An enjoyable puzzle with some lovely surfaces, and a couple of niggles that turned up while blogging without spoiling the solving. Favourites were 13ac, 22ac, 24ac, 21dn, and 23dn.
As usual with Qaos, there is a theme in the solutions: POLLOCK, DRUM, GRUNT, SOLE, JACK, FLOUNDER, LING, SKIPPER, SHINERs, CHAR, MULLET, POACHERs, SCAT, OSCAR, JAVELINs, and PIKE are all types of fish
| Across | ||
| 7 | THROW UP | Show it’s worth revising at college (5,2) |
| ‘throw up’=reveal=”Show” (worth)* plus UP=at school or college |
||
| 8 | POLLOCK | Painter to cut back piece of hair (7) |
| the painter is Jackson Pollock [wiki] LOP=”cut” reversed/”back”; plus LOCK=”piece of hair” |
||
| 9 | DRUM | Old racehorse not about to be beat (4) |
| drum=”beat” as a verb reD RUM=”Old racehorse”, but without re=”about” |
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| 10 | LOSE/LOST COUNT | 1, 2, 3 … er … 5 … where’s Dracula now? (4,5) |
| the online solution has LOSE over LOST second half of the clue referring to COUNT Dracula |
||
| 12 | GRUNT | Adult leaves award for university oink (5) |
| GRANT=”award”, with Adult leaving and replaced by University | ||
| 13 | MAESTROS | Wizards are most active on Sunday (8) |
| (are most)* plus Sunday | ||
| 15 | SOLE | Listen to music single (4) |
| homophone of ‘soul’=”music” | ||
| 16 | BULLS | Transport around 50:50 animals (5) |
| BUS=”Transport”, around L and L=50 in roman numerals, twice | ||
| 17 | JACK | Boatman‘s a knave! (4) |
| double definition, with “Boatman” as in ‘sailor’ | ||
| 18 | FLOUNDER | Struggle with fine? See below (8) |
| Fine [abbreviation on lead pencils], LO=behold=”See”, UNDER=”below” | ||
| 20 | DIVER | I have been taken in by Doctor Daley, perhaps (5) |
| Tom Daley the diver [wiki] I’VE=”I have” inside DR=”Doctor” |
||
| 21 | PORT ROYAL | Left magnificent old pirate town (4,5) |
| Jamaican town with a history of piracy [wiki] PORT=”Left” side of a ship; ROYAL=”magnificent” |
||
| 22 | LING | Heather Graham looks nice in fancy tops (4) |
| =heather as in the shrub (G l n i)*: anagram/”fancy” using the top letters of G[raham] l[ooks] n[ice] i[n] |
||
| 24 | SKIPPER | Captain Kirk mostly gains power and potential energy on edge of space (7) |
| most of the letters of KIRk, around Power and Potential Energy; after the “edge” or one of the outer letters of Space | ||
| 25 | SHINERS | Black eyes see stars (7) |
| second half of the clue uses “see” as in ‘take, for example, [stars]’ | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CHAR | Domestic help making tea (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 2 | DORMOUSE | Rodent‘s place for resting by river (8) |
| DORM=”place for resting” plus OUSE=”river” | ||
| 3 | MULLET | Hairstyle, say, extremely uniform all over (6) |
| TELL=”say” plus the extreme letters of UniforM, all reversed or “over” | ||
| 4 | POACHERS | Criminals swipe cash with rope (8) |
| (cash rope)* | ||
| 5 | FLAUNT | Loud relative left before display (6) |
| Forte=”Loud”; plus AUNT=”relative” with Left before it | ||
| 6 | SCAT | Go away singing jazz (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 11 | SIMILARLY | Likewise, I’m a silly revolutionary to kidnap queen (9) |
| (I’m a silly)*, around Regina=”queen” | ||
| 12 | GHOUL | Good time to change sides with spirit (5) |
| Good; plus HOUR=”time”, changing sides from Right to Left | ||
| 14 | OSCAR | O for a really big limo! (5) |
| OSCAR stands for the letter “O” in the phonetic alphabet OS=out-size=”really big”, CAR=”limo” |
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| 16 | BEDARKEN | Are North Korea’s leaders unstable, supporting plot to make things black? (8) |
| (Are N[orth] K[orea])*; after BED=”plot” | ||
| 17 | JAVELINS | No point to ripped Levi jeans, they can be chucked (8) |
| (Levi jeans)* minus an East=”point” – the anagram fodder still has points North and South, and another East | ||
| 19 | UNRIPE | Not ready for difficult run? First, exercise! (6) |
| (run)*, plus I=number one=”First”, plus Physical Education=”exercise” | ||
| 20 | DELPHS | Ditches record into upturned shed (6) |
| =”Ditches” as in dug trenches LP=music long-playing “record”, inside SHED reversed/”upturned” |
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| 21 | PIKE | Pointy-headed staff in shop (IKEA) (4) |
| =as in the spear-like weapon Hidden in shoP IKEa |
||
| 23 | NERO | Nothing turns head 90° for an emperor (4) |
| ZERO=”Nothing”, rotating the Z 90° into the shape of an N | ||
Thank you Manehi, especially for DRUM and GRUNT – new to me, in the context of the theme, anyway. I’ll skate over the others, but this was a ray of sunshine on dull morning, and I didn’t have to trawl the net to school myself on the references. Qaos is a dab hand at writing clues without mentioning the theme.
