One of those puzzles that takes longer to blog than to solve.
I found that most of the answers in this crossword came very quickly, with only 18ac giving me any real pause.
My favourites were the aforementioned 18ac, and 14ac, 3dn and 15dn.
Thanks, Peto.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ESCAPE | Issue featuring oddly neglected Welsh headland (6) |
| (w)E(l)S(h) (“Welsh” with odd letters neglected) + CAPE (headland) | ||
| 4 | PLACED | Arranged for expert on Poland to meet head of department (6) |
| PL (international car registration for Poland) + ACE (expert) + D(epartment) | ||
| 8 | GANNETS | Worry about equipment for catching small birds (7) |
| <=NAG (worry “about”) + NET (equipment for catching) + S(mall)
The S/small isn’t really required here, as “equipment for catching” could be NETS |
||
| 9 | REQUEST | Ask for English queen inside to be at ease (7) |
| (E(nglish) + Qu.(een)) “inside” REST (to be at ease) | ||
| 11 | MONOTONOUS | Common sense shown by doctor with refusal to entertain books lacking in variety and interest (10) |
| MO (Medical Officer, so “doctor”) + NO (refusal) “entertaining” O.T. (Old Testament, so “books”) + NOUS (common sense) | ||
| 12 | TRAP | Area around the mouth (4) |
| <=PART (area, “around”) | ||
| 13 | STEER | Guide and prophet residing in Troy? Just the opposite (5) |
| T(roy) in SEER (prophet) | ||
| 14 | INFORMAL | Playing well at centre-half in friendly (8) |
| IN FORM (playing well) “at” (h)AL(f) | ||
| 16 | BAD FAITH | Starts to bitch about Danish girl’s insincerity (3,5) |
| B(itch) A(bout) D(anish) + FAITH (girl) | ||
| 18 | ANKLE | Needed primarily for onset of rheumatism in racehorse’s joint (5) |
| Replacing the R in ARKLE (a famous racehorse) with an N (indicated by “needed primarily), will give ANKLE | ||
| 20 | NEAR | Almost new organ (4) |
| N(ew) + EAR (organ) | ||
| 21 | LEFT-WINGER | Succeed in obstructing sinister German socialist (4-6) |
| WIN (succeed in) “obstructing” LEFT (sinister) + Ger.(man) | ||
| 23 | HOWEVER | Hang about taking in extremely well-made still (7) |
| HOVER (hang about) “taking in” W(ell-mad)E | ||
| 24 | OVERALL | Ended with Sally stripping off altogether (7) |
| OVER (ended) “with” (S)ALL(y) (Sally taking off her outer layers, S & Y, so “stripping off”) | ||
| 25 | TURNER | Painter of the Queen seen after a short walk (6) |
| E.R. (the Queen) “seen after” TURN (a short walk)
Referring to the English seascape painter, JMW Turner (1775- 1851) |
||
| 26 | CREDIT | Questionable verdict not initially finding approval (6) |
| *(erdict) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ERATO | Muse over weed coming from the south (5) |
| <= (O(ver) + TARE (weed)) | ||
| 2 | CONDONE | Completed after prisoner gets pardon (7) |
| DONE (completed) “after” CON (prisoner) | ||
| 3 | POTPOURRI | Miscellany from Prospect’s first issue looking into development of riot (9) |
| P(rospect) + (POUR (issue) “looking into” *(riot)) | ||
| 5 | LEEDS | The worst parts include Dominica’s capital city (5) |
| LEES (the worst parts) “include” D(ominica) | ||
| 6 | COUNTER | Reckon on soldiers coming around the opposite way (7) |
| COUNT (reckon) “on” <= R.E. (Royal Engineers, so “soldiers”) | ||
| 7 | DISPARATE | Utterly different from despair at being abandoned (9) |
| *(despair at) | ||
| 10 | POLISH OFF | Eliminate language of fear at the outset (6,3) |
| POLISH (language) + OF + F(ear) | ||
| 13 | SPACED-OUT | Daughter discovered after a short time exhausted and in a dazed state (6-3) |
| (D(aughter) “dicovered after” SPACE (a short time)) + OUT (exhausted) | ||
| 15 | FLAG-WAVER | Allege as a fact following crack about German nationalist (4-5) |
| AVER (allege as a fact) “following” (FLAW(crack) “about” G(erman)) | ||
| 17 | FORBEAR | Cease to be patient after ceremony is cut short (7) |
| BEAR (to be patient) “after” FOR(m) (ceremony, “cut short”) | ||
| 19 | KINDRED | Species seen around Dorset oddly having similar characteristics (7) |
| KIND (species) “seen around” D(o)R(s)E(t) | ||
| 21 | LIEGE | That’s for example up beyond Lake Superior (5) |
| (i.e. (that’s) + <=e.g. (for example, “up”) beyond L(ake) | ||
| 22 | ECLAT | Brilliant success evident in rebuttal Cézanne sent back (5) |
| Hidden backwards in “rebutTAL CÉzanne” | ||
*anagram
A steady solve for me. I did not know that tare was a kind of weed so I learned something in 1d. I too wondered about what the word ‘small’ was doing in 8ac but decided it was a piece of misdirection by the setter.
Thanks Peto and loonapick.
Thanks Peto and loonapick
Not too many problems with this one, which is a bit unusual with this setter. The only real hold up was self caused by writing in DROSS at 5d (thinking of the Scottish town of ROSS) to generate a definition of ‘the worst parts’ – that did hold up the NE corner until the last.
TRAP was the last one in.