A slow burner from Gurney
When I first looked at the puzzle, and started slotting in the “chestnuts” like QUID and UP IN THE AIR, I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this puzzle, but it grew on me, and some of the misdirections and & lits were very clever.
My favourites were 1ac, 18ac, 19ac, 3dn, 5dn and 14dn.
Thanks, Gurney.
| Across | ||
| 1 | FIBREGLASS | Untrue statement about good girl’s boat material? (10) |
| FIB + RE + G + LASS | ||
| 6 | QUID | Tobacco for pound (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | RELEGATION | Right to replace daughter in representative group heading down (10) |
| DELEGATION with R (“right”) replacing the D “(daughter”) | ||
| 10 | FIAT | One put in lucrative order (4) |
| 1 in FAT | ||
| 12 | ENTHUSIASTIC | Into cuisine that’s foreign? (12) |
| *(thats cuisine) | ||
| 15 | PRIVATEER | Duke, say, catches competitor after docking before time in vessel (9) |
| PEER “catches” (RIVA(l) (“competitor “docked””) + T) | ||
| 17 | THERM | Unit – expression involving heat primarily? (5) |
| TERM “involving” H(eat) and &lit. | ||
| 18 | THUMB | Signal for pick-me-up? (5) |
| Cryptic definition.
A signal used by a hitch-hiker |
||
| 19 | ADDICTION | Extremely affected manner of speaking – habit hard to break? (9) |
| A(ffecte)D + DICTION | ||
| 20 | ELEVENTH HOUR | Last minute volunteer, he, first to hurry off (8,4) |
| *(volunteer he h(urry)) | ||
| 24 | SIAM | Mother is backing old country name (4) |
| <=MA IS | ||
| 25 | RESTAURANT | With time for relaxing atmosphere books tables here? (10) |
| REST (“Time for relaxing”) + AURA (“atmosphere”) + N.T. (New Testament, therefore “books”) and &lit. | ||
| 26 | SETH | Adam’s son contributes to Genesis ethos (4) |
| Hidden in (ie “contributing to”) “GenesiS ETHos” | ||
| 27 | STEPHENSON | Inventor of phone’s sent abroad (10) |
| *(phone’s sent)
Referring, I assume, to George Stephenson, who was more famous as an engineer than as an inventor. |
||
| Down | ||
| 1 | FARE | Charge is legitimate, it’s said (4) |
| Homophone of FAIR | ||
| 2 | BULL | Like rising market? Nonsense (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 3 | ELGIN MARBLES | Sculptures being smaller for a change (5,7) |
| *(being smaller) | ||
| 4 | LATCH | In flat, changes fastening (5) |
| In “fLAT CHanges” | ||
| 5 | SPONSORED | Receiving circular letter, responds freely with financial support (9) |
| *(responds) “receiving” O (“circular letter”) | ||
| 7 | UP IN THE AIR | Travelling in Boeing? Not yet decided (2,2,3,3) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 8 | DETACHMENT | Unit struggled finally, sadly came tenth (10) |
| (struggle)D + *(came tenth) | ||
| 11 | HAUTE COUTURE | Finishing off, run the autocue differently – in top fashion? (5,7) |
| *(ru(n) the autocue) | ||
| 13 | APOTHEOSIS | Glorification of a leading upcoming fellow over old relative (10) |
| A + <=TOP “leading”) + HE (“fellow”) + O (“old”) SIS (“relative”) | ||
| 14 | LIEUTENANT | Officer’s story on truck supported by northern worker (10) |
| LIE (“story”) + UTE (“truck”) + N ANT (“worker”) | ||
| 16 | ENACTMENT | Legislation confused teen can’t master at the beginning (9) |
| *(teen cant m(aster)) | ||
| 21 | HET UP | Angry in court after the rioting (3,2) |
| UP (“in court”) after *(the) | ||
| 22 | PASS | Dad’s second way through (4) |
| PA’S S | ||
| 23 | ETON | On the rise, make special mention of school (4) |
| <=NOTE | ||
*anagram
Thanks, loonapick, I felt similarly but it grew and grew on me. 27ac was beautifully misleading. Thanks, Gurney, for a good time
Thanks Gurney and loonapick
Had the opposite experience here where I found it difficult to get a start until I found SETH down the bottom.
I then found it workmanlike to go through the rest of the puzzle – a lot of anagrams (eight) and a lot of charade type clues (seven or eight). Even though there were some clever definitions and misdirection, this lack of variety in device dampened the experience a little bit.
Satisfying to have done, but more jeans and sweater than haute couture today .
Thanks loonapick and Gurney.
A veritable plethora of anagrams and charades (is there an appropriate collective noun? A confusion of anagrams maybe?)
I raced through starting with 1ac and ending with 27ac with only the cleverly defined ELGIN MARBLES and the misdirected APOTHEOSIS needing a second thought.
All very clearly clued with the only mild criticism being that noted lack of variety.