The good, the bad and the hackneyed
A very easy offering from Sayang this morning, with no clue requiring a second thought, and the whole grid completed as I ate my hotel breakfast this morning.
Good clues – 1,5ac, 7dn and 20dn
Bad clues, at least in my humble opinion (see below) – 26ac, 4dn, 8dn, 22dn
Hackneyed clues (once I’ve seen more than once before) – 12ac, 16ac, 28 ac, 18dn
| Across | ||
| 1, 5 | PLASTIC SURGEON |
He cuts open a girl’s form for cosmetic effects (7,7)
*(cuts open a girl’s) and &lit. |
| 10 | ONCE |
Previously in detoxification centre (4)
hidden in detoxificatiON CEntre |
| 11 | SOOTHSAYER |
True, Leo is a prophet (10)
SOOTH + (Leo) SAYER |
| 12 | BALLAD |
Comedienne Lucille with commercial song (6)
(Lucille) BALL + AD |
| 13 | SALESMAN |
Man’s seal broken by representative (8)
*(man’s seal) |
| 14 | RED CARPET |
Resort to favourite treatment for celebrity (3,6)
REDCAR + PET Redcar is a seaside resort in the North East of England. |
| 16 | BAKER |
His dozen may be unlucky for some (5)
Cryptic definition. A baker’s dozen = 13, which is “unlucky for some”. |
| 17 | ARMED |
Supplied a room for FT chief (5)
A-rm.-ed. |
| 19 | PLASTERED |
Rendered intoxicated (9)
Double definition |
| 23 | PLEASANT |
Delightful lake in rustic surrounding (8)
P(L)EASANT |
| 24 | RESULT |
Lustre refurbished for effect (6)
*(lustre) |
| 26 | PALINDROME |
Either way the same like Mum or Dad (10)
Not terribly cryptic definition, and I think the wordplay leads to an adjective (PALINDROMIC) rather than the noun. |
| 27 | TYRE |
Town in knotty region (4)
Hidden in “knotTY REgion” Assuming that this is Tyre n Lebanon, I think their residents would prefer “city” rathern than “town”. |
| 28 | LEARNED |
Erudite king rejected study (7)
(King) LEAR + <=DEN I must have seen this clue at least four times this year already. |
| 29 | STINKER |
Predicament of a hummer (7)
Double definition |
| Down | ||
| 2 | LINEAGE |
Ancestry is sequence of generation (7)
LINE + AGE |
| 3 | SHELL |
Case for the oil company (5)
Double definition |
| 4 | INSIDER |
Such illegal trading done secretly, right? (7)
INSIDE + R Not very cryptic. |
| 6 | UNHOLY |
One in Paris pronounced completely blasphemous (6)
UN + homophone of “wholly” |
| 7 | GLASSWARE |
Girl fighting in Georgia for carafes and sniffers, perhaps (9)
LASS + WAR in GE GE is the International Car Registration Number for Georgia. |
| 8 | OPERATE |
Work in the theatre? (7)
Not cryptic, although I can see what the setter is trying to do. |
| 9 | CONSTELLATION |
Hercules, perhaps, to clean silt on bananas (13)
*(to clean silt on) with “bananas” as an anagrind. Hercules is a constellation between Lyra and Corona Borealis. |
| 15 | CHEVALIER |
Knight who thanked heaven for little girls (9)
Maurice Chevalier sang “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” in Gigi |
| 18 | RELEASE |
Publication about tenancy (7)
RE + LEASE |
| 20 | SURFEIT |
Too much! Ref upset to be dragged into legal action (7)
*(ref) in SUIT |
| 21 | ENLARGE |
Expand General Assembly (7)
*(general) |
| 22 | CADDIE |
Tiger’s assistant, a scoundrel to the end (6)
CAD + DIE Tiger refers to Tiger Woods, the golfer. Don’t like “to the end” for DIE as these refer to different parts of speech. |
| 25 | SATIN |
Assembled trendy material (5)
SAT + IN |
Thanks Sayang and loonapick
Agree with your comments here – except I’d add 14a to the good! it really is the good, the bad and the ugly with this setter.
Missed the anagram in 1, 5 and now add that pne to the good as well !
No real holdups along the way and finished with GLASSWARE in just over the quarter hour – by far my quickest solve of a Sayang.
A gentle Tuesday offering indeed. For me this was more of a 23ac & 24ac, rather than a 29ac!
I especially liked 11ac – made me feel like dancing….
Cheers to all.
Thanks Loonapick and Sayang.
A gentle solve for a wet Tuesday lunchtime, though I must say that I don’t recognise ‘predicament’ or ‘hummer’ as synonyms for ‘stinker’, and I’ve never heard industrial Redcar described as a resort before!
Gerry@3
Agree that “predicament” is a loose def. for STINKER, but, at least where I come (Scotland) from “to hum” and “to smell badly” are definitely synonymous.
I wasn’t sure about Redcar being a resort either, only knowing of it via the racecourse, but Wikipedia describes it as a seaside resort.
Thanks loonapick and Sayang.
I agree with all your comments and those of other contributors.
1,5 was clever for both it’s construction and surface – although simple.
STINKER was anything but – a bit weak really.
And when It comes to holiday destinations, and without wanting to cause any offence to Teesiders, Redcar must be the last resort!