For the second month in a row, it’s the Peter and Pierre show. To repeat: we are not related; we are not the same person; only one of us has a Y chromosome (and that’s me, last time I looked). Good puzzle.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Engaged? Time to wear other pants under the duvet
BETROTHED
An insertion of T in (OTHER)* all inserted into BED. The two insertion indicators are ‘to wear’ and ‘under’. You can count the first or the second E as being the one in BED: it works both ways.
6 European leaving underworld with puzzle
REBUS
[E]REBUS. Erebus is the Greek underworld and REBUS is a picture puzzle which is the basis for the modern-day game of Dingbats.
9 Flash German fabric
GLINT
A charade of G and LINT.
10 Fellow touring ‘backward’ city with lawyer’s notes to self
MEMORANDA
An insertion of ROME reversed in MEN, followed by DA for District Attorney, or ‘lawyer’.
11 Ginger isn’t dancing in jewellery
SIGNET RING
(GINGER ISNT)* Rather like Fred, Ginger Rogers could ‘dance a little’.
12 Spike of metal close to tyre
TINE
A charade of TIN and E for the last letter of ‘tyre’.
14 Fellows clouding royal bishop’s senses
MARBLES
An insertion of R and B in MALES. ‘She’s lost her marbles, that setter.’
15 Celtic language with origins of early regional tongue
CLAPPER
A charade of C, LAPP for the Northern European language, and E and R for the first letters of ‘early’ and ‘regional’. LAPP, I discovered, is sometimes considered pejorative nowadays; and CLAPPER, according to my Collins, is a slang word for the ‘tongue’ in your mouth.
17 Rhythm of college dance craze sweeping Spain
CADENCE
A charade of C and E inserted in (DANCE)*.
19 Group saying “tool“
BAND SAW
A charade of BAND and SAW.
20 Island in conservation area
IONA
The Scottish island is hidden in conservatION Area.
22 Wobble scrotum with pen to get measure of fertility
SPERM COUNT
Other methods of measuring fertility are available. I hope. (SCROTUM PEN)* This is the type of clue I like in my crosswords: one that makes me smile.
25 English wine keeping son and daughter captivated
ENGROSSED
A charade of ENG, S inserted into ROSE and D.
26 Cook recipe with ground oats
ROAST
A charade of R for ‘recipe’ (in Latin) and (OATS)*
27 Battlefield in Normandy preserved
YPRES
Hidden in NormandY PREServed.
28 Actors tucked into kebab in Yorkshire town
DONCASTER
Another great, and witty, surface, and another insertion: of CAST in DONER.
Down
1 Fake premium good for head of NatWest
BOGUS
Peter is inviting you to take the N out of BONUS and replace it with a G.
2 Attempted to pen note to government before queen set off
TRIGGERED
An insertion of G for ‘note’, another G for ‘government’ and ER for Elizabeth Regina in TRIED.
3 Awfully thin bloke keeping close to canteen that’s operating intermittently
ON THE BLINK
An insertion of N for the last letter of ‘canteen’ in (THIN BLOKE)*
4 Organic material covering edges of ear bone
HUMERUS
An insertion of ER for the outside letters of ‘ear’ in HUMUS gives you your funny bone.
5 Wicked Klan leader escaping from jail after protest
DEMONIC
A charade of DEMO and NIC[K]
6 Rough and ready eggy starters are undercooked
RARE
The initial letters of the first four words of the clue.
7 Get rid of officer with body art
BINDI
A charade of BIN and DI for Detective Inspector. The coloured dot that Hindu women can wear on the centre of their forehead.
8 Nurse carrying cocaine welcomed by female model
SCARECROW
An insertion of C in CARER, all inserted into SOW. A SCARECROW is a type of ‘model’, I suppose.
13 Periodical rejected article about illustrations on a medieval manuscript
MAGNA CARTA
A five-part charade: MAG plus AN rejected plus C for circa or ‘about’ plus ART plus A.
14 Woman trapping part of back in apparatus
MACHINERY
An insertion of CHINE in MARY. CHINE is used in butchery mainly to describe the back. Confusingly, it’s also a southern English dialect word for a valley.
16 Job given to aunt furious about Liberal candidate
POSTULANT
A charade of POST and L in (AUNT)*
18 Exhibitions by editor open to view
EXPOSED
A charade of EXPOS and ED.
19 Composer bowled over by sculptor
BORODIN
A charade of B and O for two cricketing abbreviations and the French sculptor RODIN. The Russian composer.
21 American leaving queen standing in river
NIGER
It’s over 4,000km long, so you can’t say it’s not well-known. Brenda’s doing some work this morning, although REGINA can be applied to all ‘queens’. REGIN[A] reversed: the exclusion indicator is ‘leaving’ and the reversal indicator, since it’s a down clue, is ‘standing’.
23 Restaurant finally put away recipe for common vegetable
TATER
A charade of T for the last letter of ‘restaurant’, ATE and R (again) gives you a slang word for the humble spud.
24 Head bone bandaged by doctor
BOSS
A final insertion: of OS for ‘bone’ in BS for Bachelor of Surgery or ‘doctor’. Good surface.
Many thanks to my namesake for an enjoyable Sunday morning solve over coffee. The IoS is still intended as a puzzle for the less experienced solver, so if you need anything else explaining, just ask.
As a “less experienced solver”, this was right up my alley. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Many thanks to Peter and Pierre!
A mostly straightforward puzzle, as one expects from Peter, but with a few tricky ones thrown in. Fortunately, I knew OS for ‘bone’, CHINE for ‘backbone’, EREBUS for ‘hell’ and CLAPPER for ‘tongue’. Unfortunately, I didn’t know BINDI so needed to cheat to get that one.
Always like a bit of humour in the clues, such as in 1a, 22a and 28a. Nothing humorous about 4d when you bang it though. Thanks to Peter and Pierre.
We did know, but had forgotten, BINDI and guessed ‘bandi’ – but (of course) it’s not in Chambers; the Word Wizard, however, pointed us to the answer without actual cheatiing. Apart from that we completed this pretty quickly in two passes.
One minor niggle – ‘close to’ appears twice to indicate a last letter.
But far outweighed by the enjoyment of the humour, as in BETROTHED, SPERM COUNT and SCARECROW (is Peter perhaps thinking of the anorexic models so often seen on the catwalk?)
Thanks, Peter; merci, Pierre.