My weekly dose of obscure and interesting words, I never tire of learning them. Thank you Azed.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | DRESS-IMPROVER | Mrs with pride’s shown off during traditional bustle (13) |
| anagram (shown off) of MRS with PRIDE’S then OVER (during) | ||
| 10 | HAVE-A-GO | Husband greeting past, being up for it (7) |
| H (husband) AVE (greeting) AGO (past) | ||
| 11 | ABASH | Create embarrassment in adult party (5) |
| a (adult) BASH (party) | ||
| 14 | MOLTENLY | Little Mary receives a number in flowing fashion? (8) |
| MOLLY (Mary, little=diminutive) contains TEN (a number) | ||
| 15 | RIOTRY | Ferdinand maybe on trial for unruly behaviour (6) |
| RIO (Rio Ferdinand maybe, footballer) then TRY (trial) | ||
| 16 | STAT | An artist orders this facsimile in RA (4) |
| AN ARTIST is an anagram (orders) of STAT (this facsimile, the solution) IN RA | ||
| 17 | MONTY | I’m surprised about Globe Theatre – it’s often full (5) |
| MY (I’m surprised) contains (about) O (a globe) with NT (National Theatre) – often used in the phrase the full monty, from the phrase the full Montague Burton (manufacturer of 3-piece suits) | ||
| 18 | BASIL | Taste of soup in ladle requiring herb (5) |
| Soup (first letter, a taste of) inside BAIL (ladle) | ||
| 19 | BOTTLE STORE | Off-licence in Perth, say, preserves rent (11, 2 words) |
| BOTTLES (preserves) TORE (rent) – Australian term, from Perth perhaps | ||
| 23 | LEONE | Fish brought back just after being caught: bit of income for W. African (5) |
| EEL (fish) reversed (brought back) contains (…being caught) ON (just after) | ||
| 25 | BRACT | Part of flowering plant most support with bit of twine (5) |
| BRACe (support, most of) with Twine (first letter, bit of) | ||
| 27 | ROTA | God seen as inspiring part of scripture for canon (4) |
| RA (god) contains (seen as inspiring) OT (Old Testament, part of scripture) | ||
| 28 | MANCHU | E. Asian language inscription in Norman church (6) |
| found inside (inscription in) norMAN CHUrch | ||
| 30 | IRON-SICK | Worry about damaged icons with corrosion of metal parts (8) |
| IRK (worry) contains (about) anagram (damaged) of ICONS | ||
| 31 | SETAE | Teasel may show fifty such (5) |
| TEASEL is an anagram (may show) of L (fifty) SETAE (such, the answer) | ||
| 32 | HARDOKE | Fish holding rod wrongly? Critics may differ about it (7) |
| HAKE (fish) contains anagram (wrongly) of ROD – a Shakespearean term of uncertain meaning, perhaps burdock. I’m sure this is the right answer, but the definition seems unusually imprecise for Azed. | ||
| 33 | THEATRE SISTER | Olga, Maria or Irina, head of operator’s back-up team? (13, 2 words) |
| definition and cryptic definition – characters form Chekhov play | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | DHARMA | US attorney limits mischief displaying righteousness (6) |
| DA (US attorney) contains (limits) HARM (mischief) | ||
| 2 | RATIO | Speech but not on outlying legal principle? (5) |
| oRATIOn (speech) missing the outlying letters ON | ||
| 3 | SETT | Mining area in Cornwall and in Dorset (tin) (4) |
| found inside dorSET Tin | ||
| 4 | SAURY | Sea quarry regularly culled? (5) |
| every other letter (regularly culled) of SeA qUaRrY – a seasonal dish in Japan etc, traditionally caught in Autumn | ||
| 5 | MOOLA | Cash low –get a load of that! (5) |
| MOO (low) then LA (exclamation to look, get a load of that) | ||
| 6 | PELISSE | Furry garment? Pile’s wasted on bits of sham ermine (7) |
| anagram (wasted) of PILES on first letters (bits) of Sham Ermine | ||
| 7 | RAT-PIT | Wherein vermin perish wretchedly, trap sprung over it (6) |
| anagram (sprung) of TRAP followed by (over, in a down light) IT | ||
| 8 | VANTBRACE | Wrist protector, advantage when covering tense support (9) |
| VAN (advantage) followed by (when covering) T (tense) BRACE (support) | ||
| 9 | RHYTA | Pet cups like this may have been mixed for the party (5) |
| PET with RHYTA (cups like this, the solution) is an anagram (may have been mixed for) of THE PARTY | ||
| 12 | SLANE | Turf-cutters’ tool – special course required (5) |
| S (special) with LANE (course) | ||
| 13 | MONOPTOTE | Top men, too busy, I’ll never inflect (9) |
| anagram (busy) of TOP MEN TOO | ||
| 18 | BLOWIER | Humbly loading funeral vehicle, being less calm … (7) |
| LOW (humbly) inside (loading) BIER (funeral vehicle) | ||
| 19 | BLORE | … As a result of this, nuisance about funeral’s end? (5) |
| BORE (nuisance) contains (about) funeraL (end letter of) – a result of it being blowier (the previous solution) | ||
| 20 | TEA SET | Relax in centre of settee – part of family crockery produced (6, 2 words) |
| EASE (relax) inside seTTee (centre of) | ||
| 21 | STUMER | In leaving chaotic terminus, it’s not worth betting on (6) |
| anagram (chaotic) of TERMinUS missing IN | ||
| 22 | FRIST | A drop of rum in the pud? Delay no longer! (5) |
| Rum (first letter, a drop of) inside FIST (the pud) – no longer indicates obsolete | ||
| 24 | NICHE | Cause of financial crash pa ignored before he gets commercial opportunity (5) |
| paNIC (cause of financial crash) missing PA then HE | ||
| 25 | BAJRI | British Raj done for, independence produces staple food grain (5) |
| B (British) then anagram (done for) of RAJ and I (independence) | ||
| 26 | CHOKE | Head of candle hot? Fair enough – snuff it (5) |
| first letter (head) of Candle then H (hot) and OKE (fair enough) | ||
| 29 | NIDS | Would they survive 1 October? Not if deadly shots start off thus (4) |
| first letters (start off thus) of Not If Dealy Shots – 1 October is the start of the pheasant shooting season | ||
Don’t recall too many problems and I think I finished it mid-evening Sunday. I wasn’t too sure about OKE but it’s in Chambers. In 1ac OVER meaning during I couldn’t see, but again, it’s there.
Surely 14ac is MOLTENLY with the number being ten. I don’t see an alternative spelling.
Thanks PeeDee – the number in 14 is TEN though.
Favourite new word IRON-SICK.
Definitely HARDOKE ; I recall similar definitions in the past, though usually referencing the bard by name.
Cheers Azed.
‘Over the Bank Holiday weekend’
Many thanks to both. I am another TEN.
THe usual ramble through dictionary obscurities which is rather uplifting. It is always nice to work out the answer and then have to check to see if it really exists. It just reinforces the paucity of my own vocabulary and is always a gentle reminder there are so many more terms out there.
Yes, I must have had a bit of a mental siesta in 14 across. I have no idea where molton came from!
Fixed now.