A witty, funny and delightful challenge from WANDERER got my Friday off to a very pleasant start. Thanks Wanderer!!
FF: 9 DD:8
| Across | ||
| 1 | TOPS UP | Refills tankard, after knocking back drink (4,2) |
| TOP (tankard = POT, reversed) SUP (drink) | ||
| 4 | UP IN ARMS | Protesting vigorously, having to cook chicken wing with a Primus (2,2,4) |
| N (chickeN, wing, right end) A PRIMUS* | ||
| 9 | RECOIL | Wind up again, with kick in the arm? (6) |
| cryptic clue | ||
| 10 | SNUFFBOX | Tin originally used by very loud bishop – neat tobacco holder (8) |
| SN (chemical symbol for tin) U (used) FF (very loud) B (bishop) OX (neat) | ||
| 12 | IRONED OUT | Got right press journalist dismissed (6,3) |
| IRON (press) ED (journalist) OUT (dismissed) | ||
| 13 | RAISE | Push up bra is enhancing contents (5) |
| hidden in “..bRA IS Enhancing..” – admirably racy clue. | ||
| 14 | IN ONES OWN RIGHT | No nighties worn with abandon, not having got it together with anyone (2,4,3,5) |
| NO NIGHTIES WORN* – one more of those risque-y clues | ||
| 17 | LEFT UNFINISHED | Like Schubert’s 8th, only done right? (4,10) |
| cryptic clue; if only right (side) is done, then the left is unfinished. | ||
| 21 | LEVEE | Left first lover at end of the quay (5) |
| L (left) EVE (first lover) E (end of thE) | ||
| 22 | HERBICIDE | Killer of Beatle reportedly sighed audibly (9) |
| HERBI (beatle, from the movie series) CIDE (sounds like SIGHED) | ||
| 24 | CALLIOPE | Phone one poet briefly about who inspired them? (8) |
| CALL (phone) I (one) OPE (anagram of POEt, briefly) | ||
| 25 | CANNED | Drunk put in prison, perhaps (6) |
| double def | ||
| 26 | EMPTYING | Touring in Egypt around start of my vacation (8) |
| IN EGYPT* around M (start of My) | ||
| 27 | BOTTOM | A mechanical seat (6) |
| double def, with the first referring to nick bottom from a midsummer night’s dream | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | TERRIFIC | Great fritters? Not half, when served with rice (8) |
| FRITters (not half) RICE* | ||
| 2 | PICCOLO | Choose a deep-sounding instrument (7) |
| sounds like PICK (choose) HOLLOW (deep) | ||
| 3 | UNITE | Make one train, turning up after losing case (5) |
| rETINUe (train, losing case i.e without end letters, reversed) | ||
| 5 | PENITENTIARY | Sorry, daughter’s left appointment book in prison (12) |
| PENITENT (sorry) dIARY (appointment book, without ‘D” – daughter) | ||
| 6 | NEFERTITI | Queen playing free, in/around Bristol (9) |
| FREE IN* around TIT (bristol, cockney slang) | ||
| 7 | RUBBISH | Massage out-of-work clergyman in bunk (7) |
| RUB (massage) BISHop (clergyman, without OP – work) | ||
| 8 | SEXTET | Group send explicit message to film star (6) |
| SEXT (send explicit message) ET (film star) | ||
| 11 | GO DOWN THE PAN | Fail utterly, as motions often do (2,4,3,3) |
| cryptic clue | ||
| 15 | EXTREMITY | Perhaps hand out mixture, yet not suitable for everyone (9) |
| MIXTuRE YET* (without U – not suitable for everyone, ~ not universal) | ||
| 16 | ADDENDUM | That little bit extra provided by McFadden, du Maurier etc (8) |
| hidden in “..mcfADDEN DU Maurier..” | ||
| 18 | ENVELOP | Briefly wish to have back-up staff cover (7) |
| ENVy (wish, briefly) ELOP (staff = POLE , reversed) | ||
| 19 | HAIRNET | Around Barnet, this keeps the rain off (7) |
| THE RAIN* – didnt know this meaning of barnet (hair) before. | ||
| 20 | CLOCHE | Hat and cape lost where darts are thrown (6) |
| C (cape) L (lost) OCHE (where darts are thrown – starting line in a game of darts) – new word for me this. | ||
| 23 | IDAHO | State what ex-gardener might have said? (5) |
| cryptic clue | ||
*anagram
Thanks Turbolegs and Wanderer,
I agree that this was funny and enjoyable.
I took PICCOLO to be a homophone of “pick a low”.
I think IDAHO is definition plus homophone of “I’d a hoe”. That may be what you mean.
Similarly, I would call GO DOWN THE PAN definition plus cryptic indication (and very amusing too).
Also similarly, I would call RECOIL a DD.
I liked the symmetrically placed IN ONE’S OWN RIGHT and LEFT UNFINISHED.
Plenty of clever, amusing surfaces – too many to list, but I enjoyed 10, 24 & 27ac particularly. A few clues took quite a bit of thinking out, but all very fair.
My idea of how a good puzzle should be! Thank you Wanderer & Turbolegs.
Lots to enjoy but I’ll pick 22a as my favourite of many clues I marked with a *
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs
Great stuff, with plenty of smiles raised by the surfaces.
Just to amplify the explanation of 22ac, ‘reportedly’ seems to be a homophone indicator both for ‘beetle’ (the VW car) and ‘Herbie’ (the name of the car in the films). Very clever: how many solvers’ first thoughts were ‘who shot John Lennon?’, I wonder?
Thanks, Wanderer and Turbolegs.
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
Late getting to this one … and had the advantage of doing another puzzle that he had set earlier this week. Maybe being on his wave length is why it took less than the half hour to get it out this time over a cup of coffee.
The standouts were the three homophonic clues at 22a (a double as described by allan@4), 2d (which I had the same as Muffyword@1) and 23d (which again I had similar to Muffyword rather than as a cd). Lots of variety in the rest of the clues to make it a truly entertaining solve. Was able to dredge up “Barnet fair’ as rhyming slang for hair from memories of other crosswords but had to look up Schubert’s Symphony No 8 to see that it was his ‘UNFINISHED symphony’.
Finished in the SW corner with EXTREMITY (which took more time to untangle than it should have), CALLIOPE (nice clue) and CLOCHE (which I sort of knew earlier but needed all of the crossers before writing it in).