A really tough challenge from WANDERER this Friday that I struggled with. Needed some help to get across the line. Thanks WANDERER for a brilliant puzzle.
FF:9 DD:10
| Across | ||
| 1 | BUDAPEST | US pal, a pain in the neck in European capital (8) |
| BUD (us pal) A PEST (pain in the neck) | ||
| 5 | BALSAM | Mother’s labour – needs flipping ointment (6) |
| MA’S (mother’s) LAB (labour), all reversed | ||
| 10 | COCHLEA | Some earache cold almost brought about (7) |
| ACHE COLd* (almost) – i wonder if this surface is passable or not | ||
| 11 | LEEWARD | Lure fish back towards shelter (7) |
| DRAW (lure) EEL (fish), all reversed | ||
| 12 | APOSTOLIC | Cast polio out of New Testament characters (9) |
| CAST POLIO* | ||
| 13 | APPLE | Fruit drink with pips oddly included (5) |
| ALE (drink) containing PiPs (odd characters) | ||
| 15, 16 | CROSS PURPOSES | Confusion through misunderstanding winger’s pass into box before second goal (5,8) |
| CROSS (winger’s pass into box) PURPOSE (goal) S (second) | ||
| 19, 20 | DOMESTIC BLISS | Row between couple and barman, then all happy back home? (8,5) |
| DOMESTIC (row between couple) BLISS (barman, {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Bliss})) | ||
| 21 | RISEN | Right before one nurse gets you up (5) |
| R (right) I (one) SEN (nurse, state enrolled nurse) | ||
| 23 | TWO-TIMERS | Those playing away from home as couple watches? (3-6) |
| TWO (couple) TIMERS (watches) – super clue! | ||
| 25 | BRUMMIE | Awful bummer, accommodating one Midlander (7) |
| BUMMER* containing I (one) | ||
| 27 | GRANADA | In spring, ran a dairy for provincial capital (7) |
| hidden in “..sprinG RAN A DAiry..” | ||
| 28 | TWEEDS | Affectedly quaint dresser’s extremely woollen clothes (6) |
| TWEE (affectedly quaint) DS ( Dresser’S, first and last letters) | ||
| 29 | UNLOVELY | Novel produced in 31 days? Judge not, as not much to look at (8) |
| NOVEL* in jULY (31 days, without J-judge) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BY CHANCE | Accidentally purchase unoccupied church – Anglican one previously (2,6) |
| BuY (purchase, unoccupied) [CH (church) AN (one) CE (anglican)] | ||
| 2 | DICHOTOMOUS | Detectives held up topless pic – mostly shy person showing distinct cleavage? (11) |
| DIC (detectives= CID, reversed) pHOTO (pic, topless) MOUSe (shy person, mostly) | ||
| 3 | POLITESSE | Hardy female taken by force, not about to show formal good manners (9) |
| TESS (hardy female, character in a novel by thomas hardy , tess of the d’urbervilles) in POLIcE (force, without ‘C’ – about) | ||
| 4, 16 | SMALL POTATOES | Tape too tight in underwear? It’s something of little significance (5,8) |
| TAPE TOO* in SMALLS (underwear) | ||
| 6 | ARENA | Near a playing field (5) |
| NEAR A* | ||
| 7 | SPA | A rider goes north in spring (3) |
| A PS (rider, post script), all reversed | ||
| 8 | MIDGE | Annoying fly found in humid Georgia (5) |
| hidden in “..huMID GEorgia” | ||
| 9, 24 | ELECTRIC ORGAN | Member supports very exciting music producer (8,5) |
| ORGAN (member) under ELECTRIC (very exciting) | ||
| 14 | PRELITERATE | Clergyman includes bizarre rite without as yet any developed written language (11) |
| PRELATE (clergyman) containing RITE* | ||
| 16 | See 4 | |
| 17 | OBBLIGATO | Part that must be played by Bob, roughly half like silly goat (9) |
| BOB* LIke (half of) GOAT* | ||
| 18 | ISOSTASY | State of equilibrium is upset, so son falls in river (8) |
| IS OS (reverse of SO) [ S (son) in TAY (river) ] | ||
| 21 | RABAT | Scot meets a model in African capital (5) |
| RAB (scot) A T (model, ford car) | ||
| 22 | NOMAD | Wanderer moaned about leaving Europe initially (5) |
| MOANeD* (without E – first letter of Europe) | ||
| 24 | See 9 | |
| 26 | URE | Flower not in water? (3) |
| URinE (water, without IN) | ||
IN)*anagram
Yes, hard in places. New words for me were: DICHOTOMOUS & ISOSTASY & POLITESSE.
It can’t be an accident that MIDGE URE appears but, apart from ELECTRIC ORGAN, I don’t know any other links. Others may know more.
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs.
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
I didn’t find this particularly harder than Wanderer usually is, it was a good steady solve. At 28 I wanted to enter REES MOGG, but it wouldn’t fit.
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs. I did not know Arthur Bliss or Rab = Scot and did not parse UR(in)E but did finish (my LOI was COCHLEA) and much enjoyed the process.
A busy day, so late to comment on this most enjoyable puzzle, which I found no harder than usual, I think.
I noted MIDGE, as the scourge of my Scottish husband and URE, as my oft-quoted beloved Wensleydale river but didn’t link the two. Hovis @1 – alas, I can’t see any more connections but I feel [being Wanderer] there probably must be one or two more.
As often, too many favourites to list – many thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
Only got to this one yesterday over lunch and found it the typically enjoyable offering that was able to be completed in the normal timelines for this setter. – only needing electronic help to get DICHOTOMOUS and POLITISSE (a new term for me). It did take a while to get the longer clues for some reason which was very satisfying when I did. Liked the cryptically defined TWO-TIMERS.
COCHLEA was also my last one in.