Dac has provided us with another pleasant Wednesday workout
One thing I notice about Dac’s clues, in addition to the excellent surfaces, is the fact that he doesn’t waste words. Many of the definitions are single words and the clues are models of brevity.
I solved this without too much difficulty Only the arty clues gave words with which I was not familiar – PALESTRINA [14 across] and AQUARELLE [2 down] although both were clearly clued. My leanings are towards analysis and science so OERSTED was known. I’m off to the DORDOGNE (12 across) later in the year so that clue was a nice reminder.
Clues I liked today included those for REEF (18 across), CONFOUNDED (5 down) and ADHESION (17 down)
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Fish with small head (7)
|
S (small; clothes size) + NAPPER (head)
|
SNAPPER (type of fish)
|
|
5
|
Small boat – gosh – one can go round lake (7)
|
COR (expression of surprise; gosh) + (ACE [one] containing [can go round] L [lake]) COR AC (L) E |
CORACLE (small boat)
|
|
9
|
Scholarship shown by head of Reading University in publication (9)
|
(R [first letter of {head of} READING] + U [university]) contained in (in) EDITION (publication) E (R U) DITION |
ERUDITION (scholarship)
|
|
10
|
Critical note? (5)
|
SHARP (harsh; critical)
|
SHARP (musical note raised a semitone) double definition
|
|
11
|
Some teachers are made a fool of, say, by class ultimately (6)
|
S (last letter of [ultimately] CLASS) + TRICT (sounds like [say] TRICKED [made a fool of])
|
STRICT (rigorous or severe; descriptive of some teachers)
|
|
12
|
Party held in retro English bar in French department (8)
|
DO (party) contained in (held in) ([ENG {English} + ROD {bar}] all reversed [retro]) DOR< (DO) GNE< |
DORDOGNE (a Department of France)
|
|
14
|
Least colourful band briefly introduces a musician of old (10)
|
PALEST (least colourful) + (RING [band] excluding the last letter [briefly] G) + A
|
PALESTRINA (reference Giovanni de PALESTRINA [1525 – 1594], Italian composer; musician of old)
|
|
15
|
Unspecified number among Football Association’s supporters (4)
|
N (mathematical reference for an unspecified number) contained in (among) FA’S (Football Associations’s) FA (N) S |
FANS (supporters)
|
|
18
|
Three follows drinking in bar (4)
|
REEF (hidden word in [drinking in] THREE FELLOWS)
|
REEF (shoal or bank; bar)
|
|
19
|
Local journal about engineer stirring up trouble (10)
|
(INN (public house; local) + DIARY [journal]) containing (about) CE (Civil Engineer) IN (CE) N DIARY |
INCENDIARY (a person who inflames passions or stirs up trouble)
|
|
21
|
In sum, oaf could become notorious (8)
|
Anagram of (could become) IN SUM OAF INFAMOUS* |
INFAMOUS (notorious)
|
|
23
|
Launch parody (4-2)
|
SEND UP (launch [into the air])
|
SEND-UP (parody)
|
|
26
|
Animal in a parade, facing the wrong way (5)
|
(A + MALL [parade [row of shops]) all reversed (facing the wrong way) (LLAM A)< |
LLAMA (example of an animal)
|
|
27
|
Warned education is failing (9)
|
Anagram of (is failing) EDUCATION CAUTIONED* |
CAUTIONED (warned)
|
|
28
|
Danish physicist long ago included in English dictionary (7)
|
ERST (at first; formerly; long ago) contained in (included in) OED (Oxford English Dictionary) O (ERST) ED |
OERSTED (reference Hans Christian OERSTED [177 – 1851], Danish physicist and chemist who led significant advances in the understanding of magnetic fields)
|
|
29
|
Function to cease, with no time fixed for resumption (4,3)
|
SINE (trigonometrical function) + DIE (cease)
|
SINE DIE (indefinitely adjourned; no time fixed for resumption)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
More than one Wimbledon hopeful gives up, by the sound of it (5)
|
SEEDS (sounds like [by the sound of it] CEDES [gives up])
|
SEEDS (top players at Wimbledon are SEEDed in the draw to avoid playing each other until the later stage, though many don’t reach that stage)
|
|
2
|
