Nice puzzle with one clue I cannot explain. I am away on holiday and about to start a long journey so I can’t spend any more time on this. I will try and get backto the blog this evening if I can. Thanks Monk.
| Across | ||
| 1 | RIGID | Unyielding, extremely intimidating in purge (5) |
| IntimidatinG (extremes of) in RID (purge) | ||
| 4 | MEDLEYS | Miscellanea of drugs including a large amount of grass? (7) |
| MEDS (drugs) contains LEY (pasture, a large amount of grass) | ||
| 8 | GINS | Laugh about missing the first three traps (4) |
| SNIGger reversed (about) missing first three letters | ||
| 9 | PYTHAGORAS | Graph, say, to change theorem by this guy (10) |
| anagram (to change) of GRAPH TO SAY | ||
| 10 | FAMOUS | Noted chubby, short, tailless little creature (6) |
| FAT (short) and MOUSe (little creature, tailess) | ||
| 11 | RHODESIA | Raised wildly without house in former republic (8) |
| anagram (wildly) of RAISED containing (without) HO (house) | ||
| 12 | BEEFSTEAK | Cut complaints associated with take-out (9) |
| BEEFS (complaints) with anagram (out) of TAKE | ||
| 14 | KILN | Family putting last of coal in oven (4) |
| coaL (last letter of) in KIN (family) | ||
| 15 | CHOW | Dog food (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 16 | EMACIATED | Endgame involving agents in rescue bid finally wasted (9) |
| MATE (end game) contains CIA (agents) in final letters of rescuE biD | ||
| 20 | SMUGGLED | Illegally distributed goods finally robbed outside pound (8) |
| goodS (finally) then MUGGED (robbed) containing L (pound) | ||
| 21 | ABLAUT | Reprinted tabula showing vowel gradation (6) |
| anagram of TABULA | ||
| 23 | SOUNDCHECK | In which techie aims to get his level best? (10) |
| cryptic definition | ||
| 24 | RUIN | Not quite regretting collapse (4) |
| RUINg (regretting, not quite) | ||
| 25 | TESTEES | Those examined in science finally breaking rocks (7) |
| sciencE (final letter of) in TESTES (rocks) | ||
| 26 | PAYEE | Beneficiary certainly into school sports (5) |
| AYE (certainly) in PE (school sports) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | RIEGATE | Home counties town reported whiskey scandal? (7) |
| RIEGATE sounds like (reportedly) “Rye Gate” could be a whiskey scandal perhaps | ||
| 2 | GISMO | In essence, time taken over minute device (5) |
| GISt (essence) missing T (time, taken) on MO (minute) | ||
| 3 | DEPOSIT | Plant is back in warehouse (7) |
| IS reveresed (back) in DEPOT (warehouse) | ||
| 4 | MOTORWAY MADNESS | Means to get into awful moments associated with roads (8,7) |
| WAY (means) inside (to get into) anagram (awful) of MOMENTS with ROADS – definition is &lit | ||
| 5 | DRAGON | Battle-axe to continue (6) |
| DRAG ON (to continue) | ||
| 6 | ESOTERICA | Finally, unreliable alcoholic girl reveals secrets to a few (9) |
| unreliablE (finally) SOT (alcoholic) ERICA (girl) | ||
| 7 | STATION | Stop or start iron right away – and again (7) |
| STArT IrON missing the letter R (right away), and again means R is missed twice | ||
| 13 | FLOGGINGS | Force bringing down plane, perhaps small means of punishment (9) |
| F (force) LOGGING (means to bring down Plane tree perhaps) then S (small) | ||
| 15 | COMFORT | Company minutes intended to reach head of trading’s console (7) |
| CO (company) M (minutes) FOR (intended) Trading (head of) | ||
| 17 | CRANK UP | Increase level in competition (5,2) |
| RANK (level) in CUP (competition) | ||
| 18 | ERUDITE | Learned sport in correct English (7) |
| RU (Rugby Union) in EDIT (correct) E (English) | ||
| 19 | CLOCHE | Long, perhaps, to feed disheartened cattle, giving protection for young stock? (6) |
| LOCH (Loch Long perhaps) in CattleE (disheartened) | ||
| 22 | LORRY | HGV in Ayr, rolling up (5) |
| found reversed in aYR ROLling | ||
*anagram
definitions underlined
Thanks Monk and PeeDee,
1d is REIGATE (I nearly put RYEGATE in too!)
8 is GINS.
I have 25 as TESTEES, which deserves the snigger from the parsing of 8.
Agree with Muffyword. 8a is GINS, I.e. SNIGGER backwards (REGGINS) with REG (first three) removed.
Sorry, just realised Muffyword had already parsed 8a. Message to self – don’t skim read. Thought the RHS was uncharacteristically easy for a Monk, but lots of toughies in the LHS. FAMOUS, GISMO and GINS being my LOIs (or LOsI as somebody once said).
Yeh I had REIGATEe(know it well) and GINS.Monk always a peasure.
Thanks Monk and PeeDee
I also had TESTEES for 25, having tried for ages to use ROCKS as the definition. Well sniggerworthy, and a nice link to Pasquale’s 14 in the graun.
FLOGGINGS and TESTEES-shurely.
@PeeDee Enjoy your holiday!!
Thanks Monk and PeeDee
Quite a tricky offering from Monk … and obviously not one to be blogged whilst trying to get away for a holiday :).
Was only able to get to it for a number of short 5-10 minute sessions throughout the day which may have helped the lateral thinking required to get through some of it. Was able to get GINS quite early on, but can’t remember seeing the trick of defining a word, flipping it around and subtracting some letters off the reversed word to generate the answer.
Had not seen the terms MOTORWAY MADNESS or HGV before and although was able to work out the anagram for ABLAUT, did have to look up to check that it was right.
Finished in the SW corner with TESTEES (where I had to suppress a laugh), SOUNDCHECK (a not so obvious cryptic definition) and BEEFSTEAK (not a commonly used term here) as the last few in.
Ah, this blog was clearly not as “nearly finished” as I had thought. Thanks to all for the corrections. I am home again now and will write them up when I get a chance.