A very enjoyable puzzle with lots of smiles, especially at 17ac, 21ac, 23ac, 24ac, 5dn, 8dn, and 10dn. Thanks to Picaroon
| Across | ||
| 1 | OUTSET | Write better puzzles than beginner here (6) |
| OUTSET could mean “Write [i.e. set] better puzzles than”, along the same lines as outbid, outrun, outlast etc | ||
| 4 | SCAFFOLD | Place to hang small greasy spoon, antique (8) |
| S (small) + CAFF=café=”greasy spoon” + OLD=”antique” | ||
| 9 | ELVER | Little swimmer is away from the King and Queen (5) |
| an ELVER is a young eel “is [taken away] from” ELVis=”the King” of Rock and Roll + ER=Elizabeth Regina=”Queen” |
||
| 10 | RE-ELECTED | Returned again and was shocked to receive shocks (2-7) |
| REELED=”was shocked” around ECT=electroconvulsive therapy=”shocks” | ||
| 11 | BIRDHOUSE | Change bus, or hide in shelter (9) |
| (bus or hide)* | ||
| 12 | ADAGE | Saw a time for publicity? (5) |
| “Saw” as in a saying or proverb AD AGE=”time for publicity?” |
||
| 13 | OVERACHIEVER | Incredible verve, a heroic sort exceeding expectations (12) |
| (verve a heroic)* | ||
| 17 | COUNTERTENOR | Voice said some cash is behind bar (12) |
| TENOR=homophone/”said” of ‘tenner’=”some cash”; behind COUNTER=”bar” | ||
| 20 | APART | 50% off properties in different places (5) |
| the last 50% removed from APARTments=”properties” | ||
| 21 | RATZINGER | Benedict‘s art to turn out witty remark (9) |
| Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict (art)* + ZINGER=”witty remark” |
||
| 23 | PROSTRATE | Driver brought before judge is lying (9) |
| as in “lying” prone on the ground Alain PROST is a former Formula 1 “Driver” + RATE=”judge” |
||
| 24 | FLING | Cast of Brief Encounter (5) |
| double definition | ||
| 25 | GAINSAYS | Covering up claim, wins contests (8) |
| GAINS=”wins”, covering around SAY=”claim” | ||
| 26 | PRAGUE | Voting system fit for European city (6) |
| PR (Proportional Represenation)=”Voting system” + AGUE=”fit”é | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | OPEN BOOK | Start taking bets for one with no secrets (4,4) |
| OPEN BOOK could also mean “Start taking bets” as a bookmaker | ||
| 2 | TAVERNER | Composer rating absorbing French writer (8) |
| John TAVERNER is the composer TAR=sailor=”rating”, where a rating is the class of a sailor; around Jules VERNE=”French writer” |
||
| 3 | EARTH | What frames pictures where we live (5) |
| EH=”What” as an interjection, around ART=”pictures” | ||
| 5 | CREME DE MENTHE | 100 engineers briefly irrational, having ingested hard liquor (5,2,6) |
| C=”100″ in Roman numerals + REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) + DEMENTE[d]=”briefly irrational” around H (hard) | ||
| 6 | FREE AGENT | He’s not bound to be complimentary and a decent fellow (4,5) |
| FREE=”complimentary” + A GENT=”a decent fellow” | ||
| 7 | OSTEAL | Bony poet’s exhortation to commit crime (6) |
| O=”poet’s exhortation” as an interjection + STEAL=”commit crime” | ||
| 8 | DODDER | Penny, given more rum, is to move unsteadily (6) |
| D=symbol for the pre-decimal UK “Penny”, derived from Latin denarius, + ODDER=”more rum” with ‘rum’ meaning ‘strange’ | ||
| 10 | ROUGH AND READY | Wanting Polish thug to fear whatever’s outside (5,3,5) |
| “Wanting” as in ‘lacking’; ‘polish’ as in refinement or social graces ROUGH=”thug” + DREAD=”fear” with ANY=”whatever” outside it |
||
| 14 | APOSTATES | A reversal of work conditions for the unfaithful (9) |
| A + reversal of OP=”work” + STATES=”conditions” | ||
| 15 | SNAGGING | Catching measles, ultimately hard to shake off (8) |
| the last/ultimate letter of measleS + NAGGING=”hard to shake off” | ||
| 16 | PROROGUE | Temporarily dismiss person who’s paid villain (8) |
| PRO=”person who’s paid” as in pro vs amateur; plus ROGUE=”villain” | ||
| 18 | HATPEG | Running path for one bowler here (6) |
| definition referring to bowler hats (path)* + E.G.=for example=”for one” |
||
| 19 | SATORI | Day BoJo strips off facade to provide enlightenment (6) |
| =a state of enlightment in Zen Buddhism SAT=Saturday=”Day” + BORIS Johnson=”BoJo” stripped of outer letters |
||
| 22 | INFER | Reason some complain ferociously (5) |
| Hidden in complaIN FERociously | ||
Thanks Picaroon and manehi
Good, but not as much humour as usual with a Picaroon. My favourite was PROROGUE.
