Ah well, football didn’t come home after all … but there’s still the IoS puzzle to look forward to and it’s another enjoyable offering from Poins. Some might complain that it’s a bit General Knowledgy, and there’s one I can’t parse (it’s golf-related, what do you expect?)
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
abbreviations are underlined
Across
1 In favour of hiding old books at once
PRONTO
An insertion of O and NT for New Testament or ‘books’ in PRO. A word we have nicked from the Italians.
4 Advise against daughter taking children outside today
DISSUADE
A charade of D and AD for Anno Domini or ‘today’ in ISSUE.
9 Send for information about opening of festival by the Queen
REFER
A charade of RE, F for the first letter of ‘festival’ and ER for Brenda or, more properly, Elizabeth Regina.
10 American author ultimately happier admitting a liking for McGonagall perhaps
POETASTER
An insertion of TASTE in [Edgar Allan] POE and R for the last letter of ‘happier’. ‘A writer of inferior verse’, says my Collins. And if you read this offering from William Topaz McGonagall, you can’t argue with the definition.
11 Make troubled French filmmaker reflective in time
AGITATE
An insertion of [Jacques] TATI reversed in AGE.
12 Of immediate importance when very hot dancer’s finale is scrubbed
TOPICAL
T[R]OPICAL, with ‘scrubbed’ as the removal indicator and another first/last letter device.
13 Shot in Cuba earlier
CHIP
I think this is the answer, but I can’t really parse it. C for Cuba, but then … anyone?
14 Be careful to maintain an interest in public
WATCH OUT
A charade of WATCH and OUT.
17 Reportedly receives severe censure when it’s found on the beach
SEASHELL
SEAS, a homophone (‘reportedly’) of ‘sees’ and HELL. ‘The doctor will see you now and give you hell for not doing anything about losing weight.’
19 Dismal as a right-winger
BLUE
A dd.
22 Starts to envisage serious problems during ceremony’s delay
RESPITE
More first letter indications: E and S in RITE.
24 Strongly built springs on seat oddly removed
WELL-SET
A charade of WELLS and ET for the even letters of ‘seat’.
25 A prerequisite to study elocution about to be dropped
CONDITION
A charade of CON for ‘study’ (no, I’ve never seen it outside crosswords either) and DI[C]TION. The C is for circa, or ‘about’.
26 Mangled torso discovered in hen house
ROOST
(TORSO)*
27 Became unhappy with the German backed action to overwhelm Norway
SADDENED
A reversal of DAS for on of the (many) German words for ‘the’ followed by N in DEED.
28 Redouble one’s efforts to find parking close to store for future use
PLAY UP
A charade of P and LAY UP.
Down
1 Criminal charge brought about by fellow’s manner of speaking
PARLANCE
A reversal of RAP followed by LANCE.
2 About to have foreign films featuring sex prohibited
OFF-LIMITS
A charade of OF (a fairly vague synonym of ‘about’, as in talk about/talk of, I guess) and IT for ‘sex’ in (FILMS)*
3 Ruinous trade involving heroin providing story’s continuous theme
THREAD
An insertion of H in (TRADE)*
5 Smashing incidental wit shown by Dromio of Ephesus for example
IDENTICAL TWIN
I’d never heard of him (ignorance, I know) but the setter’s reasoning would be that it’s an obvious anagram, the enumeration is helpful, and you can check it afterwards. (INCIDENTAL WIT)*
6 Cleaner pretended to work up to the beginning of October
SHAMPOO
I can just about make this work if we take ‘pretended’ in its adjectival sense: a charade of SHAM, OP reversed (‘up’, since it’s a down clue) and O for another first letter indication.
7 Classically elegant room
ATTIC
A dd, referencing the Greek style.
8 Anger over dividing city exhibited in a weird way
EERILY
An insertion of IRE reversed in ELY for the city on the Fens.
10 Broadcast their appeal without concerning Waterhouse for instance
PRE-RAPHAELITE
McGonagall, Dromio, Waterhouse … we’re having a bit of GK this morning. This one I did have to look up first, since the cluing is less helpful: ‘without’ can be interpreted two ways, and there are a number of abbreviations for ‘concerning’. It’s (THEIR APPEAL)* surrounding RE.
15 Everything extremely suspect in Conservative’s unlikely tale
TALL STORY
More first and last letter indicators: ALL plus the outside letters of ‘suspect’ inserted into TORY.
16 Lies buried with an item of clothing in a Detroit lay-by
REST STOP
A charade of RESTS and TOP gives you the American word for a ‘lay-by’, which thinking about it, is much more logical. Try explaining to someone whose mother tongue isn’t English why we use a ‘lay-by’ to park a car.
18 Stupid like 19
ASININE
Poins is suggesting that ‘like 19’ would be AS I NINE.
20 Fail to take satisfactory snaps
CRACKS
A charade of CRACK for ‘fail’ and S as an abbreviation for ‘satisfactory’.
21 Involving more than one in place on river
PLURAL
A charade of PL and URAL for the Russian river. Oooh, I nearly mentioned the football.
23 Ecclesiastical council‘s report essentially lacking an indication of agreement
SYNOD
A charade of S[A]Y and NOD.
Many thanks to Poins for this morning’s offering. Well done, England, and Allez les Bleus …
Thanks, Pierre. CHIP is “in” HIP with C for Cuba “earlier”.
Right wingers are red in America.
Didn’t know the PRE-RAPHAELITE painter or the IDENTICAL TWIN (a Shakespearean character I now see), but they weren’t too difficult as anagrams. I put in an unparsed ‘clip’ for CHIP, which now makes sense.
I liked ASININE, both for the parsing as given and ? for the reference to half of the dd for 19a.
Thanks to Poins and Pierre.
Thanks, Neil, for explaining HIP. Obvious when you see it.
Unlike the early birds we savoured this over an afternoon cuppa. And very nice it was too. We knew of Mcgonagall (he of The Great Tay Whale – and other excruciating verse – fame) and Dromio, and vaguely remembered Waterhouse as a painter though we initially thought of writer Keith Waterhouse.
We liked, among others, PRONTO, OFF-LIMITS and ASININE. Last two in were PARLANCE and CHIP after we realised the parsing of the latter.
Thanks, Poins and Pierre.
This is probably far too late as I ve only just got round to this puzzle (Wednesday am…I know, I know ?) but, much as I enjoyed most of this puzzle, isn’t C for Cuba a bit arbitrary?