Apologies for the delay to today’s blog – a tussle with Tees. The lack of that extra week now the prize element is no longer with us is my lame excuse.
Luckily for me not one of Tees’ most tricky puzzles. Though a few where I needed a dictionary to confirm the word I’d deduced from the wordplay.
12ac, 24ac, 1dn, 15dn and 18dn were all new words for me but all well sign-posted in the clues.
Favourite clue – had to be 1ac – hopefully the Poldark reference was not too obscure for some. 13ac made me laugh.
Many thanks Tees for a nice spring-time crossword
Key
* anagram; Re. reverse; DD double definition; underline definition
Across
1 This thread cut by Poldark wife? (9)
Cord (thread) around Ross (Poldark) + w (wife) = CROSSWORD
6 Is back among drinkers dry and continent (4)
Re (is) in AA (dry drinkers) = ASIA
10 Bachelor flat from here one may observe (5)
B (bachelor) + limp (flat) = BLIMP
11 Reprobate looked into bank firstly before accepting money (9)
Lib (looked into bank firstly) + ere(before) around tin (money) = LIBERTINE
12 Copper with old lady runs home – that makes blood thinner (7)
Cu(copper) + ma (old lady) + r (runs) + in (home) = CUMARIN
13 IRS detains a few in compounds (7)
Irs around some (a few) = ISOMERS
14 Old territory abroad Roman legion mostly destroyed (5,8)
Out (abroad) + (roman + legio)* = OUTER MONGOLIA
17 I’m involved with goal mankind set wild sovereignty (6,7)
(Im + goal mankind)* = ANIMAL KINGDOM
21 Showing anger after welcome is mean (7)
Ave (welcome) + rage (anger) = AVERAGE
22 Level area next to Bristol? (7)
A (area) + breast (Bristol?) = ABREAST
24 Tree with knowledge, healthy, cut by unknown jew (9)
Ash (tree) + ken (knowledge) + ai (healthy) around z (unknown) = ASHKENAZI
25 Ambition to get behind wheel (5)
DD DRIVE
26 Face of Dotty Perkins (4)
Hidden dotTY PErkins = TYPE
27 Fierce women e.g. sisters stirred up (9)
(eg sisters)* = TIGRESSES
Down
1 Parisian piggy guards a black stone (8)
Cochon (French for pig) around a + b (black) = CABOCHON
2 Hatred robs platform of leader … (5)
Podium (platform) – p (leader) = ODIUM
3 … as our President replaced betters? (14)
(as our President)* = SUPERORDINATES
4 Say Bloom takes gold ring after win (7)
Or (gold) + land (win) + o (ring) = ORLANDO (as in Orlando Bloom)
5 Reggae style British in good soundtrack’s addition (7)
Dub (reggae style) + b (british) + in + g(good) = DUBBING
7 Ointment is ink spread when spilled (9)
(ink spread)* = SPIKENARD
8 Opposed Bible language (6)
AV (bible) + erse (language) = AVERSE
9 Black bird stops feisty bird by glen in crossing (8,6)
Rook (black bird) in (bird by glen)* = BROOKLYN BRIDGE
15 Being clan chief as then awfully cool (9)
(as then)* + hip (cool) = THANESHIP
16 Parent in steamship suffocates (8)
Mother(parent) in SS (steamship) = SMOTHERS
18 I wouldn’t laugh at leg-over when taken inside (7)
(At leg)* around as (when) = AGELAST
19 Art forger keeps one container inside another … (7)
A tin inside keg (both containers) = KEATING (as in Tom Keating)
20 … empty container inside another (6)
Can inside vat (both containers) = VACANT
23 First sign that is found in Roman art (5)
Ie (that is) in Ars (Roman Art – Latin) = ARIES (of the zodiac)
1a has to be everyone’s favourite, of course. But twenceslas is right: this was puzzle defined by obscurity. AGELAST is a previously unknown word for which I will have an annoyingly large future usage. Rueful thanks for that, inter alia, to Tees.
1a has to be everyone’s favourite
If, of course, you have any idea what Poldark is.
Other than that typical Tees. I had more fun washing up.
Actually, I miss his (presumably) comments on other setters’ puzzles, would be interesting to see him critique one of his own.
I’m glad I didn’t have to pay for this.
I printed this out before heading out for a day in London and more or less finished it on the train. The only one I couldn’t get was 18dn. I actually thought of AGELAST as fitting the wordplay but I thought it was unlikely to be a word, let alone one with that definition. Got home a few minutes ago and did an electronic word search and was very surprised when it turned up as an actual word and then found it in the missing words bit of the latest Chambers.
My favourite was also 1a, for the definition, even though I only vaguely remember the ‘Poldark’ TV series and couldn’t recall the characters’ names. CUMARIN is known as ‘coumarin’ where I come from and I hadn’t come across this spelling before. Like the blogger and Dormouse @3, I had no idea the word AGELAST existed and bunged it in from the wordplay, much more in hope than expectation. Yes, Grant Bayham @1, I can think of a few!
Thanks to Tees and twencelas.
@2 – what the … ?
Poldark’s wife? Angharad Rees! Phwoaar, what a hottie!
Well Grant, I don’t think twenceslas really thought this was a ‘puzzle defined by obscurity’ or he would have said so. He actually blogged it as being ‘not one of Tees’s most tricky puzzles’, which is nearer the mark, I’d say. OTOH it was selected as a prize puzzle, was it not, and for reasons associated with Mike’s long experience.
At weekends I hope we can expect solvers to have a little more time, and perhaps a somewhat more contiguous relationship with a dictionary, where solutions need confirmation before entry even where wordplay is clear. Speaking of which, and whilst AGELAST, CABOCHON and CUMARIN (the second spelling given in Collins) aren’t the most familiar of words, so what: 3 out of 28 ain’t bad even in a straight daily, and none of the SI for these involved anagrams.
Sidey can stick to his ‘washing up’ (sic) as far as I’m concerned. And he can keep his money ‘n’ all, the miserable git.
I really enjoyed this, and although I didn’t know AGELAST and CUMARIN they were beautifully clued. Thanks to Tees and twenceslas