A good straightforward puzzle with one clue I can’t fully explain. Thanks Neo.
| Across | ||
| 1 | INCANDESCENT | Very bright having old Peruvian origin (12) |
| INCAN DESCENT (having old Peruvian origin) | ||
| 8 | RIVETER | Does it fascinate shipyard worker? (7) |
| double/cryptic definition | ||
| 9 | RHUBARB | Plant rot (7) |
| double definition | ||
| 11 | SELFISH | Mercenary is flesh-wounded (7) |
| anagram (wounded) of IS FLESH | ||
| 12 | SET FAIR | Show on TV female with fine prospects (3,4) |
| AIR (show) following (on) SET (TV) F (female) | ||
| 13 | IRENE | Woman from India with Frenchman (5) |
| I (India, phonetic alphabet) with RENE | ||
| 14 | AFTERMATH | At the farm produced second crop (9) |
| anagram (produced) of AT THE FARM | ||
| 16 | GASOMETER | Empty morphine into liquid storage tank (9) |
| MorphinE (empty, no middle letters) in anagram (liquid) of STORAGE | ||
| 19 | COTTA | Accountant keeps extravagant tunic for priest (5) |
| CA (chartered accountant) contains OTT (extravagant) | ||
| 21 | O’CONNOR | Irish clan on about scam with gold (7) |
| ON contains (about) CON (scam) then OR (gold) | ||
| 23 | WITNESS | One observing written verses occasionally (7) |
| every other letter (occasionally) of WrItTeN vErSeS | ||
| 24 | NUANCED | Political party in nude dancing that’s subtle (7) |
| ANC (African National Congress, political party) in anagram (dancing) of NUDE | ||
| 25 | A PRIORI | Men arriving in time to fool one in theory (1,6) |
| OR (other ranks, men) in APR I (April 1st, time to fool) and I (one) | ||
| 26 | THE BEE’S KNEES | These workers’ benders are something special! (3,4,5) |
| knees are bender, bees are workers | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | INVOLVE | Mean at home, see love suffering (7) |
| IN (at home) V (vide, see) then anagram (suffering) of LOVE | ||
| 2 | CAT-LIKE | Feline unable to admire last of autumn leaves (3-4) |
| CAn’T LIKE (unable to admire) missing autumN (last letter of) | ||
| 3 | NORTHEAST | Direction in which earth’s not spinning (9) |
| anagram (spinning) of EARTH’S NOT | ||
| 4 | EARNS | Makes rounded vases reportedly (5) |
| sounds like (reportedly) “urns” (rounded vases) | ||
| 5 | CLUSTER | Last standing officer corrals large group (7) |
| CUSTER (last standing officer, General Custer) contains (corrals) L (large) | ||
| 6 | NIAGARA | Falls back once more having run ahead to start with (7) |
| AGAIN (once more) reversed (back) then R (run) and Ahead (first letter, to start with) | ||
| 7 | DRESSING DOWN | Wearing less than smart apparel invites criticism (8,4) |
| double definition – you could possibly add “invites” to the LH definition as a dress code invitation | ||
| 10 | BIRTHDAY SUIT | Fashionable bit with dusty hair and skin (8,4) |
| anagram (fashionable) of BIT with DUSTY HAIR | ||
| 15 | THROWBACK | Perplex with support for primitive type (9) |
| THROW (perplex) and BACK (support) | ||
| 17 | STOMACH | Bear cat in bag hunter’s opening (7) |
| TOM (cat) in SAC (bag) then Hunter (opening letter of) | ||
| 18 | MINICAB | Skirt around black taxi (7) |
| MINI (skirt) CA (circa, around) then B (black) | ||
| 19 | COTERIE | Circle lake bed first (7) |
| ERIE (lake is North America) follows (with…first) COT (bed) | ||
| 20 | TREMORS | Bad storm carrying on causes shakes (7) |
| anagram (bad) of STORM contains (carrying) RE (regarding, on) | ||
| 22 | RIDGE | Trip across grand escarpment (5) |
| RIDE (trip) contains (across) G (grand) | ||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.
