Elegantly crafted surfaces and a few sneaky head-scratchers in this morning’s task.
Loads to admire, including hard-working ‘double-duty’ words, an &lit and – for me, anyway – a really satisfying ‘Aha!’ moment to finish the puzzle. Many thanks to Neo.
| Across | ||
| 1 | SPACE BAR | Used by writer, it gives no impression of character (5-3) |
| Cryptic definition. | ||
| 6 | STRUCK | Rook caught outside produced sudden attack (6) |
| R[ook] in STUCK (‘caught’). | ||
| 9 | CAREER | Make rapid progress in profession (6) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 10 | GEOMETRY | Remodelled game theory not a hard subject (8) |
| Anagram (‘remodelled’) of GaME ThEORY without A or H[ard]. | ||
| 11 | WANE | Batman, secretly disheartened, to decline in power (4) |
| Favourite and last in because BATE, EASE, FADE & PALE all fitted both crossers and (presumed) definition. But the otherwise never disheartened Bruce WAyNE is Batman’s secret true identity… | ||
| 12 | ABSOLUTISM | Autocratic rule from Somalis, but revolutionary (10) |
| Anagram (‘revolutionary’) of SOMALIS BUT. | ||
| 14 | LAND MINE | Secure and abundant source for weapon (4,4) |
| LAND (‘secure’) + MINE (‘abundant source’). | ||
| 16 | MULE | Cross, the writer collars university student (4) |
| ME (‘the writer’) surrounds U[niversity] L[earner]. | ||
| 18 | ALEC | Charlie on the beer gets one Guinness (4) |
| C[harlie] after ALE for the late actor. | ||
| 19 | EPILEPSY | Sherlock in sleepy, intoxicated condition (8) |
| P[rivate] I[nvesigator] (a ‘Sherlock’) in anagram (‘intoxicated’) of SLEEPY. | ||
| 21 | PRESCIENCE | Clairvoyance reveals ghost around Channel Islands (10) |
| A ghostly PRESENCE surrounds C[hannel] I[slands]. | ||
| 22 | TOAD | Amphibian takes oxygen in small amount (4) |
| O[xygen] in TAD. | ||
| 24 | DISASTER | Catastrophe, as in stride being disrupted (8) |
| AS in anagram (‘being disrupted)’ of STRIDE. | ||
| 26 | SLOGAN | Work hard with article used in campaign (6) |
| SLOG + AN, ‘article’ perhaps doing double duty as part of definition. | ||
| 27 | ATTEND | When news is on TV, dullard’s first to listen (6) |
| ‘News AT TEN’ + D(ullard). | ||
| 28 | EVENSONG | Service, for example, includes meat one declined (8) |
| EG (‘for example’) surrounds VENiSON, ‘I’ omitted. | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | PLAZA | Scheme to destroy each unfinished city square (5) |
| PLAn + ZAp, each unfisished. | ||
| 3 | CLEVER DICKS | Cape force detectives can be smart 18s (6,5) |
| C[ape] + LEVER (‘force’) + DICKS (‘detectives’). Smart ALECS, of course. | ||
| 4 | BARBARIC | Repeatedly exclude one cold and brutal (8) |
| BAR + BAR (‘exclude’ x2) + I + C[old]. | ||
| 5 | REGISTERED NURSE | Tender with surgeries to sort out? (10,5) |
| Anagram (‘to sort out’) of TENDER + SURGERIES &lit, pretty much, although you could say that just TENDER is doing double duty as def & anagram fodder. Nice clue either way. | ||
| 6 | SHOULD | Ought to keep uranium inside with sulphur (6) |
| HOLD (‘to keep’) around U[ranium] after S[ulphur]. | ||
| 7 | RYE | Some bread found regularly in Argyle (3) |
| Alternate letters of ‘aRgYlE’. | ||
| 8 | CHRYSALIS | Rich lass distraught about unknown insect developing (9) |
| Anagram (‘distraught’) of RICH LASS around Y (mathematical ‘unknown’). | ||
| 13 | TEMPESTUOUS | Seems put out, wild and passionate (11) |
| Anagram (‘wild’) of SEEMS PUT OUT, although, once more, WILD might be on double duty. | ||
| 15 | ALLERGIST | Go to French heart expert at medical centre? (9) |
| ALLER (to ‘go’, to the French) + GIST (‘heart’ as in ‘heart of the matter’). | ||
| 17 | LICENSEE | Crawlers get past new landlord (8) |
| LICE (‘crawlers’) + SEE (to ‘get’) after N[ew]. | ||
| 20 | GIFTED | Presented as especially intelligent (6) |
| DD. | ||
| 23 | AGAIN | Stove lit for second time? (5) |
| AGA (a ‘stove’) + IN (‘lit’, as in “to keep a stove ‘in’ overnight”). | ||
| 25 | ATE | Worried in area the hospital’s missed (3) |
| A[rea] + ThE without H[ospital]. | ||
*anagram
Funnily enough 11ac was my first one in! A pleasant lunctime workout over a pie and a pint. Thanks Neo and Grant.
To Steven:
Curse you, Joker. I was obviously guilty of over-thinking this one.
Yes, WANE was my favourite (memories of Adam West, maybe not the original (?) but still the best) with SPACE BAR and REGISTERED NURSE deserving of honourable mentions.
A few I couldn’t parse including EPILEPSY and the IN bit of AGAIN, but all OK in the end.
Good to see dear old Sir ALEC making his second appearance in a few days.
Thanks to Neo and Grant.
Thanks to Neo and Grant. Lots of fun. I started with “fade” (which did not parse), not WANE (and also tried to squeeze in “aide”-batman), but everything else went smoothly except for the in-lit in AGAIN.
Also wasn’t convinced about IN for LIT. I had two possibilities for 11a, WANE and FADE, so I guessed WANE and checked it with Google. My last one in was 14a, LAND MINE. 5d was the pick of the bunch.
14A was also my loi, not least because I’ve always spelt it as a single word, which Chambers supports.
Chambers 21st (the simple version) goes with LAND MINE whilst Collins has both.
Whoops, I’m Neo aren’t I.
Thanks for posting everyone, and thanks to Grant for a great blog.
Thanks Neo and Grant
Back in Australia and back at work, so will probably be slipping a day behind for the next while. Most enjoyable crossword that covered the trip into the city and a short mop up session afterwards. Lots to like and agree with WANE (which I got quite early) and REGISTERED NURSE my favourites.
Had not heard of that meaning of iN and so that part when unparsed.
Last couple in were ALLERGIST and LAND MINE – both of which I found quite tricky.