A rather basic blog this week I’m afraid because of a bit of idiocy on my part meaning I don’t have access to anything other than an Ipad for a few days. Apologies for any typos that remain.
Blogs will be back to normal next week.
Across
1. Barman’s one whiskey in bed (6) – LAWYER – LA (W) YER (one called to the bar, barman) – w (whiskey is the international communication code word for the letter w) contained in (in) layer (bed of rock)
4. Popular female worker’s recent delivery (6) – INFANT – IN F ANT (possibly a newly born child, recent delivery) – in (popular), f (female), ant (worker)
8. Recording it within a year shows enthusiasm (7) – AVIDITY – A (VID IT) Y (enthusiasm) – [vid {video recording}, it] contained in [within] [a, y {year}]
9. He tries way to cut fuel (7) – JUSTICE (one who tries people in court) – JU (ST) ICE – st (street) contained in (to cut) juice (fuel)
11. Roast, singe and carve beef and grouse, say (10) – GRIEVANCES (complaints, beefs, grouses) – SINGECARVE* – anagram of (roast) SINGE and CARVE
12. Prominent feature larger than normal in Tyneside (4) – NOSE (prominent feature) – N (OS) E – os (outsize) contained in (in) ne (north east,Tyneside)
13. Latin American, for one, abandons his Twitter (5) – PANIC (alarm, Twitter)– hispanic excluding (abandons) his
14. Old British Hero housed six in blackout (8) – OBLIVION (blackout) – O B LI (VI) ON – o (old), b (British), lion (hero) containing (housed) vi (Roman numeral for six)
16. Client resolves to retain extra floor (8) – ENTRESOL (low storey between two main storeys of a building, extra floor) – hidden word in client resolves
18. Stone art in the Louvre makes whistling noises (5) – PIPES (whistles) – PIP ES – pip (stone), es (French equivalent of the old word ‘art’, as in ‘thou art’
20. Spotted spades and other tools (4) – SAWS (tools) – SAW S – saw (spotted), s (spades)
21. Depot uses hooter indiscriminately (10) – STOREHOUSE (depot) – USESHOOTER* – anagram of (indiscriminately) uses and hooter
23. Ant perhaps, small, more mature, bites one (7) – SOLDIER (type of ant) – S OLD (I) ER – s (small), older (more mature) containing (bites) i (roman numreal for one)
24. Notice Spanish royal installing new organ (7) – ADRENAL – AD RE (N) AL (relating to the kidney, an organ) – ad (advertisement, notice), real (Spanish for royal) containing (installing) n (new)
25. Wanted: leading pair of network journalists (6) – NEEDED – NE ED ED (wanted) – ne (first two letters of, leading pair of network), two occurrences of, pair of, ed (editor, journalist)
26. He sings quavers one of them lacking focus (6) – TREBLE (singer of a high part, often a boy soprano) – trembles (quavers) changed to singular and losing the middle letter (focus) M to give treble
Down
1. Fan left several balls at Old Trafford (5) – LOVER (fan) – L OVER – l (left), over (Old Trafford is a cricket ground as well as a football ground, there are six [several] balls in an over)
2. Remake of Gone with the Wind missing name in flyer (7) – WIDGEON (type of bird) – GOEWIND* – anagram of (remake of) Gone and wind excluding (missing) one n (name)
3. More than one approach is charming (9) – ENTRANCES (ways in, approaches and is charming) – double definition
5. Some of them are proper novices, possibly grasping nothing (5) – NOUNS (one type of noun is a proper noun) – N (O) UNS – nuns (can be termed novices in an early stage of their calling) containing (grasping) o (zero, nothing)
6. Ukrainian plane not repaired in a month (7) – ANTONOV (type of plane designed in Ukraine) – A N (TON*) OV – a, an anagram of (repaired) not contained in (in) nov (November, month)
7. Cheap cosmetic surgeries suppliers of 10s? – (4,5) – TUCK SHOPS (places where schoolboys [10 down] can obtain cheap eats and a cryptic definition of cosmetic surgery [tuck] suppliers [shops]– double definition, one cryptic
10. He’s in form, bolshy, mostly cool unruly (9) – SCHOOLBOY [student in class or form] – anagram of bolshy and cool excluding the final l (mostly)
13. Dial John during function, getting silly old Venetian (9) – PANTALOON (a lean old man, originally a Venetian, more or less a dotard [silly] PAN TA (LOO) N – pan (slang for the face [dial], loo (john, slang for toilet) contained in (during) tan (trigonometric function)
15. Editorial about current priest and interpreter (3-6) – LIP-READER (a person who interprets speech for the deaf) -L (I PR) EADER – leader (editorial comment in a newspaper) containing (about) (i [electric current] and pr [priest])
17. Remains on team controlling United (7) – RESIDUE (remains) – RE SID (U) E – re (with reference to, on), side (team) containing (controlling) u (United)
19. Saw dog restrained by lead(7) – PROVERB (short familiar saying [saw]) – P (ROVER) B – rover (name for a dog) contained in (restrained by) pb (chemical symbol for lead)
21. Part of play watched on phone (5) – SCENE (part of a play) – sounds like SEEN – sounds like (on the phone) seen (watched)
22. Theatre mounts English pieces (5) – STAGE – (E GATS) reversed – (e [English], gats [guns,pieces]) all reversed (mounts, down clue)
Impressive grid-filling here: I can see at least 14 thematic answers, as well as a small Nina.
