Tees has been kind to us today. Yes, the odd classical etc reference, but all fairly gentle. I wouldn’t say that I whizzed through this, but certainly it was less daunting than it might have been. And all well-executed, so far as I can see.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
Of course I can see nothing, which doesn’t prove that there is nothing.
| Across | ||
| 9 | INAMORATA | In an instant scoundrel gets a girlfriend (9) |
| in a mo. rat a | ||
| 10 | ANIMA | Manx beast shows inner personality (5) |
| anima{l} — Manx means that its tail is missing, like a Manx cat | ||
| 11 | POKER | Game that uses King and Queen after work’s over (5) |
| (op.)rev. K ER | ||
| 12 | OWEN SMITH | Labour challenger “hits women” – not true (4,5) |
| (hits women)*, the anagram indicated by ‘not true’, ‘true’ in the sense of correctly aligned as in carpentry | ||
| 13 | SEDATED | Shortened see saw soothed (7) |
| se{e} dated | ||
| 14 | ARBITER | Judge alligator’s skin by similarly carnivorous animal? (7) |
| a{lligato}r biter | ||
| 16 | LUNCH | Meal for Parisian one inside 19 church (5) |
| 19 being LARGE, this is L(un)ch.. the Parisian one being ‘un’ | ||
| 18/28 | I AM THE WALRUS | Beatles song from remixed White Album, as not black? Right (1,2,3,6) |
| (White Album as – b + r)* | ||
| 19 | LARGE | Big Guardian Deity emptied grave (5) |
| Lar g{rav}e — Lar | ||
| 21 | REMORSE | Deep regret about additional shilling invested (7) |
| re mor(s)e | ||
| 22 | ARTICLE | Recital’s tricky piece (7) |
| (Recital)* | ||
| 24 | LADBROKES | Penniless young men outside bookies (9) |
| lad(broke)s | ||
| 26 | ETHIC | Moral system demands witches flayed and chopped to bits (5) |
| ({w}itche{s})*, the flaying removing the ends | ||
| 27 | THONG | Ton pig eats new leather strip (5) |
| t ho(n)g | ||
| 28 | See 18 | |
| Down | ||
| 1 | DISPOSAL | Loss paid off in assignment (8) |
| (Loss paid)* — assignment in the sense of assigning something, rather than the possibly more usual sense of task | ||
| 2 | PACKED | Animal troop eviscerated eland, getting very full (6) |
| pack e{lan}d | ||
| 3 | LOIR-ET-CHER | See Irish artist in French department (4-2-4) |
| lo Ir. etcher — had never heard of the French department but it seemed pretty likely and a quick Google confirmed | ||
| 4 | HAROLD | Battle victim – may he just have seen the one that got him? (6) |
| A sort of CD, referring I think to the fact that Harold was shot in the eye, but it seems a little odd and perhaps there is more | ||
| 5 | DATE PALM | Day drunken mate imprisons mate in tree (4,4) |
| d pal in (mate)* — this tree often appears in crosswordland, although I’ve never knowingly seen one | ||
| 6 | BASS | Low born idiot (4) |
| b ass | ||
| 7 | MINISTER | In holy place I do His work (8) |
| min(I)ster — a rare instance of the definition not being at the beginning or end of the clue — actually on a second look at the clue, this is a possible reading of it, but it depends on whether ‘minister’ is a noun or a verb; my first interpretation was that it was a noun, with the capital h merely misleading, but it could perfectly well be a verb, the definition ‘do His work’, with the capital h referring to God | ||
| 8 | BATHER | Pub welcomes the one who washes (6) |
| ba(the)r | ||
| 15 | BELL THE CAT | 50 in band with underworld goddess almost take on risky mission (4,3,3) |
| be(L)lt Hecat{e} — not a phrase that came readily to my mind, but again Google helped | ||
| 17 | NAMEDROP | Say you know Brad Pitt? Pardon me, but that’s ridiculous (8) |
| (Pardon me)* | ||
| 18 | ICE-SKATE | Girl after lollies to perform on frozen sheet? (3-5) |
| ices Kate | ||
| 20 | EXERCISE | River to surge up, which involves constant worry (8) |
| Exe r(c)ise | ||
| 21 | RELATE | Churchman appears topless in couples counselling service (6) |
| {p}relate — the counselling service | ||
| 22 | ANSWER | Reply from lesbians we respect (6) |
| Hidden in lesbiANS WE Respect | ||
| 23 | COHORT | Old soldiers company keen to stifle resistance (6) |
| co. ho(R)t | ||
| 25 | RAGE | Right time to speak wildly (4) |
| r age | ||
*anagram
Thanks for the blog, John,
I have ticks for OWEN SMITH, SEDATED, NAMEDROP and HAROLD – there is a bit more: the Battle of Hastings was fought at, er, Battle. [And I’m one of those who have never gone along with the tale of Harold being killed by an arrow through his eye – see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/bayeux_tapestry_gallery_05.shtml ]
Many thanks to Tees for a most entertaining puzzle – I really enjoyed it.
I meant to say that I read the definition of 7dn as ‘do His work’.
Enjoyed for the most part. Had got stuck with ‘moob’ for low born idiot, parses perfectly if ‘idiot’ was the definition, but couldn’t find any references to the word being used in that sense and eventually scrapped it.
Hecate as an underworld goddess? Chums with Persephone perhaps but not primarily associated with the underworld. Maybe sour grapes as I’d never heard the ‘bell the cat’ expression.
Thanks Tees and John
I’m pleased to see (@3) that I wasn’t the only person with a MOOB before I realised what 12a was and put the correct word in 6d
As Eileen says, a most entertaining puzzle, so thank you to Tees and John too
Yes I also had MOOB for a while but I was only vaguely aware of the word’s existence, and it wasn’t in Chambers, so I abandoned the idea for the best, but not for the right reasons.
I liked this. Nothing too obscure though I couldn’t remember the expression in 15 and came up short on HECAT[e] for the ‘underworld goddess’. HAROLD was the stand-out clue for me.
Thanks to Tees and John.
Not such a tough one as usual from Tees.
18/28 is (White Album -b + as + r)*.
Harold was my LOI. Assume the meaning and the ? is because he might just have seen the purported arrow with the eye which was immediately afterwards penetrated.
Thanks to Tees & John.
Very enjoyable. I think gwep @7 has got the parsing of 4 down right but I still don’t quite get it – so I must be a MOOB (yes, another one here!).
Thanks S & B.
I enjoyed this one. Not as challenging, perhaps, as some of Tees’ offerings but not a doddle either. More the sort of thing one might find on a Wednesday rather then a Thursday.
Thanks, Tees and John
MOOB= “man boob” ie unwanted flab in the chest region, I believe, so I don’t understand why that would be selected.
I had no idea about BELL THE CAT which denied me a record finish for a Tees puzzle.
Many thanks to S&B
Thanks Gwep @7. Blog corrected.
Not sure MOOB means ‘idiot’, but thank you anyway! B/ ASS was my intended, and we’re getting married soon.
Let me recommend that scoundrel OWEN SMITH and the evil LADBROKES to anyone with an ounce of social conscience. Jeremy? Jeremy? Where are you? I sincerely hope that you do not solve that Zionist rag The Guardian 😀
Thanks all and John for his ace blog.
Tees