I learned some interesting new words this week. Thank you AZED.
| Across | ||
| 1 | APSO |
See 25 (4)
|
| 4 | CEREBRUM |
Beak’s patch, Midland city – are its cells ever full? (8)
CERE (part of a bird’s beak) BRUM (Birmingham, city in the Midlands) |
| 10 | VITELLICLE |
Paltry rings to count I see in yolk sac (10)
VILE (paltry) contains (rings) TELL (to count) I C (see, name of letter) |
| 12 | GLIKE |
Grand characteristic of Shakespearian jest (5)
G (grand) LIKE (characteristic of) |
| 13 | FUTON |
Sofa bed to set in play (5)
TO inside (set in) FUN (play). I was somewhat blindsided by this one; it being quite straightforward with no obscure words at all. |
| 15 | TAKEOUT |
Escort, American Indian possibly? (7)
TAKE OUT (escort |
| 16 | SCEPTRED |
Regal Peter wrongly presented in heart of Russian record (8)
PETER* anagram=wrongly in rusSian (heart of) and CD (record) |
| 17 | SALSA |
Sauce, special, included in uncooked dish mostly (5)
S (special) in SALAd (uncooked dish, mostly) |
| 18 | STOLEN |
Small weight? One’s worried about pound lifted (6)
ST (stone, small=abbrev) ONE* anagram=is worried containing (about) L (pound) |
| 19 | ERBIUM |
Swedish element, one constrained by word from Rome (not the first) (6)
I (one) in vERBUM (word, Latin) missing first letter |
| 21 | DOUMA |
Elected council confer university degree (5)
DO (confer) U (university) MA (degree). Do=confer is in the dictionary, but I would be grateful if someone could give me an example usage as I can’t think of one. |
| 23 | PLASTRAL |
Final bit of rim in china, of tortoiseshell in part (8)
LAST (final) Rim (first letter, bit of) in PAL (china, mate rhyming slang) – tortoise shell, tortoiseshell split into parts |
| 26 | PILATES |
With haemorrhoids around, working on exercise regime (7)
AT (working on) inside (with…around) PILES (haemorrhoids) |
| 28 | ENATE |
Like outgrowths consumed, with last well forward (5)
EATEN (consumed) with the last letter moved a long way forward |
| 29 | YENTA |
US shrew, long tail reduced by half (5)
YEN (long) with TAil (reduced by half) – a troublesome Jewish woman in USA |
| 30 | THE HEAVIES |
A bit of a giggle in TV, i.e. as broadcast? Serious reading required (10, 2 words)
HE-HE (a bit of a giggle) in (TV IE AS)* anagram=broadcast |
| 31 | STAYLESS |
Lasses try letting middle go, getting dressed without corsets? (8)
anagram (getting dressed) of LASSES and TrY (missing middle letter) |
| 32 | KARA |
Strong drink knocked back? One of five for Sikh (4)
ARAK (strong drink) reversed (knocked back) – Sikh religious bracelet, one of 5 articles of faith |
| Down | ||
| 1 | AVGAS |
Aircraft fuel, volume imported by chief officers (5)
V (volume) in AGAS (chief officers) |
| 2 | PILOCARPINE |
Extract of exotic plants cultivated on Capri in large amount, … (11)
(ON CAPRI)* anagram=cultivated in PILE (large amount) |
| 3 | STIPEL |
… One of which is crushed under stone, a leafy appendage (6)
PILE* (a large amount from previous clue?) anagram=crushed under ST (stone) – I’m not sure I have this explanation right |
| 4 | CLEM |
Without fringe elements musclemen become famished (4)
musCLEMen missing some outer letters (fringe elements) |
| 5 | ELYTRUM |
What covers wings, truly concealed inside them (7)
TRULY* anagram=concealed in ‘EM (them) |
| 6 | RIMAE |
Small openings eastern prince found on the way up (5)
E (eastern) with AMIR (prince) reversed (found on the way up) |
| 7 | BLUETOOTH |
Shortwave connector (but the loo is out!) (9)
(BUT THE LOO)* anagram=is out |
| 8 | RETOOL |
Provide new equipment for rising vandal (6)
LOOTER (vandal) reversed (rising) |
| 9 | MONTANA |
A wee thing rising about noon, in a state (7)
AN ATOM (a wee thing) reversed (rising) containing N (noon) |
| 11 | HOUSEMASTER |
No member of dayschool staff in endless time before term getting replacement for the fourth (11)
HOUr (time, endless) before SEMeSTER (term) with 4th letter changed to A – the head of a house in a boarding school, though I can’t see any reason why a house master could not be the head of a house in a day school just as well. |
| 14 | OPSIMATHY |
Tho’ my pa is doddery… he may enjoy this in U3A (9)
(THO MY PA IS)* anagram=doddery – the University of the Third Age, for elderly learners |
| 17 | SEA-PENS |
Internal shells since old must retain copy (7, 2 words)
SEEN (since, archaic) must contain APE (copy) – internal shells of squid |
| 18 | SMASHES |
Wee Scottish lasses, anything but turkeys! (7)
SMA (small, Scottish) SHES (lasses) – not flops |
| 20 | BALATA |
Rubber substitute turning up where scientists work? (6)
AT A LAB (where scientists work) reversed (turning up) |
| 22 | URANIA |
High-class queen, one Aphrodite (6)
U (high class) RANI (a queen) with A (one) |
| 24 | LETHE |
Senile Thespian must contain such memory-loss (5)
found inside seniLE THEspian |
| 25, 1 Across | LHASA APSO |
Dog going berserk in a shop, alas (9, 2 words)
(A SHOP ALAS)* anagram=going berzerk |
| 27 | NYAS |
City copper, old, once unfledged (4)
NY (city) AS ( |
definitions are underlined
Thanks to AZED and PeeDee
15ac
As PeeDee says ‘an Indian’ is the definition (as in ‘Let’s get an Indian from the takeaway’) and ‘escort’ is the subsidiary indication. What we call takeaways the americans call take-outs.
Thanks for the blog, PeeDee.
Agree with you about HOUSEMASTER. At 27 down, AS is in fact a Roman copper coin – the comma is misleading.
Quite right Norman I was getting confused, and thanks to bridgesong for AS being an old copper coin. I knew that but was well fooled by AZED.