Thanks Wanderer, for a brisk Friday morning workout.
FF: 8 DD: 8
| Across | ||
| 1 | SOUTHEND-ON-SEA | Unfashionable London suburb’s flanked by the main town in Essex (8-2-3) |
| OUT (unfashionable) HENDON’S (London suburb’s) in (flanked by) SEA (the main) | ||
| 9 | AVIATOR | A Johnson, perhaps, that’s advanced through backing bullshit (7) |
| A (advanced) VIA (through) TOR (bullshit = ROT, reversed) | ||
| 10 | CARIBOU | Initially Cupid annoyed Rudolph, in being one uppity reindeer (7) |
| starting letters of “Cupid Annoyed Rudolph, In Being One Uppity..” | ||
| 11 | IDEAL | One young chap making comeback after catching last appearance of George Best (5) |
| I (one) [ reverse of LAD (young chap) containing E (last letter of georgE) ] | ||
| 12 | AD LIBITUM | Without preparation, built amid disorder? (2,7) |
| BUILT AMID* | ||
| 13 | ENSEMBLE | Group sense I’m able when wanting leaders (8) |
| “sENSE i’M aBLE..” lacking first letters | ||
| 15 | HAMPER | Foil for food container? (6) |
| double def | ||
| 18 | RELENT | Change your mind about period of abstinence (6) |
| RE (about) LENT (period of abstinence) | ||
| 19 | SANDWICH | With German setter on beach briefly, somewhere in Kent (8) |
| SAND (beach) W (with) ICH (german for I, setter) | ||
| 22 | SUNTANNED | Bronzed swimming nudes include model girl? (9) |
| NUDES* containing [ T (model) ANN (girl) ] | ||
| 24 | CREEL | Native American large basket (5) |
| CREE (native american) L (large) | ||
| 25 | RE-ENTER | Once again insert some green terminology (2-5) |
| hidden in “..gREEN TERminology” | ||
| 26 | UNTRIED | New Tinder user primarily, so not yet experienced (7) |
| [TINDER U (User, first letter)]* | ||
| 27 | SYNOD OF WHITBY | Ecclesiastical council spelt out why nobody’s fit (5,2,6) |
| WHY NOBODY’S FIT* | ||
| Down | ||
| 1, 18 | SEASIDE RESORT | What might lead to disease where you might get crabs? (7,6) |
| cryptic def; reverse anagram indicator for DISEASE | ||
| 2 | UNIVERSAL | How 8 20 is rated, commonly third out of four (9) |
| cryptic def; referring to how movies/films (8,20d) are rated; expansion of third letter of foUR | ||
| 3 | HOTEL | Accommodation in the middle of Southport (5) |
| cryptic def; expansion of H (middle of soutHport) | ||
| 4 | NORMALLY | As a rule, even choice of enemy has friend’s support (8) |
| N OR M (even choice of eNeMy) ALLY (friend); slightly tricky parse for the first half of the clue | ||
| 5 | ON CALL | Working phone available if required (2,4) |
| ON (working) CALL (phone) | ||
| 6 | SURFBOARD | Four bards surprised what’s for hire in Newquay (9) |
| FOUR BARDS* | ||
| 7 | ABBOT | Article on books: 39 books for Protestant religious leader (5) |
| A (article) B B (books) OT (39 books for protestant) | ||
| 8, 20 | SUMMER HOLIDAY | Film showing body of water in France during broadcast ad break (6,7) |
| MER (body of water in france, french for sea) in [ SUM (ad) HOLIDAY (break) ] | ||
| 14 | MANHATTAN | Male bowler, for one brief time on an island (9) |
| MAN (male) HAT (bowler) T (time, in brief) AN | ||
| 16 | PRICELIST | What shows costs involved in Cecil’s leaderless trip? (5,4) |
| cECIL’S TRIP* (without C, first letter) | ||
| 17 | DANDRUFF | Jacob’s son died, with collar showing one sign of dermatitis (8) |
| DAN (jacob’s son) D(died) RUFF (collar) | ||
| 18 | See 1 | |
| 20 | See 8 | |
| 21 | SNORED | Made annoying noise when out in sun, mostly now showing one’s been out in it too long? (6) |
| S (sun) NOw (mostly) RED (showing one has been in the sun too long) | ||
| 23 | NEEDS | Things required if hooligans take Ecstasy (5) |
| NEDS (hooligans) containing E (ecstacy) | ||
| 24 | CATCH | Round collar (5) |
| double def | ||
*anagram
For 19a, I assume Wanderer is taking SANDS for beach and removing final S for “briefly”. SAND for beach is in Chambers thesaurus though.
For 21d, the definition should include “when out”.
For 8,20 I had AD as homophone for ADD (sum) denoted by “broadcast”.
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs.
I typed out my thoughts on a few clues, but did a quick refresh before posting and found Hovis @1 had already said everything I was going to say! Well…except that I really enjoyed this puzzle and my favourite clue was the reverse anagram 8,20 SEASIDE RESORT.
Thanks to all.
Hadn’t heard of SYNOD OF WHITBY and only knew the abbreviated version of AD LIB. Also, didn’t know Jacob’s son. Otherwise, same as what Hovis @1 said.