Thank, Duncan.
Brilliant puzzle! – and most enjoyable to solve. [I can’t see more than 14, Andrew.]
Favourite clues were INFANT, WIDGEON, NOUNS and PROVERB [I know we’ve seen it before but this one’s a lovely example].
Huge thanks to Radian – I loved it!
I see less than 14, i.e. 0 …..
[but it’s Tuesday and so you must be right]
Yes, brilliant, though we didn’t spot the theme till we’d nearly completed it, then we had fun spotting the ‘extra’ entries in addition to the main ones. We make it 14 in all but we aren’t sure if the nina is intentional or just coincidence. Apart from the theme, our favourite was GRIEVANCES.
It may seem churlish to complain about anything in such a great puzzle but we weren’t happy with the clue for 24ac; ADRENAL is an adjective, but the clue is clearly asking for a noun as the answer.
Thanks, though, to Radian – and to Duncan.
allan_c @4
“… ADRENAL is an adjective, but the clue is clearly asking for a noun …”
That was my initial thought as well, but Chambers, Collins and the ODE all have: adrenal (noun) an adrenal gland.
The latter two define gland as an organ.
Thanks Gaudfrid on confirming ADRENAL.
Great use of theme. Thanks Jaques, I mean ducanshiell and radian
I spotted a theme! But only after I’d completed the grid, so no help with the solving.
Any chance of a nudge regarding this theme that everyone has spotted except for me?
Well, copmus@6 has already given a nudge in his thanks.
Thanks, got it now. Well worth the trouble!
Cruciverbophile @8, you’re not alone.
Perhaps, the Jaques hint made you change your mind, it didn’t for me.
I know that Jaques is a character from As You Like It but there it stops. Perhaps, that is not even relevant.
It’s late in the day now, a good time to make it once and for all clear to me (and perhaps others).
Please.
Sil @11
The main theme: 4ac, 10dn, 1dn, 23ac, 9ac. 13ac, 14ac, Shakespeare’s seven ages of man. The subsidiary thematic entries: 12ac, 18ac, 20ac, 26ac. 3dn, 21dn, 22dn.
And Jacques has a famous speech, the seven ages of man.
Thank both, impossible for me.
I’m afraid I’ve never heard of these ‘seven ages’. Not British enough for that.
I’ve seen the occasional Shakespeare play but for me it’s the often same as with religion, words words words.
Or am I rude now? 🙂
Julian and Sandy once did a version of the seven ages in Polari – nanti riah, nanti hampsteads, nanti everything.
… and for anyone wanting to brush up their Shakespeare, it’s Act 2, Scene7
Sorry, I was a bit rude, I think. Or at least not very subtle.
It’s just the kind of theme that will always pass me by (and therefore was no ‘bonus’ for me today).
But if you’re into it, yes, Radian did his utmost best!
[by the way, I would skip ‘soldier’]
Very good, very enjoyable. Thanks Radian!
Sil, I’d never have got it without Dormouse’s hint and even then it took quite an extensive search of t’interwebs. I know some Shakespeare plays quite well but AYLI isn’t one of them. I didn’t know who Jaques was and initially feared we were looking for the titles of pop songs!
I don’t think you were rude at all, BTW.