A delightful pleasant puzzle from a much welcome setter today. Redshank gives us a relatively easy challenge with appropriate sprinkles of innovative cluing and generally clean surfaces. A couple of clues caught my fancy, especially 24ac and 7d. Thanks to Redshank, who rounds off an incredible week for the FT aficionados.
If there was only one gripe, I think 27Ac needs to be put in the freezer.
FF: 9 DD: 8
| Across | ||
| 1 | YACHTS |
Boats stop heading west around Cape Horn initially (6)
YATS (stop = stay, heading west = revversed, in an across clue) around CH (Cape Horn initially) |
| 4 | SPIRACLE |
Breathing space for fish in various places flanking one river (8)
Anagram of PLACES around I (one) R (river) |
| 9 | AMULET |
Charm consists of a cross close to amethyst (6)
A MULE (cross – donkey horse) T (close to amethysT) |
| 10 | BOUFFANT |
Polish worker retains old hairdo (8)
[BUFF (polish) ANT (worker)] retains O (old) |
| 12 | BLACK HOLE |
There’s no escaping this boycott intact, I’m told (5,4)
BLACK (boycott) wHOLE (intact, sounds like) |
| 13 | REACT |
Cast are at court to give a response (5)
Anagram of ARE before CT (court) |
| 14 | ONE ARMED BANDIT |
Bet on it endlessly, and dream, going bust? (3-5,6)
&Lit, anagram of BET ON It (endlessly) AND DREAM |
| 17 | GLOSSY MAGAZINE |
Interpret amazing spread in the old Vogue perhaps (6,8)
GLOSS (interpret) [anagram of AMAZING in YE (old english for ‘the’)] |
| 21 | MACHO |
Red-blooded pilot’s speed approaching sound barrier? (5)
MACH O (pilot’s speed approaching sound barrier would be Mach-0) |
| 22 | ENLIGHTEN |
Tell 18 to spend euros touring Holland (9)
EIGHTEeN (18, without E, spend Euros) touring NL (Holland, Netherlands) |
| 24 | OVENWARE |
It’s used inside and over a new stove (8)
An excellent clue this – anagram of OVER A NEW with ‘stove’ being used as past tense for ‘stave’ for anagram indication duties, and also lending itself to the cooking apparatus interpretation which would have the entire clue marked as the definition. |
| 25 | ENAMEL |
VIP entertained by the Spanish Crown Protector (6)
NAME (vip) in EL (‘the’ in Spanish) |
| 26 | HASHEESH |
Man’s in mess ingesting drug – this one? (8)
[ HE’S (Man’s) in HASH (mess) ] ingesting E (drug, Ecstacy) |
| 27 | CRISIS |
Credit is doubled in emergency (6)
CR (credit) IS IS (is doubled) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | YEARBOOK |
Annual July closure on busy Bakerloo Line scrapped (8)
Y (julY closure) on anagram of BAKERlOO (line scrapped i.e. without the L) |
| 2 | COURAGE |
Bottle’s about as old as we are (7)
C (about) OUR AGE (as old as we are) |
| 3 | TWEAK |
Pinch the seven days in Yorkshire? (5)
THE WEEK in Yorkshire would be pronounced T’he WEAK (sounds like) – I am guessing this so improvements are welcome. |
| 5 | PROVERBIALLY |
Verify recipe by hosting one and all in customary fashion (12)
PROVE (verify) R (recipe) [ BY hosting { I (one) ALL} ] |
| 6 | REFERENDA |
Polls are free for a change across North Dakota (9)
Anagram of ARE FREE across ND (north dakota) |
| 7 | CHAPATI |
Irishman tucked into Indian tea and bread (7)
PAT (irishman) in CHAI (indian tea) – And the meaning is an Indian bread. Very nice clue ! 🙂 |
| 8 | ESTATE |
What’s left in Maine perhaps? (6)
Maine is an Eastern State in the US. Thus E-STATE. |
| 11 | LONELY HEARTS |
They hope to get dates at 51 Harley St to be treated (6,6)
L (roman for 50) ONE (the 1 in 51) anagram of HARLEY ST |
| 15 | ROSS ON WYE |
Big lad with whiskey bottles in Herefordshire town (4-2-3)
[OS (big) SON (lad) W (with)] in RYE (whiskey, bottles in) |
| 16 | REYNOLDS |
Did he portray only nuts among lefties? (8)
Anagram of ONLY in REDS (lefties) – Joshua Reynolds |
| 18 | LACKEYS |
Servants want back to be taken off lockers (7)
LACk (want, back removed) KEYS (lockers) |
| 19 | ISTHMUS |
This mad American’s investing millions in strip of land (7)
[ ISTH (anagram of THIS) US (American) ] around M (investing Millions) |
| 20 | SMOOTH |
Subject to debate, Mum’s secured flat (6)
MOOT (subject to debate) in SH (mum) |
| 23 | GONER |
Energetic person inhales nitrogen? He’s doomed (5)
GOER (energetic person) inhaling N (nitrogen) |
Thanks, Turbolegs – I’m glad you enjoyed this one.
Not much to add to your preamble – lots of typically inventive clues and smooth surfaces: I particularly liked ONE-ARMED BANDIT, ENLIGHTEN, COURAGE and CHAPATI [which I blogged yesterday in the Guardian puzzle as CHAPATTI], LONELY HEARTS and ISTHMUS [because I like saying the word].
Many thanks, Redshank.
Eileen — impressive to be able to say isthmus: I never can. But look, why is Mach 0 (21 across) the speed of a pilot approaching the sound barrier? Surely if he/she is approaching the sound barrier then the speed is Mach 0.9 or 0.95 or 0.99 or something like that, but not Mach 0. When the aircraft is standing on the runway it is at Mach 0, but nobody would say that it is “approaching the sound barrier”. What am I failing to understand here?
Indeed lots of varied and inventive cluing. Very enjoyable. Thanks Redshank and Tl.
@davida. Agreed. Though non-technical usage often seems confined to integer values!
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
Have just completed this full week of puzzles that were spread over a long period of time (months) and found most of them pretty tough. Did this one on a 2 hour plane flight from Melbourne to Maroochydore witbout recourse to any external aids – was able to write the last one in, GLOSSY MAGAZINE, on the descent.
Don’t know if I would have termed it as ‘relatively easy’ ! Certainly needed some focused thinking to get it done – with SPIRACLE a new word thst I had to follow up with when the internet reappeared. Also needed to cerify ROSS-ON-WYE was a town.
Typical large variety of clue devices, but had the same slight concern, as above, that MACH 0 was approaching the speed of sound – although it was clear what he was getting at .
Now another backlog week put to rest.