I found this entertaining, a nice variety of clues. Thank you Philistine.
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | HERMITAGE | Tradition to include prom finale in retreat (9) |
| HERITAGE (tradition) contains (to include) proM (final letter) | ||
| 10 | HEATH | Some heartache at home in Hampstead? (5) |
| found inside (some of) heartacHE AT Home | ||
| 11, 12 | BEDTIME STORIES | What may help sleep is blend regularly used by conservatives (7,7) |
| every other letter (regularly used) of B l E n D then TIMES (by, multiplication) and TORIES (Conservatives) | ||
| 12 | See 11 | |
| 13 | APEX | Ultimately, trivia help me climax? Yes (4) |
| last letters (ultimately) of triviA helP mE climaX – yes, a climax, answers the question posed in the wordplay | ||
| 14 | RALLYCROSS | Special ‘lorry class’ motor race (10) |
| anagram (special) of LORRY CLASS | ||
| 16 | NITPICK | Split hairs? Use a fine-toothed comb (7) |
| double definition | ||
| 17 | WELL OFF | Rich fellow being stupid and loud (4,3) |
| anagram (being stupid) of FELLOW and F (forte, loud) | ||
| 19 | YOU DON’T SAY | I’m surprised solver’s keeping mum (3,4,3) |
| YOU (the solver) DON’T SAY (is keeping mum) | ||
| 22 | SCAR | Scholar missing short holiday as a result of injury (4) |
| SCholAR missing HOL (holiday, short) | ||
| 24 | TUCKS IN | Feeds well and puts to bed (5,2) |
| double definition | ||
| 25 | TOO SLOW | Not fast enough for capital in drag (3,4) |
| OSLO ( a capital) in TOW (drag) | ||
| 26 | NOOKY | Sex in the City fine with love … (5) |
| NY (the city) contains (in…is…)OK (fine) with O (love) | ||
| 27 | LEICESTER | … and another lie about another secret (9) |
| anagram (about) of LIE then anagram (another about) of SECRET – another city, from the previous clue | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | THE BLARNEY STONE | Is it good to kiss and tell? (3,7,5) |
| cryptic definition – see Kissing the Blarney Stone | ||
| 2 | GRADIENT | Award without end pitch (8) |
| GRANT (award) contains (without) DIE (end) | ||
| 3 | CIVIC | Municipal rise and fall (5) |
| a palindrome, read either rising or falling | ||
| 4 | BAREBACK | Bikes initially have come home without a saddle (8) |
| Bikes (first letter, initially) then ARE BACK (have come home) | ||
| 5 | WEASEL | Start to withstand what might go pop? (6) |
| With (starting letter) and EASEL (stand) | ||
| 6 | THE OCCULT | Safe at last, wrapped in cloth, cut off from supernatural stuff (3,6) |
| safE (last letter) inside anagram (off) of CLOTH CUT | ||
| 7 | CASINO | Coins wasted securing a better establishment (6) |
| anagram (wasted) of COINS contains (securing) A | ||
| 8 | CHESTS OF DRAWERS | Underwear storage in artists’ bosoms (6,2,7) |
| definition and cryptic definition | ||
| 15 | SIMON SAYS | Little sister hugs so many when playing game (5,4) |
| SIS (sister, little) contains (hugs) anagram (when playing) of SO MANY | ||
| 17 | WEAR THIN | Get less convincing victory protecting the planet (4,4) |
| WIN (victory) contains (protecting) EARTH (the planet) | ||
| 18 | OSCULATE | Elaborate clues to ‘a kiss‘ (8) |
| anagram (elaborate) of CLUES TO A | ||
| 20 | UNCOOL | Uniform: spelled out, it’s square (6) |
| U (uniform) then anagram (out) of COLON (: spelled) | ||
| 21 | TINGLY | Producing a pleasant sensation, half disgustingly (6) |
| disgusTINGLY (half of) | ||
| 23 | COVET | Lust after firm check (5) |
| CO (company, firm) and VET (check) | ||
Sometimes I feel a little cheated if I expect a big tussle but the puzzle instead unravels easily, but in this case I really enjoyed it, with clever stuff like the colon and “start to withstand”. The appearance of Leicester in a clue the previous day undoubtedly helped a little with 27a. As for 10a, I have mixed feelings about Hampstead Heath: I grew up just a few miles from it, and have a lot of good memories of it, but one particularly bad one: it was where my school had us do cross-country runs, which I absolutely hated – and it wasn’t my heart that was aching!
