A solid challenge from WANDERER today that I needed a little bit of help with, to get across the line. Thanks for the treat, WANDERER.
FF: 9 DD: 9
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | RECITALIST |
In speech, once again name a composer that’s a concert performer (10)
|
| sounds like RE CITE ( once again name ) A LIST ( liszt, composer ) | ||
| 6, 10 | WELL DONE |
Far from rare words of praise (4,4)
|
| cryptic def; how do you like your meat? | ||
| 9 | SCRABBLERS |
Those struggling to get a grip, having emptied rifles in pursuit of game (10)
|
| RS ( RifleS, emptied i.e. without inner letters ) after SCRABBLE ( game ) | ||
| 10 |
See 6
|
|
| 12 | PRESENTIMENT |
Now Wanderer’s ear, nose and throat provide a sense of foreboding (12)
|
| PRESENT ( now ) I’M ( wanderer’s ) ENT ( Ear Nose Throat ) | ||
| 15 | RESOURCED |
Provided with the necessary shade around new course (9)
|
| RED ( shade ) around [ COURSE ]* | ||
| 17 | CUT IN |
Make a dodgy manoeuvre as Conservative head of state (no parking involved) (3,2)
|
| C ( conservative ) pUTIN ( head of state, without P – Parking ) | ||
| 18 | SICKO |
Perverted second-in-command, previously excellent (5)
|
| SICK ( excellent ) before O ( second letter in cOmmand ) | ||
| 19 | SUSPICION |
Suggestion for thriller film (9)
|
| double def | ||
| 20 | ATOMIC ENERGY |
Power source that might be found in any geometric form (6,6)
|
| [ ANY GEOMETRIC ]* | ||
| 24, 26 | SKIN TEST |
Extremely poor check for 3, perhaps (4,4)
|
| cryptic def; read together is SKINTEST ( extremely poor ) – used for detecting tb bacteria | ||
| 25 | COMPROMISE |
Composer wrong about note? That’s agreed, perhaps, after attempts to settle score (10)
|
| [ COMPOSER ]* around MI ( note ) | ||
| 26 |
See 24
|
|
| 27 | KEYSTROKES |
Important: pets might produce these (if you put them on your laptop) (10)
|
| KEY ( important ) STROKES ( pets ) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1, 2 | REST CURE |
Others preserve a way of getting better still? (4,4)
|
| REST ( others ) CURE ( preserve ) | ||
| 3 | TUBERCULOSIS |
Complaint due to full implementation of some cutbacks (12)
|
| expansion of TB in “..cuTBacks” | ||
| 4 | LULUS |
Outstanding examples of songs originally covered by Scottish singer (5)
|
| LULU ( scottish singer ) S ( Songs, first letter ) | ||
| 5 | SERENADES |
A Williams driver’s entertaining set, primarily romantic pieces (9)
|
| SERENA ( a williams , tennis ) [ “..Driver’s Entertaining Set..”, primarily ] | ||
| 7 | EGOCENTRIC |
Self-absorbed before playing one short concerto, say (10)
|
| EG ( say ) before [ I ( one ) CONCERTo ( short, without last letter ) ]* | ||
| 8 | LIEUTENANT |
Officer briefly occupying belltowers . . . . (10)
|
| expansion of LT in belLTowers | ||
| 11 | WITCHING HOUR |
. . . . which ring out around midnight, usually (8,4)
|
| [ WHICH RING OUT ]* | ||
| 13 | CRYSTAL SET |
Comedian Billy at last acts the goat for radio? (7,3)
|
| CRYSTAL ( comedian, billy crystal ) SET (“..actS thE goaT..”, at last ) | ||
| 14 | PSYCHOTICS |
Mentally disturbed people appear in film with this cast, oddly enough (10)
|
| PSYCHO ( film ) [ “..ThIs CaSt..” ( odd letters of ) ] | ||
| 16 | CASSEROLE |
Dish of cereal cooked with sugar or salt originally (9)
|
| [ CEREAL SOS ( Sugar Or Salt, primarily ) ]* | ||
| 21 | EXPOS |
Exhibitions featuring former model? Interminably! (5)
|
| EX ( former ) POSe ( model, without last letter ) | ||
| 22, 23 | SICK BEDS |
Where you might find Dick and Bess, out of sorts after an exchange of letters (4,4)
|
| cryptic def; dICK BEsS exchanging the D and the S |
I really like this setter whatever name he goes by but I felt here there was a slight lack of misdirection
which should produce DOH/teatray moments
SCRABBLERS, RESOURCES, PRESENTIMENT were all gimmes\but I liked CUT IN, RECITALIST and SKINTEST
Please try and return to tripping me up bigtime!