(I don’t usually carp about surfaces, but one or two – eg, 12 and 16 across – seemed rather nonsensical. A shame, because most of the others were brill.)
A fun romp – thanks to Qaos and Manehi. None of the usual numerical clues we’ve come to expect from Qaos, apart from the missing Vlad perhaps. I wrote it in as present tense because of the second half of the clue. New word for me was delphs – not a world cup reference, and the definition here did not surface easily compared to the more common one (dishes rather than ditches). Easily clued so not a problem to write it in.
The missing point in 17D didn’t bother me – a little ambiguity in an anagram is, to me, like a little ambiguity in a charade (and nowehre near as annoying as “boy” for any possible male name) and was fairly easy to sort out.
Thanks both. I enjoyed this, apart from the ambiguity of 10a where I entered LOST – surely better?
Well done Bullhassocks @1 for plaiceing another fish (carp) in your response.
Bullhassocks @1 😀 *groans*
Sorry, it’s very early, and I didn’t spot the other 3 (?) fish in post 1. Now I feel stupid
Thanks to Qaos for a fun theme and to the commentators who have added to the fishy references! I appreciated the solve, manehi. 8a POLLOCK and 25a SHINERS were favourites for me. I did have a ? against DELPHS at 20d.
I spotted the theme without a problem but didn’t know the whole list, so thanks, manehi, for all the fish 😉 – and thanks, Bullhassocks and Shirl for the additions! [I wonder how long this can go on?]
I didn’t know DELPH = ditch but it was generously clued. Like Shirl, I think LOST makes more sense than LOSE in 10ac but It doesn’t really bother me.
An enjoyable puzzle, as usual from Qaos and a great blog – many thanks to both.
I, as usual, missed the hidden theme, so can’t whinge about themes today. I had a whale of a time solving and avoided the red herrings, mostly.
Thanks to Qaos and manehi
Bullhassocks@1 – excellent!! Naturally I missed the theme (and Shirl@3 has missed most of your fishy references – skate, ray, trawl, net, school, dab, carp, brill).
This was over all too quickly for me. I think Qaos must have been out in the sun too much, as it was much easier than his usual offerings. Favourites were THROW UP, FLOUNDER, GRUNT and OSCAR. Many thanks to Q & m.
It went in at a trot but for the northwest, where I was ok with throw up and char but had stupidly put miss count at 10a and failed to think of drum as a verb. I finally cheated by looking up a list of rodents and sorting it all out. So a dnf for me today. TsILT were ling heather and the clevely obscure delph=ditch=something delved.
Thanks Qaos for the challenge and Manehi for the blog.
I had LOST too but I was watching second half of semi final.
Just as I had BABY for “love child” the other day.
PS: I totally missed the theme as always, despite knowing pike, mullet, ling, sole and flounder. I’ve even caught a couple of them. D’oh!
Very fishy! Schubert’s Trout Quintet being played on Classic even as I type.
Shirl@5, I join the club: skate,ray, dab, carp and brill, not to mention trawl, net and school! Bravo Bullhassocks, straight over my slow head. And ta Eileen for the HG to the G ref.
drofle@9, I’m a snail typist, you’d said it already.
Thank you Qaos and manehi, and other posters for fun comments!
At first I thought we were in for a hairdo theme. GHOUL is another fish to add to manehi’s list.
A most enjoyable little puzzle and over all too quickly. Finished early and self esteem restored after my tardiness yesterday.
I had never heard of Tom Daley the DIVER but it was easy to get from the wordplay. Ditto PORT ROYAL.
Thanks to Qaos and manehi.
Thanks to Qaos and manehi. As others have said a fun romp through the waters from Qaos. I got through this more quickly than I usually do with this setter, but another who opted for lost count (last one in). Lots of nice clues and no particular favourites. Thanks again to Qaos and manehi.