A heartless dispute over the French painting style (9)
|
A + (QUARREL [dispute; tiff] excluding the middle letter [heartless] R) + LE (one of the French forms of the word ‘the’)
|
AQUARELLE (watercolour painting)
|
|
3
|
Member of royal family included in magazines, perhaps (8)
|
INC (included) contained in (in) PRESS (magazines, for example) PR (INC) ESS |
PRINCESS (member of royal family)
|
|
4
|
Not the first to stalk wading bird (4)
|
TRAIL (stalk) excluding (not) the leading letter (first) T
|
RAIL (example of a wading bird)
|
|
5
|
Damned Conservative provided with money, having saved nothing (10)
|
CON (Conservative) + (FUNDED [provided with money] containing [having saved] O [nothing]) CON F (O) UNDED |
CONFOUNDED (damned)
|
|
6
|
Dwell on swindle every now and then (6)
|
RE (with reference to; on) + SIDE (letters 1, 3, 5 and 7 [now and then] of SWINDLE)
|
RESIDE (dwell)
|
|
7
|
Actor‘s exploding cigar (5)
|
Anagram of (exploding) CIGAR CRAIG* |
CRAIG (reference Daniel CRAIG [1968 – date], English actor, best known at the moment for playing James Bond)
|
|
8
|
Train reaching Londonderry empty? Absolutely (9)
|
EXPRESS (type of train) + LY (letters that remain when all the letters ONDONDERR forming the centre of LONDONDERRY are removed)
|
EXPRESSLY (absolutely)
|
|
13
|
Very noticeable it’s said (10)
|
PRONOUNCED (very noticeable)
|
PRONOUNCED (uttered; said) double definition
|
|
14
|
Liking first section, with vocal accompaniment? (7,2)
|
(PART [section] + I [one] together giving first section) + ALTO (singing voice; vocal accompaniment) PART I AL TO |
PARTIAL TO (having a preference for; liking)
|
|
15
|
Uninhibited group I accommodated in trailer? (9)
|
(BAND [group] + ONE [I]) contained in (accommodated in) AD (advertisement; trailer [for a film say]) A (BAND ONE) D |
ABANDONED (uninhibited)
|
|
17
|
A wild hedonist has no time for bonding (8)
|
A + an anagram of (wild) HEDONIST excluding (has no) T (time) A DHESION* |
ADHESION (bonding)
|
|
20
|
Effect of bill introduced by one MP (6)
|
I (one) + MP + ACT (bill and ACT are not the same. Legislative proposals come to the House in the form of a bill; only when the proposals are passed does the bill become an ACT) I suppose the effect of a good bill is that it becomes an ACT without much debate or amendment. Many bills fail to become ACTs without significant amendment and others fail to become ACTs at all
|
IMPACT (effect of)
|
|
22
|
League leader impressed by sporting talent (5)
|
L (first letter of [leader] LEAGUE) contained in (impressed by) FAIR (sporting) F (L) AIR |
FLAIR (talent)
|
|
24
|
Stuff religious education! (He wouldn’t say that) (5)
|
PAD (stuff) + RE (Religious Education)
|
PADRE (priest; one who would not say ‘stuff Religious Education’)
|
|
25
|
Show us shiftily pocketing weed (4)
|
WUSS (hidden word in [pocketing] SHOW US SHIFTILY)
|
WUSS (weakling; weed)
|
Thanks duncanshiell and Dac. I got thoroughly stuck on the arty left side, and was never going to get out of it due to having SKIPPER at 1a. I still think it’s a better answer.
Cyborg@1 – I sympathise to a degree, but I would use “kipper” for face rather than head, while “napper” is the whole head as far as I know. STRICT was my LOI after I finally got the PALESTRINA/AQUARELLE crossers. As always with Dac, I enjoyed the puzzle.
Thanks to both! Oersted was new to me and I had Michael Craig in mind for the actor.
Andy @2, I read the clue the other way around to get my erroneous answer: fish->KIPPER and head->SKIPPER. I think “with” as a charade indicator doesn’t impose a strict order on the components, so that “fish with small” could legitimately give S+KIPPER.
Anyway, thanks for the sympathy!
Nothing I didn’t know here, though I was held up a bit on 19ac thinking ‘engineer’ had to be RE (as in Royal Engineers); could have kicked myself when I realised it was CE, having spent much of my career working with civil engineers! CORACLE was my CoD.
Thanks, Dac and Duncan