A polarized puzzle today from the Don. Several easy clues and then a few clues that needed some online detective work. Thanks Bradman.
FF: 8 DD: 9
| Across | ||
| 1 | TRIBAL | Group of people’s second-rate in test (6) |
| B (second rate) in TRIAL (test) | ||
| 5 | COBBLERS | They’ll go to work at last? Nonsense! (8) |
| double def | ||
| 9 | SMOCKS | Saints receiving ridicule for rustic garments? (6) |
| SS (saints) containing MOCK (ridicule) | ||
| 10 | STOPPAGE | Arrest head servant by front of stable (8) |
| [TOP (head) PAGE (servant)] after S (front of Stable) | ||
| 11 | PEMBROKE | European politician returning without money for college (8) |
| PEM (european politican = MEP, reversed) BROKE (without money) | ||
| 12 | THEISM | Belief is held by those folk (6) |
| IS in THEM (those folk) | ||
| 13 | RANT | Declamation from worker against queen? (4) |
| R (queen) ANT (worker) | ||
| 15 | IN RETURN | Thus boy becomes yob by way of retaliation? (2,6) |
| boy IN RETURN becomes yob | ||
| 18 | BOARDERS | Students away from home? They are about to go on a cruise maybe (8) |
| double def | ||
| 19 | AIRY | Astronomer Royal being offhand (4) |
| double def, first part refers to george biddell airy, a mathematician and astronomer. I had to look this one up. | ||
| 21 | STUPID | Silly dispute almost resolved (6) |
| DISPUTe* | ||
| 23 | RELOCATE | Move to get old king back in charge (8) |
| ELOC (old king = COLE, reversed) in RATE | ||
| 25 | BIRDS EYE | Like a sort of view offered by food manufacturer (5-3) |
| cryptic clue; BIRDS EYE is a brand belonging to Pinnacle foods in the US (and by others elsewhere) so technically ‘offered by a food manufacturer’. Weak clue? | ||
| 26 | CHITON | Tunic in fashion provided by Greek character (6) |
| CHI (greek character) TON (in fashion) | ||
| 27 | TENANTRY | A new attempt by number who may be dealing with landlord? (8) |
| [A N (new) TRY (attempt) ] after TEN (number) | ||
| 28 | SAGELY | Showing wisdom and cunning? About time! (6) |
| SLY (cunning) about AGE (time) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | RAMIE | Herb that is submerged under butter (5) |
| IE (that is) under RAM (butter, something that butts) | ||
| 3 | BACKBITER | Grumbler who doesn’t manage with an incisive type? (9) |
| cryptic clue; someone not using (~not managing) his incisors is likely to chew/bite at the back of his mouth hence backbiter. The definition though is inexact. | ||
| 4 | LESSON | Someone getting too hot may want this reading (6) |
| cryptic clue; to be read as LESS ON | ||
| 5 | COSMETIC SURGERY | Wobbly customer is grey, about a hundred? This may improve appearance (8,7) |
| CUSTOMER IS GREY* around C (hundred) | ||
| 6 | BLOATERS | Maybe people on river will catch fifty fish (8) |
| BOATERS (people on river) catching L (fifty) | ||
| 7 | LAPSE | A mistake having drinks with drug (5) |
| LAPS (drinks) E (drug, Ecstacy) | ||
| 8 | REGISTRAR | Official is back to grasp the heart of the matter, right? (9) |
| REAR (back) containing [ GIST (heart of the matter) R (right) ] | ||
| 14 | ANORTHITE | That ore in ground, a rare feldspar (9) |
| THAT ORE IN* | ||
| 16 | THATCHING | Obsession about attending church, getting a job in the country? (9) |
| THING (obsession) around [ AT CH (attending church) ] | ||
| 17 | DEAD HEAT | Boring race that gives no decisive result (4,4) |
| DEAD (boring) HEAT (race) | ||
| 20 | FLOCKS | Female secures what a shepherdess must secure? (6) |
| F (female) LOCKS (secures) | ||
| 22 | PODIA | Platforms for foot treatment go missing (5) |
| PODIAtry (foot treatment, without TRY = go) | ||
| 24 | TROLL | Monster to walk with head concealed (5) |
| sTROLL (walk, without first letter) | ||
*anagram
I whizzed through this at 1 in the morning after a gig, including the novelties, to me, anyway, of RAMIE, ANORTHITE & CHITON, all gettable from the wordplay but worth a look-up, always part of the fun.
I’m not as worried by BIRDSEYE as Turbolegs in that I discovered some time ago that the company in question was founded by the genuinely-yclept Clarence Birdseye, so the answer isn’t really a repetition: it’s his real name, and a delightful one, too.
(Out of interest, Hoseasons, the Norfolk touring holiday company which I’d always assumed was a mash-up of Holiday & Season turns out to have been founded by James Hoseason. I just like this stuff).
Really enjoyed this, even if a couple of clues – specifically 19a and 26a – held me up for longer than they should. But that’s the great thing about The Don: you can always depend on the clues being scrupulously fair, so with a bit of thought and persistence you’ll get there in the end.
Thanks to Bradman and Turbolegs.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
Found this a quick solve for Bradman, albeit with the help of a dictionary by my side to confirm a couple of the uncommon words, the ‘Astronomer Royal’ and PEMBROKE college. [Didn’t need it for Grant’s ‘yclept’ – first met this word in a puzzle a long, long time ago (took me days to finally find this weird word) – it has vividly stayed in my memory – this is perhaps the second time that I’ve seen it since and the first in a normal sentence !! ]
One of the features of this setter’s puzzles is that when you do meet one of his unusual words, they are immaculately clued so that they can be put together from the wordplay and only need to be checked in some reference to see if the letter combination is really a word and that it means what he has defined. I like that.
Finished in the SW corner with ANORTHITE and PODIA the last couple in.
Hey.. what happened to the FT puzzle for today 18th? Cannot find it online..