Good stuff from Hypnos once again.
Largely raced through this one, though the grid didn’t help a great deal, being one of those that’s quite thoroughly divided into four discrete areas. There were one or two bits and bobs I didn’t fully understand, but that’s probably just me not thinking straight.
Thanks again to Hypnos.
| Across | ||
| 1 | GET AHEAD | Understand a source to make progress (3,5) |
| GET + A + HEAD. I think “head” and “source” can both apply to the top bit of a river when it appears from the ground. | ||
| 5 | ACIDIC | Area with group of police in charge that’s ill-natured (6) |
| A + CID + IC). | ||
| 10 | REVERSE | Setback about part of work with lines (7) |
| RE + VERSE. | ||
| 11 | OVATION | Overhaul of property without leading trio produces very positive response (7) |
| [ren]OVATION. | ||
| 12 | SPREE | Pair caught by witness in drunken frolic, maybe (5) |
| PR in SEE. | ||
| 13 | TUTORSHIP | Hint about authors getting translated without initial guidance (9) |
| [a]UTHORS* in TIP. | ||
| 14 | RUSSELL CROWE | Actor, one with a philosophical outlook and boast reportedly (7,5) |
| Bertrand RUSSELL + homophone of “crow”. | ||
| 19 | ANTONIO CONTE | Manager is one to contain rogue (7,5) |
| Anagram of (ONE TO CONTAIN). Manager of Chelsea, I believe, which I only know because my 10 year old pal is inexplicably a fan. | ||
| 22 | ESTIMABLE | Worthy is in the Louvre with profession of craft? (9) |
| EST (French for “is”) + I‘M ABLE. | ||
| 25 | LINER | It’s used for brushing strokes in large vessel (5) |
| Two definitions. | ||
| 26 | BOHEMIA | Stink produced by man with revolutionary ambition in old kingdom (7) |
| BO + HE + AIM<. | ||
| 27 | TAG LINE | Slogan putting liberal in a stew (3,4) |
| L in TAGINE. | ||
| 28 | DEPUTY | Second in command, type due largely to be replaced (6) |
| Anagram of TYPE DU[e]. | ||
| 29 | GRUESOME | Increased amount of money mentioned inspiring horror (8) |
| Homophone of “grew sum”. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | GARISH | Showy embellishment lacking note (6) |
| GAR[n]ISH. | ||
| 2 | TAVERN | A vet that’s drunk before service in a drinking haunt (6) |
| (A VET)* + RN). | ||
| 3 | HARLEQUIN | Player perhaps in a pack, a buffoonish type (9) |
| Two definitions, including a reference to the Harlequins rugby team. | ||
| 4 | AGENT | A civilised chap as an aid for actors? (5) |
| A + GENT. | ||
| 6 | CHAIR | Preside over church with atmosphere (5) |
| CH + AIR. | ||
| 7 | DEIGHTON | Period, we’re told, with weight for thriller writer (8) |
| Homophone of “day” + TON. Len of that ilk, of course. | ||
| 8 | CINEPLEX | Unusually nice place, one that’s separated as a site for screenings? (8) |
| NICE* + PL + EX. | ||
| 9 | COSTELLO | Songwriter and entertainer first off breaking instrument (8) |
| [h]OST in CELLO, and a reference to Elvis Costello. | ||
| 15 | SHOWBOAT | Attempt to import Western fur and behave ostentatiously (8) |
| (W + BOA) in SHOT. | ||
| 16 | CATALOGUE | Queen, say, given a diary, it’s said, and list of names (9) |
| CAT + homophone of “a log”. | ||
| 17 | WATER BED | Web trade developed? It’s designed for retirement (5,3) |
| Anagram of (WEB TRADE). | ||
| 18 | STITCH-UP | Incriminate con (6-2) |
| Two definitions. | ||
| 20 | INDIGO | At home like middle of doors to show colour (6) |
| IN + DIG + [do]O[rs]. | ||
| 21 | FREEZE | Put a stop to decorated band having audition (6) |
| Homophone of “frieze”, as in a decorated band. | ||
| 23 | MAMET | Scholar encountered US playwright (5) |
| MA + MET. I hadn’t heard of David Mamet, though he appears to be fairly illustrious. Either way, the wordplay was generous enough that this wasn’t a problem. | ||
| 24 | ENTER | Record about to be released by headquarters in America (5) |
| [c]ENTER. | ||
* = anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; underlined = definition; Hover to expand abbreviations; BOLD = letters forming part of entries.
I was hoping for a gentle stroll after the tough Serpent yesterday, but I found this a bit harder than the usual Sunday puzzle. I had to guess the ‘manager’ and didn’t know SHOWBOAT as a verb.
Not my favourite word, but CINEPLEX is in Chambers, so I suppose it has attained some sort of respectability.
Hats off to STITCH-UP for fooling me into thinking our setter had put in a non-cryptic clue.
Thanks to Hypnos and Simon.
Struggled with this. Ended up cheating to get GRUESOME (drat) and this allowed me to get FREEZE. Thought a pangram was on the cards but a quick check revealed no J or K. Thanks to Hypnos and Simon.
Had a bit of a fight on my hands to get some of the personalities and slightly unusual definitions in this one, not to mention raising an eyebrow at a few of the surface reads.
Not to worry – all part of the learning curve!
Thanks to Hypnos and to Simon for the blog.
Another struggle – plenty of help (though no actual cheating) required. Held up for ages thinking the surname in 14ac was ‘Bragg’, and had to google to confirm the name suggested by an anagram finder for 19ac.
There are further strands to HARLEQUIN – the character is a player in the commedia dell’arte, and is also often seen as the joker in a pack of cards.
Thanks, Hypnos and Simon.
Took a rest from Azed to tackle this and fairly sailed through it. It’s usually the other way round on a Sunday. I finish Azed early evening and struggle to do the Independent.
Never heard of the manager but I found it easy to guess from the anagram
Very enjoyable puzzle having finally got round to it today on the Bank holiday. I hope the blog is still being followed. My only query is the question mark in 8. Cineplex IS a place for screenings so why ?