Blimey, this was a bit of a workout. I’ve actually only just finished it after returning several times over the week. Good stuff though, and plenty of interesting and unfamiliar terms to get to grips with.
*=anagram, []=dropped, <=reversed. Hover to expand abbreviations.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | STAR-BLASTING – BRATS< + LASTING. |
| 10 | UROLAGNIA – OUR* + L + AGAIN*. |
| 11 | HINDER – two definitions: further back, and to hinder e.g. someone’s activities. |
| 12 | GROTTO – GROTT[y] + O[cean]. |
| 14 | DAHL – HAD< + L. Roald Dahl, I hardly need add. |
| 16 | AGITATION – A + GI + [s]TATION. |
| 17 | GULE – GU[i]LE. Hands up who else was looking for a Scottish river here. |
| 18 | ADHERE – (D + HE) in ARE. |
| 19 | IMMUNE – I’M + M[iss] + UNE. |
| 22 | EDEL – [film]ED EL[even]. I don’t recall hearing of Uli Edel, but the wordplay was very fair. |
| 24 | NANNYGHAI – NANNY + (HAG I)*. |
| 25 | TYND – T[otall]Y + N[ake]D. |
| 28 | IBIBIO – (B in II) + BIO. |
| 29 | IDEATE – E[urope] in I DATE. |
| 30 | CUNCATOR – (T in ACCOUNT*) + R. |
| 31 | SEXCENTENARY – SEX + (RECENT NAY)*. |
| Down | |
| 1 | SPHARAGISTICS – (RAG in HIST) in (S + PICS). |
| 2 | THINGUMMY – THIN + GUMMY. |
| 3 | AGNAIL – AG[o]N + AIL. |
| 4 | RUDE – [p]RUDE. |
| 5 | LORATE – [g]ET A ROL[e]<. |
| 6 | ALGA – G in [s]ALA[d]. |
| 7 | SARVODAYA – (ARVO + DAY) in IT. |
| 8 | INTAKE – TA in INKE[d]. |
| 9 | GAOL DELIVERY – (VIDEO GALLERY)*. |
| 13 | BARNABITE – BARN + A BIT + E[mpty]. |
| 15 | HEREAFTER – HE + (E in RAFTER). |
| 20 | MENINX – M + NINE< + X. |
| 21 | UNBITT – B in (UNIT + T). |
| 23 | DHYANA – HANDY* + A. This one didn’t seem to be in my Chambers, but it seemed plausible and a quick internet search confirmed it. |
| 26 | ROAN – A in NOR<. |
| 27 | FERN – Fe + Rn. |
This was my first Beelzebub after a two week holiday. I don’t recall too much difficultly with it but I was out Sunday night and didn’t get round to finishing it Monday afternoon. In the end, the only one I had trouble with was 24ac which needed an e-search – “nanny” for nurse just didn’t come to me.
I had the same experience with 23dn.
Vintage Beelzebub. I can only quote Hamlet, Act One, Scene One, Line 8. (Oh, all right: ‘For this relief much thanks’.) I too was puzzled not to find 25 down in Chambers, but fortunately I was familiar with the word.