I didn’t know ZINGER as a witty remark.
I also didn’t know SATORI until recently – twice in a week!
Thanks Picaroon and manehi.
The only one I couldn’t fathom was CREME DE MENTHE, so thanks for that. SATORI I didn’t know, and had to check button my way through it; I see s/he is a setter
oops, muffin! I should take note of these blogs more carefully
Thanks for a great blog, manehi. Once again, I agree with all your favourites [not so much humour, muffin??] but I think you missed out 19dn by mistake. 😉
A superb puzzle – Picaroon on absolutely top form. Many thanks to him for a brilliant start to the day.
Pretty much perfect I’d say. Thanks Picaroon and Manehi.
I just love it when Picaroon momentarily makes my eyebrow twitch [today, it was the seemingly tautologous ‘returned again’ at 10ac at first reading of the clue] and then has me laughing out loud when I realise that he is, of course, spot on.
What Eileen said in both her comments – I was fortunate that SATORI appeared in another crossword recently so once I’d got the day, I remembered the word and then saw the ‘BoJo’ bit
Thanks to Picaroon for the fun and Manehi for the blog
Nothing obvious until adage, then countertenor, then the rest of the SE and on to a steady and enjoyable unfold. Mention of ECT always makes me shudder (mind you, creme de menthe does too), but no reflection on the setter…all’s fair. Nice surfaces for, eg, outset, prostrate, free agent and prorogue, among others. Can’t think how to substitute any for whatever, probably just laziness (or afternoon ‘tea’ with mates), and maybe ‘bowler here’ could do with a ?. Quibblets merely in a fun puzzle. Thanks Picaroon and Manehi.
Immaculate.
grantinfreo @8 – how about, ‘Come any / whatever time you like’?
Yep that’ll do Eileen, ta.
Sailed through until RATZINGER & SATORI. As I was unable to fully parse CREME DE MENTHE or RE-ELECTED, I started to doubt everything.
Lovely puzzle as always, with favourite at FLING for it’s sublime elegance.
Thanks to the Pirate, nice week, all.
PS: Always said birdbox rather than BIRDHOUSE.
Thanks for this enlightening blog. I learnt several things about Picaroon’s technique.
A delight from start to finish. A few easy ones (indeed, easier than normal?) to get us going, and then the usual inventiveness of definitions which are simultaneously obvious and obscure. Picaroon is the master of hiding in plain sight and this was no exception. Many thanks for multiple smiles and chuckles, and zero ambiguity. A good example was “hatpeg” – I had “hatp” from crossers and the anagram and was scratching my head over how it could be “hatpin”. The obvious solution was that it wasn’t, of course.
Thanks manehi for the clear blog – for once I’d parsed everything to my satisfaction, another good reflection on the setter.
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi. I was another who enjoyed this and it mostly unpacked quite readily, until I got stuck in the SW. The last two were satori and hatpeg, and I would add earth to the favourites, if only for the “penny drop” moment. Thanks again to Picaroon and manehi.
Wonderful puzzle, well blogged — thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
David Ellison @2 I googled “fifteensquared” and “satori” and found that Satori set for the FT under that name and for the Guardian as our familiar Taupi.