Thanks Neo and PeeDee. A failry quick solve today.
You are on the right lines with 25ac. It is simply a shortened form of April 1st (APRI) plus OR plus I.
Also 26ac should be plural Bees’ I think – I should know as it is my Fantasy Premiership Team name!
Thanks Steven, I couldn’t see the wood for the trees!
Re BEES: why should the apostrophe be after the s? The bee’s knees (knees are the best bit of a bee) is an intuitive (if nonsensical) metaphor. THE BEES’ KNEES would mean all of the knees of all the bees. Still a nonsensical metaphor but it doesn’t have the same intuitive ring. Chambers lists the expression with the apostrophe for a singular bee.
Good stuff, as I expect from Neo/Tees.
COTTA was new to me. Strange to see A PRIORI in such a similar fashion to elsewhere today.
Although I would prefer ‘regularly’ to ‘occasionally’ in 23a, I thought this was one of the very best every-other-letter clues.
Have seen similar clues to 1a and 6d before but they both merit a repeat showing.
My first look at the anagram fodder for 16a led me to see ‘megastore’. Probably seen this as an anagram of ‘gasometer’ before but forgotten it. Took a while to work it out. Liked the anagram at 3d.
Thanks to Neo and PeeDee.
Much preferred Picaroon’s clue for A PRIORI.
My Collins has bee’s knees. I always assumed this comes from ‘business’ but have never bothered checking.
Not too difficult but some excellent clues including THE BEE’S KNEES (I agree about the position of the apostrophe), BIRTHDAY SUIT and best of all the ‘last standing officer’ in 5d. COTTA has also gone into the new words file.
Didn’t know if IRENE O’CONNOR might indicate a theme, but on a quick search all I could find was an Australian nun who released an album called ‘ Fire of God’s Love (Songs to ignite the spirit)’ in 1973. The album has apparently now ‘developed an international cult following’. Maybe worth a listen. Such are the places to which a cryptic crossword will take us.
Thanks to Neo for a pleasant solve and to PeeDee.
Enjoyable thank you Neo
Bee’s Knees is apparently either to do with a prohibition drink or else it is just one of those things like the cat’s whiskers used to denote something really splendid
Sorry – thank you to PeeDee too
Thanks to Neo and PeeDee. Lots of fun. I did not know SET FAIR as a phrase or COTTA (though the cluing was clear) and took a while getting CAT-LIKE, my LOI. I associate the bee’s knees with the flapper era of the 1920s.
Easier than Picaroon’s but with splendid surfaces. After completing Picaroon , got A PRIORI here immediately, ‘in theory’ giving the game away. COD 26a. 1a now a chestnut.
Came here for a change from risqué clues elsewhere and found an enjoyable solve. 1ac may be a chestnut but we’d not come across it before; it was one of our favourites along with 14ac and 16ac. We thought of A PRIORI from the enumeration alone before we had any crossing letters but took ages to decide that’s what it was and then parse it.
Thanks, Neo and PeeDee.
Copmus is back to form. Good. I too preferred Picaroon’s version …
I can’t prove that the expression comes from apiculture, but as a former beekeeper, I do know that, when gathering pollen, honeybees store it above the middle joint (the “knee”) of their hind legs until they return to the hive. So the “bee’s knees” are a sort of wallet, and pollen – which is often bright yellow – is their gold. So maybe…
Fun solve, but I was thrown off on 22d by the embedded mountains in “grAND EScarpment.” Crossing words eventually made me realize my error.
Thanks Neo and PeeDee
Missed this while holidaying in Queensland. Got to it this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. Particularly liked the word play in SET FAIR, GASOMETER, A PRIORI and STOMACH.
COTTA was the only new term for me.
Finished with BIRTHDAY SUIT (a novel definition), A PRIORI (without having done the Picaroon puzzle) and SET FAIR (which was a term that I wasn’t readily familiar with and took a bit of time to work out the cryptic part of it).