An easy challenge from MUDD, who I havent seen much on Fridays. There might be more to the parsing on a couple of clues than what I have so looking forward to improvements on them. Thanks MUDD.
FF: 8 DD: 6
| Across | ||
| 1 | DOWNSWING | Experiencing the blues, big-band jazz club movement (9) |
| DOWN (experiencing the blues) SWING (big-band jazz) | ||
| 6 | PUT UP | Build from either boundary? (3,2) |
| cryptic def – palindrome | ||
| 9 | GANJA | Harry brought back endless confiture for pot (5) |
| GAN (harry = NAG, reversed) JAm (confiture, endless) | ||
| 10 | FAN LETTER | A knight left overwhelmed by chain mail from admirer (3,6) |
| [A N (knight) L (left) ] in FETTER (chain) | ||
| 11 | NIGHTSHIRT | This thing designed to cover sleeper’s back? (10) |
| &lit; THIS THING* around R (sleepeR‘s back i.e. last letter) | ||
| 12 | ALTO | English composer’s unlimited range of voice (4) |
| wALTOn (english composer, william, without end characters) | ||
| 14 | CHAGRIN | Irritation almost guaranteed, Russian leaders appearing in feature (7) |
| AGR (starting letters of “..Almost Guaranteed Russian..” in CHIN (feature) | ||
| 15 | LYING IN | Small boy ends in trap, not getting out of the sack? (5,2) |
| L Y (ends of smalL boY) IN GIN (trap) | ||
| 17 | MASONIC | Brotherly love in man is awfully cold (7) |
| [ O (love) in MAN IS*] C (cold) | ||
| 19 | TRYSAIL | Why ropes finally put in line for item on the mainmast (7) |
| YS (whY ropeS, finally) in TRAIL (line) | ||
| 20 | MOST | Majority in debt, some retired (4) |
| hidden, reversed in “..debT SOMe..” | ||
| 22 | LAST RESORT | Ultimate expedient – suggesting salt? (4,6) |
| cryptic def; RE SORT as anagrind applied on LAST yields SALT | ||
| 25 | EDUCATION | Change actioned to accommodate uniform – right for children? (9) |
| ACTIONED* containing U (uniform) | ||
| 26 | TIGHT | Drunk in snug? (5) |
| double def | ||
| 27 | TRAMP | March when the paintings of Churchill, say, returned? (5) |
| ART (paintings) PM (churchill) , both reversed individually | ||
| 28 | EASTERNER | Asian trees are transported round Japan, finally (9) |
| TREES ARE* around N (japaN, finally) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | DIG IN | Sample restaurant food, say, like at home (3,2) |
| DIG (like) IN (at home) | ||
| 2 | WINEGLASS | Red, perhaps, in this revolutionary Wales sign (9) |
| WALES SIGN* | ||
| 3 | SMATTERING | A little thing blocking pipe (10) |
| MATTER (thing) in SING (pipe) | ||
| 4 | ISFAHAN | Asian fish gutted, cooked in Asian city (7) |
| ASIAN FisH* , city in iran | ||
| 5 | GENERAL | Rank of Lee and Grant not entirely surprising? (7) |
| semi &lit; LEE GRANt* | ||
| 6 | PEEP | Little sound that may be turned up? (4) |
| cryptic def; palindrome | ||
| 7 | TOTAL | Comprehensive child, a learner (5) |
| TOT (child) A L (learner) | ||
| 8 | PERSONNEL | How bard might be paid shortly before fifty staff (9) |
| PER SONNEt (how bard might be paid, short) L (fifty) | ||
| 13 | CITY CENTRE | Middle of large town – is it? (4,6) |
| cryptic def; CENTRE of CITY is IT | ||
| 14 | CAMEMBERT | French produce fellow to stuff animal (9) |
| MEMBER (fellow) in CAT (animal) | ||
| 16 | GLAMORGAN | Sophisticated newspaper somewhere in Wales (9) |
| GLAM (sophisticated) ORGAN (newspaper) | ||
| 18 | CHALICE | Things crawling under tea cup (7) |
| CHA (tea) LICE (things crawling) | ||
| 19 | TETANUS | Setter gobbled last of meat up, getting disease (7) |
| SUN (setter) ATE (gobbled) T (last of meaT) , all reversed (up) | ||
| 21 | SOUSA | Composer from America, therefore supported by America (5) |
| SO (therefore) USA (america), john philip sousa | ||
| 23 | TUTOR | Little time taken in beating up teacher (5) |
| T (time, litte) in ROUT (beating), all reversed (up) | ||
| 24 | HARP | Instrument cutting tail from shrew (4) |
| HARPy (shrew, without last letter) | ||
*anagram
Thanks both. Lots of fun except 9a. I hate “pot” clues as there seem to be as many slang terms as there are geographic areas.
Very enjoyable – thank you Mudd and Turbolegs
Simply love NIGHTSHIRT and GENERAL. It is amazing that this maestro can come up with such gems time and time again.
Top class stuff though he is harder as Paul.
Thanks Mudd and Turbolegs
I don’t think the elements of 27 are necessarily reversed individually.
Churchill was both PM and a painter, so ‘paintings of Churchill’ = PM ART, which is then reversed.
Thanks Miss and Turbolegs
I didn’t find this easy, taking over an hour across several sittings to get it out. Interesting to see the repetitive use of ‘last letters’ in a number of clues – unusual for JH ! A lot of other interesting clues throughout and was particularly impressed with making an anagram out of the two opposing Civll War generals.
Agree with Simon@5’s take on TRAMP although I parsed it the same as the blog.
Finished in the NW corner with SMATTERING (tricked by the ‘pipe’= SING, although I’d seen it elsewhere recently), GANJA (which went in with a U at first) and DIG IN as the last one in.