A TEES puzzle today to tease our senses.
There were three idioms within the final grid today, two of which contained long anagrams which we enjoyed ‘teesing’ out. We had to check one definition in Chambers (8d). However, we’d be interested to hear what other solvers made of today’s cryptic definitions.
Thanks Tees and Happy New Year.
EDGE (bite) – final letters of grungE banD unconvincinG herE
ED (editor) ROOD (cross) around or ‘receiving’ WIND (blow). Dickens never completed this novel hence the ‘incomplete’
An anagram of BAIL – anagrind is ‘jumping’ AB (seaman) A
A play on the fact that the price P would be attached to EACH individual fruit.
THe (article) missing last letter or ‘not finishing’ INK TANK (‘well for writer?’). Joyce remembers being an ‘ink monitor’ when she was at Junior School – a very important position!
An anagram of BOAR SEEN – anagrind is ‘wild’
D (died) after or ‘next to’ ILIA (bones)
CANE (stick) round or ‘shrouding’ O (over)
OPT (choose) T (tenor) around or ‘involving’ ERE (before) + A
An anagram of WIND and FROST – anagrind is ‘mixing’
Double definition
RETINA (surface behind the pupil) around or ‘swallowing’ S (second)
IN (cool) and a homophone (‘they say’) of CIDER (scrumpy)
A sort of clue as definition as it is an anagram of SOME – anagrind is ‘nuts’ around K (Kelvin) and an anagram of MICKEY INHALE – anagrind is ‘insanely’
Hidden in ‘gaucHE REvolutionary’
A play on the fact that if you ESCAPE from prison you would avoid finishing your sentence
GRIM (serious) ACE (expert)
AY (always) inside or ‘covered by’ an anagram of DARTS – anagrind is ‘fragmented’
I’M AGIN (Tees is opposed to) E (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of ‘leave’)
An anagram of KIND FRAIL E (English) SIKH – anagrind is ‘bent’
OS (huge – as in outsize) AKA (also known as – ‘another name for it’)
D (duke) RANK (Americanism for ‘superior to’). We had to check this one in Chambers.
ON THE LINE (phoning) around or ‘securing’ BREAD (money)
A (area) inside or ‘between’ NY and LA (two American cities)
A cryptic definition where SPAWN can be a noun as in eggs or perhaps ‘little salmon’ or as a verb in terms of ‘giving birth to’. Not our favourite clue today and our LOI.
Sorry Tees – we assume that this is meant to be a cryptic definition but for us it just doesn’t work.
If a ‘horse’ (punch) was ‘champing’ (eating) it would EAT LIKE A HORSE
TWo (pair) without O or ‘loveless’ ADDLE (become confused)
ShIRES (‘Tory heartlands?’) with H (first or ‘initial’ letter in ‘Happy’) omitted or ‘deserting’
UTD (united) in O O (goalless game)
At 8 down, I parsed it as D (duke) above (superior to; down entry) RANK (row of soldiers)
Thanks Duncan – that sounds far more logical. How did we miss it?
A delightful puzzle which we solved fairly quickly. Having got the three idioms we thought it would have been nice if Tees could have included ‘sleep like a top’ as well – but had it been possible no doubt there would have had to be some obscure words as well, so we’re quite content with the puzzle as it is.
In 3ac EDWIN DROOD as an unfinished novel came to mind at once, but we thought that might be too obvious before realising that it was indeed the answer.
Yesterday we grumbled about double duty in one of the clues, so to be consistent we ought to do the same about ‘inhale’ in 27/10 but somehow we weren’t really bothered by it – maybe because the answer was a bit of a write-in from crossing letters.
Favourites included GRIMACE, IMAGINE, RETSINA, SNOWDRIFT and INSIDER, even though the latter two might be old chestnuts.
Thanks, Tees and B&J
Not quite as straightforward as a ‘Monday Tees’ but I enjoyed this Wednesday crossword
Thanks to Tees and B&J
I enjoyed this and expected more comments.
I assumed without too much further thought that “rank’ in 8D indicated “rank and file”, so did not need to check.
Bloggers a little hard on this one and ORIGAMI – what’s wrong with it?
SPAWN was my LOI though again I did not have the bloggers’ concern.
Did not understand how “horse” = punch.
Enjoyed all the long thematic anagrams.
Thanks to Tees and Bertandjoyce.
gwep @ 5 (if you see this)
A Suffolk Punch is a breed of horse.
@6Simon S – I see it. Thanks.