A slow burner from Neo.
As I was entering some of my first solutions into the grid, I felt that this was going to be a boring solve, but then some of the cleverer clues in the bottom half piqued my interest and I ended up enjoying the puzzle more.
I am unable to fully parse 8 across and I think a little editing may have avoided the juxtaposition of “learner” at the end of one clue, followed by its being the solution to the next.
Thanks Neo
| Across | ||
| 1 | CLOTHES HORSE | Could you put your shirt on it? (7-5) |
| Cryptic definition – many people may be putting their shirt on a horse at Cheltenham today. | ||
| 8 | TOURISM | Travel business not far from Sumerian city? (7) |
| TO (“not far from”) + UR (“Sumerian city”)
Can’t see the ISM bit though. |
||
| 9 | OVERLAP | Coincide to an extent having finished circuit (7) |
| OVER (“finished”) + LAP (“circuit”) | ||
| 11 | GENERAL | Regular classes taken by learner (7) |
| GENERA (“classes”) taken by L (learner) | ||
| 12 | LEARNER | Motorist awaiting chance to pass? (7) |
| Cryptic definition
A little clumsy that this answer is also the last word in the preceding clue? |
||
| 13 | MILAN | Race to consume one litre in Italian location (5) |
| MAN (“race”) to consume 1 L (one litre) | ||
| 14 | PIPE DREAM | Unrealistic idea associated with churchwarden? (4,5) |
| A churchwarden is a type of smoking pipe. | ||
| 16 | NONPAREIL | Wrought iron panel that’s unmatched (9) |
| *(iron panel) | ||
| 19 | VIRTU | Integrity not completely necessary in connoisseurship (5) |
| VIRTU(e) (“integrity” not completely) | ||
| 21 | GASEOUS | USA goes mad substantially lacking boundaries (7) |
| *(usa goes)
A gas could be described as a substance which lacks borders. |
||
| 23 | CROATIA | Viewed from East Island a killer whale finds land (7) |
| <=AIT A ORC (“island a killer whale”) viewed from East, ie from right to left | ||
| 24 | RAILING | Two swimmers, the first heard making complaint (7) |
| Homophne of RAY [the first heard], and then LING (two fish or “swimmers”) | ||
| 25 | CHEERIO | English in ridiculously heroic farewell (7) |
| E (English) in *(heroic) | ||
| 26 | ORCHESTRATED | Gold box assessed or scored (12) |
| OR (“gold”) + CHEST (“box”) + RATED (“assessed”) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CHUNNEL | Luncheon arrangement’s cancelled over link with Europe (7) |
| *(lunchen) which is “luncheon” with O (over) cancelled | ||
| 2 | OMICRON | Round character very short in leg (7) |
| MICRO (“very short”) in ON (“leg” side in cricket) | ||
| 3 | HUMBLE PIE | Shame for those getting this answer down? (6,3) |
| If you are shamed, you may be forced to eat humble pie. | ||
| 4 | SHOAL | Fish also swimming around husband (5) |
| *(also) around H (husband) | ||
| 5 | OPERAND | Musical work on November day that’s part of problem (7) |
| OPERA (“musial work”) on N (November) + D (day) | ||
| 6 | SILENCE | Article from Macron put in after gag (7) |
| LE (French articel, so “article from (President) Macron”) put in SINCE (“after”) | ||
| 7 | STAGE MANAGER | Her Majesty’s production controller? (5-7) |
| Her Majesty’s is a theatre in London’s West End. | ||
| 10 | PERAMBULATOR | Carriage reserved for small charge (12) |
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 15 | POLICE CAR | Panda cold under ice viewed in Arctic setting? (6,3) |
| C (cold) under ICE viewed in POLAR (“Arctic”)
In the UK, police cars used to be known as panda cars because they were black and white (these days they tend to be bright coloured) |
||
| 17 | NASTIER | Closer to breakdown because row is more unpleasant (7) |
| [close to] (breakdow)N + AS (“because”) + TIER (“row”) | ||
| 18 | ABOLISH | Stop seaman heading out from Gdansk? (7) |
| AB (able-bodied “seaman”) + (p)OLISH (“from Gdansk” with heading out) | ||
| 19 | VIOLENT | Wild flower absorbing nitrogen (7) |
| VIOLET (“flower”) absorbing N (notrogen) | ||
| 20 | RETIRED | Left American band on road, indebted perhaps (7) |
| TIRE (American spelling of TYRE, so “band on road”) in RED (ie. in debt) | ||
| 22 | SAGES | Wise men decline to enter Schutzstaffel (5) |
| AGE (“decline”) to enter the SS (Schutzstaffel) | ||
*anagram
I had TOURISM as just “TO UR IS (a) M(ile)” , i.e., not all that far, but I didn’t like it much.
On the other hand, there were some nice cryptic defs, and I liked GASEOUS which turned out not to be cryptic at all.
Nice puzzle, thanks to Neo & loonapick.
Thanks, Grant Baynham.
I wonder if Neo meant TO UR IS M(metre) which would be even less far. Like you, if that is the case, I really don’t like it.
A very nice crossword – I smiled at the solution to 1a before the printer had even sprung into life.
I too was in the TO UR IS a Mile camp
Thanks to Neo for some lovely smile-inducing surface readings and to loonapick for the blog
Actually, as we all know, To Ur is human…
I’ll get me coat.
Well, if you are ‘not far from Sumerian city’, then TO UR IS Mile. And you even got a QM. And I thought I was being really smart. Until Grant came along with ‘to Ur is human’. 🙂
Thanks all, and thanks Loona for a great blog.
PB
Thanks Neo and loonapick
Found this one pretty straightforward apart from the parsing of TOURISM and RETIRED (the US spelling of tyre just didn’t come).
Was heading down a MINORCA / MAJORCA track at first with 23a, whilst just looking for the front bit being a reversal of something – finally saw sense and reversed the shorter ORC. Hadn’t seen VIRTU before and that was the last one in.
Being reminded that age = decline made me grumpy, otherwise this was just about OK, apart from 20dn.