ALways glad to see a puzzle from the old master
Although I enjoyed this challenge, there were a couple of minor niggles (12ac and 21 ac).
It took me an inordinately long time to find an appropriate phrase to answer 18 ac, because I was convinced the first world was CATCH, but once I twigged that it was an anagram, I saw it immediately.
Thanks, Bradman.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BAD EGG | Rotter giving frank description of curate’s food? (3,3) |
| Double definition
Although a curate’s egg should have some redeeming qaulities, it is essentially bad. |
||
| 4 | DEMOCRAT | Party politician in protest against Conservative scoundrel (8) |
| DEMO (“protest”) + C(onservative) RAT | ||
| 9 | UNDONE | International organisation dead with unity ruined (6) |
| U.N. + D(ead) + ONE (“unity”) | ||
| 10 | PARTICLE | Soft thing that is minute (8) |
| P + ARTICLE | ||
| 12 | HACK | Kick person suffering from overwork (4) |
| Double definition, although I think the setter should indicate that the second definition is no longer current.
Hack is an obsolete word for an overworked person, as in this quote from Goldsmith Here lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed, / Who long was a bookseller’s hack |
||
| 13 | CLAPPED OUT | Drank nothing, dashed outside, being exhausted (7,3) |
| LAPPED 0 (“drank nothing”) with CUT (“dashed”) outside | ||
| 15 | FAINT-HEARTED | The friend at a dance lacking courage (5-7) |
| *(the friend at a) | ||
| 18 | LANCE THE BOIL | Deal with problem, being exceptionally noble and ethical (5,3,4) |
| *(noble ethical) | ||
| 21 | CONSISTENT | Little girl that’s happy to go round in uniform (10) |
| CON(SIS)TENT
I think the “that’s” is superfluous. |
||
| 22 | RAFT | Mass in provisional from Dean initially rejected (4) |
| (d)RAFT – DRAFT (“provisional”) with D(ean) removed | ||
| 24 | RELIGION | District in which priest supplants eastern system of belief (8) |
| REGION with ELI (“priest”) “supplanting” E(astern) | ||
| 25 | GODIVA | Famous rider keen to return after travel (6) |
| <=AVID “after” GO | ||
| 26 | ESCAPIST | Spies act suspiciously, being in denial of reality (8) |
| *(spies act) | ||
| 27 | GAMETE | Cell barrier penetrated by this person (6) |
| GATE (“barrier”) “penetrated by” ME | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BRUSH-OFF | Bishop has to make hasty departure: results in rebuff (5-3) |
| B(ishop) + RUSH OFF | ||
| 2 | DIDACTIC | As teacher performed start of play, with minimum of creativity (8) |
| DID ACT 1 (“performed start of play”) + C(reativity) | ||
| 3 | GANG | Bunch of criminals shut up, any number imprisoned (4) |
| GAG (“shut up”) “imprisoning” N(umber) | ||
| 5 | EXASPERATING | Troublesome former English sailor, poisonous type in hiding (12) |
| EX E RATING (“former English sailor”) “hiding” ASP (“poisonous type”) | ||
| 6 | ON THE LEVEL | Honest and lacking any slant (2,3,5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 7 | RECTOR | Minister about to go to court with men (6) |
| RE (“about”) + Ct. + O.R. (“men”, as in soldiers, “other ranks”) | ||
| 8 | TREATY | Delightful experience with country finally getting agreement (6) |
| TREAT + (countr)Y | ||
| 11 | ALTERCATIONS | Country’s leader restricted by changes and noisy arguments (12) |
| C(ountry) “restricted by” ALTERATIONS | ||
| 14 | STEAMING UP | Son forming an alliance, becoming less transparent? (8,2) |
| S(on) + TEAMING UP | ||
| 16 | DOPAMINE | Male in agony embraced by female supplying drug (8) |
| M(ale) in PAIN “embraced by” DOE (“female”) | ||
| 17 | FLAT RACE | Perhaps the Derby apartment has a group of people (4,4) |
| FLAT (“apartment”) + RACE (“group of people”) | ||
| 19 | SCARCE | Rare church gets damage on top (6) |
| C.E. with SCAR (“damage”) “on top” | ||
| 20 | EN BLOC | As a group once reassembling outside old car firm (2,4) |
| *(once) “outside” BL (British Leyland, hence “old car firm”) | ||
| 23 | DORA | Beetle landing on a lady (4) |
| DOR (a scarab-like “beetle”) + A | ||
*anagram
I completed this one in record time so I must have been on the Don’s wavelength. 13d took me the longest time to see, my last one in was 27ac. I suspect there is a typo in the clue for 22ac where ‘from’ should be ‘form’. Thanks Bradman and Loonapick.
Thanks Bradman and loonapick.
A lot more straightforward than the Don in the Guardian today.
The BRB gives ‘any person overworked on hire’ as a definition of HACK without any obsolete qualification.
I liked CLAPPED OUT.
Thanks Bradman and loonapick
Took three sessions to get this one out on a busy day – the last sitting was totally spent on my last clue in, RAFT, which refused to yield for ages.
A lack of any obscure words probably made this a bit easier than normal from this setter. Although I saw the anagram fodder pretty early on with 18a, it took a bit of jumbling around to finally arrive at LANCE THE BOIL. I also liked CLAPPED OUT.