REDSHANK serves up a french-ish puzzle today with several clues that required me to consult Google to confirm the solve. Challenging yet very enjoyable. Thanks, Redshank.
FF:9 DD: 10
| Across | ||
| 1 | HANDPICK | Personally choose worker with a digger (8) |
| HAND (worker) PICK (digger) | ||
| 5 | BORSCH | Serb or Schwabian’s liquid intake? (6) |
| hidden in “serB OR SCHwabian’s..” | ||
| 10 | CONDEMN | Two studies involving minute sentence (7) |
| CON DEN (two studies) containing M (minute) | ||
| 11 | ELASTIC | Like some bands? Endure one in English clubs (7) |
| [LAST (endure) I (one)] in [ E (english) C (clubs) ] | ||
| 12 | LOTTO | John ties up dry game (5) |
| LOO (john) containing TT (dry) | ||
| 13 | RE-EXAMINE | French queen goes over paper to have another look (2-7) |
| REINE (french for queen) over EXAM (paper) | ||
| 14 | WELL-BALANCED | Varied, like laboratory scales (4-8) |
| cryptic def | ||
| 18 | LOW WATER MARK | Cheap impression in paper’s harbour guide? (3-5,4) |
| LOW (cheap) WATER MARK (impression in paper) | ||
| 21 | VINGT-ET-UN | This clue in full in Le Monde? I’d bet on it! (5-2-2) |
| crptic def; french for 21a (this clue) is VINGT ET UN, which also refers to the game of pontoon or black jack | ||
| 23 | KRILL | Big swimmers gulp it while away crossing river (5) |
| KILL (while away) crossing R (river) | ||
| 24 | CROUTON | It’s maybe served with 5 on court in different places (7) |
| ON COURT* (answer to 5a is borsch, a soup) | ||
| 25 | GRANITE | Tours holiday home filled with smuggled rock (7) |
| GITE (holiday home, french, tours is a university town in france) containing RAN (smuggled) | ||
| 26 | ENGELS | Marx brother or English golfer (6) |
| ENG (english) ELS (golfer, ernie) | ||
| 27 | PRISTINE | Can force open bottles in their original condition (8) |
| PRISE (force open) containing TIN (can) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | HECKLE | Outburst of cheek cramping lecturer? (6) |
| semi &lit ? CHEEK* containing L (lecturer) – | ||
| 2 | NINETY | It’s reached by nonagenarian in Tyne, swimming (6) |
| IN TYNE* | ||
| 3 | PHENOMENA | Man with new sign enters annually and marvels (9) |
| [HE (man) N (new) OMEN (sign)] in PA (annually) | ||
| 4 | CENTRAL HEATING | Plumbing system a clue to temperature briefly? (7,7) |
| cryptic def; CENTRAL HEATING is T (temperature) | ||
| 6 | OMAHA | US city and Tyrone town with no golf area (5) |
| OMAgH (tyrone town, with no G – golf) A (area) | ||
| 7 | SET PIECE | Rehearsed move’s flat on stage (3,5) |
| PIECE (flat) after SET (stage) | ||
| 8 | HACIENDA | Harry had a nice big estate in Mexico (8) |
| HAD A NICE* | ||
| 9 | GENERAL MANAGER | Boss sorts beer crew imported (7,7) |
| GENERA (sorts) [ LAGER (beer) containing MAN (crew) ] | ||
| 15 | AFRIKAANS | A devotee’s carrying a drink over that’s picked up in Cape (9) |
| A FAN’S (devotee’s) containing [ A KIR (drink), all reversed) ] | ||
| 16 | CLAVICLE | Bone Victoria found in a cell in bits (8) |
| VIC (victoria) in A CELL* | ||
| 17 | SWAN SONG | Last appearance by Gloria – and her first! (4,4) |
| SWANSON (gloria, american actress) G (first letter of Gloria) | ||
| 19 | BIKINI | Not much on? Take a ride briefly in island (6) |
| BIKe (take a ride, briefly) IN I (island) | ||
| 20 | SLEEVE | Carlisle eventually hosts record-holder (6) |
| hidden in “carliSLE EVEntually..”, took me sometime to see this! | ||
| 22 | TOTAL | Write off petrol business across the Channel (5) |
| cryptic def; referring to the french company in the petroleum industry | ||
*anagram
Always good to see this setter.
…and three times in one week!
Most enjoyable, yet again. Many thanks, Turbolegs and Redshank.
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
For 4d, I took the “briefly” to refer to CH which is a common abbreviation for CENTRAL HEATING. Also on taps you often see either C or H which gives you a clue to the temperature of the water behind the tap.
Thanks to Redshank and Turbolegs. Tough going for me though very enjoyable. I needed help from Google to confirm gite in GRANITE and Omagh for OMAHA and needed help parsing GENERAL MANAGER and CENTRAL HEATING.
Thanks to Turbolegs and Redshank
I enjoyed most of this but a couple of things jarred.
21d I can’t see the relevance of I’D BET ON IT
27a I was surprised to see PRISE = FORCE OPEN supported in Collins – I’d have thought it just meant FORCE.
“Can you prise that box for me?”. “Why, is it valuable”
27a I saw IN THEIR as part of the def.
7d A FLAT is a piece of stage scenery, usually a painted backdrop.
The answer to Hovis @ 1 yesterday appears to be “never” : see Ernie again at 26a today! Got all but Afrikaans. Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
Thanks Redshank and Turbolegs
Always an enjoyable experience doing the puzzles of this setter and although I notice a couple of French terms during the solve, it was only after coming here that the almost thematic number of them was realised.
Thought that ‘Marx brother’ for ENGELS was excellent and ‘Tours holiday house’ was also very good.
Finished in the SE corner with BIKINI, PRISTINE and the clever SLEEVE the last few in.