Much as TheZed@14 said HATPEG was a gem, along with PROSTRATE for the brilliant surface – it took MrsW to dislodge the mendacious connotation from my brain and suggest the obvious – once you see what is there in plain sight. I could have ticked every clue. Reading the blog made me realise I hadn’t fully parsed 5d (missed the MEs) or 10d (lazy). Thanks to manehi for those and the rest of the blog and Picaroon for a superb puzzle.
I liked this, didnt finish, of course, but got a good 3/4 before I had to start on the reveals,m reading the parsing here gave me a few sighs, which I guess, is the point?
I liked this, didnt finish, of course, but got a good 3/4 before I had to start on the reveals, reading the parsing here gave me a few sighs, which I guess, is the point?
A very enjoyable puzzle. My favourites were ELVER, CREME DE MENTHE, ROUGH AND READY, PRAGUE.
Thank you Picaroon and manehi
Yes, great fun this, and even though I got Satori as last one in, haven’t got up to speed yet with Bojo being Boris J – plenty of time for that, perhaps, in the weeks and months ahead…
Another fine puzzle, a little easier than most Picaroons
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi. Lots of fun. I had forgotten REME so had trouble parsing CREME DE MENTHE but did remember SARTORI (though Bojo was new to me), and I too started with Hatpin until I finally got the “peg.”
Thanks to Picaroon and manehi.
Nothing much to add except the real enjoyment and smile at 9ac, once I had tried removing “is” from various royal houses.
Grantinfreo @8 – no need to shudder at ECT – it worked highly effectively for my mother. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, great movie as it is, has a lot to answer for. But I agree about the awfulness of creme de menthe.
Factual correction: Elvis was not “the king of rock’n’roll” – that was either Chuck Berry or Little Richard -but unfortunately for them they were black.
Was led astray by AGNOSTICS being a plausible alternative answer for 14D: A + reversal of SONG (work) + TICS (medical conditions). Certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the puzzle though!
I didn’t know the driver Prost; to me “prost” is just something you say when clicking your steins of bier together. [My high-school German teacher taught us drinking songs; I doubt they’d get away with that today. Anyway, one that has stuck with me is “Ein Prost, ein Prost, der Gemuetlichkeit!”] But then very few people here follow F1. I got the answer anyway, and thanks for enlightening me on the driver.
Also new to me was REME as engineers; I’m so used to seeing “engineers” being just RE that I was wondering where the ME came from. Thanks for that one too.
[mrpenny@27 My high-school German teacher taught us drinking songs – you were lucky. The nearest mine came to anything risqué was “elf Eier”]
Well I didn’t cover myself in glory here by unthinkingly entering OUTLAW at 7d. I had half an idea that Billy the Kid’s name was Bony (it was of course Bonney and in any case would have needed a definition-by-example indicator) and vaguely thought that “out law” might have been some sort of archaic imperative expression. Ho hum.
But apart from that, which was my own stupid fault, I really enjoyed this. Too many favourites to mention them all, but 1a OUTSET and 24a FLING were very clever and neat.
Many thanks Picaroon and manehi.
Yes I know it’s efficacious in some instances, Marienkaefer @24, and still used here too, but it still gives me the shudders.
Echoing everyone again today, lovely puzzle and super blog manehi. Thanks both.
My favourite of many good ones was PROSTRATE and also loved the surface for ADAGE for its simplicity even though I only know of ‘saw’ as a synonym from crosswords.
Got to this late (well actually it’s early the next morning here), but so glad I found the time. What a lovely puzzle! I knew 19d SATORI from my years of teaching Buddhism. It was my favourite clue. All the rest of my ticks for great clues have been mentioned, mostly by manehi but reinforced by others who commented. Thanks to Picaroon for the test of my mental agility and to manehi for the confirmatory/elucidatory blog. I also enjoyed reading of the experiences of fellow solvers.
Agree that this was a lovely puzzle. I couldn’t properly parse satori – stared at BoJo for ages without getting the reference, so thanks for the enlightenment found here. Lots of favourties all of which already mentioned. Thanks to Manehi and Picaroon for the fun
Do I detect a theme in some clues? Starting from BoJo in the clue we have prorogue, re-elected and overachiever. Also prostrate (at the feet of DT?), gainsays, rough and ready (the state of our government).
And dare I say it, scaffold?
Another Picaroon gem. Prague and Prorogue in SE corner and tenor above zinger just by chance?