstrate. | ||
| 16. | Pick up remedy with the other hand finally (4) | ||
| Hear | Heal with R replacing L | ||
| 17. | Strike in Birmingham, mercifully not all of it (6) | ||
| Hammer | Hidden in BirmingHAM MERcifully | ||
| 19. | Careful to include storm cover (8) | ||
| Warranty | Wary around rant | ||
| 21. | Workshops interrupted by posh academic (8) | ||
| Studious | Studios around U | ||
| 23. | Couple is able to hear bird (6) | ||
| Toucan | Hom of two + can | ||
| 24. | Continental pastoral worker’s dog (6,8) | ||
| German Shepherd | German(=continental) + shepherd(=pastoral worker) | ||
Down |
|||
| 1. | Model recalls sitting to get large property in Scotland (8,6) | ||
| Stirling Castle | (Recalls sitting)* | ||
| 2. | Curse about security device for money (8) | ||
| Banknote | Bane around knot | ||
| 3. | Pro in examination – it can cause stress (1-5) | ||
| G Force | For in GCE | ||
| 4. | Fraud lifted coats (4) | ||
| Scam | Macs<, although the clue is ambiguous and could just as easily be scam<. | ||
| 5. | Thin permit providing weighty protection (8) | ||
| Gauntlet | Gaunt + let | ||
| 6. | Trouble’s arisen with European ship inside port (6) | ||
| Odessa | Ado< around E SS | ||
| 8. | Any in audition to get such direction shortly (14) | ||
| Northeastwards | Hom of NE, shortened version of the answer. | ||
| 12. | Note a bird having tail cut off’s beastly cry (5) | ||
| Miaow | Mi + a + ow[l] | ||
| 15. | Overcome runt with sumo wrestling (8) | ||
| Surmount | (Runt sumo)* | ||
| 16. | One wearing headgear gets through gaps (8) | ||
| Hiatuses | I in Hat + uses (=gets through) | ||
| 18. | Lady abroad produced sandwiches in the morning (6) | ||
| Madame | Made around AM (sandwiches is the containment indicator) | ||
| 20. | King with posh car to enter once more (6) | ||
| Retype | R + E-Type | ||
| 22. | Love hotel in very fashionable part of London (4) | ||
| Soho | O + h(otel) in so | ||
I thought Northeasterly for 8d too, but it didn’t fit, so it had to be NORTHEASTWARD.
That’s a misprint on my part. Actually, it wasn’t NORTHEASTWARD either – it was NORTHEASTWARDS.
Thanks, Neal.
Yes, a good one from eXternal this morning, just right for a Monday Indy. No special favourites; it was all well constructed, although I agree with you about SCAM/MACS.
Like Ian, I was another who wanted to put in NORTHEASTERLY, but of course it doesn’t fit. And the final solution is in fact NORTHEASTWARDS. Which is the direction in which Sunderland supporters were heading after our pathetic display against Man Utd last weekend. The only direction we are going is down.
We crossed, Neal.
Thanks Neal & eXternal, as you say quite an unusually easy puzzle for eXternal, not sure I really appreciate being reminded of Mr Kilroy Silk though.
14a is ambiguous in the same way as 4d. The wordplay could just as easily be “repelled monster” and the definition “Roman in conclusion”, giving “ergo” instead of OGRE. Both clues needed at least one crossing letter before the solution could be entered.
I got bored at Guardian so have come here for this nice puzzle. I normally do four puzzles per day anyway.
4d I agree is totally ambiguous, 14a is more complex, but indicator is past participle for both possible readings…. hmm not sure. It most naturally leads to the required solution.
What do you think?
Agree with @6Tom_I.
11A is L + (MOULIN [rouge]E)* rather than as given.
Thanks to eXternal and NealH.
The order seems odd in that one.
Interestingly I saw the ambiguity in 14ac but not in 4dn. At least doing it on Crossword Solver allowed me to see which was correct via the check button. LOI’s were BANKNOTE and BROKER. COD was LOATHE for its surface.
Thanks, NealH and eXternal
A classical crossword. No complaints in construction; the sort I’d expect in the Times. A little uninspired perhaps – I guessed a certain hedge-dweller might have approved so came here to see. Sure enough, he pronounced it “nice”! Each to his own, but maybe I prefer something a little more off the wall…
Many thanks to Neal and eXternal.