Very chewy but wholly rewarding, not that I didn’t also need help with SCRABBLERS and SKIN TEST (didn’t know of this test for TB).
Not one but two expansions, which I admired along with CUT IN and WITCHING HOUR. Seems like WANDERER was in a dark frame of mind with 11, 14, 18 and 19.
I’ve seen red (15a) clued as ‘shade’ (colour) before but I’m more accustomed to thinking of crimson and scarlet, say, as shades of red which is a primary colour. It didn’t detract from a very enjoyable puzzle though, just held me up when considering ‘shade’.
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs for clearing up a number of entries.
Well, I had two doh moments, copmus, being once again beguiled by the device in 3 and 8dn. ;-(
My favourites were RECITALIST, PRESENTIMENT, SERENADE, CRYSTAL SET and CASSEROLE.
I often comment on Wanderer’s knack of getting composite clues to run on in the grid. Today, I particularly admired the symmetry of the four-letter-word doublets in the four corners.
Great fun, despite the ‘darkness’ noted by Diane. Many thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs
Thanks for the blog, a bit dark as Diane said but pretty decent. Bit of overkill with 3 and 8D for the same technique. Extremely poor is not quite SKINTEST but a minor quibble.
Thank you, Turbolegs, for the parsing – I am usually hopeless at spotting contractions as in 3 and 8, but this time at least worked out 8, though not 3. A satisfying solve, nevertheless, with, I thought, some decent misdirections.
I only saw one out of the two “expansion” devices at 3d and 8d which was a bit disappointing but didn’t spoil an enjoyable puzzle. I wondered if there might be a Hitchcock theme with SUSPICION and PSYCHO(TICS), but couldn’t take this any further.
I liked (although that’s not perhaps the correct word) the juxtaposition of REST CURE and TUBERCULOSIS, topped off by SICK BEDS.
Thanks to Wanderer and Turbolegs
Wanderer did not seem to be in a puckish mood today but I still enjoyed this crossword. I guess I’m in good company missing the device used in 3d and 8d — if Eileen misses something what chance do we mere mortals have? In any event I had many favourites including KEYSTROKES (a write-in for anyone who has ever had a cat), REST CURE, SERENADES, and CRYSTAL SET. Thanks to both.
Tony@7
Shucks! – I’m ashamed at how many times I’ve been had by that one – but I still love it!
Re 5d I thought golfers were drivers, not tennis players.
@Beelzebub,
This was a great clue precisely for its ambiguity, I thought. When you’ve done thinking of Williams drivers
(Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, George Russell) and golf, there’s ‘set’ to get you back on the right lines. Serena’s forehand ‘drive’ in tennis is undoubtedly one of the most ferocious!
As a beginner whose mother-tongue is not English, I got SICKO, but my parsing was Second-In-Command, with previously excellent being OK read backwards….
But I was not satisfied; so thank you for letting me find out that sick in slang means awesome
Lucio @11: English is the only language I have ever known and I was aware that “sick” is slang for excellent but I parsed SICKO the same way you did.
Thanks Wanderer and Turbolegs
Found this one pretty difficult and it spilled over from Friday and across the weekend before it succombed – only did my final run through check tonight. Still missed a couple of the parsings – SICKO (same way as @11 and @12) and lazily ‘anagrammed’ Dick and Bess at 22d, 23d, instead of just switching the two letters like it asked to.
Got the first hidden abbreviation at 8d quite quickly but wasn’t expecting a second and tb took a fair while to finally reveal itself. Was happy to remember both Hitchcock movies and although knew the Scottish singer Lulu, didn’t know the slang meaning of it. Thought that the SERENADE clue was the best of a very good lot. Finally finished in the SW corner with CRYSTAL SET and SKIN TEST.