Tees makes his fairly regular appearance today
There are three clues where I have struggled with the word play. For 10 across, LIME, I think I am in the right area, but the word ‘buried’ confuses me. For 4 Down, DENTIST, I really don’t what is going on with the wordplay. The definition is clear with the allusion to [root] canal work by a DENTIST.. It is the ‘London’s Hampstead’ that is the puzzle for me. Finally I haven’t nailed down the reference to ‘losing little weight’ in the clue for STARLESS at 14 across. I look forward being told what I have failed to see in each case.
The grid is of the from beloved by setters who wish to put a message in the perimeter, but there isn’t one today.
In the clue formed from other entries – 20 across, I deduced the entry before I had solved all the component parts. I had ONAGER, HIDING and FISH only at that point. The word STURGEON was useful for solving 1 down and 2 down.
I liked the clue for NOAH’S ARK with all it’s religious components.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
8
|
He wrote fine stuff about enlisted woman (8)
|
LACE (fine material) containing (about) WREN (member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service; enlisted woman) LA (WREN) CE |
LAWRENCE (reference either of D H LAWRENCE or T E LAWRENCE, both of whom were writers)
|
|
9
|
High-octane plays like these can be short (3-3)
|
Anagram of (high) OCTANE ONE-ACT* |
ONE-ACT (descriptive of a play that may therefore be short)
|
|
10
|
Racketeer Mike to be buried outside (4) |
LIE (remain; be) containing (buried outside) M (MIKE is the international radio communication code for the letter M) I’m not sure that I have interpreted ‘buried’ correctly in this suggestion of the wordplay. Happy to be told that I’ve got it wrong. LI (M) E |
LIME (reference Harry LIME, racketeering character in Graham Green’s screenplay for the film The Third Man)
|
|
11
|
Perhaps to lose your head is to lose your job (3,3,4)
|
GET THE CHOP (have your head CHOPped off; lose your head)
|
GET THE CHOP (be dismissed; lose your job)
|
| 12 |
Secret writing method an unimportant thing (6)
|
CIPHER (secret code)
|
CIPHER (person or thing of little value) double definition
|
| 14 | Black Jack on losing little weight in three seconds (8) |
(TAR [sailor; Jack TAR] + LE [?]) contained in (in) (S [second] + S [second] + S [second] giving three seconds) I can’t relate the LE to the words ‘on losing little weight’ in the clue’ S (TAR LE) SS |
STARLESS (a STARLESS sky will be black) |
|
15
|
Immense rook goes after girl (7)
|
STELLA (girl’s name) + R (notation for a rook in chess)
|
STELLAR (excellent; immense)
|
|
17
|
Anything but concrete boat put into Seychelles (7)
|
KETCH (boat) contained in (put into) SY (International Vehicle Registration for Seychelles) S (KETCH) Y |
SKETCHY (vague; anything but concrete)
|
| 20 | 1 2 3 22A 24D (8) |
Replacing the numbers with the associated entries we get: LATINIST URGE ONAGER HIDING FISH and this, read as a clue can be parsed STURGEON (hidden word [hiding] in LATINIST URGE ONAGER) |
STURGEON (fish) |
|
22
|
Concealed serious defeat (6)
|
HIDING (concealed)
|
HIDING (thrashing; serious defeat)
|
|
23
|
American player‘s ball-point used to pen vote (4,6)
|
Anagram of (used) BALL-POINT containing (to pen) (X [symbol used to make a choice when voting) BILL PA (X) TON* |
BILL PAXTON (American actor [player] and director)
|
|
24
|
Large, having consumed seconds, go without food (4)
|
FAT (large) containing (having consumed) S (seconds) FA (S) T |
FAST (go without food)
|
|
25
|
Maybe Arthur was in van ferrying dope (6)
|
LED (was in front; was in the van) containing (ferrying) GEN (knowledge; dope) LE (GEN) D |
LEGEND (reference the LEGEND of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table)
|
|
26
|
Ruined morgues Poe’s last inspiring horror (8)
|
Anagram of (ruined) MORGUES + E (final letter of [last] POE) GRUESOM* E |
GRUESOME (inspiring horror)
|
| Down | |||
|
1
|
Can I get in finally as classics student? (8)
|
(TIN [can] + I) contained in (get in) LAST (finally) LA (TIN I) ST |
LATINIST (classics student)
|
|
2
|
Yorkshire banker entertains good egg (4)
|
URE (Yorkshire river [banker]) containing (entertains) G (good) UR (G) E |
URGE (egg someone on)
|
|
3
|
Persian ass runs on time to come first (6)
|
ON + AGE (period of time) + R (runs) ‘time to come first’ implies that AGE comes before R
|
ONAGER (the wild ass of Central Asia [including Persia])
|
| 4 | Say canal inspector – in London’s Hampstead? (7) |
