An excellent puzzle in the traditional style – good surface readings and precise wordplay. Thank you Jason.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BRANDISH | Shake cereal bowl (8) |
| BRAN (cereal) DISH (bowl) | ||
| 5 | ITCHES | Hags who liberated wife’s urges? (6) |
| wITCHES (hags) missing (who liberated) W (wife) | ||
| 9 | SURVEYED | “Canvassed” – used very loosely (8) |
| anagram (loosely) of USED VERY | ||
| 10 | GATEAU | Obelix, say, endlessly snarfing drink and cake (6) |
| GAUL (Obelix say) missing last letter (endlessly) contains (snarfing) TEA (drink) | ||
| 12 | LINKS | Partnerships – things forged in seaside places for drivers? (5) |
| triple definition – realationships, metal chains and golf courses | ||
| 13 | CLOSE CALL | Wind up cold with every narrow squeak (5,4) |
| CLOSE (wind up) C (cold) with ALL (every) | ||
| 14 | PASS BY | Slip away via narrow passage on the left (4,2) |
| BY (via) following (with…on the left) PASS (narrow passage). First time through I wrote in “PASS ON” – PASS (narrow PASSAGE) and ON (on the left, of the passenger’s side) with via as a link. | ||
| 16 | SLIPPER | Small cheek on a mule (7) |
| S (small) LIP (cheek) on PER (a, two-a-penny) | ||
| 19 | AVERAGE | Declare maturity everyday (7) |
| AVER (declare) AGE (maturity) | ||
| 21 | SEDANS | South-eastern French in large saloons (6) |
| SE (south-eastern) then DANS (in, French) | ||
| 23 | DISTEMPER | Paint is hell to soften (9) |
| DIS (hell) and TEMPER (to soften) | ||
| 25 | TITLE | Championship draw gripping Scotland’s heart (5) |
| TIE (draw) contains (gripping) scoTLand (heart of) – “a position of honour gained by being champion” and “winning the title” | ||
| 26 | MORTAL | Being completely out of it (6) |
| double definition – human and very drunk | ||
| 27 | GASOLINE | Premium 97, say liquid goes in (about a litre) (8) |
| anagram (liquid) of GOES IN contains (about) A L (litre) – Premium 97 octane gasoline say (US terminology), in the UK we typically have Premium 95 and Super 97 petrol | ||
| 28 | RANGER | Cartoon Smith in right huff (6) |
| R (right) ANGER (huff) – Ranger Smith from the cartoon Yogi Bear | ||
| 29 | REVEREND | Minister always dividing split (8) |
| EVER (always) inside (dividing) REND (split) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BASALT | Graduate with wit finds pottery (6) |
| BA (graduate) with SALT (wit) | ||
| 2 | AIR-INTAKE | Mostly broadcasting on Escort’s opening in carburettor (3-6) |
| AIRINg (broadcasting) on TAKE (escort, to take someone somewhere) | ||
| 3 | DREGS | The most worthless date on car numbers (5) |
| D (date) on REGS (registrations, car numbers) | ||
| 4 | SKETCHY | Eat out in space that’s inadequate (7) |
| ETCH (eat out) in SKY (space, where you find stars) | ||
| 6 | TRADE WIND | A driver of business drew it and relocated (5,4) |
| anagram (relocated) of DREW IT AND | ||
| 7 | HYENA | One evidently laughing about name, yeah in another form (5) |
| anagram (in another form) of N (name) and YEAH | ||
| 8 | SLUMLORD | A letter from across the tracks? (8) |
| cryptic definition – someone who lets property in a poor area (across the tracks) | ||
| 11 | POTS | Kitties kick up (4) |
| STOP (kick) reversed (up) – shared money | ||
| 15 | STAGE NAME | Upset agent with same soubriquet (5,4) |
| anagram (upset) of AGENT with SAME | ||
| 17 | PINSTRIPE | Cut up rubbish suit (9) |
| SNIP (cut) reversed (up) then TRIPE (rubbish) | ||
| 18 | MAL-DE-MER | Trouble in La Manche? Macron’s tip on scuttling ‘le dream’ (3,2,3) |
| Macron (first letter, tip of) then anagram (scuttling) of LE DREAM | ||
| 20 | EXPO | Public showing what fills faex populi (4) |
| found inside faEX POpuli | ||
| 21 | SERRATE | Pink series with value (7) |
| SER (series) with RATE (to value) | ||
| 22 | LEGEND | Sub concealing, for example, cipher (6) |
| END (sub) contains (concealing) EG (for example) | ||
| 24 | SIREN | Father with new femme fatale (5) |
| SIRE (father) and N (new) | ||
| 25 | TROPE | Primarily The Moor is a metaphor (5) |
| The (first letter, primarily) then ROPE (to moor a boat) | ||
*anagram
Several I didn’t know – BASALT as ‘pottery’ (rather than just a type of rock), SALT for ‘wit’, the ‘Cartoon Smith’, LEND for ‘sub’ and MORTAL for ‘out of it’ – made this hard going, compounded by having to guess SLUMLORD. I was surprised to see that all turned out to be correct.
SERRATED for ‘Pink’ was good and reminded me of my Mum’s old pinking shears and the strange cut they made. ‘A driver of business’ was another good def.
Educational and enjoyable.
Thanks to Jason and PeeDee
Thanks Jason and PeeDee
I used to find this setter quite straightforward, but lately have found him to be less so and reflected by his appearance later in the week I suppose. Plenty of grist in this one and lots of notes written on my puzzle.
Had the same new learnings as Wordplodder in addition to the French name of the English Channel. Initially entered PASS ON with exactly the same logic as in the blog which needed to be amended after 4d.
No real favourites and certainly no duds in what was an entertaining solve that took just under the hour across a couple of sessions to get finished. Ended in the SW corner with the ‘cartoon ranger’ and MORTAL (which was more hope and pray than any amount of certitude) the last couple in.
I agree with Brucew@aus. 8dn, 25dn, & 28ac were well below Jason’s usual standard…
…and please can someone explain where the ‘dis’ in distemper comes from?
Grumpy – in ancient Roman mythology father Dis (aka Pluto) was the ruler of the underworld and the realm of Dis was hell. The name is also used by Dante for his circles of hell.
Thanks PeeDee.