Dac has provided this morning’s puzzle for our entertainment and intellectual stimulation.
It is a while since I have blogged a puzzle by Dac on a Wednesday and I enjoyed re-acquainting myself with his tightly crafted clues and their smooth surfaces. After one or two fairly challenging puzzles recently, it was a welcome break to have a more straightforward puzzle to blog; indeed, I found this one to be towards the easier end of the Dac spectrum.
This was an interesting grid, with as many as four 15-letter lights; these revealed themselves quite easily, thus providing lots of crossing letters. My last-ones-in were the intersecting entries at 2 and 11. My favourites today were (again) 2 and 15, both for smoothness of surface reading; and the & lit. at 7, for sheer simplicity.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clue
| Across | ||
| 01 | SEEKING | Looking for ruler of the waves, say?
Homophone (“say”) of “sea king” (=ruler of the waves) |
| 05 | WEAVER | One works on loom, we state
WE + AVER (=state, declare) |
| 09 | UNAWARE | Foreign article about a battle in the dark
[A + WAR (=battle)] in UNE (=foreign article, i.e. a French word for a) |
| 10 | TAPROOM | Thanks for order in part of pub
TA (=thanks) + PRO (=for, in favour of) + OM (=order, i.e. Order of Merit) |
| 11 | PATHÉ | Film company‘s minor hit cut, alienating west
PAT (=minor hit) + HE<w> (=cut; “alienating west (=W)” means letter “w” is dropped) |
| 12 | TROWELLER | Gardener sometimes misused wet roller
*(WET ROLLER); “misused” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | REPRESENTATIVES | Travellers about now meeting locals leaving their capital
RE (=about) + PRESENT (=now) + <n>ATIVES (=locals; “leaving their capital” means first letter dropped) |
| 16 | TRANSFIGURATION | A foreign naturist (not European) in disguise, wanting change of appearance
*(A FOR<e>IGN NATURIST); “not European (=E)” means letter “e” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “in disguise” |
| 17 | ESTIMATES | Reckons one million can be housed in property developments
[I (=one) + M (=million)] in ESTATES (=property developments) |
| 19 | STALL | Refuse to move // accommodation for horse
Double definition |
| 21 | AFRICAN | Father and I are able to accompany a fellow from 20?
A + FR (=father) + I + CAN (are able to); the definition is “fellow from Lagos (=entry at 20)?” |
| 23 | IRONING | I grin awkwardly, keeping on doing some housework
ON in *(I GRIN); “awkwardly” is anagram indicator |
| 24 | ABLAZE | Burning book in a lounge
B (=book) in [A + LAZE (=lounge, idle)] |
| 25 | NOTATES | Symbolically writes refusal to family of philanthropists?
NO (=refusal) + TATES (=family of philanthropists, i.e. the Tate family of the sugar firm Tate & Lyle and founders of the Tate Gallery); here, “writes symbolically” means to write using symbols, as in musical notation |
| Down | ||
| 01 | STUMP | Puzzle page introduced by problem about time
[T (=time) in SUM (=problem)] + P (=page); “(to) puzzle” here is a verb, meaning (to) baffle, fox |
| 02 | ELASTOPLAST | Cooked sole apt to need sprinkling of salt and dressing
*(SOLE APT) + *(SALT); “cooked” and “sprinkling” of” are both anagram indicators |
| 03 | IRATENESS | In anger, I pass opinion on head
I + RATE (=pass opinion on) + NESS (=head(land)) |
| 04 | GOES THE DISTANCE | Completes course in GCSE English: does that badly …
*(IN GCSE + E (=English) + DOES THAT); “badly” is anagram indicator |
| 05 | WITHOUT QUESTION | … undoubtedly, if exam paper is so untypical?
Cryptically, an exam paper “without (a) question” would be rather untypical! |
| 06 | AMPLE | Liberal – a politician first in local elections
A + MP (=politician) + L<ocal> E<lections> (“first in” means first letters only) |
| 07 | ECO | Writer from the continent
Hidden (“from”) in “thE COntinent”; the reference is to Italian writer Umberto Eco (1932-2016); & lit. |
| 08 | IMPRISON | Mischief-maker taking brief gamble on jail
IMP (=mischief-maker) + RIS<k> (=gamble; “brief” means last letter dropped) + ON |
| 13 | LOVE-IN-A-MIST | Bloomer Stalin movie corrected
*(STALIN MOVIE); “corrected” is anagram indicator; love-in-a-mist is a fennel flower, a West Indian passion flower |
| 14 | ROTHESAY | Scottish town brother outwardly ignored, for example
<b>ROTHE<r> (“outwardly ignored” means first and last letters are dropped) + SAY (=for example); Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute |
| 15 | TRANSPORT | Coach perhaps controlled competitive game after tense start
T (=tense, in grammar)/T<ense> (“start” means first letter only) + RAN (=controlled) + SPORT (=competitive) |
| 18 | MOCHA | Complain endlessly about cold and hot coffee
[C (=cold, on tap) + H (=hot, on tap)] in MOA<n> (=complain; “endlessly” means last letter dropped) |
| 20 | LAGOS | Port archipelago surely protects
Hidden (“protects”) in “archipeLAGO Surely”; the reference is to the port city and former capital of Nigeria |
| 22 | ROB | Steal short dress
ROB<e> (=dress); “short” means last letter dropped |
Delightful. He’s good, you know. And on top form today.
Too many good clues to mention. Thanks to RR and Dac.
Nothing too difficult, but no write-ins either, 1ac possibly excepted. No theme or nina – Dac doesn’t “do” them anyway – and some subtle misdirections, e.g. 2dn. All in all, a great coffee-time diversion with Dac on top form.
Thanks, Dac and RatkojaRiku.
Smooth as always. I thought we were heading for a pangram (it has been known), but no J or X.
Thanks S&B.
Good of course as Dac always is. But does battle really = war? It seems to be like saying that California = USA.