A puzzle that took longer to blog than to solve…
This puzzle would be a good one for beginners to work on, as the clues are mainly fair, and solving the relatively straightforward short answers gives you enough letters in the slightly tougher longer ones to work out what they are.
No issues with the puzzle technically – solid wordplay, rational surfaces, but overall, not a terribly exciting challenge for the more advanced solver.
Thanks, Falcon.
| Across | ||
| 1 | ASSISTANCE | Head of state is in a position to get help (10) |
| S(tate) IS “in” A STANCE | ||
| 6 | KING | Monarch and family heading for Greece (4) |
| KIN + G(reece) | ||
| 9 | MONDEGREEN | What may result from mishearing lyrics of number in vogue and fresh? (10) |
| N(umber) in MODE + GREEN
A modegreen is a misheard lyric. American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term in 1954, writing about how as a girl she had misheard the lyric “…and laid him on the green” in a Scottish ballad as “…and Lady Mondegreen”. |
||
| 10 | TIFF | Painful losing second pet (4) |
| (s)TIFF | ||
| 12 | SPEAR CARRIER | Extra weapon attached to warship (5,7) |
| SPEAR (weapon) + CARRIER (warship)
A spear carrier is another name for a film extra, especially in a battle scene. |
||
| 15 | IN THE MAIN | At sea, chiefly? (2,3,4) |
| Double definition | ||
| 17 | INTER | Bury artist the old man ignored (5) |
| (pa)INTER | ||
| 18 | WORTH | Value Walthamstow or Thamesmead houses (5) |
| Hidden in “walthamstoW OR THamesmead” | ||
| 19 | CROSSWORD | Puzzle: bridge term (9) |
| CROSS (bridge) + WORD (term) | ||
| 20 | ILLUSTRATION | Example: a picture accompanying text (12) |
| Double definition | ||
| 24 | TONE | United on team’s original pitch (4) |
| ONE “on” T(eam) | ||
| 25 | TARANTELLA | Volunteers managed to give an account of a dance (10) |
| T.A. (Territorial Army, so “volunteers”) + RAN (managed) + TELL A (give an account of a) | ||
| 26 | EASY | In plentiful supply in choppy sea close to Whitby (4) |
| *(eas) + (whitb)Y | ||
| 27 | SNAPDRAGON | Photograph paper kite and flower (10) |
| SNAP (photograph) + DRAGON (a kind of “paper kite”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ARMY | Ability to throw leader of young pack (4) |
| ARM (ability to throw, as in “he has a good arm”) + Y(oung) | ||
| 2 | SEND | Small border post (4) |
| S(mall) + END | ||
| 3 | STEEPLECHASE | Costly contract covering Chinese race (12) |
| STEEP (contract) + LEASE (contract) “covering Ch.(inese) | ||
| 4 | ATRIA | A short experiment in central halls (5) |
| A TRIA(l) | ||
| 5 | CRESCENDO | Steady growth in counterfeiting initially censored, oddly (9) |
| C(ounterfeiting) + *(censored) | ||
| 7 | INITIATION | Investiture’s beginning (10) |
| Double definition | ||
| 8 | GO FOR A RIDE | Drive around in rage if door smashed (2,3,1,4) |
| *(rage if door) | ||
| 11 | TRAINSPOTTER | Studies dramatist in anorak (12) |
| TRAINS (studies) + (Dennis) POTTER (dramatist) | ||
| 13 | TIN WHISTLE | Listen with dicky instrument (3,7) |
| *(listen with) | ||
| 14 | STORYLINES | Plots right-wing policy on board (10) |
| TORY LINE (right-wing policy) in S.S. (steamship). If you’re in a ship, you’re on board, so TORY LINE is in a STEAMSHIP | ||
| 16 | ASCERTAIN | When positive, find out (9) |
| AS (when) + CERTAIN (positive) | ||
| 21 | TRAMP | Inclination, after short time, to find a loose woman (5) |
| RAMP “after” T(ime) | ||
| 22 | FLOG | Sell fine record (4) |
| F(ine) + LOG | ||
| 23 | BARN | Pub with new outbuilding (4) |
| BAR + N(ew) | ||
*anagram
Thanks Falcon and loonapick
Don’t know why but this took 2-3 times longer than I’d normally take for this setter and looking back I’m not quite sure why that was. Had trouble with TRAINSPOTTER having to look up and check that an ‘anorak’ was in fact another term for one, MONDEGREEN (a term that I hadn’t come across before – interesting way that it got created) and ARMY (where it took an age to see the ‘ability to throw’ as a definition – and then looked skyward when the penny dropped).
Had to also check up on the DRAGON kite and remind myself again that a SPEAR CARRIER was another term for a non-speaking actor.
And … finally it was done !
I usually finish Falcon’s prize crosswords in 15-20 minutes but struggled with this. Failed to get 9a or 1d and, seeing the answers, I’m not surprised. Took me awhile to think of illustration for 20a, which led to getting storylines for 14d. Spear carrier and steeplechase took some thinking as well. Better than usual for this setter IMO.
I agree. This was all very easy apart from 1 & 9 which were not good clues.
I thought this was very good. Granted, 9a is not the smoothest surface you’ll ever see but I really liked 1d with its less obvious definition of “arm”. In both cases the cryptic reading is faultless.
Thanks to Falcon and loonapick.