I struggled a bit with this. I spent a lot of time looking up familiar words in the dictionary thinking “but does it really mean that?”. Of course in every case the dictionary agreed with Kairos that it did, so well done Kairos!
| Across | ||
| 1 | MACRAME | Frenchwoman taking credit for daughter’s handiwork (7) |
| MAdAME (French woman) with D (daughter) replaced by CR (credit) | ||
| 5 | PARSONS | Clerics‘ disciples hit back first (7) |
| SONS (disciples) follows (with…first) RAP (hit) reversed (back) | ||
| 9 | LEASEHOLD | Old ale she brewed is something a landlord sells? (9) |
| anagram (brewed) of OLD ALE SHE | ||
| 10 | PESTO | Quickly take out sauce (5) |
| PrESTO (quickly) missing (out) R (recipe, take) | ||
| 11 | STUDIO | Policeman captured by revolutionary reveals location of workers? (6) |
| DI (detective inspector, policeman) inside (captured by) OUTS (reveals) reversed (revolutionary) | ||
| 12 | OVATION | Cheering new development getting rid of pub (7) |
| innOVATION (new development) missing INN (pub) | ||
| 14 | YAKETY-YAK | Idle talk of sentry regularly carried by oxen (6-3) |
| sEnTrY (regularly) inside (carried by) YAK YAK (two ox, oxen) | ||
| 17 | PARR | Standard piece of rock salmon (4) |
| PAR (standard) and Rock (first letter, a piece of) | ||
| 19 | EZRA | Time to include final character in book (4) |
| ERA (time) includes Z (final character) – book of The Bible | ||
| 20 | GREAT SEAL | Means of state execution (5,4) |
| cryptic definition – sorry but this one passed right over my head. Can someone knowledgeable explain what execution refers to here? Is an act of parliament “executed” when it is sealed by the monarch? If execution is a technical/legal term what does it mean in this context? | ||
| 23 | RESTORE | Give back foreign currency after holiday (7) |
| ORE (foreign currency) following REST (holiday) | ||
| 24 | COMMON | Commander’s working routine (6) |
| COMM (commander) with ON (working) | ||
| 27 | TROOP | Group of people, left eating nothing, retired (5) |
| PORT (left) containing (eating) O (nothing) reversed (retired) | ||
| 28 | STALLIONS | Horses‘ loins rubbed with salt (9) |
| anagram (rubbed) of LOINS and SALT | ||
| 29 | REEFERS | Jackets for midshipmen (7) |
| double/triple definition – “jackets”, “midshipmen” and also “jackets for midshipmen” | ||
| 30 | MADNESS | Folly of head on stop over (7) |
| NESS (head) following (on) DAM (stop) reversed (over) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | MILK | Exploit of Mark touring Israel (4) |
| MK (mark, currency or brand of car) contains (touring) IL (Israel, IVR code) | ||
| 2 | CHART | Map out church mural? (5) |
| CH (church) and ART (mural perhaps) | ||
| 3 | ANECDOTE | Worried about party supporting Birmingham Centre’s story (8) |
| ATE (worried) contains (about) DO (party) under (supporting) NEC (National Exhibition Centre, located in Birmingham) | ||
| 4 | ECOLOGY | Scientific study of European settlement’s good for Norway (7) |
| E (European) and COLOnY (settlement) with G (good) replacing N (Norway) | ||
| 5 | PADLOCK | Something to secure flat piece of hair (7) |
| PAD (flat) and LOCK (piece of hair) | ||
| 6 | RIPSAW | Tool to copy digital data was returned (6) |
| RIP (to copy digital data) then WAS reversed (returned) | ||
| 7 | OBSTINATE | Nation defending imperial measure after old boy becomes stubborn (9) |
| STATE (nation) contains (defending) IN (inch, imperial measure) following OB (old boy) | ||
| 8 | SCOUNDRELS | Cold nurses agitated disreputable men (10) |
| anagram (agitated) of COLD NURSES | ||
| 13 | TYPEWRITER | It may have been used by Mark Twain? (10) |
| I think this is MARK (type) and TWAIN (writer) – the writer is Mark Twain himself. At first I just thought this was a bit odd, but on reflection the clue is soundly put together: the misdirection is to fail to recognise that Tawin is still a writer without his forename. | ||
| 15 | KERBSTONE | Reportedly stops quality roadside fixture (9) |
| KERBS sounds like “curbs” (stops) and TONE (quality) | ||
| 16 | AIR | Look – sloth runs (3) |
| AI (sloth) and R (runs) – to have the manner of | ||
| 18 | STUMBLED | Lusted fancifully when embracing Doctor Fell (8) |
| anagram (fancifully) of LUSTED containing MB (doctor) | ||
| 20 | GREASES | Legal documents in which old king replaces sovereign’s bribes (7) |
| LEASES (legal documents) in which GR (old king) replaces L (pound, a sovereign) | ||
| 21 | EXCLAIM | Call without entitlement (7) |
| EX (without) CLAIM (entitlement) | ||
| 22 | CORPSE | Body of rector found in wood (6) |
| R (rector) found in COPSE (wood) | ||
| 25 | OZONE | Joke about hybrid is a gas (5) |
| ONE (joke, “have you heard the one…”) contains (about) ZO (Tibetan hybrid of a cow and a yak) | ||
| 26 | ASKS | Requests to sunbathe topless on square (4) |
| bASK (sunbathe, topless) on S (square) | ||
*anagram
definitions are underlined
20ac A Google search produced this which might explain the clue:
The United States of America (like the UK)also has a Great Seal which is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the U.S. Federal Government.
Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
From the crossing letters I guessed 20ac as GREAT DEAL but I couldn’t see why. GREAT SEAL makes more sense. Apart from that, this went in fairly quickly, although I couldn’t parse 12ac so thanks for the explanation.
Incidentally, I recall reading many years ago that Mark Twain’s editor was glad to hear of the invention of the typewriter as Twain/Clemens handwriting was illegible.
Thanks PeeDee and Kairos. I really didn’t think Typewriter was well-enough clued. The misdirection is a bit feeble. One of those clues in which the penny failed to drop even after I got the solution. Pesto doesn’t really work either. Clearly the clue is crying out for the word recipe to be used. Last gripe: joke is synonymous with ‘the one’ not ‘one’ so again fails. Other than that I enjoyed the solve.
Xjpotter
“have you heard the one about…” is “have you heard the joke about…” so are not “one” and “joke” interchangeable here and mean the same thing?”
Both examples require the definite article and use it the same way.