A brisk Tuesday solve. No complaints, rock-solid, all the usual crossword devices well set and overcome.
Good morning and greetings from The 1 across. I enjoyed this and was grateful for a relatively easy puzzle – busy day with grandkids arriving from Australia – so thanks to Gurney.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PEAK DISTRICT | We hear dog with detective, rigorous, in Derbyshire area (4,8) |
| Homophone (‘we hear’) of PEKE (‘dog’) + D[etective] I[nspector] + STRICT (rigorous). | ||
| 8 | ANORAKS | Those with narrow interest, Noah’s Ark possibly, hard going? (7) |
| Anagram (‘possibly’) of NOAhS ARK, minus H[ard]. Irritatingly, the def might describe all of us. | ||
| 9 | ADAMANT | First man from Genesis, worker, unyielding (7) |
| ADAM (‘first man’) + ANT (‘worker’). | ||
| 11 | EPITOME | Typical example of English mine, some missing out first (7) |
| E[nglish] + PIT (‘mine’) + sOME minus 1st letter. | ||
| 12 | SWILLER | Drinker’s singular desire to meet monarch (7) |
| S[ingular]+ WILL (‘desire’) +ER (‘monarch’). | ||
| 13 | STORY | Southern Conservative narrative (5) |
| S[outhern] + TORY. | ||
| 14 | ARROGANCE | Novel orange car conveying self-importance? (9) |
| Anagram (‘novel’) of ORANGE CAR. | ||
| 16 | OVERCROWD | Allow too many in, 500, done with boast at start (9) |
| D (Roman 500) after OVER (‘done’) + CROW (to ‘boast’). | ||
| 19 | CACTI | Reportedly see earliest part of play “Plants”? (5) |
| Homophone (‘reportedly’) of SEE = C + ACT 1 (‘earliest part of play’). | ||
| 21 | SERFDOM | Search net, say – at first dig out material characteristic of feudal system (7) |
| Homophone (‘say’) of SURF (‘search net’) then 1st letters of Dig Out Material. | ||
| 23 | AIRLINE | Broadcast policy gets company off the ground? (7) |
| AIR (to ‘broadcast’) + LINE (‘policy’), w cryptic def. | ||
| 24 | STAPLER | Office equipment, basic, facing resistance (7) |
| STAPLE + R[esistance]. | ||
| 25 | PRIVATE | Uncommunicative soldier (7) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 26 | STRAIGHT FACE | Feature of poker player maybe – cards in sequence following another? (8,4) |
| STRAIGHT (in poker, appropriately, ‘cards in sequence’) + F[ollowing] + ACE (‘another’ card). | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PROVISO | Expert finally altered travel document condition (7) |
| PRO (‘expert’) + VISa (‘travel document’, last letter ‘altered’ – a bit randomly – to ‘O’). | ||
| 2 | AMATORY | Loving indeed – embracing mother by hill (7) |
| AY (‘indeed’) surrounds MA + TOR. | ||
| 3 | DESPERADO | Reads dope about criminal (9) |
| Anagram (‘about’) of ‘READS DOPE’. | ||
| 4 | STAYS | Wanders? Not right – remains (5) |
| STrAYS. | ||
| 5 | READING | Measurement taken in Berkshire town (7) |
| Double def. | ||
| 6 | CHAPLIN | Clergyman ignored a comedian film star (7) |
| CHAPLaIN without one ‘A’. | ||
| 7 | SAFE AS HOUSES | Reliable sofa, see, has us sorted (4,2,6) |
| Anagram (‘sorted’) of SOFA SEE HAS US. | ||
| 10 | THREE WISE MEN | Bringers of gifts, wines, met here after arrangement (5,4,3) |
| Anagram (‘after arrangement’) of WINES MET HERE. | ||
| 15 | RED CARPET | Place of welcome in racecourse, much-liked (3,6) |
| REDCAR (Yorkshire ‘racecourse’) + PET (‘much-liked’). | ||
| 17 | EARHART | A rather special aircraft pioneer (7) |
| Anagram (‘special’) of A RATHER. | ||
| 18 | CEDILLA | French symbol in hall I decoded on way up (7) |
| Reversed inclusion in ‘hALL I DECoded’. | ||
| 19 | CORSICA | Island men reproduced exactly in California (7) |
| CA[lifornia] contains O[ther] R[anks] (‘men’) + SIC (‘reproduced exactly’, usually of someone else’s error). | ||
| 20 | CHICANE | Fashionable article, European, motor racing feature (7) |
| CHIC + AN + E[uropean]. | ||
| 22 | MORAG | Lesson has learner becoming good girl (5) |
| MORA{L} (‘lesson’), L[earner] replaced by G[ood]. | ||
*anagram
A nice solve thanks to Gurney and Grant – have fun with the grandchildren
Thanks to Gurney and Grant. Easy but great fun. I knew Redcar from previous puzzles and parsed PEAK DISTRICT and CHICANE but then had to check via Google.
Thanks Gurney and Grant
Struggling to stay up to date these days, so it was good to get one that was a little easier to keep the turnover happening – might even get a couple knocked over today. Sadly, I had very similar thoughts about your comment in 8a :(.
Had originally written in SEEKING from the word play at 12a … and did waste a bit of time trying to see what that would have to do with a ‘drinker’s singular desire’.
Knew REDCAR from my vice of following the horses over here and now that world events are published … one gets to pick up the places of evil from everywhere. Did do a short contract helping set up a DR environment with one of our bookmakers over here, which was an eyeopener to how much people spend and the time of day that they spend it on this !!
Thought that STRAIGHT FACE was the pick of the clues …
Finished in the SW corner, as is my won’t, with STAPLER, MORAG (a new name for me) and SERFDOM as the last few in.