FALCON opens the week with a nice mix of clues…
Greetings from Costa Rica!
We had to blog this in a rainforest whilst fending off mosquitos, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless.
A lot of very neat surfaces, and a composer we’d never heard of.
Thanks FALCON!
Across
1 Skin condition irritates husband covering centre of worst area (10)
NETTLERASH
NETTLES (irritates) + H (husband) covering [wo]R[st] (centre of) + A (area)
6 Briefly obstruct alliance (4)
BLOC
BLOC[k] (briefly obstruct)
9 Support for logs in sack by track (7)
FIREDOG
FIRE (sack) + DOG (track)
10 Compel injured fencer to receive oxygen (7)
ENFORCE
(FENCER)* (*injured) to receive O (oxygen)
12 Conductor in pub facing writer with bad back (10)
BARBIROLLI
BAR (pub) facing BIRO (writer) with (ILL)< (bad, <back)
13 Draw cup match (3)
TIE
Double definition
15 Stop with fashionable daughter at university (4,2)
WIND UP
W (with) + IN (fashionable) + D (daughter) + UP (at university)
16 Rustic grabbing tail of heath bird (8)
PHEASANT
PEASANT (rustic) grabbing [heat]H (tail of)
18 Beast put in place round ancient city (8)
CREATURE
CREATE (put in place) round UR (ancient city)
20 Pretty sure lad is after rum (4- 2)
ODDS-ON
SON (lad) is after ODD (rum)
23 Go out with Elizabeth Barrett Browning, initially (3)
EBB
E[lizabeth] B[arrett] B[rowning] (initially)
24 German woman with DS, going to court for police department (5,5)
FRAUD SQUAD
FRAU (German woman) with DS going to QUAD (court)
26 Racehorse ruled out within hour (7)
HURDLER
(RULED)* (*out) within HR (hour)
27 Artist put in account, with electronic printing system (7)
BRAILLE
RA (artist) put in BILL (account) with E (electronic)
28 Low, duke creates an atmosphere (4)
MOOD
MOO (low) + D (duke)
29 Curious deer sent it flying (10)
INTERESTED
(DEER SENT IT)* (*flying)
Down
1 Vulgar supporter turned up before start of final (4)
NAFF
(FAN)< (supporter, <turned up) before F[inal] (start of)
2 Turtle avoiding soft ground (7)
TERRAIN
TERRA[p]IN (turtle, avoiding P (soft))
3 A nobly dutiful, awfully rich and generous woman (4,9)
LADY BOUNTIFUL
(A NOBLY DUTIFUL)* (*awfully)
4 Look at section of pleasure garden (6)
REGARD
[pleasu]RE GARD[en] (section of)
5 Stone rich wife dropped under the table (8)
STEALTHY
ST (stone) + [w]EALTHY (rich, w (wife) dropped)
7 Girl – Lynn, perhaps (7)
LORETTA
Double definition
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer currently in the news
8 Fruit, kind in middle of tiers (10)
CLEMENTINE
CLEMENT (kind) + IN + [ti]E[rs] (middle of)
11 Honest description of boringly conventional blonde? (4-3-6)
FAIR-AND-SQUARE
Double definition
14 I knew match ground, one in Greater London (10)
TWICKENHAM
(I KNEW MATCH)* (*ground) (match ground plays the part of the cryptic part and the definition)
17 Manage following hearing test (5,3)
TRIAL RUN
RUN (manage) following TRIAL (hearing)
19 Ban therefore must include male graduate (7)
EMBARGO
ERGO (therefore) must include M (male) + BA (graduate)
21 Type of onion: attempt to eat every bit (7)
SHALLOT
SHOT (try) to eat ALL (every bit)
22 Fit to eat from deli? Be prepared! (6)
EDIBLE
(DELI BE)* (*prepared)
25 Star clue (4)
LEAD
Double definition
A pleasant, albeit simple, start to the week. I learnt a little along the way having not met the expression “lady bountiful” or the conductor “Barbirolli”.
I have also never heard of Loretta Lynn and felt this was a terrible clue but the others more than made up.
Thanks to Falcon and Teacow.
Thanks Teacow and Falcon.
I agree with Hovis @1 that LORETTA is pretty dreadful, which is a shame as the rest was fine.
Thanks Falcon and Teacow
Needed a mop up session to get this one finished from a train ride into the city. In line with Hovis@1 with the new terms and after unsuccessfully looking for a meaning of Loretta to mean some sort of girl, say like Abigail that can mean a maid, I must agree that it wasn’t up to the standard of the rest of the puzzle.
Finished in the NE corner with NAFF and FIREDOG the last couple in.
PS … enjoy your trip in the Caribbean, Teacow !!
I had heard of Loretta Lynn (having lived in US for 45 years) but, having grown up in UK during WW2, spent a lot of time messing with Vera. Found the bottom half easier than the top.
Thank you both.
Thanks to Falcon and Teacow. Enjoyable. I too knew LORETTA Lynn (though it took me a while to make the connection – I needed the crossers) but not BARBIROLLI and NETTLERASH (both of which I did parse). I had not come across LADY BOUNTIFUL as a phrase, but had encountered her in Farquhar’s The Beaux’ Stratagem.