A very easy mixed bag
Some of the clues in here are clever, but the majority are average, with one or two that have been used many times before, and a couple where there isn’t enough difference between the fodder and the solution (SINGER and SAIL for example).
The crossword itself only took about 4-5 minutes to solve.
| Across | ||
| 8, 9 | DOW JONES INDEX |
New York indicator down; joined sex orgy (3,5,5)
*(down joined sex) |
| 10 | FAIR |
Fine female character (4)
F + AIR |
| 11 | UNEQUALLED |
A dull queen frantic without peer (10)
*(a dull queen) |
| 12 | COUPLE |
Husband and wife upset the French (6)
COUP + LE COUP is a good Scot’s word for “spill” or “knock over” |
| 14 | STILETTO |
Good man I hired to obtain dagger (8)
ST + I + LET + TO |
| 15 | HEARSAY |
Report that such evidence is not admissble (7)
Double definition, or cryptic defintion. It’s neither in my book. |
| 17 | SENATOR |
Andersen, a Tory hosting American politician (7)
hidden in (“hosting”) AnderSEN A TORy |
| 20 | APPETITE |
Hunger for a pie – favourite tin-opener included (8)
A + P(PET)I (T)E The wordplay in the clue doesn’t work for me as it indicates A + (PET-T)IE |
| 22 | STEREO |
Way before our first music equipment (6)
ST + ERE + O (“our first”, i.e first letter of “our”) |
| 23 | CASTRATION |
Players share power cut (10)
CAST + RATION |
| 24 | SAND |
Smooth bed lining (4)
Double definition SAND = “use sandpaper” = “smooth”, and is also the lining of a sand bed.
|
| 25 | ELOPE |
Take part in an away match (5)
Cryptic definition – like it! |
| 26 | EYELINER |
Cosmetic watch? Ship back (8)
EYE + LINER |
| Down | ||
| 1 | COMATOSE |
Unconscious, comes to – a development (8)
*(comes to a) |
| 2 | AJAR |
A container partially open (4)
If I had a £ for every time I’d seen this clue… |
| 3 | ENDURE |
Last to be over river (6)
I may be missing something, but is “Last” doing double duty in this clue? END = “Last” over URE (“river”) |
| 4 | ASPERSE |
When soft language is used to denigrate (7)
AS + P + ERSE |
| 5 | FIGURINE |
Gunfire I redirected at idol (8)
*(gunfire I) |
| 6 | ADULTERATE |
Water down ale? True, tad disturbing (10)
*(ale true tad) |
| 7 | EXPERT |
Specialist used to be cheeky (6)
EX-PERT as in “was once pert” |
| 13 | PERFECTION |
Ideal according to splinter group caught by some (10)
PER + FECTION (homophone, supposedly, of FACTION). Even with the qualifying “for some”, I struggle with FECTION as a homophone fo FACTION, but then as a Scot, I hate a lot of homophone clues. |
| 16 | ANIMATED |
Raving at maiden, bright- eyed and bushy-tailed (8)
*(at maiden) |
| 18 | OLEANDER |
O! Heroic lover of evergreen shrub (8)
O + LEANDER (lover of Hero in Greek mythology) |
| 19 | DECIBEL |
Writer diving in river left a sound measure (7)
DE(<+BIC)E + L |
| 21 | PLANET |
Pluto declassified as one representation film (6)
PLAN + E.T. |
| 22 | SINGER |
Rod Stewart, perhaps, to perform before her majesty (6)
SING before E.R This is a lazy clue in my opinion. |
| 24 | SAIL |
Moonraker, for one, put to sea (4)
Double definition (kind of!) |
Re your Comment under 3d:
Perhaps the setter expects us to get END from “to be over”
END (to be over) plus URE (river)
Rishi@1
That makes sense!
Thanks Loonapick.
I share some of your reservations (22d and 20ac, for example).
In the latter Sayang should have indicated that PET and T must be inserted separately.
I did like the reversal indicator in 19d (‘diving’) very much.
Isn’t ‘idol’ a bit strong to define FIGURINE (5d)?
What is ‘back’ doing in 26ac?
All in all a gentle affair in which 15ac defeated me.
Many thanks to Sayang.
Sil van der Hoek@3
26 ac – I think the back is to indicate that Liner is at the back of Eye, so acceptable, in my opinion.
@4: but that is the order of things in the clue already.
The clue doesn’t need ‘back’ other than perhaps for the surface.
Just put ‘back’ behind something to indicate it comes after something else?
How loose is that?
Very odd.
[well, that’s what it is in my book]
@5
I can see where you’re coming from, but clues often have these indicators (“before”, “with”, “above” etc). I agree that this example is clumsy, but it’s not the biggest crime in this puzzle.
Thanks Sayang and loonapick
Agree with your overall feel of the puzzle – can only get one finished closer to the 20 minute mark (never sub 10) – guess that I must be a very slow writer !!!
I left 13d unparsed … and even with my loose acceptance of most homophones – I can’t think of any accent that would get ‘fection’ to come out as faction – even out NZer friends would struggle to get close to that !
22dn a shockingly weak clue – I refused to put it in for some minutes. Perhaps it was supposed to be some sort of double bluff…
Thanks loonapick.
As a fellow Scot I agree with your comment about crossword homophones.
This one caused me problems at the HEARSAY-PERFECTION junction:
_E_R?_A_ took some time.
I liked Sayang’s indicator though: caught by some.
brucew@aus @7
One example of the ‘some’ would be a so-called upper middle-class Edinburgh accent.
Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films would probably
come out with ‘fection’ for faction!