Well, like the good doctor I was mildly disappointed by how easily this all slotted in. But, equally, I found some very nice bits – 5dn in particular. Thank you Philistine, despite what I just said, I really enjoyed this. And thank you PeeDee for explaining 20dn which I solved without knowing how. Very clever Ph – hats off 🙂
Agree with DrW @1 and Jaydee @2 regarding both the ease and the enjoyment. Special praise for BEDTIME STORIES, RALLY CROSS, WEASEL and UNCOOL (the only one I didn’t parse, and probably my favourite now that I understand it). Thanks both.
Thanks to Philistine ans PeeDee. I’m another who found this puzzle surprisingly easy but enjoyable. When LEICESTER and NY appeared I thought more cities would follow but not so.
Got all bar two answers in a hurry, but had to walk away for a few days and come back before 9a and 2d slotted in. Could not parse 2d until I read your blog and realised I’d fallen for a classic piece of misdirection. Thanks PeeDee
Thanks PeeDee. Like you and others I was looking forward to this as a way to pass a pleasant hour or two, or even more, and couldn’t help a sense of disappointment when it was over all too soon. I consoled myself by admiring some imaginative clues but many of them weren’t much of a challenge.
Having stared at UNCOOL off and on for a week, I thank PeeDee for the parsing.
Not a big challenge otherwise, but thanks Philistine all the same.
As per everyone above re ease: couldn’t find my copy, realised that that was because I hadn’t done it, printed it out just now and knocked it over at Monday speed. That said, failed to parse grant around die and to get the colon trick, so not so smart after all. Printed out today’s as well, bet Paul’ll be tougher. Thanks Philstine and Peedee, nice weekend in, everyone.
The right hand side went in very quickly by my standards, then I had something of a hiatus until THE BLARNEY STONE popped up from somewhere in the subconscious, and the rest followed. I wasn’t quite sure about the Yes in 13 across, and failed to see the really rather neat parsing for UNCOOL. Thanks for pointing that out, PeeDee, and thanks for an entertaining puzzle, Philistine.
What a great puzzle! The Irish heritage in me meant 1d THE BLARNEY STONE got lots of ticks, although the souvenir photo shows that I do look a bit terrified at being held upside down by the legs (not sure about the WPH&S at Blarney Castle in 2002!). Agree re being baffled by 20d UNCOOL. I thought 26a NOOKY was pretty funny. [That is about the only thing that has made me smile about New York in the last week, as I am so worried about my son and his wife there at the moment, although we have tried to stay upbeat on FaceTime.] 24a TUCKS IN and 8d CHEST OF DRAWERS also made me smile. I do hope our worthy blogger Eileen got to solve it, as I thought of her straightaway when I solved 27a LEICESTER!
Many thanks to Philistine and PeeDee. Hope all members of our crossword community, and your loved ones all around the world, are managing okay.
Mostly very easy, and certainly much easier than yesterday’s Tramp. At least 8dn was vaguely amusing.
The last few clues needed a bit more thought though. The wordplay in GRADIENT and HERMITAGE (my LOIs) was fine, but what a pity about the surfaces.
I liked COVET, NOOKY (a touch of Paul there) and WEASEL. I felt that WEASEL was the only really decent clue in the whole puzzle.
Nevertheless, thanks to Philistine and to PeeDee.
When I saw HERMITAGE and LEICESTER I wondered if there was to be a wine nd cheese theme, but no, I think not.
I suppose CHESTS OF DRAWERS qualifies as a triple, with DRAWERS being the compartments of the CHESTS as well as underwear and artists.
Have yet to see today’s puzzle, but perhaps it will be more time-consuming, for us who have much time to consume. All the best, everyone.
Thanks Philistine and PeeDee
I’ve usually forgotten the Prize by the time the blog appears, but this time I fondly remember the clue for WEASEL.
