We hadn’t come across this setter before. An enjoyable crossword, and not at all flimsy.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SUCH AS IT IS |
Suit – cash is arranged for what it’s worth (4,2,2,2)
An anagram (arranged) of SUIT, CASH and IS. |
| 7 | DASH |
Suggestion – throw dart (4)
Triple definition. |
| 9 | LENT |
Fast time ends in medal alongside Usain Bolt (4)
The final letters (ends) of the final four words of the clue. |
| 10 | RAGAMUFFIN |
Urchin to scoff a cake (10)
RAG (scoff or deride) + A + MUFFIN (cake). |
| 11 | CHALET |
Talk about the French villa in the Alps? (6)
CHAT surrounding LE |
| 12 | THOROUGH |
Finished inhaling oxygen? Perfect (8)
THROUGH (finished) with O for oxygen inserted. |
| 13 | FANDANGO |
Enthusiast – someone desperate to perform a dance (8)
FAN (enthusiast) + DAN (Desperate Dan, the Dandy character) +GO (perform, as in go well) |
| 15 | TUNE |
Cricket uneventful, partly resulting in adjustment to pitch (4)
Contained in the first two words of the clue. Pitch refers to sound. |
| 17 | SODA |
Small fuss over drink (4)
S for small plus ODA (ado, or fuss, reversed, or over). |
| 19 | EMPYREAN |
Heavenly men pay ‘er off (8)
An anagram (off) of MEN, PAY and ER. |
| 22 | EUPHORIA |
Joy from pie author cooked, after temperature’s dropped (8)
An anagram of pie and auhor (author minus t for temperature) |
| 23 | CACHET |
Prestige store opening in Tottenham (6)
CACHE (store or stash) plts T, the first letter (opening) of Tottenham. |
| 25 | TEARJERKER |
Gallop with donkey and Her Royal Highness gets weepy (10)
TEAR (gallop) plus JERK (prat, or donkey) plus ER. Where do I begin? |
| 26 | AVOW |
Maintain a very painful expression (4)
A plus V for very plus OW, an ejaculation of pain. We originally had aver, which is contained in the clue, but it has to be avow to fit with the intersecting answer. |
| 27 | STOP |
Peter out to return large sum of money (4)
POTS (as in loadsamoney) backwards |
| 28 | DARK MATTER |
Market trade almost exploded – it’s conjectured to be about 90% of everything (4,6)
An anagram (exploded) of almost all the letters of market trade (the final e is omitted). |
| Down | ||
| 2 | URETHRA |
You’re thrashed? To an extent one has to go through it (7)
Contained in the first two words of the clue. Go as in go to the toilet. |
| 3 | HOTEL |
Inn’s spicy meals regularly ignored (5)
HOT (spicy) plus the even-numbered letters of meals |
| 4 | SCRUTINY |
Cur’s barking before wee analysis (8)
An anagram (barking) of CURS, plus TINY (wee) |
| 5 | TIGHTROPE WALKER |
Pile the artwork up, holding bottom of ceiling – one could be high and wobbly (9,6)
An anagram (up) of PILE THE ARTWORK and G, the final leyyer of ceiling. |
| 6 | SUMMON |
Get together the whole day (6)
SUM is the whole and MON is the day. |
| 7 | DEFROSTER |
Fed up with roll? It could come out with icing (9)
DEF (fed backwards) plus ROSTER (muster roll). The definition could have been better. |
| 8 | SMIDGEN |
Touch second fly with tip of nose (7)
S for second plus MIDGE, a flying insect, plus N, the first letter (tip) of nose. |
| 14 | DEATHTRAP |
Hated rolling next to bunker – this is a hazard (9)
An anagram (rolling) of hated, plus TRAP as a bunker is on a golf course. |
| 16 | SPECTRUM |
Small with device for playing the guitar learner’s forgotten scale (8)
S for small plus PECTRUM (plectrum without L for learner). |
| 18 | OPULENT |
Grand piano in Oxford University given for hire (7)
P for piano inserted into OU for Oxford University plus LENT, or given for hire. |
| 20 | AWESOME |
A couple of bridge players certain to be brilliant (7)
A plus W and E (two of the four positions in bridge) plus SOME (certain, or divers). |
| 21 | FRIEND |
Female redesigned in red brick (6)
F for female plus an anagram (redesigned) of in red. As in, “You’re a brick” |
| 24 | COAST |
Price to tour a beach (5)
COST (price) surrounding A. |
I thought that the “-” in 7A is the main part of the clue
7A is a quadruple definition I believe!
1,2 Triple, quadruple, whatever. You got the point.
Thanks for a good challenge flimsy and an equally good blog David.
Aid@1 – Good catch there!! I totally missed the quadruple def – you don’t get many of those around.
Cheers
TL
Dash it all, I missed it too.
Thanks Flimsy and David and Linda.
Thanks D&L and Flimsy.
I enjoyed this a lot. Maybe because it was completable after the previous day’s masking at the hands of Monk.
There are a good mix of styles and a new word for me – EMPYREAN.
I did see all 4 definitions at 7ac and I particularly liked the clue for OPULENT – not sure why really. I even liked DEFROSTER at 7dn even though I struggle to find a normal usage.
So thanks.
Thanks Flimsy and D&L
The usual straightforward, but entertaining offering from this setter with no real holdups throughout. Particularly liked the quadruple definition with 7a (didn’t spot the punctuation one either and was surprised at the apparent tetchy reaction @3).
Finished in the NE corner with DASH, DEFROSTER and SUMMON the last few in.
bruce7 Not tetchy – my comment at 3 certainly wasn’t meant to give that impression. As I’ve said before, I believe in a purposive approach. Once an answer is nailed beyond all possible doubt I cannot be bothered to examine it to the nth degree. As I’ve said before, it’s about as fruitful as examining the contents of the lavatory pan. So if it’s a double Salchow or a triple Lutz I can’t get too excited.