Great fun. Thanks all.
I didn’t get one tiddler (SOLE) and was temporarily delayed by rather hastily entering OMEGA for 14d (which would have just about qualified as part of the theme).
Many thanks, manhei, needed the parse of the clever NERO.
An odd mix of excellent clues and some nonsensical ones. To 12a & 16a mentioned above I would add “Ditches record into upturned shed”. Wot?
Missed the entire shoal of fish (as I always manage to do) but enjoyed the puzzle a lot for its wit and invention.
Many thanks Qaos, nice week, all.
William@20, floundering in the shoals I’d forgotten my unparsed Nero. What a clever device! The inventiveness of setters never ceases to amaze and delight.
I enjoyed this, but failed to spot the theme, as usual. I had LOSE COUNT for 10a as TheZed @2. Where IS the Count NOW surely suggests present tense. Otherwise, it might have been Where did the Count go? A very minor point anyway.
Thank you to Qaos and manehi.
Oh yes, I loved the Z/N rotation thing in NERO. Is this a new device? I don’t remember seeing it before.
Crossbar @23 if I’ve counted correctly. I’ve seen it before, also seen M and W being swapped.
grantinfreo @21: Couldn’t agree more. Every now and again I convince myself that I’ve been doing these things for so long I must have seen every wheeze and ruse.
Silly man.
drofle@9 and others – thanks, you’re welcome, and apologies for any groans.
Today in Anglo-American linguistic differences: here, “throw up” as an idiom (as opposed to literally flinging something skywards) can only mean “regurgitate.” Not that this got in the way of the clue.
As with others, I had fun finding all the fish–for once, I spotted the theme early enough for it to help a bit. A couple went in unparsed, so thanks for the blog. The racehorse was new to me, as was DELPHS. Neither got in the way of completing the puzzle.
Thanks NNI @ 24. Previous occurrences obviously passed me by. The M/W thing is more obvious, to my mind.
Mine were groans of enjoyment Bullhassocks @26.
Apologies if this appears twice – my previous attempt to post seems to have gone missing.
I was another LOST COUNT. I would argue for this on two counts.
If you’ve already got to 5, missing 4, you’re not losing count, you’ve already lost it.
And if you don’t know where Vlad is now, you’ve already lost him.
Would “1, 2, 3 … er … hide from Dracula!” work for LOSE COUNT?
Thanks, as usual, to Qaos and manehi
Thanks Qaos and manehi
I had LOST COUNT too. Very entertaining, though I got a bit bogged down in the NW as I was sure that 12d would be either REVEL or LEVEL (but wasn’t quite sure which). Eventually I checked and it was neither, allowing me eventually to finish with DRUM LOI.
What fun! I love seeing that Qaos is the setter, because I love a ghost theme . . . and today it was also a *ghoti* theme! I also had LOST COUNT, and continue to think it was the answer better supported by the clue, joining with several other commenters who have mentioned this above. “LOST” COUNT was one of my favorites – a laugh-out-loud PDM. I also ticked FLOUNDER, LING, and my CotD, NERO.
Many thanks to Qaos and manehi and the other commenters (with an extra nod to Bullhassocks @1). I’ll be checking the score all afternoon at work – hope to see England go through to the final!
Pretty straightforward by Qaos standards, but entertaining and ingenious. Missed about half of the themers due to lack of specialist knowledge. I’m in the LOST camp too, but didn’t bother to check the online solution, so I suppose that counts as a failure…
Thanks to Qaos and manehi
mrpenney @ 27: For me (in the U.K.) the first meaning of THROW UP is, las for you, the regurgitate sense. Did this meaning originate from the UK or US?
Struggled to begin with because, for some reason, I wouldn’t move on from the NW and THROW UP held me up (I’m another regurgitator). However, once they were done I spotted the theme and the others fell in line fairly readily. A lot of fun – eventually! If England can win the match later, it’ll be a good day all round. 🙂
Thanks to Qaos and manehi but also to my fellow posters – the replies made me smile today, esp. Bullhassocks.
Thanks to Qaos and manehi. Nothing much to add. I too had trouble with DELPHS and the driver Tom Daley, but I did remember Red Rum from previous puzzles.
Quite a lot of this was pretty much a write in but then I hit the SE and things went awry.This was partly because I had GHOST for 12dn. FLOUNDER put paid to that and the rest quickly followed. I was another LOST COUNT and rereading the clue, the “now” leaps off the page. I didn’t get the theme of course, and,as so often, I wonder how I missed it!
Thanks Qaos.