This is an allusion to root CANAL work undertaken by a DENTIST but I don’t understand the Hampstead reference or why London is used. There’s almost certainly something that I am missing. |
DENTIST |
|
5
|
Koran has to be revised, requiring craft in religion (5,3) |
Anagram of (to be revised) KORAN HAS NOAH‘S ARK* |
NOAH’S ARK (a boat [craft] referenced in the Bible [religion])
|
|
6
|
It’s spread, by fool covering dead (10)
|
PER [by] + (COD [fool] containing [covering] LATE [dead]) PER CO (LATE) D |
PERCOLATED (spread or became known gradually)
|
|
7
|
Over half these clues! (6)
|
ACROSS (half the clues in this crossword are ACROSS clues)
|
ACROSS (over)
|
|
13
|
Sect member‘s exclusively spoken with bird (4,6)
|
HOLY (sounds like [spoken] WHOLLY [exclusively]) + ROLLER (bird of a family related to kingfishers)
|
HOLY ROLLER (preacher or follower of an extravagantly emotional religious sect)
|
|
16
|
Queen wants swan girl put up by assistant (8)
|
LEDA (LEDA and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces LEDA; swan girl) reversed (put up; down clue) + AIDE (assistant) ADEL< AIDE |
ADELAIDE (reference Queen ADELAIDE [1792 – 1849], consort of William IV of the United Kingdom)
|
|
18
|
Well proportioned worker on unknown amount (8)
|
HAND (worker) + SOME (unknown amount)
|
HANDSOME (good looking; well proportioned)
|
|
19
|
United including only men in position to perform (7)
|
ONE (undivided; united) containing (including) STAG (men only) ON (STAG) E |
ON STAGE (in a position to perform)
|
|
21
|
Smallest room that can be hired accommodates one (6) |
TO LET (indication that something is for hire) containing (accommodates) I (one) TO (I) LET |
TOILET (usually the smallest room in the house)
|
|
22
|
Acclaim classic drama featured in 60 Minutes (6)
|
NO (classic Japanese drama) contained in (featured in) HOUR (60 minutes) HO (NO) UR |
HONOUR (acclaim)
|
|
24
|
Folio is top for highbrow school population (4)
|
F (folio) + IS + H (first letter of [top for] HIGHBROW)
|
FISH (reference a school [shoal] of FISH)
|
Thanks Tees and Duncan,
A very good puzzle.
Re LIME – I took LIE = to be buried?
Re DENTIST – I would guess Hampstead Heath is rhyming slang for teeth.
Re STARLESS – le(g)
10A He lies beneath the sod; he lies four fathoms deep etc.
Great puzzle. STARLESS was LOI, also couldn’t parse, Muffyword’s got it.
Thanks to Tees and duncanshiell.
3D I read as both ON and AGE to come first.
16D The Queen Consort after whom the capital city of South Australia is named.
Muffyword @ 1
Thanks for the explanations which all make sense, particulary with gwep’s quote @ 2.
I didn’t know the rhyming slang for teeth.
I should have spotted ‘on’ as the cricketing term for the LEG side. I was looking for a little W for weight rather than G for a gram [little weight].
For ‘lie’ I just couldn’t find a dictionary definition that made a reference to beneath the surface.
Simplest explanation of ‘lie’ is as in “Here lies XXX”.
Incidentally @1Muffyword did you have a way of seeing the blog before it is published? When I clicked to bring up the blog, message said “posted 9 minutes ago”. I then commented a few minutes later, only to see that your comment was 61 minutes before mine. Just curious. I’m 12,000 miles away, but my time always shows as correct UK time and in sync with other comments.
Only finished this with e-help to complete the SW corner. Didn’t see TOILET for ages, I was trying to think of something involving LOO, and I was far too devious trying to fathom 20ac. And I must confess I’d never heard of BILL PAXTON although it was gettable from the wordplay once I realised ‘ball-point’ didn’t mean ‘Biro’ or ‘Bic’. As for ‘lie’ = ‘to be buried’ all I thought of was the frequent inscription on tombstones, “Here lies …”.
The unches around the perimeter made me wonder if there was a theme/nina, particularly as Monday’s i reprinted a Tees from 2012 where every perimeter letter was T.
Despite the difficulties an excellent crossword with some great clues. I liked STARLESS simply because it reminded me of Dylan Thomas and “Starless and Bible-black”.
Thanks, Tees and Duncan
Sorry, Jason @5: you got in while I was still typing.
Good craftsmanship and really damn devious. Lovely solve, difficult to unpick because the definitions run on into the cryptic so frequently.
I see that ‘that can be hired’ is directly synonymous with ‘to let’, while ‘to be buried’ is equal to ‘to lie’. Both seem to work.
Thanks Tees, Duncan.
gwep@6
I don’t think so – I just spotted the blog was up. I am in NZ, but that should’t make any difference – unless your ?Australian government embargoes the site to check for subversive content.
Cheers all
Tees