Thanks for the blog, Turbolegs.
What a super puzzle! – I thought this was Wanderer on top form.
At 27ac, I immediately thought of SYNOD OF WHITBY, from the enumeration, and practically yelped with delight when I teased out the anagram. [That one has gone straight into my little book of classic clues.]
I also enjoyed SEASIDE RESORT and SUMMER HOLIDAY a lot. Quite a holiday feeling about this – SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, SUNTANNED, SANDWICH, HAMPER and references in the clues to Southport and Newquay [and France].
I also agree with Hovis on all counts.
Huge thanks, Wanderer, for adding to the sunshine. 😉
Agree with Hovis on all above (I usually do, tho’ it’s more fun when we don’t) and specifically the ‘when out’ in 21d really makes the clue.
I think somebody should make the point that the obvious theme is ‘British seaside summer holidays’, a much needed reminder of happy times to come.
Thanks to all.
A holiday mini-theme, as pointed out by Eileen @4 & Grant B @5, although goodness knows what sort of holiday anyone will be having this year, north or south of the equator. Maybe this was set before the crisis hit.
More than a lazy stroll in the sun, with some clues needing a bit of teasing out, eg the ‘even choice of enemy’ in NORMALLY. Favourite was the Amy Johnson reference in 9a.
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs
Thank you for the parsing of 4d. Should not A. Johnson be AVIATRIX?
First of all, thanks to Eileen for the recommendation in the other thread. I rarely bother with the FT as it’s not a paper I’ve ever bought and I don’t usually find enough time in my day to fit in more than the Guardian (always) and Independent (more often than not). But I seem to find I have more time on my hands at the moment 🙂
That was a pleasure! I loved the anagram play with SEASIDE RESORT, and SYNOD OF WHITBY was very nice too, even though it reminded me of how much I would love to be walking down the coast now the weather’s set fair. DANDRUFF was a one where an old school perfomance of Joseph came in handy for remembering the sons of the patriarch. I would never have got NEEDS without having seen Peter Mullan’s Neds a few years ago. I was not familiar with that term until then.
All in all, plenty of fun. I can see me visiting the FT more often in the coming months. Thanks to Wanderer.
Reasonably quickly completed by my standards, though after one initial slip. In 19A I thought the German setter was Bach, and with the reference to a beach, I swiftly entered Sandbach as a place in Kent! Now discovered it’s in Cheshire.
Thanks to all.
Thanks to W and Turbo — great blog and very useful comments/clarifications. Didn’t know about Amy Johnson until I looked her up (my knowledge of Johnsons stops at Boris, Samuel and Lyndon). And I completely missed the “German setter”=ICH which was nice touch (in retrospect)
Thank you Eileen for the steer; very enjoyable. Thanks too to Turbolegs and Wanderer; I’ll be back !
One query: CATCH =ROUND Why?
Thanks for the blog, Turbolegs.
I hope one day I’ll get to enjoy Wanderer’s crosswords…..
Hi il principe – a catch is a type [often comic] of the song called a ’round’ – ‘London’s burning‘, for example.
And me a so-called musician – the shame of it ! Thanks for plugging that hole Eileen.
A quickly spotted theme led to a quickly completed grid, but it was all very enjoyable. We should have been at a Music Weekend starting today, and the last presentation of the weekend was to have been a light-hearted programme evoking memories of sandcastles, donkey rides, rock pools and other delights. So an appropriate coincidence.
We liked SYNOD OF WHITBY, SANDWICH and SEASIDE RESORT.
Thanks, Wanderer and Turbolegs.
Whitby should be added to the “seaside theme”
John @16
Each night, in bed, I listen, as a soporific, to the litany of the Shipping Forecast. including that for coastal stations: Cape Wrath to Rattray Head, Rattray Head to Whitby, Whitby to Gibraltar Point … I can recite them all and I imagine my way all around the coast, with happy memories of different locations, hoping that I’ll have fallen asleep by the time we get back to Cape Wrath.
I do wonder, in this technological age, why anyone needs these forecasts – but I’d be bereft without them – sheer poetry!
Many thanks to both. Being half a world away I had to go g-mapping to find 1a andthat led me to the question of whether there is a SOUTHEND that is not on the sea. Seems there isn’t so I now have another diversion to find why the ON-SEA bit has been added to the name.
Eileen @ 17
Did you ever hear the episode of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue where they had to sing the shipping forecast zones to the melody of [I can’t remember which tune]? Priceless.
Willie Rushton era, I think.
Simon S – yes, I did! Those were the days. 😉 [And I see I missed out Berwick-upon-Tweed between Rattray Head and Whitby.]
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
Enjoyable puzzle as usual from this setter and helped along when the theme dawned to get 8d and a couple of others. Had to check up on and learn about some more English towns – still can never imagine a surf beach in England for some reason.
Had to think through a couple of the parsings – 19a and 8d-20d. Admired some of the surface, even when they appeared long-winded such as 11a and 21d. Would have to give my clue of the day, though, to 22a.
Finished on the right hand side with SUMMER HOLIDAY (probably the theme clue), PRICE LIST and HAMPER the last few in.