A very enjoyable solve as always, and perhaps a little gentler than a couple of weeks that I’ve blogged recently.
In fact I got a little overexcited in trying for an unaided finish and invented MARST for 24 down. It could have been RAM[p]< + ST, but it was not to be.
*=anagram, []=dropped, <=reversed. Hover to expand abbreviations.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | SPECTACULAR – CAT< in SPECULAR. |
| 12 | FOGRAM – FOG + RAM. It looks like this is roughly where you get “old fogy” from. |
| 13 | RANULA – LUNAR< + A. |
| 14 | YOGURT – (RUG IN TOY)<. |
| 15 | ISRAELI – LEAR< in (IS + I). |
| 16 | ALOETIC – (E in A LOT) + I + C. |
| 18 | ABERRANT – ABER (from BEAR with the A moving forward) + RANT. |
| 19 | KITTY-CORNERED – (NOTED TRICKERY)*. |
| 22 | ENDYMION – Y in (ONE MIND)*. A poem by Keats which I didn’t think I’d heard of. Its first line is very well-known however. |
| 27 | MAGNATE – N in MA[r]GATE. |
| 28 | BAIRNLY – (I in BAR) + (L in NY). |
| 29 | SATRAP – SAT + RAP. |
| 30 | EARNEST – a kind of reverse compound-type anagram designed to confound my shorthand. ANSERMET* can give you TENSER + A + M. |
| 31 | INISLE – S in (I + NILE). |
| 32 | TETRADACTYL – (CATTLE AT DRY)*. |
| Down | |
| 2 | POOLE – a town in Dorset and a homophone of “pool”. |
| 3 | EGG ON – EG + GO + N. |
| 4 | CRUELTY-FREE – (FEY LECTURER)*. |
| 5 | TARTLY – TA + (T in RLY). |
| 6 | CHIC – I had to look it up, but the orange dye is chica, so this is CHIC[a]. |
| 7 | LARD – R in LAD. |
| 8 | ANACREONTIC – A + CONCERTINA*. |
| 9 | RUEDA – (A DE[m]UR|)<. |
| 10 | ALL ONE – (LO + N) in ALE. |
| 11 | WAIST-DEEP – (WIPED SEAT)*. |
| 14 | YANKEE BET – E[xposure]E in (YET BANK)*. |
| 17 | FERN – R in FEN. |
| 18 | ACID – C in AID. |
| 20 | INWARD – I + DRAWN<. |
| 21 | NAGANA – NAG + AN + A[ilment]. A disease of horses and cattle, so this is &lit. |
| 23 | DAINT – A in DINT. The poet in question is Spenser, of course. |
| 24 | KARST – RAK[e]< + ST. |
| 25 | ITALY – I TAL[l]Y. |
| 26 | ONST – [c]ONST[raints]. |
| 27 | MYNA – (ANY + M)<. |
You have a typo at 30ac. The answer is ERNEST not EARNEST, and of course refers to the famous Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet, whose records are still revered nearly fifty years after his death.
I didn’t know the poem at 22ac, but I did know of the name through things like the Endymion String Quartet. You’re right, it is a famous opening line. I didn’t know that is where it is from.
I can’t believe I failed to parse 27dn, now I see your explanation. Thanks for that.
Sadly missed 1333 today as was on a plane. Is there anyway of downloading and printing it. Otherwise cold turkey!