Phi gives us a very accessible puzzle today, with a theme that we don’t have to search for.
The two neighbouring counties at 17d and 23d became apparent after solving 1ac and 9ac, and from then on it was a fairly straightforward grid-fill, with the seven towns and cities neatly falling into place thanks to Phi’s clear and succinct clueing.
We could mention that, with a ‘Barn’ upfront, 5ac would be another 23d town and 6d getting ‘on’ would be the county town of another neighbouring county, but that’s probably taking the theme beyond what Phi intended.
Thanks to Phi for the fun.
Across
1 Stay for day in 23D town (8)
BIDEFORD
BIDE (stay) FOR D (day) – Bideford is in Devon (23d)
5 Page tucking into mouldy bread, perhaps (6)
STAPLE
P (page) ‘tucked’ in STALE (mouldy)
9 Sailor remains in 17 town (7)
SALTASH
SALT (sailor) ASH (remains) – Saltash is in Cornwall (17d)
10 Possibly loud frolics after receiving honour? On the contrary (5,2)
COULD BE
An anagram of LOUD (anagrind is ‘frolics’) in CBE (honour) – the clue suggests that the anagram should be round the ‘honour’ – ‘on the contrary’ reverses this
11 You once slipped into a vessel in Old English kiln’s environment (4,5)
OAST HOUSE
THOU (‘you once’) ‘slipped’ in A SS (steamship – ‘vessel’) all in O (old) E (English)
12 Fedora? Trilby? (Hat encompassing latest in comfort) (5)
TITLE
TILE (hat) round or ‘encompassing’ T (last letter or ‘latest’ in ‘comfort’) – Fedora and Trilby are both Titles – the former of a play by Victorien Sardou and the latter of a novel by George du Maurier. There was a brilliant IQ puzzle some time ago which played on the fact that both were works of literature and hats.
13 European seen with mate in 17 town (4)
BUDE
E (European) after BUD (mate)
15 Herbal medicine’s fine, always given to a small number (8)
FEVERFEW
F (fine) EVER (always) FEW (a small number)
19 Recover and relax increasingly, but not at first (7)
RESTORE
REST (relax) mORE (increasingly) without the first letter
21 Authority against 50% of malicious web behaviour (7)
CONTROL
CON (against) TROLling (malicious web behaviour) without the latter half
23 Put off carrying tin, having bottle (8)
DECANTER
DETER (put off) round or ‘carrying’ CAN (tin)
24 Each day coming in to cut field (6)
MEADOW
EA (each) D (day) in MOW (cut)
26 Flexible Minister backed steps to seal off area (9)
VERSATILE
REV (reverend – minister) reversed or ‘backed’ STILE (steps) round or ‘sealing off’ A (area)
27 Real dispute tails off in city in 17 (5)
TRURO
TRUe (real) ROw (dispute), both without their last letters or ‘tails off’
28 Contributing to klaxon, as a lover of hooters (5)
NASAL
Hidden in (‘contributing to’) klaxoN AS A Lover
29 Target or point in receiving injection of hard brain chemical (9)
ENDORPHIN
END (target) OR P (point) IN round or ‘receiving injection of’ H (hard)
Down
1 Drool over most of classiest clothing (topless) (9)
BESLOBBER
BESt (classiest) without the last letter or ‘most of’ cLOBBER (clothing) without the first letter or ‘topless’
2 Only daughter turning up in Greek island (5)
DELOS
SOLE (only) D (daughter) reversed or ‘turning up’
3 Dazzling, not entirely dull and retiring (6)
FLASHY
FLAt (dull) without the last letter, or ‘not entirely’ SHY (retiring)
4 Move to agitate about what? (7)
REHOUSE
ROUSE (agitate) round EH (‘what?’)
6 A lot of rubbish about a French jibe (5)
TAUNT
TAT (‘a lot of rubbish’) round UN (French for ‘a’)
7 Flat pack in 17 town (7)
PADSTOW
PAD (flat) STOW (pack)
8 Start of exciting times, replanting tree in 23D city (6)
EXETER
E (first letter or ‘start’ of ‘exciting’) X (times – as in arithmetic) + an anagram of TREE -anagrind is ‘replanting’
10 Chlorine this writer found in encyclopaedia as ‘something mild’ (8)
CLEMENCY
CL (chlorine) + ME (this writer) in ENCY (abbreviation for ‘encyclopaedia’)
14 Turmoil about theatre, concerts etc? Refuse to go in them (9)
DUSTCARTS
DUST (turmoil – a new slang word for us) C (about) ARTS (‘theatre, concerts etc’)
16 Electric device enthusiast beginning to harass consumer (3,6)
FAN HEATER
FAN (enthusiast) H (first letter or ‘beginning’ to ‘harass’) EATER (consumer)
17 Hackneyed comments on side of building in neighbour of 23D (8)
CORNWALL
CORN (hackneyed comments) WALL (side of building)
18 Special information reveals stagnation (8)
SLOWDOWN
S (special) LOW-DOWN (information)
20 Isolated figure receiving instructions in middle of week (7)
EREMITE
REMIT (instructions) in E E (middle letters of ‘week’)
22 Showing warmth and pity in 17 town (7)
REDRUTH
RED (‘showing warmth’) RUTH (pity)
23 Study covering very old neighbour of 17 (5)
DEVON
DEN (study) round or ‘covering’ V (very) O (old)
25 Guided to secure new grant (4)
LEND
LED (guided) round or ‘securing’ N (new)
Brought memories of Mr Pither’s cycling tour!
Thanks copmus – we had completely forgotten about Mr Pither despite being avid Monty Python fans. We have just watched the first few minutes and just seeing Michael Palin’s expression raised a smile, then a laugh as you heard the crash!
Yes, an accessible theme, though it seems a bit too too easy and I wonder if there is something else going on. Maybe just Mr. Pither. I didn’t know how TITLES worked so thanks for the explanation.
Word of the day: the very classy BESLOBBER. Yuck!
Thanks to Phi and B&J
A couple of differences in my parsings. In 29a, I had PIN for point since I have never seen P for point (not in Chambers). In 6d, I felt that “tat” just means “rubbish”. Since it can also be spelt “tatt”, I wondered if we are meant to see TA…T as a lot of TA…TT. Not entirely convinced mind you.
Some people have issues when a puzzle has two gateway clues which reference each other, but the gate was very easily pushed open today. An enjoyable solve. No real CoD but we did like OAST HOUSE – though we’re not sure what it’s doing in this puzzle – you don’t find too many of them in 23D and 17. :-J
Thanks, Phi and B&J
You may be right Hovis. We have just checked online – we just assumed that p was an abbreviation for point. If it isn’t then ‘in’ is not really required. Having said that we are not sure that pin and point are synonyms. Perhaps Phi will drop by and help us out.
What’s going on?
I don’t look at the online grid to avoid the ads, I just set one up on crossword compiler using the enumeration, which can be a little extra puzzle in itself. But today was a real head-scratcher, and I’m very surprised nobody’s mentioned it.
Enjoyed the geography, too
thanks Phi. B&J
A Christian Scientist from Theale
Said, “Though I know pain isn’t real,
When I sit on a pin
And it punctures my skin
I dislike what I fancy I feel”.
(But it’s hard to think of a sentence where pin=point, I concede.)
The grid, of course, is symmetrical about the NE/SW diagonal and I used something similar for a puzzle based on North-Eastern locations a while ago. Kent and Lancashire here we come…