A real treat from Arachne this morning, sparkling as ever with ingenuity, wit and wonderful surfaces. As usual, there are far too many favourites to list, so I’ll leave that to you.
Many thanks to Arachne for lots of fun.
Did you see Alan Connor’s Guardian crossword blog on Monday? I was really enjoying Nick Hornby’s ‘State of the Union’ TV series and was surprised and thrilled to hear that Tom was doing an Arachne puzzle – and even more so when I looked up SCALLYWAG in the 15² archive to find that it was an actual puzzle from last year [and that I’d blogged it!].
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
8 Tory Right blocking liberal colleague (8)
CONFRERE
CON [Tory] + R [right] in [blocking] FREE [liberal]
9 He’d call regularly, bearing cake (6)
ECLAIR
Alternate letters [regularly] of [h]E[d] C[a]L[l] + AIR [bearing] – it’s worth repeating Chambers’ definition: ‘a cake, long in shape but short in duration, with cream filling and usu chocolate icing’
10 Cases of Gewürztraminer, exceptionally pale (4)
GREY
Outside letters [‘cases’] of G[ewürztramine]R and E[xceptionall]Y
11 Destroying terrains of Amazonia, for example (10)
RAINFOREST
A clever anagram [destroying] of TERRAINS OF
12 Soppy female and sheepish male (6)
WETHER
WET [soppy] + HER [female]
14 Possibly lacking exercise, topless physique is classically epic (8)
RHAPSODY
[pe]RHAPS [possibly, lacking pe – exercise] + [b]ODY [topless physique] – the original definition of rhapsody is ‘an epic or instalment of an epic recited at one sitting’ [Chambers]
15 Generators died, rotating such a lot (7)
DYNAMOS
D [died] + a reversal [rotating] of SO MANY [such a lot]
17 Fixer full of limitless gas and wind (7)
MEANDER
MENDER [fixer] round [g]A[s]
20 Allowed astronomer to leave Earth, with fatal consequences (8)
LETHALLY
LET [allowed] HALL[e]Y [astronomer, minus e – earth]
22 Slick lie yielding students a sneaky day off (6)
SICKIE
S[l]ICK [l]IE minus ll – students
23 Local store fleeced a policeman, according to Spooner (6,4)
CORNER SHOP
‘Shorn a cop’
24 Run into revolting boozer and belch (4)
BURP
R [run] in a reversal [revolting] of PUB [boozer]
25 Thinner axes bend, we hear (6)
XYLENE
XY [mathematical axes] + LENE [sounds like – we hear – ‘lean’ {bend}]
26 Idle criminal has siestas (3-5)
LIE-DOWNS
An anagram [criminal] of IDLE + OWNS [has]
Down
1 Boris yet to exercise temperance (8)
SOBRIETY
An anagram [to exercise] of BORIS YET – I said I wouldn’t name favourites, but …
2 Suspect humming head off (4)
IFFY
[n]IFFY [humming]
3 Tearaway ultimately at fault (6)
TERROR
[a]T + ERROR [fault]
4 Mischief and deadpan gags having malign influence (7)
DEVILRY
DRY [deadpan] round [gags] EVIL [having malign influence]
5 Identical small females throwing tantrum (8)
SELFSAME
S [small] + an anagram [throwing tantrum] of FEMALES
6 Cult’s on-air broadcast not heard by us (10)
ULTRASONIC
An anagram [broadcast] of CULT’S ON-AIR
7 Serbia sedulously protecting partisan (6)
BIASED
Hidden in serBIA SEDulously
13 Attila upset retired nut gatherer (10)
HEADHUNTER
HEAD HUN [Attila!] + a reversal [upset] of RET [retired] – with a whimsical definition
16 Where wise creatures gather, spreading wise lore (8)
OWLERIES
An anagram [spreading] of WISE LORE
18 Settler perhaps restraining road rage (8)
EMIGRANT
EG [perhaps] round [restraining] MI [road] + RANT [rage]
19 Tree, which reportedly gave girl optimism at last (4,3)
WYCH ELM
WYCH [sounds like – reportedly – ‘which’ [but not for my Scottish husband or my choirmaster] + last letters [at last] of gavE girL optimisM
21 One turned up clutching £25 for Tom Jones? (6)
EPONYM
A reversal [turned up] of ME [one] round PONY [bookmaking slang for £25] – ‘a character who gives a play, etc its title’, as in the novel by Henry Fielding – the question mark indicates definition by example
22 Group of musicians adjust private parts (6)
SEPTET
PTE [private] in [parts] SET [adjust]
24 Brahms and Liszt refusing to defect (4)
BLOT
BLOT[to] – i.e. refusing ‘to’ – two slang terms for ‘drunk’
Thanks both. I think that “Brahms and List” is just one slang term, being rhyming slang for pissed
My favourites were MEANDER, RHAPSODY, CORNER SHOP, HEADHUNTER, DEVILRY.
