Familiar setter for a Friday. Fairly straightforward puzzle with just a couple of clues holding me up from a quick solve. Thanks Bradman.
FF: 8 DD: 8
| Across | ||
| 1 | SOMEWHAT | Pretty mates who break up (8) |
| MATES WHO* | ||
| 5 | HERMES | That female’s getting hold of me, someone bringing message (6) |
| HERS (that female’s) containing ME | ||
| 10 | ADORING | Loving a party group (7) |
| A DO (party) RING (group) | ||
| 11 | IN HASTE | Hurriedly getting home – has left office finally (2,5) |
| IN (home) HAS T E (lefT, officE, finally) | ||
| 12 | SIEVE | Screen is put back with temptress behind it (5) |
| SI (reverse of IS) EVE (temptress) | ||
| 13 | IDEALISED | One bargain is obtained by newspaper person – perfect! (9) |
| I (one) DEAL (bargain) IS ED (newspaper person) | ||
| 14 | VEGGIEBURGER | Fast food very English – eggier grub, looking nasty (12) |
| V (very) E (english ) [ EGGIER GRUB ]* | ||
| 18 | INTERCHANGES | Switches in strange niche awkwardly placed (12) |
| STRANGE NICHE* | ||
| 21 | OVERMATCH | Be stronger than sweetheart losing head before wedding (9) |
| lOVER (sweetheart, without first character) MATCH (wedding) | ||
| 23 | GRIMM | One of two story-tellers, awful to listen to (5) |
| sounds like GRIM (awful), brother grimm | ||
| 24 | AGENDAS | Information in notice, as supplied in lists (7) |
| [GEN (information) in AD (notice) ] AS | ||
| 25 | ORGANON | System of rules broken in Rangoon (7) |
| RANGOON* | ||
| 26 | ENLIST | Recruit from Aberdeen, listening (6) |
| hidden in “..aberdeEN LISTening” | ||
| 27 | LEAD-FREE | What church thief may obtain as a type of fuel (4-4) |
| cryptic def | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | SPARSE | Minister not getting on in the Home Counties is by no means dense (6) |
| PARSon (minister, without ON) in SE (home counties) | ||
| 2 | MOOTED | Low fellow once regarded as antisocial is put forward (6) |
| MOO (low) TED (fellow once regarded as antisocial) | ||
| 3 | WHITE BEAR | Where bait is put out for wild animal (5,4) |
| WHERE BAIT* | ||
| 4 | ARGUING THE TOSS | Being disputatious – over a matter to be settled before the cricket match? (7,3,4) |
| cryptic def | ||
| 6 | ETHEL | Female bishop leaving the site where Jacob had dream (5) |
| bETHEL (site where jacob had dream, without B – bishop) | ||
| 7 | MISUSAGE | Is America restricted by old trickster? There’s cruel treatment (8) |
| [IS US (america) ] in MAGE (old trickster) | ||
| 8 | SPENDERS | Extravagant folk, poet Stephen’s family? (8) |
| double def | ||
| 9 | NINETEENTH HOLE | Bar in hotel then is fantastic – poet’s even seen in it (10,4) |
| IN HOTEL THEN containing EEN (poetic way of writing EVEN) | ||
| 15 | UNENGAGED | A Parisian female, no good, old, with no prospect of marriage (9) |
| UNE (a, french, feminine) N (no) G (good) AGED (old) | ||
| 16 | PINOTAGE | Red wine, very good, not mature (8) |
| PI (very good) NOT AGE (mature) | ||
| 17 | ETHEREAL | Exquisite eastern article, not fake (8) |
| E (eastern) THE (article) REAL (fake) | ||
| 19 | DINNER | Someone eating has a double portion of something in meal (6) |
| DINER (someone eating) with [ NN (double portion of N) instead of N ] | ||
| 20 | AMENDE | It’s fine to change last bit of clue (6) |
| AMEND (change) E (last bit of cluE) | ||
| 22 | MIDAS | Unhappy I am, upset – the magic touch works badly for me! (5) |
| SAD (unhappy) I’M (i am), all reversed | ||
*anagram
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
An enjoyable if straightforward puzzle, though I thought it unfortunate that EGGIE appeared in both clue for and solution of 14.
Thanks to Bradman and Turbolegs. I struggled with AMENDE, PINOTAGE, and LEAD FREE but enjoyed the process.
Unsure how “double portion of something” . . . Leads to “NN” in 19d
AdamH @ 3: Well, it’s not going to be DIINER or DINEER, is it?
So “something” means “n”, rather than “t”, “h”, “I” or “g”?
‘Someone eating’ = DINER
‘a double portion of something in’ = two of an element in the DINER
so a double portion of I, N or E
QED
Thanks Bradman and Turbolegs
Am afraid that I didn’t enjoy this as much as normal while I was solving the puzzle – but think that it was really a case of ‘it’s not you, it’s me!’. Clues like WHITE BEAR, MIDAS, VEGGIEBURGERS and HERMES all grated as I got them for various reasons.
There were a couple that I didn’t parse properly – not seeing the E’EN as the last of the anagram fodder in 9d and didn’t see why LEAD is ‘what the church thief may obtain’.
Finished with his two trademark obscure pair – ORGANON and AMENDE.
Good challenge. Only unfamiliar word was AMENDE.
I also puzzle with LEAD? And does “TED” refer to Ted Bundy? Certainly an antisocial person …
Hi jeff
The Teds were a bunch of lads in England in the 1950’s who dressed cool, listened to rock’n’roll music and often looked for a fight !!
brucew@aus – Thanks. That’s better!
Re 27a. Thieves are known (at least here in the UK) to steal lead from the roofs of churches.
Hovis@11 … thanks for clearing that up !