An educational Tuesday challenge
I didn’t know anything about Bronx cheers or pan-Arabism before this puzzle, so thanks NEO for a pleasant challenge, with some excellent surfaces.
| Across | ||
| 9 | EMANATION | Issue beginning to engage mother country (9) |
| E(ngage) + MA + NATION | ||
| 10 | BRONX | Burglar eviscerated on cross in cheery NY location? (5) |
| B(urgla)r + ON + X (“cross”)
“Making a Bronx cheer” is an American term for “blowing a raspberry” |
||
| 11 | LEERING | Member tours old Ireland with lecherous look (7) |
| ERIN (“old Ireland”) in LEG (“member”) | ||
| 12 | AVENGER | One settles score against English in rage (7) |
| V E in ANGER | ||
| 13 | NOD | Revolutionary 8 teacher to bend back and forth (3) |
| <=DON (teacher at Oxbridge) | ||
| 14 | BADTEMPERED | Naughty secretary Reed sacked becomes angry (3-8) |
| BAD + TEMP + *(Reed) | ||
| 17 | SHREW | Mean-spirited woman takes hour in work with needle (5) |
| HR “(hour”) in SEW | ||
| 18 | ALI | Ringmaster from Halifax (3) |
| Hidden in hALIfax.
Referring of course to Mohammed Ali. |
||
| 19 | NACRE | New land area provides irridescent stuff (5) |
| N + ACRE (“land area”)
NACRE is another name for “mother of pearl” |
||
| 21 | SCHLESINGER | School performer entertains the French film director (11) |
| LE (“the FRench”) in Sch. SINGER
John Schlesinger directed some great movies, including “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Midnight Cowboy” |
||
| 23 | LOW | 50 overs, then wicket having little value (3) |
| L (“50”) + O (“overs”) + W (“wicket”) | ||
| 25 | EARNING | National Insurance to fall within revised range on salary (7) |
| N.I. in *(range) | ||
| 27 | AMBIENT | Little girl vanishes from conflicted background (7) |
| VAL (“little girl”) vanishes from AMBIVALENT (“conflicted”) | ||
| 28 | SHELL | Skeleton causing son a nightmare (5) |
| S(on) + HELL | ||
| 29 | IMPASSIVE | With mischief-maker and fool I have to be unmoved (9) |
| IMP (“mischief-maker”) + ASS (“fool”) + I’VE | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BERLIN | Huge carnivore denied area left in capital (6) |
| BE(a)R + L + IN | ||
| 2 | CALENDAR | Capone’s death in vehicle? Days numbered here? (8) |
| AL END “(Capone’s death”) in CAR | ||
| 3 | DAVID BOWIE | Multi-talented artist traps keen crook in decline (5,5) |
| AVID BOW (“keen crook” in DIE (“decline”) | ||
| 4 | SING | Something evil and good in grass (4) |
| SIN + G | ||
| 5 | UNWAVERING | Resolute peacekeepers fly across state (10) |
| UN (“peacekeepers”) + AVER (“state”) in WING (“fly”) | ||
| 6 | OBOE | Vagrant without hospital place finally gets instrument (4) |
| (h)OBO + (plac)E | ||
| 7 | LODGER | Tenant right underneath Masonic meeting-place (6) |
| LODGE(“Masonic meeting-place) + R | ||
| 8 | OXBRIDGE | Beast on way over to find top universities (8) |
| OX (“beast”) + BRIDGE (“way over”) | ||
| 15 | DRAWINGPIN | Board fixer in extract secures victory over GP (7-3) |
| WIN + GP in DRAIN (“extract”) | ||
| 16 | PANARABIST | Silly brats a pain for Nasser? (3- 7) |
| *(brats a pain)
Nasser, president of Egypt from 1956 to 1970, was a propoent of pan-Arabism. |
||
| 17 | SUSPENSE | Hanging American writers in south-east (8) |
| US PENS (“American writers”) in S.E. | ||
| 20 | CALLED IN | Learner in Iceland explosively summoned (6,2) |
| L in *(Iceland) | ||
| 22 | HEROES | Man has to catch some deer for Achilles et cetera (6) |
| ROE (“deer”) in HE’S (“man has”) | ||
| 24 | WITHER | Shrivel up accompanied by the monarch (6) |
| WITH E.R. | ||
| 26 | ISLE | It could be stormy: Lewis wife departs (4) |
| *(lewis – w)
Many islands are known as “Stormy Isles” (Azores, Orkney, some of the Hebrides, etc) |
||
| 27 | ALPS | Record to break when in range (4) |
| LP in AS (“when”) | ||
*anagram
Thanks for the blog Loonapick. RE 14 ac. Reed is a large employment agency which I think adds to the surface. Very enjoyable and very precise, thanks Neo.
Er.. not to mention the David Bowie theme – LOW, LODGER & HEROES, the BERLIN albums. Probably more..
Thanks Neo and loonapick
peterj @ 2: well spotted. You can also add AMBIENT (many of the tracks on LOW)
Nice! Good idea to limit references to the BERLIN trilogy, I’ve seen one other Bowie puzzle that tried to encompass much, and of course you really can’t get it all, there’s such a lot from the great man. Great clues too, I enjoyed ALI the ‘ringmaster’.
Thanks to loonapick and Neo.
Echo jmac, this is very neat. A nice way to say cheerio to a very fine artist.
Thanks Neo and loonapick.
Many thanks to all esp loonapick.
Thanks to peterj for spotting my humble tribute to Mr Jones, whose music is a joy to behold no matter where one alights upon the timeline. Berlin stuff is my fave, but when young, I just couldn’t stop listening to Hunky Dory, Pin-Ups and Aladdin Sane. What a guy! What a gal! Whatever, he was always great.
Cheers all.
Neo.
Thanks Neo and loonapick
Did this one last week but only checked it off tonight. Was an odd puzzle for me … there were a lot of clue constructions that felt forced or just sort of basic, which is unusual for this fellow, but others such as ALI, AMBIENT and PAN-ARABIST that were excellent.
Brilliant ghost theme (which I missed) and tribute to DAVID BOWIE more than made up for it.
A couple that I had to do a double take to get the parsing – AMBIVALENT and SHELL (my last one in).
Thanks Neo and loonapick.
Raced to the end without spotting the theme – par for the course with me.
Fortunately knew the Bronx Cheer – nice surface- and was pleased to parse AMBIENT.
With reference to 1dn, I always thought that most Bears were omnivores.