A smooth start to the week from Armonie…
Some nice clues here… nothing too taxing – though we aren’t really sure about 10a. Also MORAINE was a new word for us.
We particularly liked 16d.
Thanks ARMONIE!
Across
1 Agent is fine performer (6)
FACTOR
F (fine) + ACTOR (performer)
5 Note anxiety in teacher (8)
MISTRESS
MI (note) + STRESS (anxiety)
9 Boy embraces supporter getting gold in Canada (8)
LABRADOR
LAD (boy) embraces BRA (supporter) getting OR (gold)
10 Girl is out of the ordinary (6)
GLORIA
Cryptic Defintion
See Gaufrid @2 for an explanation.
11 Password for man entering bishopric (6)
SESAME
SAM (man) entering SEE (bishopric)
12 Wear thin make-up when wearing nothing at all (2,3,3)
IN THE RAW
(WEAR THIN)* (*make-up)
14 Honest setter becomes homeless (2,3,7)
ON THE STREETS
(HONEST SETTER)* (*becomes)
18 Unimaginative material – rotten play! (6-2-4)
MATTER OF FACT
MATTER (material) + OFF (rotten) + ACT (play)
22 Defamed in song about inventor (8)
LIBELLED
LIED (song, German) about BELL (inventor, Alexander Graham Bell)
25 Evidence about bull turning strange (6)
EXOTIC
(CITE (evidence) about OX (bull))< (<turning)
26 Appease old Bob frequently (6)
SOFTEN
S (old bob, shilling) + OFTEN (frequently)
27 Blotter I used producing script (8)
LIBRETTO
(BLOTTER I)* (*used)
28 Prophet entertains shrewd hunter (8)
SEARCHER
SEER (prophet) entertains ARCH (shrewd)
29 Monet represented Bishop of Bury (6)
ENTOMB
(MONET)* (*represented) + B (bishop)
Down
2 Stir up a backwash on the first of November (6)
AWAKEN
A + WAKE (backwash) on N[ovember] (first of)
3 Go off boxing match following a change of attitude (9)
TURNABOUT
TURN (go off) + (BOUT (boxing match) following A)
4 Trot with me and the dog (3,6)
RED SETTER
RED (trot, Trotskyist) + SETTER (me, Armonie)
5 Operations research in a state bank (7)
MORAINE
OR (operations research) in MAINE (state)
6 Complain over time of show (5)
SIGHT
SIGH (complain) over T (time)
7 Right-hand man is a banker (5)
RHONE
RH (right hand) + ONE (man)
8 Captain put on workers’ clothing (3,5)
SKI PANTS
SKIP (captain) put on ANTS (workers)
13 She sees husband has soap (3)
HER
H (husband) + ER (soap, tv series)
15 Chart containing ancestry can be found (9)
TRACEABLE
TABLE (chart) containing RACE (ancestry)
16 Hearty pirate wearing old doublet? (9)
EXTROVERT
ROVER (pirate) wearing (EX (old) + TT (double t))
17 One supporting ban on Italian singer (8)
BARITONE
ONE supporting BAR (ban) on IT (Italian)
19 Touch headless fish (3)
EEL
[f]EEL (touch, headless)
20 Office worker entertains divine musician (7)
FIDDLER
FILER (office worker) entertains DD (divine, Doctor of Divinity)
21 Dupe a couple of lads (6)
VICTIM
VIC + TIM (couple of lads)
23 Landlord has no right to come in (5)
ENTER
[r]ENTER (landlord, no R (right))
24 Repast for student with a French companion (5)
LUNCH
L (student, Learner) + UN (a in French) + CH (companion, Companions of Honour)
I did know MORAINE as it often crops up on Countdown. It’s also an anagram of the setter – not sure if that’s a coincidence.
Got stuck in the NE and used a cheat to get SIGHT. Finally bunged in GLORIA but don’t understand it.
Thanks to Armonie and Teacow.
Hovis @1
“Finally bunged in GLORIA but don’t understand it.”
A ‘gloria’ is “any doxology beginning with the word Gloria” and a doxology is “a hymn or liturgical formula ascribing glory to God”, something that would be included in a religious service. An ‘ordinary’ is “a rule or book that lays down the form of a religious service, esp the mass” so GLORIA can be said to be out of the ordinary. (Definitions from Chambers).
Thanks Gaufrid @2 – hadn’t come across that definition of ordinary before
Thanks Gaufrid. I have seen that meaning for ‘ordinary’ before but completely forgot it. Nice clue.
Thanks Armonie and Teacow
Found this a little more challenging than the normal puzzle from Armonie, particularly the NE corner which held me up for quite a while.
Took time to get the SKIP part of 8d, the SIGH =complain part of 6d and the ‘ordinary’ relationship to GLORIA (which was, like Hovis@1, bunged in and needed the blog to understand why).
A good start to the week.
Very late contribution, mainly because I spent goodness knows how long in the NE. Exactly the same troublesome ones as mentioned by brucew@aus @5 and as for everyone else (except Gaufrid) I bunged in GLORIA in complete ignorance. I do remember all the different sorts of MORAINE from Year 8 geography (why – I don’t know), so that helped with 5d, but only after I had the crossers.
I did find this pretty taxing and a real challenge to kick off the week.
Thanks to Armonie and Teacow