The puzzle can be found here.
Hi all. I very much enjoyed this puzzle although there is one clue I don’t understand needed help with – thanks to Rabbit Dave and NeilW. Plenty to choose from favourite-wise, which means of course that I can’t. So, with thanks to Loglady, it’s over to you.
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
Across
7a 80s car range (6)
SIERRA
Two definitions
8a Aimless drawing of God in old comic (8)
DOODLING
GOD IN OLD anagrammed (comic)
9a Plant in secluded place around running water (10)
CORNFLOWER
CORNER (secluded place) around FLOW (running water)
10a Proper athletics event (4)
MEET
A double definition, the first archaic or formal
11a Musician‘s revolutionary tune breaking sound barrier (8)
MARIACHI
AIR (tune) reversed (revolutionary …) inside (breaking) MACH I (sound barrier, with I=1, crossword-style)
13a White bear on the run (6)
WANTED
WAN (white) + TED (bear). The white bear is the polar bear. “White Bear” is also an episode of Black Mirror, one of my favourite things on TV
14a Given new Punch, reading it over at random? (13)
REINVIGORATED
READING IT OVER anagrammed (at random)
17a Physical instruction book (6)
MANUAL
A double definition
19a Unconsummated threesome breaks rules (8)
THEOREMS
Without its last letter (unconsummated), THREESOMe is anagrammed (breaks)
21a See why esteem, mostly, is said to spell growth (4)
CYST
C (see) – Y (why) – S T – (es-tee[m] mostly) sounds like (is said) the way to spell the answer
22a Bolt joined with pins and needles temporarily (10)
FLEETINGLY
FLEE (bolt) + TINGLY (with pins and needles)
24a Bandido-cum-entertainer conceals record (8)
DOCUMENT
BandiDO-CUM-ENTertainer conceals the answer
25a Blind gaping, scratching head (6)
AWNING
[y]AWNING (gaping) with the removal of the initial letter (scratching head)
Down
1d Child captures cross subterranean beast (8)
MINOTAUR
MINOR (child) contains (captures) TAU (cross)
2d Independent governed nation (4)
IRAN
I (independent) + RAN (governed)
3d Improvised cigar stuffed with pound of old vegetable (6)
GARLIC
An anagram of (improvised) CIGAR containing (stuffed with) L (pound of old)
4d Small-scale debtor? (8)
BORROWER
The Borrowers, created by Mary Norton, are a family of tiny, or small-scale, people
5d Normal tie rearranged to make room for single knockout game (10)
ELIMINATOR
NORMAL TIE anagrammed (rearranged) with the inclusion of (to make room for) I (single)
6d Wing headed by a ‘W’ when pronounced? (6)
ANNEXE
This sounds like (… when pronounced) AN X. I don’t understand how X can be W… please help! X is preceded by (headed by) W in the alphabet. Thanks to Rabbit Dave and NeilW in the first two comments.
8d Result of manufacturing deserting town: residents here hold power (7,6)
DOWNING STREET
An anagram of (result of manufacturing) DESERTING TOWN
12d During resignation speech, cast out without finishing. That’s unjust (10)
INIQUITOUS
IN (during) + I QUIT (resignation speech) + OUS[t] (cast out) without the last letter (without finishing)
15d Defamed the Italian rider, opposed fixing (8)
VILIFIED
IL (the, Italian) and IF (rider, condition), with VIED (opposed) surrounding (fixing)
16d Chuck fish food (8)
DUMPLING
DUMP (chuck) + LING (fish)
18d Heartless scavenging animal returning cry of pain without care (6)
ANYHOW
HYeNA (scavenging animal) without the middle letter (heartless …) reversed (returning) + OW (cry of pain)
20d Doubles player, with back gone, retires, giving set up (6)
ENTRAP
PARTNEr (doubles player) without the last letter (with back gone) is reversed (retires)
23d Blues lady sung like a siren? (4)
NINA
This could sound, when sung, like a siren: NEE-NAW Simone, Blues lady
Hi Kitty. Re 6d, X is preceded (headed) by W.
Thanks, Kitty. For an IOS crossword, there were one or two that gave real pause for thought – swiftly followed by wondering why, once the device was seen, so very enjoyable as you say
X follows W in the alphabets W “heads” it!
Whoops, I pressed Post Comment @1 too soon!
Wouldn’t 10a work without “athletics”? 11a would have been a new word for me, except that coincidentally it turned up in another place yesterday. The less said about, 23d the better.
Thanks to Loglady and to Kitty. The poor cat in 10 Downing Street is going to have to put with a baby soon as well as the dog.
Thanks guys – blog updated.
RD@3 – yes, 10a would work without “athletics” but as long as it works with it too then that’s ok.
Indeed, poor Larry. 🙁
I found this quite challenging for a Sunday. I didn’t get the BORROWER(s) reference and wasn’t convinced by the homophone at 23d. No particular reason, but I just don’t like MEET when referring to an ‘athletics event’. Held up by the WAN TED at the end.
I did enjoy ANNEXE, once I’d worked out what was going on, the ‘Given new Punch’ def and ANYHOW.
Thanks to Loglady and Kitty
Loved 21 and 22 across and lots of others vying for third place. Thanks all.
Nice blog and pics.
Not bonkers about the puzzle but i must say it was a good challenge for any bored people who have finished Inqy and Elgar and went to sleep during Everyman. Good placement
I loved The Borrowers as a youngster so that takes my vote today along with the white bear on the run.
Thanks to Loglady and to Miss Kitty – rather thought that Larry would find his way into the review today!
Had to check “blind” could also refer to an awning.
Not sure about 11a. I always thought “mariachi” was either a band or their music, not a musician. My two dictionaries seem to support this. Maybe the apostrophe is in the wrong place?
Apart from that minor niggle, I really enjoyed this. Much easier than the last outing. Thanks to Loglady and Kitty.
Hovis @10
Re ‘mariachi’:
ODE – a musician in a group performing mariachi music
Chambers – any of a group of musicians playing mariachi music
I found this harder than usual for an IoS, but none the less enjoyable. I don’t get why L/pound in 3 down needs to be qualified by “of old”. Is pound not represented by L any more (it’s given in my Chambers)?
Definitely a little more taxing, but pleasantly so, than the usual IoS, with some favourites being ANNEXE, FLEETINGLY, REINVIGORATED. Cheated for LOI, WANTED. Had to be BORROWER, but couldn’t parse it until I came here.
8D the anagram fodder is “deserting (not deserted) town”.
Thanks to Loglady and Kitty.
Thanks gwep. Not with it today, clearly! Will amend 8d now. The right fodder is important, after all (nom nom).
We didn’t find this too much of a challenge, except for BORROWER, where we had to use a wordfinder – and a facepalm moment when we got it! And MARIACHI was a bit of a write-in, having, like RD@3, encountered it elsewhere yesterday. ANNEXE was our favourite.
Thanks, Loglady and Kitty.