Not sure how I feel about this puzzle…
Bradman provides us with an accomplished puzzle with some nice surfaces and a couple of clever clues such as 13dn, 26ac and 27ac, but there are a few too many double definitions for my liking, one of which was very weak (7dn) and the cryptic definition at 12ac wasn’t terribly cryptic.
If one of the purposes of a crossword is to educate, then this achieved that goal as I was ignorant of “tierce”, “Grove” and “digram” before solving this puzzle.
Thanks, Don.
| Across | ||
| 1 | TOP BRASS | Supporters entering notice retreating bigwigs (3,5) |
| BRAS (“supporters”) “entering” <=SPOT (“notice”) | ||
| 6 | TIERCE | Hour of prayer in church after row (6) |
| C.E. (“church”) after TIER (“row”)
The third of the canonical hours beetween lauds and sext. |
||
| 9 | DIGRAM | Enjoy memory revealed in a couple of letters (6) |
| DIG (“enjoy”) + R.A.M. (“memory”)
A digram, more usually called a digraph, is a two-letter combination, such as “sh” |
||
| 10 | PICADORS | Fighters with unhealthy appetite, performers lacking energy (8) |
| PICA (“unhealthy appetite”) + DO(e)RS “performers” without an E | ||
| 11 | BROW | Peak of hill that may be furrowed (4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 12 | NARROWBOAT | Craft going into a lock that may get two gates closed? (10) |
| (Not very) cryptic definition | ||
| 14 | EMOTICON | One big book about prisoner that expresses personal feeling (8) |
| <=1 TOME (“one big book”) + CON (“prisoner”) | ||
| 16 | NUDE | In bed, undressed, rolling over in the buff (4) |
| Hidden backwards in “bED UNdressed” | ||
| 18 | RASH | Torrent brings river close to wood (4) |
| R(ver) + ASH (“wood”) | ||
| 19 | ERRANTRY | Monarch managed to have a taste of knight’s activity (8) |
| E.R. (“monarch”) + RAN (“managed”) + TRY (“taste”)
Errantry means “wandering around looking for adventures”, as in “knights errant”. |
||
| 21 | BEAR GARDEN | Anger with bread being thrown in riotous assembly (4,6) |
| *(anger bread) | ||
| 22 | SAGA | A frothy talk, reflective narrative (4) |
| <+A GAS | ||
| 24 | STURGEON | Operator needing time to catch fish (8) |
| SURGEON (“operator”) “needing” T | ||
| 26 | BOLTON | Additional place within Greater Manchester (6) |
| BOLT-ON (“additional”) and BOLTON | ||
| 27 | BRIGHT | Brainy, not wet, correct? (6) |
| B(rainy) + RIGHT | ||
| 28 | SHELTIES | Ponies I housed in places of refuge right away (8) |
| I in SHELTE(r)S
Sheltie is another name for a Shetland pony |
||
| Down | ||
| 2 | OSIER | Girl associated with cider, beginning to end, a bit willowy (5) |
| ROSIE (as in “Cider with Rosie”) with the R moved to the end. | ||
| 3 | BIRDWATCHER | What sounds like Spooner’s self- description as one looking out on garden? (11) |
| Spoonerism of WORD BOTCHER. | ||
| 4 | ALMANACS | Girl has to look up reference books (8) |
| ALMA (“girl”) + <=SCAN (“look”) | ||
| 5 | SUPERINTENDENTS | Managers demonstrating ineptness turned out (15) |
| *(ineptness turned) | ||
| 6 | TUCSON | US city numbers decrease – should be going up (6) |
| <=NOS. CUT | ||
| 7 | END | Aim to stop (3) |
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | CORIANDER | Plant I can order for jumble (9) |
| *(i can order) | ||
| 13 | BANANA SPLIT | Something sweet revealed in urban analysis (6,5) |
| BANANA is split by the space between the words in “urBAN ANAlysis” | ||
| 15 | MEAT-EATER | This person wants a source of milk, upset about one demanding solid food (4-5) |
| ME (“this person”) + A TEAT (“a source of milk”) + <+RE (“about) | ||
| 17 | GRENOBLE | Work unit set up illustrious French city (8) |
| <=ERG (“work unit”) + NOBLE (“illustrious”) | ||
| 20 | LAMENT | Keen and fast, getting round before noon (6) |
| LENT (“fast”) “getting round” A.M. (“before noon”) | ||
| 23 | GROVE | Wood – a name known to many music students (5) |
| Double definition – a range of music dictionaries have the name Grove attached to them, but the one referred to in the clue is probably The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the original of which (without the “New” prefix) was edited by George Grove in the late 19th century. | ||
| 25 | RAG | Paper’s boast – outing bishop (3) |
| (b)RAG | ||
*anagram
It had to be TIERCE from the wordplay but I could not find that def anywhere.
Full marks for the Spooner clue.And I wasnt aware of the GROVE dictionary-but it had to be that.
Overall enjoyable
Tierce is one of the Canonical Hours (referring to prayers said at 9am, i.e. 3 hours after 6am; cf Sext (6) = noon and None (9) = 3pm), but I think is more usually spelled as Terce.
Annoyingly I had BIGRAM for 9, not being aware of DIGRAM (and apparently they mean the same thing) — I don’t know how I thought “big” made sense from the wordplay though!
Thanks loonapick and Bradman.
Thanks Bradman and loonapick
Only got to look at this one on Friday and it took a number of sessions in the afternoon (when I could grab them) and evening to get through it. As per normal there was new learning to be had – this time in the form of DIGRAM, PICA (as an eating disorder), the book ‘Cider with ROSIE’, George GROVE and his dictionary of all things music and the NARROWBOAT.
Was sure that there had to be something more going on with NARROWBOAT, but apparently not.
Finally finished in the SE corner with SHELTIES, GROVE and BOLTON (that I had to check was a town in England) as the last few in of an enjoyable solve.