There were a few new words for me, but they were all fairly clued: xylene, wether, and wych elm.
I guessed that 21d might be EPONYM but I had no idea how to parse it.
Thanks Eileen and Arachne.
Same grid as yesterday’s Pasquale.
And also this week’s Quiptic.
What’s happening? Gridlock?
Shirl @1 – I meant that ‘Brahms and Liszt’ and ‘blotto’ were both slang terms.
Nice to see you blogging this Eileen. I loved every clue and parsed 24 as Brahms and Liszt = BLOTTO refusingTO leaving BLOT(defect)
Great puzzle even for Arachne and thanks everyone,
Ooh – Lucky Eileen again – I agree entirely with the first paragraph of your introduction
What a splendid crossword on a day full of favourite setters’ crosswords
Thanks to Arachne for the fun and Eileen for the blog
copmus @5 – yes, that’s the way I parsed it, too: sorry if it wasn’t clear. I’ve added “i.e. refusing ‘to'” to the blog.
crypticsue @6 – I knew you’d say that!
Great puzzle as you said, Eileen. I agree with michelle@2 about 17a MEANDER and 23a CORNER SHOP, and my other favourites were 9a ECLAIR, 12a WETHER, 24a BURP, 1d SOBRIETY (a classic clue, I thought!) and the afore-mentioned BLOT. I also loved the (possibly unintentional) link between 1d SOBRIETY, and “Brahms and Liszt” in that last one.
Thanks a million to two top women – Arachne as setter and Eileen as blogger.
[Lovely story about the appearance of our beloved Arachne in the television series, Eileen!]
A little gem that went in very smoothly. Shame it’s over. Faves were RAINFOREST and the spoonerism. Didn’t realise that OWLERIES were a thing – even if they aren’t they damn well should be! Ta muchly to both.
Enjoyed this greatly, but nearly a Blot on the landscape with this the last one in.
Of course, not the sex bomb but the Fielding novel, I’d forgotten; (the movie, Alan Bates was it?, had a very sensual eating scene). Yes, arachnid aptness as ever: destroying Amazonia (makes you weep), burping boozers, intemperate Boris, and a Blot on the landscape. Didn’t know that meaning of rhapsody, so it was loi. A pleasure to solve, thanks A and E.
You beat me to Blot, Ronald, and what a great quirky series it was, Such[et] brilliance.
Failed on 5d, but enjoyed the puzzle nonetheless. I should have spotted that there was an anagram involved, but was completely and skilfully misdirected.
grantinfreo @11: It was Albert Finney as Tom Jones, not Alan Bates.
Didn’t know that meaning of RHAPSODY and I forgot that pte=private so I couldn’t parse SEPTET. But what a lovely crossword!
Enjoyable as always from Arachne, with lots going in quickly at first, then some interesting challenges. Couldn’t parse RHAPSODY till Mrs Job (PVB) helped out, then I ticked it, along with several others.
XYLENE my last one one in – a new word for me.
Unknown blogger sounds thinner (6)
Thankx Yleen
Job @16 Thanks – I wish I were. 😉
Veery enjoyable although I failed to parse a couple, eg thinking pt = private (doh!). Lots to like, but particularly enjoyed 11a and 1d for their topicalit. As JiA said, thanks to two top women, A and E.
Another cracker from the spider lady. Nice to see Boris getting a caning.
I also ticked RAINFOREST, CORNER SHOP, EMIGRANT and SEPTET, as well as the Hun.
Thanks Eileen for a great blog and to Job @16 for an apt clue.
