A relatively benign offering today from the Don for his last crossword in 2018! Thanks Don, and looking forward to more of your challenges in 2019.
The blocked cells in the middle of the grid, read HH – I wonder if that was an allusion to Happy Holidays.
FF: 8 DD: 7
On a separate note, I note that I have clocked 5 years as a blogger on 15^2. Thanks to Geoff (an inspiration in many ways) , all the setters, bloggers and commenters who have made being here, a totally rewarding and enriching experience for me.
Happy New Year 2019 to all !!
| Across | ||
| 1 | STAND-OFF | Impasse when Don is in trouble among the workforce (5-3) |
| DON* in STAFF (workforce) | ||
| 6 | MOTOWN | Test applied to personal form of music (6) |
| MOT (test) OWN (personal) | ||
| 9 | MAGNET | Periodical to take home, something attractive (6) |
| MAG (peirodical) NET (take home) | ||
| 10 | UNDERPIN | Support wicked nun full of false pride (8) |
| NUN* containing PRIDE* | ||
| 11 | BYRE | Barn close to river, middle of field (4) |
| BY (close to) R (river) E (middle of fiEld) | ||
| 12 | INDISPOSED | I’d spend, so I could become unwell (10) |
| ID SPEND SO I* | ||
| 14 | EDUCTION | Bringing out attraction that gets son led astray (8) |
| sEDUCTION (attraction, without S – son) | ||
| 16 | POOR | Low-quality gold found by river (4) |
| PO (river) OR (gold) | ||
| 18 | MAGI | Graduate and soldier, men on special quest (4) |
| MA (graduate) GI (soldier) | ||
| 19 | FLAGRANT | Notorious harangue with signal first (8) |
| FLAG (signal) RANT (harangue) | ||
| 21 | CONTRACTED | Given an agreement that’s shortened (10) |
| double def | ||
| 22 | USPS | Note by you and me provides reasons for choosing product (4) |
| US (you and me) PS (note) – unique selling propositions | ||
| 24 | DISGUISE | Criticise blokes heard in act of deception (8) |
| DIS (criticise) GUISE (sounds like GUYS, blokes) | ||
| 26 | VOICES | They may be audible acts of wickedness, nothing being concealed (6) |
| VICES (acts of wickedness) containing O (nothing) | ||
| 27 | ENOUGH | The makings of a feast? Say no more! (6) |
| cryptic def; enough is as good as feast | ||
| 28 | STRAYING | Errant man caught in police operation (8) |
| RAY (man) in STING (police operation) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | TRACY | Film actor showing vigour after short time (5) |
| T (time, short) RACY (vigour), spencer most likely | ||
| 3 | NONDESCRIPT | Donne in translation – writing becomes dull? (11) |
| DONNE IN* SCRIPT (writing) | ||
| 4 | OSTEITIS | I sit with toes twisted – that produces a sort of pain (8) |
| I SIT TOES* | ||
| 5 | FOUNDING FATHERS | Pioneers who could be hot and suffering (8,7) |
| HOT AND SUFFERING* – nice surface | ||
| 6 | MODISH | Maureen, attractive girl in the latest fashion? (6) |
| MO (maureen) DISH (attractive girl) | ||
| 7 | TOR | Feature of Dartmoor almost rent apart (3) |
| TORe (rent apart, almost) | ||
| 8 | WRITE-DOWN | Put on paper the fall in value of an asset (5-4) |
| double def | ||
| 13 | OPPORTUNITY | Drink with harmony after work – good time (11) |
| [PORT (drink) UNITY (harmony) ] after OP (work) | ||
| 15 | DRACONIAN | Doctor with a trick, man proving to be very cruel (9) |
| DR (doctor) A CON (trick) IAN (man) | ||
| 17 | HANDOVER | Transfer from hospital somewhere in Hampshire (8) |
| H (hospital) ANDOVER (sonewhere in hampshire) | ||
| 20 | PARIAH | Unacceptable person rendering song in public house (6) |
| ARIA (song) in PH (public house) | ||
| 23 | PREEN | Groom is quiet and naive, not good (5) |
| P (quiet) gREEN (naive, without G – good) | ||
| 25 | GNU | Animal eating nuts, but not the whole lot (3) |
| hidden in “..eatinG NUts..” | ||
*anagram
Yes, pretty easy stuff from the Don today. Didn’t know the reasoning behind ENOUGH but easy enough to guess.
I suppose WRITE-DOWN isn’t strictly speaking a DD since “put on paper” wouldn’t have the hyphen?
Wonder if Eileen can resist posting a link related to 25d 🙂 If you don’t understand this reference, you can look at her comment to yesterday’s independent.
Thanks to Bradman and Turbolegs.
I think he uses more chillies when setting a Pasquale but this was fine after the workout from Vlad.
Thanks turbo.
Thanks to both. For 22a, I could not parse it as to me USPS is United States Postal Service and I had never heard the other phrase. I am with Hovis @1 on 27a.
Thanks to Bradman and Turbolegs. Enjoyable. I was lucky here, for several of the solutions were terms I’ve learned from previous puzzles: USPS; BYRE; MOT in MOTOWN. As to ENOUGH, I was familiar with the proverb because I knew the mid 16th-century moral-allegorical play Enough is as Good as a Feast where Enough is one of the key personae.
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs – congratulations on your milestone.
In 2D, I think that RACY is ‘showing vigour’, not just ‘vigour’ per se.
This Giovanni puzzle would have been ok for a Monday, or is he in a benign New year mood?
Thanks Turbolegs and Don.
Didn’t get TRACY and BYRE.I had TRACE in my mind and got stuck there. Don’t often post here due to time difference. Thank you and the other bloggers for educating me. Happy New Year to all!
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
The last of the Christmas-New Year backlog when I was away from a printer. Might not have been on top of my game when I did this, but didn’t find it as easy as others here. Really struggled to get the last couple in – BYRE and TRACY.
Didn’t know the phrase about ‘enough and feast’ – only getting it from the second part of the clue.
Good opportunity to congratulate and thank TL for his work on a Friday and look forward to your blogs in 2019.