The puzzle can be found here
I enjoued this mental challenge that Julius has provided here. To solve this, a fair bit of general knowledge is required, but the wordplay is clever and clear enough to allow you to work out the answers where necessary. I hadn’t come across PEMBROKE TABLE or D.I.N. before, so it was also educational. My favourite clue was 16dn.
Thanks, Julius
| Across | ||
| 7 | EXAMINED | Checked, returned fabric to cut (8) |
| <+DENIM AXE (“fabric” and “cut”, returned) | ||
| 8 | CANTAB | Light blue taxi transporting soldier (6) |
| CAB (“taxi”) transporting ANT (“soldier”)
Cambridge blue (the colour associated with Cantabs (or Cantabrigians, students and alumni of Cambridge University) is a shade of light blue. |
||
| 11 | DINED | Berlin Standard journalist had a meal (5) |
| DIN (“Berlin standard”) + ED (“journalist”)
The Deutsches Institut fur Normung (DIN), based in Berlin, is the German national organization for standardization. |
||
| 12 | BRAZIL NUT | Working tribunal to protect Zulu cash crop (6,3) |
| *(tribunal) to protect Z(ulu) | ||
| 13 | NOVELLO | “O for a finale to literary work!” – Welsh composer (7) |
| NOVELL-A (“literary work”), with the A (its finale) replaced by O (“O for a”) | ||
| 14 | BUFFALO | Polish American left Ohio for New York city (7) |
| BUFF (“polish”) + A(merican) + L(eft) + O(hio) | ||
| 15 | ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM | Lumme! A.E. Housman’s collected treasures are here! (9,6) |
| *(lumme ae housmans) | ||
| 18 | TRACHEA | Tube train spurned in Chelsea (no place for business class!) (7) |
| TRA(in) + CHE(LSE)A (no place for LSE (London School of Economics), where people may take a business class) | ||
| 20 | EPHESUS | Recep? He’s ushered outside of ruined city (7) |
| Hidden in “recEP HE’S UShered” | ||
| 22 | CABRIOLET | Showing vivacity, the French have whip round for sports car (9) |
| BRIO (“vivacity”) + LE (“the” in “French”) having CAT (“whip”) round | ||
| 23 | NADIR | Desperate character sent back to Iraq; without a question the lowest point (5) |
| <=DAN (“desperate character” (Desperate Dam, comic-book character) sent back) + IR(aq) | ||
| 24 | ESTHER | Job’s predecessor established that woman (6) |
| EST(ablished) + HER (“that woman”)
In the Old Testament, the book of Job follows the book of Esther |
||
| 25 | WATERLOO | Had both sides in court battle? (8) |
| ATE (“had”) + R L (right and left, so “both sides”) in WOO (“court”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | LEADING ARTICLE | Deleting racial abuse in newspaper comment (7,7) |
| *(deleting racial) | ||
| 2 | SAT-NAV | Caravan, tastefully featuring upwardly mobile technology (3-3) |
| Hidden upwardly in “caraVAN TAStefully” | ||
| 3 | VINDALOO | Victor batting, nervous lad on a pair, gets delivery from Indian (8) |
| V(ictor) + IN (batting) + *(lad) + OO (“pair” of ducks in cricket) | ||
| 4 | PEMBROKE TABLE | Part of the furniture, like Farage turning up skint on board (8,5) |
| <=M.E.P. (Member of the European Parliament, “like Farage”, turning) + BROKE (“skint”) + TABLE (“board”).
A pembroke table is a light drop-leafed table. |
||
| 5 | TARIFF | Fee charged to row across a river (6) |
| TIFF (“row”) across A R(iver) | ||
| 6 | STONE AGE | Uncivilised Amir evicted from raunchy menage-a-trois (5,3) |
| *(engeatos) (“menage-a-trois”with“amir” evicted) | ||
| 9 | BUTTON MUSHROOM | Trigger nuclear cloud, getting one fried? (6,8) |
| BUTTON (“trigger”) + MUSHROOM (“nuclear cloud”) | ||
| 10 | CARBON NEUTRAL | Barcelona turn out in green (6,7) |
| *(barcelona turn) | ||
| 16 | HEAD BUTT | Nut nut (except last bit of nut) (4-4) |
| HEAD (“nut”) + BUT (“except”) + (nu)T | ||
| 17 | UNHINGED | Mentally ill (unlike a 4) (8) |
| A pembroke table (see 4dn) is drop-leafed, and therefore has hinges. | ||
| 19 | HEIFER | Julius visits Playboy tycoon, having dumped new young female (6) |
| I (“Julius”, the setter) visits (Hugh) HEF(n)ER (recently-deceased tycoon) with N(ew) dumped | ||
| 21 | SADDLE | Joint gets Turkey disqualified from high jump (6) |
| S(tr)ADDLE (“high jump” with “Turkey” disqualified) | ||
*anagram
I do enjoy a Julius crossword and this one didn’t disappoint
Thank you to him and Loonapick too
Once again, I echo crypticsue. I particularly liked ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM.
Many thanks, both.
Rarely finish a Julius, so this was a nice change. Didn’t know PEMBROKE TABLE, but worked it out. Also, wasn’t sure about CANTAB, but think I’be seen it before. Knew D.I.N. but didn’t know the Berlin connection. My favourite was also HEAD-BUTT.
Great cluing not needing google or word wizard or whatever.Sheer class.
Excellent puzzle, I thought. I finished it quite quickly (for me), but with frequent mental nods of appreciation for clues that were varied and succinct, and clever without being self-consciously tricksy.
A pleasure to solve from start to finish. Full marks from me.
Many thanks to setter and blogger.
Very clever. I liked the Berlin Standard, the polish american, and BUTTON MUSHROOM and HEIFER.
Thanks loonapick for explaining business class, very good.
Many thanks Julius
Amen to all the above comments. Many thanks to S&B.
Off subject slightly, DIN plugs are normal to me, as old as I am. But when I had to buy a new amp recently, the child in Richer Sounds who fitted banana plugs to the bare amplifier ends of my speaker wires had never seen anything like the DIN plugs which connect to my 40 year old Sonab speakers.
I am running out of new things to see about Julius – this was as entertaining as ever if fairly straightforward. My favourite was STONE AGE, also liked ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM. The TABLE was new to me, but DIN was familiar from my first camera.
Thanks to Julius and loonapick
I rarely come to the FT section, but, having noticed the heads-up in the Grauniad section, I thought I’d give it a go. A fine puzzle, quite a toughie: I think WATERLOO was the fave – stumped me for ages.
I may have had harsh words for Julius (aka Baerchen), in the past – and he for me. Is this an opportunity to make it up? For anything amiss I said back then, I apologise. No hard feelings!
With a puzzle of this quality, you should be having another go at Mr S, Mr J!
Thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you, Julius and loonapick.
Thanks Julius and loonapick
Interesting crossword with, as you say, quite a bit of general knowledge required to get it done. Didn’t recognise the German DIN standard until seeing the comments here to remind me of the plug sockets. The Welsh composer was a new one for me too.
Liked the variety of clues that were thrown together with TRACHEA, HEAD BUTT and WATERLOO the pick of a very good bunch.
Finished in the NW corner with the well hidden SAT NAV, that DINED and the clever VINDALOO the last few in.