Anagrinds are definitely getting more adventurous – “Throwing Tantrums”? Thrown would have sufficed, but perhaps Arachne thought that was too obvious!
Eileen is obviously correct for 24d, but I found a tortuous wordplay using first letters of the composers and “refusing to” = “ot”. I’m not a fan of Cockney rhyming slang so didn’t recognise this one. I probably should have seen Blotto once I got the definition.
Boring to repeat it but a fabulous crossword once again from the Spider lady. I know that Spoonerisms are not universally liked (muffin, Eileen?) but I love ’em and this was great. However, my favourites have to be HEADHUNTER for the beautifully misleading definition, and SOBRIETY for the obvious reasons. Many thanks Arachne and for several explanations, such as PTE for private which I could not fathom thank you Eileen.
I loved the definition for Attila. 🙂
Cheers, Arachne & Eileen.
SPanza @21 – I nearly commented on the blog that I’m not a great fan of Spoonerisms, because so often they involve meaningless phrases but that Arachne’s are almost invariably sensible and witty.
This took longer than it otherwise might have, as I paused to admire the ingenuity of so many clues after filling them in. I initially had BLOT parsed as Howard @20 and thought it uncharacteristically weak for Arachne, so thanks to Eileen for providing a more satisfying explanation.
howard @20 – my apologies: I’ve realised I misread your comment, so I’m deleting my earlier reply to it, since you obviously did understand the intended wordplay!
I had “whiffy” for the smelly bit of 2d, but “niffy” fits the clue better.
As others have said a very enjoyable challenge. I thought at first it was going to be a breeze with lots going in on first few passes. However then got held up on last seven or eight, which proved much tougher. Last ones were xylene and eponym and favourites rhapsody, lie downs and devilry. Thanks to both Arachne and Eileen.
Always a delight to do battle with the spider lady.
Like PetHay, I tripped through this web quite merrily until brought to a halt by the last few which took longer than the rest of the solve.
Prizes awarded to 11,15&23a plus 13&24d.
May thanks to Arachne and also to Eileen for the review.
Another brilliant puzzle
Thanks to Arachne and Eileen
I didn’t enjoy this as much as I usually do with Arachne’s puzzles, but I think that’s just because I didn’t do well on it. I had to look up the slang term for £25 and had to cheat a bit on a couple of others. But looking back over the puzzle, I think that the fault is entirely mine. I must just be more than usually woolly-headed this morning.
19d reminded me of the old murder mystery “Who put Bella in the Wych Elm”
Lots of fun. SOBRIETY was indeed a peach. I was stuck on the DEVILRY/RHAPSODY pair for a while at the end.
I’m a bit surprised Arachne didn’t work Parliament into 16d somehow. The repetition of wise seemed a little clumsy to me.
Much enjoyed. Thanks, A&E.
The moral police should arrest Arachne for 22d!?.COD 25a.
Nice puzzle as usual from the Spider woman although I didn’t manage to parse BLOT which was LOI.Why I didn’t seems inexplicable in retrospect but there you are. I didn’t know the “epic” meaning for RHAPSODY so I’ve learned something today. Liked HEADHUNTER and BURP.
Thanks Arachne.
What happened to 25 across?????
We are firmly in a the anti-Spooner camp, but otherwise this was great. We used to really struggle with Arachne, but seem to get her now, mostly. DYNAMOS a favourite, also RHAPSODY. And it’s great that Eileen takes the trouble to respond to the posters here – many thanks to her and Arachne.
beautifully crafted as always. I get such a kick out of bits of wordplay with seamless surface like “ultimately at fault” , “adjust private parts” , “Destroying terrains of” etc.
Thanks Arachne and Eileen
Thanks and chapeau to both.
A bit of a PS as the moment has passed but I had to say how much I enjoyed this, apart from RHAPSODY which is a Russian Doll and therefore not gettable at the first level i.e. without crossers. I had occasion to remark on a similar construct in the last Arachne puzzle and I hope we’re not heading in that direction generally – I suppose one is acceptable per puzzle (ish). [Lest offence be thought to be offered, I was out roistering among musicians last night and as a result may be (let’s face it: am) if not grumpy today at least registering on the non-diplomatic scale.]