As befits Wednesday, a very pleasant and fairly gentle crossword from Tees today, with a large number of clues that can be explained in a single short statement. Tees has a habit of stretching one’s literary-type knowledge to the limits, but not here so far as I can see. I shouldn’t have thought that Sherlock Holmes was particularly outré.
Definitions in maroon, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics.
No evidence to me of any theme. But Tees doesn’t do them … does he?
| Across | ||
| 1 | INTERCOM | Cremation: not a bad way to communicate (8) |
| (Crem{a}tion)* | ||
| 6 | SHANDY | Alexander imbibing hot mixed drink (6) |
| S(h)andy | ||
| 9 | ITCH | Sorceress being non-starter in desire (4) |
| {w}itch | ||
| 10 | EXPEDITION | Voyagers make haste (10) |
| 2 defs, the first of them voyagers = the people on an expedition = an expedition itself | ||
| 11 | MUESLI | Cereal covers uniform in slippery slime (6) |
| m(u)esli, the mesli being *(slime) | ||
| 12 | DIAPASON | Stop to assist returning dad and lad (8) |
| (aid)rev. Pa son — an organ stop | ||
| 13 | APOPHTHEGM | Saw report and article after hours in AGM (10) |
| A(pop (h the))GM | ||
| 16 | HATE | Dislike revealed in clash at Edgbaston (4) |
| Hidden in clasH AT Edgbaston | ||
| 17 | AVON | French plane one ditched in river (4) |
| Av(i)on | ||
| 19 | ABYSSINIAN | African hell — and home to Scotsman! (10) |
| abyss in Ian | ||
| 22 | CRITICAL | Finding fault is vital (8) |
| 2 defs | ||
| 24 | REGAIN | Recover for example in wet weather (6) |
| r(eg)ain | ||
| 26 | WORLD-WEARY | Troubled lad we care about, tired of life (5-5) |
| *(lad we) in worry | ||
| 27 | ARAB | Semite in Basra disheartened and sent back (4) |
| (Ba{s}ra)rev. | ||
| 28 | STEADY | Firmly fixed in place close to boundary (6) |
| stead {boundar}y | ||
| 29 | HARDENED | Set start for Holmes with A Study in Scarlet (8) |
| H{olmes} a r(den)ed — neat because A Study in Scarlet marked the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | NO-TRUMP | Bid type that’s top — not bottom! (2-5) |
| not rump — I know little about bridge and so don’t know why a no-trump bid is top; nor can I find out from a brief look at what Google throws up — I’m sure some bridge player will enlighten us [see gwep@5 below] | ||
| 3 | ETHOS | Sailor accompanies ancient character in spirit (5) |
| eth [= ancient character] OS | ||
| 4 | CHEVIOT | Sheep hearts I’ve taken up into bed (7) |
| c(h (I’ve)rev.)ot | ||
| 5 | MOPED | Doctor straddling old exercise bike (5) |
| M(o PE)D | ||
| 6 | SIDEARM | Admires pulsating weapon (7) |
| (Admires)* | ||
| 7 | ASTRAKHAN | Almost lost Asian ruler in Russian city (9) |
| astra{y} khan | ||
| 8 | DROP-OUT | Unsuccessful student making fresh start at Rugby (4-3) |
| 2 defs — in rugby football at various times (mainly when the attacking team has kicked it over the goal line and the defenders have touched the ball down) a drop-kick is taken (in this case from the 22 metre line) to restart play and this is called a drop-out | ||
| 14 | PANATELLA | Headless insect found in dish that’s smoked (9) |
| pa({g}nat)ella | ||
| 15 | ELY | See court painter beheaded (3) |
| {L}ely — this painter | ||
| 18 | VERMONT | Minister coming north books to tour second state (7) |
| ((Rev.)rev. NT) round mo | ||
| 19 | ARCHWAY | Structure made with expert technique (7) |
| arch [= expert] way | ||
| 20 | SPRAYER | Perhaps Mister Solo’s initial devotion? (7) |
| S{olo} prayer — mister in the sense of something that mists | ||
| 21 | ANIMATE | Ace companion in Belfast fire? (7) |
| A NI-mate — a NI-mate might be a companion in Belfast, so the question mark really refers to the first part of the clue rather than being part of the definition | ||
| 23 | LEACH | Top removed from cleaning liquid for drain (5) |
| {b}leach | ||
| 25 | GLAZE | Peer outside entrance to Lords in coat (5) |
| g(L{ords})aze | ||
*anagram
Very nice thank you Tees – my main problem was deciding that I’d got the correct spelling of the saw in 13a
Thanks also to John
Reasonably straightforward. Had met APOPHTHEGM before but needed the cryptic fodder to spell it. Geography is not my strong point so didn’t know ASTRAKHAN. Dredged DIAPASON out of the dregs of my memory but easy to parse.
9a reminded me of the song ‘The Witch’ by the Rattles. Anybody remember that gem from 1970? Just listened to it on youtube here (if I manage the link properly). Best listened to with amp turned up to 11.
Thanks to Tees and John.
Nice one; I didn’t know the saw, the stop or the painter.
I really enjoyed the African and the SPRAYER.
Thanks Tees and John.
This didn’t hold me up for too long. Had to google the saw to make sure it really was spelled like that. Knew the organ stop and the painter. Just difficult enough to require a little brain power but not so hard that I struggled. Thanks Tees, and John.
2D in contract bridge the suits, or denominations, are ranked No Trump(s), Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs. No Trump(s) is the highest, Spades second highest etc. No Trump(s) is not actually a “suit” – there are no trumps in a No Trump contract.
I’m sure that’s pellucidly clear(?)
Another fairly gentle stroll. We knew the saw but had to check that spelling in Chambers (which also has an alternative spelling without the ‘ph’). Liked the organ stop and the Sherlock Holmes reference.
Thanks, Tees and John.
Well I don’t suppose too many words have PHTH in them. I think we get CHTHONIC sometimes. I’ll work on it …
Thanks John and all present. I’m afraid I’m no bridge player either: I had to be told!
Tees.
Tees@7: There’s PHENOLPHTHALEIN (used as an indicator in chemistry, and also a powerful laxative) and a few other compounds ending in …phthalein.
I’d add DIPHTHERIA , DIPHTHONG and NAPHTHA off the top of my head. A Chambers wordsearch says there are 145, so I won’t list them.