As others have said, enjoyable but rather gentle.
Thanks to Philistine and PeeDee
Enjoyable, my (in hindsight obvious)GRADIENT.
Had got UNCOOL from the crossers and definition, but the parsing eluded me, so many thanks PeeDee for that.
Enjoyed the long clues, THE BLARNEY STONE and CHESTS OF DRAWERS especially.
Thanks Philistine and PeeDee and all other learned contributors.
Stay Safe
Thanks for the blog, PeeDee and thanks to Philistine for another enjoyable puzzle.
My favourites were BEDTIME STORIES, BAREBACK, WEASEL, SIMON SAYS, OSCULATE and UNCOOL.
Julie @10 – I’m sure I’ve never missed solving a Philistine puzzle [except maybe when I was on holiday] and yes, I was chuffed to see my home town featured two days running, as Dr WhatsOn pointed out.
Yes, managed this fairly rapidly this a.m. Yesterday’s was more llke a prize. Thanks to setter and blogger, and everyone – don’t let better weather deceive you that things are back to normal …
I don’t object to puzzles being easy as long as they have as many entertaining clues as this one. I too didn’t parse 20d but it is perfectly fair (and good). Minor objection to NY = city for undue repetition. The same goes for LA though in my part of the world that stands for Little’ampton.
Thanks to Philistine and PeeDee. Now back to yesterday’s Tramp which I didn’t look at until it was bedtime and quickly put on hold.
Has anyone else noticed the new print format of the cryptic/prize? Huge Guardian logo and blurb, smaller puzzle, unnecessarily larger clues and omission of the setter’s name? Is this an “upgrade”?
Great fun and variety from a top setter, but a lot easier than some Prize puzzles (naming no names, but Paul for example).
Completely missed the crucial colon in 20d, to my shame: it’s one of my favourite punctuation marks!
Thanks P and PD.
I forgot to mention in the blog, but I particularly liked “Sex in the city”. Normally I would think of “the city” rather than just “city” for NY as a slight weakness – something that works in the surface reading but less so in the cryptic reading. But in this case New York is famously used for both the city and the state (a city so good they named it twice), so NY meaning “the city” (rather than “the state”) is entirely appropriate! Very neat.
I had exactly the same experience as KeithS@9 RHS complete, LHS largely empty until 1d and UNCOOL unparsed. GRADIENT and WEASEL were favourites. Thanks to Philistine and PeeDee for the blog and additional comment @21.
Lovely crossword by my favourite setter! UNCOOL was my COD – might be Clue of the month – I wrote it straight in from the definition and then spent a couple of days pondering why until the penny dropped: big smile when it did!! Like muffin I also enjoyed WEASEL and CHEST OF DRAWERS brought a smile. Great weekend entertainment. Thanks Philistine and PeeDee
Doctor I am sure your day job is taking up all your time at the moment. but on behalf of the Fifteensquared community I would just like to thank you and all of your colleagues from Professors to porters for your dedication to duty!!
Not much to add, but I enjoyed this.
I liked the BEDTIME STORIES and the bikes without a saddle.
Thanks Philistine and PeeDee.
I have nothing much to add to what I’ve read above. I enjoyed this very much and found it not as easy as many of you did. To my credit (I think, having read the comments) I managed to parse UNCOOL, but it took a while. A quality puzzle.
Thanks to Philistine and PeeDee.
Thanks to Philistine and PeeDee, and one more plaudit for the colon.
I didn’t parse UNCOOL either. Like Muffin, I was amused by WEASEL.
Good fun
Thanks Philistine.
I managed to parse UNCOOL after a while, but got stuck on COVET at the end. I kept reading it as ‘a word for lust after a word for firm, meaning check’. Obviously the firm was CO. Then, approaching home from my daily exercise cycle ride on Monday or perhaps Tuesday, I started thinking about it again and the answer hit me. All very enjoyable.
Thumbs up from this direction. BLARNEY STONE was a tick for the surface alone. Parsing UNCOOL defeated me. Kicking myself appropriately. (Quiet down the back…)
Thanks both.
Yep, uncool had me staring for a week, enjoyable though