A mostly straightforward challenge from BRADMAN this morning. One 15-letter, Two 14-letter and Two 13-letter anagrams in the grid. Thanks Don, for the workout. Got excited momentarily by the last row searching for a nina.
FF:8 DD:8
| Across | ||
| 7 | AMADAVAT | A crazy tax for keeping a bird (8) |
| [A MAD (crazy) VAT (tax)] containing A | ||
| 8 | PANAMA | Article penned by two parents in the country (6) |
| AN (article) in [ PA MA (two parents) ] | ||
| 11 | EYOTS | Small islands, source of surprise to you sailing west (5) |
| S (source of Surprise) TO YE (you), all reversed | ||
| 12 | PAINTBALL | Taliban moving into place for quasi-military game (9) |
| TALIBAN* in PL (place) | ||
| 13 | INFERNO | Deduce number in place beyond redemption? (7) |
| INFER (deduce) NO (number) | ||
| 14 | IMPEACH | Challenge the veracity of beautiful person’s claim? (7) |
| crptic clue; read as I’M PEACH | ||
| 15 | GREAT WHITE SHARK | Hawk regrets a hit? That’s odd for an aggressive creature (5,5,5) |
| HAWK REGRETS A HIT* | ||
| 18 | LADANUM | Boy with an ‘orrible smell? Provide something fragrant (7) |
| LAD (boy) AN UM (~hum, horrible smell) | ||
| 20 | REFRAIN | Desist as sports official given reason for stopping play? (7) |
| REF (sports official, referee) RAIN (reason for stopping play) | ||
| 22 | CONFOUNDS | Prisoners getting discovered inside making puzzles (9) |
| CONS (prisoners) containing FOUND (discovered) | ||
| 23 | SEERS | Crossword compilers – heartless folk full of wisdom! (5) |
| SEttERS (crossword compilers, without inner characters) – if the parsing is right, ‘heartless’ is being used a bit loosely since the ‘heart’ of setters would just be the letter T. | ||
| 24 | SHELLS | Seaside items the fellow will put into ship (6) |
| [ HE (fellow) LL (‘ll, will)] in SS (ship) | ||
| 25 | PENALISE | Possibly fine writer with a story enthralling son (8) |
| [PEN (writer) A LIE (story)] containing S (son) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | WATERING PLACES | Respecting a law about health resorts? (8,6) |
| RESPECTING A LAW* | ||
| 2 | LAY-OFF | Temporarily stop using song in bad taste? (3-3) |
| LAY (song) OFF (bad taste) | ||
| 3 | SANSKRIT | Language of a shortened New Testament risks being misconstrued (8) |
| A NT (new testament) RISKS* | ||
| 4 | RAPPROCHEMENT | Proper men chat about restoration of harmony (13) |
| PROPER MEN CHAT* | ||
| 5 | LAPTOP | Left work carrying suitable computer (6) |
| [L (left) OP (work)] containing APT (suitable) | ||
| 6 | CARACARA | Bird in a river in S. American capital that’s lost tail (8) |
| [A R(river)] in CARACAs (capital of venezuela, without last letter) | ||
| 9 | ALL THE KINGS MEN | Ten making shell anew? Alas, this lot couldn’t achieve that! (3,3,5,3) |
| TEN MAKING SHELL* (~humpty dumpty) | ||
| 10 | DISINTERESTED | Desire – it tends to dissipate if one’s impartial (13) |
| DESIRE IT TENDS* | ||
| 16 | ENDANGER | Put in peril? No good being cross any more! (8) |
| cryptic clue; to be read as END ANGER | ||
| 17 | SOFT-SOAP | Flannel? Has it been in the bath too long? (4-4) |
| cryptic clue; soap left in the bath for long would be squishy | ||
| 19 | NOODLE | Stupid person as head (6) |
| double def | ||
| 21 | AMELIA | A male essayist producing novel (6) |
| A M (male) ELIA (essayist? referring to essays of elia by charles lamb) | ||
*anagram
AMADAVAT was a new word for me. Favourite clues were 12ac and 5dn.
A quick and pleasant solve. I share your misgivings on SEERS but the meaning was clear. My first guess for 7a was AMADAVAT and was amazed to find it was correct. It struck me that both birds, 7a and 6d have every crossing letter being A. 16d is a bit of a chestnut and not the best wording imo. Thanks to all.
More brainless than heartless, I guess — sorry about that
Elia is the pseudonym under which Lamb wrote his essays. So ‘essayist’ is fine.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
Back to traditional style from the Don with a number of obscure words (to me anyway) – LADANUM, the AMELIA novel and the two birds – CARACARA and AMADAVAT (my last one in).
Enjoyed untangling the long anagrams.
I agree 12 was a beautiful clue, and also 14 a brilliant topical follow up!